President Donald Trump's administration is spending $1.75 million on furniture for the White House and offices tied to it, according to government records.

The tab includes $17,000 for custom rugs, $7,000 for "furniture pedestals," and $5,000 for wallpaper. 

Kittinger, a popular furniture company of the White House dating back to former President Richard Nixon, created a $12,800 custom conference table for the Roosevelt Room. 

While it is common for new presidents to redecorate, Trump has spent slightly more than the $1.5 million spent by former president Barack Obama over a similar period of time. 

Obama made a point of paying for some White House furnishings out-of-pocket. It's unclear if Trump has done the same.

State police have arrested a man suspected in an assault in East Haddam on Sunday morning.

Police said the apparent victim arrived at Troop K in Colchester around 1 a.m. on Oct. 22 to report the incident.

After an investigation, police obtained an arrest warrant for 34-year-old Jared Rennie, of East Haddam, in connection with the assault.

Troopers went to Rennie's home around 9 p.m. with a search warrant but did not find him there.

Rennie turned himself in at 11:20 p.m. Tuesday and has been charged with intentional cruelty to persons, stealing a firearm, criminal use of a firearm or electronic defense weapon, criminal attempted murder, second-degree assault, first-degree threatening, first-degree reckless endangerment, first-degree kidnapping and first-degree unlawful restraint.

Bond was set at $1.5 million. 

The former manager of a Shelton restaurant is accused of sexually harassing employees and touching them inappropriately. 

Police started the investigation in March 2016 when three female employees of Dee’s Kitchen at 509 Howe Ave. in Shelton went to police to report that 58-year-old Bryan Stockbridge, of Ansonia, was sexually harassing them and had touched them inappropriately on several occasions. 

Detectives quickly obtained an arrest warrant, but they could not apprehend him, police said. They then obtained information that Stockbridge fled to California after an interview with detectives. 

Shelton police obtained information today that Stockbridge was back in Connecticut, living in Ansonia, and they took him into custody. 

Stockbridge has been charged with three counts of fourth-degree sexual assault. 

He posted a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Derby Superior Court tomorrow.

Our team of meteorologists continue to track a strong weather system that will be capable of flash flooding and strong damaging winds.

The NBC Connecticut First Alert Weather Team has issued a First Alert for Sunday into early Monday morning. 

This article will take you throught the impacts, timing, and weather setup.

IMPACTS: 

Flooding: Parts of the state have received over 5 inches in the last few days. This has caused the year to date rainfall deficit to be depleted and turned into a surplus for much of the state.

While it's still a bit early to focus on rainfall total specifics for this weekend parts of the state could receive another 2 to even 4 inches of rain throughout the event with a few isolated areas receiving higher numbers. 

The additional rainfall will likely lead to another round of flash flooding throughout the state. Especially in the areas that are prone to flooding.

In addition to flash flooding we're concerned about the threat for river flooding.

The small rivers and tributaries throughout the state can rise rather quickly. If you live along a small river pay close attention to the forecast over the next day or so. 

Bigger rivers like the Connecticut River will continue to rise with a forecasted crest in the Tuesday/Wednesday time-frame. 

Wind:

The wind setup depends on exactly where the area of low pressure tracks. A track to the west of Connecticut would bring the strongest winds to the state while a track to the east would bring weaker winds.

Right now most of our computer guidance bring the area of low pressure to the west of Connecticut which would result in strong wind gusts out of the south.

Strong winds could result in more damaging winds throughout the state which would cause power outages. 

TIMING: 

We're forecasting scattered showers to develop first thing Sunday morning and become more widespread as we head into the ladder part of the morning.

Rainfall rates as well as the wind will increase as we head throughout the afternoon into the evening. Right now it appears the strongest winds and heaviest rain will occur Sunday afternoon into early Monday morning. For more on the timing check out First Alert Future Radar below. 

First Alert Future Radar at 7:00 A.M. Sunday

First Alert Future Radar at 7:00 P.M. Sunday

First Alert Future Radar at 6:00 A.M. Monday

WEATHER SETUP:

You may be asking why we're forecasting so much rain. The rain we're forecasting is the result of moisture being transferred from areas near Cuba north along the eastern seaboard. It's what we call an atmospheric river. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said the construction of eight prototypes for a proposed border wall is done and soon testing will begin.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Ron Vitiello toured the site in Otay Mesa, south of San Diego Thursday.

Each prototype stands approximately 30-feet tall and 25-feet wide. 

Officials will wait 30 days for concrete to set and then spend 30 to 60 days evaluating each prototype.

"Can it be climbed? Can it be dug under? Can it withstand cutting tools," Vitiello asked. 

Although CBP has yet to receive funding to build a full-scale model of the wall, Vitiello said they are working to determine what type of wall should be built in the various sections of the U.S.-Mexico border. 

A Wilton man is accused of assaulting a soccer coach after a game Wednesday night and has been arrested. 

After the Wilton High School and Ludlowe game on Oct. 25, 47-year-old Sherman Eagan, of Wilton, confronted the assistant coach of Ludlowe’s girl’s soccer team in the parking lot, yelled at him and accused the victim of assaulting his daughter during the game, police said. 

Witnesses and the victim said Eagan choked the victim and struck him in the chest until coaches and parents pulled him off, according to police. 

Eagan drove away after the altercation and was arrested a short while later at his home after he refused to go to the police department to speak to investigating officers, police said. 

The victim was transported to Norwalk Hospital for minor injuries. 

Eagan has been charged with third-degree assault, third-degree strangulation, second-degree unlawful restraint and second-degree breach of peace. 

Police said the Ludlowe coach had earlier broken up an altercation on the soccer field. 

Bond was set at $1,000 and Eagan is due in Norwalk Superior Court on Nov. 6.

About a third of Connecticut residents said they are unhappy with the state's quality of life, according to a Sacred Heart University (SHU) survey. 

The SHU Insitute for Public Policy surveyed 1,000 Connecticut residents between October 3 and 12 and found that about 30 percent of people think the state's quality of life is declining. 

In addition, more than 3 out of 5 residents said they found it "very" or "somewhat difficult" to maintain their standard of living. 

Groups among all income groups said the greatest problems in the state are "high overall cost of living" and "high overall tax burden". Moreso, about half of the residents surveyed making more than $150,000 annually said they are considering moving out of the state in the next five years.

What do residents think would remedy the issues in Connecticut?

First, more than 76 percent of respondents said the state should offer more tax incentives to retain businesses and roughly 84 percent said municipalities should merge and consolidate public services to cut costs. 

“The state is at a critical crossroads, and it appears obvious from the results of this survey that residents are experiencing a high degree of anxiety over the state’s budget battles, taxes and the cost of living in Connecticut,” Lesley A. DeNardis, director of the Institute for Public Policy, said.

On Thursday, after 118 days without a state budget, the state House of Representatives and Senate passed a bi-partisan budget that has been sent to the governor's office. 

Crews from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Services have responded to Daniel Hand High School in Madison to help clean mercury they said is contained in a closet. 

Officials from DEEP said they are at the school with fire service and school officials to supervise an environmental contractor that is cleaning up the mercury. 

“Student’s health and well-being is our greatest concern at this time,” DEEP said in a statement. 

A mercury vapor analysis will be conducted to make sure that mercury in the air does not pose a threat to human health, according to DEEP. They said the results should be ready in a few hours.

The Outlet Shoppes at Rentschler Field will bring 70 fashion and lifestyle retailers to East Hartford.

"This is fantastic, this is an awesome, awesome job, I'm so excited to see silver lane coming back," Senator Tim Larson said.

Local leaders and project managers broke ground on the project on Thursday. The Shoppes are located adjacent to Pratt and Whitney stadium, near Cabela’s on the United Technology campus.

The hope is people will travel to shop here. It’s easily accessible from I-84 and I-91, and not far from downtown Hartford.

In addition to the stores, the shops will feature a wide variety of dining options including sit down restaurants.

It plans to generate more than $220 million in state taxes over the next 20 years and create thousands of jobs.

"There’s 1200 jobs that are estimated that will come for the construction, and there are 1300 permanent jobs," East Hartford Mayor Marcia A. Leclerc said.

The Outlet Shoppes at Rentschler Field is expected to open in November of next year.

President Trump outlined the White House’s plans to curb the opioid epidemic, which he declared a nationwide public health emergency. Trump shared a personal anecdote about his late older brother, who told him to never start drinking.

The owner of Apricots in Farmington said they plan to reopen the restaurant in January

Apricot's owner, Ann Howard, said her husband, who is listed as the president of apricots on the Secretary of the State’s website, has been sick and said the restaurant is currently closed for renovations only. 

At least one employee reached out to NBC Connecticut and said they had not been paid. Howard said that issue has been fixed.

Patrons were surprised to learn the restaurant appeared closed last week, their website states they are open seven days a week.

According to Farmington tax records, the restaurant owes $28,569 in back taxes for sewer, real estate and business personal property for the time between July 2016 and July 2017

Liens were placed on the restaurant, according to Farmington town officials who tell NBC Connecticut they are unclear restaurant's status.

Customers and employees have contacted NBC Connecticut with questions as to what's really going on.

Howard explained over the phone Thursday morning that the taxes will be getting paid. She also said that all employees have been paid.

"After 25 years in business, it was time to regroup, rethink and refresh. We will not destroy its legacy as a train station. However, it is going to be totally different," Howard said about rebranding the restaurant over the phone.

According to the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP), Apricots' liquor permit is still in place.

Howard had no comment when we asked about gift cards and scheduled bridal showers, but DCP spokeswoman said Lora Rae Anderson customers should contact the restaurant.

"If a business has closed, and consumers have gift cards or event contracts with them, the first step is to contact the business for a gift card refund, or for any compensation agreed to in the terms of their contract. If consumers feel their contract has not been adhered to, they should feel free to file a complaint with us by emailing dcp.complaints@ct.gov. You can always call (860) 713-6300 with questions," Anderson said. 

A federal watchdog agency will investigate President Donald Trump’s Election Integrity Commission, it was announced Thursday.

The Government Accountability Office plans to probe the voter fraud panel's funding, internal operations and how it is protecting and sorting the tens of millions of sensitive voter files the commission has collected.

The announcement comes after three Democratic senators — Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, Michael Bennet of Colorado and Cory Booker of New Jersey — sent a letter last week urging the agency to investigate the commission, saying it had ignored several requests from Congress aimed at understanding its work. The senators said the panel's creation and operations were "cause for serious concern.”

The senators wrote that they fear the way the commission is conducting its work will "prevent the public from full and transparent understanding of the commission’s conclusions and unnecessarily diminish confidence in our democratic process."

With a broken mast, a disabled engine and with distress calls out of range, two American women have been rescued after being at sea for five months, the U.S. Navy and family members said, NBC News reported.

Jennifer Appel, 48, and her friend Tasha Fuiaba were found by the fishing vessel around 900 miles southeast of Japan, and a U.S. Navy ship based out of Sasebo, Japan, rescued them on Wednesday morning, the Navy said and Appel’s mother said.

"One prays every day, and your friends pray with you, and you hope that everything goes well," Appel’s mother, Marie, said in a phone interview with NBC News on Thursday.

"I thank God that she has made it there safely," Marie Appel said.

Four people were taken to the hospital after two cars crashed onto a lawn in West Haven on Thursday night. 

Firefighter said they got the call to respond to the corner of Milton and South streets at 7:45 p.m. 

When they arrived to the scene, two Sedans were on the front lawn of the house, one of them wedged into the house.

The impact from the car crash that sent the car onto the property actually uprooted the front of the home.

Four people, two from each car, were taken to the hospital. 

The people inside the home said they were getting ready to move and packing boxes at the time of the crash. They have a baby who was also inside the house, West Shore fire chief said. 

Firefighters said none of the residents were hurt and will be staying at a neighbors house.

The school district in Hartford appears to be updating its Employee Conduct, Child Abuse and Neglect Incident checklist for the second time this year.

Administrators were pulled into meetings on Tuesday at the Sports and Medical Sciences Academy with the Office of Talent Management to learn about the changes less than a week after a principal and teacher at The Environmental Sciences Magnet School at Mary Hooker were placed on paid leave.

It's the second time the District’s reporting policies have been amended recently. The first time was after an investigation was completed and released in early 2017 by the Office of the Child Advocate. That report found the district was handling abuse complaints improperly for years.

Side by side, the documents obtained exclusively by the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters look almost identical.

The policies include checklists for reporting employee misconduct, child abuse and neglect at Hartford Public Schools. Added to the new version is that after school officials call the Department of Children and Families (DCF) within twelve hours and assessing harm, they must now also notify parents and guardians.

It's a new move less than a week following a recent complaint at Mary Hooker Magnet school involving a male teacher and 11-year-old girl. District officials said the DCF was notified.

While that's being investigated by the district and Hartford police, the principal and teacher remain on paid leave.

Once statements from everyone involved are obtained, the next new step is to figure out if the incident is employee related. Then, they must complete an online report in a new program called I-Sight. After, if necessary, they call the police.

Next, the list says to notify a supervisor and fill out the proper DCF paperwork within 48 hours and call Labor Relations.

The "paid leave portion" appears revamped also.

"If the allegation relates to physical or sexual abuse or any other behavior that is seriously disruptive to the educational/work environment or otherwise compromises student or staff safety, the employee shall immediately be placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation into his or her behavior."

The final step, which is also new, is a communication plan for anyone who might be affected when someone is put on leave. That includes detailing what support is put in place for students. A district spokesman did not have a comment for NBC Connecticut, when contacted about these documents.

Firefighters put out a fire at a barn in Somers Friday morning. 

Officials said they received a call about a fire on Wood Road at 12:08 a.m. and the whole barn was burning. 

No animals were inside the barn, but a car was and it burned. 

The main concerns for firefighters were the lack of hydrants and keeping the flames from extending to the house and efforts were successful to contain the fire to the barn. 

Heat from the blaze did melt some of the siding of the house, but it is habitable. 

The residents called 911 and no one was injured.

Mutual aid was called in and firefighters responded from Somers, Ellington, Crystal Lake, Hazardville and Massachusetts.

School leaders in Wilton are dealing with hate speech at Middlebrook Middle School for the third time in a month. 

Supt. Kevin Smith sent a letter home to parents Thursday after a sixth-grade student found a sticky note with an anti-Semitic message in her locker. 

“I am deeply sorry to inform you that there was another incident of hate speech at Middlebrook School,” Smith wrote in the letter. “A sixth grade student found a sticky note on her locker that read “Jews will burn.” Principal Feltz immediately called all 6 yellow team members together and she and I addressed the students. We then assembled the rest of the student body to inform them of this incident, and spoke to them about the incredibly destructive power of hate speech. Students were informed of the consequences of such actions and called again to serve as stewards for inclusivity, kindness, and community.” 

This latest incident comes after swastikas were found in the school twice in the past few weeks. 

Smith wrote that he is distraught by the instances of hate and students who are found to be committing acts like these “will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and subject to suspension and expulsion.” 

The school district is holding a meeting with parents in the Middlebrook auditorium at 9 a.m. to discuss the incidents and there will be a follow-up meeting in the auditorium at 7 p.m. Monday. 

“Please know that the Wilton schools, Wilton Police and town officials are working as a cohesive unit, both to investigate these incidents while also reaching out to teach students why such acts of hate are wrong and hurtful. But I implore our parents and caregivers to bring these discussions into your homes,” Smith wrote in his letter. “Please take a few minutes tonight, and over the next few evenings, to remind your children of the seriousness of this situation, and why we must make it our highest priority. Wilton is a community built on love, tolerance and respect. Working together, recognizing that we all have a role to play in teaching our children, I am confident we will emerge a stronger and better community.” 

There is a change of plans for one Ledyard Library facing an indefinite shutdown in the wake of the Connecticut budget battle.

Mayor Fred Allyn III decided the Gales Ferry Library will stay open, but it’s at the cost of cutting staff and hours at the facility and at Bill Library, Ledyard’s other library.

Allyn said he asked library director Gale Bradbury to make between $115,000 and $120,000 worth of savings.

That means substantially reducing part-time staff, Bradbury said, who has 18 part-time employees and might only be able to keep four.

“Very heartbreaking. These are all very good workers. They go above and beyond for the library. They do way more than the job calls for,” Bradbury said.

She’s also looking at eliminating some days the Gales Ferry Library is open and slashing hours at Bill Library.

Bradbury said the community rallied for the library, specifically the Gales Ferry District. She said they argued that closing that library would have violated the 99-year library lease the district made to the town in 1982.

“It’s a huge relief. Once you close a building it does become difficult to reopen. I’m also looking at the value of what we have in that library. It’s not a duplicate of the collection (at Bill). We like to say we’re one library in two locations,” Bradbury said.

The volunteers tasked with searching for 3-year-old Sherin Mathews say they believed they would be able to bring the little girl home.

"I started doing this a long time ago in the military, and there was always a sense of bringing somebody home was something good," said Jerry Seevers, one of the K-9 handers on the scene Sunday when Sherin's body was discovered in a drain in suburban Dallas.

Seevers and 15 other handlers help make up the team at the nonprofit MARK9 Search & Rescue. The team is made up entirely of volunteers who are specially trained to help law enforcement and first responders in search and rescue operations.

MARK9 assisted Richardson police in several prior searches for Sherin Mathews as police looked in wooded areas near the Mathews family home, helping police rule out certain spots and refocus on others.

Sunday, five pairs of volunteers and dogs from MARK9 responded to another request from Richardson police to search for Sherin again. Searchers say the weather conditions were ideal. Overnight rain along with a breezy and humid morning helped dogs pick up the scent.

One K-9 led her handler to a field north of the Mathews home and eventually to the culvert where investigators found the small child's body.

"She started doing it from a long way off, and it wasn't an area she was supposed to be looking in, but that's how it concluded," said Seevers, of the K-9's path. "She found her way there. One of the things we have to do is we have to believe in them and she took us there."

The teams assist in a wide range of searches, responding to calls from law enforcement at all hours.

"When they say it's a child involved, it's 100 percent everybody in," Seevers said.

In the Sherin Mathews case, the discovery was not the outcome the community hoped for, though it was necessarily to the investigation. 

On Wednesday, Sherin's adoptive father Wesley Mathews was put on suicide watch at Dallas County Jail. He has been charged with felony injury to a child. 

Mathews originally told police that Sherin disappeared while being punished, where she was forced to stand outside by a tree at 3 a.m. for not drinking her milk. A day after her body was found, Mathews told police that his daughter choked to death after he "physically assisted" her in drinking her milk. He then told police that he moved her body from the family's Richardson home, though police haven't said where he said he took the little girl's remains. 

"Being able to bring closure, whether it's a good closure or one you're not expecting, to me is very rewarding," said Chris Holmberg, a chief financial officer for a construction company who volunteered the day before Sherin was found with her German Shepherd, Hope.

"You're still dealing with the loss. It's not ours particularly, but once you're involved, you're involved. It becomes a part of you," Seevers said.

He adds that it only strengthens the team's resolve to continue to respond when rescuers call for help.

"You never know when the next call is coming. The fact that you were successful gives you something to say, let's go find the next one," Seevers said.

More than 60,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, and synthetic opioids played a larger role than ever, CNBC reported.

Deaths from those extremely strong drugs, like fentanyl, increased fivefold, and some analogs of fentanyl, like the large animal tranquilizer carfentanil, are increasinly being implicated in opioid deaths, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The increased mixing or co-use of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and varying fentanyl analogs might contribute to increased risk for overdose because persons misusing opioids and other drugs are exposed to drug products with substantially varied potency," the report's authors wrote.

Fifty to 100 times more powerful than morphine, fentanyl was introduced into the market in 2013. That year it was implicated in just over 3,000 overdose deaths; in 2016, it was involved in 20,000, according to the report, which the CDC said was the first to use "toxicologic and scene evidence from multiple states to characterize opioid overdose deaths."