Two adults and three children got out of their Guilford home safely after a fire a Tuesday morning.
Officials said the fire was contained to the garage, but there is some smoke and water damage to the home.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday he "feels terribly" for Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his family. The Senate is trying to schedule a hearing to hear from Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her at a high school party about 35 years ago.
The state Department of Public Health says there are some cases of flu popping up already.
“Even though we don’t see a lot of flu cases in September, there are flu cases that do occur at this point in time,” said Mick Bolduc, the state epidemiologist.
The Department of Health begins tracking cases of the flu in early October.
“Each flu season is different,” Bolduc said. “Last year was a bad flu season. We don’t know what’s going to happen this year.”
Last year, he says, 150 people died from the flu in Connecticut, including three children.
At Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, they’re preparing for the worst of it.
“We’re going to be monitoring people coming in, both staff and visitors for respiratory illness. If they are sick, we asked them to wear a mask,” said Dr. Nicholas Bennett at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.
Bennett said they are already vaccinating some patients, and the Flu Mist nasal spray is back this year.
“There is a preferential recommendation to get the shot this year as opposed to the Flu Mist, and I think that is because of concerns about effective the Flu Mist has been compared to the shot,” he said.
He says the flu vaccine is recommended for anyone older than six months.
NBC Connecticut Investigates has found that nail salons across the state have been the subject of numerous complaints by customers who say they were injured during their manicures and pedicures.
Katie McGowen is one of them. She was looking forward to a relaxing lunch-hour pedicure at a popular West Hartford nail salon before the routine beauty treatment took what she says is a painful turn. She said an intense burning sensation prompted her to pull her feet out of the foot bath leaving her with physical injuries.
“I had three to four big blisters and boils on the tops of my feet,” and the skin on the bottoms of her feet was “all cut up and bleeding,” she said.
Hours later, a doctor diagnosed her with chemical burns, she said. McGowen believes they were caused by chemical callous remover that was incorrectly applied by a nail technician at Silk Nails in the Bishops Corner neighborhood of West Hartford.
Inspection reports obtained by NBC Connecticut Investigates show some salons are repeatedly violating health and safety rules and many are not inspected at all.
McGowen’s family complained about her injury to the West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District and they conducted a follow-up inspection.
Their report shows the salon did not have required “Material Safety Data Sheets” for chemicals and that their pedicure jets were cleaned once a week but needed to be cleaned once a night.
When we asked the salon owners about the report and McGowen’s injury, they said they do not recall the incident and typically refer customer complaints directly to their lawyer and insurance company.
Two years later, NBC Connecticut Investigates went to Silk Nails and recorded undercover video showing an employee quickly rinsing a foot bath between clients. We showed it to West Hartford-Bloomfield health director Steve Huleatt.
“The video certainly demonstrates that it would be inadequate cleaning,” Huleatt said.
Won Joo, the son of Silk Nails’ original owner and the salon’s new owner, reviewed the footage as well.
“They [sic] not supposed to do it that way,” Joo said.
Joo said the employee was retrained following our visit. The salon passed a follow-up inspection.
In other cases, inspection reports obtained by NBC Connecticut Investigates show some salons fail annual inspections year after year, often correcting violations in time to pass a re-inspection.
For example, inspectors failed a Bristol salon for numerous violations, including the same hygiene rule for foot spas, at every annual inspection since 2014.
After failing a Wallingford salon in January, an inspector wrote, “this is the third time,” that illegal razors called credo blades were found. They later passed this July.
State law requires health districts to inspect nail salons every year, but does not specify what inspectors should be looking for. Individual towns and cities are left to fill the gap by passing local laws, but dozens have yet to do so, and there is no statewide training or license required for people working on nails.
Connecticut requires licenses to cut hair, tattoo or massage, but it is the only state in the country that does not license nail technicians.
That concerns some local health directors.
“The customer should be able to have the same expectation of each and every nail technician,” Huleatt said.
The standardized training that would come with a statewide licensing program is something several health directors said would help them do their job and improve safety.
“We would have a sense of their education, their experience, the fact that there was a process that perhaps had them demonstrate their skills,” Huleatt said.
A spokesperson for the state Department of Health told NBC Connecticut Investigates that the department has no intention of pushing for state regulation of nail salons or nail technicians.
Since assuming ownership of his mother’s salon, Joo said he implemented strict sanitary procedures including using disposable plastic liners in their pedicure tubs. The health district confirmed it is fully code compliant.
McGowen said she ultimately received a payment from the salon. She still likes to get her nails done, but now brings her own tools and goes to salons in Massachusetts.
“It’s definitely, definitely changed my perspective on walking into just any other walk-in salon,” she said.
UConn legend Jim Calhoun has been named the head coach of men's basketball at the University of Saint Joseph on Tuesday.
Calhoun signed his full-time contract on Tuesday afternoon. The school said he is the first-ever head coach of USJ men's basketball.
Back in September of 2017, Calhoun announced he was coming out of retirement to become a consultant to the basketball program at USJ.
Calhoun is a three-time NCAA National Champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Coach. He has 873 career victories, including 625 while at the University of Connecticut for 26 seasons, from 1987 through 2012.
"Whether it's Division I or Division III, the kids are the kids and the game is the game and I'm looking forward to getting back out on the court and teaching these young men each and every day. I really missed being a part of a team, and we're preparing for a great first season at USJ," Calhoun said.
"From the first day we started working with Coach, it's been momentous for all of us - especially our current student-athletes. In terms of recruiting all students, not just student-athletes, he has had what we call the "Calhoun Effect," and we all enjoyed his talk where he emphasized that for all students, academics are the top priority," said University of Saint Joseph President Rhona Free Ph.D.
Assistant Coach Glen Miller will be working with Calhoun to get the inaugural men's basketball team ready for their first season, the school said in a release.
The team's opening game will be on November 9 at 7:30 p.m. against William Paterson University at Oosting Gymnasium on the Trinity College campus.
Multiple explosions that rocked three different Massachusetts communities last week forced people and pets to evacuate. The Connecticut Humane Society sent four specially trained animal handlers up there to help.
“The MSPCA has a crisis on their hands,” said Gordon Willard, Executive Director of the Connecticut Humane Society. “I think they brought in over 100 animals in a short period of time, and they just didn’t have the where for all to take care of them.”
Meantime, another animal crisis is unfolding in the Carolinas.
“It breaks my heart,” said Sue Shatz, of West Hartford.
“It’s sad because for a lot of people, they are their children,” said Hilary Pohley.
The Connecticut Humane Society is on standby.
“Our team from Massachusetts should be back by the end of the week,” Willard said. “They’ll get a little rest, and then we’ll see what they need in the south.”
In the short term, animals will need specialized care. Long term, the effects are still unknown. It’s possible that more animals from Carolinas could end up in Connecticut shelters.
“You have animals that are running at large anyway,” Willard said. “Then you have the animals that were in homes that could not be evacuated. How quickly those people can be rehomed and how whether they can take their animals back is a question.”
Mariah Chadukiewicz knows what it means to go without electricity.
"Our house got hit by lightning and we were out of it for several months,” said Mariah Chadukiewicz.
So, when she moved back into her Cromwell home, she said the family bought a back up generator.
Edward Ingalls, president of Connecticut Home Generator Systems, says a generator can be a lifesaver during prolonged outages, but they can be dangerous if not used correctly.
When Hurricane Florence made its way along the coast, the company fielded a lot of calls from Connecticut residents and those living in the South. Ingalls says it’s important to plan ahead.
"It's almost an insurance policy. You have to buy your insurance policy before the event happens. Very difficult to install a standby generator in a storm-ravaged area. Very difficult,” said Ingalls.
There are two types of home generators you can buy. An automatic standby generator is permanent and runs on natural gas. It needs to be installed by a professional. Ingalls says one of these costs between $5,000 and $6,000 for the system.
The other option is a portable generator which runs on gasoline and range in price from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars.
"People going to a local store, hardware store or a convenience store, buying a generator, taking it home and plugging it in, that's where we tend to see the most risk,” said Richard Branigan the Chief Program Officer of American Red Cross Connecticut.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, an average of 66 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning related to improper generator use.
"It's scary to think that people go through and install generators, portable generators in their own garages,” said Branigan.
The number one rule: never run a generator indoors. Fans, open windows and doors won’t provide enough ventilation to keep you safe. And make sure the generator is at least 20-feet-away from your home.
"What tends to happen is during the winter, people will move it closer to the house because it's more convenient, they don't have to shovel a path to it. Let's think about that, folks,” said Branigan.
Experts suggest following the manufacturer’s recommendations and running the generator on a level surface. And always remember to direct the exhaust away from doors and windows. If you have an automatic backup generator, you should have it serviced annually.
A Tolland boy is being credited with helping to save his bus driver’s life.
“I just ran up and grabbed the walkie talkie! Just needed to get her to the hospital quick,” Will Restall told NBC Connecticut.
“I was surprised he remembered everything to do and was able to really take control of the situation and help out,” Tara Restall said.
Will Restall’s bus driver was having a medical emergency and Will Restall from Tolland helped the woman get the medical attention she needed.
The 6th grade student credits a bus safety course he learned last school year for knowing exactly what to do in this type of situation. The bus ride began like any other school day for the 11-year-old, a student at Tolland Middle School.
“I was on my phone and I just heard a loud bang! I saw it at the last moment,” Will said.
Will’s bus had just pulled up to school and parked. Right before he and 15 other classmates were about to get off, the bus driver suffered some sort of medical emergency, according to Will and school officials.
“She wasn’t moving, she just fell,” Will added. That’s when Will jumped out of his seat and headed her way.
“She fell over and I grabbed the walkie talkie and said she needed medical attention and an ambulance and they came! There is this button on the side and I just talked into it and called for help,” Will added.
Luckily the school resource officer and other adults were right outside the bus to help too.
“I got a call from the principal,” Will's mom, Tara Restall told NBC Connecticut.
Back at home, Tara says the principal called parents to let them know what happened and she had a special message for mom.
“She called him a hero, and you know he really is, he really helped. We’re so proud of him. He had the piece of mind and knew what to do,” Tara added.
Will's dad, Tim tells NBC Connecticut this was a proud parent moment.
“As a parent you always want to raise your children well. Send them in the right direction and Will did a great job,” Tim said.
“And we hope she’s recovering and alright,” Tara added.
A bus company spokeswoman couldn’t say much about the bus driver for privacy reasons, but explained the bus driver is home recovering.
The superintendent of schools tells us all safety procedures were followed and the students safely exited the bus.
The City of New Haven is hoping to revitalize the area along the Route 34 connector.
The section between the Hill neighborhood and downtown went underdeveloped for decades while the Oak Street connector project was never finished.
The piece of land used to be a parking lot, but now a new child care facility has opened and city officials said there are plans for more development along the connector.
Shital Patel and her husband are co-owners of The Learning Experience location in Cromwell.
"I wasn't sure if I wanted to do a second location. One is enough, but when we came to the area, I saw the center and I saw the location. I knew this was for us," Patel said.
Patel said the child care center is focused on preparing children for kindergarten.
"Our curriculum starts in our infant room, goes all the way up to preschool," she said.
And there's a need in New Haven, according to Mayor Toni Harp, for more early education programs.
"There are about 5,000 children in our city who don't have access to child daycare and to high quality care and so this is really filling a void," Mayor Harp said.
Located on the Route 34 connector, The Learning Experience is easily accessible for parents needing to drop off their children on the way to work in the city.
"Now we're really a medical city as much as anything so much of the growth is at the hospital and this is right in between the two campuses, the St. Raphael's campus and the Yale-New Haven campus," said Matthew Nemerson, the Economic Development Administrator.
Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson said the city would like for new housing to be built down to the Boulevard and that's not all...
"We hope to have a hotel. We hope to have some medical offices and at some point, we hope to have a parking garage," he said.
A parent raised concerns about the dress code at last week's board of education meeting. On Tuesday afternoon, the Ansonia Board of Education Policy Committee discussed possible dress code changes.
Most parents who spoke to NBC Connecticut said they support their children wearing uniforms.
April Palmieri disagrees with her 11th grade daughter who doesn't like wearing a school uniform.
"I feel the dress code is fine. I think it's better than regular clothes," she said.
She has a son in 12th grade and another daughter at Ansonia Middle School.
"I think it's better because all the kids are equal. They have the same thing on and they're not so worried about the fashion, the style because they all have to dress the same," she said.
Ansonia's dress code policy expanded to the high school in 2014. It requires students wear navy or khaki dress or docker style pants, shorts or skirts and a solid white or blue shirt or polo with the Ansonia logo.
On Tuesday afternoon, the Board of Education Policy Committee went over concerns raised by a parent at last week's meeting.
"Why do we have the uniforms? What value do they provide? And he seems to think there's no known advantage to having the students wear uniforms," said Fran DiGiorgi, of Ansonia Board of Education.
During a short discussion, the three board members spoke in favor of the current dress code.
"They wear uniforms when they play for Pop Warner, they wear uniforms when they cheer. If they're Girl Scouts, they have uniforms so you have uniforms throughout your whole life," they said.
They responded to the resident's concern about cost by referring to a section already in the policy.
"If anybody is having a financial burder, they can submit a request for clothing assistance to the Superintendent of Schools," they said.
The only proposed change to come out of the meeting is to make the dress code policy gender neutral. The full Board of Education will vote on that at their next meeting.
Hamden Police are trying to identify a man who is accused of stealing around $1,000 worth of clothing from a store last week.
Officers were called to the Old Navy on Dixwell Avenue around 3:45 p.m. on Thursday for a report of shoplifting.
Investigators learned a man with braided hair pulled back into a bun, who is 5'7" and approximately 20 to 30 years old, wearing a hooded sweatshirt left the store with clothing that was valued at $1,000.
Police said the man fled the store in a gray 4-door sedan.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police at (203) 230-4030.
For those who evacuated due to Florence, it could still be days before they get back to their homes. One couple returned to their hometown of Bristol, Connecticut, to escape the water, but they're worried about family members still in North Carolina.
Seven hundred miles away, Sherry Webber is thinking about her parents. She and her family moved from Bristol to the small town of Atkinson, North Carolina, several years ago. When Florence came their way, her parents tried to leave, but with four dogs, their options were few.
"We tried everything we could to get out of here, but once the shelter was at capacity, there really wasn't a whole lot of other options for us. I wanted to make sure my children were safe, so I sent my daughter to Connecticut," said Sherry's dad, Steven Gagnier.
NBC Connecticut spoke to Gagnier on the phone. He says they called hotels in several states, but that none would take them because they had four dogs and that a shelter that could take the dogs was already full.
When Sherry and her husband tried to get back to Atkinson from Bristol, they realized they couldn't.
"The winds, the roads, there were multiple times I saw people trying to drive through the water, and the water, it just took their car right off the road," said Sherry.
Sherry says her parents' home isn't flooded, but they're without power and many of the roads have washed away. Her dad says they finally got some supplies on Tuesday but that most of the shelves in the stores are bare.
"They're still doing water rescues down here because the flooding isn't over," said Steven.
While those in the region wait for the rivers to crest, Sherry says instead of being safe in Bristol, she wishes she could be with her parents and face whatever comes next together.
"I don't see me leaving my family like this again, no matter the situation. I'm going to stay with them. I can't be away from them like this when something devastating is happening," said Sherry.
The region received about 30 inches of rain, and while the water may still be rising, the rain is over. Sherry hopes that means she'll be able to get home soon.
East Windsor Police have arrested a man following what they called a road rage incident on Tuesday night.
An officer was approached by a motorist who said that someone had pulled a gun on him during a road rage incident around 8:30 p.m. Police said the motorist was able to give the officer a description of the suspect's vehicle. Officers later found the vehicle in the Wendy's parking lot on Prospect Hill Road.
Officers conducted an investigation and found a gun on the suspect, later identified as 25-year-old William Duncan, of Enfield. Duncan was arrested and is facing charges including breach of peace, reckless endangerment and threatening. He is scheduled to appear in Enfield Superior Court on October 2 and was released on a $2,000 bond.
The federal government is hoping it can scare American teens away from e-cigarette use.
The Food and Drug Administration is rolling out a new campaign of videos aimed at graphically illustrating the dangers of e-cigarettes and so-called “vaping.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control, teen e-cigarette use rose to 12 percent in 2017.
The JUUL brand e-cigarettes have grown especially popular among teens, in part because of the easy to hide design and fruit flavored liquid nicotine. That popularity led to a nationwide blitz by the FDA on retailers who sell to teens. The agency issues monetary penalties and sent warning letters to more than 1300 retailers nationwide who sold to children, including eight in Connecticut.
Wolcott mom Christy Bisaillon says she’s encouraged her teen daughters not to try vaping, despite what their classmates are doing and the misconception among some teens that vaping is less harmful than traditional cigarettes.
“Say no just like a regular drug. It’s still nicotine no matter what it is” said Bisaillon. “They think its not addiciting. They think its not ruining their health. I’m just hoping they stay away from it.”
Even as this anti-vaping campaign rolls out, the clock is still ticking for the makers of e-cigarettes. Last week the FDA gave the fiver major manufacturers of e-cigarettes two months to come up with a plan to keep their products away from kids.
A Rockville man is accused of sexually assaulting girls and has been arrested.
Vernon police said they have been investigating 55-year-old Andrew Curtis’ alleged conduct with two underage girls over the past few years and arrested him Monday on two arrest warrants issued by Rockville Superior Court.
Curtis is accused of engaging in manipulative behaviors that led to unwanted sexual contact.
One warrant carries one count of sex assault in the fourth degree and one count of illegal sexual contact with a victim under the age of 16.
The other warrant carries three counts of sex assault in the fourth degree, three counts of illegal sexual contact with a victim under 16.
Curtis was held $100,000 in bonds and appeared in Rockville Court.
It’s not clear if he has an attorney. Online court records say he remains in custody and is due back in court on Oct. 10.
Police said the investigation is ongoing and they are looking to speak to anyone who has additional information about Curtis as they continue to investigate.
Anyone with information should call Detective Tommy Van Tasel at 860-872-9126, extension 3767.
President Donald Trump called his Supreme Court nominee an "extraordinary man" Wednesday, saying it's "very hard" for him to imagine anything happened with Brett Kavanaugh.
Trump spoke to reporters outside the White House on his way to North Carolina and said Kavanaugh has "an unblemished record" and it would "be very interesting" if Kavanaugh's accuser shows up to testify on her claim.
"I can only say this, he is such an outstanding man," the president added. "Very hard to imagine that anything happened."
Christine Blasey Ford came forward on Sunday as the woman accusing Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Ford told The Washington Post in her first interview that Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed at a Maryland party they attended in the early 1980s as high school students, clumsily tried to remove her clothing and put his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream.
The Senate Judiciary Committee postponed its Thursday confirmation vote for Kavanaugh and invited Ford to testify on her allegation next week. Ford said she wants to cooperate with the committee but her lawyers wrote in a Tuesday letter that an FBI investigation "should be the first step in addressing the allegations."
In response to Ford's call for an investigation, Trump claimed Wednesday that the agency "really doesn't do that" and said he "would let the senators take their course."
However, the president added that he "would really want to see what she has to say."
"We want to get it over with, but at the same time, we want to give it tremendous amounts of time," Trump said. "If she shows up, that would be wonderful. If she doesn't show up, that would be unfortunate."
Republicans hope to have Kavanaugh confirmed by Oct. 1, the start of the next Supreme Court term.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump launched an aggressive new attack against Jeff Sessions on Wednesday, going so far as to suggest that his attorney general's job performance has been so disappointing, it borders on the nonexistent.
"I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad," Trump told Hill.TV in an exclusive Oval Office interview that was described as "free-wheeling" on the outlet's website Wednesday.
As NBC News reported, the president has railed against Sessions regularly since the attorney general's March 2017 decision to recuse himself from the federal investigation into Russian election meddling, which includes probing contacts between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
"I'm so sad over Jeff Sessions because he came to me. He was the first Senator that endorsed me. And he wanted to be Attorney General, and I didn't see it,” he told Hill.TV. Trump also made clear that he thought Sessions performed poorly during his Senate confirmation hearings, saying his answers were "confusing."
Police are investigating a shooting at a restaurant in West Hartford on Wednesday morning.
According to police, Zaytoon's Bistro at 165 Park Road reported gunshots between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Officers found bullet holes in the window of the restaurant.
It is unclear if any nearby businesses with surveillance cameras captured the shooting on video.
The investigation is ongoing.
Forty Connecticut National Guard men and women are deploying to Afghanistan for a year. The 192nd Engineer Battalion departed for Texas Wednesday morning.
This is the first deployment for Lieutenant Joseph Stoute, a Meriden police officer.
”I’ve been a police officer for 10 years, so it’s just a different, a different playground to me.”
According to the National Guard, the battalion will be stationed in Texas for further training. From there, they will leave for Afghanistan for about 12 months, specializing in route clearance.
”Clearing roads or any kind of supply routes of anything that could put American soldiers or other service members in any kind of harm’s way and that involves explosives or anything else that could cause them harm,” explained Lt. Col. Charles Jaworski.
Lieutenant Christopher Barnabei, who is deploying for the first time, said he is ready to embrace the mission. His mother and younger sister were beaming with pride in their last moments together.
“I’ve already planned on writing letters and just kind of keeping him abreast of what happens on a day-to-day basis, and I think that’s going be like a therapy for me,” said Sharon Barnabei, of North Haven.
Hamden police are searching for the driver who hit a Quinnipiac University student late Tuesday night and fled.
A 19-year-old Wethersfield girl who attends Quinnipiac University was walking on the southbound shoulder of Whitney Avenue with a group of friends when she was struck at 11:55 p.m., police said.
The vehicle was going south on Whitney Avenue at a high rate of speed when the right-side mirror struck her, police said.
The teen’s head, shoulder and knees were hurt and police said the injuries are not life-threatening.
Witnesses told police they thought the vehicle that hit the girl was might be a red Hyundai Elantra.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Hamden Police Department Traffic Division at (203) 230-4036.
