White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked repeatedly about a statement in August in which she said President Donald Trump did not dictate Donald Trump Jr.'s statement in regard to a Trump Tower meeting with Russians. That statement has been contradicted by Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

Miss America has scrapped its swimsuit competition as the organization announced it will no longer judge the women on their appearances. 

The announcement comes as the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Organization, the local affiliate of Miss America, gets ready to hold its annual pageant in at the Palace Theater in Waterbury.

“This does not affect this weekend,” said Nakiya Troth, Executive Director of the Miss Connecticut Scholarship Organization. “This weekend we are holding our 90th anniversary Miss Connecticut scholarship pageant. We will have for the very last time our iconic swimsuit competition and our evening wear competition.”

Miss Connecticut 2017 Eliza Kanner will crown a new winner.

“I certainly enjoyed competing in the swimsuit competition,” Kanner said. “I worked for years to feel so confident on that stage, but I think that this change will bring about a future of women from all different walks of life, of all different shapes and sizes.”

The changes to Miss Connecticut pageants will go into effect in September.

“I think it’s positive,” Stacy Perrone-Petta, Miss Connecticut 1996. “I love that were heading in a new direction. I think that today’s woman is changing.”

Six months ago, George Papadopoulos's fiance was making the rounds in the news media with a disquieting message for Trump supporters, NBC News reported.

Papadopoulos, written off by Trump aides as a "coffee boy," was in fact a significant player in the 2016 campaign, Simona Mangiante said. And therefore, Mangiante implied, his decision to plead guilty and cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller was bad news for Trump. 

"I believe history will remember him like John Dean," the Italian-born Mangiante told The Washington Post, referring to the former White House counsel who became a key witness in the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Nixon.

But in recent days, Mangiante, now Papadopoulos' wife, has markedly changed her tone. She has taken to right-wing media to proclaim that Papadopoulos played no role in collusion with Russia. On Fox News Monday night, she expressed her hope that Trump would pardon her husband.

Plainfield High School was placed on lockdown Tuesday when a juvenile came in with a BB gun, according to Plainfield police.

Police said the suspect came into the school with a student’s parent around 10 a.m. While the parent went into a meeting, the boy was in the office. According to police, the boy refused to explain his real reason for being there when asked by staff, and staff called police.

Police said the boy gave officers a fake name during the incident and did not warn them about a fake BB gun in his waistband. When officers searched him, they found marijuana and the BB gun in the juvenile’s waistband, according to police.

When officers found the BB gun the school was locked down to determine there was no threat.

The juvenile was taken into custody and charged with possession of a facsimile firearm, breach of peace, criminal impersonation, possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, interfering with an officer, possession of alcohol by a minor, and possession of tobacco by a minor.

Police stressed that there was never any immediate danger to staff or students and that the suspect was in an office during the entire incident.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt had one of his top aides reach out to Chick-fil-A's CEO last year to discuss a "potential business opportunity," according to emails released by the Sierra Club and obtained by NBC News on Tuesday.

That "business opportunity" was actually an effort to help Pruitt's wife become a franchisee of the popular fast food chain, Carrie Kurlander, the company's vice president of public relations, confirmed to The Washington Post.

The newspaper first reported that while Pruitt never succeeded in speaking with Chik-fil-A CEO Dan Cathy directly, he did talk to someone in the company's legal department, revealing that the "potential business opportunity" was one he sought for his wife, Marlyn Pruitt.

Kelly Sadler, the West Wing aide who mocked Sen. John McCain in a meeting, no longer works at the White House.

Sadler "is no longer employed within the Executive Office of the President," according to a statement Tuesday from Raj Shah, the White House principal deputy press secretary.

During a closed-door meeting last month, Sadler dismissed McCain's opposition to CIA nominee Gina Haspel by saying of the Arizona Republican: "He's dying anyway."

McCain was diagnosed in July with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Sadler apologized to the McCain family privately, but McCain's daughter asked for a public apology. Several GOP senators have also said the administration should apologize.  

Three state swimming areas are closed due to high bacteria levels in the water, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Swimming areas at Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic, Silver Sands State Park in Milford, and Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth are closed because of high bacteria counts brought on by recent rain. All three beaches have been retested and the results are due back Wednesday.

The indicator bacteria shown in the testing will not make you sick, health officials use it to evaluate possible contamination in the water.

DEEP regularly tests the water at state swimming areas. Local health departments are responsible for testing at town beaches and swimming areas.

Pork farmers could lose $100 million annually after Mexico said it would slap a massive tariff on pork imports to retaliate against President Donald Trump's aluminum and steel import levies, according to an estimate by the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Mexico, the second-largest market for U.S. pork exports, said Tuesday it would impose a 10 percent tariff on U.S. pork shoulder and legs, with the tariff rising to 20 percent by July 5, a spokesperson for the Mexican Ministry of Economy confirmed to NBC News.

Mexico imported almost 650,000 metric tons of pork legs and shoulder last year, worth about $1 billion, according to government data.

A man wanted on an attempted murder charge was arrested Tuesday morning outside the White House, where he was working as a contractor and had a White House pass, law enforcement officials said.

Officers arrested 29-year-old Martese Maurice Edwards of Suitland, Maryland, when he reported for work, according to a Secret Service statement. Two federal law enforcement agencies identified Edwards.

Edwards was taken to a Metropolitan Police Department station for processing, the statement said.

Edwards was "the subject of a warrant issued out of Prince George's County, MD," the statement said.

A federal official said the warrant was for attempted first-degree murder. The details of the charge were not available.

The Secret Service learned about the arrest warrant when it was entered into the national Criminal Justice Information System Monday, the statement said. But two law enforcement officials said the warrant was issued in mid-May, raising a question of why Maryland authorities did not enter it into the database until Monday.

A White House spokesperson was unable to say what the contractor's job was or to what areas of the White House he had access with his contractor's pass. But a federal law enforcement official says Edwards did work for the National Security Council in the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House and did not have access to the West Wing.

Connecticut State Police are looking into putting a new shooting range in Griswold, but many area residents say they don’t want to hear gunfire in the communal backyard they share with the Pachaug Forest.

"I truly believe it’s the wrong place for this facility. I feel like the people of Eastern Connecticut are largely ignored until the state wants to dump something on this side of the state,” said Pam Patalano, co-founder of the group Save Pachaug Forest.

On Tuesday members of the group continued what’s now become a years-long fight to stop the Connecticut State Police from building a new firearms training facility and gun range on a piece of land in Griswold.

“I feel like they’re not taking it seriously what we’re saying and they’re not taking seriously the impact that the location of that range could possibly have on our economic development,” said Tracey Hanson, Voluntown first selectman.

Residents were pushing back against the state police proposal at a scoping meeting meant to lay out the proposal, outline potential environmental impacts and allow the public to weigh in.

Many residents said they simply don’t want the sound of police gunfire ringing out anywhere in their community.

“That’s just ridiculous. I mean, we may be from the quiet corner, but we’re not stupid,” said Sen. Heather Somers (R- Dist. 18).

State police said their current facility in Simsbury is outdated and a flood-risk. The Griswold site was selected after years of considering options like sharing public gun ranges or using Department of Correction facilities. State police said they hear the concerns of the community

“We understand this is a major project that will have impact to the area. That’s why we’re going through this meeting and the next months ahead of us to be able to show and learn how those concerns can be addressed and mitigated as the project goes forward,” said. State Police Lt. Marc Petruzzi.

It could be several years before a final decision about the site of the training facility is made, but whether today or somewhere down the line, these residents said they’ll never want it.

With the public meeting over, a formal environmental impact assessment will be drawn up and published. The public will then get to review that and weigh in at another meeting. Even if the plan were to move forward, it would be several more years before construction begins.

A soldier is in custody after stealing an armored personnel carrier and leading police on a more than 60-mile chase, a Virginia State Police spokesperson said.

The suspect got inside an armored personnel vehicle and drove away from Fort Pickett in Nottoway County about 7:50 p.m., police said.

Police pursued the man as he drove along Route 460, northbound on Interstate 95 and along Broad Street — a main throughgare for traffic in Richmond, Virginia.

The vehicle, which is not equipped with any weapons, topped out at 45 mph, police said.

Videos on social media appear to show the armored personnel carrier cruising with several police cars in pursuit.

The chase ended about 9:40 p.m. when the man abandoned the vehicle and was taken into custody near City Hall.

No injuries or crashes have been reported.

The vehicle belongs to the Virignia National Guard, police said. Police didn't name the suspect or specify his role in the military.

Police say charges are pending. 

One person has died after two cars collided on Route 15 in Norwalk Tuesday night and one of the vehicles caught fire. 

State police said the crash happened near exit 40 just before 10 p.m. and one person was transported to a hospital and pronounced dead. 

The highway was closed for several hours and reopened around 3 a.m. Wednesday. 

No additional information was released.

California's crowded field for governor was knocked down to two Tuesday, when voters picked Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox as the winners of the state's primary. 

The contest had been watched closely because of the state's unusual system, in which the two candidates who receive the most votes advance, regardless of party. Tuesday's results mean a traditional match of a Democrat versus Republican.

The peculiarity of the open primary saw two of the Democrats, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, promoting Republican rivals to better their own chances. 

Gov. Jerry Brown, the state's longest-serving governor, is barred by term limits from running again and in all, 27 people ran to replace him in a state where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans 45 percent to 26 percent, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. 

Now that voters have chosen, meet the candidates for governor.

Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom
As the front-runner, Newsom has come under heightened scrutiny.

The Los Angeles Times reviewed his record as lieutenant governor and reported that he missed numerous meetings of the boards he sits on. The job is mostly a ceremonial one and being a member of the University of California Board of Regents, the California State University Board of Trustees and the California State Lands Commission are among the lieutenant governor’s more significant duties, the newspaper wrote.

When Newsom’s critics faulted him, he responded that he was there for every difficult vote.

Newsom ran for governor in 2010 but switched to the lieutenant governor’s race after Jerry Brown entered the contest.

Newson was the mayor of San Francisco for two terms, first elected at age 34. In 2004 he ordered the city to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The marriage licenses were nullified six months later but the decision put him in the national spotlight in a battle that ended with the U.S. Supreme Court legalizing gay marriages in 2015.

“I had no right to do this,” Newsom acknowledged to The Mercury News in February. “We didn’t have the formal authority. But we tried to exercise our moral authority and challenge the laws.”

Newson gained less welcome attention when it was revealed that he had had an affair with his appointments secretary and the wife of his campaign manager and best friend.

Last year, one of Newsom’s Democratic rivals, state Treasurer John Chiang, highlighted a 2009 article in SF Weekly that argued that the city was the worst run big city in the United States. It had failed to make progress on homelessness, had a transportation system plagued by deficits and undertook capital projects that busted budgets, the newspaper wrote. That year the city’s budget was $6.6 billion for about 800,000 residents.

Newsom’s political consultant tweeted that the attack was a sign of desperation.

Newson, 50, helped to create a program that provided access to universal health care for residents of San Francisco, and as a candidate for governor, he supports universal health care for the state.

He proposed strengthening California’s gun laws and supported legalizing the recreational use of marijuana, both passed by the state’s voters in 2016.

Before becoming a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1997, Newsom started a wine business. 

He lives with his wife and four children.

Republican John Cox
A venture capitalist who lives in Rancho Sante Fe in San Diego County, Cox got a late primary endorsement from President Donald Trump and with it a boost to his poll numbers. Trump continued his support for Cox in a tweet last week, “He’ll Make California Great Again!” and again Tuesday morning, “He will make a BIG difference.”

By last week, Cox had come in second behind Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in a survey from the UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies. He polled 20 percent to Newsom’s 33 percent and up from the mere 9 percent he had in December. He had the backing of 50 percent of conservative voters.

Cox did not vote for Trump in 2016, a decision he now says he regrets, but he echoes many of Trump’s positions. He approves of the plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and rejects what are known as sanctuary laws that limit cooperation between federal and local officials. He says that they help to protect undocumented immigrants who have committed a crime.

Cox blames the California Environmental Quality Act, the state’s broad environmental law, for contributing to the state’s affordable housing shortage and says he would repeal it. He would reverse California’s gas tax rise, passed by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature as the first step in raising $5.4 billion for transportation projects. He criticizes the increase, whose repeal is on November’s ballot, as regressive.

He says he supports Second Amendment rights.

Cox, 62, grew up in Chicago, one of four children of a single mother who worked as a schoolteacher. He began working as an accountant and ran for elected office three times in Illinois, always unsuccessfully. He dropped out of a U.S. Senate primary in 2003 in a race that former President Barack Obama won, according to SFGate.

“I grew up with nothing,” he said at a Public Policy Institute of California speaker series, SFGate reported. “The way I’ve achieved what I’ve achieved is the ability to have my own business. It kills me when I hear politicians — and it’s mostly in the other party — and they talk about this horrible inequality we have, yet they go out and encourage more regulations, more government, more restrictions on competition, more inability to start your own business.”

Cox and his wife have four daughters.

Guatemala is in a state of emergency. The 16-hour eruption of “Volcán del Fuego” (Volcano of Fire), located less than 30 miles away from Guatemala City, has killed at least 69 people, injured 300 and forced 3,100 Guatemalans in communities close to the volcano to flee their homes.

A total of 1.7 million people have been affected by Guatemala’s most aggressive eruption in over a century. President Jimmy Morales declared three days of national mourning.

People all over the world have joined in solidarity with the victims using #VolcanDeFuego on social media and through organizations raising money to send urgent aid to Guatemala.

Here is how you can help Guatemalans as they begin to rebuild and recover from the disaster.

GoFundMe: The crowd funding site has put together a list of verified campaigns that are directing aid to those impacted by the volcano as well as relief efforts.

The Red Cross: The Guatemalan arm of the organization, Cruz Roja Guatemalteca, is on the ground leading recovery efforts. Monetary donations can be made by texting REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief. Alternatively, you can also donate directly to Cruz Roja directly through the bank information found here. The organization is also seeking blood donations and specific good donations, including water, food, diapers and latex gloves.

The God's Child Project: The North Dakota-based charity has opened an emergency center for burn victims and orphaned children in Antigua, Guatemala. The organization says it expects to feed, clothe, shelter and provide medical assistance to thousands of people in the coming weeks. Donations can be made online here or sent to Emergency Relief, PO Box 1844, Bismarck, ND 58502.

B Strong: "Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel announced Tuesday on Twitter that her organization B Strong is mobilizing on-the-ground relief efforts "as we speak." B Strong Disaster Relief works with the national disaster relief charity Delivering Good to provide people affected by natural disasters with much-needed gift cards, bank cards and critical supplies. To allocate donations to Guatemala's efforts, visit bethenny.com/bstrong and write "GUATEMALA" in the "additional comment" field on the donate page. Frankel has also been involved in relief efforts in Puerto Rico since Hurricane Maria.

Helps International: The nonprofit organization located in Guatemala City provides programs in healthcare, education and economic development. The team is on the ground in affected areas distributing water filters and eye medications. One-time donations or monthly commitments can be made online here.

Catholic Relief Services: The international humanitarian relief and development organization of the U.S. Catholic Church is coordinating with government and local organizations, including local churches, to provide food, water, medicine and other lifesaving relief items to those impacted by the disaster. CRS has also opened three shelters for the displaced, and the number of people seeking refuge continues to grow. Online donations can be made here.

Raise Awareness: In addition to monetary donations and goods, you can raise awareness on social media. The hashtags #PrayForGuatemala, #GuatemalaEstoyContigo and #AidGuatemala have helped bring attention to the devastation caused by the volcanic eruption. 

A New Jersey mother, who is a prominent diving coach, and her son were charged with trafficking fentanyl, heroin, cocaine and marijuana.

Candace Gottlieb, 59, of Cherry Hill and Tyler Gottlieb, 27, were both arrested Friday. Their arrests followed a federal investigation into the trafficking of counterfeit prescription opioid pills containing fentanyl and heroin, as well as cocaine and marijuana.

In March of 2018, federal officers seized $67,760 from Tyler Gottlieb as he was about to board a flight to California from Philadelphia International Airport, officials said.

The FBI later obtained 802 counterfeit prescription pills, at least 200 of which contained fentanyl and heroin, from Tyler and Candace Gottlieb during the ensuing months, according to investigators.

Officials also say the FBI bought cocaine in a transaction orchestrated by Tyler Gottlieb, seized about 40 pounds of marijuana sent by Tyler Gottlieb to New Jersey through the mail and obtained samples of cocaine and marijuana from Candace Gottlieb.

Investigators say they executed a search warrant of the Gottliebs' New Jersey home Friday and seized about 6,600 additional counterfeit prescription pills they suspect contained fentanyl and heroin as well as cocaine and marijuana packaged for distribution.

They also found and seized two handguns from inside the home and around $2,000 in cash, according to officials. No one was home when NBC10 visited on Tuesday. 

On Saturday morning investigators executed a second search warrant of another home connected to Tyler Gottlieb and seized an AK-47 assault rifle, a shotgun, 1,000 rounds of ammunition, high-capacity ammunition magazines, two handguns, marijuana and packaging materials, officials said.

Tyler Gottlieb was arrested in California where he is awaiting a federal court appearance.

Candace Gottlieb has for 23 seasons been a men’s and women’s diving coach at The College of New Jersey in Ewing Township (TCNJ), helping to produce 20 NCAA Division III qualifiers who have earned 32 All-America awards, according to her bio on the school's website that was taken down on Wednesday. 

Luke Sacks, head media relations officer at TCNJ, described Gottlieb as a "part-time employee who worked a limited number of hours as a men’s and women’s diving coach." 

He said TCNJ had "terminated its contract with her effective immediately." 

"The College of New Jersey was not contacted by law enforcement as part of its investigation and has no reason to believe that Candace Gottlieb was doing anything on TCNJ's campus other than the duties for which she was hired," he said.

She has also been affiliated with USA Diving, having served as a former vice president of junior diving for the organization, according to her TCNJ profile.

"USA Diving is aware of the circumstances surrounding Candace Gottlieb and has suspended her USA Diving membership," a spokesperson wrote.

In addition she was the founder of the South Jersey Diving Club and a past member of the Junior Olympic International Committee. 

A neighbor told NBC10 Candace Gottlieb had another son who died of a drug overdose last year.

NBC10 tried reaching out to lawyers for both Gottliebs and has not heard back.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Transitional Shelter Assistance Program, which is providing short-term housing assistance to Puerto Rican families that are still displaced by Hurricane Maria and living in hotels, is set to end on June 30, NBC News reported.

About 2,300 families are still in TSA-participating hotels in 28 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, according to FEMA.    

"Those families who remain in hotels will at that point have no additional financial support in the housing side so they will for all intents and purposes become homeless," said Tara Parrish of the Pioneer Valley Project, an organization lobbying FEMA for longer-term subsidies.  

And while FEMA has also offered to pay for airline tickets for those seeking to return to the island, families note that they don't have a home to return to.

"I'd have to practically be in the streets," a mother of two living in a Massachusetts hotel room said. "Over there and here it is the same. I have nothing."

A DMV Express Center will soon open at a bank in Milford. 

It will open at the Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union at 977 Boston Post Road in Milford Thursday, according to the governor’s office, and customers will be able to renew driver’s licenses and ID cards. 

“The service launched today is an innovative step forward, giving customers a reliable option to renew driver’s licenses, while at the same time reducing the strain on DMV locations,” Malloy said in a statement. “This public-private partnership should serve as a model for how we can work together to make sure Connecticut residents receive the best possible services.”  

A convenience fee will be charged for non-Nutmeg members.

“Our intent is to offer convenience through technology whether you are doing your banking or renewing your license. We have always been dedicated to providing outstanding service and convenience for our members and will offer that same commitment to the DMV experience,” Nutmeg State Financial Credit Union President and CEO John Holt said in a statement. 

The following services will be provided at the location: 

• Verified Driver’s License Renewals (U.S. Citizens Only)
• Regular Driver’s License Renewals
• Verified ID Card Renewals (U.S. Citizens Only)
• Regular ID Card Renewals
• Duplicate Driver’s Licenses, ID Cards, and Learner’s Permits
• Name Changes on Driver’s Licenses, ID Cards and Learner's Permits

The Milford DMV Express Center will be open every Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. 

The office will not process commercial driver licenses, licenses with endorsements/restrictions for public passengers, suspended drivers’ licenses, and “Drive Only” license services. 

Eligible customers at the Milford location will also be given the opportunity to register to vote. 

The Milford location is the first of several planned DMV Express offices that Nutmeg will open. The governor’s office said planning is underway to offer similar services at WorkPlace offices.

There is also a DMV Express at West Haven City Hall.

A baby deer was found lying in the middle of the road in Suffield on Tuesday and Suffield Animal Control and Suffield Police Department helped reunite the baby and mother.

After two cars drove directly over the fawn, Suffield Animal Control said they made sure she had not been injured by the vehicles, then walked the fawn down the embankment and off the road to safety.

In a Facebook post, Suffield Animal Control said, "Given this scenario, I thought it was necessary to handle this fawn to ensure her safety from the roadway."

The fawn was taken to the opposite side of the brook, where she was brought back to her mother, according to Suffield Animal Control. 

Summer is officially 15 days away, but over on Jones Family Farm in Shelton, it’s the unofficial start. Today is the first day you can start picking your own strawberries – a great feat, following a long winter and a tornado that hit north of the farm weeks ago. 

Marjie Brake has been picking strawberries at Jones Family Farm for 26 years and said it’s a summer tradition she looks forward to immediately after Memorial Day. 

“I’d have my kids, and I’d throw my stroller in the middle section there on the Berry Ferry,” Brake said. “And we’d ride out. Everyone would learn how to pick fruit. You didn’t get to eat fruit unless you helped to pick.” 

She and dozens of others were out Wednesday, sifting through the leaves for that sweet, juicy treat. Jones Family Farm is the oldest continuously operated pick-your-own strawberry farm in the state. 

Jamie Jones is the sixth generation to run the farm and he’s been working all year for a short, successful four-week season. 

“For strawberries,” Jones said, “you’re at the complete whim of Mother Nature and what the weather’s going to give you.” 

His 15 acres of berries were nearly destroyed by the May tornado. 

“We’re very fortunate about the tornados. They were just a few miles north of us, so my heart goes out to the farmer and the people with the damage they had,” Jones said. 

It’s been an overall long stroke of luck, with temperatures holding in ideal conditions and never falling below freezing. 

“This is probably the first time in 50 years that we’ve never had a frost,” Jones said. 

There’s no other powerful heatwave in sight either, which he said could make this picking season one of the best yet.

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture has more information on where you can pick-your-own produce so you can find a farm near you. 

President Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson Wednesday after meeting with Kim Kardashian in the Oval Office last week. Johnson, a 63-year-old great-grandmother, had served 22 years of a life sentence for a first time non-violent offense after being convicted of drug possession and money laundering. The commutation is different from a pardon in that it does not wipe out the conviction, it merely reduces the punishment.