Police are investigating after an officer-involved shooting in Hartford early Tuesday morning.

Officers said they tried to make a traffic stop at South Whitney Street and Capitol Avenue shortly after midnight when a person got out of the vehicle and started firing at police during a chase on foot.

"Either an operator or a passenger got out of the vehicle, engaged officers in a foot pursuit. An exchange of gunfire did occur at that time," said Hartford Police Lt. Paul Cicero.

Police said one or both officers returned fire at the suspect and hit the suspect several times. According to Connecticut State Police, the suspect was hit in the leg several times and is critical condition.

The officers involved were also taken to the hospital, but police said they were not hit by gunfire.

Police said the vehicle that the suspect got out of took off and officers are currently searching it. Officers believe it may be a gray four-door vehicle. Investigators said there were at least two people inside of the vehicle.

A gun, shell casings and a magazine have been recovered.

Connecticut State Police is leading the investigation and Hartford Internal Affairs and Major Crimes are also involved.

As she was honored as the world's best female player on Monday night, Norwegian soccer star Ada Hegerberg was subsequently asked if she would twerk on stage, NBC News reported. 

Hegerberg, who received the inaugural Women's Ballon d’Or at a ceremony in Paris, was presented the award by DJ Martin Solveig. He asked Hegerberg if she would twerk, to which she replied, "No." He then asked her to dance to Frank Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon" and the pair danced together briefly.  

Solveig received swift backlash for the question, and later apologized. “I’m a little amazed and astonished by what I’m reading on the internet. Of course I didn’t want to offend anyone,” he said in a video, adding that his English language skills could be partially to blame. “This was a joke, probably a bad one. And I want to apologize to the one I may have offended, sorry about that.”

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Hegerberg said: “He (Solveig) came to me after and was really sad that it went that way. I didn’t think about it at that moment. I didn’t consider it as sexual harassment or anything."

George H.W. Bush's service dog, Sully, made a last visit with the former president Tuesday, joining others paying respect to Bush as he lies in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

Sully was already well-known as Bush's service dog — his Instagram account has more than 150,000 followers — before an image of him lying beside Bush's flag-draped casket shared by a Bush family spokesman became one of the most touching images associated with the 41st president's death.

Bush died at home in Houston on Friday and was flown to Washington, D.C., on Monday. He is lying in state where the public can pay their respects before a funeral on Wednesday and his burial in Texas Thursday.

Sully was brought into the packed rotunda along with people who benefitted from the Americans With Disabilities Act, which Bush signed into law in 1990. Sully sat down in the hushed room before quietly circling the casket with his handler as well as former Secretary of Homeland Security and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Sully flew to Washington with Bush on a presidential plane, but after his visit to the Capitol, he'll continue on to New York, where he was trained. He'll get a refresher course before being assigned to help soldiers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

The image of Sully beside Bush's casket, captioned "Mission complete" by Bush's spokesman, is powerful, said John Miller, president and America's CEO of VetDogs, the group that trained Sully and the "puppies with a purpose" at the "Today" show and NBC Los Angeles.

The photo "shows the bond the president and Sully had with each other," Miller told NBC New York.

Sully's Instagram account shows the yellow Labrador retriever by Bush's side, meeting service members, playing on the beach at the Bush compound in Maine and more.

Bush received the 2-year-old dog in June from America's VetDogs, which helps match service dogs with veterans, active-duty service members and first responders with disabilities. The president had a form of Parkinson's disease, and Sully could open doors, pick up items and summon help.

At Walter Reed in Bethesday, Maryland, Sully will join the Facility Dog Program, working with other dogs to help with physical and occupational therapy for wounded soldiers and active duty personnel at the hospital.

When President Donald Trump praised his former associate, Roger Stone, for having "guts" by standing up to special counsel Robert Mueller and swearing never to testify against Trump, he might have been tampering with a witness, an expert told NBC News Monday.

Stone is being scrutinized in Mueller's probe for possible contacts with WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. He said Sunday on "This Week" that there is "no circumstance in which" he would testify against Trump.

Trump cited that statement in a tweet Monday, touching off a debate in legal circles. Experts took to Twitter to debate whether it was a clear-cut example of tampering with a witness.

Criminal defense attorney Ken White wasn't sure, but told NBC News it's "the kind of thing that prosecutors would look at carefully."

A teacher in Dover, New Hampshire has been suspended after a video began circulating online showing students singing a song set to "Jingle Bells" with lyrics including, "KKK, KKK, let's kill all the blacks."

The assignment, in an 11th grade U.S. history class, was to change the lyrics to a Christmas jingle to tell a story about Reconstruction, the period after the Civil War.

Two of the students in the class chose the KKK as their topic and altered the lyrics to "Jingle Bells," using phrases like "Let's kill all the blacks," grand wizards and burning crosses.

In addition to the lyrics about the KKK, the song includes another line saying, "White masks on our heads, blood beneath our feet, laughing till they're dead -- ha, ha, ha."

"I went to the teacher," said Chloe Harris, a student in the class who recorded video of the incident. "I said I'm not really comfortable with these lyrics. I don't know why they need to sing it. I don't know why they need to present it in such an insensitive way."

Harris said she recorded the incident because she wasn't sure anyone would believe what happened.

"Thought if I don't record this, this is going to be the only evidence that I have that this happened," said the 16-year-old, who spoke to NBC10 Boston with permission from her mother.

Harris, who is biracial, says she was stunned by what the two boys came up with for their project.

As the students recited the song, classmates can be heard laughing in the background.

"When everyone was laughing I got really frustrated," said Harris. "I was like, 'Why are you guys laughing at this?' So I had to walk out of class. I'm disgusted by this."

School Superintendent William Harbron sent a letter to the school community on Monday saying they are working with students and teachers to investigate the incident. His message was also shared on the district's Facebook page.

The school district called the incident "harmful" and one of "extreme racial insensitivity."

"What we're trying to do is figure out what is in this video that's a viable lesson for our entire school community," Harbron told NBC10 Boston.

"We are deeply concerned that an event such as this could occur and understand the emotion and concern that this event will create for our students, families and staff," he said in his letter. "Administration from Dover High School and the District are working with students and the school community to respond immediately and effectively to this racial insensitivity."

Harbron's letter said families and school community members will be updated as they "create opportunities to come together and discuss, process, and plan as a community" to address both the immediate situation and long-term implications of racial insensitivity and bias.

Some commenters on the school district's Facebook page said the song was far worse than just "racial insensitivity."

"There was nothing 'implicit' about it," said one person. "This was an overt show of racism."

"I saw the video before it was taken down and why the teacher didn't stop it once they started singing it is beyond me," said another person.

Chloe and her family fault the teacher more than the students.

"I think it was not well thought out by the boys," said Chloe's mom, Robyn. "But I think they were doing the assignment given to them by their teacher."

The teacher has been suspended with pay while the entire incident is being investigated by the school district.

School officials will not say if the two students who sang the song will be disciplined.

Trumbull police have arrested a teen in connection with the attack of a man in Twin Brooks Park last month.

Police said they have been investigating since the Nov. 24 attack when a 60-year-old Trumbull man was attacked at Twin Brooks Park and dragged into the road.

Police said a man who did not say anything punched the victim in the head and knocked him to the ground. Then two other men got out of the car and kicked the victim as he was on the ground and demanded money, police said.

The victim said he didn’t have money and the attackers pushed him into the road before they drove off toward Franklin Street, police said.

The victim was able to get a partial license plate as the car drove off and police have arrested 18-year-old Cristofer Fuentes-Salguero who they said was driving. Police are looking to identify the two accomplices.

Fuentes-Salguero turned himself in at the Trumbull Police Department after he learned that there was a warrant for his arrest.

He was charged with robbery in the second degree, larceny in the second degree and assault in the second degree of an elderly person.

He was held on $150,000 bond and is scheduled to appear to court on Dec. 10.

Trumbull Police are asking anyone who has information about the attack to call 203-261-3665 or use the anonymous and confidential tip line on the police department website: trumbull-ct.gov/policetips.

A poor economy 10 years ago led growers to cut back on plantings and that has led to a shortage of Christmas trees.

Firefighters rescued a man who was sleeping in a home that was exposed to fire during a nearby barn fire in Fairfield on Tuesday morning.

Officials said the Fairfield Fire Department received a call from a resident reporting a chicken coop barn fire on Mine Hill Road shortly before 5 a.m.

When crews arrived, they said they found heavy smoke and fire coming from a 5,500 sq. foot, two-story structure, with fire exposed to an occupied home nearby.

Firefighters began an aggressive exterior attack on the fire, while they also searched through the occupied home. Officials said one man was rescued from the home and was led to safety by firefighters.

The family was found outside of the main house, which was approximately 100 feet away from the fire.

The man reported no injuries and the family reported a minor injury that was sustained while attempting to release chickens from the building that was on fire, firefighters said.

"The quick actions of the first arriving engine company prevented the loss of life to the occupant who was asleep and unaware of the fire. Fires like this should serve as a reminder about the importance of having working smoke detectors to alert occupants and an established meeting place outside in the event of a fire," said Fairfield Fire Department Assistant Chief Roger Caisse in a release.

According to officials, due to the barn's construction style, stored fuels and propane tanks helped the fire spread quickly through the building, resulting in a collapse of the second floor. Firefighters applied cooling water to propane tanks in the building to help avoid an explosion.

Firefighters brought the fire under control in approximately 30 minutes.

More than 5 million more pounds of raw beef products have been added to a national recall over concerns about possible salmonella contamination, and the number of people sickened has soared to 246 patients in 26 states, federal officials said Tuesday.

The initial recall announced by the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service in early October included 6.5 million pounds of raw beef products. The addition Tuesday brings the total recalled amount to 12,093,271 pounds, and authorities say they're concerned it could be in consumers' freezers.

The number of those sickened has increased drastically in recent weeks. Initially it was around 60 people in 16 states. Tuesday's recall marks a more than four-fold increase in the number of cases in two months; nearly 60 people have been hospitalized as a result of the current outbreak.

The affected products were produced and packaged at an Arizona facility owned by JBS Tolleson from July 26 through Sept. 7 and shipped to retailers nationwide under many brand names. Those included in the recall are Cedar River Farms Natural Beef, Comnor Perfect Choice, Gourmet Burger, Grass Run Farms Natural Beef, JBS Generic, Showcase and Showcase/Walmart. See a list of the specific products being recalled here.

The recall notice didn't provide a list of states where people were sickened. But, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case map updated as of Nov. 15, at least 66 cases of people infected with the outbreak have been reported in California, 13 in Texas, 42 in Arizona and several states, including Connecticut, Illinois and Massachusetts, have each reported one case. No known cases have been reported in New York or New Jersey.

Anyone with questions about the recall can contact JBS' consumer hotline at 1-800-727-2333.

Salmonella can cause diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever within three days of eating the contaminated product, and the illness can last up to seven days. While most people recover, people with weakened immune systems are more likely to need to be hospitalized.

Michael Avenatti ruled out a run for president in 2020, saying on Twitter that his family requested he not do so, NBC News reported.

The attorney for porn star Stormy Daniels said in a statement, "I do not make this decision lightly — I make it out of respect for my family. But for their concerns, I would run."

Avenatti also said he "will not rest" until President Donald Trump "is removed from office" and that he will continue representing Daniels, who recently said he filed a defamation lawsuit against Trump against her wishes.

Avenatti had recently traveled to the early primary states of new Hampshire and Iowa and raised money for other Democrats. But he was arrested last month on suspicion of domestic violence.

Meriden police have arrested a suspect in a 2016 murder. 

The investigation into the death of Felix Rodriguez started on Aug. 11, 2016, when his family members found him dead in an apartment on Willow Street, according to the initial news release from police. 

Officers responded to the scene, launched a homicide investigation and have now arrested 47-year-old Jose Luis Gonzalez. 

He has been charged with murder and is being held on $2.5 million bond.

Target plans to open at the Bishops Corner Shopping Center in West Hartford next year.

The company said the Bishops Corner location will be the first small-format Target store in Connecticut.

Target has been opening small-format stores in “urban neighborhoods, near colleges and other areas where a full-size target wouldn’t fit.” 

“As we continue to reach more guests across the country, we’re excited to open our first small-format store in Connecticut to provide a convenient, one-stop shopping experience for families and residents of West Hartford and surrounding towns,” Mark Schindele, senior vice president, Properties for Target, said in a statement.

When shoppers learned in September that Target was considering opening in a building that once housed Walmart, they said they were excited. 

“That would be amazing. Target, even though it's close, it's not that close. It takes a long time to get across town. There's always construction,” said Michelle Hollander of West Hartford.

Target said it has signed a lease with EDENS, a national retail real estate owner, operator and developer, and the 59,000-square-foot store will have a food and beverage selection, apparel and accessories, health and beauty items, home essentials, seasonal merchandise, electronics and toys. It will also offer order pickup, where guests can order online and pick up items in a store within the hour.

Target expects to hire about 75 people.

“We are so pleased to welcome Target to West Hartford. The announcement of Target moving into a large former retail space is a huge success for EDENS and the town. It is always great when we can fill vacancies, especially with an exciting business like Target. It will be a welcomed addition to the community and I look forward to their store opening in 2019,” West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor said in a statement. 

The West Hartford store will be Target’s seventh store in the Hartford area and the 21st in Connecticut. 

A former high school soccer coach in Westport is accused of exposing himself to a girl in Fairfield and has been arrested. 

Fairfield police said they received a complaint on Oct. 23 that a man in a car exposed himself to a girl in the area of Old Post Road and South Benson Road and the victim gave investigators a description of the man and the vehicle he was driving. 

Police said they identified the suspect as 29-year-old David Sharpe, of Fairfield, who the investigation later revealed was a girls’ soccer coach for Staples High School and resigned after his interview with detectives, according to a news release from police. 

Fairfield police arrested Sharpe on Saturday on a warrant charging him with public indecency and breach of peace.

He was later released on a promise to appear and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 13. It’s not clear if he has an attorney. 

Fairfield police said they are coordinating with Norwalk police to see if this case is related to one that happened there on Sept. 26. 

A U.S. citizen was detained in a Florida prison and flagged for deportation despite his repeated pleas to authorities that he was American and the county’s own jail files indicating he was born in Philadelphia, according to a federal lawsuit filed Monday.

NBC News reports Peter Sean Brown turned himself in to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office for a probation violation in April, after testing positive for marijuana. The 50-year-old, who had been living in Florida for the last 10 years, was soon a fast track to deportation to Jamaica.

"Despite his repeated protests to multiple jail officers, his offer to produce proof, and the jail’s own records, the Sheriff’s Office held Mr. Brown so that ICE could deport him to Jamaica — a country where he has never lived and knows no one," the suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Southern Poverty Law Center said.

After three weeks in jail, Brown was turned over to ICE, which eventually confirmed he was in fact a U.S. citizen and "hastily arranged for his release."

The lawsuit accuses the sheriff's office of "carelessly and aggressively" arresting people for ICE under what's known as a Basic Ordering Agreement between the two, where the sheriff's office receives $50 for each individual it holds at ICE's request.

New Haven police are reminding runners to be on alert after a woman was grabbed by a man while she was out for a late-night run.

Police said the victim reported that while she was running near the Connecticut Tennis Center on Yale Avenue when she saw a man with a long handgun that may have been fake. The victim said the man called to her, saying "Come with me," then grabbed her and covered her mouth with his hand. The victim broke free and ran off. She was not hurt.

Two residents in the area called 911 to report a woman screaming at the same time.

Police offered the following tips for a safe run, particularly after dark.

• If you must run after dark, know the neighborhood, where exactly you are and wear something highly visible.
• Carry a personal alarm (a whistle or audible device of some type – such as the ‘runangel’).
• If you must listen to music, use only one ear-bud (There are certain times and places when you need all of your senses to be alert in order to stay safe.).
• Wear a headlamp and light, reflective colors.
• Keep your phone on you but stay off it while running.
• Consider using a run tracking app to share your location with others.
• Let a friend or relative know when and where you’re going and when you expect to return.
• Carry ID but leave other valuables and cash at home.
• Run with others
• If you are attacked or grabbed, fight hard and scream for help. 

Emergency crews responded when a car crashed into a New Haven business Tuesday.

A sedan smashed through the front of Picadilly Tailor on Amity Road Tuesday afternoon.

Fire officials said one person was hurt but the extent of the injuries was not immediately clear.

The car appeared to have gone through a glass door and knocked through part of a brick wall.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A home healthcare worker is accused of stealing jewelry from a client, according to Shelton police.

Police said the investigation began in November when the victim’s daughter reported several pieces of important jewelry were missing from her mother’s room. Her mother received daily health from home healthcare workers, police said.

Investigators recovered the jewelry and identified a suspect, 39-year-old Kelly Savage of Southington.

Savage was arrested on Tuesday and charged with second-degree larceny. She was held on a $75,000 bond for those charges. She also held two outstanding warrants for failure to appear in court, setting total bond at $87,000.

The holidays mean shopping for mom, dad, grandma and grandpa. Experts say when crossing things off your kids' lists, try to find toys that foster learning. But how can you find a toy that’s both educational and fun? A study at a local college may help find that perfect gift.

Now in its ninth year, the TIMPANI study stands for Toys that Inspire Mindful Play and Nurture Imagination. Researchers at Eastern Connecticut State University spent hours observing pre-school aged children playing with eight different educational toys. This year they found “Magz Clix” stackable bottles scored highest on things like thinking, cooperation, creativity, and interaction.

“The reason why it did so well is because it’s very open-ended,” said Julia DeLapp, director of the Center for Early Childhood Education at ECSU.

Magz Clix is a magnetic building set with pieces in different colors that children can stack together to create towers. The study found the more basic the toy, the more complex the play.

“A lot of adults were always looking for the latest toys with all the bells and whistles, and those don’t tend to do as well because children only do one or two things with them and then grow bored with them,” DeLapp said.

Governor-Elect Ned Lamont announced who will likely be the most trusted and consequential members of his administration.

Lamont named Ryan Drajewicz as his chief of staff and Melissa McCaw as secretary of the Office of Policy and Management.

They mark the first two appointments of the Lamont administration, a search he said was national but eventually brought him back to the local products.

“We’ve had hundreds of resumes come in,” Lamont said. “People who have served in government before and we need those people here.”

McCaw most recently served as chief financial officer for the City of Hartford, and she will have a much larger role running OPM, the agency that handles budget matters for the governor’s administration.

This will mark her second tour with the agency. She worked at OPM when she finished her studies at Wesleyan University.

McCaw says her recent experience dealing with budget issues in Hartford on everything from spending to labor contracts will serve her well in the Lamont administration.

“I look forward to leading this process, to completing the budget in the coming months and to ultimately achieving the governor-elect’s vision for a budget and a policy plan that is balanced and addresses Connecticut’s fiscal crisis,” she said.

She will be in charge of a budget writing process that will have address a nearly $2 billion deficit in the next fiscal year, even as the state is currently projecting a modest surplus of $250 million.

“I like the fact that Melissa has been on the front lines. She’s battle hardened,” Lamont said during the press conference making the introduction at the State Capitol. “She’s been through some really tough times and we have some tough times here in Connecticut when it comes to making the decisions we need going forward. I think she’ll be the perfect choice to get us through this.”

Lamont tapped Ryan Drajewicz as his chief of staff, the person who works alongside the governor, managing Lamont’s priorities on a day-to-day basis, and the overall operations of the governor’s office.

Drajewicz is a Connecticut native, born in Middletown, he worked for ten years under U.S. Senator Chris Dodd.

For the past several years, Drajewicz has worked as an executive for Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, which is based in Westport.

His private sector experience could lead to him being one of the main voices for the administration when speaking directly with major employers.

“This will be an office of the governor with a new energy, an entrepreneurial spirit and creativity,” Drajewicz said. “This is a new chapter for Connecticut and we are going to do things differently.”

A number of factors have led to a surge in Christmas tree prices this year, from wildfires and hurricanes to more local impacts.

“We’ve had a very good year but three years ago – people don’t even think of it but we had quite a bad drought and we lost all of our young trees because if you think of it the young trees have really shallow roots. They haven’t gone deep into the ground and when there’s a shortage of rain they’re the first to go. So we planted extra the next year to make up for what we lost and had another drought and we lost all of those,” explained Marilyn DeMaria of the DeMaria Family Farm in Berlin.

A lack of rain in past years isn’t the only reason trees have taken a bit of a hit. A lot of local tree farms date their shortages back to 2008 during the economic crisis, when people weren’t buying trees, so businesses weren’t planting them. Trees take about 10 years to grow five or six feet, and now in 2018, we aren’t seeing Christmas tree supply we usually do.

It’s not all bad news this holiday season. The wet weather we go this year is actually a good thing for your Christmas tree.

Since January 1, the Hartford area has picked up 58.62 inches of rain, making it the seventh wettest year on record so far, with most of December still to come. On average, Connecticut sees just under 42 inches of rain. That exceptionally wet weather should help your tree last a bit longer into the holiday season.

“Certainly good moisture is great for the trees. It builds the moisture inside the trees so when you get it into the house it will be in great shape,” said Allyn Brown of Maple Lane Farms.