It has become the norm to see Coast Guard men and women, some in uniform, in the aisles of the pop-up food pantry at the Coast Guard Academy in New London.

While everyone has said they’re extraordinarily grateful for the community support, not receiving a paycheck has faded optimism and built anxiety as the shutdown lingers on.

“There’s a lot of hurt. We’ve come together but we’re going to forever feel this. This has been really hard,” said Petty Officer Second Class Crystal Walker, a yeoman with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Walker said she’s extremely grateful to have her Coast Guard family to lean on. But with it nearing week five of the partial government shutdown, that family is getting smaller.

“We’ve lost a lot of our Coast Guard civilians who have had to take other jobs,” Walker said.

Her paycheck helps support her husband and four children. He’s part of the Navy and receiving an income.

On day 33, there’s still no end in sight to the partial government shutdown. Across the nation Coast Guard families are still not receiving a paycheck.

“You can just see the morale, it’s going down. We’re going along with our jobs and doing the best we can, but you can see the hurt it is causing,” Walker said.

The Coast Guard is still out on missions. Just yesterday crews were breaking ice on the Connecticut River.

“We rely on the paycheck month to month. The fact that it’s not there, it puts a real gap there,” said Petty Officer Third Class Kameko Zayas-Bazan, also a Coast Guard yeoman.

She and her family live in military housing and the landlord has been understanding of the shutdown situation. But Zayas-Bazan said credit card companies and student loan payments have not been.

She has two young kids. Her husband works part-time.

“Now his is the only paycheck we have coming in,” Zayas-Bazan said.

“I’m starting to stay awake at night worrying about finances,” said Anna Griffiths, whose husband is in the Coast Guard.

She has a toddler and an infant at home and said she is considering taking on a part-time job, or that her husband possibly will.

Griffiths even told her parents not to spend the money to come visit since she had to borrow from them.

“It hits close to home,” Griffiths said. “It is home.”

Griffiths is so grateful for and frequents the pop-up pantry that when the shutdown is over, she said she wants to prioritize giving back to the community even more than she has in the past.

Other Coast Guardsmen have said the one positive from this situation is that it’s brought them even closer together as a Coast Guard family.

NBC Connecticut spoke with a Coast Guard wife who traveled about 70 minutes from Rhode Island, where her husband is stationed, to use the pop-up pantry during the shutdown.

It took years, but last month Connecticut State Police released more than a thousand pages of documents looking into the childhood years of Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza.

There are drawings, writings, and report cards from Lanza's youth, from before he killed 20 children, six educators, his mother and then himself in Newtown in 2012. NBC Connecticut was able to obtain the records only after the Hartford Courant sued for the release.

Experts in child development and mental health are now weighing in about what they see in the documents. To be clear, neither of the doctors quoted in this story saw Adam Lanza as a patient.

"A very complex neuro-psychiatric profile," said Frank Bartolomeo, a family psychotherapist who is based in Wilton, works with families of developmentally-challenged children.

Lanza had substantial language delays yet he still earned good grades, and Bartolomeo says something changed as Lanza grew older, pointing to Lanza's writings and drawings that appear to get darker.

"Then something begins to shift," said Bartolomeo. "I think what you see with Adam Lanza is the intensity of those kinds of drawings and thoughts," he said. "It's almost complete with stories of aggression, of people being hurt by adults, of children hurting adults."

"The big things you can point to are isolation and distortion," said Dr. Jeremy Veenstra-Vanderweele, who is the director of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University. Lanza's self-isolation and his access to guns were the biggest risk factors for his violence, Veenstra-VanderWeele said. He said there is s a lesson here for all parents: do not allow your children to isolate themselves.

"You want your child's life to include as many people as possible and you want their world to grow instead of shrink," said Dr. Veenstra-VanderWeele.

Documents also show it was in this dark space that Lanza began to author many of the writings that have recently been released, including a spreadsheet listing a history of mass murderers.

"At a certain point, it feels like something opened a door and evil walked in. These are evil acts. They're not things we can understand from the perspective of mental illness," said Veenstra-VanderWeele.

NBC Connecticut Investigates reached out to parents of children who were killed in the Newtown shooting, as well to Sandy Hook Promise, the organization formed in the years after the tragedy to train students and adults to know the signs that could lead to gun violence. None wished to comment. 

NBC New York also made several unsuccessful attempts to contact Lanza's father. To see more of the documents and to see the I-Team's in-depth report, click here. 

Several organizations in our state are doing what they can to make things easier for those federal workers not being paid during the government shutdown.

During the shutdown, people want to make sure impacted workers don’t have to worry about how to pay for some of the basics: from working out to cooking dinner.

Help arrived by the bagful in West Haven Wednesday.

Diane Moorcroft was among those who donated to a drive to benefit U.S. Coast Guard families affected by the partial government shutdown. Before people watched Hamden versus West Haven hockey, they dropped off canned goods, non-perishables and household supplies.

“I don’t think it’s fair everybody should have such a difficult time and I just wanted to help people out,” Moorcroft said.

Members of West Haven Elks Lodge 1537, including Mike Southworth, organized the event.

“It’s been a very big support from a lot of communities,” he said.

Southworth told NBC Connecticut all the donated items will be given to Coast Guard families during an appreciation lunch on Sunday.

“The Coast Guard is out there protecting our waters, protecting our harbor and they’re not being compensated. It’s very tough for them. They’re not able to put the food on the tables, they’re not able to take care of their own kids. So it’s about time for the public to give back to them for them taking care of us,” Southworth said.

Taking a weight off the shoulders of federal workers not being paid is also the goal of The YMCA of Greater Hartford.

“We just thought it was the social responsible thing to do and that’s part of our mission and our work,” said CEO and President Harold Sparrow.

Sparrow said affected members can have their January dues refunded and they won’t have to pay membership fees until the shutdown is over.

“There’s an African proverb that says when elephants fight it’s the grass that suffers. So we didn’t want to see the people within the Greater Hartford region struggle.”

Affected federal workers who are not members can use the Y facilities for free as long as the shutdown lasts. The Y will also work with members who have kids in its childcare.

Police in Springfield, Massachusetts, are looking for a man who has been missing for a week and a half.

Achim Bailey was last seen leaving Samuel's, a bar near the Basketball Hall of Fame, early in the morning on Sunday, Jan. 13. Springfield Police say he was reported missing the following Monday.

As police have investigated, the department said Bailey was spotted on multiple cameras. He was seen walking alone down Hall of Fame Avenue before cameras lost sight of him near Memorial Bridge.

Around 3 a.m., a camera spotted a person believed to be Bailey walking on railroad tracks near the South End Bridge. His cellphone was pinged and had last registered in that area.

While crews have searched the railroad, the river and the area around the Hall of Fame, police have not found any sign of Bailey. His bank account has had no transactions since his last purchase at Samuel's.

Police said a digital billboard is going up with Bailey's picture on it in the Hartford area.

Anyone with information is asked to call 413-750-2379.

Crews in Windsor Locks were busy overnight dealing with power line issues. 

An employee of Roncari Express, which is near Bradley Airport, reports seeing an explosion and traffic signal lights were out. 

The road into the airport was blocked, but has reopened.

Planet Fitness has taken over Cardio Express, which means there could be some changes in store for your membership.

At the former Cardio Express in East Hartford, a Planet Fitness banner was also posted on the building, which the attention of gym member Marselito Cortez.

“Very disappointed, because they actually took out the spin class and everything,” said Marselito Cortez.

Cortez showed up at the location and was surprised to see the change.

“I signed up for the whole year. But because they actually did the transfer, I can actually cancel my membership,” said Cortez.

Cortez said he told management that he wanted to discontinue his membership and not have his personal information transferred to Planet Fitness.

“It’s not the same gym to me,” said Cortez.

Planet Fitness released a statement announcing that it acquired the Connecticut-based Cardio Express which took over all of it’s eight locations in the state. Out of the eight, the four locations in East Hartford, Manchester, Southington and Vernon will be switched over to Planet Fitness within the next six months.

According to the company, the employees of the remaining four locations will be transferred to nearby Planet Fitness locations.

Court records reveal that Cardio Express fell behind on its lease payments at one of its undisclosed locations. The bank filed a motion to withdraw its case last Thursday.

We asked the company what does the move mean for Cardio Express gym members?

A Planet Fitness spokesperson said:

“Our membership rates are very comparable in price to what Cardio Express had offered, and the clubs will be updated with exciting new Planet Fitness services and amenities that they didn't previously have, such as Free Fitness Training with a Certified Fitness Trainer with every membership, massage chairs, hydro-massage, and a thirty minute training circuit.” said Matt Wilcox, SVP of Marketing, ECP-PF Holdings Group Inc.

As for Marselito Cortez, he hasn’t decided whether or not to sign up for a new gym membership somewhere else.

“I'm just finishing my month and that's it. So, when I finish my month I don't actually know where I'm going to,” said Cortez.

We reached out to Cardio Express for comment, but have yet to hear back. The Department of Consumer Protection says if a health club gets purchased by another business, consumers should be able to cancel or continue their memberships. If consumers want to cancel and can’t reach the business or get the issue resolved, they should file a complaint with the DCP.

Plainfield police were flooded with calls Wednesday from people reporting gunshots or explosions in town and officers discovered that three people were going around town and setting off fireworks, according to police. 

Police said they received around 10 calls to 911 and more to the regular police department line for more than an hour with reports of gunshots and explosions in the area of Lester Drive in Central Village; Gendron Road, Barber Hill Road and Sterling Hill Road in Moosup; Green Hollow Road in Plainfield; and North Chestnut Street in Wauregan and many residents were able to give police a description of a vehicle seen leaving the area, according to police.

Officers who were in the Wauregan area when calls reporting “loud bangs” came in saw a vehicle parked at the Gulf gas station at Route 205 and Route 12 that matched the description witnesses gave and policed said they found people in the vehicle with several high-powered fireworks, which are considered to be explosives.

They said they also found 43 grams of marijuana packaged for sale and additional packaging material and scales.

According to police, the people in the car admitted to driving around random areas of Plainfield, Moosup and Wauregan and setting off the fireworks. 

Jacob Rampulla, 19, of Plainfield, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell, breach of peace and use and possession of fireworks.

Jamie Brodeur, 20, of Dayville, and a juvenile were also arrested and charged with breach of peace.

A DMV inspector has been involved in a crash on Route 3 in Glastonbury.

An ambulance responded, but state police said there are minor injuries if any. 

The DMV vehicle and another vehicle were involved in the crash, which happened near the Putnam Bridge exit, according to Glastonbury Police. 

The road is open and the scene is now clear.

No additional information was immediately available.

Editor's Note: Police originally said a state trooper's vehicle was involved in the crash, but later said a state trooper was not involved. 

A Northern Virginia teen with autism who has a serious love for peanut butter handed out jars of his favorite food to people affected by the government shutdown.

Eric McKay, known as "Bean," eats peanut butter sandwiches on toasted English muffins three times a day.

"It’s just good. It’s good," he said.

But Bean doesn't like just any peanut butter. He prefers one particular type: Lidl's store-brand creamy peanut butter.

"It’s good — and not chunky," he explained. 

After finishing a whopping 72 Lidl peanut butter jars his mom had bought on sale, Bean took to Twitter last October to display the empty jars.

Lidl responded by giving him another 72 jars and challenged him to get 72,000 retweets for a lifetime supply.

Bean won the challenge and recently decided to donate a portion of his winnings to people affected by the federal government shutdown.

"He’s an awesome kid. He’s always been an awesome kid, but now, you know, he's old enough that he's reaching out in the world and he's affecting more than just our family," his mother Tracy McKay told News4.

His father, Jonathan Lamb, is one of hundreds of thousands of people without a paycheck during the shutdown.

"It’s sad that it's come to this," Lamb said. "I’m very proud of how my son has handled it."

On Wednesday, Bean and his family handed out free jars of Lidl peanut butter to furloughed workers at the Lidl store in Dumfries.

"It's easy and it makes people happy," he said while doing a dance.

"I'm dancing. I'm just happy right now. That's the emotion we're going to go with."

The partial government shutdown has brought an unprecedented, incalculable risk to the airline industry, according to a statement released Wednesday by unions representing air traffic controllers, flight attendants and pilots.

NBC News reported that the groups reported a growing concern for all those involved in air travel, including passengers: "In our risk averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break. It is unprecedented."

Nearly 50,000 airport security workers have been told to report to their jobs despite not being paid during the 34-day shutdown because they are considered "essential."

The unions said that air traffic control facilities are at 30-year staffing lows, leaving controllers working 10-hour days and six-day work weeks, while security checkpoints are closing and safety inspections are understaffed.

The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday subpoenaed Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, Cohen's attorney, Lanny Davis, confirmed to NBC News.

The move comes a day after Cohen delayed his public testimony before the House Oversight Committee over alleged "ongoing threats against his family from President Trump" and members of his legal team, Davis said in a statement Wednesday.

Cohen will testify on Feb. 12, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News.

A Florida Transportation Security Administration employee said the government shutdown has made the already stressful task of securing airports even more difficult and warned passengers are in danger because the "system is severely compromised."

Herbert Garces works at Miami International Airport and said he is hanging up his uniform until there's an end to the shutdown. Graces, a 16-year veteran with the TSA, stopped reporting to work on Tuesday because of security concerns.

"The system is severely compromised and we can't accomplish our mission," Garces told NBC 6. "I cannot, on a clear conscience, process the bags and the passengers knowing I could be sending them to their deaths."

TSA officers who staff security checkpoints and FAA's air-traffic controllers are among the "essential" federal employees required to work through the shutdown without pay. The agency said Monday the percentage of TSA airport screeners missing work has hit 10 percent as the partial government shutdown stretches into its fifth week.

The workers who screen passengers and their bags face missing another paycheck if the shutdown doesn't end early this week. According to TSA, many of them say the financial hardship is preventing them from reporting to work.

Industry officials worry that if the shutdown lingers and TSA employees quit en masse, with training for new hires on hold, the lack of staffing will lead to longer security lines, closed checkpoints, extended flight delays and even the grounding of flights.

It also has security repercussions. Mike Perrone, president of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists union, told NBC it's hard for TSA and FAA employees to "keep their head in the game" when they're worried about bills not getting paid.

Garces believes staffing issues will lead to errors and detailed his concerns in a letter to TSA administrators and other government officials.

"We are understaffed and workers are overworked. We are understaffed because many workers are quitting and can't afford to be without a paycheck," he said.

A TSA spokesman disputed Garces' claim that security is compromised in an emailed statement to NBC 6.

"Our Federal Security Directors around the country are busy ensuring that security standards are being met, just as they always are," said TSA's Jim Gregory.

Meanwhile, unions representing air traffic controllers, flight attendants and pilots also voiced "growing concern for the safety and security" of its members and passengers, NBC News reported.

The presidents of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Air Line Pilots Association and Association of Flight Attendants cautioned in a join statement that the airline industry "cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break. It is unprecedented."

The FAA responded to the unions' concerns in a statement to NBC News, writing in part, "We have not observed any appreciable difference in performance over the last several weeks compared to the same periods during the previous two years."

It said the FAA "continually reviews and analyzes the performance of the national airspace system to assess its safety and efficiency" and passengers "can be assured that our nation's airspace system is safe."

"Personally, I won't be flying, and that would be my recommendation to anybody, domestic or international travel," Garces said.

NBC's Danielle Abreu contributed to this report.

Five correction officers and two correctional lieutenants were placed on leave amid an investigation into an inmate’s alleged assault on staff at the Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center in Montville, according to a Department of Correction spokesperson.

The DOC said inmate Darryl Morin got combative with prison staff on Jan. 15, resulting in injuries to two staff members.

The matter is under investigation.

There have been three additional deaths associated with the flu in Connecticut, which makes 11 flu-related deaths reported this season.

A report released today from the state Department of Health says there were three flu-associated deaths during the week that ended on Jan. 19.

Ten flu-associated deaths have been associated with influenza A and one with influenza B.

Eight of the deaths this season were people over 65 years old, two have been people between 50 and 64 years old and one was 25 to 49 years of age, according to the Department of Health.

The Department of Health says flu remains widespread in Connecticut and there have been 1,677 influenza positive laboratory tests since Aug. 26 and 692 hospitalizations have been reported.

This is the breakdown of the flu cases they have been:

• Hartford County: 525
• New Haven: 473
• Fairfield: 272
• Middlesex: 114
• New London: 100
• Litchfield: 76
• Tolland: 41
• Windham: 52
• Twenty-four are in unknown counties.

Connecticut’s U.S. senators both voted against the Republican-backed measure to reopen the government, Thursday.

That bill had the full support of the White House because it contained full funding for President Donald Trump’s proposed $5.5 billion wall along the southern border.

But, the Democratic proposal also failed to achieve 60 votes, leaving the government shutdown in place.

“From the very beginning this was only going to end one way, Republicans dropping all of these ridiculous demands and opening the government,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, one Connecticut’s two Democrats in the U.S. Senate. “Democrats have no conditions, no demands. All we want is for the government to be open.”

The Democratic proposal amounted to a short-term, two week proposal to open the government immediately, but it did not include funding for the wall.

Murphy said it’s Republicans who need to compromise because when they had the chance to approve the wall on their own they were unable to.

“Donald Trump had Republican control of the House and the Senate for two years. A Republican House and a Republican Senate would not give him money for his wall because Republicans knew it was a waste of taxpayers’ dollars,” Murphy said.

The Democratic proposal did amass more votes than the GOP proposal, with six Republicans crossing party lines to cast votes to reopen the government without funding the wall.

Because of that level of bipartisan support, only West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin voted with the Republicans on their measure, Sen. Richard Blumenthal says the path to compromise is with the Democrats’ version.

“There was some glimmer of hope with this vote,” Blumenthal said. “Clearly, some of my Republican colleagues and hopefully an increasing number are seeing the pain caused by this Trump shutdown and foreseeing the harm being done to our entire economy.”

Hartford Congressman John Larson says he expects the House to take up another spending measure to open the government, but also criticized the president for using national security as the reason for the wall, when the shutdown threatens the safety of Americans flying every day the shutdown persists.

Rep. Larson said, "It's gotten insane to think that people where public safety is involved, you would say for security reasons you're going to shut down the government. Now how does that make any sense?"

From groceries getting to store shelves, to online purchases delivered directly to a customer’s front door—it’s possible because of truck drivers. With increased spending and demand, there’s a desperate need for more out on the roads.

It’s is a good sign for people getting hired in Connecticut.

In fact, Walmart just announced they hired more than 1,400 truck drivers in 2018 and plan to bring on hundreds more this year.

Along with mentorship and a faster hiring process, the discount superstore is also upping pay. Which means a driver will earn on average $87,500 dollars a year.

Drivers do need to have experience and meet company standards.

But the need is industry-wide.

“Oh it’s drastic. It’s drastic everywhere,” said Glen Gervais, the northeast recruiting manager for Stevens Transport.

Gervais was recruiting at AB CDL Driver Training Center in New Britain on Thursday. The market is so competitive he said students there would get a $2,500 sign on bonus and tuition reimbursement of up to $7,500.

Those training programs are also seeing an influx of students.

“Everything you own comes off of a truck. My job will not go anywhere soon,” said Cheryl McGovern of Southington. She’s switching careers and currently a student at AB CDL Driver Training Center.

Knowing that a trucker shortage nationwide means a very competitive salary.

“The companies started out with, ‘We need some drivers.’ Now they’re calling saying, ‘We need 10.’ And now we’re up to them calling for 30 to 40 at a time,” said AB CDL Driver Training Center Owner Thomas Moysey.

In the last three years, demand has ramped up, according to Moysey. The regulated medical requirements have weeded people out. Plus turnover from retirements and of course industry demand.

Which means, competitive pay.

“We have entry level drivers that do 90/80 thousand without lifting a finger,” Moysey said.

A spokesperson with the American Trucking Associations wrote in an email to NBC Connecticut that based on their data, 89,000 drivers need to be hired a year in order to keep pace with demand and growth in freight.

The Trump administration plans to begin turning asylum-seekers back across the southern border on Friday to wait in Mexico under a new policy designed to crack down on immigration by Central American families, according to three Department of Homeland Security officials familiar with the matter.

Customs and Border Protection officers will begin returning asylum-seekers trying to enter at the San Ysidro port of entry in California from Tijuana, Mexico, where thousands of migrants from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador are already waiting in poor conditions, NBC News reported.

NBC Connecticut Meteorologists are keeping a close eye on the radar today.

Light to moderate rain fell this morning and moderate to heavy rain continues this afternoon with a few embedded thunderstorms possible.

Thunderstorms that do move in will bring gusty winds and downpours.

There is a threat for minor flooding along some of the rivers in the state.

The Connecticut River, Farmington River, Housatonic River, and Quinebaug River are expected to reach minor flood stage late today and tomorrow.

Stay with the NBC Connecticut First Alert Weather Team for updates on air and online.

Roads flooded and trees and wires fell in some towns as rain came down on top of snow and ice left over from the weekend storm.

Towns and cities across the state reported flooded streets Thursday, and even as the rain moves out with dropping temperatures drivers still have to worry about black ice.

Flooding prompted the closure of Reserve Road in Hartford as melting snow and torrential rain clogs sewers in the area. 

In Enfield, the following roads were closed:

• Glenwood at Circle Dr
• Steele at Judy/Roberts
• Cranbrook
• Town Farm between Grassmere CC and Broad Brook Rd
• Post Rd Between Phoenix and Overhill

Powder Hollow near the sand pits and Southwood at South Road are barricaded to warn of water.

In Farmington, Meadow Road is closed between New Britain Avenue and Main Street because of flooding. Police said it will reopen when the flooding subsides, which is expected later tonight. 

Main Street in Newington is closed between Atwood and Mountain View until further notice due to flooding. Police urge drivers to seek an alternate route. 

Public works crews estimated the water was 18 inches high and impassable.

The Connecticut River, Farmington River, Housatonic River, and Quinebaug River all creeped toward minor flood stage late Thursday.

In Vernon, there were several reports of downed power lines, according to police.

They said there was a transformer explosion on West Main Street, trees and wires are down on Kenneth Drive and Lake Street and wires are down on Tracy Drive.

They urge anyone who sees downed power lines not to approach and instead call 911.

Colchester’s emergency management director said downed wires closed Route 16, which is also known as Middletown Road. 

There were also reports of trees and wires down in Lisbon, Griswold, Brooklyn, Thompson, Salem, Colchester and Plainfield.  

Winds will diminish over the next few hours. 

As of 6 p.m., Eversource was reporting 2,420 customers without power, down from thousands more earlier in the day.

Jared Kushner's application for a top secret clearance was rejected by two career White House security specialists after an FBI background check raised concerns about potential foreign influence on him — but their supervisor overruled the recommendation and approved the clearance, two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News.

The official, Carl Kline, is a former Pentagon employee who was installed as director of the personnel security office in the Executive Office of the President in May 2017.

Kushner's was one of at least 30 cases in which Kline overruled career security experts and approved a top secret clearance for incoming Trump officials despite unfavorable information, the two sources said.