A Hartford Department of Public Works employee is suing the city, claiming a city council aide harassed him repeatedly.

Kenneth Blue, who filed the 21-page lawsuit in federal court on Monday, said the Hartford City Council needs to take action against aide Kelly Kirkley-Bey. He believes that she should be fired from her job.

Blue, a supervisor for the city's DPW, was flanked by his attorney outside federal court in Hartford Monday after filing a lawsuit against the city of Hartford, two city councilors and Kirkley-Bey. Blue claims Kirkley-Bey repeatedly harassed him. The lawsuit alleges Blue's civil rights are being violated; specifically, his right to be free from workplace harassment and sexual harassment.

Blue claims he was sexually assaulted by Kirkley-Bey on February 3, 2017. He accused her of “unwelcome, inappropriate physical contact” including an unsolicited hug, attempts to kiss him and a smack on his rear end, according to city documents obtained by the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters. Blue said Kirkley-Bey also used racial epithets in attempts to discredit and humiliate him.

More than a year later, the council aide still has her city job.

"Nothing has happened," said Blue. "It seems like it's just swept under the rug."

Because Hartford's corporation counsel provides legal advice to the city council and its staff, an outside law firm was brought in to investigate. Corporation Counsel Howard Rifkin said the findings of that investigation led his office in June 2017 to recommend "immediate termination" of Kirkley-Bey's employment, but such disciplinary action is up to the city council itself.

"The city of Hartford has refused to terminate Ms. Kirkley-Bey," said DeVaughn Ward, Blue's attorney. "She still remains employed with the city of Hartford."

Kirkley-Bey is the appointed aide of Councilwoman Jo Winch. Winch and Councilman Thomas “TJ” Clarke II, who was council president at the time, are also named in the lawsuit.

"I spoke to the council president a couple times. He said he would handle the situation and it never happened," said Blue.

Blue said he will not feel comfortable at his job until Kirkley-Bey no longer has hers.

"If it was me in her shoes, I'd a lost my job a long time ago," Blue said.

The corporation counsel's office said it doesn't comment on ongoing litigation. The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters reached out to those named in the lawsuit - the two council members and council aide Kirkley-Bey - but were referred to attorney John Kennelly, who has yet to respond to a request for comment.

Three Madison dispatchers are off the job after an investigation found them sleeping during their shifts, according to Madison police.

Police said the three dispatchers were all civilians, not sworn police officers. Two resigned, and a third was fired at the conclusion of a 60-day investigation at the end of May.

All three worked the overnight shift from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., and all were found sleeping on the job more than once, according to Madison Police Capt. Joseph Race.

Race stressed that the sleeping occurred when more than one dispatcher was on duty so the phones were never left unmanned, and there was no danger to the town.

The remaining dispatchers have been pulling extra hours to cover the empty shifts. Because of this, the police department requested over $45,000 in special appropriation funds to pay for the overtime, which was approved by the Board of Finance.

Four candidates for governor, two from each side of the political aisle, believe they have collected enough signatures to secure places on the August 14 primary ballot.

Petitions for the Democratic and Republican primaries were due by 4 p.m. Tuesday to Registrars of Voters offices all over Connecticut. If signatures were not delivered before then, they would be rejected without review.

Many petitions have already made it to the Secretary of the State’s office for certification, where officials there have already spotted errors, leading to disqualified signatures.

“You know, we’re already seeing a few problems on some pages where someone forgets to sign something or something isn’t filled in properly,” said Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. “We have absolutely no discretion it’s a very strict construction of these forms. They have to be done correctly.”

Every signature must be from someone with the party of the primary election you’re seeking to enter. Democratic candidates for office can only receive signatures from registered Democrats and Republican candidates can only seek signatures from registered Republicans. The person signing up those people also must be a registered member of the party.

Guy Smith, a Democrat who has experience in the federal government running USAID under President Bill Clinton, said the process is very hard, but adds voters will respect him more for it.

“Everything about being to be governor of Connecticut and getting to be governor of Connecticut is hard. People expect the governor to be able to do hard things,” Smith said, insisting he has collected the necessary signatures to qualify. “I do hard for breakfast. That’s why I’m in this race.”

Democrats need 15,548 signatures from registered Democrats, while Republicans need 9,081 signatures from registered Republicans. The figures represent two percent of a party’s overall registration in the state. Democrats have a significant advantage when it comes to registration and party identification.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim announced he collected more than 32,000 signatures, a staggering amount. He’s looking to create his own lane, away from the establishment Democrats’ pick of Ned Lamont as the endorsed party candidate for governor.

Ganim, who spent nearly seven years in federal prison on corruption charges stemming from his first stint as Bridgeport’s mayor, has framed his candidacy as a, “second chance,” an opportunity many in Connecticut want.

“It should remind the Democratic Party what we’re about. It is, as they say, the big tent. It should be open and diverse,” Ganim said outside the Secretary of the State’s office in Hartford. “I think that’s lacking and I think this campaign has become much more than about any one candidate or about me. I think it’s become much more of a battle for the heart and soul of the party and I hope for new leadership for Connecticut.”

Republicans saw two candidates very optimistic about their signature collections, while another Mark Lauretti, announced he would end his run for governor.

Businessmen David Stemerman and Bob Stefanowski submitted signatures to challenge the three Republicans who earned spots at the May GOP State Convention. Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton won the party’s endorsement while former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst and tech entrepreneur Steve Obsitnik also earned ballot positions.

Stemerman is a former hedge fund manager, and said his pedigree in the private sector and investment worlds sets up well against the field and for voters.

“What they’re looking for is a fresh perspective, somebody who not just knows the problems, but what are we going to do about them, and our message of a political outsider with a business background is resonating.”

A 67-year-old man is missing from Cheshire.

Police have issued a Silver Alert for 67-year-old Felix Velazquez, who was last seen before 3 p.m. near the Stop and Shop plaza on Route 10.

He is 5-foot-3, 116 pounds, with brown eyes, a shaved head, and a grey and brown goatee. He was last seen wearing a black short-sleeve t-shirt with gold writing, black shorts and a black hat.

Police said Velazquez have traveled long distances on foot before and one made it to New York state.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the Cheshire Police Department at 203-271-5500.

Thousands of 911 calls were erased from the Waterbury Police Department’s hard drive during a software update, according to the interim police chief.

“This is an issue for us,” said Chief Fernando Spagnolo. “There is no doubt about that. I mean this could potentially impact any criminal or civil litigation that the city is involved in.”

Spagnolo said the issue was discovered in May when the department could not track down a call connected to an investigation.

“We had a request from the State’s Attorney Office for a 911 tape in a criminal case. Our officers went to retrieve the recording and found that it wasn’t there.”

Spagnolo said a software upgrade is responsible. He said the upgrade recorded over the calls with new data, deleting the backup of the hard drive. Northwest CT Public Safety Communications, a non-profit based in Waterbury, oversees the hard drives for the Waterbury and Middlebury Police Departments. Middlebury Police said none of their investigations were impacted. They are still looking into how many calls were lost.

”We don’t have anything lingering, so we’re fortunate with that,” said Middlebury Police Chief Fran Dabbo.

Northwest Communications declined an on-camera interview but in a statement the President of the Board of Directors Robert Retallick, said “State record retention regulations require public safety agencies keep and archive recordings for 30 days from the time of their origin. At no time have recordings been erased within 30 days and all 911 recordings at northwest are appropriately archived in compliance with regulations.”

The Freedom of Information Commission emphasized there must be fail-safe procedures in place to preserve 911 calls.

”They demonstrate the public’s first interaction with law enforcement, said Executive Director Colleen Murphy. “They highlight what the circumstances were for the call, without that audio, that takes away from the transparency.”

More than 160 pages of documents have been released in connection with the investigation into sexual misconduct allegations made against a Central Connecticut State University professor who is on paid leave from his position.

The school and an independent law firm are investigating allegations made against Professor Joshua Perlstein, which include claims of improper advances toward a former student in 2004.

CCSU Tuesday released 168 pages of documents, including transcripts of emails between alleged victims and school officials, Facebook conversations, formal investigation reports from the university, letters to and from university officials, and other relevant documents, that detail the investigations into complaints from a CCSU staff member who accused Perlstein of harassment, bullying, discrimination based on her gender, and retaliation.

After one complaint from that staff member, which was filed in 2010, school officials sent Perlstein a letter recommending that he be “sensitive to other’s feelings and consider how they might react to something you say before you say it” to “(l)isten more than you talk,” not make “off-color jokes,” as well as other recommendations.

The documents reveal that the staff member claimed she eventually resigned from her position due to the alleged harassment. After an investigation, a diversity officer issued a report in 2013 concluding they found no policy violation.

The documents also include a complaint from a different female staff member in 2016, who claimed that Perlstein made repeated directed comments about her political affiliates that made her uncomfortable.

“It is likely that we will never know or understand all the circumstances that led to some of the past decisions that were made in reference to Professor Joshua Perlstein. After reading documents recently discovered as part of our investigation into Professor Perlstein, I fully believe there are a number of incidents I would have handled quite differently had I been leading the University at the time,” CCSU president Zulma Toro said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

The university has a Task Force on Sexual Misconduct and Campus Climate, which met in May and meets again today.

“It remains clear to me that we need to fix communication breakdowns and hold people accountable for their actions and others for their apparent lack of responsiveness. I am confident that the special team I brought in from the outside to thoroughly investigate reported behaviors by Professor Perlstein and the comprehensive review being conducted by the task force I appointed, will serve to inform our next steps in assuring our students, faculty, and staff that CCSU is a safe, welcoming environment for all,” Torro said in a statement.

Perlstein remains on administrative leave.

In April, Perlstein said by email that he is “cooperating fully with the University.” NBC Connecticut reached out to him again Tuesday and there was no immediate response.

Foreign efforts to interfere in U.S. elections are still going on just five months before the midterm elections, special counsel Robert Mueller told a judge on Tuesday.

Mueller made the assertion in a filing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., in his prosecution of 13 Russian nationals and three companies who were indicted in February on charges including interference in the 2016 presidential election. 

It says the government believes foreign "individuals and entities" are continuing to "engage in interference operations like those charged in the present indictment," NBC News reported.

There’s a plea for an end to the deadly violence in Hartford from a family that knows all too well the pain it can cause.

This as the city boosts patrols to curb a recent uptick in shootings.

“Miguel was my cousin, 34-years-old, greatest person you will ever meet,” said Lindsay Fernandez.

Fernandez and her family are now grieving the sudden loss of Miguel Perez.

On Tuesday, they held a vigil for him in Hartford.

“Our family is broken. He didn’t deserve to die. He leaves behind a son, an 8-year-old,” Fernandez said.

A family is struggling to understand what led to Perez’s death Thursday.

Investigators revealed he crashed on Hamilton Street after being shot in the back while driving.

Police believe he was targeted.

“It’s not fair that his son has to grow up without a father, for our family to have to bury our cousin. It’s just unfair,” said Fernandez.

One day after Perez’s death, the police ramped up patrols to help stop the violence this summer.

As of Friday, there had already been 10 homicides and 75 shootings in the city so far this year.

Now one of the families left reeling is calling for justice and to find whoever is responsible for their loss.

This as they pray that others don’t have to go through the same thing.

“Hopefully we can get together as a community and get this violence to stop,” said Fernandez.

Police are still investigating if Perez was working for a ride-sharing company at the time.

If you can help solve this case, officers would like to hear from you.

Parents in Hartford are concerned that with the closure of one Hartford school their children will be forced to walk a longer and potentially unsafe route to school.

For third-grader Donovan Thomas and many others, it's not easy leaving Milner School in Hartford.

"I feel mad and sad at the same time," said Thomas.

"The closure of this school, it brings tears to my eyes. I tried to fight it as much as I could," said parent Andriena Baldwin.

The school district is in the process of closing Milner and students will need to go to S.A.N.D. on Main Street or Wish School on Barbour Street. That means a longer walk for some.

On Tuesday, concerned Hartford parents and students marched from Milner School to S.A.N.D. to send a message to the school district that their kids need transportation.

Hartford Public Schools said they'll continue to provide transportation per state law, which means buses for K-1 if they live half a mile or more away from the school. For grades 2 through 5, it's 1 mile. For grades 6 through 8, it's 1.5 miles. That means that anyone who lives closer than that will need to find another way to school.

"I just want the [Board of Education] to see how it is as a parent and what we have to look for our kids," said parent Tamara Roberts.

The bigger concern for parents isn't distance, it's safety. Parents participating in the walk say the streets their young children would need to walk are just too dangerous.

"The violence in the neighborhood, the driving has been out of control especially with the kids and the stolen cars driving crazy. It's not safe for the kids," said Roberts.

"People speeding, we have crime in our area, we have people that sell drugs," said parent Latoria Miller.

"People fly through stop signs, and I don't want to risk my life trying to get educated," said Thomas, the third grader.

Baldwin said she'll drive her three kids to school but knows that's not an option for everyone.

"There's a lot of parents that don't have the luxury of having a car or license. And a lot of these kids will have to walk, and it's not safe," said Baldwin.

Parents hope the district will hear their concerns and make a change.

Hartford Public Schools released this statement: "Hartford Public Schools sees our parents as partners in our District Model of Excellence improvement efforts. The Milner School design and transition process will begin in early fall of 2018 (in preparation of their transition the following year). Our support now is around schools that are closing and co-locating for the 2018-2019 school year. All students will continue to be provided transportation per state law (K-1 ½ mile, 2-5 1 mile, 6-8 1.5 Miles)."

Waterbury police have arrested a man accused of ignoring a school bus stop signal and hitting a 7-year-old boy with his car.

Twenty-eight-year-old Marques Verner faces charges including avoiding responsibility resulting in physical injury, passing a standing school bus, operating an unregistered motor vehicle, operating a motor vehicle without insurance and operating a motor vehicle without a license.

Police said that Verner was the driver of a vehicle that blew through the stop signal of a school bus on June 4 and struck a boy in the area of North Main Street and Elizabeth Street, then took off.

The boy was identified by family as Ni'vek Bynum. His family said he suffered a concussion and some bruises, but the injuries were not life-threatening.

Police previously released surveillance video and warned that it might be disturbing because it shows the moment the child was injured. 

Verner was arrested on a warrant for the crash at a $100,000 bond and a warrant for a first-degree threatening charge which held a $350,000 bond.

Naugatuck police have arrested a man suspected in a crash in February that killed an Oxford man. 

Police said 71-year-old Alexander Oneschuk, of Naugatuck, was taken into custody on Tuesday and arrested in connection with a fatal two-car crash on Feb. 27 on Gunntown Road. 

Oneschuck crossed the center line and collided head-on with a vehicle being driven by 43-year-old Daniel Lucas, of Oxford, who was pronounced dead from his injuries at the scene of the crash, according to police. 

Oneschuk was charged with negligent homicide with a motor vehicle, failure to drive in the proper lane on a multiple-lane highway; reckless driving; operating under suspended registration; mandatory security requirements, no insurance; and operating an unregistered motor vehicle.

A 19-year-old Bridgeport man has died after his dirt bike hit a parked dump truck in Milford Tuesday afternoon. 

Police are still investigating but said they have learned from the preliminary investigation that 19-year-old Vincent Annuzzi-Rivera, of Bridgeport, was going north on Lori Drive and hit a parked dump truck near Teresa Drive around 3 p.m. 

Anyone with information about the crash should call the Milford Police Department Traffic Division at (203) 878-5244 or Officer Dan Hemperly (203) 783-4792 or email dhemperly@ci.milford.ct.us.

A long-odds effort to split California into three states has qualified for the November ballot, state officials said Tuesday.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that the initiative, dubbed "Cal 3," is eligible for the Nov. 6 general election.

The initiative is spearheaded by billionaire venture capitalist and bitcoin enthusiast Tim Draper.

Supporters say citizens would be better served by three smaller state governments, while opponents say the plan would create chaos. Either way, splitting California into three states would require congressional approval.

In the initiative’s statement of findings, Draper said California’s diverse population and economies have made the state ungovernable and splitting the state into three parts would make it more manageable.

"The citizens of the whole state would be better served by three smaller state governments while preserving the historical boundaries of the various counties, cities and towns,” the initiative said.

A bid to split California into six states, also authored by Draper but unrelated to the "CAL 3" initiative, failed to gather enough signatures to get on the November 2016 ballot.

"CAL 3" has no connection to "Calexit," an effort to have California secede from the United States.

The split would look like this: Northern California would include the Bay Area all the way to the Oregon border, Southern California would begin in Fresno and cover most of the southern state.

A new California would also begin in Los Angeles County and cover coastal areas.

Here's what the split would look like by counties:

CALIFORNIA: Los Angeles, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: Fresno, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Tulare

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: Alameda, Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, El Dorado, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Joaqui, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, Yuba.

The initiative needed at least 402,468 projected valid signatures to qualify by random sampling, and it exceeded that threshold, officials said.

On June 28, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative as qualified for the November ballot, unless the proponent withdraws the initiative prior to that date.

Some well-known musicians will be visiting Hamden this summer to perform free concerts. 

The 2018 Free Summer Concert Series lineup includes disco and R&B legend Gloria Gaynor, the Little River Band and the Reggae band Third World. 

• July 6: Gloria Gaynor, whose popular hits include, “I Will Survive,” “I Am What I Am” and “Never Can Say Goodbye,” performs on Friday, July 6. DJ Rachel with “DJ Rachel’s Diva Dance Party”will open for her. 
• July 13: local Jazz players Myke Ross & Tym N’ Motion will perform on Friday, July 13. The Mike DiMaria Quintet will open for them. 
• July 20: Third World will perform on Friday, July 20. They are known for “Now That We Found Love” and ”96 Degrees in the Shade.” Opening for them will be the New Haven band Professor B and the Army of Love. 
• July 27: Little River Band performs on Friday, July 27. They are known for “Reminiscing,” “Take It Easy on Me” and more. 

All shows take place at Hamden Town Center Park, at 2761 Dixwell Ave. The opening acts start at 7:30 p.m. and headliners start at 8:15 p.m. 

The season begins with the annual Volunteer Firefighter’s Independence Day Celebration and Fireworks Display on Friday, June 29 at 6 p.m. The rain date is June 30. The Hamden Symphony Orchestra takes the stage at 7:15 p.m. Fireworks are scheduled to go off around 9:20 p.m.

A former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader is suing the team for what she claims are unfair labor practices, according to a lawsuit.

Erica Wilkins, a Cowboys cheerleader for three seasons, sued the team Tuesday under the Fair Labor Standards Act for failing to pay her time-and-a-half for overtime hours she worked during her tenure with the team.

The lawsuit alleged Wilkins, who was a cheerleader from 2014-2017 "routinely worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek while performing her cheerleading duties" for the Cowboys.

"A lot of girls, me included, when you are on the team you are scared to speak out or stand up for yourself and when I finished my career I just decided it was time someone made a difference and make a change and stand up," Wilkins said. 

[[485311021, C]]

In another claim in the suit under the Equal Pay Act, Wilkins said the cheerleaders, who were all female, were paid less than the Cowboys' mascot, Rowdy, who was male. Wilkins alleges the cheerleaders were expected to participate in a yearly reality TV show and other events for which they were not paid.

"Not only as professionals do we deserve to get fair pay, but as women we deserve to get equal pay to the other employees in the organization," Wilkins said.

Wilkins also claimed that management instructed the cheerleaders to post on social media about their work with the team to benefit the Cowboys financially. According to the lawsuit, the Cowboys did not record the hours or compensate the cheerleaders for the time they spent on their social media accounts.

The Dallas Cowboys declined to comment.

The lawsuit is the latest in a series of complaints made by cheerleaders against NFL teams across the country.

Earlier this month, five former cheerleaders sued the Houston Texans alleging the franchise paid women less than their promised $7.25 per hour wage and failed to compensate them for public appearances and other work-related tasks.

The cheerleaders, who are being represented by prominent women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, also claimed they were threatened with being fired if they complained.

It was the second such lawsuit against the Texans. The first was filed by three ex-cheerleaders who claimed they were not paid minimum wage or overtime and were body-shamed by their supervisor.

Former cheerleaders with the Miami Dolphins and the New Orleans Saints also have filed recent discriminatory complaints and lawsuits against their ex-teams.

Vice President Mike Pence vowed to prioritize policy issues that matter to evangelical Christians during his address Wednesday at the Southern Baptist Convention's Annual Meeting in Dallas.

Speaking to the SBC, the country's largest evangelical denomination, Pence also touted actions taken by President Donald Trump that have been seen as victories for evangelical Christians — moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, nominating Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and "empowering states to defund Planned Parenthood."

"I know with your strong support and prayers, with Donald Trump in the White House and God’s help, we will make America safe again, we will make America prosperous again, and to borrow a phrase, we will make America great again,” Pence told the crowd, adding that the administration "will always stand with you."

Pence's appearance drew opposition from some church leaders who argued his attendance would give the impression that the evangelical denomination is aligned with the Republican Party.

Virginia pastor Garrett Kell objected to Pence's speech and asked church leaders to replace it with a time for prayer.

"What binds this convention together is the gospel of Jesus Christ," said Kell. "Because of that, this convention ought to be marked by things that we share in common, not things that faithful Christians can disagree with. By associating publicly with any administration, we send a mixed message to our members, suggesting that to be faithful to the gospel, we ought to align with a particular administration. We must do all that we can to preserve the purity of the gospel -- and this invitation works against it."

Kell also suggested that minority members of the church may feel "hurt and bothered" by Pence's appearance. Kell's motion was ultimately defeated.

Grant Ethridge, who chairs the SBC's Committee on Order and Business,  asserted that Pence's appearance was not a political statement by the church and that the SBC "aligns itself with no political party." 

"The White House reached out to us. In keeping with our SBC history, we've had many government officials address our convention. We have many other government officials who will be addressing the convention today and tomorrow," Ethridge said. "If President Obama's White House had contacted us and I was chairman of this committee, we would have exercised the same judgment and welcomed them to the Southern Baptist Convention. I believe we respect the position regardless of whether or not you supported or voted for the person. Therefore, we strongly urge the messengers to extend a biblical, Christ-like welcome to the vice president of the United States."

Pence's speech comes with the convention already in the spotlight following the firing of prominent Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson from a Texas seminary over his treatment of women. Patterson had been slated to give the keynote address at the convention, but withdrew.

The SPC is also grappling with the fallout of multiple sexual misconduct cases.

Police have been working to identify the carjackers who stole a car with a 3-year-old and a 7-year-old inside from a gas station in New Britain in May and said they identified a suspect and he’s in prison on unrelated charges.

Police responded to the Citgo gas station in the 300 block of Columbus Boulevard at 5:07 p.m. Sunday, May 20 after carjackers pushed a grandmother as she was pumping gas and fled in the car that her 7-year-old and a 3-year-old grandchildren were still in, police said.

The grandmother went into the store and asked a clerk to call.

A resident who saw a group of males drop off the children and push them to the sidewalk also called police and stood with the children until police arrived, police said. The two children were found on Cliff Street in New Britain, police said.

The vehicle was later found abandoned in Hartford.

Police have identified 18-year-old Manuel Vellon, of Hartford, as one suspect and said they have a warrant charging him with second-degree kidnapping, risk of injury to a child, robbery by carjacking, assault in the third degree, conspiracy to commit robbery by carjacking, larceny in the second degree, conspiracy to commit larceny in the second degree, reckless driving, failure to drive upon right and operating a motor vehicle without a license.

Vellon is incarcerated on an unrelated charge and has been linked to other stolen cars in the city, police said.

Police said they expect to make more arrests.

The New Britain Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division is handling the investigation and witnesses are asked to call Sergeant John Blackmore at (860) 826-3171.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia has arrived. Get to know more about these top players who will do everything in their power to bring the World Cup home.

Cristiano Ronaldo
The Portuguese superstar known for his intense competitiveness and temperamental nature heads to the 2018 World Cup in Russia determined to show he is the best player of all time.

[[480029933, C]]

Born and raised in a working-class neighborhood in Madeira, an island southwest of Portugal, Ronaldo showed a natural talent and devotion to soccer since childhood. At 14, he moved to Lisbon to play with Sporting CP Youth and became the protégé of Laszlo Boloni, who took him on a pathway to success almost immediately.

In 2003, he signed with Manchester United for €18 million ($21 million), replacing David Beckham not only as an attacking winger but as the team's most famous and popular player. In 2009, he moved to Real Madrid in what was then the most expensive soccer tranfer in history, worth €94 million ($111 million). The 33-year-old has won the Champions League four times, including this May with Real Madrid.

Ronaldo is the reigning winner of the Ballon d’Or prize given to the world's best soccer player. He's won it five times, a record he holds with Lionel Messi is the only other player who has achieved this record.

Lionel Messi
This inventive, often astounding forward known as "La Pulga," or "the flea," will be central to Argentina's hopes of taking the World Cup home for a third time.

Lionel Andrés Messi, now 30, was born to a working-class family in Rosario, Argentina. He is the third of four siblings whose parents were factory workers and soccer enthusiasts.

[[485293941,C]]

His soccer abilities were evident from a very young age: at 6 he was playing for Newell’s Old Boys, one of the biggest clubs in Rosario, proving he was fast and determined. But his career came close to an end when, at 10 years old, he was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency.

Newell’s was unable to pay for the medical treatment due to an economic crisis in the country, but in 2000, the promsing youngster moved to Barcelona. A year later, Messi signed with Barcelona's soccer academy, which took care of his medical treatment. He has played for the team ever since, the linchpin of the team that won an unprecedented six trophies in one year.

[[480029903, C]]

Although Messi has won the Ballon D’Or five times, he hasn't yet won a major championship with Argentina, despite almost single-handedly dragging the "Albiceleste," as the team is known, to the final in 2014. For Argentina to win the World Cup in Russia would elevate Messi to the same level as living soccer legends Pelé and Maradona. 

Neymar
His full name is Neymar da Silva Santos Jr., but the world knows him as Neymar. The Brazilian star and most expensive soccer player in the world has been recuperating from a foot injury he suffered in February, so soccer fans are wondering how much of a factor he will be as Brazil aims to win its sixth World Cup.

[[480029913, C]]

Neymar was born 26 years ago to Neymar Santos, a former soccer player whose name he inherited, and Nadine Da Silva. In 2003, when he was only 11 years old, he moved to São Vicente with his family and began playing for Portuguesa Santista. That same year, he moved to Santos and joined Santos FC, the team where Pelé became the greatest player ever.

His reputation grew and in May 2013, he joined Messi at Barcelona, where they formed an imposing partnership along that won the Champions League.

Neymar was expected to lead his team to a World Cup victory on home turf in 2014 but was knocked out with a broken back, before his team suffered a humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semifinals. Neymar got revenge two years later, scoring the winning penalty kick in a shootout against Germany in the 2016 Olympics, also held in Brazil.

Neymar continued to play for Barcelona until August 2017, when Paris Saint-German smashed the world transfer record by paying €222 million ($262 million) to bring him to Paris.

Javier “Chicharito” Hernández
The soccer star of West Ham United, best known as “Chicharito” (“Little Pea”) is imperative for the performance of Mexico's team in the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The forward was born in Guadalajara in 1988, to Silvia Balcázar, whose father Tomás Bálcazar played in the 1954 World Cup, and Javier “Chícharo” Hernández, an avowed soccer player who performed in the 1986 World Cup. Soccer is in his blood with Hernández the third generation in a family of players. 

At 18, he began playing for the Chivas de Guadalajara, a leading Mexican  team. After his performance in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, he was spotted by leading European teams and was offered a contract with Manchester United and later, Real Madrid.

In 2017, he signed with the British team West Ham United, where he now plays.

[[480029613, C]]

Firefighters from several departments responded to Handel Road in West Stafford after a fire started in a vacant home and caused the house to collapse. 

The fire was reported just before 1 a.m. West Stafford Fire Chief Joe Lorenzetti, who said he lives just a few minutes away, found the 2,000 square foot home engulfed when he arrived. 

“The house was a total loss on arrival, so rather than risk injuries to personnel or damaging equipment, it was basically a wet down operation,” Lorenzetti said. 

It took around three hours for firefighters to put out the fire. 

No one was hurt and the cause of the fire is under investigation.