New London police are searching for multiple suspects accused of attacking a juvenile with a baseball bat.

New London police said they were called to the area of Wall and Summer streets around 8:38 p.m. for a report of multiple people in a gold sedan chasing someone. Witnesses reported one of the people in the car had a machete.

A short time later police received a second report of a male victim being beaten with a baseball bat and police located a juvenile victim.

He was taken to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Investigators are following several leads in the case. Anyone with information should contact police.

Some Meriden residents say they don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods and gathered at a meeting Wednesday night to ask the city to bring back community policing.

The police chief supports the program, but there are concerns about how to pay for it.

In mid-September, community policing came to an end in Meriden due to budget cuts. Some say they’ve seen a negative impact where they live.

“They're very scared. Some people want to move out of Meriden. They don't feel safe,” said North End Neighborhood Association President Steven Cardillo.

Meriden’s Neighborhood Initiative, called NI, shut down three months ago, and in that short time some say the image of their area and quality of life has fallen.

“We need the proactive presence back out there in the neighborhoods to make a difference and get our neighborhoods back on track,” one neighbor said.

At Wednesday’s Public Safety Committee meeting councilors heard from homeowners and local churches about what the loss of community policing has meant for them.

After a $600,000 budget cut, Police Chief Jeffry Cossette said the department had to reassign those nine officers and three supervisors to patrol. He requested an immediate partial restoration at a cost of $200,000. This would bring community policing back to four neighborhoods with the largest call volume.

Councilors questioned the need for the unit and noted that overall crime is down. But neighbors say it’s obvious the difference an officer assigned to their neighborhood can make.

The mayor said he supports the immediate budget increase. In order for that to go through, a resolution would need to go before the council, then go to committee, then back to the council for a vote.

Enfield police say they have arrested a man accused of stalking a Connecticut State Police trooper.

The suspect, 32-year-old Marcus Cameron, was arrested Tuesday. He has not yet returned NBC Connecticut’s request comment.

In an arrest warrant application, police allege Cameron jumped in his car and trailed an off-duty trooper who was in his cruiser on Nov. 12. Cameron is accused of following the trooper for more than four miles throughout town.

Detectives say it ended with the trooper calling police, pulling into a mall parking lot and officers then questioning everyone.

Investigators say there’s been tension for months between the trooper and Cameron who both used to live on Foxcroft Road.

In May, police say the trooper spoke to Cameron about his driving in the neighborhood. Investigators say Cameron then became upset and started frequently driving by the trooper’s home, even filing complaints about the trooper with state police, which were recently ruled unfounded.

In an interview, the trooper told detectives, “All of these incidents are alarming and Cameron’s actions are very troublesome and have instilled fear for the safety” of him and his family.

Now seven months after this all started, the trooper has moved his family from the street and Cameron faces a charge of third-degree stalking.

The trooper now also has a protective order against the suspect. 

President Donald Trump has told people close to him in recent days that he is alarmed by the prospect of impeachment, as the consequences of federal investigations involving his associates and Democratic control of the House sink in, multiple sources told NBC News.

On Wednesday, federal prosecutors announced an agreement with American Media Inc, in which the publisher of the National Enquirer admitted to making a $150,000 payment in 2016 to silence a woman alleging an affair with Trump, in coordination with his presidential campaign, to prevent her story from influencing the election. That revelation came after Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen admitted that he violated campaign finance laws by arranging hush payments to women in 2016 at the direction of Trump.

“The entire question about whether the president committed an impeachable offense now hinges on the testimony of two men: David Pecker and Allen Weisselberg, both cooperating witnesses in the SDNY investigation," a close Trump ally told NBC News.

Weisselberg is the chief financial officer for Trump organization who was allegedly in the center of the hush money operation. He was reportedly granted immunity for his testimony. Pecker is the chief executive at AMI.

First lady Melania Trump said that the most difficult part of her time in the White House is watching "opportunists" use her family's name to advance their careers, claiming they're not recording history properly, NBC News reported. 

"I would say the opportunists who are using my name or my family's names to advance themselves, from comedians to journalists, to performers, bookwriters," she said in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity which aired Wednesday. "The problem is they are writing the history and it's not correct." 

In the interview, Trump also said that sometimes she doesn't agree with her husband's tone "and I tell him that."

Del Monte has recalled more than 64,000 cases of corn because they could spoil and lead to life-threatening illnesses if eaten. 

Cans of Fiesta Corn seasoned with red and green peppers were shipped to 25 U.S. states, including: Alaska, Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

The cans of corn were under-processed during the sterilization process, which could result in contamination by spoilage organisms or pathogens. 

The company has not received any reports of illness, according to Tuesday's announcement from the FDA, but consuming the product could result in a life-threatening illness.

The affected cans are 15.24 ounces and have the number "24000 02770" printed on the label.

Customers who purchased the product are encouraged to return it to the place they purchased it from for a full refund or exchange. 

The cans were also shipped to 12 international locations. 

The scene is now clear after a crash that was causing delays on Interstate 95 North in Madison.

A tractor-trailer and car collided near exit 62.

No additional information was immediately available.

An armored truck rained money onto a New Jersey highway Thursday morning, causing two crashes as drivers attempted to collect the cash scattered across several lanes. 

Videos posted on social media show a Brink’s truck parked on the side of Route 3 in East Rutherford as one armored truck driver desperately tried to collect the cash on the road. Police said one of the truck's doors may have malfunctioned and become unsecured shortly before 8:30 a.m.

"The driver seemed to be both kind of laughing and crying at the same time, and he was kind of running around, telling people to stop," said Betsy Richards, who witnessed the cash grab as she commuted into the city on a bus. 

It's not clear how much money spilled out, but Richards said it appeared to be a lot. 

"I did see $100 bills, and 5's and 10's and 50's, so it was at least $10,000 on the highway," said Richards.  

Drivers leaving their vehicles to pick up the cash caused two accidents, police said.  In one video, a person can be seen attempting to collect some of the currency from the roadway. 

News 4 on the scene even captured one man who lives nearby wandering on the side of the highway hours later, casually perusing the field. 

"Nah, there's nothing over here," the man later told News 4, laughing. "They took it all, guys."

While witnesses got quite a kick out of watching drivers scrambling to pick up the cash -- like a game of Frogger in between moving traffic -- police are reminding the public it's theft. Anyone who collected money in connection with the spill is urged to call the East Rutherford Police Department at 2-1438-0165 "to make arrangements for its return with no charges filed." 

As of Thursday afternoon, police said several people had contacted the department in an attempt to locate money they had found on the highway. 

Brinks "provides U.S. and global security services including secure logistics, cash management, payment and retail back office solutions," according to its website. 

A vice president for the company said he could "confirm that there was an incident with one of our trucks this morning which we are investigating," without elaborating.

The man accused of robbing a store in Windsor and leading police on a chase into Hartford Thursday morning has been arrested.

Windsor police said officers responded to Jay’s Mobil at 680 Poquonock Ave. just after 3:30 am. Thursday to investigate a report of an armed robbery and a clerk said the man implied he had a weapon and demanded cash.

The employee told officers she fought with the man and he left, got into a tan Toyota Camry that did not have a license plate and went south on Interstate 91.

A Windsor Police officer saw the car near exit 34 and followed the vehicle as it fled to Interstate 84 West, then off the highway to Asylum Avenue in Hartford.

After a short chase, the driver of the Camry tried to turn from Farmington Avenue onto Owen Street, but rolled over, got out of the overturned car and ran, police said.

The officer chased him, caught him and took him into custody after a short struggle.

Police have identified the suspect as 41-year-old Robert Shepard Jr., of Coventry.

He was taken to St. Francis Hospital and later released into police custody, then brought back to the Windsor Police Department where he was interviewed about the robbery, according to police.

Police said the car he was driving had been reported stolen from Southbury on Dec. 5.

Shepard has been charged with robbery in the first degree, larceny sixth degree, interfering with an officer, larceny in the third degree for the stolen car, engaging an officer in pursuit, reckless driving and criminal impersonation.

Police said a female was in the car during the robbery, chase and crash and police are looking into any potential involvement she might have.

Windsor police are working with police in surrounding towns to determine if Shepard is involved in other robberies.

Manchester police said they are looking into whether the same man robbed the Xtramart on Hartford Road this morning. 

Police are investigating an untimely death on Ellington Avenue in Vernon and said the person might have been dead for a while. 

They said there is no indication of foul play or criminal activity and firefighters have responded because of the strong odor. 

No additional information was immediately available.

An employee of a childcare facility in Greenwich has been arrested after police investigated allegations of her force-feeding a 17-month-old baby.

Karen Van Tobel, 56, of Greenwich, is accused of force-feeding the young child to the point where the baby cried and choked, according to a news release from Greenwich Police.

A caseworker from the state Department of Children and Families contacted police on Oct. 24 to report an incident on Oct. 16 and police said video shows food being forced into the child’s mouth as the child cried, gagged and choked.

Van Tobel was charged with risk of injury and intentional cruelty of persons. She was released on a $25,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 20.

Wexler-Grant Community School on Foote Street in New Haven is dismissing at 12:10 p.m. after a fire, according to fire officials.

The fire started around 9:15 a.m. in a school bathroom and it was contained.

However, there was heavy smoke and the students were moved the Yale's Ingalls Rink, then moved to the auditorium, according to fire officials.

Parents were allowed to pick children up before early dismissal. Lunch was served to students and aftercare was provided for children who could not be picked up by 12:10 p.m.

Health officials and the school maintenance crews are inspecting the building and monitoring air quality to determine if the school can reopen on Friday.

“I want to thank the New Haven Fire Department and our other public safety partners and our Facilities Team for the prompt and professional response to this incident. Principal Diah and his Team followed emergency protocols to ensure the safety of students and staff. I appreciate the maturity and cooperation of the students who were excellent during this incident,” said Superintendent Dr. Carol D. Birks.

The only elementary school in Tolland might need to be rebuilt after cracks were found in the foundation. 

The issue has plagued several homeowners in Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties and now cracks have been found in the foundation of Birch Grove Primary School,  which the school's website said was established in 1999.  

“This is really the first public building that I know of that has come to light in terms of a significant problem,” Steve Werbner, Tolland’s town manager, said. 

He said local officials did a visual inspection of all the public buildings and inspectors noticed spider cracking at the school about a year ago. 

Further foundation core testing and records confirmed the school had pyrrhotite, the naturally occurring mineral, that experts say has caused the concrete to crumble and created trouble for many Connecticut homeowners. 

Because the school is made of brick, Werbner said, it will be difficult to lift the foundation, which means the school will most likely have to be demolished and rebuilt. The town has put $40 million away for the project. 

“To replace a school that’s as young as this school would certainly have an impact on our long-range debt plan and is something hopefully that can be mitigated in cost over time,” Werbner said. 

Werbner hopes a school reimbursement program through the state of Connecticut could help cover the cost. 

Engineers said the school is structurally sound for the next five years. 

“Hopefully it will be an easy fix. We’ll see,” said Deb Vengruskas, whose grandson goes to the school.

Manchester police are investigating an armed robbery this morning and said it might be connected to a robbery in Windsor and police chase into Hartford.

The Manchester robbery happened just before 12:30 p.m. Thursday at the Xtramart at 404 Hartford Road.

Police said the robber threatened to use a gun, but did not show one, ran off after getting a small amount of cash, then got into an older model Toyota Camry and took off on the westbound side of Interstate 354.

The robbery in Windsor happened around three hours later, at 3:30 a.m. Thursday, at the Jay’s Mobil at 680 Poquonock Ave., located around 13 miles from the Xtramart.

The suspect implied he had a weapon, but did not show one, and fled after the clerk fought with him, according to the police department.

Police identified the suspect in the Windsor robbery as 41-year-old Robert Shepard Jr., of Coventry.

The employee told officers that he got into a tan Toyota Camry that did not have a license plate and went south on Interstate 91.

He was taken into custody after a chase into Hartford and has been charged with robbery in the first degree, larceny sixth degree, interfering with an officer, larceny in the third degree for the stolen car, engaging an officer in pursuit, reckless driving and criminal impersonation, according to police.

Manchester police said the person who robbed the Xtramart also matches the description of the person who robbed the Xtramart on Buckland Street on Tuesday.

Manchester police are investigating and ask anyone with information to call at 860-645-5500.

A Chester County courtroom was moved to tears Thursday as the parents of a teenage girl who was murdered in a road rage shooting last year demanded maximum prison time for the man who ended her life.

David Desper will serve at least 20 years in a Pennsylvania prison for the murder of 18-year-old Bianca Roberson. Common Pleas Judge Ann Marie Wheatcraft sentenced the 28-year-old to a maximum of 40 years, but he will be eligible for parole in 2038. 

Desper, of Trainer, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in September to shooting the college-bound teen in the head as they jockeyed for position along Route 100 in June 2017. Roberson was killed instantly. Her car swerved off the highway and into the woods as Desper fled. He went to a friend's house in Delaware and hid for several days before turning himself in.

Chester County Assistant District Attorney Chris Miller noted that during Desper's time hiding, he played mini golf and ate pancakes. 

"What kind of man shoots a little girl and then eats pancakes?" Miller asked. "Our character is what we do when we think no one is looking. What did the defendant do? He fled."

At first, Roberson's family thought she died in a tragic accident, but days later they learned it was a bullet that claimed the teen's life. 

Her parents, Rodney and Michelle Roberson, delivered heartbreaking statements to the court Thursday morning, saying dreams for their daughter's future were ripped apart the day she died.

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"I hate you," Michelle Roberson said to Desper.

The judge and courtroom staff wiped away tears as she went on, recounting happy moments with her daughter that she will never experience again.

"All I have left of Bianca is my memories," Rodney Roberson said in a separate statement.

"My questions for the defendant are simple: Why in God’s name did you shoot my daughter? Because she was young? Because she was black? Because she was a girl? Because you wanted to go first on the road? Because you had a bad day?"

Desper looked down and cried as Roberson's parents spoke.

Bianca's grandmother, family friends and a school administrator also delivered statements. Emotions ran so high in the courtroom that, at one point, the judge called a short recess.

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After the break, Desper addressed the courtroom with his hands shackled as he choked back tears. He sobbed while attempting to apologize to the Roberson family. They just shook their heads. Roberson’s mother abruptly left while he spoke.

"I am so sorry," Desper said. "I would do anything to take it back."

Earlier, family and friends described the convicted murderer as a "gentle giant" who was kind and always willing to help. His mother, Wendy Desper, said that she wanted to speak with Roberson’s mother "mom to mom."

"She’s not a mom today because of what my son did," Wendy Desper said, sobbing and clutching a tissue.

But the judge, who also cried while delivering her own statement, said that Desper could never take back what he did.

"I don’t believe you were afraid," Judge Wheatcraft said to Desper. "I believe it was anger."

Here's Rodney Roberson's full victim impact statement:

Dear Judge Wheatcraft,

My name is Rodney Roberson. I am, and forever will be, the father of Bianca Roberson.

Everybody thinks I am a tough guy. I was raised in West Philadelphia. I enlisted in the United States Army, served honorably, then enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and served honorably again. When I finished my service with the Marines, I returned to West Philly, but I quickly saw that there was nothing but trouble there. I then joined the United States Merchant Marines, where I have worked for the last 28 years. We move big ships around the country and world. My work is hard, but it is honest work. So maybe I am a tough guy.

But not when it came to Bianca. She was my youngest child, my baby. She always could make me smile and make life a little brighter. 

Let me tell you about my little girl. Bianca was a child who was always happy, and she brought that joy to everyone around her. With adults, she was shy and respectful. With her friends, she was kind, gentle, and funny. To me, she was the smartest and most beautiful young woman in the world. 

When you are a father, you laugh at your sons, but you worry about your daughters. Who will be there to protect them when you are not around? Will they always be safe? What can you do to make sure they don’t get hurt? Nothing hurts a dad more than his daughter’s tears. 

Bianca was hard-working and generous. She got a job at the McDonald’s on Gay Street in West Chester. I would go there to eat just to see her working, proud that she had a job. She would whisper to me, “Dad, you have to go home!” But I would just sit and watch her working, smiling at my little girl. Then, when she got her first paycheck, she insisted on taking me out to dinner, just to say thank you for being her father. I told her that I would pay, but she refused, her quiet way of telling me she loved me and that she was growing up. 

My wife and I decided to raise Bianca in Chester County because it was safe. We didn’t want to risk the violence of West Philadelphia. We wanted her to grow up around nice people in a nice place. 

We wanted everything for Bianca. I wanted her to go to college, something I never got to do. She was going to Jacksonville University on a scholarship, ready to study crime scene forensics. I wanted her to graduate and get a good job, working in an office and getting paid good money without breaking her back working on the docks. I wanted her to fall in love, get married, and then have kids. She always told me that she was going to have six kids -- three boys and three girls. I wanted to live long enough to spoil my grandchildren.

All my dreams for Bianca were coming true. Until the day that the defendant murdered by daughter.

My questions for the defendant are simple. Why in God’s name did you shoot my daughter? Because she was young? Because she was black? Because she was a girl? Because you wanted to go first on the road? Because you had a bad day?

How do you think your family would feel if somebody had murdered you like you murdered my daughter?

All I have left of Bianca is my memories. She had a special song that she said was her song just for me – “Dancing With My Father” by Luther Vandross. It is a song about a child whose father died, and about how that child is praying for one more dance with her father. I always teased her that it was such a sad song and I planned on living forever anyway. Here is a little bit of the song: 

Back when I was a child
Before life removed all the innocence
My father would lift me high
And dance with my mother and me
And then
Spin me around ‘till I fell asleep
Then up the stairs he would carry me
And I knew for sure
I was loved

If I could get another chance
Another walk
Another dance with him
I’d play a song that would never ever end
How I’d love love love
To dance with my father again 

Your Honor, I would love to dance with my daughter again. But I never will.

Respectfully,
Rodney Roberson

A water main break has caused a huge sinkhole on Chestnut Street in New Britain.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart Tweeted out a photo that shows part of the street has collapsed.

No additional information was immediately available.

The bomb threats sent to schools and businesses around the country Thursday afternoon promised that "there will be many wounded people" unless its recipient sent $20,000 in bitcoin, according to the text of the note obtained by News 4 New York.

The apparnet emails were sent to dozens if not hundreds of locations around the country, including at least 30 to 40 spots in New York City. They appeared to have been sent out robo-style, with seemingly no rhyme or reason for those targeted. The NYPD said the threats are not credible and are likely a hoax -- and no devices have been recovered at the locations in the city.

High schools and businesses in Connecticut and New Jersey also received them as have scores of addresses from Florida to California. 

Police officials told News 4 the email threats received in New York were consistent with those around the country, and at least 40 were sent to entitities in New York City. The NYPD responded to "numerous" calls Thursday; the NYPD's Intelligence Bureau is investigating along with the FBI.

A law enforcement source provided News 4 New York the text of one of the notes, though it is not clear if its contents are the same as the others. 

In the note, an unnamed menace threatens to detonate a well-hidden and compact explosive unless the recipient sends the untraceable cryptocurrency.

"If any suspicious activity, panic or emergency is noticed the device will be blown up. I can withdraw my recruited person if you pay," the threat states. "You send me 20,000 USD in BTC [Bitcoin] and the device will not detonate."

The FBI said in a statement that it is aware of the threats.

"As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety," the agency said.

No arrests have been made in the case and it's not clear if any of the threats nationwide have been deemed credible.

The Bronx High School of Science was the recipient of a bomb threat Thursday morning, but it's not immediately clear if it was tied to the nationwide scare. In that incident, the threat was phoned in from out of state, and a secretary picked up the call. 

The school was evacuated and officials said students were "well supervised at neighboring schools." The NYPD's ESU searched the school and deemed it safe, and was considered all clear. 

Steep budget cuts totaling $453,983 forced the Meriden Police Department to pull three police officers out of the schools in September and put them back on patrol.

It was the first time in almost 20 years that Lincoln Middle School didn’t have a police officer in the school every day. After three months, the city council was able to find enough money elsewhere in the budget and reinstate the school resource officers to Lincoln Middle School and Washington Middle School. Monday was their first day back.

One of those officers was Thomas Giannakopoulos.

“I’m grateful to be here and whoever had to move anything around to get me back, I’m happy to be back,” Officer Giannakopoulos said. 

The principal of Lincoln Middle School, Dianne Vumback, said losing the school resource officer meant so much more than a loss of safety and security. 

“He’s certainly a first responder. But when he was gone it was noticeable because he has such a positive influence on our students every day, either greeting them first thing in the morning, helping them solve a problem or eating lunch with them in the cafeteria,” Vumback said. 

The city council was able to free up $60,000 for other city departments to pay for two of the officers to return to each of the middle schools. Students at Lincoln Middle School said they were thrilled to have Officer Giannakopoulos return this week. 

The city council is now being asked to find money to bring back some of the community police officers as part of the Neighborhood Initiative Program. 

This is how the city paid for the two school resource officers to return through the end of the school year: 

• $10,122.71 from Legal Administrative
• $3,859.49 from Engineering Administrative
• $23,385.60 from Engineering Supervisors
• $4,284.80 from Emergency Communications - MME
• $5,501.33 from Health & Human Services
• $1,350.40 from Development & Enforcement – MME
• $5,848 from Library – MME
• $6,172.50 from Park & Rec – Public Works
• TOTAL - $60,525 for the 2 school resource officers at Washington & Lincoln Middle Schools
•  

This did not cover the school resource officer returning to the elementary schools.

Donald Trump was the third person in the room in August 2015 when his lawyer Michael Cohen and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker discussed ways Pecker could help counter negative stories about Trump's relationships with women, NBC News has confirmed. 

As part of a non-prosecution agreement disclosed Wednesday by federal prosecutors, American Media Inc., the Enquirer's parent company, admitted that "Pecker offered to help deal with negative stories about that presidential candidate's relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided."

The "Statement of Admitted Facts" says that AMI admitted making a $150,000 payment "in concert with the campaign," and says that Pecker, Cohen, and "at least one other member of the campaign" were in the meeting. According to a person familiar with the matter, the "other member" was Trump.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, which investigated Cohen's hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, declined to comment.

Health officials on Thursday issued an update to their previous warnings about romaine lettuce, urging consumers to find out where their lettuce originated.

In a statement Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises consumers to "not eat and retailers and restaurants not serve or sell any romaine lettuce harvested from certain counties in the Central Coastal growing regions of northern and central California."

"If you do not know where the romaine is from, do not eat it," the statement says.

Officials focused especially on three California counties — Monterey, San Benito and Santa Barbara — and warned the public not to "buy, serve, sell, or eat romaine lettuce" from those regions.

Some romaine lettuce products are now labeled with a harvest location by region. Consumers, restaurants, and retailers should check bags or boxes of romaine lettuce for a label indicating where the lettuce was harvested.

Read the full warning from the CDC here.