Three alleged hackers from Ukraine have been arrested on hacking and identity theft charges in a wide-ranging and yearslong malware campaign that took aim at U.S. companies, according to federal prosecutors in Seattle.

The hackers allegedly took part in hacks that targeted more than 100 American companies, like Chipotle, Chili's and Arby's, and stole 15 millions of credit and debit card numbers, which were sold on the dark web. Justice Department officials said Wednesday the hackers were administrators or supervisors in a prominent, international hacking ring called FIN7.

"The naming of these FIN7 leaders marks a major step towards dismantling this sophisticated criminal enterprise," said Jay Tabb Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI's Seattle field office, in a statement.

Officials said that Fedir Hladyr, 33, was arrested in Germany in January and Dmytro Fedorov, 44, was arrested in Poland around the same time. Andrii Kolpakov, 30, was arrested in Spain in June. Hladyr has been brought to the U.S. while the others are still awaiting extradition.

Since at least 2015, the FIN7 hacking ring hacked into computer networks in all but three U.S. states along with more networks abroad, prosecutors said. Some companies have disclosed that they were hacked by FIN7, like Chipotle, Chili's and Arby's; prosecutors said the hackers used email messages and follow-up phone calls that appeared legitimate.

FIN7 also recruited hackers through a front company called Combi Security that listed some victims as purported clients, according to prosecutors.

Six people have been injured in an accident outside Southern Auto Auction on South Main Street in East Windsor and they have been taken to the hospital.

Police said it appears a man might have suffered a medical emergency while he was driving, lost control of his vehicle and hit four pedestrians and a man who was in another car.  

Officials said all the victims are Southern Auto employees and two people sustained serious injuries. A police officer performed CPR on the driver.

“On behalf of Southern Auto Auction, our thoughts and hearts are with those impacted today,” Garrison Hudkins, of Southern Auto Auction, said. “The safety of our customers and our employees is our highest priority.” 

The driver might have also struck the building. 

Several ambulances responded to the scene and witnesses who described a chaotic scene. 

Two people face charges after a bank robbery at Navy Federal Credit Union in Groton Wednesday morning.

Groton Town Police responded to Navy Federal Credit Union at 24 Sailfish Drive at 9:37 a.m. to investigate after a man passed a note demanding money, left the bank with cash and fled in a vehicle, according to police.

Officers who approached the scene saw a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee leaving the area on Gungywamp Road and tried to stop it, but the driver fled and kept going south on Route 12, according to police.

The vehicle got off the highway at exit 83, continued onto Frontage Road in New London, turned on to Vauxhall Street Extension in Waterford and eventually onto Roseleah Drive, where the vehicle was abandoned, police said.

After running after the suspects, Groton officers took the driver into custody, but the passenger fled into a wooded area.

A Groton police K9 team tracked the second suspect and located him a short time later in heavy brush and thickets, police said.

The driver was identified as 35-year-old Javier Guzman. He was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit larceny, interfering with an officer, engaging officers in pursuit, and reckless driving. 

The passenger, identified as 50-year-old Javier Fontanez-Caldero, was charged with robbery, larceny, conspiracy to commit robbery, conspiracy to commit larceny, and interfering with an officer.

Each suspect was held on a $250,000 bond and are due in court Thursday. 

Police said they recovered money at the Roseleah Drive scene.

Representatives from the Long Island Sound Study, Connecticut Sea Grant and Mystic Aquarium campers teamed up to pick up trash at Bluff Point Park in Groton Wednesday.

It’s a kickoff to the social media campaign, Please #DontTrashLISound that runs from Aug. 2 to Sept. 14. The several groups involved want to draw attention to single-use plastics and the hazards they pose to the Long Island Sound’s wildlife, while encouraging people to change their habits.

“People throw bad thing in nature and it’s not good for our ecosystem and all the sea life,” said 8-year-old Charlotte Squires while picking up trash with her camp group.

Around 700 species of marine animals have reportedly eaten or have become entangled in plastic, according to statistics from the campaign. There are about 5 trillion pieces of plastic in the ocean.

“We’re looking for trash to help the animals not get sick in the ocean,” said 6-year-old Athena Costick about her role Wednesday.

“There are alternatives – you can use paper straws, you can use metal straws, there’s even a restaurant in England that’s using pasta as a straw,” said Judy Preston, CT Outreach Coordinator for the Long Island Sound Study. She’s also the Long Island Sound Outreach Coordinator for the Connecticut Sea Grant.

Preston said turtles can mistake plastic bags for a jellyfish. And it's not just wildlife that suffers - plastic pollution can break into small pieces and eventually end up in the human food chain.

To help the cause, find a reusable alternative to plastic bags, use something other than a disposable plastic water bottle - there’s even a beeswax wrap as a substitute for plastic wrap for food.

The campaign also includes the distribution of stickers. People are encouraged to use them on their reusable items, take pictures and share with the hashtags #DontTrashLISound and #LISound.

This is the second social media campaign for the Long Island Sound Study and its partners. Last year more than 80,000 people participated.

“I’m hoping that we get a lot of trash and make sure this beach is really clean,” said Charlotte Preuss, a 10-year-old camper.

The International Coastal Cleanup is on Sept. 15, one day after the campaign ends.

A car slammed into a business on Main Street in Wallingford Wednesday.

The car crashed into Ferrauolo’s restaurant at 315 Main Street Wednesday afternoon.

The owner told NBC Connecticut he rushed to his business as soon as he heard.

“My daughter called to tell me she saw the crash on social media,” Todd Ferrauolo told NBC Connecticut. “We were closed at the time so thank god no one was hurt, could have been a lot worse.”

Ferrauolo said he is hoping to keep the business open as he rebuilds.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.

No other details were immediately available.

Virginia and Edmundo Aquije were excited to watch their beloved home country of Peru compete in this year’s World Cup. While millions watched the games on television, the South Windsor couple travelled to Russia to be a part of the worldwide event in person.

But the couple’s daughter, Janyna Aquije, said what should have been a trip of a lifetime turned out to be a huge letdown. StubHub, the online company they used to buy their tickets, only mailed them one pair of the three sets of tickets the Aquije’s purchased before they left for Russia.

“They were very disappointed. This was the first time they were using StubHub,” said Janyna Aquije.

Aquije said her parents waited until May to buy their World Cup soccer tickets and paid StubHub $3,742.72 for the three sets.

“They were leaving soon and they wanted to make sure they had their tickets before leaving,” Aquije said.

Aquije told NBC Connecticut Responds her parents received their tickets for the Peru vs. France game on June 7, but not the tickets for the other two matches. So they contacted StubHub before traveling abroad. She says StubHub told them they could send the other two pairs of tickets right to their hotel in Russia. But when the couple arrived at their first hotel, there were no tickets to be found, according to Aquije.

“They said that they had sent the tickets. We were tracking them. I was tracking them via my smartphone App.”

Aquije said the delivery tracking showed that the tickets were sent to the wrong location. So, Aquije says she reached out to StubHub customer service and arranged for the tickets to be delivered to the hotel where her parents were staying.

“They were having the hardest time getting their tickets and they were worried they weren’t going to make it in time,” said Aquije.

She said her parents stayed at three different hotels while in Russia and never received anything from StubHub. After raising this issue to the company, a representative stated they would refund their money for the missing two pairs of tickets.

In the meantime, Janyna said her parents paid another $440 for tickets from people selling them on the street. That’s on top of the money they already spent on the trip.

When the couple returned from the World Cup, Janyna said they were still waiting for the refund. So they contacted NBC Connecticut Responds for help.

After we reached out to the company, a spokesperson for StubHub thanked us for bringing this to their attention. They told us in statement:

“We have investigated this further and it does appear that the tickets were signed for but not by the customer. We presume it was a staff member at the hotel, so unfortunately the tickets never made it to Virginia and Edmundo.”

StubHub processed a full refund for the couple in the amount of $3,742.72.

Several pets were killed in a Danielson house fire Wednesday.

The South Killingly Fire Department confirmed crews were called to the home on Kent Street around 1 p.m. The house was well-involved when crews arrived, and the roof gave in while firefighters worked.

Multiple companies responded to assist. No human injuries were reported, but several pets were killed, fire officials said.

The American Red Cross Responded to assist the displaced family.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Police are searching for a missing 79-year-old man from Colchester.

Raymond Stevens was reported missing Wednesday. He is described as 5-foot-9, 138 pounds, with white hair and brown eyes. He was last seen wearing a gray long-sleeved shirt, black sweatpants and gray sneakers.

A Silver Alert has been issued.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact Connecticut State Police Troop K at 860-465-5400.

Hartford police have arrested a man suspected in property crimes in multiple towns in the Hartford area.

Police arrested 24-year-old Christofer Cruz-Morales Wednesday after conducting surveillance of his home on Norwich Street. Police said he is suspected in what they call a “pattern property crime offenses,” in Hartford, Enfield, East Hartford, Windsor, East Windsor, Manchester and Glastonbury. Investigators said during the surveillance, they spotted Cruz-Morales driving a vehicle reported stolen out of Glastonbury and took him into custody.

A second suspect was also arrested.

Cruz-Morales was charged with larceny, conspiracy to commit larceny, and operating a motor vehicle without owner’s permission. He was held on a $150,000 bond.

More charges are expected in connection with other crimes, police said.

The second suspect, 24-year-old Henry Mena, was charged with larceny, conspiracy to commit larceny and interfering with police. He was also wanted on several active arrest warrants and was held on a total bond of $185,000.

It’s a headache that’s been happening all across the state - people waking up to find someone’s gone rummaging through their car. The town of Cheshire is saying enough’s enough, and they want something done.

Police report that crooks have swiped items from 114 cars in Cheshire in about the last six months. In most cases, the cars were unlocked.

A security camera captured potential thieves at work in Cheshire recently. Scenes like this have been playing out all over town as suspects try to swipe valuables from cars.

“It seems like an epidemic lately. Our daughter lives in Wallingford. It’s happening there. It’s happened everywhere. I am concerned about it,” said resident John Stoltenhoff.

Neighbors packed a meeting Wednesday night to discuss the issue.

“There was a lot of concern in town in what we’ve seen as a spike in the number of car break-in’s and also stolen cars,” said Cheshire Police Chief Neil Dryfe.

Police laid out the facts; the number of car crimes since January and where they happen. But the hard reality is there is little pattern to it.

“We’re trying to be as visible as possible,” Dryfe said.

Police have upped patrols during overnight hours when cars are more likely to be hit. Officers believe the surveillance videos prove most thieves can be simply deterred.

“The number one thing that the community can do to help us and help themselves is lock their cars at night,” Dryfe said.

Some think it’s also time to think about toughening the punishment for those who are caught.

“There’s very little law that can solve the problem. So there’s no consequences for people who come in,” said Cheshire Town Councilor Sylvia Nichols (R).

Police tell us based on arrests it appears those responsible are groups of young people from out-of-town, and very rarely will they force their way into a car.

The three Republicans looking to secure their party’s nomination for lieutenant governor found themselves drawing few policy distinctions among them during NBC Connecticut’s Decision 2018 Debate, and instead attempted to make clear to voters who could actually win in November.

For most of the debate, endorsed Republican Joe Markley, Erin Stewart, and Jayme Stevenson answered questions directed at them.

They found common ground that corporate incentives like tax breaks need to be used carefully. Markley, a sitting state senator, said the practice has no place in state government. They also all agreed that the lieutenant governor should have no role when it comes to overseeing Access Health Connecticut, the state’s health insurance marketplace. Current Democratic Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman chairs the board that oversees the exchange.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart says she would like to see the office evolve into one that oversees and assists struggling municipalities through the Municipal Accountability and Review Board. Stevenson, the current first selectman of Darien, said she the office of lieutenant governor could be used as a place to address the growing opioid epidemic, and Markley said he would want to see the next officer take a more hands o role when it comes to small business.

The debate was just about attack free until Stevenson made her closing statement.

She said of Markley, who has identified as a Tea Party Conservative, "Senator Markley however has a voting record with some very difficult votes that are going to be very difficult and likely risk the Republicans being able to win in November."

Stevenson did not hold back on Stewart either, who she has attacked for being too liberal on the campaign trail.

"While we heard a lot of good things tonight about her experience, the data says something different,” Stevenson said. “Even the Democrats in New Britain have called her taxing and spending unsustainable and she's likely not to challenge collective bargaining rules."

Stewart said earlier in the debate that because of her position, and her moderate stances on other social issues like abortion, she is the only candidate who can elevate the GOP ticket in the fall.

“I think I'm the only one up here that can say from experience that I have won and won consistently in areas that I am not supposed to win, that's a fact. In the City of New Britain, Democrats outnumber Republicans seven to every one," Stewart said.

Markley is considered by many party insiders to have perhaps the most winnable path on primary day because he has a built in base of devoted supporters. Markley, who is unabashedly pro-life, said he in unafraid to make decisions based on principle.

When asked specifically his lone dissenting vote against a bill that made “Yes Means Yes,” the standard for consent on college campuses, Markley said that vote is an indication as to how he would handle the job of lieutenant governor.

"I think there was good reason to. When you read the bill, you often find out there is something wrong with it and I'm not scared of standing if it comes down to it."

The Democratic debate between Susan Bysiewicz and Eva Bermudez Zimmerman is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 2.

A 35-year-old Milford man was airlifted to the hospital after what officials are calling a swimming mishap at Indian Well State Park in Shelton Wednesday.

DEEP spokesman Chris Collibee confirmed that Environmental Conservation police and Shelton emergency crews responded for a reported drowning at the waterfalls.

Fire officials said friends pulled the man from the water and performed CPR on the victim until EMS arrived.

The victim was airlifted by LifeStar to Yale-New Haven Hospital. The patient was breathing and had a pulse during transport, and was being evaluated overnight, Collibee said.

Collibee said the man was swimming in a prohibited area and was cited by EnCon police.

No other details were immediately available.

Check back for updates.

CBS Corp. appointed two of the nation's most powerful law firms to conduct an independent investigation into an allegations of sexual abuse against company President and CEO Les Moonves, to be led by a pair of heavy-hitting ex-prosecutors, NBC News reported. 

Prosecutors have declined to pursue charges against Moonves, 68, one of the most prominent figures in the world of entertainment, after they concluded that the statute of limitations has expired on a Los Angeles woman's complaint to police that Moonves sexually abused her in the 1980s.

CBS said Wednesday night that it had hired Covington & Burling and Debevoise & Plimpton, two of the most respected law firms in the world, to conduct the investigation.

A new lawsuit being filed Thursday argues that President Donald Trump’s efforts to make good on his promise to "let Obamacare implode" on its own violate the U.S. Constitution, NBC News reported.  

Trump has “waged a relentless effort to use executive action alone to undermine and, ultimately, eliminate the law,” the complaint says, according to a draft obtained by NBC News. The lawsuit is being filed in Maryland federal court by the cities of Chicago, Columbus, Cincinnati and Baltimore.

The suit specifically argues that he is violating Article II of the Constitution, requiring the president to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed."

Since his first executive order directing federal agencies to claw back as much of the Affordable Care Act as possible, Trump’s directives have increased health coverage costs and depressed enrollment, the complainants say.

Police officers occasionally shoot armed citizens defending themselves from crime, including a decorated Vietnam War veteran fatally shot in his own home in Colorado this week, NBC News reported.

Richard Black Jr. shot and killed a naked intruder who was attacking his 11-year-old grandson early Monday morning, according to family lawyer Qusair Mohamedbhai. Aurora police said that an officer arriving at the scene who heard gunfire opened fire when he encountered Black.

"It's fraught with peril if a homeowner is armed and protecting their family from danger and simultaneously injecting police into that situation," Mohamedbhai said. "The homeowner is at extraordinary risk and unfortunately what may happen may be a chilling effect on people calling police for assistance."

Firearms instructors say they stress to students that they should tell police they're armed when calling 911 and police training often involves discussions about armed citizens.

A once bustling Bronx bodega that serves as a reminder of a heinous crime has changed hands, and those new owners are offering to honor the victim but the parents of the teenager killed there want just one thing instead.

The new owners have offered to name the corner store after Lesandro Guzman-Feliz, also known as "Junior." However, Junior's parents don't want a name change, but instead a different concept: Safety.

"I don’t want to put his name here," Lisandro Guzman, Junior's father, said. "I don't celebrate this corner or this bodega that killed my son."

Junior's June 20 slaying has captivated communities nationwide, partly because the brutal attack was caught on surveillance video. The teen is seen being dragged outside the bodega and attacked by a gang of men who stabbed him with knives and hacked him with a machete as he struggled to defend himself.

The boy was slashed in the neck and died after running to a hospital three blocks away.

It still pains Junior's mother to walk past that block, a corner she says is "evil." 

“When I pass over there I feel my knees shaking from the bottom of my feet,” Leandra Feliz said. “I feel my blood running everywhere and I feel like I am going to faint.”

In the days after the killing, the bodega's owner received death threats and feared for his safety. The community felt he could have done more to help Junior and the bodega had been shut down since the gruesome attack.

It's not clear what happened to the former owner, but he told News 4 last month that he tried to help save the 15-year-old boy. 

Information on the new owners wasn't immediately available, but Junior's parents aren't moved by the offer to rename the store for their dead son.

"This is an evil corner," Feliz said. "In a few years we are going to see another death at that corner."

Feliz did attend an event in support of a separate proposal to rename a Bronx street for her son. 

The bodega's offer comes a day after the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner officially announced the cause of death for Junior, saying he died from a stab wound to the neck and classifying the case as a homicide.

A dozen alleged gang members have been indicted in the case. They're due back in court Oct. 25.

Guzman-Feliz had been part of the NYPD's Explorers program, a group for youths interested in a law enforcement career. The New York City Police Foundation announced it planned to set up a scholarship in his name.

A 19-year-old man is the victim of Hartford’s 15th homicide this year and police have arrested a suspect.

Police said they responded to 415 Park St., outside Walgreens in the Frog Hollow section of the city, at 11:19 p.m. after receiving reports of a person having been stabbed and found the victim.

He had been stabbed in the chest and was transported to Hartford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:45 p.m., according to police.

Patrol units received information about a suspect vehicle and the direction it went and officers located a vehicle matching the description in a driveway on Broad Street, police said.

Police identified the suspect as 44-year-old John Drayton, of Hartford. He was charged with murder and is being held on a $1 million bond.

A Wisconsin man had part of his arms and legs amputated after a medical emergency caused by a bacteria found in dog and cat saliva.

Greg Manteufel began feeling ill in late June and within hours went into septic shock, according to a GoFundMe account created to raise money to help the family through his recovery. 

He was admitted to the hospital, where doctors said Manteufel had contracted an infection caused by bacteria commonly found in the mouths of dogs and cats, called Capnocytophaga canimorsus.

His wife, Dawn Manteufel, told a local news station her motorcycling-riding, loving 48-year-old husband had been around dogs his entire life, but that doctors suspect a lick may have caused the infection.

Though the bacteria is most often transmitted to humans through dog bites, the US National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health reported rare cases where scratches, licking or other contact with dogs or cats transmitted it.

The bacteria seeped into Manteufel's bloodstream and caused sepsis, or blood poisoning from the infection, and within days of being admitted to the hospital, doctors were forced to amputate both of his feet, the GoFundMe page details.

A second surgery removed more of Manteufel’s legs, up to his kneecaps. He then later lost both of his hands up to his mid-forearm.

Dawn Manteufel reported her husband told doctors to “take what you need but keep me alive.”

Manteufel will need several more surgeries, but family members reported he was "so thankful to be alive today and is taking one day at a time."

The GoFundMe page for the Manteufel family has raised over $67,000 of its $100,000 goal as of Thursday morning. It notes that the recovery will be a long process, including months of surgeries and the need for prosthetics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes adults 40 years old and older are more likely to contract an infection, and risk factors include alcoholism and weak immune system related to cancer, HIV and diabetes. Another key risk factor is not having a spleen.

The agency also reported that Capnocytophaga can cause serious illness in pregnant women and their fetuses. Infection during the last few weeks of gestation can lead to inflammation of the membranes surrounding the fetus, and sepsis, a bacterial infection in the bloodstream or body tissues, in the newborn. It has also been linked to low birth weight.

Capnocytophaga infections are rare, and doctors told Dawn Manteufel her husband's case is a "crazy fluke," The Washington Post reported.

Ivanka Trump said she "vehemently" opposed the Trump administration's policy of separating children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border and called it a "low point" of her time at the White House, NBC News reported.

Speaking at a workforce development forum hosted by the news outlet Axios, she noted that her mother is an immigrant and that it's an incredibly complex topic.

Trump also said she doesn't see the news media as "the enemy of the people," a charge her father, the president, often makes.

"I've certainly received my fair share of reporting on me personally that I know not to be fully accurate, so I've had some sensitivity around why people have concerns and gripe," she said.

Hanson brought you hits including “MMMbop” and “I Will Come to You” and they will be performing at the Big E.

The band that brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac formed in 1992 will perform on the Court of Honor stage on Sept. 14. The concert is free with gate admission. 

Other concerts on the Court of Honor stage include “Blessed Union of Souls,” “Reel Big Fish,” “Max Creek” and more.

To attend concerts at Xfinity Arena, you need to buy tickets. The shows on that stage include The Marshall Tucker Band, B.B. King’s Blues Band featuring Tito Jackson, Ice-T, Jacob Sartorius and more. 

 The Big E runs from Sept. 14 to 30.