When officers responded to a reported break-in at a New Haven home Saturday they found the suspect sleeping on a sofa in the living room, according to New Haven police. 

According to police, officers were called to a home on Eastern Street around 7 a.m. Sunday after a homeowner reported a break-in. The homeowner, who was not at home, was watching live through her surveillance system and reported a man wearing a pea coat was roaming around her home.

Police said that when officers arrived they found the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Garrett Connors, asleep on the living room sofa. When officers woke him up, Connors told them a woman let him and two friends into the home.

There was no one else in the home and the surveillance footage showed Connors enter alone, police said. He was arrested and charged with third-degree burglary and first-degree criminal trespass.

A mountain lion used the roof of a shed as a springboard to leap from yard to yard Monday as it roamed a neighborhood in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains.

The agile big cat was eventually tranquilized and returned to the wild by wardens with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The mountain was first reported in the 600 block of West Virginia Ann Drive. Agents with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the location east of Los Angeles. 

The mountain lion leaped over at least one fence, bounding off the roof of a shed, as it walked through yards. Wardens tranquilized the mountain lion and transported it in the bed of a pickup back the mountains.

The mountain lion population is high in California, relative to other parts of the United States. Density estimates vary, but the figure might be as high as 10 lions per 100 square miles. By that estimate, the population is somewhere between 4,000 to 6,000 mountain lions statewide.

But it's difficult to say whether that population is increasing or decreasing without an ongoing statewide study.

One thing is certain -- mountain lions go where they can find food, primarily deer. That sometimes brings them into urban areas, but it should be noted that a person is 1,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. There have been only 16 verified mountain lion attacks in California since 1890, six of which were fatal, according to the agency.

The department receives hundreds of reports each year about mountain lions killing pets and livestock. 

Mountain lions are a specially protected species in California under the California Wildlife Protection Act of 1990, approved as Prop 117 by California voters. The classification has nothing to do with mountain lion numbers in California, but its passage made it illegal to hunt the big cats.

Just how popular is Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt? So popular that a bobblehead of the 98-year-old Loyola University men's basketball team chaplain just became National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s best-selling item ever.

In just 48 hours after its release, 5,000 people pre-ordered the Sister Jean bobblehead, setting a record for the Milwaukee-based company, co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said in a release. 

Sister Jean quickly dethroned the company's second best-selling item, the Clemson National Championship bobblehead, by a wide margin of more than 2,000 orders, according to Sklar. 

"Sister Jean and Loyola have been one of those amazing feel-good March stories, and we’re thrilled to be working with the University so that more fans across the country can have a Sister Jean bobblehead,” Sklar said. “Everyone needs some of Sister Jean’s positive attitude and great spirit in their life, and this bobblehead will be a great way to have that!” 

Sister Jean has been with Loyola for 53 years and is now in the national spotlight as the Ramblers win upset after upset in the NCAA tournament. She travels with the team and prays with the players before every game.

The Sister Jean love extends even beyond American borders: The bobblehead has been pre-ordered in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and even Canada, Sklar said. Sixty-three percent of the orders, he said, are from outside Illinois.

Sklar noted that one person even bought 30 bobbleheads, which sell for $25 each. A portion of each sale will go to the Loyola Athletic Fund and the Sister of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to the company’s website. 

The bobbleheads are expected to ship in June. Until then, you can always go to eBay and fork over upwards of $300 for one of the vintage Sister Jean bobbleheads given away at games in 2011 and 2015. 

These bobbleheads might become an even hotter commodity if fans’ prayers of Sister Jean appearing on “The Ellen Show” come true. 

Players from the Sacramento Kings and the Boston Celtics created a PSA Sunday to raise awareness about the killing of Stephon Clark, the 22-year-old unarmed African-American shot and killed by Sacramento police on March 18. Both teams also wore warm-up shirts that read “Accountability. We are one.” and had “#Stephonclark” on the back.

Gov. Malloy said he will not pull his nomination for chief justice despite the Senate GOP telling him they'll vote as a book against the nomination. 

On Mar. 12, the Connecticut State House of Representatives narrowly approved current Associate Justice Andrew McDonald’s elevation to chief justice, with one Republican acting as the de facto deciding vote.

McDonald won approval from the House by a 75-74 margin. Four Democrats defected and voted with Republicans, as the nomination now heads to the Connecticut Senate for consideration.

McDonald is a longtime ally of Malloy. He served as corporation counsel for the city of Stamford when Malloy was mayor, represented Stamford in the State Senate, and later took a job in the Malloy administration as his top legal adviser.

Republicans, nearly unanimous in their opposition, refused to entertain the notion that politics was the reason they did not want McDonald at the top of the judicial branch.

“This is not political because of a political party,” Rep. Rosa Rebimbas, the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee.

White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah said President Donald Trump didn’t watch the Stormy Daniels interview that aired Sunday night on “60 Minutes.”

Stocks closed sharply higher on Monday, bouncing back from strong losses in the previous session as trade tensions between the U.S. and China appeared to ease, CNBC reported.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 669.40 points to 24,202.60, with Microsoft as the best-performing stock in the index.

The S&P 500 gained 2.7 percent to close at 2,658.55 — bounce off its 200-day moving average— with technology and financials leading all sectors higher. The Nasdaq composite advanced 3.3 percent to 7,220.54 with Apple and Amazon both rising.

Markets overseas also jumped on Monday. In Asia, some indexes rose after news surfaced that the U.S. had agreed to excuse South Korea from steel levies. Meantime in Europe, stocks were lower as investors failed to shake off trade war worries.

Stormy Daniels filed an amended lawsuit Monday that alleges Donald Trump's personal lawyer defamed her and violated campaign finance law by brokering a "hush agreement" just before the 2016 election, NBC News reported.

The new filing in federal court in Los Angeles comes less than 24 hours after a television interview in which Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she had unprotected sex with Trump in 2006 and was later threatened for telling her story.

Clifford filed suit in state court earlier this month, arguing that the $130,000 hush agreement brokered by Cohen was invalid because Trump never signed it. Cohen, joined by Trump, then had the case moved to federal court with an eye toward pushing it into private arbitration.

The White House denies allegations of an affair and any involvement in threats.

Maloney High School in Meriden is using new technology and student input to make sure its building is as secure as possible. 

Administrators will check visitor identifications outside the main building to unlock the doors and again at the main office before issuing a guest badge.

Maloney Assistant Principal John Kuckle said the student resource officer has a 32-inch television with 16 panels used to monitor more than 100 surveillance cameras. 

The district also offers anonymous online resources for parents and students to voice any concerns.

The online tips and check-in process are all part of the plan to make Maloney High School as safe as possible, but Kuckle acknowledges that it’s not perfect.

"Heightened security measures like the 3M glass- the shatter-proof glass- is certainly a measure that we’re looking into," Kuckle said. "I’m sure if we could have the whole building encased in it, we would."

The main obstacle is cost.

Top-of-the-line security, according to Meriden Public Schools Superintendent Mark Benigni, doesn’t come cheap.

"It’s all different prices," Benigni said. "Our anonymous online tip service is about $7,000, so a very small cost. When you start talking about installing cameras, keyless entry systems and access, you’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars, and it builds up."

It’s a price tag leaving many districts with an impossible decision: Whether they can afford to upgrade their security, or whether they can afford not to.

"I would say to anyone, there’s ways to make your school safer that don’t cost a lot, that won’t make your students feel uncomfortable," Benigni said. "Let’s make sure we’re doing those things first. And listen to your students. They’ve provided great feedback for us."

Maloney High School students enacted change following a February incident where a former student got on campus and sat in on a class uninvited. Administrators listened to the feedback and, as a result, closed half of the school’s entryways during the morning rush.

The Connecticut State College and University (CSCU) system is using federal funding to train students and staff on how to prevent sexual assault.

Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) hosted a forum focused on the issue of stalking on campus on Monday morning.

"We’re really seeing more people stepping up and speaking out about their experiences and the experiences and the experiences that they’ve seen people close to them have," SCSU senior Jessica Holman said of the #MeToo movement.

At SCSU, Holman is a peer educator teaching other students about sexual misconduct.

"Offering them definitions of what is consent, what is sexual assault, what is stalking, what is intimate partner violence," Holman said.

Students, victim advocates and law enforcement officials attended the presentation about stalking that is part of the CSCU system’s efforts to prevent sexual assault and dating violence an all 17 campuses.

"It just shows that Connecticut has seen and identified that this is an important issue," Jennifer Landhuis, the director of the Stalking Prevention, Awareness and Resource Center, said.

Landhuis visits college campuses across the country.

"Helping people understand how stalking intersects with the crime of domestic violence and of sexual assault but also helping people understand that it doesn’t have to intersect with those crimes," Landhuis said.

More than 1,000 CSCU students have taken part in training on how bystanders can intervene before an inappropriate situation escalates.

"We use three 'Ds' of bystander intervention at Southern," Holman explained. "Which is to directly intervene, to create a distraction or to delegate responsibility to someone that you trust."

Holman said she is proud of how her university is handling the issue of sexual misconduct, but she had a message for other college students.

"If you’re not satisfied with the resources that you’re campus is providing, don’t be afraid to use your voice and question the procedures that exist," Holman said.

The FBI is investigating suspicious packages with apparent explosive components at several U.S. military installations and intelligence facilities in the Washington, D.C., area Monday, a law enforcement official said.

The National Defense University at Fort McNair in D.C. received a suspicious package about 8:30 a.m., and the building was evacuated.

The package tested positive for black powder, which can be used to make explosives, according to Fort McNair. An X-ray showed what appeared to be GPS and a fuse. It was rendered safe and the building was cleared about 1:15 p.m. The components are being investigated.

Suspicious packages were sent to two sites at Fort Belvoir in Virginia Monday afternoon: The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and another defense university. One contained liquid in a vial and a circuit board, the law enforcement official said. It also was rendered safe.

Similar suspicious packages were found at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in D.C., a CIA mail processing facility, a White House mail processing facility and Dahlgren Naval Air Station in Virginia, NBC News Justice Correspondent Pete Williams reported. Those were all cleared as well.

It's not clear if any of the packages was an actual working explosive device that could have been detonated.

Some included rambling letters and official described as disturbing. 

It’s not clear if the packages are linked to each other, but officials said they do not believe they are linked to the recent bombings in Austin, Texas.

The FBI is examining all of the packages.

The state will pay off Hartford's millions of dollars of debt under the new budget deal. 

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said the city council passed a resolution authorizing the city to enter into a contract assistance agreement with the state on Monday. 

“Our primary mission over the last two years has been to put Hartford on a sustainable fiscal path, without faking it or doing things that might buy time but make the problem worse down the road,” Bronin said. "We cut tens of millions of dollars in spending, negotiated dramatic savings with our labor unions, and secured a commitment from our biggest employers to be part of a comprehensive solution."

Lawmakers from both parties signed off on the state providing assistance to the Capitol city in the state budget that was approved October 2017. Last week, the framework was presented to the city council for approval and the vote took place on Monday night. 

Under the proposed framework, the state would pay the city's $550 million in debt over the next two decades. Since the deal was approved by April 1, the state will pay the city's $11 million debt payment. The state may give the city an additional $24 million to close Hartford's budget deficit.

While the state would pick up the annual debt payments, Hartford would still be required to pay $5 million annually for Dunkin' Donuts until 2021. 

The city expects to refinance that debt at the direction of the State to ensure that the annual debt payments do not exceed $40 million, Bronin said in a statement on Monday.

The state is looking to refinance Hartford's debt by stretching the city's debt payments farther apart in order to reduce annual contributions. 

In exchange for the extra funds, Hartford was placed under state oversight in January.

That oversight board will review budgets, contracts and labor agreements. Hartford also can't issue new bonds without the group's permission.

The Facebook privacy scandal has users demanding to see how much the social media giant knows about them and how they can limit the amount of data they're giving out.

The bad news is that your data may already be out in the wild and in the hands of third party advertisers.

The good news is that you can download a copy of your data and prevent its future spread in just a few clicks.

NBC News has tips for how to retrieve your data.

Some of the thousands of homeowners with crumbling foundations pleaded with lawmakers to try to stop something like the current crisis from happening again.

They’re pushing for the state to mandate that all homeowners’ insurance policies coverage the kind of collapses and damage that are linked to the issues across Eastern Connecticut.

“We’re basically paying twice for our homes in order to fix them,” said Linda Tofolowsky, who was the first owner to file a lawsuit over the issue and to bring the problem to the attention of lawmakers and state officials. “Nobody, nobody should have to pay twice for their home.”

The proposed legislation would mandate all insurers in Connecticut cover the kind of catastrophic damage and collapse found in the homes with crumbling foundations. Advocates like Tofolowsky say they want the insurance industry to be a partner, not an adversary.

“Insurance companies need to buck up and help pay for this. I don’t want total payment from insurance companies. I want some help,” she said.

Eric George, the President of the Insurance Association of Connecticut, says the costs to consumers could be astronomical if insurers have to cover all previous and future crumbling foundation issues.

“What we’re trying to do is protect the homeowners in the rest of the state of Connecticut from skyrocketing premium increases,” George said. He would not comment on specific rate increases, but multiple political insiders confirmed to NBC Connecticut that the premium increases could be in the range of two hundred percent in some cases.

George said, “You’re looking at a new mandated coverage, a very expensive mandated coverage that every renter, homeowner, and condo owner is going to have to pay through their premiums.”

Some lawmakers are not sure they believe those assessments, saying they sound like hyperbole.

Rep. Tom Delnicki is one of them, saying, “Where is the proof? I’ve yet to see a memo in writing from an insurance company stating that our rates are going to be going up by x amount.”

The bill is currently before the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee and could see a vote within the week.

Attorney General George Jepsen provided a serious boost to Ned Lamont’s campaign for governor by endorsing him on Monday.

Jepsen, who’s been close with Lamont for decades and even worked on Lamont’s previous campaigns, provides the biggest single endorsement in the crowded race for the Democratic nomination for governor.

“He is a man of utmost integrity and he’s never been afraid to stand up and do the right thing for the right reason,” Jepsen said of Lamont. “He’s got guts.”

Jepsen is about as soft-spoken as one could imagine, especially for someone who runs the attorney general’s office. He doesn’t hold many press conferences, and his often does not send out many communications regarding what cases the office is working on. He’s always made it a point to have his words and action carry the most weight by being selective in just about every instance. Those are the reasons his endorsement of Lamont, weeks before the state Democratic Party will vote on a party-endorsed nominee, the announcement is so significant.

“I’m always happy to stand by my good friend,” Lamont said. Lamont is making his third attempt at statewide office, and second attempt at governor. He failed in his bid to win the Democratic nomination in 2010 to now-Governor Dannel Malloy.

Lamont is always quick to point out, “I tried to beat the guy,” in his effort to defeat Malloy back in 2010.

Jepsen says in the crowded field for governor, Lamont is the only one who could hold the seat for Democrats.

“I think he’s the strongest candidate in November," Jepsen said. 

The contract to repair the aging Mixmaster in downtown Waterbury may be awarded to a company with past safety issues in Connecticut.

Repairing the Mixmaster, which connects Interstate 84 and Route 8 in downtown Waterbury, will not be cheap. The lowest qualified bid received by the State Department of Transportation (CTDOT) is over $150 million from Chicago-based Walsh Construction Company. Federal law requires projects such as the Mixmaster, which will receive federal funding, to be awarded to the lowest responsible bidder.

Walsh Construction Co., in a joint venture with PCL Civil Constructors, was the lead contractor on the Moses Wheeler Bridge expansion. There, a string of safety incidents, including two cranes tipping over, forced the CTDOT to temporarily suspend them from the project.

The companies were reinstated after revamping their safety program. Walsh Construction Co. has since completed work on the Pearl Harbor Memorial bridge, also known as the Q bridge in New Haven and the CTDOT said they are qualified to bid on the Mixmaster project.

Don Shubert, the President of the Connecticut Construction Industries Association, said Walsh Construction Co. is well-established in Connecticut and an active member of their association. He said the CTDOT has rigorous safety requirements for contractors and that the state is aggressive about enforcing them and asking for detailed safety plans.

Shubert added that construction is a dangerous business, but said, "we have plenty of confidence in them operating in Connecticut."

In a statement, the CTDOT said they utilize the highest industry standards and have a multi-layered system of oversight and accountability that begins before a project is even awarded to a contractor.

The CTDOT has not yet announced if Walsh will win the Mixmaster project. The second lowest bidder, Torrington-based O&G Industries also has prior safety concerns. Six of their workers died in the 2010 explosion at the Kleen Energy power plant in Middletown.

Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) wants to bridge the linguistic gap between health professionals and Spanish-speaking patients.

Beginning this summer, SCSU will offer a 12-credit certificate program called a Certificate in Spanish and Latino Cultures for Health Professionals to working medical personnel like doctors, nurses and EMTs.

The program is a shorter version of the university’s current minor program and could take less than a year to complete, as opposed to a year and a half that it takes to complete the minor program.

The program will help professionals in the medical field communicate with patients and understand vocabulary they actually need to know in their profession.

"We want to make sure that the worker (the clinician, the nurse) is able to understand the patient and be also conscious of the cultural background of the diverse, cultural background of the Hispanic population," the associate professor of Spanish at CSCU, William Flores, said.

Flores said students need to have some level of proficiency in Spanish, whether they took courses in high school, college or even traveled to a foreign country and a placement exam.

For those interested who are not proficient in Spanish, they may take the course Elementary Spanish for Health Professionals before the begin the certificate program.

Dina Martinez lives in New Haven but is originally from Puerto Rico and she only speaks Spanish. She told NBC Connecticut o that it is tough to communicate with health professionals because of the language barrier.

"When you go somewhere and find that no one can speak Spanish, I can’t communicate with them. So I have to bring an interpreter," Martinez told NBC Connecticut in Spanish.

Juan Salas understands Martinez's situation.

The Guilford resident has been able to learn English, though he said it wasn’t easy to head to the doctor’s office just after he moved to Connecticut from Venezuela in 2004.

"When I first came here it was tough because some words are not exactly the same," Salas said.

Martinez said opening up the certificate program is a positive push forward, especially for patients like her.

Quinnipiac University donated thousands of dollars to the Town of North Haven Monday, money that will go toward improvements to the town’s schools.

President John Lahey presented First Selectman Mike Freda (R - North Haven) with a check for $700,000 on Monday afternoon at North Haven Town Hall.

“We are incredibly grateful for this generosity,” Freda said.

North Haven is home to five of Quinnipiac’s nine schools, including the law and medical schools.

“We certainly want to help the Town of North Haven in their economic development,” Lahey said.

Part of the $700,000 check, which is made up of a voluntary donation on top of property taxes, will be used to support the town’s schools.

“At a time when state funding is being cut back and at a time when organically municipal costs are rising through the form of contracts, pensions and insurance, these types of payments are incredibly helpful to any municipality,” Freda explained.

About $200,000 will go toward a new playground at the Montowese Elementary School, Freda said.

“And in the Ridge Road School, they’ve been trying to build an inclusive handicapped accessible playscape and a significant portion of this check will be utilized to augment the efforts of that PTA,” Freda added.

Heather Choquette and Anna Buono are the co-presidents of the Montowese Elementary School PTA and have been trying to raise money for a new playground.

“I’m blown away that Quinnipiac is able to help yet another school here in town,” Buono said. “Having them in town has really been so beneficial. Knowing now that we may have it by the beginning of the next school year is fantastic, we’re really thrilled.”

North Haven has now received $1.6 million from Quinnipiac over the last three years, according to a university press release.

Other projects funded with that money are lights on the town’s softball field and a new playground at the Green Acres School, Freda said.

A tractor-trailer crash has closed the Interstate 91 northbound exit 46 ramp, according to Connecticut State Police.

No injuries were reported, but the crash knocked down a utility pole that will require repair.

Drivers should expect delays in the area.