A Bridgeport church is thankful for the community stepping up after it says thieves stole hundreds of donated toys meant for children.

“As we walked over, we realized this pod was cracked open and there wasn’t a lock on it,” said Pastor Eric Torres, of the Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship.

And that’s when Torres’ heart sunk. Some 800 toys had been stolen from the Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship.

“We were absolutely heartbroken because when you look at these toys, you see the faces of the kids you know are going to retrieve and receive these toys on Christmas,” said Torres.

Torres says one of the thieves was captured in church surveillance video from Saturday morning.

Now about $8,000 worth of toys were gone, just weeks before they were to be given out to deserving families in the Bridgeport area.

“It actually was very disheartening to know that here in this city, we’re serving these kids and these families and someone would try to disrupt that plan,” said Torres.

Quickly, a team sprang into action, carrying the remaining toys into the church for safe keeping.

Then came a bit of a miracle when the city announced it and others would step up to help replace what had been taken.

“It shows that good always triumphs over darkness, over bad,” said Torres.

But not all of Torres’ prayers have been answered.

Even before this weekend, this Toys for Tots drive was behind in reaching a goal of collecting gifts for 6,000 kids.

“It’s a huge endeavor, but it’s one that’s not impossible,” said Torres.

If you’d like to donate, give the church a call at 203-726-3614.

Firefighters are responding to a crash on Route 32 in Willington on Monday morning.

Dispatchers say firefighters are responding to River Road, also known as Route 32, and Schofield Road after a vehicle crashed into a tree.

According to dispatchers, there is an unresponsive person at the scene.

LifeStar was requested, but could not fly due to the weather.

Officials said motorists should expect delays on Route 32, just north of Interstate 84 at exit 70. 

A Windsor Locks woman who is accused of killing her father and possibly living with his body for weeks is expected to appear in court to be arraigned Monday.

Jessica Keene, 24, was taken into custody Friday evening at the Travel Inn Motel in Hartford.

The arrest came days after Windsor Locks police discovered the decomposing body of her 51 year-old father, Michael Keene, hidden inside an apartment on Main Street in Windsor Locks that they shared with others.

Police said they responded to the apartment to investigate after someone else in the apartment reported a foul odor and found Michael Keene, who had been stabbed in the upper neck and torso.

He had been reported missing on Thanksgiving, but was last seen on Nov. 11, police said.

Police had been to the home to take information when they received the initial missing person report but said they did not see anything that indicated a body could be concealed inside.

Jessica Keene was identified as a person of interest early in their investigation and more arrests could be made, police said.

She is being held under $1 million bail and is expected to be arraigned today in Enfield, and then transferred to Hartford Superior Court.

Shelton Police have arrested a man from Torrington, who is accused of possessing child pornography following multiple arrests for sexual assault from earlier this year.

Police arrested 45-year-old Christopher Galvin, of Torrington, on Friday and charged him with illegal possession of child pornography.

Officers said this arrest stems from two arrests in January and April of this year.

According to police, Galvin was arrested and charged with sexual assault after he was accused of having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

During an investigation, detectives said they searched Galvin's cell phone and found naked photographs of the victim at various ages.

He was held on a $10,000 bond and was in court on Friday.

Jenna Bush Hager paid tribute to her late "Gampy," former President George H.W. Bush, in a touching open letter — her grandfather’s favorite form of communication.

In a pre-recorded segment, Hager Bush read her “love letter” to her grandfather on the "Today" show Monday, which was accompanied by a video tribute that included past interviews, never-before-seen family videos and memories shared by those who knew him best.

“My grandfather wrote letters all his life, to his children, his wife, friends, and even political rivals,” Bush Hager said. "He often wrote about love and family. For me, his words have always been a precious gift. All the more so now. It's my turn to write my love letter to my Gampy."

Family was, Hager Bush wrote in her letter, the most important thing in Bush’s life, and credited her grandfather with always making each family member feel adored regardless of "whatever demands were placed on him in his professional life."

Her twin sister Barbara Bush echoed that sentiment. "I’m sure that every one of his grandchildren thinks he loves them the most, he just always makes every person feel so special," Barbara added.

Kymberli Joye, a Windsor native and 2009 graduate of Windsor High School, has made it to the top 10 on NBC’s “The Voice” and the school will hold a special viewing party tonight to support her. 

The 26-year-old Joye performed Whitney Houston's song "Run to You" during the blind auditions, turned three chairs and secured a spot on Team Kelly. 

“That song means a lot me because it talks about running and wanting to be accepted,” Joye told NBC CT Live in October. 

She was a member of the Windsor High School Concert Choir, Chamber Choir, which is now known as the Honors Chorale, Teens of Praise Gospel Choir and Pizazz! Vocal Jazz Ensemble. 

Joye, who is a backup singer, said she had been on tour with Childish Gambino prior to the opportunity on “The Voice.” 

The party will be in the Windsor High School auditorium at 50 Sage Park Road in Windsor.

You can watch "The Voice" tonight at 8 p.m. on NBC Connecticut.

One student at Central Connecticut State University has been diagnosed with bacterial meningitis on Monday.

Late Sunday, the school learned of a student who had recently become seriously ill, and as a precaution, was receiving treatment for a suspected case of bacterial meningitis, according to CCSU President Zulma Toro.

On Monday, the Connecticut Department of Public Health said initial tests confirm the student has bacterial meningitis, however, the exact sub-type is not known.

Officials said they are running tests that will determine the strain and the results are expected within the next 48 hours.

The school said they have contacted any student who may have had close, personal contact with the sick student and they have been given preventative treatment.

"If you suspect that you have developed any symptoms as outlined on the Centers for Disease Control web page, please contact your primary care physician or go to an urgent care center," Toro told students in an email. 

Anyone with questions is encouraged to call CCSU Health Services at (860) 832-1939.

The school emphasized that only one student has bacterial meningitis and it is not an outbreak.

Jenna Bush Hager paid tribute to her late "Gampy," former President George H.W. Bush, in a touching open letter — her grandfather’s favorite form of communication.

In a pre-recorded segment, Hager Bush read her “love letter” to her grandfather on the "Today" show Monday, which was accompanied by a video tribute that included past interviews, never-before-seen family videos and memories shared by those who knew him best.

“My grandfather wrote letters all his life, to his children, his wife, friends and even political rivals,” Bush Hager said. "He often wrote about love and family. For me, his words have always been a precious gift. All the more so now. It's my turn to write my love letter to my Gampy."

Family was the most important thing in Bush’s life, Hager Bush wrote in her letter, crediting her grandfather with always making each family member feel adored regardless of "whatever demands were placed on him in his professional life."

Her twin sister Barbara Bush echoed that sentiment: "I’m sure that every one of his grandchildren thinks he loves them the most, he just always makes every person feel so special."

Indeed, the human resources company that runs the job search website, is expanding in Connecticut, according to the governor’s office.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said the company is planning to add 500 workers in Stamford, which will bring the total number of people the company employs in Connecticut to 1,700.

“This is a global, innovative company that has recognized the benefits that Connecticut brings to the tech industry. We welcome the company’s capital investment in our state and the growth of hundreds of high-quality jobs that will follow,” Malloy said in a statement.

“We continue to invest in Connecticut because this region has helped us deliver on our mission of helping people get jobs since we started here 14 years ago,” Dave O’Neill, Indeed’s Chief Operating Officer, said in a statement. “While we have expanded all over the world since our founding, Stamford continues to be a critical region for our success and we are confident we will continue to find the talent we need to help our business continue its growth.”

The fire marshal is investigating after a fire on Hillside Avenue in Hartford Monday afternoon. 

Fire officials got the call at 12:50 p.m. and said all residents were out by the time firefighters arrived at 351-353 Hillside Ave. 

The fire was under control by 1:30 p.m. and no injuries are reported.

A Florida business’s surveillance camera captured video footage of a small plane exploding into a fireball after it crashed into a building housing a therapy center for children with autism in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend.

Two people on board the plane were killed in Saturday’s crash.

The Cessna 335 had taken off from Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport Saturday afternoon when, moments later, the plane crashed into a building in the 1000 block of Northwest 62nd Street.

Video footage from nearby H & J Electronics International Inc. shows the plane skidding across the parking lot, trailed by heavy smoke, and then erupting into flames upon impact.

Several people, including children, could be seen running out of the building. There were eight adults and five children inside the center at the time of the crash but none were injured.

Officials haven't released the identities of the two who were on the plane. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.

A body has been found on the property in Costa Rica where a missing woman from Miami Beach had been staying, authorities said Monday.

The body was found in the back of the Airbnb property where Carla Stefaniak had been staying, officials with Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department said.

Officials haven't confirmed that the body is Stefaniak but said it is a woman. They said the body had been half buried with plastic bags over it and was discovered by canines in a wooded area.

Stefaniak has been missing for nearly a week after not returning from a vacation in Costa Rica. She was scheduled to return home last Wednesday, but has not been heard from since speaking with her family late Tuesday night.

The 36-year-old who lives in Miami Beach was on a trip with her sister-in-law for Stefaniak’s birthday. Her sister-in-law returned to the United States on Tuesday.

Stefaniak’s brother, Mario Caicedo, drove from Orlando to Miami to speak with FBI agents on the case while other family members have flown to Costa Rica to help in the search.

Mario Caicedo told NBC 6 sister station Telemundo 51 that investigators in Costa Rica believe Stefaniak was kidnapped because she checked in for her flight but never boarded. FBI officials have not confirmed that information.

Stefaniak's father, Carlos Caicedo, was traveling to Costa Rica on Monday. He also believed she had been kidnapped.

"She is kidnapped over there, not disappeared. She was kidnapped," he told Telemundo 51.

Stefaniak, who last posted on her social media page Monday, was staying in San Jose at the time, at the Airbnb Villa Buena Vista.

Hartford police arrested four teens found with a stolen vehicle and a stolen gun near the intersection of Broad Street and Capitol Avenue early Monday, according to police.

Police said officers responded to a report of a vehicle spinning out and hitting a curb, and four people running from the scene around just before 1:30 a.m. Investigators determined the vehicle was stolen during an armed robbery in Wethersfield on Sunday.

Officers located four teenage suspects on Asylum Avenue. Police said they seized two handguns, one of which was reported previously stolen.

The suspects have not been identified due to their ages. A 16-year-old from Hartford, a 15-year-old from Harford and a 16-year-old from Manchester were each charged with possession of a pistol without a permit, theft of a firearm, first-degree larceny, and interfering with police. A fourth teen, a 16-year-old from New Britain, was charged with interfering with police.

Police said it’s possible this case is connected to other crimes in the area. More charges are expected.

Hamden police are trying to identify a driver accused of fleeing police and hitting a pedestrian.

Hamden police said around 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 26, officers responded to the area of Dixwell Avenue and Arch Street for a welfare check after a report of a man sleeping inside a car.

Officers located the man, who was inside a black Nissan Maxima. According to police, when officers tried to speak with the man, he started the vehicle and drove out of the parking lot, hitting a pedestrian as he drove off.

The pedestrian, a 53-year-old Hamden resident, was taken to Yale-New Haven Hospital complaining of pain.

Anyone who recognizes the suspect pictured above is asked to contact the Hamden Police Department at 203-230-4036.

When Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons heard the news about President George H.W. Bush’s passing, he did something he rarely does: put the family flag at half-staff.

It hit close to the heart.

“He played such a significant role in my life at certain points in my life where things weren’t going well,” Simmons said. “When I was in the CIA, things weren’t going well. When I was looking for support for my re-election race in a blue state where Republicans weren’t supposed to win, he came up and helped out.”

It was 2002 and Simmons was running for re-election into the U.S. Congress. Bush’s son, then President George W. Bush, asked his father do to fundraisers for certain candidates, according to Simmons, who found a way to ask Bush's staff if the former president would be willing to speak at a campaign breakfast.

“When it was over I said, ‘Thank you Mr. President and now the Secret Service wants you to go out the side door to catch your plane.’ And he said, ‘But I haven’t had breakfast yet.’ And I went ‘Oh, well! Let’s get you down to the table,’” Simmons recalls.

Bush, at the Mystic Marriot, was eating breakfast with Simmons and his family, whom he agreed to take a photo with, and spoke with Simmons’ constituents.

“Such a model of being so experienced so well educated and so versed in foreign policy and so many issues and yet so down to Earth,” he said of the late president.

Simmons was with the CIA during the time Bush briefly served as director from 1976 to 1977. He credits Bush with boosting morale after the Watergate scandal prompted a series of investigations.

“He was so supportive because here’s a guy who’s a WWII veterans. Here’s a guy who had fought in war and knew the importance of having good intelligence,” Simmons said.

Bush was supportive years later, too, including 1991, when Simmons ran to become a state representative in the Connecticut General Assembly.

“And the next thing I know I got a letter in the mail from the president saying congratulations! It’s unbelievable,” Simmons said.

He has the letter framed in his office.

It says, in part: “With the continued efforts of Republicans like you, I am convinced that we can fulfill our greatest hopes for the United States. Barbara joins me in sending our best wishes and congratulations.”

Simmons actually met Barbara Bush first. The two were studying Chinese at the Foreign Service Institute. Bush was appointed as the U.S. envoy to China. Barbara Bush wanted to make sure she knew the language.

She would often sit with Simmons and his classmates for tea breaks.

After all these years, 41’s example is one Simmons took to heart.

“The way he lived with his family, loved his family, conducted himself in public life, that’s the way I wanted to be too.”

George H.W. Bush began married life with Barbara Bush in New Haven, Conn. while attending Yale University after World War II.

Four decades before leading the United States during the end of the Cold War, the 41st president developed his leadership skills as captain of the Yale baseball team.

Bush passed away less than eight months after his wife. He was 94 years old.

The Bushes first lived in an apartment on Chapel Street next to what is now The Study hotel, according to Yale Library’s Chief Research Archivist Judith Schiff.

But when the landlord found out she was expecting a child, they had to move to the corner of Whitney Avenue and Edwards Street.

"This is where they started their family," Schiff told NBC Connecticut. "George W. was born in the New Haven hospital in July 1946."

The third and final known address for H.W. Bush in New Haven is 37 Hillhouse Ave., next door to the Yale president’s home. The Bushes lived there with at least 10 other couples and their children, Schiff said.

The former president played first base for the Yale baseball team. He competed in the first two College World Series and served as captain during his senior year.

At Yale Field on June 5, 1948, Babe Ruth presented Bush with the original copy of his autobiography for the Yale library. Ruth passed away two months later.

"That's an iconic photograph because here you have the most famous baseball player in the United States next to the captain of the Yale baseball team who was also a decorated war hero," Schiff said.

Current Yale baseball captain Simon Whiteman met the former president during a the opening series of his freshman year at Texas A&M.

"One of the games it was in honor of him, so he threw out the first pitch," Whiteman said.

The team also took a trip to Kennebunkport, Maine after winning a school record 34 games in 2017.

"The trip to A&M was very planned and the trip to Kennebunkport was not,” Whiteman recalled. “It was like a spur of the moment, they send us an invite of course drop everything to go."

It was the late First Lady’s last birthday.

"We sang happy birthday to her," Whiteman said. “She enjoyed, she thanked us very much, later on she wrote us a little note thanking us even though we sang off key."

New Haven attorney Mark Shiffrin worked on the 1988 Bush campaign in Connecticut and New Hampshire.

"(He) left a great legacy of accomplishment in foreign and domestic policy," Shiffrin said.

Wearing a pin from the inauguration, Shiffrin said serving under the 41st president during the transition and administration is one of the greatest honors of his life.

"He expected those who worked for him to remember this wasn’t about us," he said. “This was about America and this was about everyone who was being served and that’s a very old-fashioned value.”

George H.W. Bush is one of five Yale graduates to serve as president of the United States. He was defeated in 1992 after his one term by Bill Clinton, who went to Yale Law School.

“He set an example of dignified service to this country that will continue to inspire future generations at Yale,” Yale President Peter Salovey said in a statement.

If the national economy goes on a downward trend over the next year, Connecticut is not likely to have enough money to cover unemployment benefits from those making existing claims, or filing for the first time.

The warning came from the Connecticut Department of Labor for the incoming Lamont administration, which will take office in January.

Labor and business advocates, who help to advise the department when it comes to labor and unemployment issues, both agree that the Unemployment Trust Fund is approaching insolvency, but they disagree on how to solve the problem.

“It just hasn’t kept pace with the increase in wages,” said Sue Garten, with Greater Hartford Legal Aid, who points out that the taxes employers pay which fund benefits haven’t been adjusted since 1999.

“If it had been indexed to the increase in wages, it would be at about $23,000 now, so it needs to be raised to a healthy and sustainable level so that the unemployment trust fund can fulfill its mission of providing a stabilizing function when unemployment rises,” Garten said.

Unemployment benefits are paid by employers, and those employers argue that many of the people receiving benefits shouldn’t be eligible to begin with, because they have only met the lowest possible threshold of $600 in income for the year, a figure not adjusted since 1968. Other states range from $2,000 to $5,000.

“There need to be significant structural reforms if we’re going to find solvency in this program,” said Eric Gjede, vice president of government affairs for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association. CBIA, the group that represents large and small businesses in the state, wants to see that income threshold increased, to ensure the benefits are spent wisely.

If the state does not have enough money to cover unemployment benefits, then it must take out a loan from the federal government to cover those payments.

That’s something Gjede says would be terrible for employers because they would be left funding the issue for the state, when the state would not make changes to the program to keep it solvent.

“It’s absolutely devastating to the employer community because as the state takes the loan, it’s only businesses that are paying it back,” Gjede said. “The state doesn’t pay a single dollar for unemployment compensation in this state so it’s just businesses in this state keeping this trust fund alive, so that’s why want to be a big part of this solution.”

A spokeswoman for the Connecticut Department of Labor told NBC Connecticut that the department is looking at multiple ways to shore up the fund, which currently sits at about $600 million, but needs to be closer to $1.7 billion in order to be solvent, projections show.

The Employment Security Advisory Board, of which Sue Garten is a member, recommended increasing the taxable wage base on employers and changing the eligible income to $1,000 from $600.

Garten says the higher tax on employers would be the fairest option.

“It makes much more sense to make the systemic change now so then employers have to pay less later,” she said.

Connecticut lawmakers have been warned in recent years that they have to act soon. The General Assembly has to make any changes to unemployment benefits, and then Governor-Elect Ned Lamont would have to sign them into law.

Scott's Farm Store off Middlesex Turnpike in Old Saybrook is a place families come year after year to pick up holiday decorations.

But when workers came to the store Saturday morning, they knew something was wrong. They saw wreaths and other items on the ground.

"It was obvious something had happened overnight," said Scott's Farm Store manager Monica Carlson.

Surveillance video from Friday night into early Saturday morning confirmed what workers feared. It shows someone ride up on a moped and walk in front of the shop for several minutes, sometimes appearing to talk on a phone. About 10 minutes later, cameras show the first wreath taken. As the minutes pass, a man with his face covered casually takes wreaths away, one at a time. Police say a total of 13 were stolen that night, costing the store about $1,000.

"That's a big hit for a small business like this," said Carlson.

Carlson says this time of year is important for the store. For nearly 40 years, the shop has been a part of the Old Saybrook community.

"It's kind of like a tradition," said Old Saybrook resident John Costigan. "We usually come here every year."

For seven years Costigan says he's been coming to Scott's Farm Store to get his Christmas tree, and he was surprised to learn someone decided to steal from the shop.

Workers say the holiday wreaths are made by hand. They hope someone recognizes the person on camera.

"It's heartbreaking because you put so much time and effort into it. And the customers enjoy it so much. You're taking away not only from the family business but the customer's enjoyment.

Workers say they've made changes to security to try and prevent this from happening again. If you recognize the suspect, Old Saybrook police would like to hear from you.

Several popular brands of dry dog food have up to 70 times the safe levels of vitamin D and could kill dogs who eat them, the Food and Drug Administration warned Monday.

“Excess vitamin D in the diet can cause vomiting, loss of appetite, increased thirst, increased urination, excessive drooling and weight loss. Vitamin D at toxic levels can cause kidney failure and death. Pet owners whose dogs have been eating the recalled brands and are showing these symptoms should contact their veterinarians.”

The makers of at least 11 different dog food brands are recalling their products. The full list is available on the FDA website. Recalled brands include Nutrisca, Natural Life, Evolve, Sportsman’s Pride, Abound (sold at Kroger), and Nature’s Promise (sold at Giant and Stop & Shop), as well as others.

All the brands buy their products from the same manufacturer. “Pet owners should discontinue feeding these recalled products,” the FDA said. “At this time, the only pet products that have been impacted are food made for dogs.”

I-395 is closed in Montville after a police pursuit that ended in a crash, according to state police.

Police said the chase started when troopers attempted to stop a vehicle on I-395 north and the vehicle took off. Police deployed stop sticks, and when the vehicle swerved to avoid them, it crashed into a tree.

The driver and a passenger were taken to the hospital with unknown injuries.

The northbound side of the highway is closed between exits 6 and 9.

The crash remains under investigation. No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.