On Monday, fire destroyed four buses at the Goodwill administrative office in North Haven. Firefighters say hot weather and dry mulch are partially to blame and video surveillance caught the whole thing.

“It looked like a war zone. That's how bad it was,” Phil Felicello, the transportation coordinator for the Goodwill Administrative office, said. 

The fire gutted four of the Goodwill’s buses and damaged two other vehicles. In total it ruined around $200,000 worth of buses and vans. 

It all happened on Felicello’s first day as transportation coordinator. 

“I said, ‘What a first day this is.’ It's a bad omen, ha. But we got through it,” Felicello said. 

The Goodwill is making do with its remaining vehicles and still taking around 200 clients and customers with disabilities to area Goodwills and back home. While they manage, it is how the fire got started that’s a bigger story. 

Firefighters said one of the drivers parked the bus slightly over the mulch after 4:15 p.m. and the hot exhaust somehow ignited the mulch, which spread fire to the nearby vehicles. 

“I never would have thought of that either. It was crazy to think that mulch would ignite from the exhaust,” said Keith Lavalette, the vice president of programs for the Goodwill administrative office. 

“It was just a black, charred mess, it was just terrible. The vehicles were just charred, that's the best way I can describe it,” Lavalette added. 

The video shows the fire start and eventually engulf the buses. Firefighters said the dry and hot conditions didn’t help. 

“We see it happening a lot in the fall as well, where cars park on top (of) piles of leaves in the street the same thing can occur, but this time of year typically what you see with mulch igniting like that and getting a car going is disposal of cigarettes or something to that effect,” North Haven Fire Chief Paul Januszewski said. “This was exhaust.” 

Now as the cleanup begins and the insurance is called, Goodwill could use some help. 

“Hopefully we get a donation of a bus today for a backup and hoping none of my vans break down,” Felicello said. 

Until then, Goodwill is using the vehicles they have and they are renting an extra. They said in the future, they plan to remove the mulch and park as they always have. For now, employees are just counting their blessings. 

“That nobody got hurt,” said Lavalette. “These were just vehicles, they can be replaced.” 

If you would like to make a donation to the Goodwill you can stop by their office at 432 Washington Ave. in North Haven or call (203) 777-2000. 

Police are searching for a 23-year-old Bridgeport man who is accused of breaking into a New Haven home and stabbing his ex-girlfriend.

The home invasion and assault happened at a residence in the 700 block of Dixwell Avenue and it was reported at 1:47 a.m. Thursday, according to police.

Officers who responded requested an ambulance after finding a 23-year-old woman who had been stabbed in the torso.

She said she and her current boyfriend were in a bedroom when they heard a noise from the living room. When the boyfriend went to investigate, he saw the woman’s ex-boyfriend coming through a living room window, so he ran back to the bedroom and locked the door.

The ex-boyfriend forced his way into the room by kicking in the door and stabbed the woman with a kitchen knife, according to police.

The victim’s boyfriend chased after him, but the assailant fled in a black four-door Toyota sedan, according to police.

The woman’s 6-month-old child was in the bedroom at the time and was not harmed.

Police said they located the knife on the bed and found blood in the corner of the room.

Police are looking for the assailant.

Summer vacation season is beginning and WalletHub's ranking of the U.S. states based on how well they can host a summer vacation puts Connecticut near the bottom of the list.

Connecticut came 49th, Only Rhode Island comes behind to take last place on the 2018’s Best and Worst States for Summer Road Trips, which takes into account attractions, safety, gas prices and other costs.

Connecticut came in 46th for cost and the study pointed out the highest costs of car repairs and camping. We came in 26th for safety and 42nd for activities. 

Wyoming scored the top spot as the overall best, followed by North Carolina, then Minnesota. New York came in 8th.

WalletHub also offered advice for travelers from university officials.

Central Connecticut State University Director of Tourism and Hospitality Studies, Jeffrey Kreeger, suggested national parks as a great vacation spot. More affordable than theme parks but less visited, national parks make a great alternative for many, according to Kreeger.

While fast food restaurants might be a convenient and tempting stop for long distance drivers, packing a cooler is a better choice, according to Gabriella Petrick of Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration. The cooler allows healthier items to be stored during timely trips and can also be used to store local goods from farmer’s markets, according to Petrick.

While WalletHub might not place Connecticut high on the list, the Connecticut Office of Tourism highlights many of the reasons to spend time in Connecticut this summer, including waterside attractions, good seafood, the parks, the natural beauty and more. 

What is you favorite thing about Connecticut in the summer?

A group of more than 600 United Methodist clergy and members are bringing church law charges against Attorney General Jeff Sessions, a fellow Methodist, urging "some degree of accountability" over the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" immigration crackdown that has separated thousands of children from their parents along the U.S.-Mexico border, NBC News reported.

The group accuses Sessions of violating Paragraph 270.3 of the denomination's Book of Discipline. He is charged under church law with child abuse, immorality, racial discrimination and "dissemination of doctrines contrary to the standards of doctrine of the United Methodist Church."

The signees of the letter also criticized Sessions for invoking Romans 13, a Bible verse, to justify the Trump administration's policy. Two churches to which Sessions purportedly belongs did not immediately respond to phone calls from NBC News.

In honor of the first day of summer, Dunkin' Donuts is giving away free samples of their new Frozen Lemonade on Thursday.

Guests can get the 3.5-ounce samples at participating locations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. while supplies last.

Dunkin' Donuts says their Frozen Lemonade is available in two flavors, original and strawberry, both of which are made with real fruit juice. The company introduced the drink last month and plans to serve it through the summer.

State Environmental Conservation Police euthanized a bear that entered a Torrington home through a window Tuesday, according to the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Torrington police said officers responded to a home at 3467 Winsted Road for a report of a bear that pushed through a window screen to get at food on the counter.

When the bear left the house state Environmental Conservation police euthanized the animal, which is standard DEEP protocol, DEEP confirmed.

The female bear was approximately 1 year old and DEEP said the agency had no previous contact with the animal.

The Morris Volunteer Fire Department will no longer be providing services to the town of Morris.

On Monday, members of the fire department voted to cease providing fire, rescue and EMS services to the town starting on June 30 of this year. They say they've been providing services to the town for over 75 years.

In a Facebook post, the department says the decisions came after, "several years of trying to forge a reasonable working relationship with the Town administrators." The post goes on to say, "We have risked our lives and livelihoods, as well as devoted countless hours to helping our fellow citizens in times of need. Never in our history have we encountered such a toxic working relationship with our Town officials and so little respect for the immeasurable VOLUNTEER work performed."

The department says after this, they hope "more citizens will take an active interest in holding our Town officials accountable for this unfortunate outcome."

At Monday's meeting, the department also voted to establish an irrevocable trust for the benefit of Morris residents, according to the post.

Middletown police are trying to locate a suspect believed involved in three burglaries in one night.

Police said on June 19 officers on the midnight shift responded to three separate burglary calls – one at the Citgo at 237 South Main St., one at Los Primos at 656 Main St., and a third at the Citgo at 578 Main St. In all three cases, the thief broke in through the front door and stole cash and cigarettes.

Based on surveillance footage, investigators believe the same suspect was involved in all three crimes. Anyone who recognizes the suspect pictured above should contact the Middletown Police Department at 860-638-4000.

Police in Groton have seized over 100 bags of heroin, as well as other drugs from a car in Groton on Tuesday.

While in the parking lot of a local business in a known crime area, officers from Groton Police Department, the Department of Adult Probation and the Department of Correction Parole Division say they observed suspicious activity in a vehicle occupied by 28-year-old Sasha Ann Santiago of Norwich and 30-year-old Alejandro Guerra of Hartford. Both Santiago and Guerra are known by officers to be associated with narcotics sales, according to police.

Investigators say they went over to the car and seized 26 grams of crack cocaine, 133 bags of heroin, 60 Benzodiazepine pills, nine opiate pills, two grams of marijuana, one gram of cocaine and $2,542.

Police arrested both Santiago and Guerra. They are now facing charges including possession of narcotics, possession of narcotics with intent to sell, posession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and operating a drug factory.

Both Santiago and Guerra were held on $50,000 bond at the Groton Police Department pending their court appearance on Wednesday.

Anyone with any information regarding illegal drug activity is urged to call Groton Police at (860) 441-6712. All calls will be kept confidential.

A swimmer was rushed to the hospital after a boating accident near the Squantz Cove Boat launch on Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield Tuesday.

Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials confirmed a swimmer was taken to the hospital after an accident. The victim’s condition was not clear.

More information was not immediately released.

NBC Connecticut has a crew headed to the scene and will provide updates as they come into the newsroom.

A mother from Guatemala had her 7-year-old son taken from her after they were detained having illegally crossed the border. She has since been released from custody but immigration officials won't tell her where her son is. 

Beata Mariana de Jesus Mejia-Mejia filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Tuesday, asking the judge to order the government to reunite mother and child and other relief related to her case. She did not ask the court to declare the government's current overall practices illegal. 

Her lawyer, John Shoreman of Washington, D.C., said her case "challenges the United States government's forcible separation of a parent from her young child, notwithstanding the threat of irreparable psychological damage that separation has been universally recognized to cause young children."

The state is offering free lifeguard training to those who qualify in an effort to fill open jobs at all eight of Connecticut’s lifeguarded state beaches.

Chris Collibee, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told NBC Connecticut that they plan to make sure lifeguards will be available on busy summer weekends and holidays, but those heading to state beaches on weekdays should not expect lifeguards if the state is unable to fully staff all positions soon.

"If high school kids or college kids don’t have a job at this point, and you’re looking for a good job and you’re a good swimmer, we offer training to be a lifeguard," Collibee said.

The lifeguard training will be free for the first time, Collibee added, in an effort to fill the remaining 10 to 20 open lifeguard jobs statewide. The advertised pay is $10 to $14 per hour, according to their job postings online.

Collibee said DEEP is particularly concerned about lifeguard staffing at the state parks at Silver Sands in Milford, Indian Wells in Shelton, and Sherwood Island in Westport.

For more information about becoming a lifeguard and to apply, click here.

President Donald Trump's campaign manager on Tuesday called on his boss to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

"Time to fire Sessions End the Mueller investigation," Brad Parscale wrote in a tweet. "You can’t obstruct something that was phony against you The IG report gives @realDonaldTrump the truth to end it all."

The "IG report" Parscale referred to is the Department of Justice inspector general's report that faulted then-FBI Director James Comey for violating protocol in publicly discussing the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email and his handling of a related disclosure about information found on former Rep. Anthony Weiner's laptop, NBC News reported.

The Florida citrus industry is having their worst harvest in 73 years, and scientists at the University of Connecticut are stepping in to help.

The poor harvest is in part because of damage from Hurricane Irma, but the devastation started long before that. A disease known as citrus greening has been wreaking havoc for years. UConn researchers are working on a solution.

“Our hope is that we can modify endogenous genes in citrus to create the greening disease's resistance,” explained University of Connecticut scientist Dr. Yi Li.

Gene editing is often discussed in terms of medical advancements and new health treatments. But gene editing can also benefit the food we eat and agriculture as well. Some of the latest developments are happening in Connecticut.

Florida citrus crops have been falling victim to the greening disease since 2005. The contagious disease is spread by a bacteria found in insects feeding off of citrus crops. The bacteria grows and spreads throughout the trees. But the process is slow - it can take up to five years after a tree is infected for it to show signs of damage. As of today, 75 percent of the Florida citrus crops have been wiped out by this quickly spreading disease that has also made its way to crops in Texas and California.

The UConn scientists are working in conjunction with the University of Florida to find a cure.

“We are basically the technology development lab,” Li said. “And then once we develop the technology people in Florida our collaborators are going to use our technology to genetically modify citrus genome.”

These small, targeted changes to an organism’s original genes produce a specific beneficial result. These genetic alterations can provide plants and animals with beneficial characteristics, just like the disease resistance seen in the citrus crops.

Helping the Florida citrus crop is only part of what’s being done here in the lab. Li and his team have also been implementing their gene editing technique on landscaping products that could soon be used in your own backyard. Their latest project? Slow growing grass.

“We started to breed them to develop these traits that we thought would be beneficial to lawn owners, homeowners, and commercial lawn care people,” explains PhD student Lorenzo Katin-Grazzini, “Such as slow growth to drastically reduce the mowing time that’s needed to really just save cost and time and energy associated with turf grass management.”

Li has also created a genetically modified burning bush, a plant often found in New England that spreads rapidly. Where it grows nothing else can, decreasing the diversity in our forests.

“They either don’t produce seeds or produce very few seeds as such that the birds cannot spread them anymore because there are no seeds,” Li said. “So we hope that those plants are going to be released through horticulture in the next two to three years.”

But the lab at UConn isn’t stopping there.

“I do want to work with more ornamental plants,” Li said. “Particularly invasive plants because I do think that has a huge impact on biodiversity on our environment so if we can use gene editing technology to make that non-invasive that’s what I would like to work on.”

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) slammed the Trump administration’s practice of separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday in an emotional speech during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing. “We will not do that. We are better than that. We are so much better,” Cummings said.

Seniors graduating Wilcox Regional Technical High School in Meriden Tuesday night were outraged after finding parts of the school vandalized with eggs and the chairs set up for the ceremony knocked over the morning of the event.

In an email to the school community, Principal Joyce Mowrey wrote “a very small group of students thought they would disrupt our year's final celebration.”

Members of the senior class told NBC Connecticut that students from the junior class were responsible for the vandalism.

What Lauren Goss saw when she arrived at the school Tuesday morning was not what she was expecting on graduation day.

“Everything was egged,” she said. “There were like 150 chairs back there that were knocked over, some of them broken and the stage was all egged and stuff.”

According to the principal, the pranksters also shot a paint ball gun in the area set up for the ceremony behind the school.

When Goss’ mother learned about the mess, she said she worried the graduation would be moved indoors.

“I’m thinking complete panic because there are only two tickets if it was to be inside,” Kathleen Smiley said.

Members of the senior class helped put the chairs back in order.

“It made me feel proud to know that the kids were all working together in unity to clean up for something that they all worked hard to get to,” Smiley said.

The school, which is run by the Connecticut Department of Education, called in a professional cleaning company.

“I’m like pretty distraught about it because I’m actually allergic to eggs,” senior Corinne Laliberte said.

She was the first senior to discover the knocked over chairs and splattered eggs.

“It would be one thing if they did it yesterday,” Laliberte said, “but they did it today and that’s really inconsiderate of them.”

Not only is she upset by the timing, Laliberte said the senior prank was nowhere near as messy.

“We toilet papered the school and then we had to clean it up because the superintendent came,” she said.

While graduation day didn’t start as planned, Goss and her mom are looking forward to the ceremony that is going on as planned.

“She’s put in a lot of years,” Smiley said. “Worked really hard to get herself to graduate so it’s a big day.”

The principal in the email said the students responsible for the vandalism will face consequences from State Police and the Department of Education.

Gubernatorial hopeful Bob Stefanowski, just one day after being certified to appear on the August primary ballot, made it a point to attack three of his GOP opponents for their use of public financing for their runs.

He even vowed to propose to eliminate the Citizens Election Program for the governor’s race.

“I don’t mind it for the state legislators. It's part-time jobs. It’s not a ton of money,” Stefanowski said at his Branford headquarters. “But for a full-time gubernatorial candidate in a state that’s essentially bankrupt to be asking for $20,000 a day to buy bumper stickers and yard signs, I don’t know how you get yourself comfortable with that. I couldn’t do it.”

Stefanowksi, making his first ever run for any kind of public office, has run an unconventional campaign by Connecticut standards.

He effectively ignored many Republican campaign norms, like lobbying delegates to the state’s convention, attempting to woo the likes of party insiders.

Instead, Stefanowski attended local Republican Town Committee meetings, and pounded the pavement collecting petition signatures to achieve ballot access.

On Monday, he became the first Republican to ever qualify for the gubernatorial primary in that fashion, and he feels even better about his chances in the primary.

“Right now, I’ve got 16,000 signatures from registered Republicans, going into a race that’s probably 25-30,000 votes. We can go back to those people. They already signed my ballot. Again, we’ve been an unconventional campaign from the start and it’s really worked well for us to date.”

Stefanowski spent his professional career working as an executive for General Electric and for UBS in London. He also worked in private equity. He says that career, managing a $500 billion balance sheet, and overseeing up to 10,000 people, makes him uniquely qualified to be governor compared to the other Republicans running.

The Madison resident touts his humble roots in New Haven as another qualifying factor.

He says his business background is what can pull Connecticut out of the economic doldrums, though his rhetoric is loftier than the math that follows it.

He proposes gradually phasing out the state’s income tax, the General Fund’s largest single source of revenue of more than $9 billion annually. Stefanowski says growth in the private sector and increased spending by consumers will lead to a better state economy.

“When people have more take home pay, hopefully they’re going to save some of that, but they’re also going to buy goods and services,” Stefanowski says.

However, he doesn’t have a complete answer when it comes to replacing the revenue that the income tax provides to the state. By saying increased spending will lead to prosperity, that’s relying heavily on the state’s use taxes like sales in order for the state to generate more revenue. Stefanowski says increased corporate growth as a result of other business tax cuts will lead to more people buying homes, cars, and doing more shopping which will fill the state’s coffers.

“Corporations will start to add people coming in. We’ll have a larger tax base because won’t be fleeing the state like they are right now.”

As for another tax issue that’s popped up on the campaign trail, Stefanowski says he does not favor imposing any taxes on endowments on institutions like Yale University.

He says a quote attributed to him back in February, where he apparently endorsed the concept, was a “throwaway line.”

Stefanowski clarified his position saying any endowment tax, “was never part of my formal plan.”

As for the rest of the race, Stefanowski is relying on donors to fund his race, and says that path provides him more credibility than others running for the Republican nomination. He says he can discuss being fiscally responsible with taxpayers’ money in ways the other Republicans simply cannot.

“One of the reasons I’ve been successful in business, is I’ve walked the talk and I do what I say. I think when you begin being hypocritical, it’s going to hurt you at some point.”

Much was made of Tom Brady's remarks in an Oprah Winfrey interview that aired Sunday that his retirement was coming "sooner rather than later."

Well, the New England Patriots quarterback may have just dropped another hint about how long he plans to continue playing.

ESPN posted Brady's "sooner rather than later" quote on Instagram Sunday. Brady's verified account @tombrady, then posted in the comments section, saying "cuarenta y cinco," or "45" in Spanish.

Brady, 41, has said in the past that he plans on playing until he's 45, and perhaps even longer. Could this be a sign that he and his family have finally settled on a date?

When Jaclyn Piscitelli bought her New Britain home in 2016, she needed to make a few improvements in order to pass inspection. Among them, fixing the stone steps out front.

Piscitelli said her realtor recommended a contractor to do the work. Piscitelli hired him to resurface the steps.

“They came out great,” she said.

But the work didn’t last. Piscitelli said just about a year after the work was completed, she noticed the stone was in bad shape.

“Just cracks at first, but very deep cracks,” she said.

Piscitelli told NBC Connecticut reached out to the contractor in January by email. He told her he would come by the following week to take a look. But Piscitelli said the contractor didn’t come.

She said she contacted him four more times in the following months. Piscitelli said he responded twice, but never showed up. Finally, Piscitelli reached out to NBC Connecticut Responds in early May.

“You guys get things done. Because of that, I figured it was worth a shot. I had nothing to lose,” she said.

Our consumer team reviewed Piscitelli’s contract. It said the work was guaranteed for one year from the date of completion. Piscitelli notified the contractor of the issues within that time frame.

Responds reached out to the contractor on her behalf and received an emailed response the same day. It said, “Of course we will take a look.”

Piscitelli said a week later, she had a letter in her mailbox from the contractor. He apologized for the delay and said he would not be working in the area for a while. The letter included a check for $850, the cost of the original job.

“I feel so grateful. So grateful. Knowing that somebody else has your back that can step in and just act as a voice for you when no one else is listening," Piscitelli said.

The contractor did not respond to our follow up request for comment.

Two New Haven police officers have resigned and the next New Haven Police Academy class is on hold after an internal audit uncovered falsified reports by officers assigned to investigate candidates hoping to become police officers, according to a statement from police.

New Haven police said on May 15 questions arose during a review of reports on the candidates. An internal investigation revealed that two officers assigned to the specialized unit that investigates police officer candidates falsified some reports.

The two officers each resigned from the department.

Each candidate’s file is now being reviewed by the department’s Internal Affairs Division and Investigate Service Division, police said.

“At this point, it seems unlikely the candidacy of any applicant or finalist was influenced,” police said in a statement.

Due to the investigation, the New Haven Police Academy class that was scheduled to begin on June 25 has been postponed. Police estimate a delay of about one month.

“I am truly disappointed,” wrote Chief Anthony Campbell in a statement. “The process involved in an applicant’s investigation should be the last that needs to be investigated. It is clear we must review our procedures regarding this matter. Our community must be able to trust that the process is an honorable one and conducted by women and men with great integrity.”

The New Haven Police Department has contacted the State’s Attorney’s office regarding the officers’ actions.

Mayor Toni Harp's office declined to comment on the open investigation.