If Halloween is approaching, then it must be time for another retailer to pull its Halloween costume for bad taste.

This year the early offender is an online lingerie store that has removed a sexy “Handmaid’s Tale” costume from its website after receiving massive backlash on social media.

The show, which was based on the book by Margaret Atwood, was set in a dystopian America where women were forcefully used as surrogates and sex slaves.

The product description for Yandy’s “Brave Red Maiden” costume makes a direct reference to the critically acclaimed Hulu drama, USA Today reported.

"An upsetting dystopian future has emerged where women no longer have a say," the description reads. "However, we say be bold and speak your mind in this exclusive Brave Red Maiden costume."

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Many social media users commented on the misogynistic aspect of selling a costume about female oppression. Some also noted the irony that this product was removed when many stores continue to sell offensive race- and culture-inspired costumes. 

This is not the first time that Yandy has marketed a Halloween costume that might provoke backlash.

Last year, the company began selling its “Reality Star in the Making” costume for $59.95 with a product photo featuring a pregnant Kylie Jenner look-alike in a short, tight white dress.

The description promises to “boost your show’s ratings” with the help of a "faux pregnant belly."

Yandy’s questionable product choices are a part of a long retail Halloween tradition of selling controversial costumes.

In 2017, Walmart and several other retailers took down a “World War II Evacuee” costume, which included a green beret, a blue dress and a satchel. The item caused an outrage because of its resemblance to Jewish Holocaust victim Anne Frank. Amazon, however, continues to carry the product on its website.

Walmart also had to pull its $4 “Razor Blade Suicide Scar Wound Latex Custom Makeup” kit in 2016 after receiving complaints that the kit supported self-injury.

In the same year, online retailer Costumeish faced a social media outcry in 2016 after posting a “Parisian Heist” costume parodying Kim Kardashian’s robbery in Paris. The listing sported a bound and gagged model who looked like Kardashian dressed in a white bathrobe and wearing a huge ring.

Time reported that social media users also accused the Disney online store of racism in 2016 after it attempted to sell a costume of a character from the “Moana” movie. The Maui costume included a brown bodysuit and tattoos, which would make the wearer dress up as a person of color. Disney later apologized and quickly took the costume off its website.

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Like those companies, Yandy seems to be reflecting on its decision to sell the handmaid costume after the retailer said it received many “sincere, heartfelt response, supported by numerous personal stories.”

A statement on Yandy’s site, which has since replaced the red cape, mini dress and bonnet ensemble, apologized for the offensive costume. The company called the incident “unfortunate” and said it was not their “intention on any level.”

“Over the last few hours, it has become obvious that our 'Yandy Brave Red Maiden Costume' is being seen as a symbol of women's oppression, rather than an expression of women's empowerment,” the statement reads. “Our initial inspiration to create the piece was through witnessing its use in recent months as a powerful protest image.” 

Hurricane Florence’s 3-day rainfall was a less than .1% probability, "1000-year" event, analysis from The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Weather Service found.

"The fact that this event was greater than 1-in-1000 in such a large area is unusual," said Mark Glaudemans, Geo-Intelligence Division Director at NOAA’s National Weather Service Office of Water Prediction. "It’s one thing to have a heavy storm over your backyard or a parking lot in town. Heavy storms happen all the time in very small areas. But to have a heavy storm that’s this heavy over such a large area is an extreme event."

This event is not unprecedented, Kevin Trenberth, Distinguished Senior Scientist in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, told NBC. "A thousand year event is based upon the idea that the climate isn’t changing," Trenberth said. "A lot of what used to be 1000 year events are now 100-year events or seventy-year events or maybe even fifty-year events, in the case of places like Houston," he added.

Texas’ Hurricane Harvey from last year had some areas with "1-in-500- year" or "1-in-1000-year event" rainfall, NOAA reported. Hurricane Matthew, which made landfall in South Carolina as a Category 1 hurricane, also had areas with greater than 0.1% probability events, though they cover less of the map. The NOAA data in the Atlas 14 map is compared to data from up to 2004.

Glaudemans clarified the misleading "1000 year event" terminology. The probability is based on the three-day worst case period, and compares the observed precipitation with the expected probability of future precipitation. Simply put, this event has "a one in one thousand chance of occurring in a given year at a given location," he said, noting it does not mean this event will only occur once in a thousand years. "Next year, it can happen all over again," he explained.

"An event like Florence is extremely rare because you do not normally see tropical cycles with such an intensity, with so much precipitation, make landfall somewhere along the coast," said Dr. Jill Trepanier, associate professor in the Geography and Anthropology Department at Louisiana State University, expertise is hurricane climatology. "However, that rare event can still happen every year and then that rare event no longer becomes rare anymore. With a changing climate, what is rare now will shift."

North Carolina saw 8.04 trillion gallons of rainfall, NWS Raleigh tweeted on Tuesday. NWS Greensville-Spartanburg responded by noting that for three counties, the estimates for rain are too low. Emergency managers issued a new evacuation order in South Carolina Friday morning, AP reported. Hurricane Florence has caused 42 deaths since it made landfall last Friday.

"[These 1-in-1000 year events] are becoming increasingly common, unfortunately," Trenberth explained. "They occur in different places, in different times, and the phenomenon is always a bit different. But the fact is, the environment is warmer, it holds more moisture, and so the risk of these heavy rainfall events is going up."

"When it rains, it rains harder than it used to," he said.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was joking when he discussed wearing a wire to secretly record President Donald Trump and does not believe Trump should be removed from office through the use of procedures outlined in the Constitution's 25th Amendment, according to sources familiar with his conversations.

The sources were responding to a New York Times report that Rosenstein, in the tumultuous spring of 2017, had discussed with other Justice and FBI officials the possibility of recruiting members of Trump's Cabinet to declare him unfit for the job and that he offered to wear a recording device during conversations with the president, NBC News reported.

In a May, 16, 2017 meeting at a secure facility at the Justice Department — one week after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey — Rosenstein argued with Andrew McCabe, then the acting director of the FBI, about the president, according to a senior Justice Department official.

Some of the most vocal proponents of the #MeToo movement and droves of other women have come to the defense of Christine Blasey Ford after President Donald Trump questioned her credibility and wondered why she didn’t report her sexual assault at the time she said it happened.

In a slew of unrestrained tweets Friday, Trump contended that if the attack Ford said happened at the hands of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was “as bad” as she claims, she would have “immediately” reported it to local authorities. He asked her to produce the report to prove the details of her alleged assault and wondered, “Why didn’t someone call the FBI 36 years ago?” 

The president's brazen comments sparked the birth of a new trending hashtag, #WhyIDidntReport, and inspired victims to reveal their own stories of assault and share their reasons for not telling anyone about the violence.

One of those victims was Alyssa Milano, who has helped propel the #MeToo movement into the national spotlight in the last year. She threw her support behind Ford and told Trump to pay attention to the stories being told.

“I was sexually assaulted twice. Once when I was a teenager. I never filed a police report and it took me 30 years to tell [my] parents,” the actress wrote on Twitter.

#WhyIDidntReport jumped the top of Twitter’s trends in the wake Trump's claims, with social media users challenging the president’s assertions.

Several women shared incidents they said happened when they were young children, saying they didn’t know what had happened to them at the time. Others said they felt ashamed or embarrassed about their role in the situation, thinking they “asked for” the assault or didn’t do enough to stop it themselves.

Others described feeling powerless against their attacker, saying they felt they had no one to report the assault to, that those they did tell didn’t do anything or that they would suffer further harm if they spoke out. 

Ford has accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teens in the 1980s. She said he pinned her on a bed, groped her, tried to undress her and held his hand over her mouth when she tried to scream. Ford said in her interview with The Washington Post that she didn't tell anyone about the incident until 2012, when she was in therapy sessions with her husband.

Kavanaugh has denied the claims, but the allegation has halted his confirmation proceedings. 

Trump himself has been accused of sexual assault as well, by at least 19 women. One of those known accusers, Jessica Leeds, claimed Trump groped her breasts and put his hand up her skit on an airplane in the early 1980s. She told The New York Times she did not report the incident at the time because she had experienced that behavior from men before in the 70s and 80s. 

"We accepted it for years,” she told the Times of the behavior. “We were taught it was our fault.”

The White House has said the allegations against Trump are "false."

But the #WhyIDidntReport testimonies being shared on social media fall in line with national statistics on sexual violence. 

About two out of every three sexual assaults go unreported to police, according to the anti-sexual violence non-profit RAINN, which stands for Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. Reasons for not reporting the assault to police include fearing retaliation, believing police would not do anything to help, believing it was a personal matter, having already reported it to a different official and believing it was not important enough to report. 

The organization also operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-4673). 

The Bureau of Justice Statistics also reports that a majority of rapes and other sexual assaults aren't reported to police. Between 2006 and 2010, an average of about 211,200 rapes and sexual assaults went unreported each year. 

But even if a victim does report their assault, the likelihood that the perpetrator will be held accountable is slim, according to RAINN. Out of every 1,000 rapes, only 57 cases lead to an arrest and 11 cases will be referred to prosecutors. Only seven cases will lead to a felony conviction.

Ashley Judd, who accused disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment and claimed he hurt her career after her rejections, also tweeted her own #WhyIDidntReport.

“The first time it happened, I was 7. I told the first adults I came upon. They said “Oh, he’s a nice old man, that’s not what he meant.” So when I was raped at 15, I only told my diary. When an adult read it, she accused me of having sex with an adult man,” Judd wrote.

Men shared the hashtag too, supporting women victims and also offering their own stories. Many said they feared they wouldn’t be believed if they came forward with their accusation.

One out of every 10 rape victims are male, according to RAINN.

And nearly half of transgender people are sexually assaulted in their lifetime, according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey.

Sexual assault can leave long-term effects on victims, including post-traumatic stress disorder, severe anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation, an anti-sexual assault group founded by "Law and Order" actress Mariska Hargitay.

Most women who are raped — 94 percent — experience symptoms of PTSD in the two weeks following the rape, according to RAINN. And 30 percent experience symptoms in the nine months after.

About 70 percent of sexual assault victims experience moderate to severe distress, a larger percentage than for any other violent crime, according to RAINN.

Ford, in her Post interview, said she has suffered "long-term effects" from the assault and has sought treatment for it.

One Twitter user named Kirsten King, a writer, reminded readers that those participating in the #WhyIDidntReport hashtag are "reliving their trauma to try and teach folks to extend long overdue empathy and protection. The folks posting are only a drop in the bucket – so many people aren't (and may never be) ready to relive that trauma." Her tweet garnered more than 3,800 likes by Friday evening.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 provides people in distress, or those around them, with 24-hour support. The Crisis Text Line allows people to text 741-741 to connect with crisis counselors.

Multiple police agencies have had contact with a suspect in connection with the November 2014 death of an insurance executive who was killed while she was jogging in Simsbury, according to a law enforcement source.

Melissa Millan was found dead along Iron Horse Boulevard on November 21, 2014. She had gone out for a run around 8 p.m. the night before.

Millan was stabbed once in the chest.

Police have interviewed the male suspect, who is a registered sex offender, the law enforcement source said.

The Cold Case Unit of the Office of the Chief State's Attorney began working with Simsbury police on the investigation into Millan's death last year.

It was about that time that investigators began to interview witnesses again to re-examine their stories about the case.

Millan, who was 54 when she died, was an executive with the Mass Mutual insurance company in Hartford. The company released the following statement:

"Melissa Millan was an incredible person and outstanding leader, and we were fortunate to have her as a part of our MassMutual family for more than a decade. We are encouraged to learn that there are developments in her case, and continue to keep Melissa and her family in our thoughts."

When voters head to the polls in November, they will not only be faced with choices for the US Senate, Congress, governor and other statewide office. They will also see proposed amendments to Connecticut’s Constitution, known as ballot questions.

One of the questions has to do with the General Assembly’s long-standing practice of transferring public lands without much debate or discussion during the regular session.

Eric Hammerling with the group Protect CT Public Lands, said he likes the autumn much more than the spring not just for going through the state’s parks, but for the role of government.

“I will often say to folks at this time of year this is a great time of year for public lands because the General Assembly is not in session.”

One example cited by Hammerling of a surprise public land transfer was the state giving the Hartford Regional Market to the Capitol Region Development Authority.

Hammerling says the question is not about the eventual use, which he says could be up for debate, but says the priority is really on the process and level of transparency that leads to a piece of land being transferred.

“My concern is that it’s not going to be done in a thoughtful way,” he said. “What can happen right now in the legislature is even if there is a public hearing at the beginning of the session, the very end of the session there are very often amendments for other public lands to be sold, swapped, or given away and there often isn’t any public input on those.”

The measure passed the General Assembly with support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Specifically, the proposed constitutional amendment would require a public hearing when a piece of public land is being considered for transfer or sale by the General Assembly. After that public hearing has been held, it would then require passage by a two thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.

That high bar, lawmakers say, is the right way to move forward.

Sen. Kevin Witkos (R – Canton) co-sponsored the measure and told NBC Connecticut in statement, “A constitutional amendment will ensure that environmental protection always remains a top priority. It will address the need for more transparency and oversight so that the proposed sale of any preserved land is always sufficiently weighed and considered by lawmakers and the public.”

Sen. Martin Looney, the top Democrat in the Connecticut Senate said in a statement, "This amendment will provide additional protections before potentially environmentally sensitive property is sold or otherwise conveyed by the state. I hope voters that Connecticut will approve this amendment as an additional commitment to protecting our state’s quality of life."

Suffield police are investigating the death of a 70-year-old woman Friday.

Police said they were called to a home on South Grand Street around 1:49 p.m. for a report of a medical emergency. The initial call was that a woman fell down a set of stairs and was hurt.

Emergency responders found the woman unresponsive when they arrived. She was rushed to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. At this time, police are calling the death untimely.

The Suffield Police Department and Connecticut State Police Major Crimes Squad are investigating. Police said the family is cooperating. No other information was immediately available.

Tammy Millsaps is a working professional with little down time and says it’s difficult to meet someone special.

“Sometimes it’s really tough to meet people on a day to day basis,” the Hartford resident said.

Tammy opted to go with a matchmaking service, called “It’s Just Lunch,” that claims to do all the work for you.

“I mean you hear all of the stories about the online scams that happen. When people pay money for different services. But I did my research,” Millsaps explained.

Millsaps said she paid $2,000 to It’s Just Lunch and the company assigned her a matchmaker, who identified potential partners for Millsaps based on her profile. She could accept or decline a potential date.

“They were actually write-ups where people had success,” added Millsaps.

According to her contract, IJL guarantees four introductions or six months of service, whichever comes later. The contract states, It’s Just Lunch will issue refunds, “at IJL’s election and sole discretion” if it is unable to provide the agreed upon date introductions under Client’s membership. The contract also said, “all remaining monies will be refunded on a pro-rated basis, less a $500 interview processing charge and this agreement will be automatically canceled.”

Millsaps said she only had one date in six months. Then, a month later she received a second date and turned it down because the person didn’t fit her criteria. She said she reached out to the company multiple times by email and phone stating that she wanted to a refund. But got no response until she contacted NBC Connecticut Responds.

“I’m not happy with that. I mean, I paid a tremendous amount of money,” said Millsaps.

And when we reached out to Julie Lopez, VP of “It’s Just Lunch,” the company refunded Millsaps $2,000.

In the statement, “It’s Just Lunch,” wrote:

“Thank you again for bringing Ms. Millsaps’ concerns to our attention as Client satisfaction is of the upmost importance to IJL. We have contacted the Client directly and her concerns have been fully resolved.”

“I know you get results,” said Millsap.

NBC Connecticut Responds have received two other complaints about It’s Just Lunch in the past.

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/Matchmaking-Service-Not-a-Good-Match-for-2-Connecticut-Women-421406064.html

Connecticut’s Department of Consumer Protection says you should always think twice before making a commitment. Ask questions, like how many clients they have, what states do they have clients in, and how many clients are in your area? This will let you know your chances of getting a date.

The city of Middletown is celebrating the grand opening of a new FedEx facility that's expected to bring in hundreds of new jobs.

The 900,000-square foot distribution hub is located on the site of the former Aetna office building, right off Industrial Park Road.

FedEx said they’ve already brought in more than 500 new employees to staff the facility and with the holiday season coming up, they’ll be adding more jobs.

Up to 45,000 packages whizz through the new campus every hour. The Pittsburgh-based shipping giant said they expect that number to climb.

"Well right now we’re handling about 130- to 150,000 a day in this operation. It will get up over probably closer to 250 thousand," explained Scott Burns, the regional vice president of Eastern Operations, FedEx Ground.

Local officials said the new facility will bring more opportunities for locals looking to work.

"They built the interior to approximately 60 percent capacity with room for growth. So over the next few years, they’re actually going to be adding hundreds of more permanent positions here," said Middletown Mayor Dan Drew.

Drew said his team fought off competition from Massachusetts and Rhode Island to bring the company to the site, betting tax abatements plus a location near the Interstate 91 corridor would give them a leg up.

"This is probably the largest economic development projects in multiple decades. This project is going to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue and more than 1,000 jobs by the time it’s done," Drew said.

Drew said much of the $250 million construction cost of the facility went back into the region, and he hopes neighboring businesses with prosper.

"There’s going to be a large scale regional impact," he said.

The development is part of a national expansion for the company, which said that business has doubled in the last 10 years.

Watertown police are trying to identify the suspect in a robbery at the People’s United Bank inside Stop & Shop Friday.

Police said that a male suspect entered the store at 763 Straits Turnpike around 6:10 p.m. and passed the bank teller a note stating “this was a robbery,” and instructions. The suspect did not show a weapon and no one was injured.

The suspect left with an undisclosed amount of money. He is described as approximately 40 years old, wearing dark-rimmed glasses, a red zippered fleece, blue jeans and a grey Boston Red Sox baseball cap.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect pictured about or with information on this crime should contact the

Watertown Police Department at 860-945-5200 or Crimestoppers at 860-945-9940. An anonymous cash reward is being offered for information in this case.

U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Sen. Ted Cruz faced each other in the first of three planned debates Friday in what has become a neck and neck race for the Texas senate seat.

Hartford police have arrested a local man accused in a deadly hit-and-run crash in the North End of the city earlier this month.

Police say 24-year-old Kayvon Cook was the driver of a white sedan that struck 47-year-old Chante Tucker, of Hartford, at the intersection of Albany Avenue and Garden Street around 10:47 p.m. on Sept. 5. The sedan fled the scene before police arrived.

Tucker was taken to Saint Francis Hospital and died the next morning.

Investigators seized the vehicle involved in the crash, a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu, on Sept. 6 and worked to identify the driver. On Thursday, police obtained an arrest warrant for Cook and arrested him.

Cook is charged with evading responsibility with serious physically injury, reckless driving, operating with a suspended license and false statement. Additional charges are pending the results of an autopsy, and the case remains under investigation, police said.

Cook was held on a $100,000 bond.

Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz had a chance to show off his often praised debating skills tonight in his first match-up against Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, the El Paso congressman running a strong campaign against him.

Cruz is trying to win a second term in the U.S. Senate in a race that the Cook Political Report on Friday rated a toss-up. New polls show the competition tightening with a Reuters-Ipsos poll on Wednesday giving O’Rourke a two-point lead in a typically reliable red state. Countering those indications is a Quinnipiac poll had Cruz ahead by nine points.

O’Rourke is a three-term congressman. He has raised more money than Cruz, a presidential hopeful in 2016 against now President Donald J. Trump, drawing national attention to the race.

O’Rourke, who became an El Paso city councilman in 2005, is hoping to become the first Texan elected to the Senate since 1988.

Tonight’s hourlong debate is the first of three the men are scheduled to participate in. Here are some of the evening’s highlights.

“This is why people do not like Washington, D.C.”
A particularly sharp exchange between the two men came as they addressed police shootings of unarmed black men, one of which occurred about two weeks ago when a white off-duty Dallas police officer shot her black neighbor, Botham Jean, to death in his own apartment. Police Officer Amber Guyger, who has been charged with manslaughter, has told investigators that she mistook his apartment for hers.

Cruz accused O’Rourke of calling police officers modern-day Jim Crow, a reference to local laws that enforced racial segregation in the South, and deemed the description offensive.

“That is not Texas,” he concluded.

“What Senator Cruz said is simply untrue,” O’Rourke responded. “I did not call police officers modern-day Jim Crow.”

Video of O’Rourke’s town hall on Wednesday at Prairie View A&M University, a historically black college in Prairie View, Texas, shows him talking about a system that he said suspects a person based solely on the color of their skin, that searches, stops or shoots someone based on the color of their skin.

“It is why some have called this, and I think it is an apt description, the new Jim Crow,” he said.

Cruz, when asked whether he thought the police shootings a problem, said that everyone’s rights should be protected, but blamed irresponsible and hateful rhetoric for shootings of police officers — among them the killing of five Dallas police officers in 2016. He accused O’Rourke of repeating things he knew were not true, including accusing white police officers of shooting unarmed African American children, and said that The Washington Post had fact checked the claim and found it to be untrue.

“This is why people do not like Washington, D.C.,” O’Rourke said. “You just said something that I did not say and attributed it to me.”

“What did you not say?” Cruz asked.

“I’m not going to repeat the slander and mischaracterization,” O’Rourke said.

“You’re not going to say what you did say?” Cruz asked.

“This is your trick in the trade, to confuse and to incite based on fear and not to speak the truth,” O’Rourke said. "This is a very serious issue."

The Washington Post did examine a quote from O’Rourke but did not rate it given varying interpretations that were possible. The quote: “Black men, unarmed, black teenagers, unarmed, and black children, unarmed, are being killed at a frightening level right now, including by members of law enforcement without accountability and without justice.”

Cruz's dignity and President Trump
During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump attacked Cruz viciously, suggesting that Cruz’s father had been involved in the assassination of President John Kennedy and tweeting an unflattering photograph of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, and threatening to “spill the beans” on her.

How did Cruz, who later endorsed Trump and praised him, respond to critics who said he had lost his dignity.

Cruz called his father his hero and his wife his best friend and the most beautiful woman on the planet.

After the election, he faced a choice and decided to work with the president on cutting taxes and regulations and creating new jobs.

“So yes, I could have chosen to make it about myself, to be selfish and say, ‘You know what, my feelings are hurt so I’m going to take my marbles and go home.’ But I think that would have been not doing the job I was elected to do.”

O’Rourke said that how Cruz responded when the president attacked him personally was his business. But the congressman also raised allegations that Trump had colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election and said he had attacked the country’s institutions.

“We need a U.S. senator who will stand up to this president, “ O’Rourke said.

“True to Form”
When the men were asked what they admired about their opponent, O’Rourke said he knew how hard Cruz worked, the time he had spent away from his children and the sacrifices he had made. He said he had no question that despite their differences, Cruz wanted to do the best for America.

“So I thank you Sen. Cruz for your public service,” O’Rourke said.

Cruz agreed that the time away from their children was a sacrifice for both men and that O’Rourke was passionate, energetic and believed in what he was fighting for. Then Cruz compared O’Rourke to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who he said advocated socialism, higher taxes and expanding government.

“You’re fighting for the principles you believe in and I respect that,” Cruz said.

“True to form,” O’Rourke responded.

“Thoughts and prayers”
The men clashed over how to protect students from shootings in school, both referring to the killings at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas, in May.

Cruz called for more armed police officers in school, and rejected any new gun control measures.

“There is something deeply wrong that we have these shootings. There are a lot of things behind it that have nothing to do with government. They have things to do with things like removing God from the public square, like losing the moral foundation of much of our society, like losing the binds of community and family.”

O’Rourke argued that bringing a firearm into a classroom would not make students safer.

“Thoughts and prayers, Sen. Cruz, are just not going to cut it anymore,” he said. “The people of Texas, the children of Texas, deserve action.”

“More armed police officers in our schools is not thoughts and prayers,” Cruz answered. “I”m sorry you don’t like thoughts and prayers. I will pray for anyone in harm’s way but I also will do something about it.”

Differing Views on Drugs
On drugs, Cruz said that O’Rourke, while on the El Paso City Council, had called for a national debate on legalizing all narcotics, including heroin and cocaine.

“There is consistent pattern when it comes to drug use that in almost every single instance Congressman O’Rourke supports more of it,” Cruz said.

Cruz said that the issue was personal; his older sister died of a drug overdoes.

O’Rourke, who was arrested for drunken driving in 1998, said that he wanted to end the war on drugs and to end the prohibition on marijuana.

“To be clear, I don’t want to legalize heroin and cocaine and fentanyl,” he said.

Two brothers, one an NYPD cop and the other an FDNY EMT, responded to the same call for a woman in labor in Times Square and together helped deliver her baby.

NYPD officer Yan Poon was among the first cops responding to the 911 call from a hotel on West 43rd Street just after 12:30 p.m., according to police. In the room, he and officers Zhan Ren and Nicole Davis found Kristen Smith and her 35-year-old wife, Heather Smith, who was in active labor.

"When we got to the scene, it was a little chaotic, and I knew I needed to be the one to keep everyone calm," Poon said in a statement. "I instructed her to breathe and push." 

By the time EMS arrived, Heather Smith had given birth. 

"We arrived on scene, and I saw my brother in the hotel room with the patient," said EMT Yan Hao Poon. "The baby was already out, so my brother and I went to work assessing both patients, keeping the baby warm and providing oxygen." 

The brothers both work out of the Times Square area, and they happened to be working the same shift Friday: "We end up on the same call at least once a week," said officer Poon. 

Officer Poon went in the ambulance with the Smiths and their new baby, and all three are doing well at the hospital, according to the FDNY. 

"The FDNY would like to congratulate Heather and Kristen Smith on the birth of their baby, Jackson," they said. 

A press adviser helping lead the Senate Judiciary Committee’s response to a sexual assault allegation against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has stepped down amid evidence he was fired from a previous political job in part because of a sexual harassment allegation against him. 

Garrett Ventry, 29, who served as a communications aide to the committee chaired by Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, had been helping coordinate the majority party's messaging in the wake of Christine Blasey Ford’s claim that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her 36 years ago at a high school party. In a response to NBC News, Ventry denied any past "allegations of misconduct." 

After NBC News raised questions about Ventry's employment history and the sexual assault allegation against him, Judiciary Committee Spokesman Taylor Foy replied in a statement: "While (Ventry) strongly denies allegations of wrongdoing, he decided to resign to avoid causing any distraction from the work of the committee." 

Republicans familiar with the situation had been concerned that Ventry, because of his history, could not lead an effective communications response.

A diver was found unresponsive at West Hill Pond in New Hartford Saturday.

Connecticut State Police said they were called for a diver in distress around 9:10 a.m. The victim was unresponsive when crews arrived and taken to the hospital via LifeStar.

The victim’s condition was not immediately clear.

The incident remains under investigation.

An Oakdale man was killed in a crash following a police pursuit in Montville Friday night.

Connecticut State Police said 48-year-old Judd Moyer was driving a 1993 Geo Prizm when he was involved in a crash with another vehicle in the Turnpike Café LLC parking lot in Montville. According to police, Moyer took off from that scene, and was driving on Raymond Hill Road near Sarah Drive when his car went off the road, rolled over into a ditch and hit a tree.

Moyer was extricated from the vehicle and rushed to Backus Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

State Police are investigating the crash. Anyone who witnessed the crash or the moments before is asked to contact Trooper Joseph Hayward at 203-630-8085.

A man has died after being shot in the head in Waterbury earlier this week.

Waterbury Police Deputy Chief Fernando Spagnolo confirmed Jesus Bryant was shot Wednesday afternoon on Catherine Avenue. On Saturday, he died of his injuries.

Investigators believe the shooting is gang-related. The investigation is ongoing.

Another shooting happened on Ridgewood Street the same day. A 22-year-old woman was shot in the stomach. She is expected to survive. 

East Haven police looking into whether card skimming devices were placed on pumps at a local gas station after multiple reports of fraudulent credit card activity after card users visited the business.

Police confirmed they’ve received multiple complaints after visits to Express Fuel on Saltonstall Parkway. Investigators believe a skimmer device was placed on gas pumps at the station, but upon a search officers did not find any external devices on the pumps.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone concerned about fraudulent activity on a credit or debit card should contact their bank or credit card company.

Some South Florida heroes reunited with their families Saturday after helping the victims of Hurricane Florence in the Carolinas.

There were signs, balloons and yelling as the lights and sirens pulled up to the Miami Fire Rescue building. Then came the emotional embraces. The families were reunited after almost two weeks apart.

“I’m going to eat some food with my girls. I left them right before we had to go to dinner like two weeks ago and I still owe them dinner,” said Capt. Miguel Ferrer, a first responder.

Ronnie Lindsay hugged his son a little bit harder after rescuing am other whose baby died while they tried to escape the rising flood waters.

“She lost her son in the current,” said Lindsay. “It was a very emotional moment for the entire team.”

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez was there to welcome the team back home.

“To me, they are heroes,” said Suarez.

For many, he said this was not their first disaster. Some of them were in Puerto Rico for Hurricane Maria around the same time last year.

“They put their life on the line, they have specialized skills, they help save lives,” said Suarez.