Mount Olive Church in Hartford is giving away free gasoline Wednesday as part of their third annual Gas on God giveaway and crowds lined up at two gas stations.

Mount Olive Church Ministries and their partners will give away a total of $5,000 in free gas.

It started at 9 a.m. at the 7-Eleven on Park Street and Prospect Avenue. The second event started at 11 a.m. at the Mobil station on Albany Avenue.

The event is first come, first served and church leaders coordinated with Hartford police to help control traffic.

The average gas price in Connecticut is now $3.15 per gallon, according to AAA Allied Group.  Around 250 people were expected to get up to $20 worth of free gas. 

For more information on Mount Olive Church Ministries, click here. 

Fairfield police are investigating a suspicious vehicle found in the area of Mill Plain Road and Interstate 95 Tuesday.

Part of Sturges Road near Mill Plain Road remains closed due to the investigation.

Earlier, part of Mill Plain Road was closed between Post Road and Sturges Road, and the entrance and exit ramps to I-95 at exit 21 were closed, but have since reopened.

Police said there is no threat to the public, but warned to expect significant delays in the area.

No other information was immediately available.

The back of a building in Shelton fell into a river Tuesday afternoon, according to police. 

Police officers and firefighters were called to respond to 281 Canal St., along the Housatonic River, at 12:20 p.m. because there was a partial building collapse. 

Officials said a section of the back of the building collapsed and fell into the river. 

No one was in the building at the time of the collapse, police said. 

The fire marshal and the Shelton building inspector responded and are evaluating the building. 

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection was also notified.

Connecticut State Police patrol troopers will begin wearing body cameras this summer.

The department has purchased 800 body cameras to equip troopers, in part with help from $895,000 in US Department of Justice grant funding.

“We believe equipping all of our troopers on patrol with body-worn camera equipment will contribute to our conversations with everyone we encounter, strengthen troopers’ relationships with their communities, and through the feedback that the cameras provide, support and sustain our steadfast commitment towards continuous improvement,” said Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) Dora Schriro in a statement.

Troop H-Hartford and Troop I-Bethany will be the first to receive the cameras. DESPP said they hope to have all troopers equipped by spring 2019.

The cameras will integrate into dashboard camera equipment already used in patrol vehicles, and will work with existing department infrastructure in terms of software, storage, networking and connectivity needs.

East Lyme police are trying to identify a woman accused of using counterfeit bills to buy a gift card at a local Stop & Shop.

Police said the woman pictured above bought a $150 gift card from the Stop & Shop on Flanders Road around 10:30 p.m. Monday.

The eight $20 bills used for the purchase were counterfeit, according to police, who said the bills had an odd texture, did not contain an internal security strip, and had three repeating serial numbers.

The suspect was wearing a green camouflage hooded sweatshirt, dark pants and dark colored sneakers with a white sole at the time. She left in a dark-colored SUV, police said.

Anyone with information on the suspect’s identity should contact police.

The Town of Oxford plans to hold a public meeting Tuesday for residents with still grappling with overwhelming debris and damage on their properties after a severe storm two weeks ago.

There are some signs life is getting back to normal in Oxford. The schools and roads re-opened, and power is now fully restored, yet mounds of brush dotting roadsides and huge trees still untouched on some lawns are signs homeowners will need more than two weeks to get back on track.

Resident Matt Morgan said that some of the brush and tree debris on his property was pushed off the road by town workers doing their best to clear Riggs Street, a busy road. He’s grateful the road is now open, but not sure how to approach the extra mess.

The sheer number of trees down in his front and back yards is daunting.

“I worked a full day over there and you wouldn’t even really know,” Morgan said, surveying the damage to one corner of his lot.

His neighbor’s yard is also strewn with trees. The owner said a number of them toppled over from the land where Oxford Center School, a public school, sits.

Oxford’s First Selectman George Temple said the town’s public works department is prohibited from working on private property, but that he’s driven all of Oxford’s 100-plus miles of road since the storm and knows the damage his residents are grappling with is extensive.

He’s put together a group of volunteers who are willing to take inventory of damage to resident’s properties and start coordinating efforts to provide help. For some elderly and disabled, manpower may be needed to cut and move trees. Others, like Morgan, aren’t sure what to do with the brush that was hastily removed from roadways.

It’s important that residents share the difficulties they are facing at the meeting, Temple said, so the town can get a clear picture of what is needed and where.

“We’re going to put our heads together tonight and attack it in a very rational and efficient manner,” he said.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. at Oxford Town Hall.

One person was seriously hurt in a crash involving a pickup and a tractor-trailer in Enfield Tuesday night.

The crash happened near the intersection of Abbe Road and Broad Brook Road at approximately 7:19 p.m.

Fire officials said the pickup driver required extrication and was taken to Hartford Hospital in serious condition. The driver of the tractor-trailer was alert and able to walk, fire official said.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been called in to clean up fuels leaks from both vehicles. Broad Brook Road is closed in the area for the cleanup and crash investigation.

No other details were immediately available.

Valve Corporation said it has removed the publisher and developer of a contentious video game that simulates school shootings from its popular Steam service.

The "Active Shooter" game developed by Revived Games and published by the company Acid was slated for a June 6 release.

In the self-titled "SWAT simulator," gamers could play the role of an active shooter killing innocent people at a school or a SWAT team responding to the massacre.

The game's upcoming release generated massive outcry, including from parents of students killed during the Parkland school shooting.

In a statement, Valve said that the controversy surrounding the game allowed the company to recognize in an investigation that the developer and publisher of "Active Shooter" was someone already removed from Steam.

Valve said a person identifying himself as Ata Berdiyev was in charge of Revived Games and ACID, adding that he had been removed when he operated two other companies.

"We have removed the developer Revived Games and publisher ACID from Steam," Valve said in a statement. "Ata is a troll, with a history of customer abuse, publishing copyrighted material, and user review manipulation. His subsequent return under new business names was a fact that came to light as we investigated the controversy around his upcoming title. We are not going to do business with people who act like this towards our customers or Valve."

In a recent blog post, Acid said its game does not promote violence and that the company may remove the ability to play as the school gunman.

President Donald Trump slammed frequent foe Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who is battling brain cancer, for having voted against one of the measures that would have repealed Obamacare last year, NBC News reported.

Speaking at a rally on Nashville, Tenn., and referring to McCain without using his name, Trump said his efforts to scrap President Barack Obama's signature health care law were frustrated by the Arizona senator's decision to give a thumbs-down to the bill on the Senate floor in July.

"We had it done folks, it was done, and then early in the morning somebody turned their hand in the wrong direction," Trump said. "The person that voted that way only talked repeal and replace. He campaigned on it."

The town of Oxford has established a committee to help residents clean up after a tornado hit town two weeks ago.

“The charge with this committee is to try to help those that don’t have any help in their own backyards,” explained Wayne Watt, Oxford’s public works director.

Normally the town would only be responsible for storm damage on its property, but the committee is reviewing resident-submitted requests for assistance – things like tree clearing and brush removal. Watt said the goal is to help resident work through the massive task of the unexpected weather event.

“The insurance companies won’t take the trees unless it hit an actual structure. So they’re stuck with the burden of many trees,” Watt said. “We’re doing the best we could do.”

The town held a meeting Tuesday night to discuss recovery efforts with the public. Heidi Coddington said she’s glad the town is stepping up in a way they don’t have to after a storm most people didn’t expect.

“My homeowners won’t cover it,” she said. “I was shocked. I thought tree removal on my policy meant they would clean it up, take the brush, chop it and take it away.”

The town has set up an area for residents to drop off brush and debris from storm cleanup. DPW said they’re beginning their efforts to help with the elderly and disabled, and then they’ll expand efforts to all residents. They’re also hoping able-bodied residents will volunteer to help clean up neighborhoods.

A flash flood emergency was in place in a western North Carolina county as heavy rain brought floodwaters not seen since 2004 and a landslide that compromised the integrity of a dam, NBC News reported.

Thousands of people living below Lake Tahoma in McDowell County were being evacuated early Wednesday due to the rain brought by Alberto, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The downpour "is causing significant and life-threatening flooding county wide," the National Weather Service said. "Floodwaters have reached levels not seen since the September 2004 floods associated with Hurricanes Frances and Ivan."

There were no reported injuries or fatalities as of 3:20 a.m. ET.

Starbucks' move to close thousands of stores on Tuesday for racial-sensitivity training is a major step in opening a national dialogue on racism, civil rights leaders, policy advisers and people affected by discrimination said at a town hall in Philadelphia Tuesday that aired on MSNBC.

"I think this country is overdue for a truth and reconciliation process in every corner," said Heather McGhee, who is president of a public policy organization, Demos, that helped Starbucks prepare for the training.

Tuesday brought another example of a corporation dealing with racism: ABC canceling its hit show "Roseanne" hours after the show's star, Roseanne Barr, tweeted a racist comment about former Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett's appearance.

Jarrett, who participated in the town hall, called it a "teaching moment" and said other corporations should follow the example set by ABC and Starbucks when confronting racist behavior.

The Hartford woman who was charged with the slayings of a Griswold husband and wife and their 21-year-old son told police that she committed the slayings with her brother and that the couple’s son was involved with the plan to rob the house, according to court documents. 

Ruth Correa, 23, of Hartford, was charged with murder, murder with special circumstances, robbery, arson and home invasion in connection with the deaths of 56-year-old Kenneth Lindquist, his 61-year-old wife, Janet Lindquist, and their 21-year-old son, Matthew Lindquist on Dec. 20, 2017.

Correa’s brother, 26-year-old Sergio Correa, has not been charged in the case. His attorney told NBC Connecticut that he has been made aware an arrest warrant has been issued for his client for murder in the case in New London County. The attorney said his client maintains his innocence.

Court documents released Tuesday reveal new, graphic information about the case, what led police to arrest Correa and what she told them about what happened on that December night. 

Text messages detailed in the court documents show that Matthew Lindquist promised to give one of the Correas guns in exchange for drugs and cash. 

Lindquist wrote: “U give me the cash when I show u safe right?”

“Cause I know there’s at least 2 guns”

The response from the Correa phone: “Text me where to meet you”

Lindquist suggested Walmart, but someone wrote back: “Too many cameras I want to pay you and leave this car is registered to me”

Lindquist responded: “If u pull up street from my house and give me a stack I’ll show you right where the safe is”

According to her arrest warrant, Ruth Correa told police her brother said that Lindquist owed him money and that he was going to pretend to give him drugs and get guns. In another text message, Lindquist wrote to the Correa phone: “U got the 10 b of white fire?” 

Ruth Correa told police that her brother had asked her to join him that night and told her that “this guy owed him money and he was going to pretend to give this guy drugs and he was going to get guns,” then he told her she was “going to pretend to pick a lock to the safe at the guy’s house,” according to the arrest warrant application.

When the brother and sister were in the car together, a guy Ruth Correa did not know got into the back of the vehicle and asked her brother if he had the drugs. Her brother responded that “he was not getting anything unless he got what he was promised,” Ruth Correa said. That was when the man, Matthew Lindquist, mentioned a fake robbery and told the brother and sister that the basement door was unlocked, Correa told police. 

The two men also discussed tying Matthew up and making it look like a robbery but Matthew Lindquist got “panicky and fidgety” and ran, Ruth Correa said. Her brother then chased after him with a machete and hit him in the back of the head. 

Then, as her brother started tying him up, Matthew Lindquist started to “yell and freak out” and her brother stabbed him until Matthew stopped moving, Ruth Correa told police.

She said she hesitated, but her brother grabbed her hand, guided her and she stabbed Matthew Lindquist in the chest around 10 times, Ruth Correa told police. 

After the stabbing, Ruth Correa and her brother went into the house through the basement.

When they went upstairs, Kenneth Lindquist was awake and went after her brother, Ruth Correa told police. The family’s dog was also in the house and came after them, so Ruth Correa said she hit it with a golf club she had brought from her brother’s car because they had been warned about the dog. 

Ruth Correa said her brother was the one to beat Kenneth Lindquist up, using a bat, and he was also trying to get the keys to the safe, but Kenneth Lindquist refused. 

Janet Lindquist emerged from another room as the dog barked and her husband was yelling and Ruth Correa grabbed the woman by the hand, led her to a bedroom and told her she didn’t have to see what was happening,” Ruth Correa told police. 

After Ruth Correa told the woman she did not want to hurt her and said she needed the keys to the safe, Janet Lindquist asked where her son was and Ruth Correa told her he was the reason this was happening and “her son had set her up,” according to the arrest warrant application. 

After getting the keys to the safe, Ruth Correa’s brother showed up in the bedroom with a gun, pointed it at the mother and taunted her as Ruth Correa walked around the house, grabbing items, the arrest warrant application says. 

When Ruth Correa went back into the bedroom, her brother had a rope around Janet Lindquist’s neck and a foot on her back, the arrest warrant application states. 

As they were going bath through the basement, her brother told her to look for something flammable and they poured a liquid in several locations, then her brother set the fire, according to the arrest warrant application. 

Connecticut state police began investigating when dispatchers received a 911 call at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 20 about a fire at the home at 70 Kenwood Drive in Griswold and state police, the Griswold Fire Department and several fire companies responded. 

The bodies of 56-year-old Kenneth Lindquist and his 61-year-old wife, Janet Lindquist, were later found inside their burned-out home, according to police. 

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined that Janet Lindquist died of “homicidal violence including blunt impact injuries to the head” and smoke inhalation with thermal injuries and Kenneth Lindquist died of homicidal violence, including skull fractures, cerebral contusions and additional injuries. His death was ruled a homicide. 

A person who was walking his dog found Matthew Lindquist’s body on Saturday, May 5. An autopsy revealed several stab wounds and his death was ruled a homicide. 

The wide-ranging allegations of sexual misconduct by powerful men has brought a new focus on the balance of power between the genders in the workplace.

NBC News' THINK asked people across the country how the #MeToo movement changed how they interact with their coworkers. Some said their behavior was unchanged, but others feel like they can't or shouldn't say things they used to.

One man who works at a New Jersey charity said he and a colleague had been handsy with each other in a way he'd assumed was playful.

"When the #MeToo movement started, it made me reflect on basically every relationship I've ever had," he said, adding that he sat down with his colleagues to discuss how they felt about it.

Officials in Kentucky say about at least eight people are receiving medical attention after "large explosion" at a UPS facility, but that the blast appears to be accidental.

Lexington fire department battalion chief Jason Wells told news outlets that two people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries Wednesday morning and six more were later taken to the hospital.

"Nothing leads us to believe this is anything other than an accidental explosion," Lexington's fire department tweeted. "The building has been evacuated and everyone is accounted for. We will remain on the scene for several hours investigating and making sure the area is safe."

UPS confirmed the explosion and the two employees taken to the hospital with injuries. It said "initial reports indicate the cause may have been a gas leak from materials contained in a trailer," but the company added that it couldn't "provide additional detail while there is an ongoing investigation."

The structural stability of the building, in the 200 block of Blue Sky Parkway, is being checked as part of an effort to determine what happened and how. "Structural damage was significant," the fire department tweeted, adding that most damage was to the walls and roof.

Businesses near the site on Blue Sky Parkway reported a loud explosion shortly before 8 a.m. EDT in Kentucky's second-largest city. Emergency crews rushed to the scene and restricted access to the area.

The blast was felt inside other buildings.

Roseanne Barr says she isn't a racist, just a sleepless "idiot who made a bad joke."

In the hours after her hit show "Roseanne" was canceled, Barr tried to explain that she was on Ambien when she commented that former President Barack Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett looked like an ape.

The remark brought a rebuke from the maker of the sleep aid, which said "racism is not a known side effect of any" of the company's medications.

Barr's Ambien remarks came in a pair of tweets that were later deleted, in which she also said the drug wasn't an excuse for the comment.

"I think Joe Rogan is right about ambien. Not giving excuses for what I did(tweeted) but I’ve done weird stuff while on ambien-cracked eggs on the wall at 2am etc -" Barr said. Rogan is a podcast and former TV host.

Barr added later, "guys I did something unforgiveable so do not defend me. It was 2 in the morning and I was ambien tweeting-it was memorial day too-I went 2 far & do not want it defended-it was egregious indefensible. I made a mistake I wish I hadn’t but…don’t defend it please. ty"

When another Twitter user said she was defending her tweets, Barr replied, "I BLAME MYSELF OK? it's just an explanation not an excuse."

She told a supporter of hers, "i'm not a racist, just an idiot who made a bad joke. thank you for defending me tho."

But asked about Barr's tweets, the company that makes Ambien, Sanofi, fired back that its medications don't cause racism.

"People of all races, religions and nationalities work at Sanofi every day to improve the lives of people around the world. While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known side effect of any Sanofi medication," spokeswoman Ashleigh Koss said in a statement.

Ambien is known to to cause "abnormal thinking, behavioral changes and complex behaviors" including "sleep-driving" and hallucinations. Users are advised to have behavioral changes evaluated immediately.

Barr's initial tweet on Jarrett was roundly rebuked as it went viral and deemed "abhorrent, repugnant and inconsistent with our values" by ABC Entertainment President Channing Dungey, who announced the show was being canceled within hours. Disney CEO Bob Iger added that cancellation was "the right thing" to do.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump took to Twitter to question why he hasn't gotten any calls from Iger apologizing "for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC" when Jarrett had said Iger called her about Barr. He didn't explain what statements he was referring to.

Trump has been a booster of "Roseanne," and the tweet was his first comment since its cancellation.

On Tuesday, the White House wouldn't say whether he though the show should be canceled. "I think that we have a lot bigger things going on in the country right now, certainly that the President is spending his time when it comes to policy," press secretary Sarah Sanders said.

Barr apologized to Jarrett, who later called the incident a "teaching moment" about race in America, and vowed to leave Twitter.

But she continued tweeting late into the night and on into the morning.

Among the activity, Barr retweeted a comment about another controversial claim she made, the false accusation that Jewish billionaire and Holocaust survivor George Soros collaborated with Nazis when he was a boy in Hungary. 

She claimed she thought that Jarrett was Saudi — though five years ago Barr compared another black Obama adviser, Susan Rice, to an ape, saying she looked like a man with ape's genitalia. (The tweet has been deleted, but contemporaneous traces of it remain online.)

And Barr retweeted others who claimed that ABC was hypocritical for singling her out when other people on the network have said controversial things.

Other members of the "Roseanne" cast spoke out against Barr's remarks, and she took notice.

"You throw me under the bus," Barr tweeted at Michael Fishman.

"Wow! Unreal," she said in reply to Sara Gilbert.

When supporters of Barr's called Gilbert thankless and disloyal, Barr replied that she feels bad for Trump, who "goes thru this every single day."

The city of Hartford has recognized three people who rushed to the aid of a Hartford police officer who was attacked while responding to a landlord-tenant dispute at a luxury apartment building earlier this month.

Officer Jill Kidik, a 12-year-veteran of the police department, was critically wounded on May 17 while responding to assist an eviction process at an apartment building at 5 Constitution Plaza in Hartford.

Hartford police said the actions of three employees in the building - Jacqueline Marciano, Marvin Dixon and Jose Casanova - saved Kidik’s life.

The three were awarded the Hartford Police Department’s Distinguished Citizens Award at a ceremony Tuesday night.

According to a statement from Hartford Chief of Police David Rosado, the incident began when Kidik responded to the Spectra Apartments for a report of property damage caused by a tenant. Kidik was met by Assistant Property Manager Jacqueline Marciano, who made the report.

Kidik was the first officer at the scene and tried to talk to the tenant, later identified as 39-year-old Chevoughn Augustin, into leaving the building. Marciano, who saw that Augustin was being uncooperative, contacted building maintenance workers Marvin Dixon and Jose Casanova for help, according to police.

Police said while Marciano went for help, Augustin attacked Kidik with a large kitchen knife, stabbing the officer in the throat multiple times.

When Dixon and Casanova arrived, they found Augustin on the floor holding Kidik down and continuing to stab her.

“Without hesitation, despite the extreme peril they faced, they collectively rushed the assailant, managed to knock her down and away from the Officer and disarmed her,” wrote Chief Rosado.

Police said Dixon and Casanova held Augustin while Marciano hurried to Kidik and tried to stop the bleeding while also calling 911 for help. More Hartford police officers arrived on scene and took over. Police said Marciano stayed with Kidick until the officer was taken to Hartford Hospital by ambulance.

“Without a shadow of doubt, had Ms. Marciano, Mr. Dixon and Mr. Casanova not taken the action they did, Officer Kidik would have died,” Rosado’s statement read.

Kidik has undergone intensive treatment for multiple stab wounds. She survived and is currently recovering at home.

“Ms. Marciano, your extraordinary courage, perseverance and selflessness in rendering lifesaving aid to an injured Police Officer in immediate need of assistance is reflective of your character as a human being. Mr. Dixon, Mr. Casanova, your extraordinary courage and selflessness in electing to disarm a knife wielding assailant who critically injured a Police Officer is also testament to your character as human beings. Simply stated, your actions saved Officer Kidik’s life,” Rosado wrote.

Both Dixon and Casanova said they didn't even stop to think when they saw Kidik needed help - they just acted.

"It was hard what I see but I knew that I has to help the officer because she was in danger," Casanova said.

"I just seen someone that needed some help I just acted upon just helping another human being," Dixon added.

Marciano said she was proud of her team and how they did not hesitate at all.

"I like to think I did what any other person would do who cares about another human being," she said of her own role.

Marciano said Kidik was able to show her where to apply pressure and she did her best to take care of her.

"I think we are all thankful for people that decide to go into law enforcement and do this on a daily basis because we definitely learned that day that you truly never know," Marciano added.

All three said they were glad Kidik survived and that they hoped to see her when she recovers.

"I would just like to see her smile and be happy and knowing that she’s okay," Dixon said.

Augustin was taken into custody. She faces charges of attempt to commit murder, first-degree assault, assault on a police officer, and criminal mischief. She is being held on a $2 million bond and is next scheduled to appear in court on June 5.

A 38-year-old man was shot several times on Wethersfield Avenue in Hartford Wednesday morning and the road is closed for a police investigation. 

Police said Shotspotter detected six rounds at 4:23 a.m. and police found a Hartford man with gunshot wounds to the chest and right hand. He was conscious and alert at the scene and has been taken to Hartford Hospital, where he is listed in serious condition, police said.

The road is closed between Redding and Meadow streets, crime scene tape is up and detectives are at the scene.

Police are investigating.

A man was stabbed during a Memorial Day party in Milford Monday night and police said another man who had not been invited to the festivities stabbed the victim, who had confronted him about having a gun.

Officers responded the Milford home at 10:40 p.m. and spoke with witnesses.

Authorities said Christopher Wesolowski, 28, of Milford, is accused of stabbing the victim in the neck and hand after the man approached him about having a handgun and pointing it at other guests throughout the course of the party.

The victim was transported to a local hospital and his injuries are not life-threatening.

Officers searched Wesolowski home and seized a handgun and a knife, according to a news release from police.

Wesolowski was taken into police custody on Tuesday and he has been charged with first-degree breach of peace, second-degree assault with a knife, carrying a dangerous weapon and reckless endangerment.

He was released on a $50,000 bond and is due in Milford Court on June 26.

A new highway sign made for exit 39 on Interstate 84 in Farmington is on the ground along the side of the highway and the state Department of Transportation will not be putting that one up because the name of the town is misspelled. 

A viewer spotted the sign that says “Framington” rather than “Farmington” along the side of the highway and shared the photo. 

Officials from the state Department of Transportation said they are replacing signs all over the state and an inspector noticed the misspelling, so the sign never went up. 

The DOT did not produce the sign. They contract the service out and it was merely a mistake, Kevin Nursick, of the Connecticut DOT, said.