Teri Lee Wedderspoon of Suffield said when she took over as her mother’s caretaker, it was tougher than she expected to cancel the Life Alert policy they no longer needed.

Wedderspoon said her mom signed up for the Life Alert Emergency Response system along with a monthly service subscription while living with Wedderspoon’s sister.

“Mom was alone all day long. She absolutely needed to have the Life Alert system,” Wedderspoon said.

But after Alice fell and broke a hip, Wedderspoon said the family decided that it was best for their mom to move into their Suffield home.

“Basically, I’m retired. I can take of my mom 24/7. My husband is retired. We’re home. We don’t need the Life Alert system anymore,” said Wedderspoon.

Wedderspoon called Life Alert and explained the situation and stated that she wanted to return the system and cancel the contract.

“They wouldn’t return it. They basically said you signed a contract, we’re not going to take it back,” said Wedderspoon.

Wedderspoon said she contacted the company again and reached a manager who agreed to cancel the third year of the contract. But Wedderspoon disagreed.

“I said not good enough,” added Wedderspoon.

Wedderspoon called a third time and the company indicated that it would cancel another six months of the contract.

“I said six months still is not good. I simply want to return the equipment to you and want you to stop charging my mom’s credit card,” said Wedderspoon.

According to Life Alert, Wedderspoon’s mom signed a three-year contract and Wedderspoon says the company told her the only way she could cancel the contract is if her mother died or if she resides in a nursing home.

“I got an 85-year-old woman here. She’s deaf. She’s blind. She’s got a broken hip can’t you help me out here?” said Wedderspoon.

Wedderspoon refused to back down and reached out to NBC Connecticut Responds for help. When we reached the company they told us in a statement:

“The cancellation terms are stated in the agreement. One of the ways that the agreement can be canceled is to provide a letter from the subscriber’s doctor advising us that the subscriber has 24-hour care. I apologize, but this option was not presented to Ms. Wedderspoon when she called to cancel. Upon receipt of said letter, we will cancel the agreement and refund any money charged after the date of her initial call.”

Days later, Wedderspoon said Life Alert picked up the equipment, refunded her mom’s credit card for $99.90 for the two months, and canceled the remaining contract.

“I think NBC was on the ball, they got me more than and I asked for and I’m extremely pleased,” said Wedderspoon.

An NBC News investigation has found that more than 1,000 out of HUD’s nearly 28,000 federally subsidized multifamily properties failed their most recent inspection — a failure rate that is more than 30 percent higher than in 2016, according to an analysis of HUD records.

From his earliest days in office, HUD Secretary Ben Carson has repeatedly said he joined the Trump administration to fix the “rats, roaches, bed bugs, mold, lead and violence” that he witnessed as a surgeon in low-income communities. Under the Trump administration, the number of HUD apartments cited for unsafe, unhealthy and physically deteriorating living conditions has been on the rise.

HUD notes that the vast majority of federally subsidized apartments — more than 96 percent — passed inspection. The department says the recent increase in failing properties is due to changes previously made to strengthen the inspection system. After lawmakers led by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., drew attention to poor conditions in other privately owned Section 8 properties, including some with passing scores, HUD tightened its standards for repairs and for certifying inspectors in 2016. The department is continuing to overhaul the process, according to HUD spokesman Brian Sullivan.

The Cheshire High School PTO will host a presentation Wednesday night to educate parents about the dangers of teen vaping.

"A lot of parents brought up the fact that this vaping was occurring," PTO member Maura Esposito told NBC Connecticut.

Esposito is the Chesprocott Health Director and the mother of two Cheshire High School students.

"I’ve told them I disapprove of it," she said.

The goal of the presentation by a Sacred Heart University nursing student is to inform parents about the health consequences and different types of vaping devices, Esposito said.

"Vaping was sold to the public as a means to help adults curb their smoking habits," Esposito said, "but when you look at flavors like “tootie fruitie” that really doesn’t appeal to the adults so much."

Esposito said she wants parents to know what to look for because without the distinct smell of cigarettes, vaping can be harder to detect.

"When you start showing (parents) what that little device looks like, it looks like a flash drive, parents, it’s not a flash drive it’s a Juul," she said.

E-cigarette company Juul Labs announced it will stop selling flavored pods in stores, but products can still be purchased online.

"So parents need to be monitoring what’s being delivered to the house," Chesprocott Public Health Specialist Kate Glendon said.

Studies have found teens that vape are more likely to start smoking cigarettes, Yale School of Medicine Professor Dr. Deep Camenga said.

"We worked for 30, 40 years to reduce cigarette smoking rates among teens in America and really there’s a huge concern because we may be reversing all those gains we’ve made over the years because of the popularity of vaping," Camenga said.

While some long-term consequences are still unknown, teens exposed to nicotine from vaping are more vulnerable to addiction because their brains are still developing, Camenga said.

"Sometimes we want to be really great friends with our kids," Esposito said, "but ultimately you are the parent and if I know its harmful for them, their brains are still developing and they can think that they’re making the best decision but we know where addiction has led us."

One Juul vaping pod contains the same amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes and some teens report using one pod each day.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to release a detailed plan on how to curb teenage vaping this week.

Michael Avenatti, the attorney representing Stormy Daniels in her legal battle with President Donald Trump, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of domestic violence.

The police report was filed Tuesday by an unidentified victim at a residence on the 10000 block of Santa Monica Boulevard in Century City, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

It was not immediately clear when the alleged incident occurred or what the nature of the charges are. The LAPD tweeted that it was an "ongoing investigation." 

Avenatti was arrested Wednesday, but had not been booked as of 3 p.m. 

A request for comment from Avenatti's Newport Beach office was denied. 

This is a developing story. Refresh for updates. We'll have the latest details live on the NBC4 News at 4.

NBC News Investigations' Andrew Blankstein contributed to this report. 

NBC News reports the United States faces a "crisis of national security" because its historic military supremacy has eroded drastically, leaving it likely unable to fight more than a single war at a time, according to a congressionally chartered report released Wednesday.

"U.S. military superiority is no longer assured and the implications for American interests and American security are severe," said the report, which was issued by the National Defense Strategy Commission, an independent agency whose board is appointed by the House and Senate Armed Services committees.

The report concludes that the Defense Department isn't financially or strategically set up to wage two wars at once and could even lose a war against China or Russia individually.

"The U.S. military could suffer unacceptably high casualties and loss of major capital assets in its next conflict," it said.

Surveillance footage provides a new perspective on a dramatic crash over the summer at a busy auto auction in East Windsor and the actions taken by witnesses that saved lives.

Six people were injured when a driver had a medical emergency and crashed at Southern Auto Auction on South Main Street on Aug. 1.

Police Officer Nicole Devlin was working a private security detail that day when she heard a loud crash and reacted. Her actions resulted in the East Windsor Police Life Saving Award. She said it was a huge effort from everyone that saved several lives that day.

“This incident was very chaotic from the start. There were multiple victims,” explained East Windsor Police Sgt. Matt Carl.

Video shows an out of control black Buick slam into two women, two men, and a van driver before careening across the busy parking lot and coasting to a halt on the other side.

“You could hear a loud crash. Obviously, I didn’t know what happened. But it didn’t sound good, so I tried to get out there as fast as I could,” Devlin said.

Devlin and several others can be seen in the video running across the lot to help. Police say the driver of the Buick was having a heart attack behind the wheel.

“Frank was the one who alerted me to the victim, who looked like he was having a medical condition. So we began the CPR process. Frank was able to go get the AED, apply the AED. Ge did an awesome job. There were many, multiple first responders on scene that also assisted.”

Devlin is talking about Southern’s Security Director Frank Deltoro.

“I let him know I wasn’t able to grab my mic to let our central know I was starting CPR. So, he did an awesome job – he was able to hold the mic down while I did chest compressions. Once more help arrived he went and got the AED and applied the AED. It was a huge team effort. Everyone did a great job.”

East Windsor police acknowledged Devlin with the department’s police lifesaving award.

Department officers said Devlin went above and beyond what’s expected. But Devlin said she doesn’t like being called a hero.

“I’m absolutely not. I would have done what any human being with same training and experience that I have would have done.”

An Ellington man and Manchester hotel owner arrested on attempted sex trafficking charges allegedly had a “sex dungeon” on one of his properties, according to Connecticut State Police.

Simon Hessler, 46, was arrested Tuesday after an undercover investigation into underage human sex trafficking.

Hessler owns and manages the Baymont Inn and Suites in Manchester, police said. According to state police, Hessler tried to pay an undercover trooper to bring an underage victim to his hotel property. According to court documents, Hessler told an undercover trooper that he could house an underage girl in a camper parked behind the hotel. Police said that Hessler intended to have sex with and forcibly restrain that preteen victim.

According to court documents, during conversations with undercover law enforcement Hessler said he had a "dungeon" that he used for "slave training" for young, inexperienced girls. The documents state that Hessler sent pictures of a room with multiple beds with whips and chains and handcuffs on the walls. Hessler also said he'd been doing the "training of slaves" for over 20 years and had customers all over from New York City to Boston, according to the documents.

During a search of Hessler’s properties, investigators reported finding that "sex dungeon" at an address in Vernon that Hessler used as office space.

Hessler was arrested and charged with attempted and conspiracy at tracking in persons, attempted felony patronizing a prostitute, attempted second-degree sexual assault, attempted impairing the morals of a minor, attempted unlawful restraint, attempted cruelty to persons, and attempted promotion of child pornography. He was held on a $1 million bond.

Authorities believe there are other victims. Anyone with information should contact Connecticut State Police at 203-427-4062.

Logging onto your town or city's website can make it easier to get in touch with local leaders, find a polling place, or pay your taxes. NBC Connecticut Investigates found some municipal websites in the state are in need of improvement.

Leslie Hammond of Hartford said she runs into trouble just about every time she visits her hometown's website, Hartford.gov.

"The frustrating thing is you just stop looking because you figure it's not up to date," she said.

A few clicks into the city's website and you will find video clips for "recent" city council meetings. Under the "recent shows" tab, the most recent footage available is from 2016.

Hammond also noted that in the "visitors" section of Hartford.gov, updates about Hartford's golf courses have not been updated in some time.

"It says the course will reopen in May of 2016," said Hammond. "That's pretty typical."

NBC Connecticut Investigates also found outdated and incomplete election information just days before the November 6 midterm election.

The examples may seem small to some, but Hammond sees a bigger problem.

"Transparency, to me, means an up to date webpage," she said.

"Last year, we explored options for overhauling our website, but it wasn't financially feasible at that point. It is something we hope to do in the future," said Thea Montanez, interim chief operating officer for the City of Hartford. "In the meantime, we do our best with an unwieldy website to keep the content up to date, though there's certainly room for improvement there, too," Montanez added.

But change is coming to Connecticut's cyberspace. Cities and towns around the state are realizing they need to go in a digital direction and are redesigning their often-outdated municipal websites in order to make them easier to navigate, more responsive, and more attractive.

"This is the world that we live in," said Hamden Mayor Curt Leng.

He said that a redesign is coming to Hamden.com soon. Leng said the current website can be complicated.

"It gets cluttered," said Leng. "And the more cluttered it gets, the more confusing it is."

The mayor wants residents to be able to conduct most - if not all - of their town business online; from pulling permits to registering kids for camp to creating easy-to-find information about meetings and town events.

"It's convenience for residents and it allows us to do our jobs better," Mayor Leng said.

West Hartford was recently recognized by the California-based Center for Digital Government for the town website's "mobile-first design, improved transparency and integration with social media." The center said the goal of any municipal site should be to make government more accessible and responsive to citizens.

More improvements are on the way to WestHartfordCT.gov in 2019. 

"More online payments, more e-government, more forums, electronic signature and workflow," said Jared Morin, West Hartford's Director of Technology.

Hammond, meanwhile, believes Hartford's digital city hall, like others in Connecticut, needs an overhaul.

"There have been some changes, but for the most part it's still not up to date," said Hammond. "I think it's critical."

Some New London residents are again voicing concerns about coyotes lurking in their yards or near their pets on the south end of the city.

"It’s little bit unnerving because they don’t seem to be frightened of us," said Vickie Videll, who lives on Lower Boulevard.

Coyotes frequent the woods that surround her yard and Videll thinks people need to be on alert.

"That’s a little scary at night or at dusk when they seem to be very active and my motion detector lights are going on all the time," Videll said.

She took a picture over the summer of three coyotes in her backyard and said she called the city about the sighting.

Videll also mentioned recent talks about coyotes on an online neighborhood forum.

Lori Rembetski, who also lives on Lower Boulevard, said these coyotes are bold. She was walking with her dog Tuesday night when she saw one in Videll’s yard. Her dog wanted to chase it and said the coyote just slowly sauntered away. 

"It’s only a matter of time before the coyotes decide that they don’t really care and they’re going to come after him," Rembetski said.

In the last two years there have been at least two reported coyote-related dog deaths, along with other animal attacks in New London.

In April 2017, the city had a wildlife biologist from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection address community concerns.

New London police and Bennie Dover Jackson Middle Schoolers went door to door with informational fliers and lawn signs about coyote safety. 

Police Chief Peter Reichard said their last coyote complaint was made in February of this year.

If it does become a widespread concern, Reichard said police have information on coyote safety on their website and they can re-distribute informational fliers, too.

Several neighbors on Lower Boulevard said they haven’t seen the animals nor are they concerned about it. 

"I don’t think they are after humans. I think they are doing what they do naturally and looking for food," Carol Rogovin.

NBC Connecticut reached out to DEEP. A spokesperson sent information from their website that warns people to never feed coyotes, which includes leaving food out. It also mentions to not let pets run free, especially small pets.

A deteriorating facility and combining emergency resources into one building are two reasons why the Town of East Lyme’s first selectman is asking taxpayers to fund a new public safety building.

First Selectman Mark Nickerson said the town is looking to move the police department from a leased spot on Main Street to the Honeywell property at 227 West Main Street (Route 156).

The project will cost around $6 million to buy the 30,000 square foot office/warehouse building and renovate it. It sits on 17 acres. About $2.8 million would go toward purchasing the space and an estimated $3.2 million would be used toward updating and renovating the building to public safety building standards.

The proposed complex would be the first time the police department—including jails and evidence lockers that are rented from Waterford police—the dispatch center, the fire marshal’s office and the emergency operations center would all be under one roof.

The police department would also be a 24/7 facility, Nickerson said, instead of the lobby closing at night and on the weekends.

"You have a building that has water intrusion on a regular basis, so you have items that are being ruined. That would be records, that would be the armory – a couple of months ago we had water intrusion there," East Lyme Police Chief Michael Finkelstein said. He gave NBC Connecticut video that showed the police station last month with pooled with water on the floor.

The new facility would also provide more avenues for officers to get to different parts of town, Finkelstein said.

Taxpayers would foot the bill through a 20-year bond, Nickerson said. There will be public forums and if it passes several boards and commission, the plan would be up for a referendum vote.

In the last 14 years, two attempts to create a public safety complex failed to gain community support.

“In 2004, a $6.5 million proposal to partner with state and federal organizations to build a multi-purpose facility on the grounds of Camp Niantic did not receive approval from the town's Board of Finance. Four years later, a $14 million complex was rejected by voters at referendum,” according to a press release sent out by the First Selectman’s office.

Hamden is on the hunt for tax cheaters.

The town is looking to catch people who register their cars out-of-state and avoid paying local taxes.

It’s a similar battle other communities in the state have waged, as NBC Connecticut Investigates has revealed.

On the road one thing that leaves drivers fuming is paying car taxes.

“We have one child, one son that already drives. My husband and I. So it’s quite high,” said Nony Hawes of Hamden.

Some car owners complained that they pay more than $1,000 year.

The town wants to crack down on people who avoid local taxes by registering their car out-of-state.

That could add up to hundreds if not thousands of cars.

“Most of it is anecdotal. But I can tell you I see every day vehicles that are registered out of state,” said Mayor Curt Leng (D – Hamden).

Leng admits challenging budget times have left the town trying to snag every cent that is owed.

Now they’re looking to hire a group to find and report any Hamden residents who have a car registered outside of Connecticut.

“The idea of the program is to have everyone pay their fair share and for hopefully the town to bring in a little additional revenue that can offset the mill rate for taxes for everybody,” said Leng.

And that’s something drivers can give the green light to.

“Absolutely, because if they live in Hamden and drive in Hamden they should be paying taxes in Hamden,” said Hawes.

The mayor’s aim is to begin the program at the beginning of next year.

While there has been mixed success in other communities with this, the mayor hopes it will bring in a good amount of money here.

A House committee will hear testimony Thursday from Department of Veterans Affairs officials over delayed GI Bill payments potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of veterans.

NBC News reported Sunday that IT glitches at VA have caused GI Bill benefit payments covering education and housing to be delayed for months or never be delivered, forcing some veterans to face debt or even homelessness.

NBC News learned on Wednesday that one of the key witnesses called to testify from VA was reassigned by the federal agency to a regional office in Houston.

Robert Worley, executive director of Education Service of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), based in Washington, D.C., has been appointed to serve as the executive director of the VBA’s Houston Regional Office, according to two sources close to the VA and an email reviewed by NBC News.

Higher-ups at VA decided to reassign Worley due to the delayed GI Bill payments, as well as other issues within his office, sources said.

The New Jersey couple who became famous for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for a homeless man after he helped with their disabled car — as did the homeless man himself — will all face charges for allegedly providing a false story in order to raise money for themselves, a source familiar with the case told NBC10.

Mark D'Amico, Kate McClure and Johnny Bobbitt will face charges including conspiracy and theft by deception, according to the source.

A complaint obtained by NBC10 alleges that the three conspired with one another to make up a false story in order to raise more than $400,000.

Investigators say the three deliberately prevented donors for their GoFundMe campaign from gaining information "that would affect their judgment about solicited contribution to that fundraising effort."

D'Amico and McClure turned themselves in Wednesday to Burlington County prosecutors, the source said. The source did not confirm whether or not Bobbitt turned himself in as well.

A lawyer for the couple had no comment Thursday. NBC10 has also reached out to a lawyer for Bobbitt for comment.

The three initially gained fame in 2017. The couple claimed Bobbitt used $20 to help McClure get gas when her car ran out on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia. McClure and D'Amico then launched a GoFundMe page to supposedly raise money for Bobbitt, and the page brought in over $400,000 from 14,000 contributors.

At first, the account led to appearances for Bobbitt and McClure on national TV programs. But it turned into a dispute over the money.

Bobbitt accused the couple of dipping into the funds and using them as a "personal piggy bank" to bankroll a lifestyle they couldn't afford.

Bobbitt later sued the couple over mismanagement of the funds and a judge ordered sworn statements to determine what happened to the cash, which Bobbitt's attorney, Chris Fallon, said had disappeared.

The couple denied any wrongdoing and accused Bobbitt of spending $25,000 in less than two weeks last year on drugs as well as paying for overdue legal bills and sending money to family.

The couple's lawyer, Ernest Badway, later said Bobbitt had gotten about $200,000. But Fallon said his client had received only about $75,000.

The couple also bought Bobbitt a camper with some of the cash and parked it on land McClure's family owns in New Jersey. But Bobbitt became homeless again after D'Amico told him in June that he had to leave the property.

In September, police raided the couple's home in Florence, New Jersey, hauling away a new BMW on a flatbed truck. Badway said that all the couple's personal and business financial statements, along with jewelry and cash, were seized in the raid.

At that point, officials said the couple was under investigation, though no charges had been filed.

D'Amico was arrested in September in Burlington County on an unrelated $500 warrant for an October 2017 traffic stop, according to officials. At the time, he was driving on a suspended license and also had a broken tail light. He also failed to appear in court on two separate occassions, according to court records.

North Korea will not be required to provide a complete list of its nuclear weapons and missile sites before a second summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Vice-President Mike Pence told NBC News Thursday. 

The U.S. has pressed the North for information on the entirety of its nuclear operations since an initial agreement for denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula was reached in June. But the Kim regime has refused to provide details of the nation's operations and postponed scheduled meetings with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in New York last week. 

Now, the second summit between the two leaders — slated for after the New Year — will be where a "verifiable plan" to disclose the sites and weapons must be reached, Pence said. 

This week, a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies outlined a number of missile operating bases that the North Koreans have continued to develop since the Trump-Kim summit five months ago.

Firefighters battled a fire at a home on Oakland Terrace in Hartford. 

Officials said no one was hurt and a bus was brought in to keep people warm in freezing cold temperatures.

Trump confidante Roger Stone was told that Hillary Clinton's "campaign will die this week" six days before WikiLeaks began releasing her campaign chairman's emails, according to copies of text messages Stone provided to NBC News.

The message came from Stone's friend, radio host Randy Credico, who told Stone he had insights into WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's plans through Assange's lawyer.

The messages show that Credico appeared to be providing regular updates to Stone on Assange's plans ahead of the release of the hacked emails that changed the trajectory of the 2016 presidential campaign.

Stone is a focus of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, sources have said. Stone has denied colluding with WikiLeaks and said the messages he shared support his claim that his only information on WikiLeaks came from Credico.

Credico told NBC News that the messages don't show he "had any knowledge of anything that Assange was going to do because I didn't."

Police in East Haven have arrested a man accused of a burglary at My Country Store on Main Street in August. 

Police have arrested 56-year-old Dino Francis.

He is suspected of stealing cash from the register and has been charged with burglary in the third degree, larceny in the sixth degree and criminal mischief in the third degree.

NBC Connecticut and Telemundo Connecticut are Connecting You to Joy with coverage of the New Haven Tree lighting.

Come join us on Thursday, Nov. 29th 4 to 8 p.m. as Santa flips the switch to activate thousands of lights on the massive tree at the New Haven Green - 250 Temple St. in New Haven.

Kick off the holiday season with this free festival with a petting zoo, carnival rides, Santa visits, refreshments, live entertainment and more!

NBC Connecticut will also present our Home for the Holiday special at the New Haven tree lighting! If you cannot join us in person, tune in at 7 p.m. and watch it on NBC Connecticut.

A former Connecticut College employee who was accused of embezzling more than $170,000 from the school has pleaded guilty. 

Michael Kmec, 40, of Marlborough, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty Wednesday in Hartford federal court to one count of wire fraud related to an embezzlement scheme, according to the office of John Durham, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Brian Turner, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

Kmec began working at Connecticut College in New London in 2006 and he was promoted in 2014 to director of auxiliary services of the college, overseeing the print shop, bookstore, vending machines, transportation, laundry services and residence halls as well as the Camel Card program, which is an identification and debit card used at the college, according to federal officials. 

They said Kmec’s responsibilities also included overseeing approval of third-party reimbursements for services to the college. 

From 2014 until he was fired in April 2018, Kmec is accused of stealing $173,010 by receiving funds from the college through fraudulent billing, diverting checks to the college to a bank account he controlled, diverting money from the Camel Card program to bank accounts he controlled, misappropriating a college laptop and fraudulently depositing more than 80 reimbursement checks that a contractor for the college had issued to Connecticut College students into a bank account he controlled. 

Kmec is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 12.

A pre-winter storm was being blamed for five deaths as it spread icy conditions on roads in the South and Midwest on Wednesday before it hits the Northeast Thursday, NBC News reported.

Two people were killed and several dozen hurt when a tour bus headed to a casino overturned in Mississippi. In Arkansas, three people died in separate crashes on icy roads, prompting authorities to shut Interstate 40 overnight.

A winter weather advisory covered more than 89 million people up the East Coast from Washington, D.C., as officials prepared for storm damage.

Tens of thousands of people were without power in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.