A member of the United States military was killed in Afghanistan Thursday, NATO's mission in the country announced.

The service member was part of the NATO Resolute Support mission, and the incident in which they died is under investigation. Their name is being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.

"We mourn and honor the sacrifice of our service member," said Gen. Scott Miller, commander of Resolute Support and United States Forces Afghanistan.

Resolute Support is a NATO-led mission to train, assist and advise Afghanistan's national security forces. It involves about 16,000 service members from 39 NATO allies and partners, including the U.S.

Last month, a U.S. service member was killed in Afghanistan in an apparent insider attack that wounded another member of the U.S. military.

Fire broke out at a trash and recycling facility in Stamford early Thursday morning.

The fire department said the fire broke out around 3:18 a.m. in a large pile of refuse the City Carting and Recycling facility, which located at 61 Taylor Reed Place in the Glenbrook section of the city.

Firefighters responded at 3:22 a.m. and found a large pile of refuse burning within the transfer facility.

Officials said the building was unoccupied at the time, but it was almost filled to capacity with refuse to be transferred to a refuse to energy facility.

The fire was under control at 4:49 a.m. It does not appear the facility or equipment were destroyed an on injuries are reported, according to the fire department. 

The city fire marshal’s office will investigate the cause of the fire.

There is a police presence in the area of Mixville Road and Marion Avenue in Cheshire. 

Cheshire police referred all inquiries to Connecticut state police. 

NBC Connecticut reached out to state police, but there was no immediate answer. 

Check back for updates.

LifeStar has responded to Vernon after a tree fell on a logger on Fish and Game Road in the area of the Rockville Fish and Game Club.

Police said the logger called 911 around 10:15 a.m. and said he was injured.

Initial reports were that the person was trapped, but crews who arrived at the scene found he was freed.

Crews are working on getting the man out of the wooded area. 

The man potentially has serious injuries, police said. LifeStar will transport the man from the scene.

Pennsylvania's newly drawn 1st Congressional District, just north of Philadelphia, is nearly evenly split between Democratic and Republican voters. It's the kind of place where a moderate congressman like Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick has, in the past, appealed to centrist voters of both parties.

But Fitzpatrick's vote in favor of the President Donald Trump's tax cut last winter didn't sit well with Jerry Middlemiss, a moderate Democrat from Yardley, the kind of voter he'll need to win over to eke out a win this November.

"I'm not pleased about that," said the semi-retired school counselor.

Fitzpatrick, a freshman member of the House, is well-liked enough in this district, whose partisan balance was spared despite a major redistricting that tilted other districts nearby and in the rest of Pennsylvania to the left. But he faces what many Republican incumbents across the country must deal with this year: independent voters and die-hard Democrats together eager for Congress to act as a check against the Trump administration.

This article, part 1 in a series, examines one of the key battleground races for control of the House of Representatives in the Nov. 6 midterm elections. Carried by grassroots momentum, Democrats must take 23 seats from Republicans to win the balance of power. They are contending with Republicans' experience, organization and an outspoken but polarizing president.

Middlemiss doesn't yet know much about Scott Wallace, the Democrat challenging Fitzpatrick, but he believes America should push the reset button on Congress.

"If you are opposed to the current administration and the way the government has been run, you may want to make a change," Middlemiss said. "The more Democrats you can get in to balance out what's going on, I would do that."

Voters' desire for change in Washington could be enough to swing the district for Wallace, 66, a first-time candidate but longtime funder of progressive policies and organizations.

In Wallace, the Democrats have a wealthy, self-funded grandson of a former vice president to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Wallace has worked as a lawyer and member of his family's powerful nonprofit, the Wallace Global Fund, whose mission is "to promote an informed and engaged citizenry, to fight injustice and to protect" the environment.

The family connection could also doom his chances in November, if Fitzpatrick is able to persuade voters that Wallace is too liberal for the centrist district.

The Global Fund, which has more than $110 million and funds dozens of liberal groups each year, has been the focus of Republican television ads for weeks already. 

One ad, paid for by the political action arm of the Republican National Congressional Committee, described Wallace as pro-population control and eager to tax families of five or more people, based on funding the Wallace charity handed out before the candidate became a board member. Another ad claims Wallace is anti-police because his charity gave to liberal news organization Democracy Now!, which has occasionally reported on convicted cop-killer Mumia Abu Jamal.

The claims in both ads have been rated as either "false" or "misleading" by media fact checkers. Still, they continue to air in the Philadelphia media market. Meanwhile, Fitzpatrick has slammed Wallace as too rich to represent the district's interests.

"My opponent is the most far-left extremist candidate that's ever run for office in this district," Fitzpatrick said in an interview with NBC10 Philadelphia. "Having been in Congress for a year and a half, I can tell you we have too many partisan ideologues and too many multimillionaires. Scott Wallace is both."

Wallace disputes that his politics are anything beyond progressive and said he's surprised Fitzpatrick went down the path of "mudslinging."

He's since begun running ads as well, promising to bring change to Washington, D.C., and reverse the national debt accrued by the Republican tax cuts.

"Any candidate expects their life's work to be put under a microscope, and yes, our foundation has been about three progressive issues: climate change, democracy and women's empowerment," Wallace said in an interview. "What I didn't expect and what has astonished me is that people would take our record, and distort it, and turn it into lies and in such bizarre ways."

Fitzpatrick, for his part, survived criticism two years ago when Democrats accused the former FBI agent of taking advantage of his family name by running for the congressional seat. His older brother, Mike, was the outgoing congressman representing the region; Brian won the election by 9 points.

Fitzpatrick cites his lifelong connection to the district and touts his freshman legislative record as proof that he represents the type of moderate approach to government that his constituents want.

Redistricting in Pennsylvania significantly changed the political landscape for many incumbents when the state Supreme Court remapped the state's 18 congressional districts this year, but Fitzpatrick's constituency remained nearly the same. His district changed in name, from the 8th District to the 1st, but only a small portion of its boundary shifted: a slice of Montgomery County to the west of Bucks County swapped for another slice.

While the remapping made Democrats far more competitive in some areas, especially in the Philadelphia suburbs, Fitzpatrick's district remained very diverse in its makeup of Republicans and Democrats, affluent and blue-collar workers, suburban homes and small farms.

"It's the most amazing place on the planet," Fitzpatrick said. "We're a microcosm of America."

Fitzpatrick points to centrist legislation he helped usher into law, including the Interdict Act, which gives border agents stronger technology to stop opioids from crossing the border, and the Children of Fallen Heroes Act, which provides educational support for kids of fallen first responders.

But he has also voted in line with Republicans on the biggest conservative agenda items of the last two years, Wallace argues, including the Trump tax cuts. In June, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll found that registered voters were less likely to support a candidate who backed the bill.

Both candidates had near identical campaign cash on hand as of the last required federal filings June 30: $1.7 million for Wallace and $1.65 million for Fitzpatrick. But Wallace had spent some $3.6 million compared to $800,000 for Fitzpatrick in the three months before. (The next Federal Election Commission reports won't be published for two weeks.)

Outside groups have tilted the other way, pouring more than $2 million to oppose Wallace and $430,000 to support Fitzpatrick, at least an order of magnitude greater than the outside support Wallace has gotten, according to ProPublica's election data tracker.

The only independent public poll for the race, conducted in May and released June 4 by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, found what most people expected — a negligible one-point spread between Fitzpatrick and Wallace.

Charlie Gerow, a Republican political consultant well-versed in Pennsylvania politics, told NBC10 in August that confidence among Republican strategists remained high for Fitzpatrick to hold onto the seat. But he said the party would likely see a net loss of seats overall in the state.

In a sign of angst for many Republicans, Gerow said that despite optimism for Fitzpatrick's chances, the race was proving "more of a tussle than he would like." 

The race has become a virtual dead heat as it heads into the home stretch, according to the Cook Political Report, which moved the district from "Lean Republican" to "Toss-Up" in late September.

In changing the Fitzpatrick-Wallace showdown to that "who knows" designation, the political website's House editor, David Wasserman, wrote: "Both parties are seeing Republicans' numbers continuing to erode in professional suburbs, and some in the GOP fear they still haven't hit rock bottom."

To Wallace, the district is a must-win if Democrats hope to win the House, and that's why he decided to leave philanthropic life and run to win it.

"There's a reason you're seeing vast amounts of money from super PACs outside [supporting Fitzpatrick]. They know what we know. Whoever wins this district wins the House," he said.

No, Snapcrap isn't a weird bathroom parody of Snapchat.

The new app released on Tuesday to iOS users is trying to help clean up the dirty streets of San Francisco, according to its developer Sean Miller, a San Francisco engineer who moved from Vermont to South of Market in 2017 and immediately took notice to the feces, needles and trash cluttering walkways.

Miller says he didn't know anyone when he moved to the city to work for Plivo, so he decided to move into a communal living space, The Negev, on the "somewhat notoriously filthy" 6th Street in SoMa.

That's when he got the idea for Snapcrap.

"A lot of people at the house would joke about the situation because it's obviously a bit comical, but we also realized it's a really serious problem and frankly it's a health hazard," Miller told NBC Bay Area.

The new app lets users snap a photo of the area in San Francisco that needs to be cleaned up, and then sends a report to the city's 311 hotline.

While the city has its own app that allows users to request sidewalk cleaning and report other defects like manhole covers, graffiti and tree maintenance, Miller says the SF311 app isn't a good experience. 

"It takes so many clicks to actually submit a ticket. We wanted to build a simple mobile app that would simplify the process and remove as much friction as possible," Miller said.

A spokesperson for the City of San Francisco's Public Works Department, Rachel Gordon, says the city's SF311 app already has all the key features but the city has taken a look at the Snapcrap app after it was brought to department's attention.

Miller said he put the Snapcrap idea on the back burner for over a year, but he's finally had enough and wanted to help.

NBC Bay Area found that the city’s 311 system received a dramatic increase in the number of complaints concerning a lack of cleanliness across the city. Complaints about trash increased 40 percent, human waste complaints swelled 96 percent, and complaints concerning used drug needles spiked 228 percent.

"A couple months ago I was still getting really frustrated seeing this stuff everyday and hearing people complain about it that I just decided to build the damn thing. I figured that if myself and all of my friends and housemates wanted it there must be a bunch of other people that would find value in it as well," Miller continued.

Miller designed the app to open straight to the camera, allowing users to quickly snap a photo of the area and automatically grab their location and autofills the rest of the 311 ticket form.

"I see poop" is one of the random automated comments that Miller designed to fill out the required comment section on the city's form. He said he wanted to make reporting public health issues fun for the community.

"The app is extremely basic right now, but I plan to add a bunch of other features soon. I think a crap map would be pretty funny," Miller said.

Miller says he also plans to put Snapcrap on Google Play store for Android users in the future.

Snapcrap is not affiliated with Snapchat and NBC Bay Area has reached out to Snapchat for comment due to the similarity in the app design. 

"Snapcrap" app developer hopes to help clean up San Francisco streets. https://t.co/K5cGAmAg6e @kintarasu reports pic.twitter.com/Hf3VHKUX4U

— NBC Bay Area (@nbcbayarea) October 3, 2018

A former City of New Haven employee terminated in August for allegedly misusing a city credit card turned herself in to police Thursday morning, according to Chief Anthony Campbell.

Police obtained a warrant to arrest Bianca Bowles on second-degree larceny charges, Campbell said.

A former aide to Mayor Toni Harp, Bowles had worked as a Youth Services administrative assistant when an internal investigation found more than $11,000 in unauthorized charges on the city credit card. 

City spokesman Laurence Grotheer said Bowles was fired within a day of the credit card charges being discovered on August 21. Most of the expenses were connected with room and board at a local motel, Grotheer said.  He said city officials have fully cooperated with the police investigation. 

The National Weather Service investigated the cause of storm damage in Mansfield Tuesday and determined it was an EF0 tornado.

The National Weather Service report said “trees came down in a very chaotic pattern” from the area just west of Storrs Road, or Route 195, between Cemetery Road and Bassetts Bridge Road and the tornado continued east-northeastward across Cemetery Road and ended just to the east of the southernmost portion of Echo Road.

Several shingles were blown off of a roof on Storrs Road and they were found around 500 yards away, according to the National Weather Service.

A resident in the area reported seeing a swirling mass of leaves and sticks.

There have been eight tornadoes in Connecticut this year, making it one of the most active years for tornadoes on record.

Police are looking for the man who they say stole more than $200 worth of lottery tickets in Wolcott and they said he was partially disguised in a wig.

The man went into Petro Pats gas station at 690 Wolcott Road and asked the clerk for what amounted to $210 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets and a pack of cigarettes. 

The clerk had the lottery tickets and was getting the cigarettes when the man snatched the tickets from her and ran out of the store to a white Nissan Sentra, then went south on Wolcott Road, police said.

It happened around 10:41 a.m. and police are looking for a 5-feet-6-inch-tall man seen in a long black wig, a gray hooded sweatshirt, dark jeans and black sneakers. 

The license plate on the Nissan was A175951.

Anyone who recognizes the man or car should call the Wolcott Police Detective Bureau, 203-879-1414.

A Hartford man who police said is on the sex offender registry is accused of grabbing a girl’s groin Wednesday night and has been arrested. 

Police said the girl was walking on Main Street when 42-year-old Carey Santiago, of Hartford, reached out and grabbed her groin area at 8:12 p.m. 

The girl screamed and her family came to check on her. 

Police said they found Santiago in a hallway on Main Street and has been charged with fourth-degree sexual assault 4 and risk of injury to a minor.

Santiago is on probation and on the sex offender registry, according to Hartford police. 

U.S. Capitol Police said 302 people were arrested Thursday for illegally protesting inside Senate office buildings against the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh.

The protesters had originally planned to protest on the Capitol steps. But after police blockaded the steps, protesters headed to the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building.

The vast majority of the arrests — 293 — took place on the Hart atrium floor. Another nine people were arrested for another demonstration on the fourth floor of the adjacent Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Videos posted on social media showed comedian Amy Schumer, who spoke earlier at an anti-Kavanaugh rally, apparently being arrested. Model Emily Ratajkowski said on Twitter that she was also detained and arrested.

Earlier, a crowd of demonstrators chanted and held signs. Some said "I believe Dr. Ford" and "I believe Anita." Other signs quoted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's testimony. "Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter," one poster said, quoting what Ford said haunted her about what she said Kavanaugh and his friend did as teenagers. 

Comedian Amy Schumer attended and was among more than 100 people arrested in the Hart Senate Office Building on Thursday for refusing orders to leave. 

The demonstration publicized online with the hashtag #CancelKavanaugh was set to start at 12:30 p.m. at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, where Kavanaugh is a federal appeals court judge.

The organizers of the Women's March encouraged people to attend, vote and call their senators.

"If there was ever a moment when the voice of the people can come together in concert to change the fate of our nation, this is it," a Party Majority PAC website promoting the event says. "Arm in arm, organized and ready, every child, woman and man, must take to the streets to protest this nomination. The legitimacy of the nation's highest court is at stake as is the future of our country." 

NBC Connecticut is introducing a new weekend morning show, "Face the Facts with Max Reiss." 

The show builds off the desire for more political information this election season.  NBC Connecticut Political Reporter Max Reiss will break down the political stories of the week by cutting through the political talk.

“We’re going to tell you why it’s happening, whose behind it, and why it’s important,” Reiss said.

Joined by veteran journalist Gerry Brooks, the duo will interview newsmakers about the important issues facing our state and provide in-depth analysis and commentary of what matters to you and your family.

“I believe Max is the most dynamic broadcast political reporter in Southern New England, and I’m thrilled to help him get this program off the ground,” Brooks said.

"Face the Facts with Max Reiss" airs Sundays at 11:30 a.m. on NBC Connecticut.

Platt High School in Meriden is dealing with several cases of Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease (HFMD).

Meriden city health officials confirmed five cases of the contagious illness, which is caused by viruses. HFMD usually occurs in infants and children under 5, but can occur in older children and adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the disease is not usually serious, it is easily spread and there is no specific treatment. Most cases clear up in seven to 10 days.

In a letter released to families Wednesday, school officials warned to look out for symptoms, fever, reduced appetite, sore throat, a feeling of being unwell, painful sores in the mouth that usually begin as flat red spots, and a rash of flat red spots that may blister on the palms of the hands, soles of the feet, and sometimes the knees, elbows, buttocks, and/or genital area. Typically, symptoms appear in stages.

Students and families can take precautions including washing hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, avoiding close contact like kissing, hugging, or sharing cups and utensils, and disinfecting surfaces frequently.

An Old Lyme woman who was forced out of her Airbnb rental because of an ant infestation found herself unable to recoup all of her charges until she reached out to NBC Connecticut Responds.

Connie of Old Lyme will tell you, she’s no stranger to renting Airbnb’s. She’s reserved them nearly a dozen times and had good results. But the one Connie rented in August for her son’s wedding was a disaster.

“It was not what we expected,” said Connie.

Connie said she and her family discovered some creepy crawlies inside of a five-bedroom Los Angeles home that creeped her family out.

“They were just everywhere, just thousands and thousands of them,” said Connie.

When Connie and her family arrived late at the home, they woke up the next morning to tiny ants crawling in the bathroom and taking refuge in the bedroom.

“It was traumatic,” added Connie.

She said the house didn’t look anything like the online pictures.

“All of the furniture was stained and old,” said Connie. “She had notes stuck around saying don’t leave food out because she had problems with ants in the past.”

Connie said this is the first time the host had rented her home on Airbnb and there were no reviews listed on the site. Connie told us she contacted the homeowner, who informed Connie that she had recently sprayed for an ant infestation, apologized, and asked Connie to vacate the house that morning.

Connie did and was later reimbursed for the remaining room nights. But Connie said she encountered a problem with trying to get her $466 back for Airbnb’s service fee and occupancy taxes.

After going back and forth with the company for three weeks, Connie turned to NBC Connecticut Responds. An Airbnb spokesperson says the host’s listing is no longer active on our platform and in a statement to Responds, said:

“We expect hosts to provide safe and clean spaces and take reports of hazards or safety issues from guests seriously. We supported this guest by issuing a refund and we issued an additional payment after we became aware that the additional fees were not refunded. We work hard to make sure every guest has a great experience and want to make it right when things don’t go as expected.”

Connie credits Responds with getting the rest of her money back and encourages others to reach out.

“If they have an issue, they should definitely contact you, you worked hard and got our money back,” said Connie.

Some things to remember when booking an Airbnb rental:

• Be sure to read the host’s profile and listing description
• Pay attention to the amenities, house rules and cancellation policy
• Read the ratings and reviews
• Always communicate and make sure to protect your personal information when paying

It could be a year before things get back to normal in East Haddam after the town saw several roads washed out during a torrential rain storm last week.

In total, about 17 miles of roads washed out in the storms, according to an estimate from First Selectman Emmett Lyman.

“It’s like solid water coming at you and the power of water is remarkable," Lyman said.

The estimated cost for all materials is about $2 million and that doesn’t include the cost of labor and construction, he said.

But the question is still where the money is going to come from to repair everything.

“We’re not a rich town,” Lyman said, adding the town is also reaching out to FEMA.

There are already temporary fixes in place to make the road passable, but there is still a lot of work to be done. It could take a full year of work, possibly more, Lyman said.

Plus he and several others are worried more rain could wash away work that’s already been done.

Possibly the hardest hit road was part of Neptune Avenue near the American Legion. Heavy rains last Tuesday completely washed it out.

Lisa Cassenti lives right next to where Neptune Avenue caved in.

“It’s definitely a mess. My kids like walking up that way to get to the center of town and usually when we leave the house that’s the direction,” Cassenti said.

Car rides are a little longer, too, because of mandatory detours.

Liz Lewis’ kids have a narrower bike path now after a small part of Robbie Road also washed out.

“We kind of tell them to stay on this end a little bit or in the front of the house,” Lewis said

Along with infrastructure damage, there was flood damage.

Dan McMahon, director of marketing for Goodspeed Musicals, said there was about 30 inches of rain in the rehearsal studio.

“We lost everything. Two brand new pianos, a refrigerator, all our sound equipment,” McMahon said.

The also filled multiple dumpsters with losses out of the costume shop and library.

While shows are still a “go,” they’re still drying out some spaces and afraid insurance might run dry and not cover all the damage.

The owner of a Plainville automotive shop is accused of running the business without a proper license.

Police arrested 51-year-old Rafael Delgado, who owns Totally RAD Creations at 143 Whiting St., Thursday. Police say the business is not licensed by the state Department of Motor Vehicles or the Town of Plainville. Automotive repair shops require a license in Connecticut.

"The DMV has been working with the Plainville Police Department and confirmed that Totally RAD Creations does not hold a Dealer & Repairer License," said Jim Carson, a DMV spokesperson.

Delgado was charged with operating motor vehicle repair business without a license. He was released on a promise to appear and is due in court on Oct. 22.

Investigators said they are also looking into allegations of fraud at the shop, but no charges have been filed.

The DMV published an online list of licensed repair shops in the state.

One person was killed in a crash on West Cornwall Road in Sharon Wednesday.

Police said it appears the vehicle was traveling west on West Cornwall Road when it struck a rock on the north shoulder near Mount Easter Road around 10:52 p.m.

The vehicle caught fire. Police said they found the severely burned driver still in the seat.

The Office of the State Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy. The victim has not been identified.

A New London man faces an attempted murder charge after a stabbing Thursday afternoon.

Police were called to a stabbing in the area of 25 Brainard Road around 2:15 p.m. When they arrived they found a male victim suffering severe stab wounds. He was rushed to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital for treatment.

Officers and K9 units responded to the scene and arrested 42-year-old Christopher Petteway after a search that prompted school lockdowns.

Petteway was charged with attempted murder, first-degree assault, and violation of a protective order. Investigators say he knew the victim.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the New London Police Department at 860-447-5269 ext. 0 or the New London Tips 411 system by texting NLPDTip plus the information to Tip411 (847411). Tips can be made anonymously.

Here’s a new Rocky matchup for you: It’s Rocky the dog versus the bear!

Pictures snapped by the dog’s owner show the tense moments between a pet and the wild animal in Wolcott.

Animal control says they’ve never seen anything like it in town until now.

“Rocky tackled the bear. The bear was on his back, paws up and Rocky was on top of him,” Wolcott resident Laura Canby explained.

Her 60-pound pit bull named Rocky is nursing some wounds after taking on a several hundred pound black bear.

“I was very scared. He wasn’t listening and coming back. He was too busy protecting me and the girls,” Canby said.

Canby said it all began when she heard the garbage cans bang outside her home yesterday. As she walked out all of a sudden Rocky darted through the yard after a nearby bear, just as the school bus arrived to drop off Canby’s older daughter.

“I freaked out and grabbed a shovel and started yelling at the school bus driver to keep the baby on the bus, don’t let her off,” Canby said.

That driver also called animal control.

“The bus reported that there was a dog and a bear incident going on, situation, and they weren’t comfortable with letting the child off the bus at that point,” Wolcott Animal Control Officer Roslyn Nenninger said.

Nenninger and police raced over, and the bear and dog eventually broke it off.

“DEEP just advised to let the bear go, leave it alone. And that the bear felt threatened, the dog was threatened. It’s pretty much an isolated incident at this time,” Nenninger said.

Rocky suffered some scratches and needed one staple and a rabies booster.

“It could have been a lot worse. We’re very lucky,” Canby said.

Canby plans to better secure her garbage. Animal experts say that’s a good idea, and recommend putting it in a garage if you can. This time of the year bears are scrounging for food before winter.

Several students suffered minor injuries when an antifreeze issue filled a bus with smoke in East Haven Thursday night.

According to a post on the East Have High School Yellowjackets page, the girls volleyball team was on the bus traveling up the hill to East Haven High School when the issue occurred.

The team evacuated through the back of the bus and the fire department responded.

Several students were treated for minor injuries from the anti-freeze. No serious injuries have been reported.