Just before moving to the New Haven area in 2013, Rich Cohen bought a road bike.

His wife, who was starting a job at Yale-New Haven Hospital, suggested he sign up for the Closer to Free Ride that raises money for patient care and critical research at the Smilow Cancer Hospital.

“While I haven’t personally had the disease, it’s something that affects so many families across the world,” Cohen told NBC Connecticut. “On ride day, I ride in memory of my grandparents. I’ve had three grandparents pass away from cancer, mostly lung but one prostate so it has affected my family.”

Cohen never met his paternal grandmother who passed away at 46-year-old. His paternal grandfather battled cancer several times before his death in 2011. And he was only 18-months-old when he lost his maternal grandfather in the last 1980s.

“The last time I rode I felt a little burn on the way back from Guilford and some of those rolling hills on the shoreline,” Cohen said of his September 2016 ride. “That’s where you start thinking this isn’t as bad as what it takes to go through some of the treatment, and what my grandfather had described some of the radiation burns.”

For his fourth ride, Cohen has joined a new team called Chain RxAction with some of his wife’s co-workers from the YNHH Pharmacy Department.

“Mostly newer riders,” he said. “Right now we have about 8 people in the group.”

Cohen said he hopes by riding and raising money he can help save lives and make the world closer to cancer free.

“Hopefully going forward people can get through and recover from cancer,” he said.

There is still time to sign up for the eighth annual Closer to Free Ride on Saturday September 8. So far, more than 1,200 people have registered to ride.

Electability is the main thing on Jayme Stevenson’s mind when it comes to the August 14 primary election for lieutenant governor.

Stevenson, the three-term first selectman of Darien, is making her first attempt at statewide office.

“I am the conservative Republican that can win in November,” Stevenson said, boldly proclaiming that her candidacy is the happy medium for Republican voters in August.

Stevenson was quick to attack State Sen. Joe Markley from Southington, who won the party’s endorsement at the state GOP convention back in May. She described those delegates as, “party insiders,” and adds that it would be a grave mistake for registered Republicans to pick Markley as their lieutenant governor nominee.

“He represents a part of the constituency that cannot win in November,” Stevenson said. “I find him very on the fringe of the ultra-conservative Republican Party really can’t be relatable to the general voters of this state of Connecticut. I think it’s a little bit risky to go with a candidate like that.”

Stevenson was born in Reading, Pa., attended college in Arizona, and both work and her husband’s Connecticut’s roots brought her to the state she now calls home.

She’s worked with non-profits that deal with drug abuse, and she’s held several positions relating to municipal government, serving on boards with the Western Connecticut Council of Governments, and the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities.

Jayme and her husband, John, have five children, and one grandchild.

The first selectman is the political chief executive of the town of Darien, as the town administrator makes all day to day decisions.

Stevenson says because of Darien’s unique makeup, she’s positioned well for the role of lieutenant governor.

“Unlike communities that might have fifteen members of a council, we have a 100 member representative town meeting. You have to be, as a chief elected official, a consensus builder. You have to build relationships.”

Stevenson is one of two women running the state’s number two position.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart ended her run for governor on the day the GOP convention started, instantly joining Stevenson as a challenger to the left of Markley.

Stewart has billed herself as a common-sense Republican with acceptable views on guns and the role of government in day to day life, but she has come under fire for her views on abortion, she’s in favor of a woman’s right to choose, and her support for collective bargaining in the city she runs.

Some political insiders have feared for the electability of Markley in a general election, while being concerned that Stewart and Stevenson may split votes, guaranteeing a win for Markley.

Stevenson had a harsh assessment of Stewart’s campaign so far, and what she represents.

“Erin is very liberal. She’s a very liberal Republican,” Stevenson said.

She added that GOP voters would be doing themselves a disservice by voting either to the right with Markley or to the left with Stewart.

“Voting for Joe [Markley], is really voting for Ned Lamont because if he’s on the ticket the Republican ticket is going to struggle and voting for Erin will really disenfranchise the Republican base. I am a fiscal conservative fit nicely in between the two of them.”

For the first time ever in Meriden, voters went to the polls on Wednesday for the chance to reject the city’s budget that was approved with an almost five percent tax hike.

“We’ve heard you know, oh you’re not getting people to come out in July, and look at them, look at them showing up right now,” Sharon Milano told NBC Connecticut at Lincoln Middle School, one of the polling locations.

The average taxpayer would need to pay an additional $200 after the 4.66 percent increase to Meriden’s property tax rate.

“I’m a single father raising twin girls and you look at every penny, you look at everything you can possibly do,” lifelong Meriden resident Michael Carabetta said.

Carabetta found out in the city charter he needed 2,779 signatures on a petition to force a budget referendum. The team he assembled collected more than 3 thousand.

“I registered to vote just for this,” Milano said. “A lot of the population here has been sleeping for a long time and now we’re waking them up.”

Mayor Kevin Scarpati cast the tie-breaking vote when the city council adopted the budget in May. He said he did so as a procedural move to get the budget to his desk.

“I do think that there’s some room to cut,” Scarpati said. “There’s also some room for us to grow revenue-wise.”

The mayor said the frustration he has heard from taxpayers about the mill rate increase has convinced him the council needs to take a closer look at the $198 million spending plan.

“I’ve been on the fence about this one,” Scarpati said, “but I’m probably going to vote “yes” just because of the outpouring from the community.”

Overwhelmed by the response of residents, Carabetta said he is pleased with the turnout at the polls.

“By the reactions and the honks and the waves and people coming up to us and telling us we’ve made history in Meriden,” he said.

If at least 4,111 taxpayers vote “yes” for the referendum, the city council will need to revise and adopt a new spending plan by August 20. Results will be available after the polls close at 8 p.m.

State police say a motorcyclist is down and serious injuries have been reported in a crash on Interstate 84 in East Hartford Wednesday.

Police said the crash happened on I-84 westbound between exits 59 and 58. The highway is shut down in both directions, according to state police.

There is heavy traffic in the area. Drivers should expect delays.

More details were not immediately available.

The grieving family of fallen Waterford airman Staff Sgt. James Tyler Grotjan is questioning the circumstances surrounding his death last week after injuries sustained overseas.

Grotjan’s parents and wife were at his side on July 12 when he was taken off life support at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany on July 12. He was 26 years old.

His mother, Laura Prentice of Waterford, told NBC Connecticut’s Shyang Puri, “I felt like a part of me died that day.”

Four days earlier, on July 8, Grotjan was injured in a non-combat related incident at Al-Dhafra air base in the United Arab Emirates, according to a release from the Department of Defense.

Grotjan fulfilled his lifelong dream of joining the military when he enlisted with the Air Force’s 4th Civil Engineers Squadron. He was overseas supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, the joint military effort targeting ISIS in the Middle East, and deployed just two months before his death.

Taylor Grotjan, his wife, believed his work as a plumber would keep him out of harm’s way. “When he signed up we picked a safe job, a job that didn’t require a ton of risk, because I was scared,” she said.

Instead, his mother said Grotjan was exposed to a methane gas leak, suffered cardiac arrest, and fell while in a manhole. The details, she said, leave her with questions about how it all happened.

“I need to know if proper protocol was followed,” she said.

On Wednesday, a sign built by his family since his death stood tall on the lawn of the Waterford home he bought for his mother.

The family, including seven siblings, remembered Tyler, as they call him, as a mischievous child who grew into a kind and generous man. Randy Grotjan, a retired Navy officer, proudly described his son.

“He would literally give you the shirt off his back and not even think twice, and not ask for it back. He was genuinely a great man.”

A spokesperson for the Fourth Fighter Wing Public Affairs office confirmed to NBC Connecticut that Grotjan’s death remains under investigation. NBC Connecticut reached out to the Air Force and is waiting for answers regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.

His mother waits as well.

“No mother should ever have to experience the loss of their child, and I don’t think I will ever be ok until I have answers into what happened to my child,” she said.

Plainville police have arrested two people in what the chief called one of the largest drug busts the department has made in years.

Police arrested 23-year-old Mikaila Williams and 29-year-old Arthur White on various drug charges Wednesday. Sgt. Shane Murphy said it was the result of an investigation into illegal activity in town, and that police are working to do whatever they can to prevent overdoses.

“This was real good work by our patrol division. They learned of illegal activity in our town, which we have no tolerance for. Some real good police work led to them getting the search and seizure warrant, which then led to the arrest today, a seizure of about 80 bags of heroin, 14 bags of crack cocaine, facsimile firearms and cash,” Murphy said.

White and Williams were arrested at the Advance Motel on New Britain Avenue.

White was charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to sell, possession of crack cocaine with intent to sell, illegal possession of fentanyl, illegal possession of crack cocaine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of less than a half-ounce of marijuana. He was held on a $25,000 bond and is due in court Thursday.

Williams faces the same charges. She was held on a $25,000 bond and is due in court on July 30.

Several police departments are seeing a rise in dating app and internet purchase crimes, and authorities are warning app users to use caution when taking any online interaction offline.

“Sometimes the person you see in the picture is not exactly the same as you imagine,” said New Haven resident Giorgi Amendola.

Amendola said while he’s never had a problem meeting someone through dating apps, he knows what you see isn’t always what you get.

New Haven police are warning that criminals are also using those apps to search for victims.

“People are being duped into meeting people for seemingly legitimate reasons and then being robbed,” Officer David Hartman of the New Haven Police Department said.

New Haven police said this past month they’ve had about eight crimes connected to internet apps, and fear the number could be even higher because victims may be too embarrassed to call police.

A couple weeks ago, New Haven police said a victim had his car, wallet and phone stolen after pulling up to a residential address.

“He was instructed through the messaging portion of the app to walk up the driveway and she would be right down well she happened to be two guys with guns,” Hartman explained.

Many police departments have designated spots for people meeting up to complete a purchase. There are cameras that capture everything that takes place.

And police are pointing out other simple steps you can take to lessen your chances of becoming a victim.

If you are going offline, you should follow basic safety tips like meeting in a public place and bringing someone with you. In addition, police suggest meeting during the day instead of night, to save online information and related photos, to not carry large amounts of cash, and to leave valuables at home.

Specifically for dating apps, be responsible for your own ride, don’t get into a stranger’s car, stay sober, and download a personal safety app.

“If it doesn't feel right, it's not right,” Hartman said.

Police said in some of these cases victims were injured, but most aren’t seriously hurt.

They believe several of these crimes are being carried out by the same people.

More than 9 in 10 undocumented immigrants in the European Union make use of at least one people smuggler during their journey, according to law enforcement agency Europol.

NBC News tracked one Afghan migrant, Zubair Nazeri, for a year on a leg of his journey, from Serbia into Western Europe. Smugglers led him through minefields and across the deadly waters of the Mediterranean, making parents sedate their babies and using code words along the way.

"I must have used the word 'game' more than 1,000 times in the last two years," said Nazeri, 25.

European criminal organizations are moving assets into people smuggling, which they see as low risk and highly profitable, according to Europol spokesman Jan Op Gen Oorth. The under-the-table business intersects with document forgery, money laundering and drug smuggling.

A man has been taken by helicopter to the hospital after a cow kicked him in the head at Oakridge Dairy farm on Jobs Hill Road in Ellington early Thursday morning.

Fire officials said they received a call at 4:24 a.m. reporting a head injury.

They arrived at the farm four minutes later and first responders determined the farm employee, who is in his 20s, suffered a serious head injury.  

LifeStar was called and flew the patient to Bay State Hospital.  The condition of the man is unknown.

Please check back for updates.

A pipe explosion in the Flatiron District shut down the bustling area as Thursday's morning rush got underway, sending thick steam billowing over Manhattan, leaving a crater in the middle of the street and turning the immediate area into a smoking ghost town as investigators cleared traffic.

No immediate injuries were reported in the 6:30 a.m. blast near Fifth Avenue and 21st Street. Steam was still spewing rapidly from the ground 120 minutes into the emergency response as authorities tried to isolate the source of the blast. Debris, including chunks of asphalt, littered the nearby streets and cars that happened to be at the scene of the time were entirely encased in mud.

Con Edison said it was conducting environmental testing for asbestos and other contaminants, and it urged anyone in the vicinity who was covered in any debris to bag their clothes and shower. 

The steam turned white, then gray, then black and continued to alternate colors, indicating the possible presence of a fire underneath the ground. Water also filled the street near the hole in the ground, but there was no immediate confirmation of a main break or any fire. 

The FDNY confirmed its response to an explosion; evacuations were ordered in the immediate area.

The heavy steam looked like smoke and initially brought to mind concerns of a possible sinister cause, especially for people who lived in the area during the 9/11 terror attacks. 

"My whole body was shaking, I didn't know what was going on at the moment," said one man.

The blast comes almost exactly 11 years to the day of a steam pipe explosion near Grand Central. That rush-hour explosion on July 18, 2007, shot debris 40 stories in the air, raining mud on midtown. In that case, authorities said an 83-year-old underground pipe near the transit hub failed. 

A cause of Thursday's blast remains under investigation.

Subway service and traffic in the area is affected. Get real-time updates from all your key transit sources below. 

A Wilton woman is accused of leaving a dog in the trunk of a hot car in Greenwich and has been charged with cruelty to animals.

Police said officers responded to Grove Street at 8:47 a.m. Wednesday after receiving reports that a dog was left in a vehicle and the windows were closed.

When officers arrived, they realized the dog was in the trunk for 30 minutes and said it was salivating because of the heat.

Police issued a misdemeanor summons for the cruelty to animals charge to Linda Scalley, 56, of Wilton.

She is due in Stamford Superior Court on Aug. 1.

A water main break in Waterford is affecting traffic on Boston Post Road.

A Facebook post from Waterford Police said the water is flowing in the area of Dunkin’ Donuts and they are asking drivers to drive through the area slowly to avoid car damage.

The head of the state's Department of Environmental Conservation has been ordered to lead a multi-agency investigation into the near-simultaneous shark attacks on two children at Long Island shores about 4 1/2 miles apart, Gov. Cuomo said in a statement Thursday.

Cuomo said state personnel are already working closely with Suffolk County and local authorities on the probe into Wednesday's unprovoked attacks on the 12-year-old girl and 13-year-old boy at Sailors Haven and Atlantique Beach.

In the boy's case, he was boogie boarding at Atlantique Beach before noon when he suddenly stumbled out of the ocean. A lifeguard ran to him and found what appeared to be a shark bite; the tooth was still wedged in the boy's leg.

It was taken for analysis to help try to identify the shark species. 

In the Sailors Haven attack, the girl, said she was waist-deep in the water off Sailors Haven.

"The water was cold, so I didn't really feel anything," she told reporters. "And then I saw something like next to me, and I kind of felt pain. And I looked and I saw, like, a fin, kind of. I don't know how to describe it." 

"It was just like a quick kind of pull," she said later. "I was kind of in like shock, almost, 'cause it pulled and I kind of looked at it and I was like, 'Oh, my gosh." 

She ran out to her mother with a bloody leg, and the two ran to the lifeguards, who bandaged it and helped them.

"I kind of thought it was a dream," she said. "I didn't really think it was actually happening until, like, I was just like, 'Well, this just happened.'"

Most Fire Island beaches were shut down Wednesday as authorities investigated. The town of Islip said its beaches reopened Thursday; added security will include more eyes on the shores and jet ski riders. A chopper will also circle the water for an aerial protective view, a spokeswoman said.

Both children have been released from the hospital and are expected to be OK.

Shark sightings aren't uncommon on Long Island or at the Jersey Shore, but unprovoked attacks are rare. Since 1837, only 10 shark attacks have been reported in New York. Fifteen have been reported in New Jersey and one in Connecticut.

Greenwich police have arrested a Cos Cob postal carrier who they said admitted to stealing items from packages he should have been delivering.

Police said Greenwich officers and the U.S. Postal Inspector General responded to the Cos Cob post office on Monday after an employee saw stolen mail on a mail carrier’s back seat.

Investigators determined that the mail was addressed to homes on the route of 27-year-old Gregory Ferrigno, of South Salem, New York, and it was supposed to have been delivered two days earlier, according to the arrest report from Greenwich Police.

When Ferrigno arrived at the post office parking lot at 3:03 p.m., police spoke to him and said he admitted to stealing mail over the previous three weeks.

Inside his vehicle, investigators found three items worth $80 and three opened packages of mail, according to police.

Ferrigno was arrested and charged with sixth-degree larceny. He was released on $100 bond and is due in court on July 30.

More than a dozen New Haven city leaders toured The Annex section of the city Thursday morning, looking for problems they see in the quality of life. 

Mayor Toni Harp sent officials from more than a dozen city departments to scan areas they can clean and improve. 

“Especially in neighborhoods where we have to make sure we’re putting some extra effort,” Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson said, “just to make sure that we’re keeping it clean, we’re keeping it coordinated through different departments.” 

Honda Smith, from the New Haven Department of Public Works, is the Public Space Inspector, looking for catch basins filled with trash and debris. She pointed out several, saying, “A passerby will walk by, throw the trash out of the cars or whatever.” 

Each representative had his or her eyes open for code, zoning, housing, and business violations. If a violation is found, it’s immediately taken to the representative’s superior, who then takes it to the mayor’s office.” 

LCI Deputy Director Frank D’Amore pointed to NBC Connecticut a commercial vehicle parked in a residential zone, indicating a violation. He said a more common violation they’ve seen is creating illegal dwelling units. 

“Illegal basement units, illegal attic units. Those are a big problem,” D’Amore said. “[It’s] one of the main things we’re looking for on a walk like this.” 

This is the city’s third walking tour. The first two were hosted in the Fair Haven and Newhallville sections of the city. Nemerson said progress has been made from these first two sweeps. 

“There really is a direct, immediate response that happens when we do one of these sweeps,” he said. 

With anything worth doing right, Nemerson also said these changes do take time to make.

Car thieves stole something precious from a Salem woman. When thieves broke into her cars over the weekend, they took the last photos she had with her parents before they passed away. 

“My parents passed away several months ago, both of them. On that SD is the last pictures I have with them. It’s really sad and it was hard,” Lisa Wiberg, of Salem, said. 

Surveillance video captured the brazen theft from two of her cars early Sunday morning and it shows someone taking a bag from a car. 

“I would never have thought something like this would happen,” Wiberg said. 

Police across the state are seeing an increase in thefts from cars and they urge people to lock their vehicles to help prevent becoming victims. 

“There is a discussion in terms of what we can do as an agency to decrease the number of break-ins,” Trooper Josue Dorelus, of Connecticut State Police, said. “We understand that these are crimes of opportunity and these people, whoever they may be, are taking advantage of the fact that individuals are leaving the vehicles unlocked.” 

State police also urge residents to remove valuables from their vehicles. 

Wiberg is also urging her neighbors to be aware of their surroundings.

Police have found the remains of a man who had been missing from Canton since February.

The human remains found in a wooded area along Red Fox Run in Canton on Sunday are 61-year-old Thomas Hobbs, according to Canton police.

Police said he had been dead for a significant time before his body was found and there does not appear to be anything suspicious about his disappearance or death.

Snack food company Utz has recalled select bags of potato chips because of an undeclared soy allergen.

Utz Quality Foods has issued a voluntarily recall on select 2.875 oz. and 7.5 oz bags of Utz Carolina Style Barbeque Potato Chips after learning some packages were mislabeled. The recall affects products distributed in 30 states including Connecticut, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Vermont and Virginia, as well as D.C.

No illnesses have been reported, according to the Food and Drug Administration website, but people who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to soy run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the chips.

Utz urged customers not to eat the chips and either throw them out or return them to the store for a full refund. The company suggested retailers check their shelves and confirm the products are not available for purchase.

The affected 2.875 oz. bags include a UPC code of 0-41780-00153-5 and an expiration date between Oct. 6 and Oct. 20. The affected 7.5 oz. bags include a UPC code of 0-41780-00049-1 and expiration dates between Aug. 18 and Oct. 27.

For more information, email customerservice@utzsnacks.com or call 1-800-367-7629, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.

Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, said Thursday he wished President Donald Trump had not met alone with Vladimir Putin of Russia.

In an extraordinary acknowledgement, the nation's spy chief said he had no idea what was said in the Helsinki summit Monday between Trump and the Russian president, NBC News reported.

"If he had asked me how that ought to be conducted, I would have suggested a different way," Coats, a former Republican senator from Indiana, told NBC News' Andrea Mitchell at the Aspen Security Forum. "But that's not my role, that's not my job…it is what it is."

Police are searching for a missing man in Milford a said there is a large police presence on Foran Road.

Police said Joshua Kurmai, of Milford, is missing. 

The missing man is 22-years old, 6-feet tall, 200 pounds and has brown eyes and brown hair, according to police.

He was last seen wearing a black tank top, torn black jeans and sneakers. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Milford Police at 203-878-6551 or Detective Wiliam Haas at 203-783-4771 or email whaas@ci.milford.ct.us.