It appears that the #HamFam has its newest member.

Curling has been all the rage at the Winter Olympics thus far, and a big part of the sport’s appeal has been the presence of curling duo Becca and Matt Hamilton. While the brother-sister combo wasn’t able to medal in mixed doubles curling, they do have a high-profile fan.

Houston Texans defensive end JJ Watt, also a native of Wisconsin, tweeted out his admiration for the sport of curling over the weekend:

Matt Hamilton saw the tweet, and naturally had to make sure that Watt was aware of their shared Wisconsin roots, and a bromance bloomed on social media:

Other curlers, including Tyler George, also welcomed Watt to the fan club on social media. 

One person was taken to the hospital after a crash that closed North Street in Milford Sunday.

Police said a car struck a utility pole on North Street near Eisenhower Park around 6 p.m. The driver was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The crash took down wires and caused power outages in the area. The road was closed for several hours while crews made repairs.

No charges have been filed. The crash remains under investigation.

Police have captured three suspects in an armed robbery in Vernon after a pursuit through multiple towns overnight.

Newington police confirmed a robbery investigation out of Vernon led to a suspect search near the PC Richards on Webster Street near the Berlin Turnpike (Route 5) early Monday.

According to Vernon police, three suspects were involved in an armed robbery in the parking lot of the Spare Time bowling alley just before 11 p.m. Sunday. The suspects, who showed a gun during the robbery, were seen fleeing the area in a vehicle.

A short time later a Connecticut State Police trooper spotted the vehicle on Route 30 in Vernon and followed it onto I-84 west. State police attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled into Newington on the Berlin Turnpike. The suspects eventually crashed on Webster Street.

At that point, two of the suspects were captured. The third fled on foot but was eventually tracked down with help from a police K9.

Connecticut State Police, Newington Police, Wethersfield Police and Berlin Police all responded to assist with the suspect search.

The two suspects arrested on Webster Street have been identified as 19-year-old Joshua Dionne and 18-year-old Jerris Holloway, both of Hartford. They were each charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree forgery, larceny, possession of marijuana, and second-degree threatening. Bond was set at $250,000 each.

The investigation is ongoing.

Police have arrested a driver accused of fleeing from police in Ledyard and crashing into a pole in Norwich, knocking out power to around 900 people.

Authorities confirmed the car crashed into a pole on Laurel Hill Avenue (Route 12) around 10:45 p.m. The road is partially closed while crews work to make repairs.

Ledyard police said the incident began in their town when police attempted to stop a suspicious vehicle in the business district of Gales Ferry. The driver took off speeding northbound on Route 12 and crashed in Norwich.

The driver, identified as 38-year-old Derrick Helme, suffered non-life threatening injuries and was taken to Backus Hospital for treatment. Charges are pending against him, police said.

Norwich Public Utilities said Monday morning that the downed pole was affecting about 900 of their customers. The company said that power was restored just before 8:30 a.m. 

Crews continue to make repairs to the pole.

Laurel Hill Avenue is open but there are still detours in place. Expect delays traveling through the area between Water Street and Summer Street.

When you're training and working with the same people every day, romantic sparks are bound to fly. In honor of Valentines Day, check out these Olympic athlete couples that show there's more than just snow and ice in the air in Pyeongchang this year. 

Elana Meyers Taylor and Nic Taylor, Bobsled

Two-time Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor met her husband Nic Taylor through the sport of bobsled in 2011. Taylor even proposed to Meyers Taylor on the podium of the 2013 World Championships. In 2014, the couple got married in a bobsled-themed wedding, with nutrition-based vows and bobsled training innuendos. 

Meyers Taylor explained how much her relationship with Taylor means not only in her sport but in her personal life.

"He has pushed for me several times as a brakeman on my four-man sled. He serves as my best friend, teammate, coach, sports psych, mechanic, sounding board and everything in between," Meyers Taylor told NBC Olympics.

The couple will be looking to secure gold medals together in the Winter Olympics this month.

Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim, Figure Skating 
Figure skating partners Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim first met through their coach, Delilah Sappenfield, in April 2012. The relationship blossomed after Scimeca Knierim ended her figure skating partnership with Ivan Dimitrov. 

The two figure skaters had immediate chemistry and teamed up to win the U.S. National Title in 2015. They were married a year later in 2016 with Sappenfield as an officiant.

Scimeca Knierim credits her husband for supporting her throughout her career and through a life-threatening sickness on the morning of their wedding. She had been up all night vomiting into a toilet while Knierim held her hair back.

"If it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have been able to survive or find out the problem, honestly," Scimeca Knierim told NBC OlympicTalk last year. 

With the help of her husband and family, Scimeca Knierim was able to recover and is now stronger than ever before.

"It's kind of a blessing, I think because now we don't take our training and lives for granted. We're just excited for the future and grateful the worst is behind us." Scimeca Knierim said.

The Knierims are the first married couple to compete in skating pairs at an Olympic Games since 1998.

Jamie Greubel Poser and Christian Poser, Bobsled
Team USA's Jamie Greubel Poser and Germany's Christian Poser are competing for different countries in Pyeongchang, and their love has overcome a language and distance barrier.

The couple met at a World Cup Race in 2012. At first, they couldn't even talk to each other, as Greubel Poser didn't know German and Poser didn't know English. 

They used Google Translate to communicate, and were married in 2014 after the Sochi Olympics.

Greubel Poser relies heavily on technology to communicate with her husband throughout the year and sometimes goes months without seeing him in person.

"In the very beginning, when we would be talking or catching up I'd have to be sitting down at my computer or opening up Skype to making sure I had a good connection," Greubel Poser told NBC Olympics.

They both hope to reach the podium in their second Olympics and understand the sacrifice needed in the relationship to make their dreams come true.

"It works because we get it. I don't have to justify or explain why I'm doing things. Because we are both in it and going after the same things, it just works." Greubel Poser said. 

Jamie Anderson and Tyler Nicholson, Snowboarding
Jamie Anderson, who won her second gold medal in the women's slopestyle on Monday, and Canadian Tyler Nicholson are ready to take on the slopes of Pyeongchang together.

The two snowboarders met in a Canadian bar and became friends five years ago. They just recently celebrated their three-year anniversary. 

Anderson calls her boyfriend a huge inspiration to her and one of the snowboarders she talks to the most.

"He is very supportive and a big part of my life. We push and train each other and it makes it that much more fun," Anderson told NBC Olympics.

Anderson will look to defend her slopestyle title while Nicholson hopes to leave a lasting mark in his first Olympic games in Pyeongchang. 

Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Figure Skating

Figure skaters Madison Chock and Evan Bates found out that their relationship with each other took some time to grow. They went on their first date when Chock was only 16 years old but it wasn’t until they paired up as figure skating partners in 2011 that signs of love began to show. 

Chock and Bates have won two U.S. silver medals, a World Team title, and gold in the U.S. Figure Skating Championship. They made their relationship official about a year ago.

Chock feels that her romance with Bates has had a positive effect on their skating relationship as well. 

“We’ve always gotten along so well," Chock told NBC Olympics. "Skating together is something that we love doing, and we love doing it together. Now we’re together on and off the ice and it makes it even more powerful. It feels completely genuine and real.” 

The duo is looking to take home gold for the U.S. in Pyeongchang and show the judges the incredible chemistry they share both on and off the ice. 

Mariah Bell and Romain Ponsart, Figure Skating
Figure skater Mariah Bell started dating French skater Romain Ponsart two years ago.

Bell, a 2017 World Championship bronze medalist, is looking to secure her first medal in the Winter Olympics this year and says her boyfriend is one of her greatest influences in her sport. 

“He trains with me every day and always pushes and motivates me to be better," Bell told NBC Olympics. "Since he skates also he can understand me so well because he is doing the same thing as me every day.” 

While Ponsart won’t be competing in Pyeongchang, he will be in the stands cheering on Bell as her number one fan.

There are lane closures on I-395 southbound in Norwich due to a tractor-trailer fire.

State police confirmed the fire just south of exit 18. Fire crews on scene confirm one lane of traffic is getting by.

Drivers should expect delays in the area.

No other details were immediately available.

Check back for updates.

Four family members, including a 9-year-old girl, died when their small airplane crashed in Agua Dulce, Calif., on Sunday, officials said.

The accident was reported at 30511 Briggs Rd. at 10:54 a.m., according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Four people were dead on arrival; all four victims were aboard the plane when it went down.

Authorities say the five-seater plane was flying back to the Van Nuys airport from Henderson, Nev.

The victims were identified as Tom Hastings, 65; his daughter Amber Hill, 27; her husband Jacob Hill, 25; and Amber's daughter Madison Hastings-Saxelby, 9. Amber's brother, Jake Hastings, identified the family members he lost.

"I just know they're in a better place and there's nothing we can do to change it," Jake Hastings told NBC4.

Jake Hastings said his father built the Cirrus VK-30 from a kit he received. Of the 50 that were produced, only 9 were built, including his.

He started building his plane in 1990 upon Amber's birth, but it would be nine years before the plane would finally take off, in a family flight to Las Vegas.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

A Norwalk resident was stabbed several times during a home invasion in November and police have arrested three suspects.

Police arrested 22-old Luke Sweeney, 23-year-old Joseph Ponger and Michael Maiorino Friday in connection with a home invasion on Midwood Drive.

Police said they received a 911 call around 1 a.m. on Nov. 23 after three masked men broke into the residence and viciously assaulted a resident while he was in bed.

When officers responded, they found a male victim with several stab and slash wounds and he was transported by ambulance to the Norwalk Hospital.

The assailants had fled from the home and police made the arrests Friday.

Sweeney, Ponger and Maiorino were charged with home invasion, first-degree assault and conspiracy.

Bond was set at $500,000.

A Vernon home was damaged by a fire that broke out Sunday night, and one firefighter had to be checked out at the hospital after an injury during the call.

The flames were spotted just before 8 p.m. at a home on Kenneth Drive.

The fire started in the garage and torched rooms nearby. Thankfully the family who lives in the home, a couple, a child and a dog, were out at the time.

“It would have potentially been different if people had been at home. So very lucky the residents weren’t at home,” said Vernon Fire Chief Stephen Eppler.

Cell phone video captured the intense flames that raced through part of this home in Vernon. The family and the neighbors told NBC Connecticut they were stunned by how quickly this fire grew.

Firefighters rushed to douse the flames. 

One firefighter did take a hit, knocked over by a hose stream.

“We had one firefighter who basically had an injury on scene and was taken to the hospital to be checked out as a precaution. He has since been released,” Eppler said.

No other injuries were reported.

Officials said the unseasonable weather was actually a help, with temperatures in the 40s and a light rain falling.

“It probably would have been much worse if it had been snow. The snow and the cold conditions we’ve gotten over the past few weeks. We always worry about freezing conditions just in terms of ice on the roads,” Eppler said.

Firefighters said the garage was destroyed and at least two rooms were damaged, but many of the family’s belongings were saved.

Neighbors told NBC Connecticut they are a tight-knit community and they will help to make sure the family receives the help they need.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

A 40-year-old Granby man has been charged with the attempted murder of his parents after the victims were found with stab wounds.

Police said they responded to the call at a home on Laurel Drive around 3 a.m. and found two victims. Both were conscious and transported to Saint Francis Hospital for treatment, where they were listed in stable condition late Monday morning.

A suspect, identified as 40-year-old Christopher Rich, of Laurel Drive in Granby, was taken into custody outside the home. He was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree assault and attempted murder.

Police said Rich is the son of the two victims. Investigators said no one else was involved and there is no danger to the public.

Rich is being held on a $500,000 bond and is due in court Tuesday.

Neighbors say it's unusual to see police on their quiet street.

Wooster School in Danbury has started a big project by creating a tiny house on their campus as a class opportunity for its students.

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These 100 to 400-square foot "tiny" houses are all over TV and rising in popularity as a sustainable living option across the country.

Kim Gerardi, Wooster's Makerspace and Theater teacher, saw this project as more than just a TV trend, but a learning experience for Wooster students.

“I wanted the students to explore something they see on reality television and to look at the different sides of the tiny house movement. The layers of the learning involved -- from the building process, determining and adding the utilities, and then the interior objects. I thought it could be a rich curriculum that we could really sink our teeth into,” Gerardi said in a statement.

This project makes Wooster one of the first high schools in the country to add it to their curriculum. Students taking this class have already made great progress. There is now a framed-in tiny house that can be seen on their campus.

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Different courses offer students with the ability to learn about all aspects of creating a tiny house. Classes include 3-D design, architectural studies, and an art intensive.

Students are a few months into the project and are finishing up the construction framing. The roof, doors, and windows will be done in a few weeks, according to Gerardi.

The next step for students is to figure out if it will run on electricity or solar power and how to get a source of water for the house.

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What will this tiny house be used for once it's finished?

Some ideas include, "a new student center; visiting or new faculty live there for a month and write about it; an Senior Independent Study experience - either living in it on the road or in place; a spirit truck to sell Wooster Wear and concessions; a marketing ‘Wooster on Wheels’ vehicle; a food truck; or a research center on top of Tiedemann Field,” Gerardi said in a statement.

This project will be ongoing once the school year ends, and will focus on sustainable living and what goes into that. Gerardi said it's “more than just a passing fad, but rather a movement.”

Two people are arrested after the Norwich Police Department carried out a search and seizure warrant at a Norwich home and found over 650 bags of fentanyl.

The search on Feb. 7 led to the arrest of 33-year-old Christopher Dubicki and 30-year-old Angela Ziroli.

During the search, detectives and officers said they took over 650 bags of fentanyl, packaging materials, five opiate pain pills, a police scanner, over $100 in cash, and two-way radios.

Two children were also living in the home at the time, according to police.

The warrant was granted after a several-month-long investigation of the two and their alleged sale of fentanyl in the area, police said.

Dubicki and Ziroli were charged with possession of fentanyl, possession of drug paraphernalia, and two counts of risk of injury to a minor, according to Norwich police.

Dubicki was held on a $10,000 bond and will appear in Norwich Superior Court on Feb. 22, according to Police. Ziroli was released on a $10,000 non-surety bond and given a court date on the same day.

The Norwich Narcotics Unit wants anyone with information regarding drug dealing to contact them at 860-886-5561 X3152. All calls will remain confidential.

Pedestrian safety is at the forefront of discussions in Watertown after two pedestrians were hit and killed on Main Street.

The Board of Police Commissioners will be gathering public comment on Wednesday, Feb. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Hemingway Municipal Center on Echo Lake Road.

The first pedestrian killed, a woman, died in September 2016 while crossing the street. On Feb. 23, 2018, Miratrip Ajro, known as Mike, was hit while getting into his car.

Following the woman’s death, police met with officials from the Department of Transportation to discuss what could be done to improve pedestrian safety.

Main Street (Route 63) is a state road, according to Deputy Police Chief Robert Desena. The DOT recommended adding crosswalk signs and restricting parking near crosswalks. Desena said police have also stepped up patrols in the area, paying close attention to speeding drivers or those parked too close to crosswalks.

Lauren Dassatti, owner of Sweet Pea’s Florist, said she thought it was a smart idea to gather more input from the public.

“We’ve been on Main Street for three years now and it’s crazy just trying to cross the street on a normal regular day, forget at nighttime when people are out drinking and things like that,” Dassatti said.

Dassatti said she hopes improvements are made sooner rather than later to protect pedestrians and shoppers along Main Street.

“I’m hoping that Mike’s passing does not go in vain. He was a wonderful man, very nice family, and I hope something will change because of that,” said Dassatti.

A Newington man has been arrested and charged with manslaughter after a head-on crash on Route 6 in Farmington in September that killed two people.

Police said 54-year-old Edward Brozynski, of Newington, was intoxicated and drove his Honda Accord into the opposite lane of Colt Highway, near Reservoir Road, at 11:45 p.m. on Sept. 14 and collided with a Mazda 3 sedan.

Four adults were in the Mazda including 66-year-old Benoit Boislard, and 66-year-old Rejean St. Pierre, both of Quebec, Canada, police said. Both victims were passengers in the Mazda and died from injuries, according to authorities.

Brozynski was charged with two counts of second-degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle, illegal operation of a motor vehicle without minimum insurance, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle and additional charges.

Bond was set at $275,000. He is due in court on Feb. 13.

The Farmington Fire Department received a donation of specially designed pet oxygen masks to make it easier to save the lives of family pets.

All five of the town's fire stations will be getting one of these kits, which were donated by the at-home pet service provider Canine Company.

Canine Company's mission is to get the pet oxygen masks to first responders in the areas where their clients live. Last year, the company donated more than 170 masks across New Jersey, New York, and New England states.

“Our company was founded by a family of pet lovers and our mission is to help other families keep their pets healthy, safe and happy. Our goal is to get these into the hands of first responders wherever our clients live so they are ready to handle an emergency involving family pets,” Renee Coughlin, of Canine Company, said in a statement.

An estimated 40,000 pets die from smoke inhalation across the United States each year. Pets are at a special risk during a fire because they're unable to get out without help.

The oxygen masks are cone-shaped and designed for a pet's snout. Each set includes masks in three sizes to fit the smallest of pets to the biggest.

"Pets are part of our everyday lives and part of our families. They provide companionship and are a fixture in homes across the country," Steve Hoffmann, the director of fire and rescue services, said in a statement. "One of the fire department's main strategic objectives is to save lives. These masks will allow us the ability to provide oxygen to pets as a result of a fire emergency or any other emergency where administration of oxygen would be beneficial to saving their lives."

Whether Connecticut installs tolls on its highways could end up being the major political story of the 2018 Regular Session of the General Assembly.

That decision could become an even harder one if President Donald Trump’s $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, or even some iteration of it becomes law.

The plan announced on Monday morning would require states to provide more money than ever before to guarantee a project’s completion, with significantly less cash being provided by the federal government.

"This Trump proposal is more about hedge funds than hard hats," Sen. Richard Blumenthal said while referring to the possibility that municipalities like states and cities would need to sell off assets like roads or bridges to a private investor, in order to raise the funds necessary for improvements. 

"Anyone here want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?" Blumenthal quipped.

In the past, the federal government would provide 80 percent of a given project’s cost, while the state or other agency, would cover the remaining 20. Blumenthal called that move, "a betrayal."

Construction trades in Connecticut view some parts of the bill favorably because it could pave the way for tolls, and possibly receive more bipartisan support than before, simply because the White House is sending a message that states must contribute more to pay for their own road improvements.

From President of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association Don Schubert’s point view, tolls could allow the state to raise revenue for both state and federally funded projects, opening up a second way to fund infrastructure.

"This plan is a strong signal to Connecticut that the state really needs to get its act together," Schubert said. 

Schubert added: "We need revenue-generating facilities to make this work and that’s tolls. And if Connecticut is just going to stand by and let this opportunity pass by for the next ten years, it’s going to be a tremendous opportunity lost for the state."

Police responded to a car crash at the corner of Blue Hills Avenue and Holcomb Street in Hartford on Monday night.

No other details were immeidately availalble.

NBC Connecticut is working to get more information.

The father of the 30-year-old man convicted in the New York and New Jersey bombings that injured dozens of people calls his son a "terrorist" in an exclusive interview with News 4 New York, and says the FBI let America down. 

Mohammad Rahami, father of Ahmad Khan Rahimi, told News 4 on Monday -- one day before his son was to be sentenced in the bombings -- that he personally contacted the FBI in 2014 with concerns that his son could be a terrorist. 

"After two months, they say, 'Your son is not doing any act like a terrorist,'" said Rahami. "I said, 'You sure he not doing anything?' He say, 'Yeah, is good news.'"

Ahmad Rahimi was convicted last October of planting two pressure-cooker bombs on New York City streets. Dozens of videos tracked his movements as he dragged the bombs in suitcases through Manhattan streets, and they also captured the explosion at 23rd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood that injured 30 people. The second bomb didn't detonate.

The government called it a miracle that nobody was killed by the explosive, which scattered ball bearings meant to serve as shrapnel.

Rahami said Monday that his son "did it as a terrorist... this is terrorist." 

He added, "My son, he did wrong, and the FBI did the wrong, too. The government is responsible for that reason. They have the power to stop the crime and they did not stop the crime." 

Rahami claims the FBI contacted him after the bombing to apologize for "not doing our job," and that he responded, "It's too late."

Rahami says his family has been harassed by people calling them terrorists. In response, "I say I did my job. I am the top of my family, I did my job. You have to go to the government as to why they did not stop this child." 

News 4 has reached out to the FBI for a response on Rahami's statements Monday. Previously, however, an FBI official told The Associated Press that Rahami "at no time" discussed his son's radicalization or potential interest in al-Qaida, the Taliban or their propaganda in his interviews with FBI agents. 

Rahami says his son is now remorseful.

"He said to me, 'I'm sorry,'" said Rahami. "He told me, 'Thank God I didn't kill anybody, that's good news for me.' I said, 'That's good news for me, too, you didn't kill anybody.'"

Prosecutors said Rahimi left his home before sunrise that day to plant a pipe bomb along the route of a Marine Corps charity race in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, an oceanside community. No one was injured in the explosion because the race had been delayed. It was then canceled.

Hours later, Rahimi went into Manhattan, where he was seen walking from Penn Station to the street locations where two bombs were placed.

The first bomb, hidden near a large trash bin, set off a blast that sent the 100-pound dumpster into the air, shattered windows, scattered bits of metal and caused people on the street to scream and flee the area.

A bomb at 27th Street was discovered and deactivated before it could explode. The following day, a homeless man and his friend alerted authorities after they found a backpack containing smaller bombs in a trash can near a train station in Elizabeth, New Jersey.