Police are investigating a double shooting on Park Street in Hartford.

Police said it happened at 898 Park St. in a common hallway to a large residential building and one victim has life-threatening injuries.

Both people who were shot were transported to an area hospital for treatment. Police said the shooting appears to be targeted and there is no reason to believe the general public is at risk.

No schools are locked down.

Park Street will be closed until further notice between Zion Street and Park Terrace and police are working to identify one or more potential suspects.

Major crimes and crime scene division detectives have responded to the scene.

No additional information was immediately available.

The governor said the federal government has approved a major disaster declaration for Middlesex and New London counties after heavy rain and flooding in September that washed out several roads.

The decision will allow state agencies and cities and towns in Middlesex and New London counties, as well as the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan Tribes, to receive financial assistance from the federal government to help pay for costs incurred as a result of the severe rain and flooding, according to the governor’s office. 

Read the governor's announcement here.  

The storm dropped more than five inches of rain in parts of the state and while many homes flooded, there wasn’t enough damage to qualify for federal aid for individuals. 

“This declaration will provide much needed financial assistance to municipalities in Middlesex County, New London County, and state agencies with eligible damages in those counties,” Gov. Dannel Malloy said in a statement. 

“The heavy rain had a significant impact on parts of our state, causing damage to roads and bridges. I thank the federal government for continuing to be a partner in the recovery from this event and for the approval of this declaration,” Malloy added.

An electrical issue is causing multiple power outages at the University of Connecticut Wednesday.

The university said several buildings and traffic signals on the Storrs campus are affected. Classes in certain buildings have been canceled, and non-essential employees in those buildings sent home.

Classes starting at 3:35 p.m. or later in the following buildings have been canceled.

• Oak
• Manchester
• Bousfield Psychology Building
• Arjona
• Budds
• Gulley
• Hawley
• Monteith
• Family Studies

Students and staff can get more details on which buildings and classes are affected here.

More information was not immediately available.

Check back for updates.

Emergency crews responded to a fire at a building on East Main Street (Route 74) in Vernon Wednesday.

Tolland County Emergency Dispatch confirmed a fire on the 100-block of East Main Street. Arriving crews reported smoke and flames coming from the third floor of the building.

Police confirmed the road is closed at Route 31 due to the fire.

No other information was immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

President George W. Bush might have been in mourning Wednesday at his father's funeral, but he still managed to reach out with a friendly gesture to former first lady Michelle Obama.

As Bush greeted the other living former presidents and their wives at the National Cathedral in Washington, where they were gathered for George H.W. Bush's state funeral, he seemed to slip something into Michelle Obama’s hand, bringing a grin to her and former President Barack Obama's faces.

It wasn't immediately clear what he passed her — he didn't make reference to it when he spoke for his eulogy — but it's not the first time he and the former first lady shared a moment of levity in a time of mourning.

At the late Sen. John McCain’s funeral in September, Bush and Obama bonded over a cough drop. Obama said on the "Today" show that they have become “partners in crime” at every official function because White House protocol mandates that they sit next to each other.

"I love him to death," the former first lady said of the 43rd president. "He's a wonderful man. He's a funny man."

During McCain’s funeral, Obama asked Bush for a cough drop after he passed one to his wife, former first lady Laura Bush. Obama later realized that the cough drop box sported a White House official seal, possibly making it at least a decade old.

On social media, many people commended the act of friendship between two figures from different political parties.

The duo’s relationship goes back further. In 2016, the bipartisan pair shared a hug at the National Museum of African American History dedication ceremony.

On a 2017 episode of "Ellen," Bush told host Ellen DeGeneres that his friendship with Michelle Obama took many people by surprise.

"[The friendship] surprised everybody," Bush said. "That's what's so weird about society today: [the surprise] that people on opposite sides of the political spectrum can actually like each other."

Despite the good relationship between Obama and Bush, the combination of former presidents and first ladies in the first pew of George H.W. Bush's funeral made for an awkward moment at an otherwise solemn event. 

Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama, and Donald and Melania Trump sat shoulder to shoulder in the first row.

It was the first time Hillary Clinton and President Donald Trump were in the same room — let alone within a few feet of each other — since Trump's 2016 inauguration.

At his political rallies, Trump has continued to lead chants of "Lock her up," referring to the now closed federal investigation into allegations that Clinton had misused a personal email account for government communications. Trump has also continuously accused the Clintons of colluding with “Russia and lots of other people,” NBC News reported in October, though there’s no evidence that those allegations are true.

Clinton has expressed concerns about how Trump is running the White House. 

During the funeral, Clinton appeared to keep her eyes fixed on the altar before the group.

As Trump made his way to the front pew of the church, he shook hands with the Obamas but didn’t appear to acknowledge the Clintons. Melania Trump, however, did shake hands with Bill Clinton and wave at Hillary Clinton.

The Obamas were seated between the Trumps and Clintons, and Michelle Obama sat between the political rivals with furrowed eyebrows and down-turned lips. Barack Obama sat cross-legged with his face turned.

Michelle Obama’s expression only changed when George W. Bush leaned over the pew to greet them and slip her an offering. As he grabbed Michelle Obama’s hand, a smile spread across her face.

Laura Bush also came over to say hello, shaking hands with Trump and waving to Melania Trump.

Despite the general tension among the first pew's occupants, George W. Bush and Michelle Obama's moment reminded onlookers of the message sent by their cough drop exchange at the McCain funeral. 

At the time, Obama noted that despite being a "simple gesture," the moment illustrated a larger lesson about how politicians should treat each other.

"[People are] hungry for what we all know: that party doesn’t separate us. Color, gender — those kinds of things don’t separate us," Obama said on the "Today" show. "And if we’re the adults and leaders in the room, and we’re not showing that level of decency, we cannot expect our children to do the same."

A hot stove can be a hidden danger for young children in any home. That’s why a Southington family created a new way to keep kids safe.

“Kids really do get burned on the stove,” said Jill White. “Kids end up in the hospital all the time.”

The device is called the Kid’s Safe Switch, and it sounds an alert if the kids get too close.

“It has sensors in it,” White said. “So when the oven is hot, and a child approaches it that is below the height of the oven, once they get within a few feet an alarm will sound. It will flash at them and parents will hear it.”

At first, the idea was just a drawing. They entered it into the Frito-Lay Dreamvention contest online.

The Kid’s Safe Switch is one of only five finalists in the national competition. The family had the chance to fly out to Los Angeles, film a promo shoot, and meet other finalists.

“We got to see it, our prototype and we got to show it off a little bit there,” White said.

Over the next few weeks, the invention with the most votes will win a $250,000 prize.

“It makes me really proud,” White said. “I feel really good about it. I feel good that people are coming up to me and telling me that they think it’s a really good product.”

Click here to vote. 

It’s usually Jonathan French’s big smile and sense of humor that lifts spirits at Connecticut Children Medical Center.

But Wednesday there were a few special guests that came to spread some holiday cheer.

Andrea Cadigan and Jonet Nichelle of the New England Patriots Cheerleading Squad made a visit to offer some warm wishes and warm blankets to some of the medical center’s biggest football fans.

“Being here during the holiday season is extremely special and it’s a very rewarding feeling to give back to the community,” said Nichelle, who is from North Haven. “I’m from Connecticut so this really hits close to home for me.”

French, a 19-year-old from Hartford, is a Patriots fan. He watches all their games on Sundays to cheer on his favorite player Tom Brady.

“The Patriots. They are absolutely my number one favorite, favorite, favorite football team and I am just truly glad to be a part of the Pats family.”

The cheerleaders handed out 200 fleece blankets, some decorated with rainbows, others with the American Flag or playful cartoon monkeys. The blankets were put together by Optum and United Healthcare.

“Coming here, seeing all the kids, putting smiles on their faces, it’s so rewarding,” said Cadigan. It really makes this job so worth it.”

Cadigan and Nichelle spent quality time in each room they visited, talking sports and Christmas wishes and in some cases, finding out many of the young patients were not fans of their team to the north. Some cheer for Giants or Vikings, while others prefer to watch LeBron and Steph Curry.

No matter who they root for on the sports field, everyone was rooting for the children - rooting for a quick recovery and a happy holiday season.

“Despite the fact that we’re in the hospital, it’s good to know that there is somebody out there that’s thnking about us, praying for us, whatever the case maybe,” said French. “You know, hoping that we will get well soon and get out of here with a smile on our face.”

At least one Marine has been rescued from waters 200 miles off the coast of Japan after two aircraft carrying seven were involved in a refueling accident.

"We are still searching for six Marines," Lt. Col. Kelly Frushour of the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force told NBC News.

The Bridgeport community banded together to replace 800 donated toys stolen from a local church last week.

Thieves stole $8,000-worth of donated toys meant for Toys for Tots, which were being housed at the Greater Bridgeport Christian Fellowship Church.

The City of Bridgeport and other groups announced they would step up to help replace what was taken, and collected donations during the Downton Christmas Tree Lighting Monday.

“We are going to make every effort to ensure no child is left without a toy,” said Mayor Joseph Ganim in a statement. “We want to turn around this heartbreaking situation into a Christmas miracle to demonstrate the resilience and compassion of the Bridgeport community.”

News 12 Connecticut reports that by Wednesday, donations that poured in from the community replaced the value of the stolen toys.

Those who donated included the law firm Miller, Rosnick, D'Amico, August & Butler and Wonderland of Ice.

The goal is to distribute the toys to local families so that 6,000 children have gifts on Christmas morning.

The theft remains under investigation and Bridgeport police have identified a person of interest in the case.

The town of South Windsor is considering raising the minimum age required to purchase tobacco.

Soon 21 may be the age you’ve got to be if you want to smoke anything from cigarettes to e-cigarettes.

As the town begins debate about this proposal, there are mixed feelings on the issue.

The mayor, who also happens to be a lung doctor, says limiting access to cigarettes will stop more young people from smoking. A town council member who lost a loved one to tobacco use says the plan isn’t a good one.

“We have a collective responsibility to use our knowledge and our understanding to make policies that are going to help people live longer and healthier,” said South Windsor Mayor Dr. Saud Anwar.

The mayor is pushing the proposal to raise the age required to buy tobacco, citing the rise in Connecticut high schoolers who now spoke e-cigarettes, forming nicotine addictions earlier.

“Science is saying that these kids are going to die. One third of them will have smoking-related death if they start at an early age. So we have a responsibility to try and reduce that consumption,” Anwar said.

But town councilor Lisa Maneeley said the proposal represents classic government overreach in the lives of legal adults.

“Eighteen-year-olds are not children, and they’re allowed to make their own decisions,” Maneeley, a Republican, argued.

Maneeley may seem like an unlikely opponent on this issue. Her father died when she was a teen, before he turned 40, from lung cancer caused by a smoking habit he picked up when he was about 14.

“I don’t approve of tobacco. I don’t approve of vaping. But I don’t believe a town has the right to infringe their views on somebody else,” Maneeley said.

The council will put the question to the public for feedback when it offers up an ordinance expected early next year.

Any potential age increase would require a vote of support by the council.

The mayor expects this proposal to be written into an ordinance for public discussion sometime next month. A vote could come at the end of January or beginning of February.

A social media threat prompted East Haddam schools to delay buses Wednesday.

Superintendent Brian Reas confirmed buses were delayed after a high school student made a comment about a bus blowing up on social media. A bus was taken out of service and police were called in to investigate.

School officials are working with police, Reas said, and there will be precautions in place Thursday.

No other details were immediately available.

The holiday season is the busiest time of year for unemployment claims, according to the Connecticut Department of Labor.

“So normally when we’re handling about 25, 2600 claims a week, it usually triples during this time of year. And a lot of that is attributed to seasonal employment. There are educational institutions, bus drivers that are shut down for the holiday,” said Gregg Kallajian, program and services coordinator with the Department of Labor.

The department has extra staff on hand, but Kallajian said a claim that would usually take two days to process could take upwards of five days to process during this time of year.

All new claims must be filed through the Department of Labor’s online system. You will need the Connecticut Employer Registration Number from the employer you are leaving, as well as an active email address and a savings or checking account to set up direct deposit or a debit card. The Department of Labor no longer issues paper checks.

If you don’t have a computer or need help with your claim, you can visit one of the state’s five American Job Centers.

The job centers also offer help for job seekers including free workshops and job fairs.

Kallajian said existing weekly claims will continue to be processed normally.

The Department of Labor is also reminding filers they must actively seek work as a condition of receiving unemployment insurance.

“In the state of Connecticut, we look at three efforts per week. And we recommend that they log those efforts on a log sheet that we have through our website,” Kallajian said.

“What we ask them to do is write down what their efforts are, the name of the employer, when they looked for work, who they contacted.”

Kallajian said the department randomly chooses 18 cases per week for audit.

Thursday marks the final farewell to former President George H.W. Bush in Texas.

His body will be transported from Spring in Harris County to his final resting place at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station.

For the first time since the death of President Dwight Eisenhower, a president’s body will be transported on a funeral train.

“Union Pacific is so honored to be helping America recognize President Bush and pay respect to him on his way to his final resting place,” Union Pacific spokesperson Tom Lange said.

Bush will arrive at College Station on the Union Pacific No. 4141 George Bush Locomotive. The train was unveiled in 2005, during a ceremony near the Bush Presidential Library.

Thousands are expected to line cities along the route to pay final respects to the former president.

“He will arrive right across from Kyle Field before he goes to his final resting place on campus,” Lange explained. “Like the rest of America, we want to celebrate the president’s life of service.”

The train has 11 cars with the president in the sixth. His American flag-draped coffin will be visible to all those along the route.

The final trip comes at the request of the former president himself.

“The CEO at the time had a personal relationship with President Bush,” Lange said.

Lange said he and the employees of Union Pacific are still taking in the scope of the honor of being involved in the ceremonial trip.

“I don’t know if any of us can be fully prepared for the emotion and the enormity of the event,” Lange said. “You like to think that you are prepared for what the emotion might be, but I can’t and I don’t know anyone who really could.”

For many, the idea of President Bush traversing the Texas countryside one last time is chill-inducing. It is moving to know that he will take one last journey through the state he loved and be among the people.

“He loved the trains – especially in the days of when he could ride trains, because it brought him closer to the people versus and airplane or something else,” Lange said.

A hearing will be held today to consider making major changes to the states’ sex offender registry system, including focusing on an offender’s risk versus the offender’s conviction.

An irate deli customer is wanted for his violent tantrum in which he attacked a worker when he was told his wait time for a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich would take at least five minutes, police said. 

The customer at the Hi Mango Flushing Avenue Deli in Bushwick demanded his order of a bacon, egg and cheese on a toasted cinnamon raisin bagel "right NOW" at around 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 25, according to cellphone video provided by deli workers. 

When the worker, Sanjay Patel, told the customer that he had several orders ahead of him and that it would take around 5 to 10 minutes, the customer became angry. 

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"Make my cinnamon raisin toasted bagel with bacon, egg and cheese RIGHT NOW," the customer shouted, banging on the deli display case. "Right f---king now! Make my s--t right now!" 

He then started throwing merchandise at the worker, hitting him in the head and torso and causing bruising and swelling, according to police.

Patel told News 4 New York on Wednesday, "He just kept throwing stuff at my head," including a bag of bread, a computer tablet, a metal stand lying on the counter and a hand basket. 

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EMS transported the worker to Wyckoff Hospital, where he was treated for injuries. 

But it's what Patel heard the man say that still gives him nightmares. 

"When I sleep, nighttime, I still dream it, because he told me, too, 'I'm going to shoot you,'" said Patel. "He told me he gonna shoot me." 

Patel said the man hopped into a waiting car with two other men after Patel called police. He was treated for bruises at the hospital, but said he's still scared to come to work, not knowing if the customer will come back. 

Anyone who recognizes the man in the surveillance video is asked to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers at nypdcrimestoppers.com 

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If you think today is cold well just wait. Even colder air is on the way for Friday and the weekend.

A reinforcing cold front will push through our state early Friday morning.

Ahead of the cold front flurries or even a few snow showers will develop late tonight. 

The flurries and snow showers will be very scattered in nature, some towns will see them while others won't. 

This will lead us into a chilly next couple of days with high temperatures in the middle 30s on Friday and struggling to reach 30 degrees by Saturday.

The unseasonably cool weather is expected to stick around through much of next week. 

A Natick, Massachusetts, firefighter took a break from battling blazes to spread some holiday cheer in a fun and silly way.

Dressed as Will Ferrell's character, Buddy, from the movie "The Elf," Brendan Edwards instigated dozens of pillow fights around Boston's Faneuil Hall marketplace. To be fair, the jolly firefighter gave his opponents a few seconds of notice before he armed them with a pillow for their battles.

"We would run up to random people and toss them a pillow," Edwards said.

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Edwards challenged strangers from all walks of life: the old, the young, those who were working and those who were enjoying some time with loved ones. His Yuletide request was accepted by many and prompted smiles from onlookers.

Edwards said there's a simple reason he wanted to pause and have a little fun.

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"We just wanted to spread holiday cheer really. We wanted to brighten people’s day maybe. And it looks like we did it," Edwards said.

By Thursday morning, the video, which Edwards posted Tuesday to his Facebook page, had received more than 100,000 views.

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A vehicle fire caused heavy delays for miles on Interstate 84 East in Cheshire Thursday morning.

The fire was in the area of exit 27 and the highway was closed for around half an hour before traffic started getting by again.

No additional information was immediately available.

Connecticut is steps closer to potentially changing the way the state’s sex-offender registry is managed. 

The Connecticut Sentencing Commission is holding a public hearing Thursday and reviewing several proposed changes following a two-year study that began in 2015. 

“There was concern in the legislature, I think, that maybe Connecticut could find a better way to deal with sex offender registration, sex offender management,” Superior Court Judge Robert Delvin, chair of the Connecticut Sentencing Commission, said. 

Among several proposed changes are three headliners. The first focuses on revamping the system by focusing on an offender’s risk versus the offender’s conviction. In other words, how likely that person is to re-offend. 

“We’ve got over 5,000 people on the sex-offender registry now in Connecticut,” Delvin said. “By focusing on the really high-risk offenders now, I think that will make us safer.” 

The second proposal is a petition process through the Superior Court to remove an offender from the list. Currently in Connecticut, once an offender is on the registry, the person can’t be removed from it. 

The third proposed change readjusts the public’s access to the list. Depending on the crime or risk of re-offending, some of the registry could only be seen by law enforcement. Right now, the public has access to the entire registry. 

“As a mother and as a teacher, I feel that we have to protect our most vulnerable populations, and having that kind of information is important to have,” said Meghan Lamarre, of Farmington, who disagrees with a partially concealed list. “We looked at it when we bought our house and I look at it when it’s trick or treating time or when there’s a house for sale in our neighborhood.” 

John Barrows of West Hartford agrees. 

“I would probably like to see the list still there and available to everybody,” he said. 

Judge Delvin said the victims’ voices are being heard in the process.

Several victims have come forth to provide testimony. Meanwhile, victim advocates are also represented on the committee. 

“We have definitely reached out to the victims’ community to get their input on how they feel about this,” Judge Delvin said. “And in general, I think they support the idea of focusing our resources on those high-risk offenders.” 

Each proposal will be brought to the legislature for consideration. 

NBC Bay Area has learned that authorities investigating the deadly Camp Fire have tied its origin to the failure of a single steel hook that held up a high voltage line on a nearly 100-year-old PG&E transmission tower.

The fire began at the base of a transposition tower, which serves to redistribute the electricity on the system to balance the load and assure safety. The tower has two arms holding out the “jumper,” a part of the line that’s being shifted to another point at the top of the tower.

The arms each hold electrical insulators, which resemble a series of white discs. Authorities believe the fire started with the fracturing of a steel hook that holds up the insulators to the arms above. It is one of those hooks, sources with knowledge of the investigation say, that failed in high winds the morning of Nov. 8.

“PG&E failed to maintain the tower, and they have an obligation to do that -- and it means they are liable for this disaster,’’ said attorney Dario de Ghetaldi, who is suing the utility over the fire.

Cal Fire would not comment for this story, citing the ongoing investigation. PG&E would not address our information on the apparent cause, instead sending us a statement saying, “The cause of the Camp Fire is still under investigation. We continue to focus on assessing infrastructure, safely restoring power where possible and helping our customers recover and rebuild.”

But Frank Pitre, another attorney who has sued over both wildfires and the San Bruno gas explosion, worries the hook failure is just more evidence that PG&E is simply not able to deal with the risk posed by its system.

“That’s a red flag,” he said, a warning that parts of the system could fail due to corrosion and fatigue from decades of service.

“You have to a have a rigorous system of inspection, particularly when you have systems that are 50 years old or more. You can’t just visually inspect these things.’’

De Ghetaldi says PG&E should have done those detailed inspections after 2012, when five towers collapsed during a winter wind storm. “They should have taken a serious look at the entire circuit,” he said, “after those five towers collapsed in 2012, and it appears they didn’t do that. That’s a big problem for PG&E. And it’s a big problem for the people who were killed, who were made homeless, and who were harmed in many ways.”