Democrats and Republicans combined have the votes to approve sports gambling in Connecticut, but the political will to do so may only appear after votes are tallied in November.

Republicans refuse to go into a special session to vote on a deal negotiated solely between Gov. Dannel Malloy and the state’s two tribes that operate casinos. They would rather wait until the next General Assembly starts, or only vote on narrow legislation that was considered during the regular session earlier this year.

“I would say that’s a course of action or pass the legislation in the House that was had bipartisan support for, those would be the two options,” said Rep. Vincent Candelora, (R - North Branford), the number two Republican in the Connecticut House of Representatives.

Negotiations with the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes were put on hold last week when Malloy said he was informed Republicans were not interested in meeting for a special session to settle the issue immediately.

Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz said he would need support from Republicans on the issue, and without a special session, the issue has to be placed on hold.

“I have folks in my caucus that are just opposed to gambling overall, whether it’s sports gambling or its lottery, they’re never going to vote for it so the handful of votes I would lose, I need help from them and they’re not willing to do it.”

Aresimowicz, (D – Berlin), says Republicans are taking a risky gamble by waiting to take up the issue, saying he thinks their calculation is that they may have at least one chamber of the General Assembly in their control, meaning they could shape the conversation over sports betting.

“I think we’re all keenly aware that there is going to be a need for some new revenue come the new legislature,” Aresimowicz said. I believe they’re hedging their bets per se to see if they have that revenue on the table when the new governor is seated and the new legislature is seated.”

NBC Connecticut’s efforts to reach the two tribes Wednesday were unsuccessful.

Candelora says the conversation about sports gambling should be broadened outside of the tribes’ exclusivity agreement they have through their compact with the state.

“I think sports betting should be opened up to the private market because I don’t believe the compact ever contemplated ports betting for the tribes. We gave them authority to run casinos. No more, no less.”

Aresimowicz agrees in part, saying there needs to be more access points for people to place wagers, without putting betting parlors on every street corner in every town.

“Hartford that can use a little economic development where you can bring a sports bar slash OTB where you can do a little betting that would be a good thing for the state of Connecticut and the economy as a whole.”

A Hartford police officer has been arrested for the second time in less than a month in East Windsor.

Forty-five-year-old James Guzie turned himself in to police last week on a charge of violating a protective order. No other details were given. He is due in court in September.

Earlier this month Guzie was charged with disorderly conduct in East Windsor, and has been suspended with pay, according to police.

The report on the first incident says East Windsor police arrested Guzie after his wife went to police and reported that he assaulted her.

She told police that he had taken her cell phone and refused to give it back.

She said Guzman had keys in his hand and pushed her when she tried to get the phone back, causing an abrasion to the left side of her stomach, according to the arrest report.

When the woman tried to get the phone again, Guzie pushed his elbow into her chest, according to police.

Guzie was charged with disorderly conduct.

Hartford police said Guzie has been on the force for seven years and he has been suspended with pay in accordance with internal administrative procedures.

NBC Investigates tried contacting Guzie via his phone for comment, but we have been unable to reach him.

Some districts have announced early dismissals Thursday due to the heat and humidity. This marks the third day the hot weather has affected classes.

Tuesday and Wednesday both brought excessive heat with temperatures in the 90s. The high temperatures paired with high humidity made temperatures feel like triple digits. The weather has thrown a wrench in some districts' back to school plans, with some towns and cities opting for early releases or even canceling school altogether.

Thursday is expected to be cooler, with temperatures only reaching the high 80s. However, several school districts, including Waterbury, opted to release students early to avoid the worst of the heat.

Many districts have older buildings that do not have air conditioning.

For a full list of districts, click here.

Court documents are revealing new information in the case of a Marlborough man charged with arson after a fire at his parent’s house Monday.

Police arrested 27-year-old Reid Keener, of Marlborough, earlier this week after a fire at his parent’s home on West Road in Marlborough.

According to the arrest warrant, state police were called to the scene around 2:30 a.m. Monday to assist the Marlborough Fire Department. The fire had already been put out by the homeowners when crews arrived.

The homeowners told police that they believed their son Reid Keener, who also lives in the home, started the fire. They said that Keener was on the autism spectrum and also suffered from schizophrenia, and had not been taking his medication. According to the warrant, Keener was anxious in social settings.

Keener’s parents went on to explain that they were planning to open a “wellness center” at their home and Keener did not like the idea of people coming to their home.

The victim’s mother told police she thought the fire was set “in an act of defiance” because Keener did not want people in the home, according to the warrant.

Investigators found evidence of arson in the home.

Crews searched the woods for Keener and eventually found him around 2 p.m. in a nearby lake and transported him to Hartford Hospital to be evaluated.

Police recovered clothing he had discarded near the lake, and an accelerant detection K9 alerted positive to the possible presence of accelerants on the clothing, and on Keener himself, the warrant states.

Keener was discharged from the hospital into State Police custody and he held on a $25,000 bond on the arrest warrant from an unrelated incident.

He was charged with arson in the first degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree and criminal mischief in the first degree.

Bond was set at $500,000. 

A new study offers a set of recommendations based on flaws exposed in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, such as a lack of preparation for a massive natural disaster and a series of missteps in keeping the public informed after the hurricane, NBC News reported. 

The study, completed by George Washington University's Milken Institute of Public Health found that doctors did not use existing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to appropriately count the number of deaths that were related to the storm's aftermath. The doctors interviewed said they were not aware of those guidelines, leading to a recommendation that the Department of Public Health implement training for medical personnel ahead of the next natural disaster.

The report found that island officials had no "written, updated agency crisis and emergency risk communication plans in place" prior to the storm. In addition, the lack of clear, effective communications to the public “decreased the perceived transparency and credibility of the Government of Puerto Rico."

The recommendations are part of the same study that found an estimated 2,975 people died in Puerto Rico as a result of Hurricane Maria. 

While both the NFL and researchers acknowledge that there is a link between chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, and playing football, some steadfast skeptics are still trying to muddy the science and raise questions about the connection, NBC News reported. 

Larry Fedora, the University of North Carolina's head football coach, said in July that he didn't think a link between football and CTE, a degenerative disease, has been proven. He later backed down, telling NBC he understands there's a link between the two. Others, however, said they still agree with him. 

"Association is not causation. CTE has also been found in individuals not exposed to contact sports. It’s not a settled matter by any means," said Dr. Peter Cummings, a forensic pathologist and neuropathologist. 

CTE is a disease in which protein forms clumps throughout the brain, killing brain cells. Traumatic brain injuries, including concussions and repeated blows to the head, can lead to it, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A study released last year found that the brains of 110 out of 111 former NFL players had CTE — though some argue the brains were donated from families who suspected that the athlete had neurological problems, therefore tainting the study. Meanwhile, the NFL has acknowledged a link between the sport and CTE, and has put safety improvements into place, including a new helmet rule. 

Several people were displaced by fire that ripped through a multi-family home in Plymouth early Thursday.

Terryville fire officials said crews responded to 26 Eagle St. around 1:15 a.m. after fire started on the second floor.

The residents of the three-family house were safely outside when firefighters arrived.  

It took firefighters about an hour to bring the fire under control.

There is heavy fire damage to the house and fire officials said it will likely need to be torn down.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

An 80-year-old East Haven has been reported missing and a Silver Alert has been issued for him.

Karl Paecht was last seen Wednesday wearing gray sweatpants and a jersey. 

He has gray hair, blue eyes and a military affiliation tattoo on left arm. 

Paecht is 5-feet-11 and weighs 230 pounds.

Anyone with information is asked to call the East Haven police department at 203 468-4820.

New Britain police are investigating after an information kiosk was stolen from the Iwo Jima Memorial on the New Britain Newington line.

The Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation said someone stole a large information stand right out of the ground. And before that, someone damaged the kiosk twice this month.

“Someone tied a chain around it looks like it, towed it out of the ground, cut it up, and took it,” said Iwo Jima Memorial Historical Foundation Vice President Gary Roy.

New Britain police said they have received two recent vandalism complaints at the site - one, on Aug. 4 when someone smashed a lockbox, and another on Aug. 25 when someone vandalized the kiosk. There was no reported damage to the memorial statue.

The kiosk held information on how to make a donation, including sponsoring one of the memorial’s flags.

“It just makes you sick to your stomach to think that people would actually do this,” Roy said.

The foundation said the kiosk went missing sometime between 6 p.m. Monday and 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Anyone with information should contact police.

Users of popular apps including Snapchat and StreetEasy were stunned Thursday morning to see New York City replaced on some maps with a new label — "Jewtropolis."

Screenshots posted to social media showed a wide variety of apps appeared to be affected, depending on how closely people zoomed into maps of the city. 

Snapchat, in a response to a complaining user, blamed its mapping software vendor.

"Hey Dan! Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Snap Map relies on third party mapping data which has unfortunately been subject to vandalism. We are working with our partner Mapbox to get this fixed immediately," the tweet read.

Mapbox issued a statement saying it fixed the issue within an hour.

"The malicious edit was made by a source that attempted several other hateful edits. Our security team has confirmed no additional attempts were successful," the company said, adding that human error during its review process allowed the edit to make it into production. 

Other apps affected, based on screenshots posted online, included Zillow, CitiBike and Jump Bikes. 

"An issue with one of our third-party map vendors resulted in an offensive term appearing on some StreetEasy maps this morning. We are deeply sorry and addressed it as soon as we knew. The vendor is working on a fix, and in addition, we have replaced those maps on our site," a StreetEasy spokeswoman said. 

The Anti-Defamation League issued a statement saying this was "clearly an act of anti-Semitism."

Tens of thousands of rubber critter toys in the shapes of animals are being recalled for excessive lead levels in their orange and yellow paint. 

BSN Sports sold the 31,200 recalled units nationally through catalogues and online at Amazon.com, Athleticconnection.com, Bsnsports.com, Esportsonline.com and Usgames.com from February 2017 to June 2018, according to a recall notice posted Wednesday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

The toys, which the notice says are "primarily used to play physical education tossing games," are shaped like an octopus, alligator, chicken, frog, pig, penguin or cow.

"Consumers should immediately take the recalled rubber critter toys away from children," the recall notice said.

Lead is especially dangerous to children because their bodies absorb the toxic element more than adults' bodies do, and a child's nervous system is also more sensitive to lead's effects, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The toys, which were made in China and imported and distributed by BSN Sports, sold for about $10 for an individual rubber critter or up to $145 for a set, according to recallrt.com/rubbercritters. Sets ranged from two to 24 critters. 

BSN Sports said it was contacting all known purchasers directly but those who bought the critters can also request a merchandise credit by calling 1-888-847-8816 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. CT on weekdays. Those who want refunds can also register at recallrtr.com/rubbercritters.

A California man was arrested Thursday and charged with making threats against The Boston Globe over the newspaper's campaign to defend the free press, authorities said.

Sixty-eight-year-old Robert Chain of Encino, California, was arrested by FBI agents on a charge of making threatening communications in interstate commerce.

Chain allegedly called the Globe "the enemy of the people" in phone calls and threatened to travel to Boston to kill newspaper employees. He made approximately 14 threatening phone calls to the Globe from Aug. 10, when the Globe announced its campaign, to Aug. 22, according to court documents.

Chain is due in federal court in Los Angeles Thursday. It was not immediately clear if Chain had an attorney who could answer to the charge, which would carry a sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Court documents state on the day the coordinated editorial was to publish, which was Aug. 16, Chain allegedly threatened to shoot Globe employees "later today, at 4 o'clock."

As a result of the threat, law enforcement responded to the newspaper's building to ensure employees were safe.

"Everyone has a right to express their opinion, but threatening to kill people, takes it over the line and will not be tolerated," said Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division, in a statement.

The Globe led hundreds of newspapers around the country this month in a campaign to push back against President Donald Trump's cries of "fake news" that is an “enemy of the people."

The newspaper’s editorial on the campaign concluded: "The greatness of America is dependent on the role of a free press to speak the truth to the powerful. To label the press 'the enemy of the people' is as un-American as it is dangerous to the civic compact we have shared for more than two centuries."

While some news outlets opted out of joining the campaign, ones that did included The New York Times, Miami Herald and Houston Chronicle.

The campaign prompted Trump to lash out against the Globe on Twitter, saying it was "in COLLUSION with other papers on free press."

In a statement, Jane Bowman, Boston Globe's vice president of marketing and strategic partnerships, said the newspaper was "grateful" for protecting its employees.

"While it was unsettling for many of our staffers to be threatened in such a way, nobody – really, nobody – let it get in the way of the important work of this institution," Bowman said.

An over-the-counter health and beauty product manufacturer supplying medicines to retailers across the country has expanded its voluntary nasal product recall to include all nasal products and baby oral gels -- amounting to hundreds of items -- over concerns of microbial contamination that could pose life-threatening infection risk for vulnerable users.

Product Quest, which first announced a recall of some bottles of CVS Health's 12 Hour Sinus Relief Nasal Mist, said this week it was pulling all lots of nasal treatments and baby oral gels made in its Florida facility. The recall amounts to hundreds of nasal allergy and congestion treatments used by both children and adults. See the full 65-page list of recalled items here.  

Product Quest recalled the items as a precaution after finding Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a kind of bacteria, in some of its CVS products. Frequent use of the contaminated product could result in infections, which could be life-threatening for users with cystic fibrosis or people who are immuno-compromised, according to the FDA.

Product Quest said there is no known microbial contamination associated with the nasal products and gels added to the recall, but it was pulling them out "an abundance of caution" and said retailers who shelve the products should dump them as well. There have been no reports of illnesses connected to the recall, "to the best" of the manufacturer's knowledge, a statement said. 

Product Quest says it is notifying its customers by oral and written communication and is arranging for return and or replacement of all recalled products. Consumers/distributors/retailers that have a recalled product should stop using it immediately and return it to the place of purchase. 

Consumers with questions can contact Product Quest Manufacturing LLC at 704-939-4342, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., EST. Consumers should contact their physicians or health care providers if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking or using these drug products.

Police are investigating an untimely death on Interstate 395 North in Thompson.

State troopers from Troop E responded to I-395 North near exit 99 around 5:30 p.m. after receiving reports that a person was dead. 

State police are investigating. 

The Trump administration is weighing a plan to send hundreds of captured ISIS fighters to an Iraqi prison after other countries refused to take them, and to send several of the highest-value fighters to the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, five U.S. officials and two European diplomats told NBC News.

The possible Guantanamo detainees include two ISIS fighters who participated in the murder of Americans and other Western hostages, say five U.S. officials. Alexandar Amon Kotey and El Shafee Elsheikh were members of a group of four jihadis dubbed "The Beatles" by observers because of their British accents.

Detainees sent to Iraq would be held in Iraqi prisons with Iraqi guards, but the U.S. might retain the right to prosecute them if they could not be sent to their home countries, said officials.

Democrats in Congress and human rights groups oppose sending new detainees to Guantanamo and say those ISIS fighters suspected of murdering Americans should be tried in federal court, where they could be held accountable instead of held indefinitely without charges.

A spokesman for the National Security Council declined to comment on options for detained foreign fighters or the "disposition of specific cases." The State Department would neither confirm nor deny that such a move is among the options the administration is considering.

Officials in New Hampshire say there have been 12 confirmed cases, including one resulting in a death, of Legionnaires disease near Hampton Beach.

One elderly adult died from pneumonia associated with the disease, New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services officials said Thursday.

The outbreak has been tentatively traced to two hot tub spas at two resorts, The Sands Resort and Harris Sea Ranch Motel, according to officials.

New Hampshire health officials and officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are working to identify the source of the bacteria, and said the majority of the cases are within the Ashworth Avenue area between Island Path and M Street in Hampton.

The infections happened between early June and mid-August. The initial announcement of Legionnaire's disease traced to the Hampton Beach area came Aug. 24.

Hot tub spas are a known source of the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's, officials said. The hot tubs at both resorts are no longer a potential risk to the public's health and they're currently open, health officials determined.

Legionnaire's disease, a potentially serious bacterial pneumonia caused by the Legionella bacteria, can result in an infection after someone breaths in small drops of water that contains bacteria.

Health officials say most people exposed to the Legionella bacteria won't get sick, but the bacteria does pose a higher risk to those who have a weakened immune system, those who take drugs that can weaken their immune system, current or former smokers, those who are 50 years old or older and peole with underlying illnesses, such as diabetes, kidney or liver failure.

Officials ask members of the public who have developed symptoms, which include coughing, shortness of breath, fever and headaches, to contact the state health department at 603-271-9461.

U.S. Senator John McCain spent some of his early years in New London and a United States flag has been placed in front of his childhood home in tribute to the veteran and 81-year-old senator who died Saturday of brain cancer.

McCain moved to New London when he was 3 months old and he spent the next two years here while his father, a submariner, was stationed in the area, according to the Norwich Bulletin.

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The family later returned to New London and lived here from when McCain was 4 until he was 9, according to the Bulletin.

McCain’s childhood home was on Ocean Avenue.

City staff donated their time when they saw no flag outside the house and placed one there as a tribute to McCain, with permission from the current owner of the house.

The governor is appealing after the Federal Emergency Management Agency denied individual assistance for homeowners in New Haven and Fairfield counties after the May tornadoes in the hopes it will be reversed.

The tornadoes came through parts of Connecticut on May 15.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement that he has filed an appeal requesting that the denial of individual assistance for homeowners in New Haven and Fairfield Counties be reversed.

He also filed an appeal over the denial of public assistance and individual assistance on behalf of the towns of Bridgewater, New Milford, and Roxbury, all of which are located in Litchfield County and sustained significant damage from the storms.

Earlier this month, FEMA approved the governor’s request for public assistance for New Haven and Fairfield counties.

“While I am grateful that part of our request for federal aid was granted, we are appealing the decision to deny assistance to homeowners and to those towns in Litchfield County that also sustained significant damage,” Malloy said in a statement. “Approving this request will help communities in these areas recover from these damaging storms.”

A “pressure cooker type device” was found in the area of Israel Putnam Elementary School in Meriden Thursday morning, soon before school was scheduled to start for the day, and the school was in a shelter-in-place until the state police bomb squad detonated the device.

Police said they responded just before 8 a.m. after receiving a call reporting something concerning in the area and they found the item less than a block away from the school.

During a news conference around 11 a.m., officials revealed that the item found was a “pressure cooker” type device.

Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati said all students and staff in the school are safe and he commended the school resource officer, who was the first at the scene.

"Once that was identified, he worked closely with school officials to make sure our students were never put in harm's way. This was done appropriately. This was done in such a way that, unfortunately, we had to experience this morning and this couldn't have been possible without the swift action of our officers, the police department, the state police and of course the board of education," Scarpati said.

Some parents expressed frustration about when they were notified. Others said they thought it was handled well.

Sgt. Christopher Fry, of the Meriden Police Department, said he knew there were some concerns about the way the response was handled, between the board of education and the police department.

“Underlying with the protocols that were undertaken, that there’s no injuries here today, the threat has been eliminated and safety has and always will be at the forefront on our minds,” Fry said.

Supt. Mark Benigni addressed why students were allowed in the school amid the investigation.

He said they were notified around 8:20 a.m., around 25 minutes before the school day was scheduled to begin when the buses were already on their routes.

“We then followed the lead of the Meriden Police Department, the Connecticut Police Department, as well as an FBI agent who was on site as well,” Benigni said.

Meriden Police Chief Jeffry Cossette said state police determine the safety perimeter.

“So at that point, we determined that school was safe,” said Cossette, who added that everything worked the way it was supposed to work and students were never in danger.

Benigni said turning around buses is not that simple and they wanted to avoid total chaos in the area.

He said they determined the best thing would be to use an alternate entry to the school on Charles Street.

“We also made sure students were never put in the area of concern in the building,” he said.

He added that they sent an alert to parents.

“I understand their concern, frustration. I can assure them that we’ll always follow the lead of our safety experts and we do all we can to assure safety. I couldn’t be more impressed with our students and staff today. They did a terrific job in the building,” Benigni added.

The superintendent also said the school was notified before the item was detonated that the state police planned to create a bang so students could be prepared for the loud noise outside.

Editor's note: Police said earlier that they received the call around 7 a.m., but now say it was around 8 a.m.