Local and state officials met in Kent Wednesday night to figure out what the town will do to prevent any more damage caused by a massive, one mile-long, 12-feet thick, ice jam. 

Some people who have lived in Kent for decades said they have never seen anything quite like this. 

“It’s eerie, and it’s very quiet,” said Caitlin Lynch. “It’s just awesome.” 

It is awesome for people who see Kent’s ice jam as a once-in-a-lifetime event, but it’s a headache for the officials who have to deal with it. 

“We had sub-zero temperatures, and then we had three days of 60-degree weather and three inches of rain,” said State Representative Brian Ohler. “Those three variables combined swelled the river to the point where all the ice broke up.” 

Since Kent’s section of the Housatonic River has two sharp curves, plus a shallow depth of water, all of the ice landed in one spot. 

“It’s Mother Nature and you just don’t know what’s going to happen, or how fast it’s going to happen,” said Lynch. 

That’s Rep. Ohler’s main concern. 

His team wanted to prepare for what happens next, hoping a slight warmup will help the ice break into smaller chunks over a more gradual period of time. 

If too much caves in at once, it could bring big flooding problems downstream to New Milford. 

Meanwhile, The Kent School will remain closed because of its flood issues. Just upstream at The Kent Center School, the coast seems clear. 

“We’ve been fine all the way through,” said Kent Center School teacher Marty Lindenmayer. “There’s been no issue whatsoever with the rising water or the ice at all. The place is ready to go.” 

His classes will resume tomorrow. 

“If the forecast does change over the weekend and the ice jam does become loose or is compromised in any way, parents will be notified, students will be notified, if there’s any school changes for next week,” said Rep. Ohler.

Two people are at the hospital after an apartment fire in Willington Wednesday night. 

The fire started around 8 p.m. at the Woodhaven apartments on Cisar road. 

It's not clear what started that fire or how extensive the damage is. 

The American Red Cross was called in to help families find somewhere else to stay last night.

A rally is underway this morning for a New Fairfield father who has been fighting deportation to Guatemala.

Joel Colindres, 33, had been ordered to leave the United States in August, and was at the airport, when he received the news that a temporary stay was granted. Just before Christmas the father of a 6-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter learned that he is now scheduled to be deported at the end of January.

Supporters said has committed no crimes, is employed, pays taxes and is raising a family.

His attorney said Colindres, who entered the United States illegally 13 years ago, missed a court hearing in 2004, which triggered the deportation notice that is being enforced by the current administration.

Colindres said he was 20 years old at the time and living in Texas when he missed the immigration court date.

Samantha, Colindres’ wife of seven years, said her husband never received the order to appear in court.

"They had his address completely wrong, his first name was spelled with a k, his last name was wrong, he never even received the order to go the court," she previously said.

Because of the order, Colindres said he cannot apply for citizenship. Instead, he was granted several Stay of Deportation or "stays," which is an ICE-approved order that allowed him to remain in the country for one year.

Colindres allegedly faces retribution if he returns to Guatemala and officials said that three of close family members have been murdered in the last year, but did not elaborate on the circumstances.

Increased drug trafficking coupled with rising gang violence and easy access to firearms has helped place Guatemala among the world's deadliest nations in terms of murder rates, according to the U.S. Department of State. Guatemala is also a major transit country for cocaine and heroin, according to the Central Intelligence Agency.

When asked how his family is being threatened, Colindres has declined to comment.

Colindres' attorney, Erin O’Neil-Baker, said her client’s best chance of staying in this country included his claims for asylum and the fact that deportation would be a hardship on his wife and two children.

"I don’t think you have any idea how hard it is to become part of this country," Colindres said in the past.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal said he will be contacting the Secretary of Homeland Security “demanding Joel Colindres be given a full and fair day in court, and that this deportation be stopped.”

A driver who took a turn too fast hit a utility pole in Naugatuck Wednesday night, setting off a chain of events that included the closure of Route 68, power outages and a house fire early Thursday morning, according to officials.

The driver hit a utility pole on Route 68, or Prospect Street, Wednesday afternoon, causing several power outages and a road closure between Union City Road and Locust Street.

As utility crews were attempting to re-energize homes that had lost power early Thursday morning, a fire broke out at one of the homes affected. When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting from the back of the home.

A woman who lives in the home was taken to the hospital as a precaution. Two other people, including a child, were not injured.

Emergency and utility crews remain at the scene and police are urging drivers to take alternate routes and avoid the area if possible.

The cause of the fire is not known.  A spokesperson for Eversource said the utility company is working with the Naugatuck Fire Department to determine what started the fire.

He graduated from Atlantic City High School in 2010. His Albanian immigrant family owned a pizza shop in Margate, New Jersey. He attended a mosque where "he hated people," according his mother.

Then Zulfi Hoxha went to Syria and became Abu Hamza al-Amriki, an ISIS soldier, according to his mother and court documents in another recent terrorism case involving an American.

"I am upset," his mother Ltefaji Hoxha told NBC10 at her house in Margate in the first confirmation outside of court filings that the 25-year-old is in Syria fighting for the group also known as the Islamic State. "No good. I'm very upset."

Hoxha, 25, was identified in filings for the federal case against David "Daoud" Wright, who was convicted last year on terrorism charges and is serving 28 years in prison. The Atlantic first identified Hoxha as Abu Hamza al-Amriki.

A terrorist by that nom de guerre made waves in May 2017 when he appeared in an ISIS propaganda video. In that video, he calls on "lone wolf" terrorists to carry out attacks on targets in the United States.

"Liberate yourself from hellfire by killing a kafir," Abu Hamza al-Amriki said in the video, which showed him in battlefield fatigues and kneeling in front of rocket launchers.

His mother said she last talked to him about a year ago. Hoxha, according to the court documents in the Wright case, joined ISIS in Syria in April 2015. He quickly became a senior commander, the documents said. It is unclear why he was promoted to a commander.

Ltefaji Hoxha said that a year ago he was talking to her, “saying ‘Zulfi is good’ and now he stopped it.” He doesn’t call or talk to her anymore, she said.

Eventually, her daughter called for her mother to shut the door.

A spokeswoman for the FBI would not talk about any potential investigations involving Zulfi Hoxha.

A Chinese space station that hasn't hosted any astronauts since 2013 is expected to plunge to Earth in late March.

The Tiangong-1 station will mostly burn up during reentry and experts say that while it's hard to predict where any fragments might land, the risk to humans on the ground is small, NBC News reported.

An Aerospace analysis found that “the risk that an individual will be hit and injured by a piece of debris is estimated to be less than one in a one trillion.”

“It’s much more common to be hit by lightning,” said Dr. William Ailor, principal engineer for the Center for Orbital and Reentry Debris Studies at Aerospace.

Amid signs that the country could be headed toward a government shutdown this weekend, President Donald Trump said the consequences of one would be "devastating" to the U.S. military.

In fact, a government shutdown would likely have little impact on the military, NBC News reported.

A partial shutdown, which would begin on Saturday in the absence of a legislative solution, would require many federal workers to be furloughed and various offices closed. But the government exempts federal employees whose job is considered essential to national security, which includes not only the military, but border patrol agents, doctors, and TSA screeners, among others.

Members of the military would technically still not get paid until Congress funds the government. But Congress has also treated the military and defense workers differently during previous shutdowns, and it's possible they could do the same thing this time with separate legislation.

The United States Coast Guard will be using two ships this afternoon to attempt to break through the ice along the Connecticut River.

Two 65 foot sister ships the Hawser and Bollard will try to move from Essex to Middletown to break through the ice jam.

The ice jam is 6 miles long and extends from Hamburg Cove to an area along the river in the southern portion of Middletown. 

Flood warnings remain in effect along the Connecticut River and the Housatonic River. 

Check back with NBC Connecticut for updates on the mission. 

Connecticut is out of the running to be home to the second Amazon headquarters.

The 238 proposals across North America included proposals for Hartford, Stamford, Waterbury, Danbury and a joint bid for New Haven and Bridgeport and Amazon announced the 20 finalists Thursday. That list does not include any Connecticut cities or towns.

“While it’s certainly disappointing that Amazon didn’t choose Connecticut as a potential future site for its HQ2 proposal, we remain committed to working with business leaders throughout the world and right here at home to grow jobs in our state,” Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement.

Local officials said the feedback from Amazon, however, was good.

“We were pleased to hear that Amazon was complimentary of our ideas and proposal as a whole,” Stamford Mayor David Martin said in a statement. “While we are proud knowing that our City met and exceeded the rigid criteria the State and Amazon set for proposals, we are obviously disappointed we were not selected. It is apparent in the list of the 20 finalists that Amazon was seeking a larger metropolitan area than Stamford. The process of putting together this proposal for Amazon highlighted ways that we can increase job opportunities in Stamford, and teach our next generation skills for 21st century jobs that will make Stamford more competitive the next time a major company is considering relocating its headquarters to Stamford.”

New Britain Greater Greater Erin Stewart said local officials will continue to work to make the city as business-friendly as possible.

“We are disappointed that New Britain, or any other city in Connecticut, was not selected as a possible location for Amazon’s HQ2. This begs a bigger question: What do we have to do to make ourselves competitive once again? Here in New Britain, we will continue working hard to make our City as business friendly as possible and build on our successes to continue making New Britain a hub of manufacturing and innovation,” Stewart’s statement says. 

Malloy said the feedback was “positive,” but Connecticut did not have a “large enough metropolitan area for this particular proposal.”

“Connecticut remains a tremendous place to do business, as demonstrated by CVS/Aetna’s recent commitment to Hartford and by the countless companies both large and small who are proud to call Connecticut home,” Malloy said. We will continue to highlight our tremendous strengths, while recognizing the need to focus on investing in our cities to maintain the progress we have made in making Connecticut a more attractive place to live and work. That includes fixing our transportation system – one of the top concerns for businesses looking to move to our state,” Malloy said.

Amazon said it will make a final selection sometime this year.

Here is the full list of areas being considered:

• Atlanta
• Austin, Texas
• Boston
• Chicago
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dallas
• Denver
• Indianapolis
• The Angels
• Miami
• Montgomery County, Maryland
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Newark, New Jersey
• New York
• Northern Virginia, Virginia
• Philadelphia
• Pittsburgh
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Toronto
• Washington D.C.

The town of Haddam has declared a state of emergency because of the danger flooding and a massive ice jam along the Connecticut River pose to town.

A proclamation the First Selectman signed Wednesday says “a condition of danger to life and property exists in the Town of Haddam.”

First Selectwoman Lizz Milardo said safety is her primary concern and wants to ensure that emergency crews can get to families in affected areas if necessary.

She signed a proclamation to be forwarded to Gov. Dannel Malloy, asking that he proclaim the town is in a state of emergency.

The U.S. Coast Guard was brought in to loosen up ice jams on the Connecticut River and will be out this afternoon as well.

Milardo said they are not quite sure what will happen when that occurs, so local officials decided to issue a state of emergency.

“We’re doing that two-fold. One reason is that there could be an opportunity down the road, joining with other shoreline towns that are involved, to apply for FEMA funds for our property owners,” Milardo said.

“The second is if the ice breakers are not successful coming down the river our concern is that, as this ice starts to melt, what does that mean for those homes that are in low-lying areas?” she said.

Milardo said some residents have already left their homes and water has risen.

She is urging that residents who could be affected to ensure that the town has their contact information.

Anyone with questions 

Connecticut residents have been heading to the water's edge to take a glimpse of the natural phenomenon, but officials in affected towns have been concerned about the dangers and Haddam is the second Connecticut town to issue a state of emergency because of ice jam flooding.

Kent has also issued one because of flooding along the Housatonic River, which forced evacuations and road closures.

Lawmakers would be required to pay for sexual harassment settlements themselves under a new bipartisan legislation introduced Thursday, part of an effort to overhaul Capitol Hill's decades-old secretive system, NBC News reported.

The legislation, known as the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 Reform Act, would give victims more rights and resources when they file a sexual harassment complaint, simplify the process and provide more public transparency.

The most consequential proposal would prohibit lawmakers from using taxpayer funds to settle claims. The accused must reimburse the U.S. Treasury within 90 days of a settlement, and if they do not their wages will be garnished. If that’s not enough, other measures would be taken to ensure the settlement is not paid out of their congressional office accounts.

Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., head of the House Administration Committee, who helped write the legislation with Rep. Bob Brady, D-Pa., told NBC News in an interview shortly before the bill was released that it "goes a long way toward preventing future bad behavior."

Route 7 in Kent had been closed since Saturday because of ice jam flooding along the Housatonic River, but it has reopened between Route 341 and Bulls Bridge Road. 

On Monday, local officials declared a state of emergency Monday and asked residents to keep their distance from the ice jam.

State Rep. Brian Ohler (R-Dist. 64) said Thursday that the state Department of Transportation is reporting that Route 7 has reopened in both directions between Route 341 and Bulls Bridge Road, crews have removed large blocks of ice and other debris and the river has not receded to safe level. 

On Monday he said officials estimated the ice jam at one mile long and 12-feet deep.

Flooding issues began on Saturday when an ice jam caused the Housatonic River to flow over its banks. Ohler said some of the ice came down from Vermont and Massachusetts, where they don't have floodgates to hold it back.

First responders had to use boats and payloaders to rescue residents from their homes when flood waters made it impossible for them to leave. Fire officials said six people were evacuated from three homes.

No one was hurt and the displaced residents all found places to go. It is unclear how much damage was done to the homes.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady returned to practice on Thursday, but will not speak to the media as planned. 

Brady reportedly jammed his throwing hand at practice when a player accidentally ran into him, according to the Boston Herald. X-rays showed no structural damage, and barring anything unexpected, Brady is expected to play in Sunday's AFC title game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

Brady was spotted at practice on Thursday wearing gloves, and was originally scheduled to speak at 3:30 p.m. But the team announced around 2:30 p.m. that he would address the media on Friday instead. 

It was the second straight day that the team had canceled Brady's scheduled session with the media. 

Brady was one of four players scheduled to speak to the media on Wednesday, along with head coach Bill Belichick. But after tight end Rob Gronkowski, safety Devin McCourty, special teams star Matthew Slater and Belichick had all finished at the podium, there was no Brady. 

Just as Belichick was finishing up his remarks, the Patriots tweeted a message, saying, "Tom Brady is with our medical staff and will not be available to the media today." 

The team's official injury report released later Wednesday afternoon said Brady was a limited participant at practice due to a right hand injury. Soon after, media reports started surfacing with more details on Brady's injury, including the fact that it happened at Wednesday's practice. 

Brady has shown up on the injury report several times throughout the season with various shoulder and Achilles injuries. 

Patriots fans told NBC10 Boston they're worried about the injury, but aren't panicking... yet. 

"I think they will win even with his injury," said Bruce Storer of Foxboro. "I think our offense is just too big for their defense." 

"It's a huge concern," added Steve Haynes of Norfolk. "I mean without him, who are our quarterbacks now?" 

"He has three or four days to heal up here," said Bob Carey of Foxboro. "So I wouldn't be concerned at this point unless we find something more drastic." 

The third-seeded Jaguars will face the top-seeded Patriots on Sunday at 3 p.m. at Gillette Stadium after defeating the favored Pittsburgh Steelers 45-42 last weekend. The Patriots punched their ticket to the title game with a 35-14 drubbing of the Tennessee Titans. 

The Jaguars are playing in the conference title game for just the third time in franchise history, and first since losing to Tennessee during the 1999 season. Jacksonville is also one of four franchises to never play in the Super Bowl. 

The Patriots have made it to the AFC championship game for seven straight seasons. New England has advanced to the Super Bowl in three of the past six years.

A former Colchester attorney has been arrested, accused of stealing more than $430,000 from two clients he represented in separate probate matters.

State police have charged 65-year-old John Butts, of Salem, with first-degree larceny and said he is accused of stealing more than $150,000 from a woman when he failed to provide her the funds for the sale of her late father's condo in Colchester.

State police said the victim repeatedly asked about the funds and made trips from Arizona to Connecticut to meet with Butts but never received the proceeds from the sale.

Butts is also accused of stealing around $276,000 from another client he represented in a probate matter, according to the State Division of Criminal Justice.

Officials said Butts was suspended from practicing law in February 2017 and surrendered his license to practice in September 2017.

Butts is due in court on Jan. 25 for both cases.

Even though Connecticut is no longer in the running for the home of Amazon’s second North American Headquarters, the online retail giant is still expanding its presence and workforce in the state.

In June, Amazon announced its plans to build a new fulfillment center on a property in North Haven vacated by Pratt and Whitney. The new location will be the third Amazon facility in the state, joining the others in Windsor and Wallingford.

"The image of Amazon coming with such a large distribution facility I think benefits North Haven, benefits the region and certainly benefits the state," North Haven First Selectman Michael Freda said.

After NBC Connecticut broke the news, DroneRanger captured exclusive aerials of where Amazon is building the new 855,000 square foot fulfillment center.

"Any jobs that can be added to our local area would be great," Katie Larsen from Wallingford said.

Amazon will hire 1,800 people at first, Freda told NBC Connecticut, but the number of jobs could expand to 3,000.

"The lines are out the door people looking to apply for these jobs," Freda said."Because it’s a fairly competitive hourly rate, but there’s a 401K program and there’s also a tuition reimbursement, which is really significant."

A majority of the 20 finalists for Amazon HQ2, including New York and Boston, are on the eastern half of the country.

"We knew from the beginning that this was an uphill climb," Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Catherine Smith said in a statement. "That scale could be an issue, so it is not surprising that Amazon opted for much larger communities."

In addition to the state-supported bids by Hartford and Stamford, New Haven and Bridgeport submitted a joint application for the Amazon HQ2. The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters reported that the state and cities spent tens of thousands of dollars in trying to lure Amazon to Connecticut.

"We learned a lot about ourselves, about this expanded region," New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said. "And we’re going to take that to other companies and we believe that we’re going to be able to attract some major companies to this area."

With the new North Haven fulfillment center expected to be up and running around May 2019, Amazon’s total workforce in the state is expected to rise to about 3,800 employees. Construction is expected to begin in the next few days, Freda said.

"If we don’t have the top one that’s OK," Wendy Forbes of North Haven said. "We still have one here in town that’s going to present quite a few jobs."

Amazon plans to announce the location of its HQ2 sometime this year.

A Connecticut state trooper was charged with a DUI after police said he fell asleep at the wheel in Brooklyn. 

State police said they were responding to a loud noise complaint in the area of Riverwalk Drive in the Town of Brooklyn on New Year's Day just before 2 a.m. 

Patrick Dragon, a state trooper who works out of Troop D, was seen inside a car with the engine running and loud music playing. 

Responding officers approached the vehicle and found Dragon asleep behind the wheel, according to police documents. 

Dragon was taken into custody after he failed a sobriety test.

His bond was set at $500.

There was no mug shot released. 

New London is considering a pay-as-you-throw program for residents' trash removal. 

City leaders are calling Save Money and Reduce Trash (SMART) Waste Management Strategy a way for people to pay for what they use, like they do with electricity, water or gas. In this case, residents and business would pay per bag of trash by purchasing an official New London trash bag.

The owner of Fisher Florist, George Fisher, is concerned he’ll have to pay more if SMART is implemented.

"I can see my store paying $60 to $70 a week in extra cost," Fisher said.

Fisher said he can fill three to four of the city’s big green trash bins twice a week.

"I know what my taxes are. They’re not inexpensive. I don’t complain because I do get fire, police and garbage pickup," Fisher said.

The idea is to provide an incentive to reduce trash and increase recycling. New London Mayor Michael Passero called it a way to preserve curbside pickup without increasing taxes.

Right now people "are paying for other people’s irresponsibility," Passero said.

DEEP is working with a company called WasteZero and they crunched numbers that said the city currently spends about $2.25 million on solid waste disposal. With a SMART program in place, they said the city could save up to $700,000 a year by lessening solid waste disposal and from bag revenue.

The money saved would be used toward other expenses the city has, according to Passero.

A 33-gallon bag would cost $1.00.

Every user that has curbside pickup would have to pay. Passero said 40 percent of properties in New London are tax exempt.

"That’s the beauty of the system. We’re talking about schools, firehouses, every tax-exempt property," Passero said.

WasteZero data shows the average household in New London spends about $247 on waste. With a SMART program, WasteZero estimates that household only spending $211, which equals the total price of taxes and the purchase of the official New London trash bags.

"I’m a little iffy on it," said New London resident Melissa Couture. She wants to hear more about it before making up her mind, adding the current process in place isn’t maintained.

Frank McLaughlin’s company owns 55 rental units in New London and he's worried about where the responsibility falls if tenants don’t comply.

"Obviously, the easy target is the landlord," McLaughlin said.

McLaughlin wants to see the city explore other alternatives.

New London was awarded more than $50,000 in grants from DEEP. Passero said the city council will have to consider approving the use of the grant funds so New London can further explore and design a program specific to New London.

Speaker Paul Ryan spoke briefly after the House passed a bill to continue funding the government. He implored Democratic senators to pass the bill to avoid a shutdown.  

A 15-year-old girl missing in Hamden is in need of her medicine, police said. 

Hamden police responded to Paradise Avenue regarding an "emotionally disturbed person" around 8 a.m. on Thursday. 

Ilyanna Mitchell had left her home through her bedroom window and according to her guardian, she needs to take her medication. 

A silver alert was issued for Mitchell. Hamden police have conducted a search in the area and used K-9 units but Mitchell has not been located. 

Mitchell is 5 feet 8 inches and weighs around 170 pounds. She has burgundy and brown hair and could be wearing an olive green jacket with black shoes. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Hamden Police at (203) 230-4000.

A woman stabbed the person she is in a relationship with during an argument in Wallingford on Thursday, police said. 

Police were informed a Wallingford resident was being treated at the hospital for a stab wound early in the morning. 

The victim told police the stabbing happened inside an apartment building on Center Street and police located 23-year-old Dominique Farr at a relative's home in Meriden. 

Police said Farr was dating the victim and during an argument, she stabbed the victim with a knife in the lower abdomen. 

The injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. 

Farr was charged with assault and her bond was set at $75,000.