Time magazine unveiled it's Person of the Year for 2018, honoring a group of journalists whose work has landed them in jail — or cost them their lives — "in the pursuit of greater truths."

The magazine's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal announced its choice of "The Guardians and the War on Truth" on the "Today" show Tuesday, and revealed the four magazine covers featuring Jamal Khashoggi, Maria Ressa, the Capital Gazette staff, and the wives of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo.

"Like all human gifts, courage comes to us at varying levels and at varying moments,” the magazine’s editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote in an essay about the selection. “This year we are recognizing four journalists and one news organization who have paid a terrible price to seize the challenge of this moment."

In honoring Khashoggi, Felsenthal noted it is the first year Time has named someone who is no longer alive as Person of the Year. Khashoggi, who lived in the U.S. and wrote for The Washington Post, was publicly critical of the Saudi crown prince. He was killed in what U.S. officials have described as an elaborate plot at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, which he had visited for marriage paperwork.

Ressa is founder and executive editor of the Philippine digital news outlet Rappler and a vocal critic of the government of President Rodrigo Duterte. In return, she has faced several government lawsuits and threats of violence, according to The Associated Press. Ressa, who has worked with CNN, was the winner of two prestigious journalism awards this year, a Press Freedom award from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, and the International Center for Journalists’ Knight International Journalism Award.

The gunman who opened fire at the Capital Gazette newspaper, in Annapolis, Maryland, killing five people, had a "vendetta" against the paper over an article it published in 2011 about criminal harassment to which he pleaded guilty to. But, a day after the massacre at the Maryland newspaper, Gazette staffers "did what it has done since before the American ­Revolution—they put the paper out," Time said in a statement.

The other two honorees, Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, are currently imprisoned over their reporting in 2016 on the brutal crackdown by security forces on the Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar’s Rakhine state, which, according to the AP, left hundreds dead in the massacre. The U.N.'s top human rights body has said that genocide charges should be brought against senior Myanmar military officers over the crackdown.

The magazine said the four individuals and the lone newspaper symbolize something bigger than themselves.

"They are representative of a broader fight by countless others around the world — as of Dec. 10, at least 52 journalists have been murdered in 2018 — who risk all to tell the story of our time," Felsenthal wrote in his essay.

Other contenders on Time's shortlist revealed Monday included President Donald Trump, families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, Meghan Markle, Russian President Vladimir Putin, special councel Robert Mueller, "Black Panther" director Ryan Coogler, Christine Blasey Ford, March For Our Lives Activists, and South Korea President Moon Jae-in.

Time has made the designation every year since 1927. Last year, the magazine's editors chose "The Silence Breakers," the individuals who spoke up and sparked a national reckoning over the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault.

Trump, who held the title in 2016, was also a runner up in 2017. He claimed ahead of last year’s announcement that he was turning the honor down, tweeting that Time "called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named" person of the year, if he agreed to an interview and photo shoot. "I said probably is no good and took a pass." Time disputed the president’s claim, calling his assertion "incorrect."

"The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year," the magazine tweeted Friday night. "TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6."

The year before that, 2016, was Donald Trump, who had just become president-elect after stunning the nation — and the world — by winning the White House race.

The wait for the national tour of the hit Broadway show "Hamilton: An American Musical" to come to Connecticut is almost over. Tonight is opening night at the Bushnell in Hartford.

There will be 23 performances between tonight and Dec. 30 and you might not have missed your shot to get tickets.

There is a digital lottery for all performances, except for the show on Dec. 13.

Forty tickets will be sold for $10 each and you can enter through the official Hamilton app or through the Hamilton the Musical website.  

There was a lot of excitement in Hartford when the tickets went on sale in September and people lined up for hours before the box office opened.

“I’m here because my daughters want me to go, but it’s big. It’s all around the country and for Hartford to get this is a really big thing,” Dino Peruccio, of Manchester, said in September.

Staff from the Bushnell Performing Arts Center said the last time they saw people line up overnight for tickets before this was 12 years ago when the “Lion King” came to Hartford.

A woman who was found with several stab wounds at the Starlight Inn on Flanders Road in East Lyme Monday night has died and police are looking for a person of interest.

Police responded to the inn around 10:30 p.m. Monday after a witness heard a commotion coming from a room at the motel.

A female victim had been stabbed several times and was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, where she died, according to police.

Investigators said there is no threat to the public and they are looking for a person of interest.

The State Police Major Crimes unit also responded and is assisting in the investigation.

Check back for updates.

North Branford police have arrested a man who is accused of stealing packages from homes.

North Branford police said they made an arrest after officers responded to a home on Totoket Road Monday to investigate a report of a suspicious vehicle that might have been involved in the theft of a package from a home.

A resident had gotten the license plate number before officers arrived.

Police investigated and identified several homes in North Branford and Northford where packages were stolen and said most victims were not even aware items had been stolen.

Officers found the vehicle they were looking for and located several items that were taken from multiple residences in town, according to police.

Investigators identified the driver as Sidney Nelson. He has been charged with four counts of larceny in the sixth degree, five counts of criminal trespass, two counts of burglary and operating a motor vehicle under the influence.

He is scheduled to appear in New Haven Superior court on Dec. 23.

The next census happens in 2020 and the state of Connecticut is getting ready.

Maria Butina, the accused Russian agent of influence who built ties to the National Rifle Association and influential Republicans, has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with federal prosecutors, according to a plea agreement obtained by NBC News. The case was not brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. 

Butina, 30, will plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the law governing foreign agents operating in the United States, a felony that carries a five-year prison term. The estimated sentencing guideline range is from zero to six months in prison. As a noncitizen, she would face deportation after serving any prison sentence. 

According to the documents, Butina — a former graduate student at American University in Washington, D.C. — will admit to conspiring with an unnamed American to act at the direction of a Russian official "to establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over U.S. politics…for the benefit of the Russian Federation." 

The unnamed American has been identified by law enforcement officials as Paul Erickson, a longtime Republican activist who was in a romantic relationship with Butina. 

Click through for the full report from NBC News.

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence met with Democratic Senate and House leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi in the White House. Their discussion grew contentious over Trump’s demand for funding his proposed border wall.

A former correctional officer has plead guilty to sexually abusing an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury.

According to court documents, 33-year-old Carlos Sanchez, of Middlebury, was employed as a correctional officer at FCI Danbury.

Officials said on two occasions in July and August of this year, Sanchez engaged in sexual activity with a female inmate at the prison.

Sanchez pleaded guilty on Monday to one count of sexual abuse of a ward. It carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years.

He was released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing.

A sentencing date has not been scheduled.

Sanchez has resigned from the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The incidents remain under investigation by the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Police are investigating a robbery at Xtramart in Manchester. 

Police said the robbery happened at the gas station on Buckland Street around 3 a.m. Tuesday. 

No additional information has been released.

The Brooklyn charges against a mother who was seen wailing on the floor of a social services office, her 1-year-old son in her arms, as a group of officers forcefully try to snatch the baby from her have been dropped, the district attorney's office said in a statement Tuesday. 

Jazmine Headley, 23, had faced charges of resisting arrest, criminal trespass and other offenses stemming from the caught-on-camera fracas on the floor of the Human Resources Administration office on Bergen Street last week. The video, which showed her surrounded by officers trying to grab her baby as she clutched him to her chest, wailing, stirred outrage across the city and beyond. 

Headley was expected to be released from Rikers, where she has been held since the encounter, Tuesday evening. A New Jersey fraud case against her remains open. 

"Like everyone who watched the arrest of Jazmine Headley, I was horrified by the violence depicted in the video and immediately opened an investigation into this case. It is clear to me that this incident should have been handled differently," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement. "Continuing to pursue this case will not serve any purpose and I therefore moved today to dismiss it immediately in the interest of justice."

"The consequences this young and desperate mother has already suffered as a result of this arrest far outweigh any conduct that may have led to it: she and her baby have been traumatized, she was jailed on an unrelated warrant and may face additional collateral consequences."

The NYPD has called the video "troubling" and said it is reviewing the encounter. 

New Jersey authorities planned to transfer Headley to Mercer County Wednesday morning, where she was charged with two counts of third-degree credit card theft and one count of fourth-degree trafficking in personal identifying information in March 2017, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said.

Headley's lawyer maintains she wasn't involved in the theft, but was in a car with a man who stole cards. 

Her attorney plans to ask the prosecutor's office to review the charges and consider dismissing them.

In her own statement, Lisa Schreibersdorf, the executive director and founder of Brooklyn Defender Services, said the group was "filing a special application to ask the judge to release her on the New Jersey matter" on Tuesday. 

At one point in the footage taken inside the HRA office, an officer is seen forcibly ripping the child from the mother's arms, but Headley doesn't let go. Other people in the crowded office screamed, "Oh my God!" and "Look what they're doing to her!" 

At least one officer brandished a stun gun. 

The NYPD said they were called after HRA officers and staff were unsuccessful in removing her from the facility. They cited disorderly conduct and said she was blocking the hallway. 

Nyashia Ferguson, who shot the video, said on Facebook that Headley was asked to leave when she sat down on the floor because all of the chairs were full. 

“Being poor is not a crime," Public Advocate and Attorney General-elect Letitia James said. "The actions of the NYPD in this video are appalling and contemptible."

"No mother should have to experience the trauma and humiliation we all witnessed in this video,” she added.

Department of Social Services Commissioner Steve Banks appeared to agree, saying Monday that two peace officers from HRA were put on leave and will be placed on modified duty when they return to work pending the department's investigation. 

Headley, of Brooklyn, refused medical treatment for both herself and her son, police said. No officers were harmed.

The boy, Damone, is in the custody of his grandmother, Jacqueline Jenkins, who spoke to News 4 New York Monday.

"I can't believe the NYPD, how they handled it, the force of what they did to grab my grandson like that," she said. "He was like a rag doll." 

She continued, "Maybe she should have given the baby up. But understand if they gave her space, she would have gone up and left." 

Headley's attorney, Lisa Schreibersdorf of Brooklyn Defender Services, called it a "violent encounter where the child was being used as a pawn."

Patrick Lynch, the president of the NYPD's rank-and-file union, said in a statement Monday that officers were put in an "impossible situation."

"They didn't create the dispute at the HRA office -- as always, they were called in to deal with the inevitable fallout when the rest of our City government fails in its task," he said.

He added, "The event would have unfolded much differently if those at the scene had simply complied with the officers' lawful orders. The immediate rush to condemn these officers leaves their fellow cops wondering: when confronted with a similar impossible scenario, what do you want us to do? The answer cannot be 'do nothing.'"

New Britain police have arrested a local man who is accused of sexually assaulting two children. 

Police arrested 57-year-old Pedro Torres, of New Britain, Monday after investigating two separate sexual assault complaints made against him. 

One incident was reported in July and the second incident stems from several years ago, according to police. They said the victims in both cases, a boy and a girl, were 8 years old at the time. 

Torres was charged with sexual assault in the first degree and risk of injury to children in one case and sexual assault in the first degree, three counts of sexual assault in the fourth degree, and four counts of risk of injury to children in the second case.

A fourth-grader in Alabama died by suicide after being bullied with racist taunts, according to the child's family.

McKenzie Nicole Adams, 9, a U.S. Jones Elementary School student, was found dead in her home on Dec. 3 by her grandmother, according to Tuscaloosa News.

Eddwina Harris, the girl's aunt, told Tuscaloosa News that the bullying her niece experienced stemmed from her friendship with a white boy at her school.

"She was being bullied the entire school year, with words such as 'kill yourself,' 'you think you’re white because you ride with that white boy,' 'you ugly,' 'black b----,' 'just die'," Harris told the paper.

If you or a loved one are looking for help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255

The state has approved nine more medical marijuana dispensaries, according to the state Department of Consumer Protection.

The nine new facilities will be in Groton, Mansfield, Meriden, New Haven, Newington, Stamford, Torrington, Westport and Windham.

A request for applications was issued at the beginning of 2018 for three to 10 dispensary facilities. The Department of Consumer Protection received 73 applications and the nine approved will be licensed by the state’s Medical Marijuana Program, joining nine existing dispensary facilities and four producers.

There are now 30,448 patients in the medical marijuana program in Connecticut.

The applicants selected for licensure include:

• Bhadra Seva, LLC at 2280 Berlin Turnpike in Newington
• GR Vending CT, LLC at 78 Plaza Court in Groton
• Willow Brook Wellness, LLC at 1371 East Main St. in Meriden
• Tedra Health, LLC at 1768 Storrs Road in Mansfield
• C-3 Ventures, LLC at 3568 Winsted Road in Torrington
• Arrow Alternative Care #3 at 806 East Main St. in Stamford
• Bluepoint Wellness of Westport, LLC at 1460 Post Road East in Westport
• FFD Central, LLC at 1548 West Main St.in Windham
• Affinity Health & Wellness, Inc. at 1351 Whalley Ave. in New Haven

The dispensary facilities that were selected will receive their licenses after paying the license fee and submitting final documentation, which must occur within 14 days.

More information about the state’s Medical Marijuana Program can be found online. 

Torrington police have arrested a registered sex offender on sexual assault charges.

Torrington police arrested 63-year-old Kim Bishop by warrant Tuesday. He is charged with criminal attempt to commit first-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Investigators said the case stems from reported sexual assaults that allegedly occurred between 2008 and 2014. No other details were immediately released.

Bishop is a registered sex offender, convicted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 2013, according to his listing on the state sex offender registry.

He was held on a $50,000 bond.

A BB gun prompted a lockdown at Killingly High School on Tuesday morning.

School officials said two students reported a potential threat within the school around 11:30 a.m. and the school was placed on immediate lockdown.

Officials said students were kept in classrooms to help expedite the investigation.

Connecticut State Police were notified and after a thorough investigation, students were released back to class around 12:20 p.m.

The item that was discovered was a plastic BB gun, according to school officials.

Police are continuing to investigate to determine who was involved.

The superintendent of schools in Cromwell and assistant superintendent are on paid administrative leave amid an investigation into possible misconduct allegations.

Officials said the Cromwell Board of Education received an anonymous complaint alleging that the Superintendent of Schools John Maloney and Assistant Superintendent of Schools Dr. Krista Karch "have engaged in conduct that could constitute misconduct or could interfere with their respective abilities to carry out their job responsibilities in an effective manner."

The Board of Education said they are ensuring that the allegations are properly investigated. A law firm is expected to conduct an independent review of the allegations. Officials expect the investigation to be complete before the holiday season.

At a meeting early Tuesday morning, the Board of Education decided to place Superintendent Maloney on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Maloney has served at the Cromwell school district’s chief since April 2017.

Officials initially said others, including Dr. Karch, could also possibly be put on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Later in the day, the board of education said Karch was also placed on leave.

The Board of Education said if the investigation finds any school employee has acted inappropriately, they will be held accountable to the extent permitted by law.

Cromwell High School Principal Fran DiFiore has been appointed to serve as the interim superintendent of schools, pending approval from the Commissioner of Education, until the matter is resolved.

The Board of Education will be meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Cromwell High School Library. The meeting is public. Residents are invited to share comments during the public comment portion of the meeting. 

The Connecticut National Guard formally welcomed home 70 guardsmen from deployment with a Freedom Salute at the William A. O’Neill Armory in Hartford Tuesday.

Members of the Connecticut Army National Guard’s 143rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion spent a 10-month deployment providing logical support throughout Eastern Europe while based in Poland. They also oversaw 150 convoys that traveled more than 500,000 miles.

These men and women deployed before Thanksgiving 2017 and came home in September, just in time for the holidays. Those who spoke to NBC Connecticut said it was an emotional and incredible reunion.

“Being there feeling all the emotions and excitement, it's amazing. the best moment of my life honestly,” said Specialist Richard Hoyt. It was his first deployment.

This is the unit’s fourth deployment. They went to Bosnia in 2001, Iraq in 2006 and Kuwait in 2013.

Gov. Dannel Malloy defended his record on job growth and investment during his two terms as Connecticut’s chief statesman during his final post-bond commission press conference.

“We have more private sector jobs in the state of Connecticut today than we have ever had,” Malloy said.

“If you gave that scorecard to anyone out on the street particularly after candidates running for governor said we were bleeding jobs, they wouldn’t believe it. It is a self-defeating criticism when we repeat untruths about the state,” he added.

Malloy, clearly irked by the comments made about him on the campaign trail during the midterm election, spoke to the media after the most recent Bond Commission meeting where the state approved taking on tens of millions in new debt in order to make investments from transportation to economic incentives.

Among the projects was $90 million for interstate highway upgrades in West Hartford, and millions in incentives for companies like Indeed in Stamford, Express Kitchens in Hartford, and GKN Aerospace in Cromwell.

Republican Rep. Chris Davis, (R – Ellington), has long been a critic of the governor’s borrowing and economic development strategy.

Davis, who sits on the Bond Commission by virtue of his ranking member status on the General Assembly’s Finance Committee, says he wishes there was more restraint across the board for projects, noting Connecticut’s fiscal crisis dating back to 2011.

“It’s a desperate need now that we have to try to reduce the state budget and one area that we can control directly as the State of Connecticut is how much debt service we take on and I would highly suggest Governor Lamont try to reduce that number as much as possible,” said Davis.

The governor said he’s had the political courage to use the bond commission to make improvements in the state, something previous governors never did.

“None of us is an ostrich but many of us are ostrich-like. They’d rather hide from the problem than address the problem,” Malloy said.

He called out previous governors for their job growth performance in relation to his. Connecticut has yet to recover all of the jobs lost during the Great Recession, but Malloy says the reason for that is because he helped shrink the executive branch by more than 10 percent.

“Governor Weicker saw the loss of 38,000 jobs during the time that he was governor. Governor Rowland netted by the time he left office 63,000 net jobs. Governor Rell saw the loss of 33,000 jobs and while I’ve been governor we’ve seen the creation of over 100,000 jobs.”

His final criticisms were reserved for Connecticut’s business community. Malloy would not name names, but admonished what he viewed as unproductive points of view from the state’s corporate sector.

“When business organizations and individual leaders of companies spend a lot of time and energy criticizing the state in which they’re located, it is a self-defeating proposition.”

A burglar was captured on camera brazenly breaking into a home in Hebron and making off with Christmas presents.

It happened on Senate Brook Drive last Thursday around 1 p.m., according to State Police.

A man can be seen in surveillance video coming through the back door and making several trips in and out of Maria McKeon’s home with her Christmas presents—still in their shipping boxes—in hand.

“There was a 50-inch TV. There was a computer…” McKeon said. “My kids and I had sort of adopted a family in need and so we had ordered some things for them. And all these things are just gone! It’s just incredible that someone can wipe out your entire Christmas.”

McKeon had a camera system set up that can sense and send alerts when someone rings the doorbell, enters a home, even talks in a room.

She had to turn off her phone last Thursday while at work. When she turned it back on, she saw notifications that someone had been inside and then saw video of a man stealing from her. In the video, it’s clear the man rings the doorbell a handful of times and knocks on the back door before entering.

The suspect also stole McKeon’s jewelry, including family heirlooms and macaroni bracelets her children made for her when they were little.

“A lot of the time I work out of the house so I could have been home. You don’t know if he would have– what he would have done if he had a gun with him,” McKeon said, who is on edge after the incident. She’s now double or triple locking doors.

Before this happened, McKeon was already taking steps to protect her packages. Neighbor Joe Fiumara took some into the garage that day so they weren’t sitting outside.

“Our guards and our defenses are always up wondering if something that would happen again in our neighborhood or anywhere else for that matter,” Fiumara said.

He checked in on McKeon’s home after she saw the burglary video and told her the back door was wide open.

With surveillance video circling on Facebook, police are hoping someone recognizes the person responsible and it leads to an arrest.

Hebron Resident State Trooper Dan Greenwood said several tips have come into Troop K and he encourages anyone who might know something to call in with information.

Another burglary happened that day around the same time but on the other side of town, Greenwood said. Troopers are looking into whether there’s a link.

Troopers are also checking pawn shops and going onto online systems to see if any of the items are pawned off or sold on the black market, Greenwood said.

Something Simple Café in Hebron reached out to McKeon. Starting Wednesday, they will be collecting donations for the family-in-need McKeon and her family were assisting this holiday season. Any person who drops off a gift gets a free hot chocolate, according to owner Jessica Dapsis. Employees will also collectively be making a contribution.

He might move a little slower than your average student about to get his high school diploma, but John Cyrulik is not your average graduate.

The 100-year-old veteran quit Middletown High School back in the 1930s so he could care for his ailing father and support his family.

"My father died and I was the oldest one home and the so I had to support them,” Cyrulik explained.

In 1941, he registered for selective service. Two days later the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and Cyrulik went off to war. He never got his high school diploma.

Now, 82 years later as he turns 100, city leaders in Middletown said it was about time he was recognized for his work at Middletown High School and his brave service to the country.

Cyrulik was given the diploma during a celebration Saturday. The Board of Education voted to ratify it at a meeting Tuesday, making Cyrulik and official graduate of Middletown High School.

As a special gift, leaders got a replica of the 1936 Middletown High School diploma with Cyrulik’s name on it.

The mayor also declared Monday John Cyrulik Day, a fitting tribute for one of Connecticut’s last surviving World War II veterans.