Police arrested a New London man after searching his house and said they found a marijuana grow operation in his apartment.

Officers executed a search warrant at an apartment at 239 Nautilus Drive on Friday and found 25 marijuana plants, 148 grams of harvested pot leaves, marijuana grow equipment and a digital scale inside.

Clem Ramsey, 35, of New London, was charged with breach of peace and threatening. 

Editor's note: Police previously said he was charged with operating a drug factory, cultivation of marijuana, second-degree reckless endangerment and interfering with an officer, but later said those charges are pending. 

The latest effort to come up with a male birth control pill has found a formulation that appears to be safe, researchers at the University of Washington said.

NBC News reported that Stephanie Page and her team are testing dimethandrolone undecanoate, a tweaked version of previous failed efforts to develop a male pill. Possibly the best hope yet for a non-permanent male contraceptive, it's being developed with funding from the National Institutes of Health.

But the experimental pill has at least one of the same problems that plague female birth control pills: it caused the men to gain weight. And after just a few weeks of testing, it’s also not yet clear how well it works.

Even though the researchers said they were “very excited” by the results, they haven’t been testing it long enough to show whether it decreases sperm production, and they haven’t shown whether it stops couples from conceiving.

A graduate of Lyme-Old Lyme High School was arrested after students reported receiving a message on Snapchat that said “no survivors,” according to officials. 

Victor Farrell, a 19-year-old from Lyme, was charged with second-degree breach of peace Tuesday night. 

The notice Supt. Ian Neviaser sent to the school community said some high school students reported that a recent graduate had posted “no survivors” on Snapchat. 

Several parents and students felt the message could have been referring to Lyme-Old Lyme High School and contacted the superintendent and police, according to state police. 

“While there was no direct threat, we did feel it necessary to contact the police who immediately responded to our concern. Through their investigation, the police have determined that there is no reason to believe that this statement presents a threat to our schools. That being said, the individual who posted this comment was arrested as a result of their behavior and is no longer allowed on school grounds,” the statement from Neviaser said. 

Farrell claimed that the post was “inadvertently sent” to several people and he had no “ill intent,” according to a news release from police. 

He was released on $500 bond and is due in court on April 5. 

The executive director of financial management for Hartford Public Schools has been placed on leave pending an investigation. 

School officials said Joanna Laiscell, the executive director of financial management, was placed on paid administrative leave Friday. 

“In the current matter, we are taking swift action to investigate and address concerns brought to the administration,” the statement says. “The school district will not have any further comments on this matter until a thorough investigation has been completed.” 

NBC Connecticut reached out to Laiscell and she said she has nothing to say about the Hartford Public Schools’ decision to place her on paid administrative leave and doesn’t know why they made that decision. 

No additional information was available. 

FBI Director Christopher Wray would never allow politics to affect how he runs the agency, he told NBC News in an exclusive interview in the wake of last week's controversial termination of Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.

"I am committed to doing things objectively and independently and by the book," Wray said. "I think that has to extend not just to our investigations, our intelligence analysis, but it also has to extend to personnel decisions and disciplinary decisions."

Noting he was not addressing the details of McCabe's termination, he said he was committed to keeping "political or partisan influence" out of the FBI's decision-making process.

McCabe was fired two days before he was set to retire and become eligible for his full pension, something McCabe said was done "to taint the FBI" following attacks on him from President Donald Trump.

The fourth nor'easter in three weeks pushed its way up the East Coast on Wednesday, bringing heavy, wet snow likely to knock out power across the region.

Power outages during frigid winter months can endanger lives. Being prepared and knowing what to do before, during and after a power outage can help you and your family stay safe and comfortable.

From stocking you emergency preparedness kit to avoiding carbon monoxide poisoning from portable generators, below are safety tips from Ready.gov and the American Red Cross to help you prepare.

BEFORE A POWER OUTAGE

• Build or restock your emergency preparedness kit, including a flashlight, batteries, cash, and first aid supplies.
• Charge cell phones and any battery powered devices. Make sure you have alternative charging methods for your phone or any device that requires power.
• Consider purchasing a generator to power critical equipment during a blackout. Choose a generator that produces more amps than you need – because some machines draw up to 3 times as much power when starting up, and others lose efficiency over time. For information on how to choose a generator, check out this guide from the American Red Cross.
• If you have a generator, install carbon monoxide alarms in central locations on every floor of your home. This will help provide early warning of accumulating carbon monoxide.
• To keep your food from spoiling, freeze water-filled plastic containers ahead of the storm and place them inside your fridge when the power goes out. Filling a cooler with ice to store your refrigerated goods can also help keep your food cold for a longer period of time during a prolonged blackout. 
• Items such as fruit bars, peanut butter, nuts and trail mixes, crackers and canned juices are great to stockpile.
• Fill your bathtub with water for sanitary purposes. Bathtub water should not be used for drinking. Have plenty of bottled drinking water in case your water supply get contaminated. 
• Keep your car’s gas tank full as gas stations rely on electricity to power their pumps. It is also worth getting extra containers and filling them up with gas. If the power is out for an extended period of time, gas supply may be limited and service station lines could be long.  

DURING A POWER OUTAGE

• Only use flashlights for emergency lighting as candles can cause fires.
• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. An unopened refrigerator will keep food cold for about 4 hours. A full freezer will keep the temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours if it is half full). Eat the perishable food from the refrigerator first and then use the food from the freezer. Save you non-perishable dry goods to eat after using food from the refrigerator and freezer.
• If it appears that the power will be out for more than 24 hours, prepare a cooler with ice (or snow!) for your freezer items. Keep the cooler in a dry, cool spot and covered at all times. And though storing your frozen food outside in the cold weather seems like a good idea, it can attract stray animals to your outdoor food store. You may not be able to smell frozen peas through a plastic bag, but that won’t stop curious, hungry animals from checking it out.
• Allowing water to drip from the faucets helps prevent pipes from freezing. Open kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow warmer air to circulate around the plumbing. Be sure to move any harmful cleaners and household chemicals up out of the reach of children. If needed, wrap pipes in insulation or newspaper. 
• Turn off and unplug all unnecessary electrical equipment. Turn off or disconnect any appliances or other equipment that was on when the power went out. When the power is restored, a momentary power "surge"can damage computers and other sensitive devices.
• NEVER run a generator inside a home or garage, or connect it to your home's electrical system. Only use generators outdoors, away from doors, windows and vents that could allow carbon monoxide to come indoors. If the CO alarm sounds, move quickly to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door.
• Put on layers of warm clothing to stay warm and keep a scarf over your face/mouth to prevent cold air from entering your lungs.
  

AFTER A POWER OUTAGE

• If electrical power lines are down, don’t touch them. Keep your family and pets away. Be extra cautious of downed electrical wires that can be hidden by snow.
• Throw away any food that has been exposed to temperatures over 40 degrees for 2 hours or more, or that has an unusual odor, color or texture. Never taste food or rely on appearance or odor to determine its safety. When in doubt, throw it out. If food in the freezer is colder than 40 degree and has ice crystals on it, you can refreeze it.
• Contact your doctor if you’re concerned about medications having spoiled.
• Restock your emergency kit with fresh batteries, canned foods and other supplies.

Police have arrested a Southington man who is accused of assaulting someone and trying to throw that person out a hotel window.

Police said they responded to the Residence Inn at 778 West St. Tuesday after a domestic dispute was reported and arrested 39-year-old Michael Lasek, of Southington.

Lasek and the victim got into a dispute in a room at the hotel and he is accused of hitting the victim in the face several times, kicking the victim in the stomach, cutting off the victim’s ability to breath, trying to throw the victim out a hotel window and holding a knife to the victim’s throat, police said.

The victim tried to call 911 for help, but Lasek ripped the hotel room phone from the wall and hit the victim in the head with it, according to police.

The victim eventually escaped the room. Lasek was following the victim when hotel staff found the person running through the hallway, according to police.

The victim was transported to a local medical facility for treatment.

Lasek was charged with second-degree breach of peace, interfering with an emergency call, second-degree assault, second-degree threatening, second-degree strangulation and second-degree unlawful restraint.

Tesla shareholders have approved by a wide margin a proposal to award Chairman and CEO Elon Musk a massive multibillion-dollar stock grant, a source at the meeting told CNBC.

Musk could earn more than $50 billion over the next several years if Tesla hits certain key milestones and he stays on in his current role at the company he co-founded.

The source who reported the vote count declined to be identified. Official vote totals will be announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission later Wednesday.

The grant gives Musk $2.6 billion in stock options in 12 tranches that each vest as the company hits key performance milestones over 10 years. Musk needs to hit 12 market capitalization milestones and 16 revenue or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization targets in order to vest the entire award. Tesla has to reach a market cap of $100 billion for the first tranche to vest, and then each of the remaining 11 tranches require an additional $50 billion in market value.

Police have identified the man suspected of lewd activity at a department store in Watertown. 

The man was caught on security cameras standing near several women inside of a Kmart on Straits Turnpike around 4 p.m. on Monday.

Officers said the security footages purportedly shows him openly masturbating near the customers. When store security tried to approach the man, he ran out of the store and drove away in a black Nissan sedan with dealer plates.

Police describe the man as being in his 30s, 5 feet 9 inches, weighing 180 pounds with dark facial hair. He was seen wearing a gray winter skull cap, a dark zip-up coat with an unidentifiable name tag and dark pants. 

On Wednesday, police said they identified the man but no other information was provided. 

Connecticut state employees will no longer be referred to as “essential” or “nonessential.”

Gov. Dannel Malloy signed an executive order Wednesday that he said changes the terminology used to distinguish the designation levels of executive branch state employees during weather-related events and other emergency situations.

When making decisions on whether executive branch employees should report to work during severe weather or emergency situations, employees have been referred to as “essential” or “nonessential” and that was based on their duties when it comes to addressing the needs of Connecticut’s residents in the face of urgent situations that can have an adverse effect on health and safety, according to the governor.

From now on, employees who previously were designated as “essential” will be referred to as “Level 1 employees” and those who had been designated as “nonessential” will be referred to as “Level 2 employees.”

"Quite frankly, those designations were unfair and were demeaning to Level 2 employees," Malloy said. "It is our continued belief that our state employees should be valued and treated equally and that this change in terminology better reflects the nature of our government operations and our many hard-working state employees," Malloy said during a news conference Wednesday. 

A Bloomfield man is suspected of stabbing his father with a kitchen knife during an argument on Wednesday. 

Police responded to a disturbance on Carpenter Lane around 1:18 p.m. and found a 68-year-old man suffering from a stab wound to his chest. 

After stabbing his father, Carlos Cameron, 35, ran from the home and the elderly man was transported to Saint Francis Hospital with life-threatening injuries that resulted in emergency surgery, according to Watertown officers.

While police canvassed the area for Cameron, the Laurel Elementary School, which is located a few blocks away, was notified as a precaution, police said. 

Cameron was found quickly at a house on Greenmeadow Drive and taken into custody. He is accused of first-degree assault on an elderly person. 

A 17-year-old girl who was filmed slapping an Israeli soldier in the West Bank accepted a plea deal on Wednesday in which she will be sentenced to eight months in person, according to Israeli media.

Ahed Tamimi became a symbol of Palestinian resistance after her "slap heard around the world" inspired those heartbroken by years of settlement building on a land that was envisioned as a future state, NBC News reported. Tamimi brought renewed international attention on Israel's occupation of the West Bank. 

However, among right-wing Israelis, her case prompted public criticism that the military looked week by allowing her to strike a soldier and officer.

“Ahed will be home in a few months, but Israel is putting this child behind bars for eight months for calling for protests and slapping a soldier, after threatening her with years in jail," Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of the Middle East division of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Warning: the contents of this video may be disturbing to viewers, viewer discretion is advised. The Tempe, Arizona, police department on Wednesday released footage of the Sunday crash in which an Uber self-driving vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian. Uber has suspended testing of self-driving vehicles on public U.S. roads.

About 13,000 home health aides and patient care assistants received a major boost from the Connecticut General Assembly on Wednesday. 

The House and Senate, with wide bipartisan margins, approved a new contract with the workers that included higher wages and, for the first time ever, workers’ compensation coverage.

Top Senate Republican Len Fasano, applauded the passage of the agreement. It passed the Senate 32-0.

"First and foremost this benefits people," Sen. Fasano said. "Second, it saves taxpayers money in the long run by keeping people out of expensive care facilities and instead helps elderly and disabled individuals live comfortably in their own homes."

Denitra Pearson is a Patient Care Assistant in New Haven where she’s provided care for the same woman for four years. During that time, Pearson’s client suffered a pair of strokes and bouts of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

"She’s more like family than a patient to me," Pearson said of her relationship with her client. "You know, you grow to have a bond with them because they need us, and we need them."

Pearson said she can rest easy now that she will have more money in her pocket and peace of mind knowing she will have coverage for workers’ compensation.

"Higher wages means I don’t need to struggle on a day to day basis for gas, necessities for my kids, and workers’ comp, I don’t have to stress if I get hurt on my job anymore," she said.

Gov. Dannel Malloy celebrated the bipartisan passage of the agreement.

"These professionals work around the clock to provide lifesaving, critical care for thousands of elderly residents and people who have disabilities – and they do it in homes, which ultimately is better for both patients and for taxpayers," Malloy said in a statement.

Rep. Joe Aresimowicz echoed the sentiments of the governor and said: “We are talking about low wage workers with the enormous responsibility of caring for our loved ones, who are also saving taxpayers millions of dollars by helping people stay in their homes.”

Betty Phillips thought she was out more than $400 after a trip to Las Vegas and it wasn't because of the casino.

Phillips tried buying five tickets to Divas Las Vegas on her phone. After entering her payment information and pressing the submit button, Phillips said she received an error message instructing her to try again. But when she did again, she received the same error.

After a few tries, Phillips gave up and one of her girlfriends bought the tickets from another vendor.

A short time later, Phillips received an email confirming her order from the website.

Phillips then called customer service and an agent confirmed the purchase went through and told Phillips the website has a no refunds policy.

Phillips tried disputing the charge, but her credit card company ruled in the website’s favor because it found the merchant didn’t violate any operating guidelines.

After NBC Connecticut Responds got involved, the website issued Phillips a full refund of $467.62.

If you encounter an error during an online purchase, do not press the back button. You should open a new tab and try again.

Check your order history to see if the transaction went through.

If you cannot check the status of your order on the website, call customer service right away to find out if the order was accepted.

A South Florida couple is desperate to be reunited with their newborn daughter – less than one week after they say the child was removed from a Miami-Dade hospital by members of the Miccosukee Police Department based on a tribal court order from the baby’s grandmother.

Rebecca Sanders and Justin Johnson tell the Miami Herald that they have filed complaints with various agencies – including Miami-Dade Police and the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs – after their 2-day-old daughter, Ingrid Ronan Johnson, was taken by officers from Baptist Hospital in Kendall on Sunday.

Sanders says that officers, along with hospital security and staff, came into her room shortly after Ingrid was taken by a doctor.

"He said something was filed where I lost custody of my daughter and I said 'how, I'm in the hospital, I haven't been given any notification, no hearing, nothing whatsoever,'" Sanders said Wednesday. "And he said he doesn't have an order, hasn't seen one and doesn't have it on him but was told to come to the hospital to take my daughter."

The mother said she was not given a copy of the order that was issued by a Miccosukee judge based on a filing from Sanders’ own mother, Betty Osceola – who the couple claims is upset and does not want Johnson, who is white, in the child’s life. A copy was emailed to Sanders on Monday.

"I can’t even begin to explain how hard this has been. I don’t see how people of the Miccosukee tribe can look me in the face and tell me this is OK,” Johnson told the paper.

In a statement Wednesday, Baptist Health said the officers were enforcing a court order for the child's custody.

"We obeyed law enforcement. Baptist Hospital falls under the jurisdiction of the Miami-Dade County Police Department and complies with state and federal laws," the hospital's statement read. "It is our hospital’s policy to cooperate with Miami-Dade law enforcement as they enforce court orders."

According to the order, the grandmother claimed the father was violent toward Sanders while she was pregnant. She convinced a Miccosukee judge to grant her temporary custody.

"This is what you would expect to see in any state court, in Florida, when it comes to the well-being of the children, there is a concern they are either going to end up in dependency court, or a relative getting temporary custody of them through the family courts," said an attorney for the grandmother, Spencer West. 

Sanders and Johnson denied those claims, with Johnson calling them "false."

Lawyers for the Miccosukee tribe did not respond to the paper when asked for a comment. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday in tribal court on the matter.

Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez issued a statement that an “immediate inquiry” into what took place had begun to determine if there is anything the agency can do.

Johnson said he was able to be there for the birth of his daughter, but when Osceola – who owns a major airboat tour operation on the reservation – saw him at the hospital she became upset and asked for security to remove him. Despite Sanders saying she wants him a part of their daughter’s life, security told Johnson on Saturday it would be in “their best interest” for him to leave.

Sanders was escorted from the hospital moments after the baby was taken and proceeded to go with Johnson to a nearby police station to file their report.

The Miccosukee Tribe, which currently has less than 600 members, does not fall under the jurisdiction of the state of Florida – which has led to issues in the past with officials in Miami-Dade and across the state.

Sanders claims her mother does not live on the reservation and lives in Collier County – which would allow for the state to intervene. If the baby is with the grandmother on tribal land, only the federal government can get involved and possibly take the child back.

Sanders says her daughter does not have enough Miccosukee blood to qualify as a member.

A Waterbury police officer shot a suicidal man in the abdomen Wednesday night during a standoff and state police are investigating, according to Waterbury police. 

The police department received a call about a suicidal party on Chipman Street Wednesday and determined the man, 32-year-old Michael Veillette, of Waterbury, had a shotgun and might have been headed to Slocum Street, police said.

When officers arrived at Slocum Street, they found Veillette, who they said he was distraught and had a loaded shotgun.

During a standoff with several Waterbury police officers, a Waterbury police officer shot Veillette in the abdomen, police said. 

Veillette was transported to St. Mary’s Hospital, where he is in police custody and in stable condition, according to Waterbury police.

He was charged with two counts of criminal attempt at assault in the first degree, two counts of criminal attempt at assault on a police officer, threatening in the first degree, carrying a dangerous weapon, theft of a firearm and criminal trespass in the third degree. 

Connecticut State Police are investigating the use of force.

Light to moderate snow continues Thursday morning, winter storm warnings remain in effect for parts of the state and there are several school delays.

Some parts of Connecticut have a coating while around six and a half inches of snow fell in Fairfield, 6.3 inches fell in Ledyard and 5.1 inches fell in Milford.

There are also some issues on the roads this morning. Follow Hanna Mordoh on Twitter for updates. 

The snow has also prompted flight cancelations at Bradley Airport Thursday morning as airlines work to get back to normal flight operations.

Click here for a full list of the latest school delays.

There will be an increased police presence at schools in Portland as a precaution after an investigation into threatening statements. 

Police said they arrested two juveniles Tuesday after receiving reports that statements had been made online that caused alarm. After investigating, officers determined there was no credible cause for further concern, but the department, town officials and school district officials have worked cooperatively and there will be an increased police presence at Portland schools out of an abundance of caution. 

School officials said police notified them they were investigating an alleged online threat to Portland Secondary School. Then police said arrests were made after two current students sent text messages -- part of a game -- that caused alarm and worry regarding school safety. 

“While the police have determined that there is no reason to believe that the texts pose a threat to our schools, they acted out of a preponderance of caution,” Supt. Philip O’Reilly said in a statement.

“Unfortunately, we are experiencing a climate of abundant alarm and concern for our schools and our children must understand that any threat will be reported to and investigated by our local authorities,” O’Reilly wrote.

The House Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to approve its final report into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, ending the panel's probe and giving a final endorsement to their conclusion that there was no coordination between Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.

The Republican-written report will be released to the public after it goes to the intelligence community for a classification review. The document has been fiercely opposed by Democrats, who say that the investigation was shut down too quickly and that the committee has not interviewed enough witnesses or gathered enough evidence to make such an assessment. All the Democrats on the intelligence panel voted against approving the report.

Committee Republicans released a summary of 44 findings that concludes that there were Russian cyberattacks on U.S. political institutions and that Russians leveraged social media in the U.S. to sow discord. The report also echoes GOP criticism of the Justice Department and intelligence community as it investigated the meddling. The panel will release the context of those findings once intelligence agencies have reviewed it and decided what should be blacked out.

In terms of collusion with Trump's Republican campaign, the summary says that "none of the interviewed witnesses provided evidence of collusion, coordination or conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russian government."

The findings said that the committee found no evidence that Trump's "pre-campaign business dealings" formed any basis for collusion with Russia during the campaign or that meetings between the Russian ambassador and Trump associates represented coordination in any way.

Republicans on the committee also said there's no evidence that Trump associates had anything to do with hacked emails that were stolen from Democrats during the campaign, though they do note "numerous ill-advised contacts with WikiLeaks." Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., messaged with the group during the campaign.

In an intelligence assessment released in January 2017, the National Security Agency, CIA and FBI concluded that Russian military intelligence provided hacked information from the Democratic National Committee and "senior Democratic officials" to WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks has denied that Russia was the source of emails it released, including those from Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta.

Texas Rep. Mike Conaway, the Republican leading the House investigation, said in an interview with The Associated Press that the panel wanted to get the report out as the 2018 campaign season begins. He said that it would be difficult for Russians to have an impact on a specific congressional race but that they could "practice" this time around for bigger disruption during the 2020 presidential election.

On collusion and coordination, Conaway said, "We could not find a thread to follow that made sense."

The report recommends that the intelligence community immediately inform candidates if they find a counterintelligence threat and proposes that campaigns better ensure that "their counterintelligence defenses appropriately account for the role of cut-outs and intermediaries." It also says Congress should amend campaign finance laws to increase transparency with foreign entities.

After the committee vote, the panel's top Democrat, California Rep. Adam Schiff, said he had hoped Thursday's meeting could have been public.

"It is a rather sad chapter in our committee's long history with the ending of the majority's participation in the investigation, that ending taking place in secret session for no reason at all except a desire to avoid public scrutiny of this decision, to curtail an investigation into one of the most serious intrusions into our democracy and our history," Schiff said.

Democrats will have their own report and say they will continue to investigate the meddling. They have already set up at least one interview: Chris Wylie, a former employee of a political data-mining firm that obtained information from Facebook users without their consent. The firm, Cambridge Analytica, worked for the Trump campaign.

Wylie told news outlets that the company used the data to build psychological profiles so voters could be targeted with ads and stories.

It is unclear if Republicans on the committee will attend that interview.