An openly gay man has never competed for the U.S. in a Winter Games, and it's been 14 years since one did in a Summer Games, NBC News reported. 

John Fennell is one of three publicly out male athletes competing to qualify for the Pyeongchang Games. He is joined by figure skater Adam Rippon and freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, who came out publicly after winning the silver medal in Sochi in 2014, NBC News reported.

Fennell will find out in December if he makes the U.S. Olympic luge team, and Rippon and Kenworthy will know their 2018 Olympic status by January.

Since 2004, gay men from Great Britain, the Netherlands, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil and Tonga have competed, reported NBC News. 

The U.S. is not liberal as it seems when pushing for gay rights. For example, the U.S. enacted legislation in 2015 that allows same-sex couples to marry, but gay marriage has been widely accepted in several other countries — like Netherlands (2000), Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Sweden (2009) and Argentina (2010) — for years now, reported NBC News.

President Donald Trump on Friday refused to directly say whether he would pardon former national security adviser Michael Flynn, NBC News reported.

"I don't want to talk about pardons for Michael Flynn yet. We'll see what happens," Trump told reporters as he departed the White House to deliver a speech to FBI academy graduates.

"Let's see. I can say this: When you look at what's gone on with the FBI and with the Justice Department, people are very, very angry."

Flynn, who pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of making false statements to the FBI about his communications with Russia earlier this month, is the first senior White House official to be charged in the special counsel’s investigation into Moscow's alleged meddling into the 2016 presidential election and the first to officially agree to cooperate.

A man accused of supplying the drugs that led to a man’s death in Naugatuck has been charged with negligent homicide. 

Police went to check on the victim after a family member contacted them on Dec. 31, 2016 for help to contact him when he did not answer his phone or come to his door and officers found the victim dead in his home and drugs and paraphernalia near him, police said. 

While investigating, officers determined that 29-year-old Rodney Coriano supplied the victim with a narcotic that caused the death, according to police. 

He turned himself in to police just before 2 a.m. Friday and is due in Waterbury Superior Court today. 

Bond was set at $250,000.

The end-of-the-year holiday travel forecast is another record breaker with AAA projecting a 3.1 percent increase in travel compared to last December. 

“Across the board this year, travel has increased year-over-year for every major holiday weekend – Memorial Day, Independence Day, Thanksgiving – and we project the same for the year-end holiday period,” said Amy Parmenter, spokesperson for AAA in Greater Hartford. “We’ve seen the strong economy and growing consumer confidence fuel holiday travel all year long.” 

In cars, trains and airplanes, more than 107 million Americans are expected to set a new year-end holiday travel record for the ninth year in a row, according to AAA. 

“I think it’s wonderful that people are still getting out and able to visit their family and friends and enjoying the holidays the way they should be,” Mary McHugh, of East Hartford, said. 

McHugh took a train from New Haven to Richmond, Virginia Thursday afternoon to visit her daughter’s family. 

“This is the first time I’m going down for Christmas in a while,” she said, “so I’m looking forward to it.” 

Holiday travelers hitting the roads will find the national average for a gallon of gas is up 28 cents from last year, but AAA expects that number to drop at least five cents by the end of the year. 

“I prefer to drive,” April Vines, of Windsor, said. “However, we’re going to take the train into the city today just so we don’t have to actually hit any of that rush.” 

At Bradley International Airport, Christmas carolers greeted passengers, including Such Much, who flew in from Iowa with a stop in North Carolina. 

“I loved it and I got my picture taken with Santa Claus,” Much said, “so I can’t wait to show it to my grandchildren later.” 

More than 6.4 million Americans are expected to fly to their holiday destination and airfares are 20 percent cheaper than a year ago, according to AAA. 

“People are out and traveling,” Much said. “We had a full, full flight of people.” 

Even though she had a 15-minute delay at New Haven’s Union Station, McHugh said she finds the train to be the more reliable mode of transportation in December. 

“When the weather is iffy the trains, they’ll still go whereas the planes they might be canceled,” she said. 

For people planning road trips next week, AAA said to expect the worst delays on Wednesday and Thursday afternoon. 

SpaceX, Elon Musk's rocket company, launched the first recycled rocket with a recycled capsule Friday in Florida to deliver groceries to the International Space Station for NASA, CNBC reported.

It was NASA's first use of a reused rocket and it holds nearly 5,000 pounds of goods, including mice for a muscle-wasting study, a first-of-its-kind impact sensor for measuring space debris as minuscule as a grain of sand and barley seeds for a germination experiment, CNBC reported. 

SpaceX — one of two private shippers contracted by NASA — has been making station supply runs since 2012.

Musk's company is at the forefront of a global shift in rocket launches, with this year the first in history that commercial launches will outpace government-sponsored ones, CNBC reported.

The Golden Gate National Park Service is closing San Francisco's Aquatic Park to swimmers after a second sea lion attack Friday. San Francisco Fire officials told the public to avoid the area after a second sea lion reportedly attacked a swimmer in the park's waters.

Park officials will release more information as it becomes available. Multiple public safety agencies are working together with the NPS - the lead agency - on a safety plan, SFFD said.

Fire officials tweeted around 9 a.m. Friday that a 60-year-old man was taken to a trauma center after reportedly being bitten by a sea lion on his arm.

SFFD said in a tweet: "Avoid the area, swim at your own risk at Aquatic Park."

The attack took place at 8:13 a.m. Fire crews were called to 500 Jefferson street where they took care of the victim's injuries. He was then transported to a hospital.

Fire officials said that city agencies were working together to mitigate the incident.

On Thursday, police said a 56-year-old man was charged by a sea lion. After frantic efforts to splash and distract the animal, the man was bitten on the arm.

People onboard a nearby sailboat saw the attack and rescued the man, taking him on their boat and calling the United States Coast Guard.

The San Francisco Fire Department also responded to the attack and took the victim to Pier 45 to be treated by paramedics. A San Francisco police officer also applied a tourniquet.

The swimmer has a "severe extremity injury" that required immediate medical attention. The man was taken to the trauma center at San Francisco General Hospital, where his vital signs were reported as stable. 

Dave Schreibman was swimming in the bay during the attack.

"I saw a sailboat with a wounded swimmer on it," he said. "They were waving at me and screaming at me to not go out there. The wounded swimmer had deep puncture wounds in his upper arm, and there was blood running down. There was a Coast Guard there, too."

Michael Reiter, of the SFPD marine unit, was the officer who applied the tourniquet.

"I mean, the boat saved his life," Reiter said. "If the boat hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened They had rented the boat for the day, I believe, and they were on their way back when they saw this."

Some swimmers said they’ve had their run-ins with sea lions. Arnie Thompson, a Dolphin Club member recalled being charged by a sea lion.

"And, of course, I swam across the top of the water like you wouldn’t believe," he said.

Sergei Khorochev added: "It’s happened like a few times over the past few days. One guy on the sound told us that he was swimming, and he got bumped like five times by the sea lion, right here in the cove."

BAY RESCUE AQUATIC PARK REPORTED SEA LION ATTACK 1 adult male non-life threatening injuries taken to TRUAMA center CITY AGENCIES working together to mitigate At this time we recommend AVOID THE AREA SWIM AT YOUR OWN RISK AT AQUATIC PARK @SFPD @SF_emergency @SFPort @GoldenGateNPS pic.twitter.com/4gpWMfE1wD

— San Francisco Fire (@sffdpio) December 15, 2017

SEA LION UPDATE @GoldenGateNPS is closing Aquatic Park to swimmers and will have more information forthcoming. Public Safety agencies working together on safety plan regarding sea lion. NPS is the lead agency at this time. @SF_emergency @SFPD @LondonBreed https://t.co/SdXisTK2Ts

— San Francisco Fire (@sffdpio) December 15, 2017

Schools in Waterbury sent students home early Friday because of snow in the firecast for this afternoon, but weather has been an issue for students at Wallace Middle School has had weather issues for the last two days.

A school district spokesperson said the school installed energy-efficient controls on their heating system, which was a project planned for over a year, but the temperatures in the building dropped from the high 60s to the low 50s, then the heat was left off all night.

HVAC crews gave been making repairs and hope to have the issue fixed by the end of the day.

A teacher at a CREC school has been placed on leave after allegations of an inappropriate relationship between a student and a teacher. Officials from CREC said the school is the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts Colt Gateway campus in Hartford. 

Dr. Greg Florio, the executive director of the Capitol Region Education Council, said they immediately placed the teacher on leave Wednesday after learning about the allegation and notified the state Department of Children and Families and police. 

“We are cooperating fully with authorities as this matter is investigated. The safety of our students is always our top priority,” Florio said in a statement. 

No additional information was immediately released.

The House Ethics Committee said Friday that it has opened an investigation into Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen after reports of sexual harassment against the Nevada congressman. 

"The Committee notes that the mere fact that it is investigating these allegations, and publically disclosing its review, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee," a statement from the committee said.

Two women have accused the Democrat of misconduct. His former finance director told Buzzfeed in a Dec. 2 story that Kihuen repeatedly propositioned her for dates and sex during the 2016 congressional campaign, offers she rejected. The woman, who withheld her last name, also claimed he touched her thighs without her consent on two occasions.

A second woman spoke to The Nevada Independent in a Dec. 13 story, claiming Kihuen made repeated sexual advances while he was a state senator in 2015 and she was a lobbyist. The woman, who remained anonymous, also said he touched her thighs and buttocks on several occasions.

In a statement to the Independent, Kihuen said he would not discuss the allegations.

"During my 10 years in the legislature, I dated several different women. Out of respect for their privacy, I won't discuss my communications or any other details of those relationships," the statement said.

In a statement to NBC, Kihuen said, "I intend to fully cooperate, and I welcome an opportunity to clear my name."

Both House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and New Mexico Rep. Ben Ray Luján, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, called for Kihuen's resignation.

The airport worker who captured millions of hearts across the nation when he was captured on now viral video dancing, animatedly, as he directed a plane several months ago is at it again. 

Kyran Ashford made headlines back in October when a Southwest Airlines traveler departing Greater Rochester International Airport en route to his home in Nashville recorded the five-year airport employee's moves from his window seat. 

"This guy rocks! #TarmacDancer #EmployeeOfTheMonth #TGIF #Southwest," Terry McBride posted on Facebook along with the video, which has since been viewed nearly 13 million times. 

At the time, Ashford told ABC News his goal was to give at least one traveler "30 seconds of positive vibes." 

He certainly did that for more than a few -- and he's continuing to do so. McBride captured Ashford on video once again last week, on Dec. 8, rotating his hips and swinging his orange equipment, skipping adeptly on the tarmac as he directed the plane down the runway. 

''Here we go again. Leaving New York this morning on my way back to Nashville and the Tarmac Dancer is back at it," McBride wrote on Facebook.

After about 10 years of being vacant, a new business is taking over 12,000 square feet along Main Street in Manchester.

For the last 26 years, Cecilia Boamah has been running Accra Market in East Hartford and is opening another business in Manchester named Accra Mall USA that sells household items and nonperishable food at a discounted price.

“We have a lot of dollar stuff, OK. We have 50-cents stuff. we have as high as $150 items, especially when you go to the hair accessories and hair braiding and the hair extension,” she said.

The store carries everything from groceries to household items and fabrics of all kinds, which are important to Boamah because the patterns are used in Africa. She is originally from Ghana.

“I have right now about 240 varieties of fabrics,” she said.

For Boamah, opening the store is more than just opening another business.

“We want to bring life again to Manchester Main Street. That’s why I brought this business here,” she said.

Boamah said the space has been vacant for about 10 years.

Manchester residents like Randy Rutka said they hope it brings traffic to Main Street.

“Hopefully it brings some more people downtown in to shop,” said Rutka.

The hope for Kristal Masters, who owns 41 Closets Boutique and Consignment across the street, is that the new store will benefit all the local businesses nearby.

“I hope that they do very well,” said Masters. “I hope that they bring a bigger crowd to Main Street because we do need to support our Main Street because without a Main Street we don’t have a nice town.”

Boamah hopes the store will open sometime after Christmas.

A 75-year-old woman who was seriously injured in a hit-and-run in Waterbury on Tuesday morning has died, according to family members.

Geraldine Lapio was hit around 6:30 a.m. near Nottingham Terrace and Cooke Street, according to police. She was rushed to St. Mary's Hospital, where she was in the intensive care unit with a broken femur, broken hip and a fractured skull.

A statement from family member said Lapio died on Friday afternoon, surrounded by family members.

Her family has been asking the public to help find the driver.

"We are seeking the assistance and cooperation of the community in locating the person responsible for the tragic accident that will likely take the life of a beloved family member. ... Our family would appreciate any information that may lead to the person who is responsible being held accountable," the family said in a statement earlier this week.

Anyone with information on is asked to call Waterbury police at (203) 574-6921.

A school in Woodbridge is warning staff and students about the potential for mumps exposure.

One person was diagnosed with mumps at the Amity High School on Newton Road the week of Dec. 5, according to the Quinnipiack Valley Health District (QVHD). Officials would not say if it was a student or staff member. 

The QVHD said the person was cleared to go back into the community on Dec. 11 as long as they felt well. 

While no one has come forward with symptoms, officials warn that others may experience symptoms as late as Dec. 29.

Most people recover completely in a few weeks. Symptoms typically appear 16 to 18 days after infection, but could be longer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website reads.

Puffy cheeks, fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, swollen jaw and swollen salivary glands under the ears are all symptoms of the mumps, according to the CDC.

Someone can spread the disease by coughing, sneezing, talking, sharing items like cups, and touching objects with unwashed hands. 

Normally, people get two doses of MMR vaccine for mumps and is proven to be about an 88 percent effective, QVHD said. 

The state’s top business leaders are working to put Connecticut on a path to better economic growth.

A new commission appointed by Governor Dannel Malloy and legislative leaders met for the first time Friday in Hartford.

Lawmakers created the 14-member Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth as part of their state budget.

"I worry this generation will be the first generation in American history to have less opportunity than their parents’ generation," Greg Butler, a commission member from Eversource Energy’s General Counsel, said.

Over the next two and half months, the private sector leaders will come up with strategies to stabilize the state’s finances and create a better business climate.

“In a business, you’re able to make these decisions and you don’t have as many constituents, so this is going to be very challenging because you have very smart people on both sides of the aisle trying to do good work,” commission member Cindi Bigelow said.

Bigelow is the third generation president and CEO of family-owned Bigelow Tea based in Fairfield. 

"We have been able to hire a lot of great talent because of the quality of living in the state," Bigelow said. "But recently we are starting to see people that are little concerned coming into Connecticut working for us because of the taxes."

This newly formed commission will make recommendations to the governor and lawmakers on taxes, spending, debt and other administrative issues.

"We will invest in this state and we will create jobs, but we have to have a stable fiscal environment and once we establish that the ability to grow is there," Jim Loree, a commission member and CEO of Stanley Black & Decker, said.

Malloy would like the group to focus on funding for transportation work, having warned last week that the state needs a billion dollars in new revenue over five years or else projects could halt and bus and rail fares could go up.

"We need new revenue sources that will be there to fund the next generation of transportation infrastructure in Connecticut and those funds should be protected by an unbreakable constitutional lockbox," Malloy told the commission during his opening remarks.

The commission will hold several public hearings before submitting its recommendations on March 1. The General Assembly has made a commitment to vote on those recommendations.

"The governor is right transportation and infrastructure is also a big deal," Loree said.

A former aide to Rep. Bobby Scott on Friday accused the Virginia Democrat of sexual misconduct and said he fired her after she rebuffed his alleged advances.

At a press conference, Macherie Reese Everson, who goes by Reese, said that Scott touched her inappropriately on two occasions in 2013 and that he flirted with her. Everson said that when she declined the overtures, she was "retaliated against" by being fired.

Everson said the conduct occurred when she was a Congressional Black Caucus Fellow working in Scott's office, when she was "touched inappropriately" by the lawmaker on her back and knee on two separate occasions and that he once invited her to join him at an event in California.

Scott strongly denied Everson's allegations in a statement: "I absolutely deny this allegation of misconduct. I have never sexually harassed anyone in my 25 years of service in the United States Congress, or in my 40 years of public service, or at any other time."

A pregnant woman was hit by a car in Wallingford on Friday.

Police said she was crossing the road with a child on North Turnpike Road. 

She was initially knocked unconscious but regained consciousness before being transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital. Her condition is unknown.

The child she was walking with does not have injuries, police said. 

The crash is under investigation. 

NBC Connecticut’s consumer team recently received a priority mail envelope with a $1,690 check enclosed.

It appeared suspicious at first glance, but it was addressed to NBC Connecticut’s Christiane Cordero and looked like it had legitimate qualities.

When questioning a check, the first clues are on the check itself.

Make sure it’s tied to a legitimate business, a legitimate bank and has routing and account numbers.

Other possible indicators that it could be real, one perforated edge and a check number higher than 100. The one NBC Connecticut received meets all of that criteria.

The check sent to NBC Connecticut has a return address listed as 16 Allen Avenue in Beverly Hills, California.

Not only did the sender spell 'Beverly' wrong, but the address doesn’t exist.

The check was issued by a legitimate business, May Trucking Company, but when NBC Connecticut called the company directly, a representative confirmed the check was fake.

She said she has since received three calls about the fake check and May Trucking Company’s checks do not look like the one sent to NBC Connecticut. She advised against depositing it.

Sometimes, the person behind the scheme will contact the recipient shortly after he or she receives it, to try and convince that person to send part of the sum back.

If someone sends their money and deposit the check, the fake check will likely bounce. 

The best thing to do with the fake check is the shred it. 

A New Britain father of three received word he will be allowed to stay in the country for now.

Mariano Cardoso Sr. feared he would have to leave his family by Friday.

Surrounded by loved ones and supporters, Cardoso was overwhelmed that he’s back at home in New Britain.

“Gracias, very, very happy,” Cardoso said.

The 49-year-old had been preparing to take sanctuary inside a church in Old Lyme.

But then the Board of Immigration Appeals reportedly granted him a last-minute stay of deportation.

The father had faced an order to return to his native Mexico by Friday.

“Happy that fairness and justice have prevailed, at least temporarily, and I feel great relief and joy,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D- Connecticut, said.

Cardoso entered the country illegally nearly 30 years ago.

Since then his attorney says Cardoso has followed the rules, started a successful business and raised his three kids.

But then recently federal immigration authorities said he would no longer be able to stay, despite his large family here.

“We’ve been through such troubles and we learn so much,” Mariano Cardoso Jr. said.

For now Mariano Cardoso Sr. still wears his ankle tracking bracelet, hoping it can be removed soon.

His family thanks those who have helped with the fight to keep him here.

“At the end of the day, we did it because of them and I know tonight the community won,” Cardoso Jr. said.

The family’s attorney tells us the wait now begins to see if the deportation case can be reopened and if there is a pathway for Cardoso to stay here legally.

After years of playing what internet service providers have likened to "regulatory ping-pong" with net neutrality rules, the game is still far from finished, NBC News reported.

The attorneys general of New York and Washington state have already announced they plan to sue. However, it's likely that Congress may hold the key to ending the expensive and time-consuming back-and-forth over net neutrality.

"That is the only way you are going to have sustainable net neutrality," Roslyn Layton, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, told NBC News.

Since 2015, net neutrality rules have required internet service providers to be regulated under Title II, like a utility, helping to control what consumers are charged and ensuring all traffic is treated equally.

The massive Thomas Fire exploded to 259,000 acres by Saturday after it scorched through Ventura and Santa Barbara County for a 12th day. Fire crews have been able to contain the monstrous blaze by 40 percent and expect it to be fully contained by Jan. 7, 2018.

Dry heat and Santa Ana winds have posed a threat for firefighters as conditions have been fueling the blaze since it first began on Monday, Dec. 4. A red flag warning will remain in effect through Sunday evening, with experts expecting gusts of winds to reach up to 40 mph.

The northerly "sundowner" wind was driving the fire south and west.

"When the sundowners surface in that area and the fire starts running down slopes, you are not going to stop it," Mark Brown with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said at a news conference. "And we are not going to stand in front of it and put firefighters in untenable situations."

The flames destroyed nearly 1,000 structures and the cost associated with battling the fire is $103,912,000, according to Cal Fire. One Cal Fire engineer’s life was claimed by the fire after 32-year-old Cory Iverson of Escondido died battling the inferno.

The wind-driven blaze, which has been dubbed as the state’s third-largest wildfire ever, prompted mandatory evacuations for some 95,000 people in the flames’ path.

Evacuation orders are still in effect for the areas of Sespe Creek to the west, Burson Ranch to the east, the Los Padres Forest boundary to the north and the Fillmore City limits to the south.

By around 10 a.m., new mandatory evacuations were issued for the areas north of the 101 Freeway, south of the 192 Freeway, west of Toro Canyon Road and east of Summit Road. The 101 Freeway was closed at Seacliff Road to allow people to evacuate.

The Santa Barbara Zoo, which is near the mandatory evacuation zone, announced it was putting some animals in crates to prepare for possible evacuation. The zoo has about 150 species of animals, including a pair of Amur leopards, a critically endangered species.

Everything about the fire has been massive, from the sheer scale of destruction that cremated entire neighborhoods to the legions attacking it: about 8,300 firefighters from nearly a dozen states, aided by 78 bulldozers and 29 helicopters.

Numerous schools announced closures in wake of the fire:

• Fillmore Unified School District
• Santa Paula Unified School District
• Ventura Unified School District
• Briggs Elementary School
• Mupu Elementary School
• Oxnard Union HSD
• Rio Elemantary School
• Santa Clara Elementary School
• Ventura Charter School
• California State University, Channel Islands’ Goleta campus will remain closed through Dec. 23.
• All VCOE-operated schools in the Ojai Unified and Ventura Unified School Districts will be closed through Dec. 22.