The city of Bridgeport has passed an ordinance raising the legal age to buy tobacco products to 21.

Hartford was the first city to take such action last year, and several other towns and cities in the state are considering similar policies.

The ordinance comes amid reports of a spike in the number of high school students using e-cigarettes. 

In December the surgeon general called the use of e-cigarettes among young people an epidemic amid a reported 75 percent increase in high school student use from last year, and a 50 percent increase by middle schoolers.

Many health advocates applauded the move to raise the legal purchase age.

“Raising the tobacco age of sale to 21 is one of the best things cities can do to focus on reducing youth initiation and addiction to tobacco products, including e-cigarettes,” said Kevin O’Flaherty, Regional Director of Advocacy for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids during his testimony in front of the Council. “While other policies work to increase cessation and reduce consumption among adults, Tobacco 21 is focused on exclusively on protecting kids and keeping all addictive tobacco products out of schools and out of their hands.”

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Not everyone is in support of upping the age. When Hartford passed their ordinance the National Association of Tobacco Outlets sent councilors a letter saying it will hurt retailers. Critics have argued that younger adults can just go to another city or town to purchase.

A gas leak is causing traffic delays on Boston Post Road in Milford, police said Tuesday.

Police said CT Gas crews were working to fix a broken gas value. Boston Post Road is down to one lane between Orange Avenue and Forest Road.

Drivers should expect delays in the area.

No other details were immediately available.

Check back for updates.

The U.S. Coast Guard roamed the waters of the Connecticut River in East Haddam Tuesday breaking up ice blanketing the surface.

That ice is only half as thick as it was last year, giving people in the area hope the kind of damage they saw in 2018 won’t come again.

"It’s very interesting, especially with the stuff that happened last year," said Jarrett Cacace of Chester.

Just across from the river at La Vita at Goodspeed Landing, there are memories of last year’s ice jams and happiness that so far, that’s not the case in 2019.

"This year it’s been the most mild winter I’ve seen in the last four or five years. Last year it was crazy," said Chester resident Gary Torello.

"We had people who’ve never been to this area down here taking photos. It was really great for business," said Alexina Hebert.

Hebert, who works at the restaurant, said the ice of 2018 created a boom for business with people coming from all over to see it. The tradeoff was all the damage that ice caused, something she hopes won’t repeat this year.

"Very happy that it hasn’t happened again. It was very bad for a lot of homes along the river," Hebert said.

The NBC Connecticut meteorologists don’t expect the ice on the river to be nearly as problematic as last year, when the ice pushed water onto land, flooding homes and businesses in the area. Residents hope the temperatures hold so we don’t see any more of that.

"That would be nice. The less flooding, the better," Cacace said.

It's worth noting that the USCG crew out on the river is working without pay during the federal government shutdown. The Coast Guard is the only branch of the military not getting paid during the shutdown.

A water pump failure has closed a school in Bolton on Wednesday.

The water pump failure is at Bolton Center School and the school will be closed for the day, according to Superintendent Christine Heckt.

Officials did not give an estimate for how long it will take to repair the pump problem.

There's no word if there's any damage at the school.

There are delays on Interstate 84 West in Middlebury after a crash involving a tractor-trailer and a car, according to state police. 

The CT Travel Smart website says the highway is congested for more than six miles between exits 18 and 16.

One lane is closed.

No additional information was immediately available.

Mounting research is calling into question whether bite mark evidence used in court cases is unreliable, and that's just one of the forensic techniques being found tenuous by independent researchers, NBC News reported.

Critics say the techniques are leading to wrongful convictions even after dozens of studies have warned that common forensic science methods may be inaccurate.

"If we don't have technologies that are objective, repeatable and reliable, then we have no idea how many times we're making the wrong decision,” said Alicia Carriquiry, director of the government-funded Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence.

Prosecutors in Paul Aaron Ross' upcoming retrial for the 2004 murder of a 26-year-old woman will rely on bite marks, which helped seal his conviction. The retrial comes after an appeals court decided Ross' lawyer wasn't given enough time to prepare, but a debate over bite marks is holding it up.

A 70-year-old man who was reported missing from Watertown on Wednesday has been found safe.

Police said a Silver Alert was issued for Albert Ford after he was last seen in Watertown on Tuesday.

Ford was found on Wednesday morning. Police did not release details on where he was found.

Officials continue to investigate an odor of chlorine in New Haven Wednesday morning.

According to fire officials, firefighters received a call around 3:30 a.m. from a resident near the H. Krevit & Company, a chlorine plant, on Welton Street reporting that he or she was having trouble breathing. He or she was taken to the hospital to be checked out.

Crews found a strong chlorine smell in the area, according to firefighters, but it was not considered to be a hazmat situation.

The smell has dissipated and officials said that while it smells like chlorine, they cannot confirm that's what the odor was.

Firefighters checked H Krevit & Company and said their meters did not picking up any measurements of a chlorine leak at the plant.

“This is where they make chlorine, but right now there’s nothing at Krevit that’s going off at this time. There’s no leaks, there’s no releases or anything. Right now we’re in the process of metering. We have a crew right now metering," said New Haven Fire Department Battalion Chief Tyrone Ewing.

Firefighters expanded their search to nearby buildings and the AMTRAK train tracks behind the plant.

Fire officials said at one point that they believed the odor was coming from the Leeway Nursing Home on Albert Street, which is right around the corner from the initial investigation at the chlorine plant, but that was a dead end.

“I guess what it was is that it was getting dragged into the sewer lines and then being pushed into the buildings, but once they metered Leeway as well, we didn’t get any readings in there as well. So the odor that was out here made its way in there probably through the HVAC system, or through the sewer lines,” Batallion Chief Tyrone Ewing said.

Crews from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to assess whether sewer lines need to be cut.

Welton Street was closed between Albert Street and Armstrong Street. 

Police have arrested a 26-year-old man they say stabbed his roommate before being hit by a car in Shelton on Tuesday night.

Carmelo Rivera got into an argument with his 60-year-old roommate that escalated into Rivera grabbing a knife and stabbing the roommate, according to police.

Rivera then left the apartment on Howe Avenue and stepped into traffic, where he was hit by a passing car, police said.

Officers arriving just after 8:15 p.m. on Tuesday night found Rivera unconscious at the scene.

They also found the victim suffering from multiple stab wounds.

Both the victim and Rivera were taken to the hospital, where the victim is listed in critical but stable condition.

Rivera was treated and then charged Wednesday morning with criminal attempted murder and first-degree assault of an elderly person.

He was held on $500,000 bond and taken to Derby Superior Court to be arraigned.

Connecticut State Police have identified the man who was shot during an officer-involved shooting in Ledyard late Sunday night.

Officers said they attempted to stop a vehicle on Lantern Hill Road shortly before 11:30 p.m. after the driver, later identified as 35-year-old Francisco Hernandez, of Hartford, nearly hit a police cruiser.

Police said Hernandez refused to stop and turned left onto Route 214 westbound. A Ledyard police officer was able to deploy stop sticks at the intersection of Route 214 and Spicer Hill Road.

Hernandez passed through the Spicer Hill Road intersection and continued into a driveway on Reservoir View, according to officers.

Once in the driveway, Hernandez drove around the house into the backyard.

Police said despite receiving several directives from officers to exit his vehicle, he continued to operate erratically.

Hernandez then drove his vehicle towards the officers, where two officers fired several rounds from their duty weapon, police said.

According to police, Hernandez was hit at least once.

He then drove his vehicle into a wooded area, where it came to rest against a tree.

The officers immediately rendered medical attention to him and called emergency medical personnel to the scene, police said.

Hernandez was transported to Lawrence+Memorial Hospital in New London and was later transferred to Yale-New Haven Hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.

No officers were injured during the incident. 

The New London County State's Attorney's Office was notified and responded to assume the investigation into the shooting, along with Connecticut State Police.

Police said no arrest has been made, however charges for Hernandez are pending.

At Victor Auto Body Works in Middletown, they’ve mostly been seeing cars with damage from trees, but they say ice missiles cause similar damage to windshields.

They expect to see at least a dozen cars here by the end of the week with ice missile damage.

“Probably through nine to noon time, right through the rest of the day,” Tyler Rook said.

No more than hour after opening up shop Monday morning, Tyler Rook, who is no rookie to post winter storm car repairs, says the calls came quickly.

“It was one phone call after the other,” Rook said.

“They’re out there and it’s happening,” Rook said.

State police say they’re seeing even more “ice missile” calls than usual. Since Friday, they’ve issued 57 tickets for people not clearing their cars of snow and ice.

The fine is $120 dollars but the cost to victims, Rook says, is even greater.

“It could go from a repair about a small couple thousand dollars, $1500 repair, to a complete and total vehicle loss,” Rook said.

Troopers say some accidents have even been caused by drivers swerving to miss ice missiles.

The flying icicles could also put your car in the shop for anywhere from two to three weeks. A five to 10 minute chore some drivers are skipping and causing a long lasting and potentially costly ripple effect.

“It does put a little extra burden on the shop, but then we just step up our game and start processing cars faster,” Rook said.

A cow that was seen wandering around in the woods in New Britain on New Year's Eve has been rescued.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said the cow has been rescued and is being moved out of state by Farm Sanctuary.

Farm Santuary works to protect farm animals from cruelty, according to its twitter page.

Mayor Stewart tweeted a photo of the cow and the trailer being used to transport him or her on Wednesday.

The cow was on the loose in the west end of the city, by the Plainville line on New Year's Eve, according to Mayor Stewart.

A Norwich police officer has been placed on leave after he was arrested in Farmington Tuesday night and charged with driving under the influence, according to Norwich Police.

Chase Chiangi, 32, was off-duty and driving a personal vehicle when he was arrested during a routine traffic stop at 8:15 p.m., Norwich Police said.

Chiangi, who has been with the Norwich Police Department since 2008, was charged with failure to obey a stop sign and operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor or drugs, according to Norwich Police. He is due in Hartford Superior Court on Jan. 30.

Police Chief Patrick Daley said the department expects officers to exercise good judgment and “conduct themselves appropriately both on-duty and off-duty.”

Michael Cohen is delaying his testimony before the House Oversight Committee, in part because of threats that President Donald Trump and Trump's personal lawyer have made against his family, Cohen's spokesman said Wednesday.

"This is a time where Mr. Cohen had to put his family and their safety first," Cohen spokesman Lanny Davis said in a statement.

Cohen had been due to appear in front of the committee on Feb. 7 in an open session. He pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about a project Trump had been working on in Moscow during the presidential campaign, and is now cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller.

Trump has referred to Cohen's father-in-law several times on Twitter. Last week, Trump tweeted that Cohen was "Lying to reduce his jail time!" and added, "Watch father-in-law!"

Davis' statement referred to that tweet in Wednesday's statement. It said Cohen "looks forward to testifying."

"Due to ongoing threats against his family from President Trump and Mr. [Rudolph] Giuliani, as recently as this weekend, as well as Mr. Cohen's continued cooperation with ongoing investigations, by advice of counsel, Mr. Cohen’s appearance will be postponed to a later date," Davis said.

NBC has reached out to the oversight committee and the White House for comment.

It’s time for baseball fans to think ahead to spring and summer. In just over two weeks, Hartford Yard Goats tickets will go on sale.

The team announced this morning that individual tickets will go on sale for all home games on Friday, Feb. 8.

You can buy tickets in person only, beginning at 10 a.m. on Feb. 8, at the Click It or Ticket Box Office at Dunkin’ Donuts Park.

The first 50 fans to buy tickets in person will receive a $25 Dunkin’ gift card.

Starting at noon that day, you can order tickets over the phone and online at www.yardgoatsbaseball.com.

The home opener will be on Thursday, April 11 at 7:05 p.m. The Yard Goats will host the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

See the full schedule here. 

“We are excited to announce that our individual game tickets will be available for our fans on February 8th, the earliest we’ve had them on sale,” Yard Goats General Manager Mike Abramson said in a statement. “Yard Goats fans are the best and most loyal fans in baseball, and we can’t wait to see them this season!”

A water main break on LaSalle Road in West Hartford is affecting several businesses. 

Officials from the MDC said there is an 8-inch water main break near 76 LaSalle Road. 

The main, which installed in 1929, was shut down around 9:30 a.m. and all businesses on LaSalle Road, from Farmington Avenue to Arapahoe Road, are affected by the shutdown. 

The repairs are expected to take six to eight hours and be completed between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

MDC said the businesses were notified before the water was shut off.

The Thomas Hooker School in Bridgeport will be closed Thursday and Friday to repair damage from a burst sprinkler line.

School officials said the line burst around 10 a.m. on Wednesday and nine classrooms are affected. Students and teachers were dismissed early.

Repair crews determined the cause was a sprinkler line in the attic that froze and burst. Repairs are underway and school officials expect to reopen as usual Monday.

Eversource is warning customers not to fall victim to a common robocall scam.

The company said scammers are sending robocalls out to customers claiming the power will be shut down in 30 minutes without payment. Some of the scammers are using technology that makes it appear that Eversource is calling on the caller ID.

Eversource stressed that these calls are not legitimate and that the company would never demand immediate payment then threaten shutoff. You can always call to verify you’re speaking with an actual Eversource representative by calling 800-286-2000.

The impact of the explosive report released by the Archdiocese of Hartford Tuesday continues to be felt as parishioners come to terms with the implications of the sexual abuse scandal in Connecticut.

NBC Connecticut spoke to parishioners who said while the revelation was upsetting, they are relieved the abuse has come to light as they maintain their faith in the church.

“It’s just nice to see that the church is taking responsibility,” said Terrie Brosmith, a parishioner at St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church in Hartford. “It’s kind of starting to restore my faith in the church. I had been disappointed in how the church had been handling it.”

The Archdiocese admitted that since 1953, nearly 50 clergy members were credibly accused of sexually assaulting minors.

Brosmith, who attends mass every day, said her faith has not faltered.

“I think a lot of it depends upon the parish that you’re in, and I’m St. Patrick-St. Anthony. I find that the parish is very warm and welcoming.”

She said she has raised her son within the church as well.

“My son is 16, and we did grow up in this church and I’ve been very involved in the children’s programs, so I have been very well aware of how they operate the programs.”

The Archdiocese said over the years it has settled 142 claims involving 32 priests around the state, paying out a total of $50.6 million.

Lawyers for Paul Manafort said Wednesday that Robert Mueller's prosecutors have unfairly accused him of lying in his sessions with them after he pleaded guilty.

The Mueller team has accused him of failing to abide by his agreement to cooperate with investigators during 12 debriefings and two appearances before a grand jury, NBC News reported.

They have said he lied about a $125,000 payment he received in 2017, his conversations with a former associate who's been accused of being a Russian intelligence operative, contacts with administration officials, and an unspecified ongoing investigation.