It'll be a mega-powerful New Year's Eve weekend. 

With a Powerball jackpot estimated at $384 million and Mega Millions at $306 million, U.S. lottery aficionados for just the second time in history have two opportunities to try for jackpots exceeding $300 million.

First up is the Mega Millions drawing at 11 p.m. ET on Friday. Powerball's drawing is Saturday at 10:59 p.m. ET. Both lotto games had their most recent jackpot wins in late October. 

And hey, if you lose at least you've got New Year's Eve on Sunday.  

Despite the mountains of zeros attached to both lottery games' jackpots this week, neither of the current amounts is a record-setter, as CNBC reported. For either to land in the U.S.'s top 10 jackpots, they would have to surpass the $448.4 million Powerball prize shared by two winners back in August 2013.

The first time both games simultaneously had jackpots topping $300 million was in early August. Illinois lotto player Patricia Busking nabbed the Mega Millions in mid-August, taking home $393 million.

By late August, the Powerball had reached $758.7 million, which all went to  winner Mavis Wanczyk of Massachusetts, making it the largest prize ever awarded to a single ticket. That jackpot was also the second largest in the game's history and the second largest in U.S. lottery history.

Mega Millions is played in 44 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Powerball is played in all the same places, plus Puerto Rico. 

Norwich police have arrested a car salesman who is accused of stealing cash that was supposed to go toward paying off a car.

Norwich detectives arrested 48-year-old Frank Hewitt, of Norwich, Thursday and said he was the subject of four outstanding arrest warrants charging him with two counts of failure to appear in the first degree, failure to appear in the second degree and larceny in the second degree.

The arrest comes after a local automobile dealership lodged a larceny complaint involving Hewitt in June.

Police said Hewitt was a car salesman at the automobile dealership when he sold a car to the victim who financed the vehicle through a bank and then, several days later, decided he wanted to pay the balance off.

The victim contacted Hewitt, who said he would facilitate the pay-off, police said.

The victim gave Hewitt a total of $10,431 in cash on two separate occasions to pay the bank loan off in full and Hewitt gave the victim two fraudulent dealership receipts and never deposited the money with his employer, police said.

The victim learned the loan for his vehicle was not paid off after receiving monthly bills from the bank, which included late fees. Police said the dealership was not aware of Hewitt’s actions until the victim notified them and the business immediately reimbursed the victim and files the complaint.

Police said Hewitt also failed to appear for a scheduled court appearance at New London Superior Court on Dec. 12 so re-arrest warrants were issued.

Hewitt was transported to Norwich police headquarters, where he was held on a total of $51,000 cash/surety bonds.

The CDC is investigating a multistate E.coli outbreak in 13 states, including Connecticut, and the agency is looking into whether it’s connected to an outbreak in Canada that’s believed to be linked to romaine lettuce.

There have been 17 illnesses linked to the outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7 infections, including two in Connecticut, two in New Hampshire, three in California and one each in New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Nebraska, Virginia and Washington.

The Illnesses started between Nov. 15 and Dec. 8, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Public Health Agency of Canada also is investigating an outbreak of STEC O157:H7 infections in several provinces.

Whole genome sequencing is being performed on samples of bacteria making people sick in the United States, preliminary results show that the type of E. coli making people sick in both countries is closely related genetically, according to the CDC.

The Public Health Agency of Canada has identified romaine lettuce as the source of the outbreak in Canada.

In the United States, state and local public health officials are interviewing sick people to determine what they ate in the week before their illness started.

CDC is still collecting information to determine whether there is a food item in common among sick people, including leafy greens and romaine.

At this point, the CDC is unable to recommend whether U.S. residents should avoid a particular food and said the investigation is ongoing, and more information will be released as it becomes available.

A fire that killed at least a dozen people in the Bronx this week was sparked by a child playing with a stove, authorities say. Kitchen fires make up 50 percent of all apartment fires and they’re the leading cause of home fires and fire injuries, according to the FDNY. 

Children cause thousands of home fires each year by playing with matches, lighters or candles, the FDNY says. Kids have a natural curiosity about fire and what to know how it looks and feels, what it can do, and how it will burn.

In the wake of the tragic Bronx fire, here’s how to keep your kids safe from fires in the home.

Quick facts about home fires:

• More than half of all home fire deaths occur between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

• More than a third of home fires occur during the months of December, January and February.

• Children are a major cause of fire, often because they are playing with lighters, matches or candles. Fires caused by kids most often start in bedrooms.

• The FDNY’s top three safety tips: Install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors; Have a home fire escape plan, and practice it; Conduct a safety inspection of potential fire hazards in your home and eliminate them.

What you can do to keep fire out of the hands of kids:

• Have a matches and lighter round-up. Ask your children to tell you where all the matches and lighters are located throughout your home.

• Store lighters and matches out of sight and reach, preferably in a locked cabinet or drawer.

• Check under beds and in closets for burned matches or hidden lighters. Approximately half of the child fire starters had previously played with matches or a lighter

• Use a "don't touch" approach with children under five years of age. Instruct them to show you any unattended matches or lighter. Reward them with praise when they do.

• Instruct older children to bring matches or lighters to you.

• If a child expresses curiosity about fire or has been playing with fire, calmly but firmly explain that matches and lighters are tools, not toys.

• Do not use lighters as a source of amusement for a child. Children may seek out the lighter and imitate you.

• Older children should be taught how to use matches and lighters safely. A child's curiosity may be satisfied if he or she is entrusted to use matches in appropriate situations. Children should be asked to promise to use fire only in the presence of a parent.

• Never leave a child unattended in a room with a lit candle. Don't allow teens to have candles in their bedrooms.

• Smokers should be conscious of children in the home and keep their smoking materials out of sight and reach of children.

• Children must be supervised. Most fires started by children occur when they do not have adult supervision.

• Multi-purpose and cigarette lighters by federal standard must be child-resistant. However child-resistant is not childproof. Children as young as two years old are capable of lighting cigarette and multi-purpose lighters.

• Some children light fires for reasons other than curiosity. A change or crisis like death, divorce or moving can trigger fire-setting behavior in kids. If you suspect a child is intentionally setting fires, contact the FDNY's Bureau of Fire Investigation's Juvenile Fire-setters Intervention Program at 718-722-3600.

How to prevent kitchen fires if you have kids:

• The FDNY suggests enforcing a kid-free zone of three feet around your stove.

• Kids love to reach, so use the back burners of your stove whenever possible.

• Make sure hot food is kept away from the edges of your counters. Also keep the area around the stove clear of towels, papers or anything flammable.

• Turn pot and pan handles toward the back of the stove so you don’t knock them over by accident and so kids can’t reach them.

• Have a pot lid and container of baking soda handy to smother a pan fire. The FDNY says you shouldn’t use water to put out a stove fire, because it can cause the flames to spread.

• Never carry or hold a child while cooking on the stove.

• One-third of kitchen fires result from unattended cooking. Don’t become distracted by attending to children or answer phone calls or doorbells while cooking.

• If young children are interested in what you’re doing, move a high chair within reach so they can see what’s going on without being in harm’s way.

• If children are helping in the kitchen, make sure they’re not wearing anything that’s big or loose, because baggy sleeves and clothing can catch fire or get caught in equipment.

• There are a wide variety of products to childproof your stove. Many of them cover or lock the burner knobs, keeping children from turning them. They run anywhere from $5 to $10 and are sold online. Search "childproof stove" or "stove knob covers" in Google. There are also "stove guards" and "stove screens," which are basically pens that go in front of the stove to keep children from accessing the burner or oven. 

More information: 

• Here’s an FDNY handout about children and fire.
• Check out more fire safety tips from the FDNY.
• Also take a look at this list of dos and don’ts from the FDNY, and this list of the top seven fire safety rules from the FDNY.
• You can request a presentation by the FDNY Safety Education Program at your school or organization by filling out this form.

Sixteen people have been taken to a hospital after two trolleys collided on the Mattapan Line Friday afternoon, according to the MBTA.

The incident happened on the inbound track between Cedar Grove and Butler. Shuttle buses are replacing service for the Mattapan Line in both directions.

Boston EMS confirmed they responded to the scene and evaluated 17 people, all but one of whom were taken to area hospitals.

Aerial footage from the Sky Ranger showed the front end of one trolley damaged as well as many emergency crews on the scene.

The cause of the collision remains under investigation.

No further information was immediately available.

A 58-year-old woman, her 8-month-old granddaughter, a mother and her 2- and 7-year-old daughters were among the 12 people who died when a fast-moving fire caused by a child playing with a stove engulfed their Bronx apartment building in a matter of minutes Thursday, relatives of the dead say.

Police and relatives have identified five of the victims in the blaze on Prospect Avenue near East 187th Street, which is near the Bronx Zoo: 2- and 7-year-old Kylie and Charmela Francis, and their 37-year-old mother Karen Francis; 19-year-old Shantay Young; and 58-year-old Maria Batiz. 

A relative at the scene shared photos with News 4 of the Francis children, one just a wide-eyed toddler sipping from a bottle, the other a young girl with a black leather jacket and hot pink pants.

The shocked brother of Maria Batiz also identified her as another one of the fatalities.

"I didn't believe it," said Fernando Batiz. "I had to come down here and see for myself." 

A baby girl seen in a photo next to a smiling Batiz is also among the dead, Fernando said. He didn't identify the baby by name, but the Daily News reports she was Batiz's granddaughter, and that the two were found dead in a bathtub where the older woman had desperately tried to shield them.

Five of the other victims were pronounced dead at the scene: a 1-year-old baby girl, a 63-year-old woman and three adult men, according to police. 

Meanwhile, four people remain in critical condition, fighting for their lives, after the fire, according to Mayor de Blasio. A dozen others were rescued from the fire with varying injuries but were expected to survive. 

A 28-year-old soldier who's been missing since the fire, Emmanuel Mensah, is desperately being sought by family and friends. He was last seen heading back into the flames to help save others. 

"We know that there are four in critical condition," said family friend Eunice Reed. "We are hoping that it's him, one of them is him." 

"We're hoping he's still alive because the fireman said all the bodies were accounted for," Reed said. 

Mensah's father spent the day walking up and down the street, showing his photo to passersby, hoping someone could tell him where he is, The Daily News reported. 

Neighbor Nestor Torres said he was searching for a few people he knows in the bulding. 

"I called some phones, no one answered," he said. "I called about three persons and no one answered." 

"Went to work, he's not there. The building is gone," he said. 

Searches of the burned-out building have been completed, but authorities say the loss of life is historic, and Mayor de Blasio warned there could be more casualties. 

"This is the worst fire tragedy we have seen in this city in at least a quarter-century," de Blasio said Thursday. "Based on the information we have now, this will rank as one of the worst losses of life in many, many years." 

Authorities said the flames broke out on the first floor of the building and quickly spread up through the five-story, 25-unit structure. Authorities said Friday that a small child playing with a stove in his first-floor kitchen appears to have sparked the blaze, which is the city's deadliest residential fire in decades.

Bronx neighbor Juan Sanchez didn't know anyone who died, but felt compelled to bring flowers and write a note Friday. 

"May the 12 souls already be in heaven," he said. 

Hundreds of passengers were at a standstill for hours after the extreme cold wouldn’t let a railroad bridge in New London close on Thursday night.

Shaw’s Cove Bridge wouldn’t close around 7:30 p.m.

Amtrak spokesman Jason Abrams said the bridge wouldn't close because of "complications resulting from the extremely cold weather."

It took crews until around 10:45 p.m. to get five trains back on the move. There was a little more than 980 total passengers delayed, according to Abrams.

Two Shore Line East trains were also impacted because of the bridge. Passengers were pulled off and put on a bus, state Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick said. 

Libby Dove knows the cold and snow could delay her train to Boston Logan International Airport so she planned ahead when booking her Amtrak from Union Station in New London.

"Wiggle room- two hours," Dove, a San Diego resident, said.

Chris Caiozzo said he always checks the weather before buying an Amtrak ticket.

"I actually have had Amtrak trains delayed and they’re actually very good with that," Caiozzo said. "They refund your tickets, they give you credit."

Some people on Thursday night’s trains took to Twitter.

"Have been sitting idle for over an hour now. Unacceptable! What are you going to do to compensate me for my time?" one person wrote online.

Abrams said the weather glitch has happened occasionally with Shaw’s Cove Bridge, but not often. Amtrak also keeps an eye on the Mystic River Bridge in cold weather, but there is nothing that can be done to pre-treat, he added.

Influenza was reported as widespread by 36 states last week, with some states reporting deaths from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Twenty-one of the 36 states experienced high levels of activity in the week ending Dec. 23, according to the CDC report released Friday. They are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.

Almost a dozen total deaths have been reported in California, North Carolina and South Carolina.

In San Diego, pharmacies have run short of supply and one hospital emergency room created an additional emergency room outsideflu to accommodate patients.

Experts had said that the flu seaon may be more severe this year, with the dominant strain being H3N2.

"Typically in years when the predominant strain is H3N2, there are more hospitalizations, more severe disease and people tend to get sicker," Dr. Michael Ison, a professor of infectious disease and organ transplantation at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, told NBC News.

And the vaccine available in the U.S. was reported as only 10 percent effective in preventing illness from H3N2. However, while those vaccinated can still get sick, they typically experience a milder form of the illness.

The CDC began bracing for the season in September, campaigning for flu vaccinations and advising the public about influenza symptoms, which can appear suddenly. Symptoms can include fever, sore throat, cough, runny nose, chills and body aches, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea.

The flu virus has had millions of affected cases in the U.S. each year since 2010, according to the CDC. Those cases resulted in between 12,000 and 56,000 deaths each year.

Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state, Reuters reported.

The sales of oil or oil products from Russia, the world's second-biggest oil exporter and a veto-wielding member of the United Nations Security Council, breach U.N. sanctions, the security sources said.

The transfers in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea has evolved to loading cargoes at sea since Reuters reported in September that North Korean ships were sailing directly from Russia to their homeland.

"Russian vessels have made ship-to-ship transfers of petrochemicals to North Korean vessels on several occasions this year in breach of sanctions," the first security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Home heating system failures can be uncomfortable and expensive when the temperatures drop. 

Oil levels are good at anything above a quarter tank, experts who spend the day with NBC Connecticut said. 

Rob Sharkevich, a delivery driver for Simply Heating Oil, said he fills, on average, 30 homes a day this time of year.

"We’re cranking. We’ve got five trucks out, 30 deliveries starting at seven in the morning, going to five-six o’clock at night, Monday to Saturday," Sharkevich said.

Sharkevich typically fills his truck two to three times a day when he's making oil deliveries.

On average, families are burning 10-15 gallons daily with the weather this cold, according to Sharkevich. 

"People are burning through a lot more oil obviously because it’s colder so you turn your thermostat up, also a factor heat and hot water, you burn oil using the hot water too, people use oil for hot water," Sharkevich added.

Brian Williams lives in Kensington and he said he's ready for the cold weather.

"We just got our oil filled in the cold weather. We don’t want to be running out," Williams said. 

Customers realizing if they fail to fill, it would only take hours for pipes to freeze and possibly burst. Unfortunately, it can happen with gas heat too.

"We woke up with no heat and called Macca Plumbing and Heating. They put us on their list, we came downstairs and we had a burst pipe. Macca was here in a matter of minutes once the pipe burst," Nancy Walsh of West Hartford had a pipe burst Friday morning.

Parts of the ceiling along with water flooded the Walsh family’s basement in West Hartford overnight.

"I’m hoping to fix it today, because if we can’t we want to at least isolate the problem," Bob Macca, owner of Macca Plumbing and Heating, said. 

Back in Kensington, Williams takes precautions this time of year too.

"It gets cold inside the cabinets and that helps to open them and I do shut off the outside faucets," Williams added.

Pipes in a house that are closest to the exterior walls are most vulnerable to freezing and potentially bursting, according to experts. 

As the temperature drops, veterinarians are warning people to keep a close eye on their pets.

Even bigger dogs that usually do well through the winter could show signs of hypothermia in these conditions. For small dogs, frostbite can set in in less than a half-hour.

Small dog owners across New England say it’s the same story every year.

"We’ve been outside for 30 seconds and she’s lifting her paw," said Jessica Stira of Haverhill, Massachusetts. "I double coat him, but it doesn’t seem to work."

But experts say on days as cold as Friday, even big dogs who usually do well this time of year need some extra attention.

"It’s just been such a quick change that she hasn’t had a great chance to acclimate," said Dr. Steve Gentilella, director of animal and medical services at the NHSPCA in Stratham, New Hampshire. "She’s not a dog that will wear a jacket all winter, but for this stretch she’s been wearing one."

Dr. Gentilella says you should limit your pet’s time outside.

If they start getting lethargic, or their extremities turn colors, that’s when the danger of frostbite or hypothermia is imminent.

"If you suspect that in your pet, you want to get them to the vet and warm them up in the meantime," Dr. Gentilella said.

Another way to keep your pets safe is buying some dog booties. They’ll keep their paws warm and also protect them from the salt and sand.

The best advice Dr. Gentilella has is to treat your animals like family and protect them the same way.

The ASCPA offers these tips for keeping your pets safe:

• Keep your home humidified and towel-dry your pet as soon as it comes inside.
• Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter.
• Bathe your pets as little as possible during cold spells.
• Feed your pet a little bit more during the cold weather months.

Flavortown is about to get a little less tasty.

Guy Fieri on Friday announced that his wildly popular -- and famously panned -- Times Square eatery, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, would be shutting its doors on New Year's Eve after more than five years in business.

"I’m proud that for over five and a half years, Guy’s American in New York City served millions of happy guests from all over the world," the celebrity food personality said. "And upon the restaurant’s closing, I’d like to say thank you to all of the team members and guests who helped make it all happen."

No explanation was given for the closure of the restaurant at West 44th Street near Seventh Avenue. But according to Restaurant Business magazine, the eatery was estimated to be among the top 50 most profitable independent restaurants in the country over the last four years; in 2017, the industry magazine reported Guy's American Kitchen and Bar took in about $17 million.

Fieri's massive, 500-seat restauarant restaurant, like many at the Crossroads of the World, has been popular with the millions of tourists who visit New York City each year. It is his only eatery in New York City; the closest other ones owned by the Food Network host are in Atlantic City.

Among the restaurant's fans was model Chrissy Tiegen, who tweeted that she was surprised by how good the food was after Eater first reported the closure.

Guy's American Kitchen and Bar gained notoriety in 2012 after a blisteringly negative and now-famous zero-star review by Pete Wells, a food critic for The New York Times. In the  review, Wells lambasted nearly every item he tried -- including Fieri's ubiquitous donkey sauce -- at the then recently-opened restaurant and mocked the "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" host's catchphrase.

"When you hung that sign by the entrance that says, WELCOME TO FLAVOR TOWN!, were you just messing with our heads?" Wells wrote.

In a tweet Thursday, Wells wrote "I guess it’s time to give up on getting those questions answered."

But the restaurant did have high points in the Big Apple: Fieri, representing the Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, tied Manhattan chef and restauteur Josh Capon for the top prize during New York Wine and Food Festival's annual Burger Bash in 2013. 

During the coldest week of the season so far, a new winter playground is opening in the valley.

For the first time in more than 40 years, the City of Ansonia decided to transform Linett Park into a destination for winter activities.

"I heard they were putting an ice skating rink around here and I live right up the hill so I said let me go find out what it’s about," Delia Buker from Ansonia said as she checked out the park with her granddaughter Kayla. "My kids used to come down here when they were young to play."

Kayla, a 5th grader, told NBC Connecticut she has never gone ice skating before.

"But I did get a pair of ice skates a few years ago that I’ve been wanting to try and I rollerblade," she said. "So I feel like I’d be good at it."

She plans to try out those skates on the outdoor rink that Mayor David Cassetti had moved from Nolan Field to Linett Park for this winter.

"I decided that this park being underutilized, it would be a perfect place because of the hill in the background for sled riding, a fire pit, ice skating, have a food truck you know and more activities for the residents of Ansonia and the valley," Cassetti said. "Everybody is welcome here."

There should be a fresh snow on the sledding hill Saturday afternoon with one to three inches in the First Alert forecast.

The park is free to the public and will be open seven days a week, weather permitting. Just be sure to bring your own sled or ice skates.

The mayor said a grand opening is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 6.

David Mosher of East Windsor knows timing is everything; after all he is an avid swing dancer.

It was in swing dance class he met Heather Lindsay after she caught his attention from across the room.

"There was one night she was wearing these killer red pants and I told the two guys sitting next to me I’m going to ask that girl out tonight," Mosher said.

But, the timing just wasn’t right because Lindsay was seeing someone else. Mosher told her to let him know if anything changed.

Four months later, Lindsay agreed to a date with Mosher and over the next year and a half the two would write start writing their love story.

On Dec. 23, 2015, Mosher decided to propose but before he could, Lindsay got an unexpected diagnosis. A lump in her breast previous doctors had dismissed turned out to be much more. 

"[The doctor] said, 'I’m so sorry to tell you this its cancer'," Mosher explained.

The couple was confident it was something they would overcome and Mosher decided to move forward with his horse-drawn carriage proposal plans.

"I went down on one knee she said 'yes'," Mosher said.

Lindsay shared the day’s news, both the good and the bad, with her friend Christina Karas. Over the next year, Karas helped Lindsay navigate her triple negative breast cancer diagnosis along with her hopes and her concerns.

"She was so hopeful," Karas said. "The way we would talk about it, you always kind of felt this isn’t it."

Lindsay told Karas her biggest fear was not living to enjoy the beautiful person, Mosher, who just came into her life.

When her health took a turn for the worst, her friends, family and doctors at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford knew the wedding, originally planned for Dec. 30, had to happen fast.

"[We thought] we should just lay the dress on top of her because the energy we thought it would take to get her in would kill her," Karas said.

Together, they worked to get a weak Lindsay into her gown and into the hospital’s chapel where she met Mosher to exchange vows.

"She was gorgeous and she just felt like home to me," Mosher said.

Barely able to speak, Lindsay murmured her vows and just when those gathered thought she had exerted her last bit of energy, she raised her arms in celebration. The photo has been seen and shared thousands of times on social media. 

"That moment right there was like, 'Death, I’m not afraid of you! I am so in love and I am going to celebrate that love right now'," she said.

Eighteen hours after saying 'I do,' Lindsay died. 

"I saw her sick. I saw her in a lot of pain and she didn’t give up until she married me. It is so humbling that someone could love me like that," Mosher said. 

It was not the wedding the couple had planned, but it was one no one in the room will ever forget.

A waitress in Arkansas claimed that half of a $300,000 winning lottery ticket her friend and co-worker scratched off belongs to her, but the friend has disappeared after claiming the prize, NBC affiliate KARK reported.

The waitresses at Sportsmans Drive-In in Stuttgart all received lottery tickets from their boss the Friday before Christmas.

"He told us whatever we won, it would be split between us for our Christmas bonus," said waitress Leslie Underwood.

Underwood and fellow waitress, Mandy Vanhouten, have been friends for a decade. They scratched off their pile together at the bar.

Vanhouten scratched off a $300,000 Fortune instant ticket, worth $10, and won the top prize. Since they work the same shift, she and Underwood would each get $150,000, according to the deal Underwood said their boss made.

Underwood and Vanhouten were going to claim the money together in the new year, but Vanhouten decided to take it and run.

Underwood, a mother of five, saw the picture of Vanhouten Wednesday with a check in her hands and a big smile on her face.

"It's a little emotional," Underwood said as she started to cry. The two have been best friends for nearly a decade.

"I helped her get the job, put in a good word, stuck my neck out for her, let her stay with me so she didn't have to drive back and forth," Underwood said. "I think that's what hurt me the most is as much as I've done, she could have done right for once."

She hasn't heard from Vanhouten.

Vanhouten said she was going to use the money "to make her life easier," according to a press release by Arkansas Scholarship Lottery

KARK tried calling Vanhouten, got her voicemail and did not receive a call back. Vanhouten also never came into work for her shift this week.

If she doesn't get her share of the winnings, Underwood said she plans to take legal action. However, Vanhouten is the only one who signed the back of the ticket.

Four people were arrested Wednesday after a 16-year-old girl was held captive in a Massachusetts home, tortured and raped, law enforcement sources told the NBC Boston Investigators.

The sources say that police rescued the teenage victim at a home on White Terrace in Auburn. Her head had been shaved, and she had been drugged, raped and tortured with lit cigarettes.

A machete was allegedly held up to the girl's neck and 23-year-old Krystal Lugo of Webster ordered it to be held harder if she lied, sources said.

Police arrested Krystal Lugo; her 19-year-old brother, Christopher Lugo; 22-year-old Yariel Torres-Abee of Southbridge and 19-year-old Yuleny Ortiz of Auburn, according to sources.

All of the suspects were charged with kidnapping. Charges against Krystal Lugo also include assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and larceny under $250. Christopher Lugo was charged with rape and using a drug to confine. Torres-Abee also faces an assault and battery charge.

The suspects are being held without bail until a dangerousness hearing Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the suspects had obtained attorneys.

Police believe the crime was related to a prior incident. They say the suspects targeted the victim after suspecting she was the one who set up a recent home invasion, in which two men busted into the White Terrace home and confronted Christopher Lugo. Three shots were fired in that incident. Police believe the purpose of the home invasion was to steal marijuana.

A fifth person, who has not been named, was arrested Friday on outstanding warrants, sources said.

The house was found to be uninhabitable and was condemned by a building inspector, according to sources.

No further information was immediately available.

The Berlin Turnpike was shutdown between Middletown Road and Worthington Ridge because of an accident involving a wrong-way driver early Saturday morning.

Berlin Police said a wrong-way driver was heading north in the southbound lanes of the Berlin Turnpike and collided with another vehicle.

Three people were transported to Hartford Hospital with serious injuries.

The road was reopened a few hours later.

Police are asking anybody who may have witnessed the crash to call 860-828-7080.

Erica Garner, the eldest daughter of the New York City man killed in a police chokehold in a case that sparked nationwide protests, died Saturday after suffering an asthma-triggered heart attack earlier this month, the Rev. Al Sharpton said. She was 27. 

Garner died of natural causes at Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn, Sharpton confirmed to NBC 4 New York at the hospital. He said she was a warrior to the end. 

Her official Twitter account also confirmed her passing, saying: "May you find the peace in the next life that you deserved while you were here."

[[467287753, C]]

Her mother Esaw Snipes-Garner said her daughter suffered her first heart attack not long after giving birth to a baby boy in August. Doctors said Erica Garner's pregnancy had put a strain on her heart, which was later found to be enlarged.

Garner became an activist protesting police brutality after her father Eric Garner's death in 2014. He had been selling illegal cigarettes on a Staten Island street corner when he was arrested and a white police officer put the black man in a chokehold. 

A video of the arrest -- in which Eric Garner cried out repeatedly "I can't breathe!" — was posted online. 

A grand jury opted not to indict the officer seen on video administering the chokehold, a tactic prohibited under NYPD rules, prompting massive protests in New York City and around the country.

Asthma also affected her father. While the medical examiner determined Eric Garner's death to be a result of neck compression from the police chokehold, the autopsy report cited asthma, obesity and heart disease as contributing factors. Eric Garner's death was ruled a homicide.

[[464844163, C]]

Al Sharpton runs the National Action Network and hosts PoliticsNation on MSNBC, which is owned by NBC Universal, the parent company of this site.

A First Alert is in effect for accumulating snow as we head into your Saturday. A fast-moving clipper system will swing by to our south during the day.

Take a look at Interactive Radar which shows the system to our west.

We are expecting snow to develop during the midday hours on Saturday, and last into the evening before ending around 7 to 8 p.m. The snow will fall at a light, to at times moderate rate today, especially along the shoreline.

With air temperatures being in the upper teens to lower 20s, this will be a very light and fluffy snowfall, of which will accumulate very easily. 

We anticipate a coating to 1" of snow across northern Connecticut, and 1-3" of fluffy snow along the Connecticut shoreline. If you have any travel plans, keep in mind there will be some slick spots on the roadways during the second half of the day.

The snow will be extremely light and fluffy which will make it very easy to move.

In the wake of this minor snowfall, another shot of arctic air moves in for Sunday. Temperatures will be in the single digits above 0 around midnight Sunday to welcome in 2018. Dress very warmly if heading out to any outdoor plans.

Stay with NBC Connecticut's team of meteorologists on air and online for further updates.

Police are investigating a shooting at a restaurant near Buckland Hills in Manchester. 

Manchester police said the incident happened at Bonchon Restaurant on Pleasant Valley Road.

One man was shot and transported to the hospital. His condition is not clear.

The suspect is not in custody.

Police said there is no danger to the public because the people involved are linked to the restaurant.

No other information was immediately available.