Four people stole $60,000 worth of painkillers, including OxyContin, oxycodone and morphine, from a Walgreens in Meriden, according to police and a 911 call.

Surveillance video police released Wednesday afternoon shows two of the men leaping over the pharmacy counter and through the window, police said.

The thefts happened around 3:30 p.m. on May 21 and the person who called 911 said it did not look like the men had weapons and no one was hurt during the theft.

The group is accused of stealing around 3,000 prescription pills.

Anyone with information is asked to call Meriden Police at (203) 630-4178.

A bear was spotted near Quinnipiac University on Wednesday morning. 

Police said the bear was near the Harwood Gate at Quinnipiac University’s main campus in Hamden around 8:15 a.m., then it returned to Sleeping Giant State Park. 

Black bear sightings have become common in Connecticut and police said more sightings are likely as the population grows and because of recent storm damage to bears’ natural habitat. 

Sleeping Giant in Hamden is one of the areas that sustained heavy damage a couple of weeks ago and it remains closed.

Police also warn that bears should never be fed, intentionally or accidentally. 

If you spot a bear, report it to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. 

Nine girls and a boy were arrested after an altercation at Ansonia High School Wednesday and have been suspended, according to the school district.

The nine girls got into a fight outside the cafeteria around 7 a.m. and the security resource officer at the high school and several teachers immediately stepped in to break it up, according to school officials and police.

Police were called to respond and the students were arrested and taken into police custody, according to school officials.

Police arrested three 14-year-olds, two 15-year-olds, one 16-year-old, a 17-year-old, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old. They were all charged with assault in the third degree and breach of peace in the second degree. Their injuries are minor and include scratches, police said.

The fight stemmed from an ongoing problem between two groups of girls, according to police, and they said officers investigated three other incidents and some of the girls who were arrested Wednesday were involved in the previous altercation.

A 15-year-old boy who was accused of yelling and swearing at a teacher who told him to stop videotaping the fight and leave the area was also arrested.

"This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Superintendent of Ansonia Public School, Carol Merlone, said in a statement. “We thank our SRO, our staff and Ansonia Police for their quick action in containing this situation.“

All of the students involved have been suspended amid an investigation and school officials said other disciplinary action will be considered, according to the school department.

The Federal Reserve and other U.S. regulatory agencies proposed Wednesday to revise the Volcker Rule to apply to financial firms based on their trading activity, CNBC reported.

"This proposed rule will tailor the Volcker rule's requirements by focusing the most comprehensive compliance regime on the firms that do the most trading," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a statement. "Firms that do more modest amounts of trading will face fewer requirements."

The Volcker Rule was proposed during the financial crisis in an effort to prevent banks from speculating in markets. The rule went into effect four years ago and generally prevents banks from trading for their own profit or having stakes in a hedge fund or private equity fund.

Make way for ducklings!

Rescuers plucked several ducklings out of a storm drain in West Hartford Wednesday.

The ducks had fallen into a storm drain near the Red Robin in Corbin’s Corner. A passerby noticed the ducklings’ plight and called 911.

West Hartford firefighters responded and climbed into the drain to rescue the ducklings, who were then reunited with their mother.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said he has collected more than 15,000 signatures and expects a to find himself on the August primary ballot, just below endorsed candidate Ned Lamont.

Ganim needs only needs roughly 15,000 signatures of registered Democratic voters in order to secure a spot on the ballot, and it appears Ganim is well on his way.

He said his retail politics approach has been successful and adds it’s been especially successful in the state’s largest cities like Hartford, New Haven, and Bridgeport.

“I mean you’re talking to people. You’re asking, ‘will you come and vote for me?’ You’re on the street,” Ganim said. “To me, that’s just a million miles away from being in some dark hall with these speeches with political leaders. This is about Democracy, and this is about cities, and this is about people who need a voice, who don’t have it, and that’s what I want to do.”

Ned Lamont ran away with the Connecticut Democratic Party’s endorsement during the party’s convention last week, collecting more than 80 percent of delegates. Ganim fell short of the required 15 percent needed to get a spot on the primary ballot.

Lamont is not opposed to a primary in principle, but said the process and campaign should not be about personal attacks.

“I want to debate on the issues. I want to debate how you get this state going again, how you create jobs, how you start bringing young people back,” Lamont said during a press conference with the other endorsed statewide office candidates. “If it’s divisive and belittling, that’s not good for the party, that’s no good for the state.”

Ganim did not shy away from attacking Lamont, even before the two are officially primary opponents.

“The other candidate doesn’t need donations because he’s a multi-millionaire. I’m just a regular guy,” he said to one person in a supermarket.

He also said Lamont’s lifestyle and success as a businessman have left him out of touch with working-class Connecticut residents.

“Listen, I don’t care that he has a house that has eight bathrooms, that’s his lifestyle,” Ganim quipped. “I live in the bottom of a three family house in Bridgeport and I’m in the neighborhoods every day talking to people who otherwise don’t even have anybody listening to them.”

Lamont said he sees no value in that kind of a primary fight, and vowed not to be drawn to those kinds of debates and arguments.

“I don’t think we need a governor who tries to divide people. I think you need a governor who brings people together.”

It might seem insignificant on May 30, 2018, but the image of all five party-endorsed candidates for statewide office standing on a street corner in Hartford could be what leads to a clear message and strategy for Democrats between now and November.

The image of Ned Lamont, the party’s pick for governor, being flanked by a diverse group of four other statewide candidates could set the stage to provide a clear contrast Democrats are hoping sticks with voters over the summer and into the fall.

For all of the talk of the Connecticut Democratic Party having an issue with diversity, it certainly did not look like it on Wednesday. Treasurer Candidate Shawn Wooden, an African American, stood behind Lamont, with Attorney General Candidate William Tong of Chinese descent standing to his right. On the other side of the press conference were Denise Merrill and Susan Bysiewicz.

The message being sent to voters and to Republicans is a blunt one: The Democrats want to be viewed as the party that more closely resembles the makeup of the state of Connecticut.

By holding a press conference together, they’re handling the primary for governor more like a slate in a small Connecticut town looking to wrestle control from those in power. It comes off as a Three Musketeers strategy, “All for one and one for all.”

The strategy serves to benefit three of the candidates facing what could be stiff primary challenges. Bysiewicz, Tong, and Wooden are all facing strong candidates that emerged with positions on the August primary ballot.

Bysiewicz and Tong likely have the most to gain from what amounts to an alliance with Lamont and the rest of the endorsed candidates.

Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, a union organizer and former staffer to Congressman Charles Rangel of New York, became the grassroots and union-backed darling of the convention. She surged to earning 40 percent of delegates after days of handwringing among some party leaders over the choice by Lamont of Bysiewicz to be his running mate.

African American and Latino party leaders wanted to see a person of color alongside Lamont. Bermudez Zimmerman, as a result, could have strong support in Connecticut’s largest cities, posing a strong challenge to Bysiewicz.

Bysewicz, however, will be traveling around the state with Lamont, and, presumably at certain points, with the rest of the endorsed slate. That provides power in numbers.

Rep. William Tong, the most recent Judiciary Committee Chairman from Stamford, faces Chris Mattei. Mattei prosecuted John Rowland for the second time and has an interesting story to tell. He, too, was a union organizer.

Tong will have the same benefit as Susan Bysiewicz. The more he is seen with the endorsed slate, the louder the message it sends to primary voters that he is a part of the ticket that is supposed to be in charge.

For now, this appears to be a united front, until and unless some of the others in the race decide that’s not what is best for them.

Students attending Meriden Public Schools will be provided breakfast and lunch at no charge beginning next school year.

Meriden’s Board of Education approved the measure to expand the program providing free meals from the five schools it currently serves to all 12 of the district’s schools.

Parents at Meriden’s Israel-Putnam Elementary School told NBC Connecticut that knowing their kids have breakfast and lunch waiting for them at school helps them financially.

The savings add up, said Heather Volpe, whose daughter Lacie attends third grade at the school.

Meriden’s Board of Education knows there is real need in their community. More than 70 percent of students qualify for free or reduced meals, according to Susan Maffe, Director of Food and Nutrition Services for Meriden Public Schools. The high number of students qualified Meriden for the USDA’s Community Eligibility Program, allowing the school district to fully fund the meal program with federal dollars.

In erasing the need for payment, Maffe said administrators also hope to erase the stigma for those students who struggle to pay. Right now, middle and high school students have their outstanding balance checked in the school lunch line, a practice Maffe said may discourage needy students from getting line.

Carre Brown, who has two children enrolled at Israel-Putnam, felt the program there has been successful putting children there on a level playing field.

“You don’t want a little kid sitting there who’s upset or feeling shy because they don’t have the same meal as someone else… I think that’s great that everyone gets the same thing,” she said.

Maffe said the district hopes to keep providing breakfast and lunch at no charge for as long as the federal funding remains available.

A male body has been found in the area of Spicer's Marina in the Noank section of Groton, authorities said. 

USCG officials said the body, which was found tangled in some lines late Wednesday morning, is that of an "older" male. They do not believe it is related to the recent missing boaters crews were searching for over the weekend.

Groton Town Police said the case does not appear suspicious and is being treated as an untimely death investigation.

Police are working to identify the body and locate next of kin.

No other information was immediately available.

Mohegan Sun is continuing its expansion by officially opening the Earth Expo & Convention Center Wednesday.

Tribe officials touted the location between Boston and New York, one-stop environment and the ability to host large events that have never come to Connecticut before.

The $80 million, 250,000 square foot expansion has already created about 300 permanent and construction jobs and will bring in mid-week business, generating spillover to area hotels, according to Mohegan Tribe Chairman Kevin Brown.

“Local Connecticut residents are going to get jobs here,” Brown said. “We are sustaining the economy every time we grow this facility.”

Plus, with Mohegan Sun and Electric Boat hiring, the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut is working to introduce and keep people in the area, Chamber President & CEO Tony Sheridan said.

“I think it’s going to be a plus, plus all the way around. It’s been a long recession,” according to Sheridan, who said he expects the southeastern casino to pull business from the Connecticut Convention Center in the capitol city. Especially since the casino is an integrated resort with dining, lodging, shopping and entertainment.

“This expo center isn’t just going to shift expo business in the state of Connecticut, it’s going to generate international business,” Brown said. “We’re now going to get some of those larger conventions that never came here, that never went to the Convention Center, that want to be here now.”

Hartford Boat Show organizers confirmed a move from the Hartford venue to Uncasville. Kathleen Burns, executive of the CT Marine Trades Association that produces the annual event, cited part of the reason being that Earth Expo & Convention Center had availability that didn’t conflict with other boat shows in the region.

While the group is “deeply grateful” to the Convention Center that produced the show since the Center opened, Burns said they are enticed by Earth Expo & Convention Center’s easy move-in and move-out, complimentary parking and all of the Mohegan Sun amenities for guests.

The Earth Expo & Convention Center includes the 125,000 square foot, column-free Earth Expo, a ballroom that can be divided in two, free parking, an eight bay loading dock from an open parking field and additional drive-in access, 15 meeting rooms, an executive boardroom with a private outdoor terrace, outdoor space including a wrap-around terrace, a kitchen and “state-of-the art” technology and amenities.

NBC Connecticut reached out to the Connecticut Convention Center to talk about competing with Mohegan Sun. Communications Manager Brianna Barnes responded via email saying the Center has no comment right now regarding Mohegan Sun but “Once everything is up & running, our management will have a better idea and be able to comment directly.”

The first major event at the Earth Expo & Convention Center will be the Barrett-Jackson auction in June.

Mohegan Sun is also home to the Sky Convention Center & Meeting Spaces.

A Bloomfield man asked NBC Connecticut Responds to steer him in the right direction after he realized he was taxed twice for one vehicle.

Stanley Silimon said the town had the same VIN on file for his truck and his trailer, resulting in two property tax bills for the same truck.

Silimon said an employee at the Tax Collector’s office sent him to the Department of Motor Vehicles. But the DMV pointed him back to the Tax Collector.

Silimon wasn’t sure what to do next, and called Responds for guidance. Our consumer team helped Silimon figure out which forms he needed from which office.

A few weeks after he submitted the paperwork, Silimon received a refund check in the amount of $205.12 for the overpayment.

A Wilton man turned to NBC Connecticut Responds for help getting his deteriorating couch replaced.

Russ Dobey said the material on the three-year-old couch was peeling off. He said the company told him the warranty doesn’t cover normal wear and tear.

Dobey didn’t consider the peeling normal and reached out to Responds.

After our consumer team sent the company pictures of the problem areas, the store offered Dobey a $399 store credit to put toward a new couch, plus $49 for delivery.

Dobey said his new couch looks good and is comfortable.

Police have released body camera video footage showing the violent arrest of a Philadelphia woman accused of underage drinking in Wildwood, New Jersey, over the Memorial Day weekend.

Emily Weinman, 20, was arrested Saturday and charged with aggravated assault on a police officer, aggravated assault by spitting bodily fluids at/on a police officer, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, obstruction and minor in possession of alcohol.

A video of the arrest posted on social media shows three officers holding Weinman down on the sand. One officer punches her on the back of the head as they restrain her. 

Police identified the officers involved as Thomas Cannon, John Hillman and Robert Jordan.

Wildwood Commissioner of Public Safety Tony Leonetti told NBC10 Weinman assaulted one of the officers first by kicking him in the groin and then running away, which the video does not show. 

In the first body camera video released Wednesday, an officer approaches Weinman and a friend and confronts them about underage drinking. The officer asks both women to take a breathalyzer. Weinman argues that she did not drink and the alcohol belongs to her aunt, adding that "[the test] didn't come out positive." 

The officer asks Weinman about her aunt's whereabouts, and then is heard telling the other officer that he is going to have the women pour the alcohol out. The video then cuts off.

The second video begins with Weinman telling the officer it's not illegal to carry a closed container of alcohol. She argues that the alcohol isn't opened, but one of the officers tell her that because the bottle is visible, she can be charged for an "open display." 

The officer again asks Weinman where her aunt is. Weinman tells him she's on her way. When Weinman refuses to give the officer her last name, the situation escalates.

"Okay, that's it. I'm done with you," the officer says and cant be heard asking his colleague for handcuffs. 

"Don't f------ cuff me," Weinman tells the officer.

"You're about to get dropped," he responds.

As the officer approaches her, Weinman puts her hands up and appears to touch the camera. The video then turns off. Police say Weinman forcibly struck the officer in the torso where the body camera was mounted and caused the camera to turn off.

The third video begins with the officer grabbing Weinman's hair and forcing her to the ground as she screams, struggles, curses and tells him repeatedly to get off of her. At one point a fist is seen hitting Weinman three times. 

"You're not allowed to beat me like that," she yells. "I'm a woman. It doesn't matter...You're not allowed to hit me and choke me like that!"

She continued, "My daughter is right there seeing this! I didn't do anything wrong!"

As an officer places handcuffs on Weinman, she can be seen in the video spitting at him.

The video ends with one of the officers reporting the incident to another officer. The officer claims Weinman tried kicking another officer so he "slammed her on the ground."

"She kicked him and I just hit her a couple times," the officer says. "And I put her in cuffs and locked her up." 

Weinman's attorney Stephen Dicht told NBC10 that after seeing the new body camera footage, his view hasn't changed.

"My perception is the same," Dicht said. "My reaction is the same. It's an overreaction to the situation and an excessive use of force."

The initial video sparked debate on social media, with some supporting the officers’ actions, others insisting that people wait for the entire story to emerge before passing judgment and others condemning what they believe to be excessive force from the officers.

"If you refuse to give your name, than does that give them the right to pound you in the head?" Dicht asked.

Wildwood Police say an internal affairs investigation was immediately initiated on the incident and the three officers were reassigned to administrative duty pending the outcome.

"Chief Regalbuto stated that while he finds this video to be alarming, he does not want to rush to any judgment until having the final results of the investigation,” a Wildwood police spokesman wrote in a statement to NBC10.

The Cape May County Prosecutor's Office would not comment on the incident outside of saying it's under review.

Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. told NBC10 the incident was not a reflection of the Jersey Shore town.

"It's really a shame that one minuscule incident happened that ruined it for the whole entire weekend which has been a great weekend," he said.

Weinman has faced charges prior to Saturday's incident, including simple assault and criminal mischief, according to court records.

Her attorney told NBC10 she is currently on probation for a previous simple assault charge in Philadelphia, her attorney said.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident and has more video to contact Detective Lieutenant Kenneth Gallagher at 609-522-0222.

A new study found that abortions do not cause depression, but women who have depression and anxiety may be more likely to have abortions, NBC News reported.

The study, which was reported in the Journal of the American Medical Associations JAMA Psychiatry, is the latest to show no evidence that abortion causes depression. The researchers say that policies citing damage to mental health as a reason to restrict access to abortion aren’t based in fact.

The study drew from Denmark’s national database, covering close to 400,000 women born after 1980 and which details abortions — something that may less accurately show up in U.S. data, where abortions may or may not be recorded. The team compared women who filled prescriptions for antidepressants to women who didn’t. 

"Compared with women who did not have an abortion, those who had an abortion had a higher rate of antidepressant use," the researchers wrote. "A close look at the data, however, suggests that the higher rates of antidepressant use had less to do with having an abortion than with other risk factors for depression among women who had an abortion."

Milford police are warning gym-goers to be on alert after multiple car break-ins at local fitness centers.

Police said they are investigating a string of the crimes outside athletic facilities.

Police said the suspects targeted cars parked outside the Edge Fitness, YMCA and LA Fitness in town during the after-work rush Tuesday

The suspect or suspects smashed the windows of three cars and snatched valuables.

The vehicles were locked, police said, but the valuables were in plain sight.

“Pretty brazen for someone to go in there, break glass and to take items. There’s a lot of people in those facilities, in the parking lot that time of the day,” Milford Police Officer Mike DeVito said.

Investigators said the thieves got away with items such as purses, wallets, handbags or laptops.

“Usually if people are working out at a gym between five and six o’clock they’re most likely coming from work. So you get people leaving their items, their valuables in the car,” DeVito said.

Police have upped patrols around the gyms, and warned drivers to try to hide any valuables left in the car.

Officers said because thefts inside gyms can also be a problem, that safely storing items inside your car is your better bet, if you can’t leave them at home.

Anyone with information on the break-ins is asked to contact police.

Sears Holdings announced Thursday that it will close 72 more stores in 2018, CNBC reported.

The announcement comes as its same-store sales continue to decline at a double-digit percentage rate. Sears said it has identified 100 non-profitable stories, and will begin to close sales at 72 of them in the near future. Sears will provide a list of the stores Thursday.

Sears and Kmart combined operated about 1,000 locations by the end of 2017, but in January, the embattled department store chain announced that it would close 64 Kmart stores and 39 Sears stores — adding to the hundreds of closures that have happened over the last few years. 

"We're not liquidating just to liquidate. We're liquidating ... to get capital to put into our pension plan," the company’s CEO told CNBC in a recent interview. "As opposed to erring on the side of, 'This store might work.' ... If it's not working, we've invested the time, so we've got to close it because we are now jeopardizing this [store] over here."

Moscow has branded the "resurrection" of Russian journalist and Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko "propaganda" and claimed it casts doubt on other accusations made by the West, NBC News reported.

Babchenko was widely reported to have been assassinated in Kiev, Ukraine, on Tuesday, before surprising virtually everyone by turning up alive at a news conference less than 24 hours later. The head of Ukraine’s security services later told reporters that they had faked Babchenko's death to catch those who were trying to kill him, blaming the Russian security services.

In a statement Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry in Moscow accused Ukraine of “fanning anti-Russian hysteria" and said the episode was “another anti-Russian provocation." Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote a separate statement on her Facebook page stating that it was "obvious that a propaganda effect was part of the plan."

Russian state media used the Babchenko incident to raise questions about other allegations made against the Kremlin. RT drew a comparison between the Babchenko case and the recent poisonings and recoveries of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia — insinuating that both incidents had been faked.

Three children were left alone in a hot car in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Manchester, Connecticut, Wednesday afternoon and the woman who is accused of leaving them alone has been arrested, according to police. 

An employee of the Walmart at 420 Buckland Hills Drive contacted police around 2:30 p.m. and said young children were crying, police said. Officers who responded found a 1-year-old, a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old child in a Chrysler Town and Country minivan. 

The windows were slightly cracked and two of the children were in car seats while the other was lying across a seat, police said. 

The van was not locked, so officers were able to open a door and get to the children. 

Police identified the woman who was responsible for the children as 33-year-old Lashonna Chambers, of Bloomfield. They said she came out of the store soon after officers arrived and said she had only been gone for about 10 minutes.

Police said it was around 82 degrees and the time and they determined Chambers had left the children alone for around 25 minutes.

Medics determined the children were OK and they were turned over to the custody of another guardian. Police said the state Department of Children and Families was notified.

Chambers was arrested and charged with three counts each of reckless endangerment in the first degree and risk of injury to a minor.

Bond was set at $10,000. She posted it and is due in court on June 12, according to police. 

A tractor-trailer carrying refuse caught fire on Route 9 in Deep River Thursday morning and the highway was closed. 

Police said no one is injured, but the smoke was thick and the northbound side of the highway was closed. 

Traffic was detoured off exit 5 and back on at exit 6. 

The left lane is now getting by.