U.S. officials are sitting down with former members of the Taliban as they try to wind down America's longest war, three Taliban commanders tell NBC News.

The sources said the talks took place in Afghanistan, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. One negotiator said "never more than five" Americans attended a series of hotel suite meetings in Doha, Qatar.

The Taliban delegates took steps not to be identified by other countries' intelligence services, the negotiator said. He and the other sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

NBC News could not confirm the Taliban officials' accounts. A State Department representative didn't confirm the meetings but did say the Trump administration is eager to resolve the conflict. U.S. officials indicated this week that the administration is open to direct talks with the Taliban.

One person was flown to the hospital after a car hit a tree in Lebanon early Friday morning and one person was found pinned under the car. 

Crews from the Lebanon Volunteer Fire Department responded to Trumbull Highway, near Diane Drive, at 12:46 a.m. and a fire officer found a car on its side on top of a patient. 

The victim was conscious but had moderate injuries, according to the fire department. 

Crews stabilized the vehicle and freed the patient in around half an hour.

LifeStar responded and transported the person to a hospital. 

The roadway was shut down, but has reopened.

No additional information is available about the injured person’s condition.

A car hit a house on Keeney Street in Manchester Thursday night and one person has minor injuries. 

Police said the house was damaged, but it’s not clear how severe the damage is.

President Donald Trump’s refusal to publicly condemn Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election until a wall of bipartisan criticism forced a series of White House walk-backs appears to be following a familiar script.

Possible pivotal points in his presidency leave his supporters unfazed as Trump breaks norms, forcing his advisers to struggle with the fallout.

"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters," Trump famously said during a 2016 campaign rally.

Yes, each time Trump has weathered the criticism. Will it be any different now?

“The only honest answer to that question is ‘Who knows?’” said Whit Ayres, the president North Star Opinion Research and an adviser to top Republicans. “Past controversies that would have sunk most presidents have had no significant effect on this president's job approval. So until there is hard evidence to the contrary, the safest bet is that this will have no effect as well.”

The latest uproar began during a press conference on Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin when Trump declined to denounce election interference that U.S. intelligence agencies say was meant to benefit him over Democrat Hillary Clinton. Nor would he warn Putin against doing it again, instead repeating conspiracy theories about Clinton and the Democratic party's computer servers.

“My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me and some others and said they think it’s Russia," Trump said. "I have President Putin. He just said it’s not Russia. I will say this. I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

The next day, after blistering criticism from even some of the president’s most reliable supporters, Trump told reporters he had meant to say “wouldn’t be.”

“The sentence should have been, 'I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t be Russia.' Sort of a double negative,” Trump said.

But even then, he contradicted U.S. intelligence agencies' assessments again by ad-libbing that others could be responsible, too — a claim he has made repeatedly and one not backed by the assessments.

On Tuesday, another Republican pollster, David Winston, called that clarification in a Roll Call op-ed “probably the best we’re going to get.”

“But Trump’s grumbling comments, his ramblings about emails, servers and rogue FBI agents, and most important, his attempt to create a moral equivalency between our intel agencies and the actions of Russia, leaves most outside observers shaking their heads,” wrote Winston, the president of The Winston Group and an adviser to congressional Republicans.

Trump’s presidency has been a series of flare-ups: the rollout of the travel ban, separation of migrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border, support for Alabama Republican Roy Moore, who lost his U.S. Senate race after women came forward accusing him of sexual misconduct, Trump’s waffling over condemning white supremacist marchers in Charlottesville, Virginia, and calling Haiti and some African nations: “sh--hole countries.”

Polls have found that support among his core backers has stayed strong through all of the upheaval. For example, an NBC News/Survey Monkey online poll in May found that although 22 percent of Republicans say they believe Trump tells the truth only some of the time, more than half of them, or 56 percent, still approve of his work as president.

After the Helsinki summit, according to a CBS News poll released on Thursday, only about 32 percent of Americans approved of Trump's performance and 8 percent of Democrats. By contrast 68 percent of Republicans thought he had done a good job.

Crucially, among independents, only 29 percent were happy with the president.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll also conducted after the summit found that 42 percent of registered voters said they approved of Trump's performance in office, in line with a daily average of between 40 to 44 percent this month. Only 32 percent of Republicans believe that Russia tried to influence the U.S. election, compared to 84 percent of Democrats, according to the poll, released on Tuesday.

Margie Omero, a principal at GBA Strategies who has worked with hundreds of Democratic candidates, said she thought the current controversy was different from earlier ones in that those reinforced what was known about the president —that he uses hostile rhetoric when he talks about immigrants, women or communities of color.

In Helsinki, he appeared weak, a pushover who lacked a clear, strategic goal, she said.

“Obviously we’ve known for a long time that Trump has been friendly toward Putin rather than tough toward him the way he is with other world leaders, including our allies, but the display was so over the top and it also went against what his says is his strength, of being tough,” she said.

It remains to be seen whether there will be any long-term damage, she said.

Trump continued the confusion on Wednesday when asked — while reporters were being told to leave the room before a Cabinet meeting — whether Russia was still targeting the U.S.

“Thank you very much, no,” he said.

“No? You don’t believe that to be the case?”

“No.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders later said that Trump was saying “no” to additional questions.

The reporter who asked the question, Cecilia Vega of ABC News, tweeted: “Getting a lot of questions about my exchange with @realDonaldTrump today. Yes, he was looking directly at me when he spoke. Yes, I believe he heard me clearly. He answered two of my questions.”

By Thursday, the White House had announced Trump was inviting Putin to the White House for a second summit in the fall, seemingly defying his critics.

That Mr. Putin could be coming to Washington appeared to be news to Coats. Trump's director of national intelligence seemed stunned when NBC's Andrea Mitchell told him about the invite during a Q&A at the Aspen Security Forum. 

"Say that again?" Coats said, leaning in then laughing along with others in the room.

"OK."

He paused.

"That's gonna be special," he said to more laughter.  

Perhaps just as astonishing: Coats also acknowledged he was clueless on the specifics of what Trump and Putin talked about when the two leaders were alone together in Helsinki for two hours.    

Back in Washington on Thursday, the U.S. Senate made a rare show of bipartisan unity by passing a non-binding resolution 98-0 that the U.S. should refuse to make any former diplomat accused of interfering in Russia's domestic affairs available to Russian investigators.

Senators scrambled for the vote because Trump was considering a Russian request  to interrogate former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul and other former and current American officials. Putin had offered in return to let American investigators witness interrogations of 12 Russians named and accused in an indictment Friday of hacking Democrats. Trump had termed the quid pro quo an "incredible offer." 

But as the Senate was considering its vote, Trump backed down. 

“It is a proposal that was made in sincerity by President Putin, but President Trump disagrees with it,” Sanders said in a statement. “Hopefully President Putin will have the 12 identified Russians come to the United States to prove their innocence or guilt.” 

Among the critics of Trump's press conference in Helsinki has been a crucial backer, former House speaker Newt Gingrich, who said the president's performance was "the most serious of his presidency." 

“President Trump must clarify his statements in Helsinki on our intelligence system and Putin,” Gingrich tweeted. 

“It is the most serious mistake of his presidency and must be corrected -- immediately.” 

By Tuesday, Gingrich was tweeting approvingly of Trump's walk-back, writing that the president had done the right thing by clarifying his comments and reiterating his support for Coats and the intelligence community. 

“President responded quickly and clearly once he realized he had used the wrong language,” he wrote. 

And Gingrich turned again to criticizing former officials for failing to stop the Russian meddling, among them the former director of national intelligence, James Clapper, the former head of the CIA, John Brennan, and the fired FBI chief, James Comey.

Omero, the Democratic strategist, said Trump’s performance has been problematic for Republican leadership, his intelligence and security staff and for Republican candidates who are not sure how to speak to voters about Trump. That was part of the reason Trump tried to reverse course, she said.

“They seem inauthentic because in order to show support for their president they have to stand by embarrassing behavior and completely incomprehensible walk-back,” she said.

Winston wrote that Trump was at a crucial point in his presidency.

“He can listen to the criticism of his Helsinki comments, learn a hard lesson, rein in his shoot-from-the-hip instincts and lead — or not, and put his leadership at risk,” Winston wrote.

Duck boats are popular with tourists, but they've also been involved in dozens of deaths.

At least 26 people have been killed in incidents involving duck boats over the last 20 years in the United States, including Thursday's deadly sinking in Missouri, "Today" reported.

A lawyer who represented victims in a duck boat crash in Philadelphia in 2010 says the number of deaths is higher and that more than 40 people have died in duck boat accidents.

The "boats" are amphibious vehicles made by modifying military trucks. The ones in use today were built for use in World War II and were named with the acronym DUKW, which led to the nickname "duck boats."

Duck boats were used during the Normandy invasion on D-Day to bring troops ashore, and some were used again in Korea.

In recent years some businesses have re-purposed those same, decades-old vehicles into sightseeing attractions that drive from land into rivers and lakes.

The boats sit low in the water, with waves lapping just outside the boats' windows.

In 1999, 13 people drowned while riding a duck boat in Hot Springs, Arkansas. That boat sank so quickly that no one aboard had time to put on a life jacket, the NTSB reported; its investigation found the boat had been inadequately maintained.

In 2010, a trash barge collided with a duck boat on a busy part of the Delaware River in Philadelphia. The 37 people aboard were sent into the water; two people, tourists from Hungary, died.

The company that ran the Philadelphia operations, Ride the Ducks International, stopped operating in Philly in 2016 after another fatal crash sent its insurance costs soaring. In May 2015, a duck boat struck and killed a visitor from Texas who was crossing a city street.

The next year, in Boston, a woman was killed when she was hit by a duck boat while riding her scooter on Beacon Hill.

Five college students were killed in 2015 when a duck boat crashed into a charter bus in Seattle. The victims were on the bus.

The company that operated the Branson, Missouri, ride that sank in a storm Thursday issued a statement reiterating its focus on safety.

"The safety of our guests and employees is our number one priority," the statement read. "Ride the Ducks will be closed for business while we support the investigation, and to allow time to grieve for the families and the community."

But a lawyer who represented the Philadelphia water crash victims said Friday that's not good enough.

The vehicles are "deathtraps operating on land and in the water," Robert Mongeluzzi said, reiterating his call for a national ban on duck boats.

“After this tragedy, we again ask, What does it take for tour operators to realize that they cannot value profit more than human life and public safety?" Mongeluzzi said in a statement. 

Forty-four of the nearly 50 buildings evacuated after an asbestos-lined, 86-year-old steam pipe exploded in the heart of the Flatiron District Thursday remain off limits as officials thoroughly assess the potential presence of asbestos.

Authorities are making progress in cleaning streets and buildings, however, and by Friday evening, 19th Street near Fifth Avenue was cleaned and poised to open. Fifth Avenue at 18th and 19th streets should be re-opening soon, too, according to Joe Esposito, commissioner of the city's Office of Emergency Management. 

Forty-nine buildings were originally evacuated when the 20-inch high-pressure pipe exploded, blowing a 15-foot crater in Fifth Avenue near 21st Street and burying Manhattan in a cloud of alternately white and black steam for hours. By Friday morning, 44 of the original 49 buildings remained evacuated. 

Authorities have walked through about four dozen buildings to see if debris has gotten into them. There's no time table on when all the streets will be opening back up or how long the cleanup will take. Residents won't be allowed to return to their homes -- with the exception of emergency needs -- until those assessments have been completed, which could take days. 

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"Asbestos is a killer, so we have to be very careful with how we clean the buildings, how we clean the streets," Esposito said at a news conference Friday evening.

 Alfonso Queiroz of Con Edison echoed the sentiment: "As soon as we learned asbestos was involved, the game changed," he said, adding that environmental experts were enlisted to help the utility carefully remove materials and debris from the site. "We want to be really careful with how we handle this." 

Rain this weekend will be beneficial in washing the upper facades of the building to wipe away debis, Esposito said. Meanwhile, crews will be putting a berm around the area of the steam pipe explosion to try to contain as much contaminated debris as possible and then vacuum away the water. 

Twenty-eight buildings are in what officials called the "hot zone," and 500 people have been displaced from nearly 250 units in those buildings, Mayor de Blasio said.

The other 21 buildings that were evacuated will be assessed, but de Blasio said the presence of asbestos is less likely there. There is "real concern" carcinogenic debris was thrown stories high by the rupture and could have gotten into people's buildings or air conditioners, de Blasio said Thursday. 

The air in the immediate vicinity is safe and has no meaningful asbestos levels, the mayor said, but debris found on the ground after the blast did test positive. 

People who live or work in the area should keep windows closed until clean-up is completed, the city's health department says. 

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Fifth Avenue will remain shut down in the area for days as authorities work to clean up the toxic scene, the mayor said. The immediate area runs from 500 feet east or west of Fifth Avenue on 20th and 21st streets, and 100 feet north and south on Fifth Avenue. If you're concerned you may have been exposed, there are two decontamination sites on 19th and 22nd streets, both on Fifth Avenue.

Con Edison will work to compensate people for items they may have to toss due to exposure risk. Claim forms for clothing compensation are also available online at coned.com.

NYC Emergency Management opened a reception center for those affected at the Clinton School at 10 E. 15th Street.

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The FDNY decontaminated about 100 first responders a few blocks from the scene, and people were seen walking with masks over their faces on Sixth Avenue, concerned about what might be in the air. The blast also affected a gas line, water main and electrical power, which may take several days to restore. 

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A cause of Thursday's blast remains under investigation. Authorities say no Con Edison work was being done in the area, and there's no visible indicator to explain what happened. Gov. Cuomo has ordered a probe into any potential utility-related links.

At least five people suffered what officials called minor injuries. 

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The blast comes almost exactly 11 years to the day of an 83-year-old steam pipe explosion near Grand Central. That shot debris 40 stories in the air, raining mud on midtown, after authorities said the pipe failed. 

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The state Insurance Department is reviewing proposals to increase health insurance rates in Connecticut in 2019 and the governor is slamming President Donald Trump. 

Gov. Dannel Malloy and Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman released a statement Friday saying the Insurance Department attributes the increases to “ongoing uncertainty in Washington that threatens to destabilize the health insurance markets, particularly for individuals.” 

“President Trump has been determined to undermine affordable health insurance in America, and as a result, middle class families and businesses in our state and across the country will pay the price,” Malloy said in a statement. 

An NBC Nightly News report from June said uncertainty and the lack of clear guidance from Washington is driving premium increases.

The state insurance department is reviewing proposals from Anthem, CT Benefits, CTCare, Aetna, Harvard Pilgrim, Oxford Health and UnitedHealthcare. 

Get more details on the proposals here. 

President Trump has called “Obamacare” a “disaster” and said it led to premiums increasing by double digits. 

“We must work together to save Americans from Obamacare — you people know that, and everyone knows that at this point — to create more competition and to bring down the prices substantially,” Trump told insurance company CEOs in February. Read his remarks here. 

A statement on the White House website says Obamacare is failing and “forces Americans to choose from fewer options or pay the IRS for the right to go without. This further limits their access to the doctors and healthcare services they need and places an excessive burden on individuals and families – particularly those who are in real need of quality, dependable coverage.” 

Malloy blames Trump and Republicans in Congress for the impact of insurance rate increases on Connecticut residents.

“Next year, over a hundred thousand Connecticut residents will pay more for insurance because the president and his Republican allies in Washington have relentlessly and pointlessly attacked the Affordable Care Act, causing uncertainty in the healthcare exchange marketplace and increasing insurance premiums,” Malloy added. 

Malloy, a Democrat, said Connecticut has been a leader in the expansion of affordable health insurance and added that the state “must remain vigilant in our efforts to stabilize the market in order to ensure every Connecticut resident has access to quality, affordable health care.” 

Wyman also blamed Trump. 

"Today we are seeing the consequences of President Trump’s continued attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act,” she said in a statement. “These efforts are aimed at eliminating protections for our customers, driving instability into the market, pushing premiums higher, making coverage less comprehensive, and shifting more out of pocket costs to our residents.” 

She said Connecticut will continue to work to drive down health care costs and make coverage more affordable.

With the recent fatalities reported after a sightseeing duck boat capsized and sank in a Missouri lake, concerns over the safety of Boston’s own Duck Boat Tours have resurfaced.

The popular tourist ride boasts a unique, historical tour around the city and states that safety is its top priority.

After a fatal crash involving a motorist on a scooter in 2016, the company updated its operation to prevent another accident from happening again. A second person was assigned to each duck boat with one person operating the vehicle and the other giving a tour.

Tourists visiting Boston on Friday said although they felt horrible about what happened in Missouri, they felt safe riding the boats.

"I feel pretty safe about what's happening here in Boston," said Jennifer Young, a tourist visiting from California.

"On the way here to ride the duck boats, we said a prayer to all those that were affected, those that have passed away," added Colleen Willard, a tourist from Chicago.

The Missouri duck boat sank during a thunderstorm, killing at least 13 of the 31 people on board. Boston’s Duck Boat Tours’ severe weather policy states it may cancel rides if conditions are unsafe.

"I can just imagine the heartache and the tragedy because when you’re out and you're enjoying something, you know, fun to do in life, and all of a sudden tragedy hits. It’s really hard," Willard said.

"Boston Duck Tours runs rain or shine," their policy states. "However, we may be forced to cancel either the water portion or the entire tour itself under severe weather conditions... Cancellations are done at the discretion of the Dispatcher based on the current weather conditions at the time of the tour."

There are no seatbelts on board because state law does not require them, but they carry life jackets for safety and enforce several safety measures.

Vehicles are checked every year by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and U.S. Coast Guard, according to Boston’s Duck Boat Tours. Its vehicles are also reportedly checked multiple times a day by mechanics. Drivers must also complete several weeks of training before they can operate one of the vehicles.

A tractor-trailer overturned in the area of North Frontage Road in New London and the ramp toward Interstate 95 South is closed. 

No additional information was available.

Police have obtained another arrest warrant after an investigation into a shooting during a drug transaction in West Hartford last month.

Police said they have obtained a warrant for Gabrielle Jackson after a search of a New Britain Avenue home and the warrant charges her with four counts of failure to store loaded firearms and two counts of risk of injury to a child.

Police executed the search warrant on June 24 while investigating a drug-related shooting the day before on Cornerstone Drive and said they seized drugs and weapons from the home on New Britain Avenue and arrested an 18-year-old Newington man and a juvenile in connection with the case.

The juvenile was arrested at the home on New Britain Avenue in connection to this case and charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, robbery in the first degree, conspiracy to commit robbery in the first degree and illegal discharge of a firearm, according to police.

Bond for Jackson was set at $75,000.

Police are investigating a shooting at Keney Park in Hartford.

No additional information was immediately available.

Check back for updates.

A Federal Aviation Administration employee from Connecticut is accused of downloading child pornography on his work laptop and has been arrested. 

Scott Pierson, 57, of Vernon, was arrested Thursday and charged with receipt and possession of child pornography. 

Federal authorities said Pierson is an administrative officer assigned to Federal Aviation Administration Bradley Flight Standards District Office in Enfield. 

According to the criminal complaint, the United States Department of Transportation-Office of Inspector General received information in March that he was using his FAA-issued laptop computer to access websites that contained child pornography, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. 

Federal officials said Pierson also downloaded and maintained hundreds of sexually explicit images and videos of children on his FAA-issued laptop computer and other external devices.

Ninety people in 26 states have been infected with salmonella in the midst of an outbreak that has been connected to raw turkey products, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

There haven’t been any reported deaths, but 40 people have been hospitalized.

Salmonella cases have been reported in Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin, the CDC said in a news release.

While the outbreak hasn’t been linked to a single supplier, the salmonella strain has been found in samples of raw turkey products including pet food and live turkeys, the CDC said.

The agency hasn’t instructed retailers to stop selling raw turkey products and hasn’t told consumers to stop eating properly cooked turkey products.

To avoid being infected with salmonella, the CDC recommends frequently washing your hands, cooking raw turkey thoroughly and avoiding raw diets for pets.

“Always handle raw turkey carefully and cook it thoroughly to prevent food poisoning,” the CDC said in the release. “This outbreak is a reminder that raw turkey products can have germs that spread around food preparation areas and can make you sick.”

A food service worker at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury is accused of trying to smuggle mobile phones and an electric beard trimmer into the prison last year.

Officials from the office of John H. Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, said a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment Wednesday charging Eric Williams, 37, of Danbury, with one count of providing contraband in prison and one count of making false statements.

Williams is accused of trying to smuggle four mobile phones and an electric beard trimmer into the prison on July 9, 2017 by hiding them in his hat as he entered the facility through the staff entrance.

When a corrections officer arrived at the staff entrance to screen Williams as he was entering the facility, Williams left the hat and the contraband in the entrance area and denied it was his hat, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Williams was arrested Friday morning, pleaded not guilty and was released on a $50,000 bond, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Israel struck Hamas targets in Gaza on Friday, killing at least four Palestinians, after gunmen killed an Israeli soldier near the border, officials said.

Israeli military officials said a "terrorist squad" fired at troops, killing one soldier, NBC News reported. The military did not specify the condition of the other soldiers who came under fire.

"Hamas chose to escalate the security situation — and will bear the consequences for its actions," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.

Iranian hackers have laid the groundwork for extensive cyberattacks on U.S. and European infrastructure as well as private companies, multiple senior U.S. officials told NBC News.

The U.S. is hardening its defenses, warning allies and weighing whether to counterattack, though there is no indication an Iranian operation is imminent, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Thousands of water plants, electric grids and health care and technology companies in the U.S., Europe and Middle East could be hit with denial-of-service attacks in the event of a strike.

A U.S. National Security Council representative declined to comment, while a representative of Iran's mission to the United Nations claimed that it's the U.S. which is the "most belligerent cyber attacker of any nation" and said, without commenting on specific operations, that Iran's activities in the space "are defensive in nature and necessary for our country's protection."

Connecticut State Police have arrested a man accused of setting an Oxford house on fire in a scheme to collect insurance money.

Police arrested 42-year-old Leon Carson Thursday.

According to court documents, Carson is accused of setting fire to a mattress inside 586 Oxford Road in Oxford on July 29, 2016.

The home was vacant at the time and no injuries were reported. Police said the owner of the house was trying to evict the renter.

Investigators believe Carson and two other suspects drove from New York to Connecticut at the request of the property’s owner. The property owner, according to the arrest warrant, was in debt and had not collected rent on the property, and schemed to burn down the home to collect insurance money.

Carson faces multiple charges including first-degree arson, reckless endangerment, conspiracy to commit arson, criminal mischief, conspiracy to commit insurance fraud, tampering with physical evidence and interfering with an officer.

Several other arrests have been made in the case.

An Oakdale woman is accused of embezzling more than $600,000 from her father and his business and using the money for her bills, taxes and her gambling habit, according to police.

Police said they were alerted in March 2017 when the owner of a Norwich auto repair and towing company contacted police after his bank alerted him that his daughter was trying to cash a check from his retirement investment account and deposit it into her personal account, according to police.

Police identified the daughter as 49-year-old Danielle Kolashuk, of Oakdale, and said she was the business’ office manager at the time and held power of attorney for her father.

Authorities were contacted because it appeared the endorsement on the check had been forged, according to a news release from police.

Investigators looked into the time period from 2012 to 2016 and determined there were more than $600,000 in fraudulent transactions, according to police. They said the money was taken from the victim’s business and personal accounts and it was used to finance Danielle Kolashuk’ s personal bills, taxes, and gambling habits. 

Kolashuk was charged with first-degree larceny and forgery in the third degree. She was arrested Friday morning and held on a $50,000 court-set bond.

It appears a local McDonalds has thrown down the gauntlet to its new fast-food neighbor.

A Chick-fil-A is moving in next to the Glastonbury McDonald's. While the chicken chain does not open until July 26, to the casual observer it appears McDonald's may already be taking a dig at their values. The sign under the golden arches reads “We Welcome Everyone.”

Chick-fil-A has taken criticism in the past for the fast-food chain owner’s opposition to same-sex unions and past support for anti-same-sex marriage initiatives. The chain was founded by S. Truett Cathy in 1946 and is now run by his family.

Under the religiously conservative founder, the chain gained prominence for its Bible Belt observance of Sunday — none of its hundreds of restaurants are open on that day, to allow employees a day of rest.

Those religious views helped win Cathy and his family loyal following from conservative customers, but also invited protests when Cathy's son denounced gay marriage.

Susan Lafleur, the general manager of the Glastonbury McDonald’s, told NBC Connecticut off camera that the sign was simply a welcome message.

"It just means that everyone is welcome, young old, everyone,” she said.

Still, the message raised some eyebrows with those passing through.

“Diversity’s a good thing. What are they gonna do? Not serve some people? I mean, it’s kind of funny today but I think it might have something to do with their neighbors. Which, you know, not calling them out or anything...” said Raymond Modzicato of South Windsor.

Jordan Snook, the Chick-Fil-A franchise owner, said he wasn’t sure what the intention of the sign was, but said they were striving to create “an environment of hospitality.”

Snook also released the following statement when asked about the sign.

“We are excited to open in Glastonbury next week, and look forward to being great neighbors who welcome everyone. Glastonbury will be representative of all Chick-fil-A restaurants in serving great food and providing remarkable service for all customers, as well as a diverse workplace of individuals who represent many viewpoints, opinions, backgrounds and beliefs.”

NBC Connecticut has reached out to McDonald's corporate for further comment.