A man who was shot in the back and crashed into a fence in Hartford early Thursday morning has died, according to police. 

Shotspotter detected six rounds on Brookfield Street at 2:42 a.m. and the victim crashed around a quarter of a mile away, at 19 Hamilton St., according to police. 

Police said the victim, who appeared to be in his 30s, was transported to Hartford Hospital, where he was and pronounced dead. Authorities have not released his name.  

It's a city that calls itself the "Jewel of the Forest," but for many people old enough to remember, just hearing the name Jasper, Texas, can muster ugly memories.

Just ask Clara Byrd Taylor. Twenty years ago, her brother, James Byrd, was chained to the back of a truck by his ankles and dragged for miles down a paved Jasper road to an agonizing death. It was a horrifying, racially-motivated murder that grabbed international headlines and put a stain on Jasper that would not easily rub out.

"One of the most difficult things was explaining to our children why James was killed: because he was a black man," Byrd Taylor said. "They just couldn't understand that. They became afraid to come to Jasper themselves."

On June 7, 1998, three men, later identified as Shawn Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer and John William King, offered Byrd a ride. What followed would go down in hate-crime history.

Newton County Sheriff Billy Rowles was the sheriff of Jasper County when it happened. He said memories of the case, and the bloody, lengthy crime scene, haunt him still.

"The fact that a human being — a living, breathing human being — was jumped, beat, chain-wrapped around his legs and drug behind their truck for close to three miles, that is so far over my head that anyone could do something like that, let alone three of them, could do something like that," Rowles said.

"Drag that man until his body came apart, and untied the body, left it in the middle of the road so everybody could see, and drove off and went home and went to bed."

Rowles believes everyone in Jasper County suffered in the aftermath.

"It wasn't the city that murdered him, it wasn't the citizens that did that. That was three fools that did that, but we got blamed for it," he said. "We got stereotyped."

In the days after the murder, and throughout the trial, the rest of the world seemed to crowd into Jasper, pointing fingers.

Famous activists like Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton showed up. There were days when members of the Klan and the New Black Panther Party clashed in the streets.

All three suspects were convicted. Berry was sentenced to life in prison. Brewer was executed in 2011. King was also sentenced to death and just this year lost his final appeal.

"You know, you have to look at yourself when something happens like this and sometimes we didn't like what we saw," Rowles said.

At the Jasper city park named for James Byrd, two of his sisters recently met to talk about plans to mark the 20th anniversary of his death. They also have plans to purchase a home in Jasper that could serve as a museum.

One of the only books written about James Byrd's murder, "Hate Crime," was penned by Dallas author Joyce King. In honor of the 20th anniversary, it's now available on Audible.

President Donald Trump's approval is up to 44 percent among registered voters in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, and the same amount give him credit for the booming economy, NBC News reported.

But registered voters still prefer Democrats controlling Congress over Republicans by a 10-point margin, up from a 7-point edge in April.

While approval for Trump is also up, from 40 percent in April, his current approval rating matches what Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama had going into their first midterms, when both lost a significant number of seats in the House.

Twenty-two percent of voters gave health care as their top issue going into the midterm elections. The economy and jobs, guns, taxes and spending and immigration were also identified as top issues.

Some of the opioid overdose antidote Naloxone has been recalled by its maker, Hospira, over the potential presence of particulate matter, the Food and Drug Administration said Monday.

Two lots of Naloxone are being recalled because there may be "embedded and loose particulate matter on the syringe plunger," the FDA said in a notice. If injected with the medicine, a patient has a "low likelihood of experiencing adverse events ranging from local irritation, allergic reactions, phlebitis, end-organ granuloma, tissue ischemia, pulmonary emboli, pulmonary dysfunction, pulmonary infarction, and toxicity."

The recall affects single-use cartridge units of Naloxone Hydrochloride Carpuject Injection with lot numbers 72680LL and 76510LL. They were distributed to wholesalers, distributors and hospitals in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam from February 2017 to February 2018.

Hospira has not received reports of adverse effects from the affected Naloxone.

Pfizer, the parent company of Hospira, confirmed in a statement to NBC that there is no shortage, as Naloxone is also currently available in vials. Pfizer added that the recall does not affect any Naloxone products sold under the brand name Narcan, which includes a nasal spray that is available with a prescription and that many law enforcement agencies and hospitals use. Narcan is also available over the counter in most states. 

Hospira has notified wholesalers, distributors and hospitals of the contaminated lots, and it is encouraging others to discard affected lots, the FDA said. 

The recall affects an older version of the drug that may still be in atomizer kits that were distributed into communities. Those with older kits should contact the business or institution that distributed them and get replacements.

"This is not a product for use by consumers. Training is required to use it appropriately," Pfizer explained. "Therefore, it is for use by medical professionals or first responders such as police officers who have been trained in its use."

Attorneys for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz are seeking an emergency hearing to block the release of a statement the confessed mass killer made just hours after his capture.

The defense claims prosecutors are prepared to release a transcript and video of the statement Thursday or Friday, but want Judge Elizabeth Scherer to block that release until she determines which sections may be exempt from public release.

A hearing has been scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. to address the motion.

As grounds, public defender Howard Finkelstein argues release “will cause significant trauma to an already beleaguered community, impede the defendant’s constitutional right against self-incrimination, as well as his right to a fair and impartial trial.”

The motion says Cruz spoke to Broward Sheriff’s Det. John Curcio while under arrest beginning at 6:18 p.m. on the evening of the Feb. 14th massacre, but was not issued a Miranda warning.

“I can only talk to you to hear from you what was going on with you,” the motion quotes Curcio as telling Cruz, calling that a strategic attempt to establish Cruz acted with premeditation and to undermine any potential insanity defense – without reading him his right to remain silent.

After getting that portion of the interrogation, the defense said, Curcio did issue the Miranda warnings. “Only limited portions of the statement contain questions and answers that do not pertain to the defendant’s participation in the crimes,” the motion states.

It also says Curcio made statements that are “irrelevant, prejudicial and inadmissible.”

Cruz requested the presence of a psychologist during the statement, and Curcio “failed to follow mandated protocol to provide the defendant with the opportunity to have a mental health professional present,” the motion states.

Cruz’s attorneys had previously stated they would enter a guilty plea if the state would take the death penalty off the table, which prosecutors said they would not do.

A Connecticut state trooper is on suspension after he was charged with interfering with an officer in Harwinton.

State police said they responded to Hill Road in Harwinton just before 11 p.m. Saturday to check on a report of a suspicious vehicle and spoke with 41-year-old Kenneth Dillon.

Dillon, who was in a Chevrolet Impala registered to the state of Connecticut, became uncooperative with troopers and was issued a summons for interfering with an officer, according to state police. He was also transported for medical evaluation.

State police said Dillon has been suspended and his state vehicle was taken from him.

The Connecticut State Police Bureau of Professional Standards has opened an administrative inquiry into this incident, according to state police. They said the status is temporary and can change consistent with the criminal proceedings and the department’s administrative review.

A South Texas man almost died after he was bitten by the head of a rattlesnake he'd just decapitated, his wife said. 

The bite happened May 27 as Milo and Jennifer Sutcliffe were doing yard work at their home near Lake Corpus Christi. Jennifer Sutcliffe said her husband found a 4-foot rattlesnake and hacked off its head with a shovel. As he bent down to pick up the remains, the severed head "actually turned around and grabbed onto his hand," Sutcliffe told the Houston Chronicle. "He had to rip it off."

Sutcliffe said she called 911 and began driving her husband the 45 miles to a Corpus Christi hospital. He began having seizures, losing his vision and bleeding internally and was airlifted the rest of the way, the report said.

"He was saying stuff like 'if I die I love you,'" she told the Chronicle.

Sutcliffe said her husband needed 26 doses of antivenom, where a normal patient gets two to four. 

He was recovering in the hospital.

A man was seriously injured when his tractor and a pickup collided in Woodbury Wednesday evening.

State police said 64-year-old Daniel Logue, of Logue Farms, was on a tractor that was pulling a corn planter at 5:22 p.m. Wednesday when the tractor and a Chevy Silverado collided.

Logue was trying to cross Quassapaug Road at Route 6 and was thrown from the tractor during the crash, according to police. The other driver was not injured.

Both drivers were taken to Waterbury Hospital.

Police are investigating the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call 860-626-7900.

A mail room on the ESPN campus in Bristol was evacuated after a white, powdery substance was found in a letter or package Thursday. 

Police said they responded to 575 Birch St. after receiving a 911 call and no one is injured. 

Bristol police, firefighters, DEEP and the Hartford Postal Inspector have responded. 

No additional information was immediately available. 

The Sears in Waterbury will be closing in September, according to the parent company, Sears Holding.

The list of store closings online says the company notified associates Wednesday that five stores, including the one at 425 Union St. in Waterbury, will close in early September.

The other four stores that have been added to the list of closures are in Nebraska and Louisiana.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to streamline the Company's operations and focus on our best stores, the company on Wednesday, June 6 informed associates at the Sears store in Waterbury that it would be closing in early September 2018,” a Sears spokesperson said.

A spokesperson said eligible associates impacted by the store closures will receive severance and will have the opportunity to apply for open positions at area Kmart or Sears stores. It’s not clear how many employees will be affected.

Liquidation sales will begin as early as June 22 at the closing stores, according to Sears Holding.

See the list of Sears stores in Connecticut here. 

Santa was in East Windsor overnight and police had to come for him after someone reported that he was in the middle of the road, obstructing traffic.

After confirming that the dispatcher actually said there was a report of Santa Claus obstructing traffic, police went to investigate around midnight and figured someone was hallucinating, according to the Facebook post they titled, “Midnight Shift Shenanigans.”

But what to their wondering eyes did appear? A Santa Claus decoration, minus the sleigh and reindeer.

Officers carried Santa off to store him away until Christmas.

While they were able to laugh about the visit from Saint Nick, police are asking people not to place objects in the middle of any road because it could cause someone to crash.

Norwich police have arrested a man accused of conspiring to rob a former business partner during a home invasion in December.

Police arrested 54-year-old Daniel O’Brien, of Lisbon, on April 27. Investigators allege that O’Brien and two other men entered a home through an unlocked back door on West Town Street on Dec. 1, 2017, attacked the two men inside, and stole a cell phone and a bag with approximately $8,000 in cash.

The victims told police the suspects threatened to use a gun, but never showed one.

The victims, a 46-year-old man and a 59-year-old man, suffered moderate injuries. The older victim was kicked and punched in the head and was treated at William Backus Hospital.

Through investigation police identified O’Brien and 39-year-old Luiz “Chop” Ruiz as two of the suspects involved. According to police, O’Brien and one of the victims owned several boarding/sober houses together, and had decided to end their business partnership. The victims were dealing with rental money for some of the properties O’Brien was familiar with at the time of the home invasion, police said.

O’Brien was charged with accessory to home invasion, accessory to first-degree robbery, accessory to third-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit home invasion, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery, and conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny.

Ruiz was charged with home invasion, second-degree assault, first-degree robbery, and third-degree larceny.

Police are still searching for a third suspect who may be nicknamed “Pyscho.” The man is described as 5-foot-8, stocky, in his early 20s with long black hair worn in a ponytail or bun. The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information on the third suspect should contact Det. Wilbur at 860-886-5561 ext. 3154. or the Department’s Anonymous Tip Line at 860-886-5561 ext. 4. Tips may be kept confidential.

A software bug changed the privacy settings of about 14 million Facebook users without their knowledge, causing messages intended for friends or smaller groups to be shared widely with the general public, the company said Thursday.

The company said the bug, which was active from May 18 to May 27, has been fixed. Facebook said it will begin to notify affected users Thursday by posting a notification at the top of their news feeds, CNBC reported.

"We recently found a bug that automatically suggested posting publicly when some people were creating their Facebook posts," chief privacy officer Erin Egan said in a statement. "We'd like to apologize for this mistake."

The issue resulted from Facebook's efforts to allow users to highlight items on their profiles, like photos. The featured items defaulted to public settings, which inadvertently made all posts by the user during the affected time period also default to public.

It's another misstep in Facebook's ongoing data privacy issues, spurred by revelations of a data leak that affecting as many as 87 million users.

A private contractor arrested when he showed up for work at the White House Tuesday is accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend last month, authorities said.

Martese Maurice Edwards, 30, of Suitland, Maryland, was charged in the district with being a fugitive from justice on an arrest warrant from Maryland county. Police said he was wanted on a charge of attempted first-degree murder. 

Edwards waived extradition in court Wednesday and could face his charge in Prince George's County this week.

Edwards is accused of shooting the victim on May 3 in the 4200 block of Suitland Road, Prince George's County officials said.

“The victim in this case obviously is still alive,” said John Erzen, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office. “He was obviously critically injured at the time.”

Prince George’s County police issued a warrant for Edwards’ arrest May 17, according to the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office. The U.S. Marshals task force launched a search for Edwards the next day.

“As to why it was not seen by the Secret Service until June 4, that’s a question that they would have to answer,” Erzen said.

Secret Service officers arrested Edwards at a checkpoint when when he reported for work about noon Tuesday, according to a statement from the Secret Service Wednesday. He was taken to a Metropolitan Police Department station for processing.

In a statement released Wednesday, the Secret Service said it was not contacted by any law enforcement agency about Edwards in May.

"It is understood that the Prince George’s County Sheriff’s Office (PGCSO) entered limited information pertaining to the active arrest warrant for Edwards into a national database on May 17, 2018," the statement said.

When "identifiable" information was added to the database by the Prince George's County Sheriff's Office on June 4, the Secret Service received an alert from the Criminal Justice Information System that Edwards was the subject of an active warrant, the statement said. The agency did not say what identifiable information was added. 

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 said 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.

It wasn't immediately clear if he has a lawyer.

Torrington police are investigating concerning comments made by a student at Torrington High School.

Police did not specify what was said, but explained that they always investigation comments that may cause safety concerns.

There is no current threat to students or the school. There will be an increased police presence for the next few days, police said.

Nearly a year after her son’s drowning death, a Meriden mother is turning her grief toward helping to save others.

Jessica Vega has been working to help prevent others from suffering the fate of her son. On Thursday, she saw a goal realized - warning signs are going up along the Connecticut River at Haddam Meadows State Park.

“I’m feeling a lot better because at least I can say that he did not die in vain,” she said. “At least something good is coming out of it.”

Vega’s 18-year-old son Jay Agli died at the park on June 11, 2017. He was swept away by a powerful current while trying to save his sister. Jay wasn’t the only one. In 2011, 18-year-old Dominic Sobota of Hartford drowned in the same area.

“I thought that by me putting the signs here it will help other people,” Vega said. “So I took it upon myself to call politicians, and try to have them help.”

The signs warn swimmers of the strong current. They also have Jay Agli’s name and story right on them.

“Adding specific information onto the sign about jays passing I think makes it a more powerful and impactful sign,” said Tom Tyler, director of Connecticut State Parks.

It’s a warning to all parents.

“Just be careful you know watch your kids that day we were all in the water,” Vega said. “So even if you’re with them anything could happen.”

The United States plans to release an American citizen detained as an enemy combatant in Syria — a move the man's attorney said amounts to a "death warrant."

In a court document unsealed Thursday, the Defense Department said it will give the unidentified man $4,210 in cash, the same amount he was carrying when he was captured, along with an unactivated cellphone and food and water "to last several days." The clothing he had on him when he was picked up by the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting ISIS, will also be returned to him, and the alliance will be notified of his release, NBC News reported.

The man, whose identity has not been revealed, was picked up on a Syrian battlefield in September and accused of fighting for the Islamic State. He says he entered Syria as a freelance journalist and was kidnapped and forced to work for ISIS until he fled on a water truck and turned himself in to the Kurds, who handed him over to the U.S. military, according to court documents.

Without enough evidence to try the man on terrorism charges, the U.S. faced a dilemma over what to do with him. The Defense Department said it told the ACLU that it could release him in a Syrian town or outside a refugee camp but that his lawyers refused to state a preference.

The Henry Barnard School in Enfield has been cited by the state Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division for what a report calls a calls “gross accumulations of dirt, dust, cobwebs, and debris” on building bookcases and a ventilation system.

The situation began with a report by a teacher who believed there was mold in the building impacting their health. The state Department of Labor inspection found no mold, but did cite the school and advised them to clean up dust found behind some of the fixtures.

The teacher who filed that complaint said they were told last summer that the school had a three-year mold issue, and that teacher believed conditions within the building were irritating what they said are “severe mold allergies.”

Because of that report, CONN-OHSA was eventually called to the school to inspect. In the report, inspectors determined that “the employer did not maintain the workplace in a clean and sanitary manner to the extent of the nature of the work allows.” The violation was categorized by CONN-OSHA as “other than serious” and there is no fine for this type of violation – it just requires cleanup.

Superintendent Chris Drezek told NBC Connecticut that the school does have discolored ceiling tiles in the building because of a water leak, but that no mold was found in inspections by both a private environmental firm and the subsequent CONN-OSHA inspection that came as a result of the teacher’s initial complaint. There is a plan to fix the leak this summer.

Drezek said he takes the complaint seriously, but points out that the report calls the violation “other than serious” and said at no point was the school district advised that conditions in the building were anything less than safe for students and staff.

The citation is from May 29 and the school has been given until July 31 to clean up the issue. Drezek said he expects that cleanup to happen well before that date. The last day of school in Enfield is June 26 and cleanup will not impact that date.

A petition demanding change in Windsor Locks over a progressive grading system has garnered close to 800 signatures.

The school district implemented Mastery-Based Learning in 2013, making it a policy in 2016. The system takes the place of the traditional letter grade approach.

“The students, they’re begging for change,” said Brian Pham, a parent. “They’re asking the board to hear their voice and just come to a compromise.”

According to the State Department of Education, Mastery-Based Learning measures students “mastery” of a skill or given subject. NBC Connecticut learned 39 schools around the state have committed to Mastery-Based Learning.

”Ultimately, Mastery-Based Learning is about supporting all students in their learning process,” said Superintendent Dr. Susan Bell. “We believe that all students can learn and we believe all teachers can teach all students.”

Parents said they applaud the district’s commitment to their children, but some strongly believe the letter grading system is the right choice.

”The school board went to this out of a true desire to have students learn and know exactly what they don’t understand and then teach to those gaps, but it had a number of intended consequences and one of those is that most students hang right in the middle the entire time,” said Karen Kudish, whose two children attend Windsor Locks schools.

Bell said the system was implemented over four years and several focus meetings with input from parents and students. She said it is not likely they will revert back to the traditional letter grade system, but they will consider revisions moving forward.

“There are essential components of this system and there are some components of the system that we would certainly be open to looking at and working through," said Dr. Bell. 

“We just want the traditional grading that we understand,” said Kudish. “It is a language. It’s like they went Fahrenheit and the metric system and all of us are in inches, and we don’t understand what they’re saying. We want to speak the same language.”

The topic is expected to be discussed at Thursday's Board of Education meeting at 6 p.m. at Windsor Locks High School.