New Haven’s new superintendent begins work Monday, marking the start of a new era for the school district.

The hiring of Dr. Carol Birks was a controversial one that prompted outcry from the community. At a November meeting parents exchanged verbal jabs with Board of Education members. Many parents said the community wasn’t involved enough in the selection and that it was “political connections” to New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, not Birks’ qualifications in education, that led to her getting the job.

Despite the outcry, the board still approved Birks’ appointment. She comes from the Hartford Public Schools district where she served as an administrator.

Monday she has a busy schedule that includes touring Wilbur Cross High School.

Democrats have a 10-point advantage over Republicans when registered voters were asked this month who they want controlling Congress, NBC News reported.

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that congressional preference in the 2018 midterm elections was 50 percent for Democrats and 40 percent for Republicans. The difference is four points higher than in January's poll, though the change is within the margin of error.

The poll also found that President Donald Trump's job approval rating ticked up four points since the last poll to 43 percent, while 53 percent of adults disapprove of the president's handling of the job.

"Trumpism may well help Donald Trump in his 2020 election, but the buck stops there — which is a flashing red light for Republicans in 2017 or 2018," said Democratic pollster Fred Yang, who conducted the poll with Republican pollster Bill McInturff.

Franklin Gray was asleep in his apartment in Southeast D.C. when his niece jolted him awake. There was a fire, she said. They woke up her four young children, and Gray rushed to the living room window. Across the courtyard, in the building attached to theirs, a firefighter on a ladder was rescuing a man from a second-floor window as smoke poured out around him.

The man rescued from the fire early Jan. 18 suffered serious injuries, and 19 residents had to evacuate the building and go out into the bitter cold.

The stove in his apartment sparked the blaze, a fire department spokesman said. Neighbors suspect he had been using his stove for heat, as many residents of the Cascade Park Apartments do despite the safety risks.

Two months later, residents of the complex in the 4200 block of 6th Street SE say the heat in their buildings still doesn't work and their apartments are still so cold they use multiple space heaters, bundle their children up for bed and boil pots of water to try to stay warm. Gray said he uses the stove for heat himself.

"We use the stove all the time," Gray said. "If you go in the kitchen and you have to put on shoes and socks, you do it."

Spring can’t come soon enough for many D.C. residents. As windchills dropped to single digits this winter, hundreds of households have suffered through the season without adequate heat.

Despite growing prosperity in many parts of the city, the number of District residents who reported trouble meeting their basic need to stay warm at home climbed steadily over the past five years, city records show. In 2013, members of 72 households told the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) that their landlords failed to provide adequate heat. In 2017, that number more than quadrupled, at 305 households. A housing lawyer and a neighborhood leader said they suspect that many more cases go unreported.

Residents of Ward 7 and Ward 8, the poorest parts of the city, were more than eight times more likely than residents of Ward 2 and Ward 3, the richest parts of the city, to report having inadequate heat at home last year.

In apartments where critics say landlords break rules that the city fails to enforce, families shiver.

"This is a frustrating situation because so many people are affected," said Gray, a 58-year-old who works in retail. He shares his three-bedroom apartment with his niece and her four children, who are 10, 9, 7 and 4 years old.

Gray said his calls to the company that manages the Cascade Park Apartments, ResidentialONE, go unanswered. The company did not respond to multiple calls and emails by News4.

DCRA told News4 that residents can expect relief. The agency says it issued building violations on Jan. 19 and 20, right after the fire, for failure to provide heat and other substandard housing conditions. The violations applied to three buildings in the complex, including Gray's building, but not to the building where the fire occurred. On March 7, inspectors checked the complex again and issued a notice of infraction because the problems had not been resolved. Fines of more than $12,000 are possible.

"Residents can be assured that our inspectors will continue to conduct additional inspections to determine if the violations have been abated," the agency said in a statement. "Also, we are enlisting our contractors to provide estimates on abatement costs for the unabated violations. DCRA will place a lien on the property for any abatement work."

The agency says it had not received any complaints this winter about a lack of heat in the complex. Information on previous complaints was not available.

Hours after the fire broke out at the Cascade Park Apartments, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Olivia Henderson held a community meeting. Henderson, who represents the area, had set up the meeting with city officials weeks earlier to discuss poor building conditions. She said some residents there told her they had not had consistent heat in their apartments for years. With limited affordable housing in the city, many residents have few other options but to stay.

"It’s very unacceptable," Henderson said. "You’re collecting all these tenants’ money. They should be able to live comfortably in their environment, and they’re definitely not able to do that now."

Neither she, nor the fire department spokesman, nor Cascade Park residents News4 spoke with knew the condition of the man who was hurt in the fire. Residents described him as a senior citizen.

Henderson said she suspects the actual number of households living without sufficient heat is much higher than the DCRA data shows. She said several residents told her they never reported the problem.

"They fear they’re going to get in trouble with the landlords. They’re afraid of retaliation," she said.

Lawyer Evan Henley, who represents low-income tenants in housing conditions cases, also said he believes that many more D.C. residents are coping without adequate heat than the official data reflects. He said he fields a steady stream of complaints, and it’s hard to hold landlords accountable.

DCRA says no-heat complaints are investigated immediately and a landlord cited for failure to provide adequate heat has one day to resolve the problem before being issued a violation and potentially fined $1,000.

Henley said that in his experience with Legal Aid Society clients over the past four years, the response is different. When someone does file a no-heat complaint with DCRA, it can take days for an inspector to come, he said.

Once an inspector does come, the temperature found can be misleading, Henley said. In some cases, a room will meet the winter requirement of at least 68 degrees in the daytime, but come nightfall, the temperature will plummet much lower. Or, if heat in an apartment works sporadically, an inspector might visit when it happens to be working.

If an inspector finds that a landlord is at fault, DCRA often gives them leeway in responding to the problem, Henley said.

"Even a tenant who does call DCRA might not receive much redress," he said.

DCRA, in contrast, says inspectors respond to no-heat complaints on the same day and conduct thorough evaluations.

The fire in the Cascade Park Apartments occurred just days before a majority of the members of the D.C. Council introduced a bill to split DCRA into two separate agencies: the Department of Buildings and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. Critics say DCRA fails to protect rental residents and punish landlords who do not make needed repairs. The agency says they have made advances since Mayor Muriel Bowser took office in 2015.

"After a year of oversight hearings, it has become abundantly clear that DCRA is an agency in need of major change," D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said in a statement Jan. 23. "DCRA needs to do a better job – for both residents and businesses. I believe breaking up and reorganizing the agency is the best way."

At a hearing Oct. 2, Mendelson asked DCRA Director Melinda Bolling about how landlords who are issued housing violations can appeal fines.

"How long can I drag this out before I have to pay?" he inquired, as if he were a landlord, Washington City Paper first reported and video of the hearing shows.

"It could be years," Bolling replied.

DCRA is fighting the proposal to split the agency.

"Under the Bowser administration, DCRA has made some significant improvements in our quality of service and transparency of operations to better serve District residents and businesses," a statement said. "As such, we believe the current structure of the agency is appropriate and must be allowed to continue to operate as is."

Henley, the housing lawyer, said he would like to see DCRA split. It’s ineffective, and its mission is too broad, he said.

"I think it’s important that a landlord does face consequences for subjecting a tenant to poor conditions, and I just don’t see that happening," Henley said.

At the Cascade Park Apartments, Gray said he was pleased to hear DCRA said they would restore heat and put a lien on the property.

"You have to start somewhere," he said.

Two students were arrested after a potential threat against Wolcott schools was discovered on used tablet Friday, according to Wolcott police.

A father went into the Wolcott Police Department to report that while he was going through his son's tablet, he noticed past threats made by the previous tablet owner. The threats were made during the school walkout on March 14, according to police.

Police said a detective immediately contacted the two students who made the threats, and their parents.

Both students admitted to making the threats, police said. The students said the threats were made only as a joke.

Both students were arrested, police said. They have a date in juvenile court. They will not be in school until the case is settled.

According to police, neither student had access to weapons, and their parents were fully cooperative.

The Wolcott Police Department wants to remind parents and their children that by making threatening comments, even as a joke, they are subject to arrest.

A neighborhood in New Britain was without power after a house fire Sunday night.

Eversource told NBC Connecticut they had to turn off the electricity to an area on Rocky Hill Avenue around 11 p.m. while fire crews tried to put out a house fire.

The home suffered significant damage.  It's unclear if anyone was hurt.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart is set to announce what’s next in her campaign for statewide office Monday.

In January the Republican announced she was exploring a run for governor. She plans to announce her future plans at noon at Central Connecticut State University. She will also livestream the announcement on her Facebook page.

Stewart, who was elected mayor of New Britain in 2013, is serving her third term. Stewart has received crossover support throughout her three terms serving as New Britain’s mayor.

Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2018 and several people have come forward and declared they are running or have formed an exploratory committee.

Enfield police are searching for someone who may be seriously injured after a large amount of blood was found at an apartment building Sunday.

Police said they were called to the Countrywood Apartments off Woodgate Circle for a report of blood in the hallway near an apartment door. Officers forced their way into the apartment and found more blood.

Investigators found two people at the hospital that were involved, but based on the amount of blood police are searching for a third person, a man, who may have been seriously injured.

The two people found at the hospital have been treated and released. Police are still trying to find out what happened to the third person.

State Police Major Crimes is assisting with the investigation.

Anyone with information should contact Enfield Police.

The NBC Connecticut meteorologists are tracking the chance for some accumulating snow Wednesday.

Based on current models, it appears snow will hit the state Wednesday afternoon and into Wednesday night.

While it does not look like a blockbuster storm, accumulation is likely, and the timing could create issues for after-school activities Wednesday and possibly force school delays Thursday.

The snow won’t stick around - with temperatures expected in the high 40s at the end of the week, everything should melt quickly.

Stay with NBC Connecticut for more details as the storm gets closer.

For your daily forecast, click here.

Liberal Democrats have used language like "horrible," "shameful" and "one of the worst" to describe one of their own members of Congress, the moderate, anti-abortion Rep. Dan Lipinski.

The suburban Chicago Democrat is facing a challenge in Tuesday's congressional primary from Marie Newman, a nonprofit executive who has lined up endorsements from Planned Parenthood, MoveOn.org, Indivisible, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and well-known former advisers to Barack Obama, among others.

Democratic centrists, including the Blue Dog Coalition, support Lipinski.

"I've done 25 or 30 races over the years, and I've never seen a party turn away from a lawmaker like this," Thom Serafin, a former Democratic consultant who is now an independent political analyst, told NBC News.

Lipinski voted against the Affordable Care Act and declined to endorse Obama's re-election in 2012. A pro-Lipinski mailer featured Obama's image, infuriating Obama administration alums.

The district is considered safe for Democrats in the general election.

President Donald Trump made his most direct — and explicit — criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation in a tweet this weekend that contained at least five inaccuracies or distortions, NBC News reported.

Trump wrote: “The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime. It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!”

In fact, the probe started after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey and Mueller was appointed as special counsel by the No. 2 official in Trump’s Justice Department.

The Mueller probe has since charged 19 different individuals with crimes.

Although Trump says there was “no collusion,” Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have concluded they "found no evidence of it." Democrats on the panel disagree.

Both Democrats and Republicans have said the original inquiry began with George Papadopoulos’ conversation with an Australian diplomat about Russian dirt on Hillary Clinton, not with information from the Steele dossier.

Finally, the FISA court order to begin surveillance on Carter Page took place after Page left the campaign.

Former state representative David Alexander was arrested Saturday and charged with assaulting an elderly family member during an argument, according to Enfield police.

According to the police report, Enfield police responded to Alexander’s home on Pearl Street around 8:30 a.m. Saturday. There they found the victim, who was identified as a family member, with swollen wrists and blood on her head. It was later determined that she had two broken wrists and required three staples in her head. The victim told police she was hurt when she slipped and fell backward.

A witness in the home told police he Alexander and the victim were arguing and that he thought Alexander had been drinking all night. The witness told police he did not think Alexander would assault the victim and said be thought she may have been trying to restrain David which caused her to fall.

Police said in one area of the home, police found flood on the floor, a smashed picture, and a smashed mug.

The report states that Alexander initially claimed the victim slipped backwards and fell, but while in custody he told police threw his mug and hit the victim in the head. He was arrested and charged with second-degree assault on an elderly victim and disorderly conduct.

He was issued a $10,000 bond and is due in court on Monday.

This is not the first time Alexander has been arrested. In 2016 he was charged with assaulting his father. In 2015, he issued an apology in 2015 after he was charged with operating under the influence in Windsor Locks. After the Windsor Locks charges, he was removed from his leadership roles in the General Assembly.

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Two people face charges after troopers seized marijuana and several handguns from a car on Sunday afternoon during a traffic stop in Danbury, according to Connecticut State Police.

Police said a trooper from Troop A-Southbury saw a car traveling at a speed of 81 mph in a 55 mph area on I-84 westbound near exit 2. They stopped the Ford Explorer.

According to police, while talking to the driver, troopers noticed a strong scent of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle. A passenger said that he had smoked marijuana and that he had "blunts in the car," police said.

Troopers, Danbury police officers and state police K9 Favor searched the car during the investigation, State Police said.

They found blunts, a small bag of marijuana and three firearms from inside the vehicle, police said. One of the firearms had the serial number scratched off.

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Two of the passengers, 37-year-old Robert Ruiz and 24-year-old Hector Martinez, were taken into custody and transported to Troop A, police said. The driver was issued an infraction for speeding and was released.

Ruiz was charged with carrying a dangerous weapon, illegal possession of weapons in a motor vehicle and alteration of firearm identification, according to police, and was released after posting $5,000 bond.

Martinez was charged with illegal possession of weapons in a motor vehicle and carrying a dangerous weapon, police said. Martinez was released after posting $2,5000 bond.

Both are scheduled to appear in Danbury Superior Court on April 3, 2018.

The Sacramento SPCA on Sunday was housing nearly 300 rabbits seized from a home in nearby Folsom last week.

Police and animal control officers responded to a house on Pine Grove Way in Folsom on Friday afternoon, found 54 rabbits and transported them to the SPCA. Later that evening, they collected 232 more rabbits from the home and took them to the shelter.

Officers seized the animals because city code in Folsom allows only two rabbits per household, and the living conditions for the rabbits were unsanitary, Folsom police said.

"There was definitely a smell," next-door neighbor Jake Allen-Barfield told televison station KCRA of Sacramento.

The SPCA is now seeking supplies and cash donations to help care for the rabbits. One of their tweets used the hashtag #bunnyoverload2018.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Students in high schools across West Hartford met with senators on Monday to discuss an end to gun violence at schools.

This event was hosted by senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal who led the discussion. Juniors and seniors at Conrad High School and student leaders at Hall High School, totalling around 800 students, were in attendance.

"This is what our world has come to," Conrad High School senior Yuneli Roman told NBC Connecticut. "I feel like kids can’t change it, or no one will really try and change it. It’s up to the government to change it, and they’re not going to do it. We need this generation to start standing up for themselves."

This meeting comes almost a week after thousands of Connecticut students participated in school walkouts. 

Students explained why they wanted to stop gun violence and challenge the idea of teachers having guns.

Blumenthal urged students to take it a step further and take their opinions to the polls by voting on gun control.

Those who didn't want to attend the event waited in the cafeteria during the 90- minute discussion.

A 20-year-old Hartford man is dead after a shooting on Westland Street in Hartford Monday afternoon.

The shooting happened around 12:20 p.m. in the area of 188 Westland Street. Hartford Police Deputy Chief Brian Foley said victim was shot multiple times. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital where he was pronounced dead. 

The victim has been identified as Tyrell Spence of Vien Street in Hartford.

Police said they recovered critical evidence, video and witness statements from the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information should contact Lt. Cicero of the Major Crimes Division at 860-757-4179.

An East Hartford man is accused of robbing a GameStop in Newington at gunpoint on Friday morning.

Newington Police said they were called to the scene of an armed robbery at the GameStop on 2997 Berlin Turnpike around 10:30 a.m.

The store employee reported the suspect, who was later identified as 19-year-old Nicholas Velazquez of East Hartford, entered the store and showed a silver handgun.

The employee claimed Velazquez announced he was robbing the store and demanded money, police said. Velazquez then tied the employee face down behind the counter using zip ties.

According to police, Velazquez made off with cash and merchandise.

The employee was able to free himself from the zip ties and exit the store, police said. Once outside he told witnesses to contact police.

After Velazquez left the store, police said he fled north along Berlin Turnpike. He was later found by police hiding in brush just north of the plaza.

Velazquez was charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree unlawful restraint, third-degree larceny, and second-degree breach of peace. According to police, he was detained on a $100,000 bond.

He will appear in New Britain Superior Court on March 19.

A Florida woman is accused of fatally stabbing her mother and gouging the 55-year-old woman's eyeballs out during a drug-fueled attack, according to an arrest report.

Camille Balla, 32, was arrested Friday on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Francisca Monterio-Balla, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report.

Deputies said when they arrived at the Royal Palm Beach home the two women shared, they found Bella, who appeared "frantic," sitting on the sidewalk and covered in blood.

"I killed my mother and I need help," Balla told the deputies, according to the report.

Inside the home, deputies found blood-splattered walls throughout the house and discovered Monterio-Balla's body in the garage. Monterio-Balla's eyes had been "removed from her head and placed on a nearby cardboard box," deputies said, according to the report.

Balla told deputies she had smoked marijuana but she suspected it was laced with Flakka or PCP, the report said.

While first responders were on the scene, she reportedly mumbled, screamed and ran around before falling to the ground. Deputies said Balla repeatedly yelled "I'm a murderer!" according to the report.

Deputies also found several handwritten notes in the garage that had "religious-themed written messages related to clearing of the soul," the report said.

Balla was treated for lacerations before she was booked into jail where she remained without bond Monday, records showed. Attorney information wasn't available.

President Donald Trump has added a longtime Washington lawyer to his legal team who has publicly promoted a conspiracy theory that officials in the FBI and Justice Department are plotting to frame the president with a "false crime" in the Russia investigation.

Joseph diGenova, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, recently joined Trump's legal team, Jay Sekulow, one of the president's lawyers, confirmed to NBC News Monday.

"I have worked with Joe for many years and have full confidence that he will be a great asset in our representation of the president," Sekulow said in a statement.

Stephen Hawking may have passed away last week, but he left behind a final scientific groundwork that could lead the way to the discovery of parallel universes, according to reports.

Hawking and co-author Thomas Hertog submitted the most recent draft of their paper on March 4, just 10 days before Hawking died Wednesday at 76 years old.

“A Smooth Exit from Eternal Inflation?” was first submitted in July 2017 and can be found in Cornell University’s online distribution system for research papers, arxiv.org. It is being considered for publication by a "leading journal," according to the U.K. Times. 

The paper discusses a "multiverse" theory of the universe that suggests there are an infinite number of parallel universes in addition to the one we live in, according to the Times. Hawking and Hertog propose an alternate model of the theory.

Their paper also suggests that our universe will eventually die out as stars lose their energy, CNBC reported.

Hawking had never won a Nobel Prize for his studies. Hertog, who works at KU Leuven University in Belgium, told the Times that Hawking "should have won" a Nobel prize with past nominations and "now he never can."

The award isn't given out to scientists posthumously.

More than $4,500 worth of copper was taken from the former Wyre Wynd in Jewett City, police said. 

The copper theft investigation began on March 10 after break-ins were reported at the former industrial business located at 77 Anthony Street.

Another break-in happened on March 18, where police said a sawzall was used to cut  5,000 pounds of 1 inch 60 strand copper cable from several areas of the building, state police said. 

The building sustained more than $30,000 worth of estimated damages following the most recent break-in, polices said. 

Based on tracks found in the snow, police believe the suspects parked a truck on Anthony Street and got on to the property through a gate.

Troopers said the suspects apparently used an on-site forklift to reach the copper cables which were about 25 feet above the floor.

Anyone who may have any information is asked to call Jewett City Resident Trooper Russ Cote at 860-848-6500 ext. 5023 or text TIP 711 with any information to 274637. All calls/texts will remain confidential.