Families were evacuated due to a carbon dioxide leak in Enfield Thursday morning and are now beginning to return to their homes.

The leak was at a facility at 156 Spring St. in the Thompsonville section of town, according to fire officials, and it has been contained.

Officials said they received a call around 5:20 a.m. from a resident reporting a vapor cloud in his backyard.

The scene is near the Connecticut River and the Route 190 Bridge across the river was closed briefly because a gas cloud formed above the bridge, fire officials said.

The leak caused 15- to 20-minute delays on Metro-North’s Hartford line.

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke told Oprah Winfrey Tuesday that he would decide by the end of the month whether he is going to run for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. O'Rourke suggested he's leaning toward entering race, hoping to build on the momentum he gained during his 2018 U.S. Senate campaign against Republican Ted Cruz.

The state of Texas hasn't voted for a Democrat in a presidential election since the state's electoral votes went to Jimmy Carter in 1976. In fact, the Lone Star State hasn't even elected a Democrat to a statewide office since Bob Bullock was reelected lieutenant governor in 1994, along with a handful of other statewide — but not national — wins.

There are several other factors working against O'Rourke. An incumbent president has failed to win reelection just twice since World War II – Carter in 1980 and George H.W. Bush in 1992.

But Democrats have dreamed of turning Texas blue for decades, and O'Rourke showed in 2018 that it might be on the cusp of turning purple, though the party still did not win a statewide post in the midterm elections.

While it wouldn't be impossible for O'Rourke to win Texas as the Democratic nominee, it would likely take a perfect storm for him to do so.

"A presidential run, where more people are engaged, more people are excited about the process, that will only push Texas even more to the brink of being a battleground state," The Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers Jr. said. "Now, that means Republicans will come out too."

But the most influential aspect of the 2020 general election campaign might be something the eventual Democratic nominee can't control.

The Trump Effect
"The main thing (O'Rourke) can't control is Trump and what Trump does and how the country experiences what he does over the next year," SMU political science professor Cal Jillson said. "Because the second year (2020) is the campaign."

An October 2018 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll found that a combined 48 percent of Texans either "approved strongly" or "approved somewhat" of Trump, while a combined 45 percent either "disapproved strongly" or "disapproved somewhat."

Those numbers indicate Trump has solidified support among Republicans since he was elected president. In an October 2016 University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll, just 31 percent of respondents had a "very favorable" or "somewhat favorable" view of then-candidate Trump, while a combined 58 percent had a "somewhat unfavorable" or "very unfavorable" opinion.

"Trump remains popular with moderate Republicans and independents," Jeffers said. "He is strong with the base and, being a sitting president, he's going to have probably a little more strength than he did as Trump the candidate."

Nationally, Trump steadily holds an approval rating between 38 and 42 percent, Jillson said. But in Texas that number is consistently eight to 10 percentage points higher.

"If you're with Trump after the last two years, you're with him in a determined sort of way," he added. "And if you're off him, you're off him in a very determined way and looking for an alternative. I think those numbers do reflect ongoing polarization."

A Full-Time Candidate
After losing to Ted Cruz in the 2018 U.S. Senate race, O'Rourke no longer holds elected office. It could be a strength and a weakness.

As recently as 2016, neither major party's presidential candidate held public office and Mitt Romney was not in office when he won the Republican party's nomination in 2012.

However, before Trump, no one has won the presidency without being in office since Ronald Reagan did so in 1980, after he served as California's governor from 1967-75. He did not seek a third term because he ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1976, but lost to Gerald Ford.

Is that a place where similarities between O'Rourke and Reagan could begin and end?

"It will be an ongoing fight to remain in the public eye when he's one of 15, 20, 25 Democrats running for the nomination," Jillson said. "But on the other hand, it means that he can run for president full time. He's got nothing else demanding his time and attention, and that has been something that has worked well."

Jillson added not holding office would give O'Rourke extra time to campaign, put a team together and fundraise. One of the former congressman's strengths in the 2018 Senate race was the time he spent traveling around Texas, something he could devote even more time to nationally if he's not in office.

"O'Rourke will still be in the minds of the public, in the minds of Texans – not just Texans, but the entire country," Jeffers said. "The enthusiasm will probably still be there for him and just like with any candidate, he's going to have to try to keep it going, especially in a big field."

Texas' Largest Counties
If a candidate O'Rourke were to win the nomination, one of the places he'd have to find growth to turn Texas into a battleground state, would be in its largest counties.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton received a combined 53.9 percent of the vote in the 10 largest counties, while O'Rourke upped it to 59.2 percent in 2018.

"If Trump continues to be erratic and continues to worry suburban white women, who normally vote Republican – and increasingly their husbands – then yes, you could get a continuing erosion of the Republican grip on suburban districts, which they have had for a half-century or more in Texas," Jillson said.

Of North Texas' four largest counties, three — Collin, Denton and Tarrant — have voted reliably Republican for decades. However, O'Rourke narrowly won Tarrant County against Cruz in 2018 and received 46.5 percent of the vote in Collin County.

Jeffers said he thought an erratic president could make O'Rourke more palatable to Collin County voters.

"You have a lot transplants moving into Collin County. The Toyota plant over there, people from California plus the East Coast are moving into Collin County and counties like that. They're more prone to look to a candidate like O'Rourke, whereas people in Denton County — although Denton County is growing too — still contains some of the state's most conservative voters and they're likely to support Trump, just as they have supported other Republicans."

O'Rourke earned 45.5 percent of the vote in Denton County in 2018 and still had eight-point gap to reach Cruz.

Most of the state's largest counties have turned reliably blue. The two largest counties, Harris and Dallas, have voted for the Democratic nominee in each presidential election since 2008. Bexar County has voted for the Democrat in five of the last seven; and Travis County, the fifth-largest in the state, has voted for the Democratic nominee for president in each election since 1992, with the exception of 2000.

Tarrant County is the only one of the five largest that has not voted for a Democrat for president dating to 1992, but O'Rourke won the county in his Senate race against Cruz by 0.7 percentage points.

Working in O'Rourke's favor is that he is a Texan and Clinton was not.

Republican George W. Bush garnered landslide victories in Texas in 2000 and 2004, winning by nearly 22 points in his first run for office and almost 23 points four years later. In fact, in 2000, Bush even turned Travis County, where Austin is located, red — the only time the county has voted for a Republican for president since 1992.

Julian Castro
There is another Texan running for the Democratic nomination. Former San Antonio mayor and House and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro launched his campaign Jan. 12.

However, Jillson and Jeffers agreed, by playing it safe in the years leading up to 2019, Castro, while still popular, may have missed his opportunity.

"I think Democrats in Texas are still very favorably disposed to Julian Castro. But O'Rourke took the state by storm very unexpectedly in 2018 and he was just a shooting star that eclipsed Castro, partly because O'Rourke did it and Castro whiffed," Jillson said. "Castro didn't think it was possible and so he didn't make the run O'Rourke did and almost beat Cruz."

"It'll be hard for Castro to get traction, not just in the early primary states, but in his home state of Texas," Jeffers said. "Because what Beto has done, is become the most popular Democrat in the state now. There's just no other way to put it."

In a Jan. 30 Politico/Morning Consult poll of potential 2020 Democratic candidates, Castro received just one percent of the vote. O'Rourke received six percent, while former vice president Joe Biden held a substantial lead with 33 percent.

There are a lot of "what-ifs" involved in O'Rourke's run for president. First of all, he'd have to survive the early primary states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and stay relevant until Texans vote. He could be helped by Texas moving up its primary to Super Tuesday — March 3, 2020 — something California has done as well, which could help a candidate like Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.

O'Rourke, still, has not received the same level of interest as the top two people named in the Jan. 30: Biden and Bernie Sanders. O'Rourke sits in a tie for third with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

But if everything were to come together perfectly, it's conceivable that the former congressman from El Paso could capture lightning in a bottle twice.

"It's very difficult to have a dramatic run like he had in 2018 and then reprise that two years later, because people have already looked at you, they've already gotten excited about you," Jillson said. "That excitement wasn't rewarded, and to sort of reproduce it completely is very difficult to do, but certainly not impossible."

Hartford police have arrested two people suspected in an armed robbery at Metro PCS. 

Police responded to the store just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday to investigate the armed robbery and the victim said a man who had a gun demanded that the cashier empty the register and ran after getting the cash. Several hundred dollars were stolen during the robbery, police said. 

Surveillance video in the area showed the man getting into a silver Infinti Q50 and police were able to get the license plate, police said. 

Manchester police then located vehicle at the home of the registered owner and assisted Hartford police in finding the vehicle owner, police said. 

Police said they also found a loaded Bersa 9mm handgun. 

Authorities then found the primary robbery suspect on Willard Street in Hartford, took him into custody and recovered cash, according to police. 

Police charged 33-year-old Michael Munroe, of Manchester, with first-degree robbery, conspiracy/robbery in the first degree and firearms trafficking. 

Police charged 34-year-old Shantee Seay, of Hartford, with robbery in the first degree, conspiracy/robbery in the first degree, criminal possession of a firearm, pistol without a permit and possession of narcotics. 

It may already be the first week of February, but on Christmas Card Lane in San Diego's Rancho Penasquitos neighborhood, it is still Christmas – and with good reason.

Each year, the homes in the famously festive community along Ellingham Drive go all out with holiday light displays and decorations. The displays typically stay up through the end of the holiday season but, this year, many residents kept their decorations up well into the New Year for one simple reason: to bring happiness to a neighbor who missed Christmas due to severe illness.

On Dec. 12, 2018, Ryan Caine, 24, was rushed to a local emergency room with flu-like symptoms. He was diagnosed with pneumonia.

Ryan Caine's illness quickly took a turn for the worse. His pneumonia turned septic, and he went into cardiac arrest. Ryan Caine slipped into a drug-induced coma that lasted six-and-a-half weeks. He was placed on life support, with his chance of survival meager.

Ryan Caine spent the holiday season in the hospital, with his family by his side, including parents Russ and Janet Caine.

Janet Caine told NBC 7 those days were dark.

"You don’t want to eat; you don’t want to do anything," she explained. "You just want to function because you feel so helpless and you feel like you can’t do anything for your baby."

While Ryan Caine was in the hospital, Janet Caine set up an online global prayer network. At one point, Janet Caine said there were 15,000 people across the world taking part in the coordinated prayer session for her son.

Slowly, with round-the-clock medical care and determination, he grew stronger.

On Jan. 24, Ryan Caine miraculously awakened from his coma.

He turned to his mom and asked, "Did I miss Christmas?"

"We said, 'No, Christmas can happen anytime, and it is waiting for you at home,'" Janet Caine recalled.

The Caine family is big on Christmas.

Each year, they join their neighbors on Ellingham Drive by decking out their home in elaborate holiday decorations inspired by the characters from "Suzie's Zoo."

Sure, Ryan Caine had missed the festivities in real-time but thanks to the spirit of his neighborhood, family and friends, his Christmas would still come — only a little bit late.

After nearly two months in the hospital, Ryan Caine was discharged Wednesday.

As he arrived home to Ellingham Drive, he was met with posters, signs and balloons made for him by neighbors, and, of course, holiday decorations.

Neighbors gathered around him, sincing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Christmas Card Lane rallied to give Ryan Caine the Christmas party that he missed.

With neighbors lining the street and cheering, Ryan Caine rode into his driveway in a truck accompanied by his family. The truck was covered in bright-pink, handwritten signs that read, "Thank All of You for Your Support and Prayers."

Ryan Caine wore a black shirt that read, "Our Miracle Man Ryan."

Like a kid on Christmas morning, Ryan Caine's face lit up as he walked into his home. Inside, holiday garland covered the staircase banister and a trimmed Christmas tree stood in the living room with wrapped gifts underneath it. 

"Merry Christmas, honey," his mother said. "Look at all those presents."

"Oh my gosh," Ryan Caine said. "This is amazing!"

Ryan Caine is described by his family as having the exuberance of a 10-year-old.

He was overwhelmed with joy as he finally got to celebrate Christmas with his loved ones.

"I’m just so blessed to have Christmas still here. We can do it all year round, too," Ryan Caine said, beaming.

The Caines credit doctors at Scripps Health and the incredible power of prayer for Ryan Caine's recovery.

"We’re back here today because of all of you supporting him, and supporting us," Russ Caine said at Ryan's homecoming. "We can’t thank you enough."

His family said the plan is for Ryan Caine to spend the next three to four weeks undergoing a health rehabilitation program at home on Ellingham Drive — a place where true magic is possible, no matter the time of year.

What appeared to be a nationwide outage was affecting Wells Fargo customers Thursday morning.

The number of people affected was not immediately clear, but customers on social media reported being unable to access online banking and mobile app services.

Wells Fargo Communications Manager Hilary O'Byrne confirmed the outage. "We are currently experiencing a systems issue, and as a result some customers are unable to log into mobile and online banking," she said in a statement.

O'Byrne said the bank was investigating the cause of the outage but could not say how many people were being affected. In the meantime, "branch and contact center" employees are able to help customers, she said.

Wells Fargo apologized to customers on Twitter and asked them to check its account for updates.

There is extra security at the Parish Hill School in Chaplin Thursday after students notified school officials Tuesday about a rumor that someone would bring a gun to school on Thursday, according to the principal. 

The school notified state police and investigators found no verbal or online threat. 

The principal said the school did its own investigation, interviewed students and found no threat. 

A resident state trooper will be more visible Thursday.

The woman who was found dead, bound in a suitcase along an affluent road in Greenwich Tuesday morning, had been missing from New Rochelle, New York since January, according to police.

Police have identified the woman as 24-year-old Valerie Reyes. The cause of her death is not yet known and police are trying to identify whoever is responsible.

Greenwich highway workers discovered Reyes’ body along Glenville Road, just north of Stillman Lane, around 8:15 a.m., according to police.

“The victim was found bound at the hands and at the feet and the victim was found in a suitcase,” Capt. Robert Berry, from the Greenwich Police Detective Division, said.

Reyes had been reported missing to the New Rochelle Police Department and was last seen around 9 a.m. on Jan 29, according to police.

“Her family was advised of the positive identification last night. They are obviously devastated by the loss of Valerie and our heartfelt condolences go out to them,” a statement from police says.

“The Greenwich Police Department is dedicated to identifying those responsible for the death of Valerie and ensuring justice for her and her family. We continue to work with New Rochelle Police and other law enforcement agencies at multiple levels and have engaged a variety of resources to assist in the investigation,” Greenwich police said in a statement.

Police are asking the public for any information they might have about Valerie and her disappearance.

Information may be left at the Greenwich Police Tip Line at (203) 622-3333 and email at Tips@greenwichct.org.

Semi-automatic weapons, flamethrowers and even some grenades will become easier for U.S. weapons manufacturers to export overseas under new rules being put in place by the Trump administration and obtained by NBC News.

Under the new rules, set to take effect in just under a month, gun makers will no longer need licenses from the State Department to sell dozens of types of weapons to other countries, including the popular AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle that's been employed in many of America's worst mass shootings. Instead, sellers will need only a no-fee license from the Commerce Department, which has a less onerous licensing process and a smaller global footprint, making it harder to track how the weapons are ultimately used overseas.

A State Department official, speaking anonymously because the final rules haven't been publicly released, stressed that all firearm exports will still be monitored by the U.S. government, via the Commerce Department.

Transportation Security Administration officers found 45 handguns at airport checkpoints across New England in the past year, including nine at Bradley International Airport.

The number is up from the 29 handguns TSA agents found in airports in the region in 2018, according to statistics TSA released Thursday.

At Bradley, TSA found five handguns in 2017.

Last year, 4,239 firearms were discovered in carry-on bags at TSA checkpoints across the country, averaging about 11.6 firearms per day, according to TSA. 

That was 7 percent more than the 3,957 detected in 2017.

The most guns were found at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where 298 were retrieved from TSA checkpoints last year.

At Logan International Airport in Boston, 21 handguns were found at TSA checkpoints in 2018 up from 14 in 2017.

TSA said 86 percent of firearms detected at checkpoints last year were loaded and nearly 34 percent had a bullet in the chamber.

Travelers are subject to criminal charges for carrying handguns in their carry-on bags. TSA said even if a traveler has a concealed weapon permit, firearms cannot be carried onto an airplane. However, travelers with proper firearm permits can travel with their firearms in checked bags if they follow guidelines.

Windsor Locks police are investigating after receiving a report of a man in a van approaching a child this morning and asking the child to get into the vehicle.

Police said the Pine Meadow School student was walking south on Center Street when a man in a white contractor van approached just after 9 a.m., rolled down the passenger window and asked the child to get in.

The child ran to Pine Meadow and the driver kept going north on Center Street then took a right onto Grove Street, according to police.

The man who was in the van is thin, appears to be between 25 and 40 and has scruffy facial hair, according to police.

He was wearing a blue “beanie” hat and a dark hooded sweatshirt.

The vehicle was an older model “beat up” van with rust spots and a white license plate, according to police.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Windsor Locks Police Department at 860-627-1461.

The NBC Connecticut First Alert meteorologists have issued a First Alert for snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain early next week. 

A storm moving in from the west is expected to bring accumulating snow and ice Tuesday afternoon and evening and that could cause issues for the Tuesday night and Wednesday morning commute. 

Check back for updates from the NBC Connecticut First Alert weather team.

Stamford city officials announced a new self-release wheel-clamp device that will enforce unpaid parking violations, according to the Department of Operations.

The SmartBoot device will replace the previous system of towing vehicles with outstanding parking violations.

Drivers with three or more outstanding violations, or over $250 in owed fees, will have a SmartBoot applied to their vehicle by a Stamford Traffic Violation Officer.

The device will immobilize the affected vehicle until all fines and fees have been paid.

People can pay fines and fees through a 24-hour, multi-lingual, customer help center accessible online or with a mobile device. The Department of Operations said that after everything has been paid, the help center will give drivers a six-digit code to put into an electronic keypad on the SmartBoot device to unlock it.

“This brightly-colored, self-releasing booting device will make parking enforcement easier in the city without taking up additional resources. This provides us with a firmer measure to collect unpaid parking tickets,” Transportation Bureau Chief James Travers said of the device.

Once the SmartBoot is removed, drivers are expected to return the device to the Cashiering and Permitting Office on the first floor of the Stamford Government Center.

Failure to return the SmartBoot can result in a charge of up to $500.

It’s tax season, and experts say before you file that return, you need to beware of people who want to take your hard earned cash.

According to the IRS, crooks are using taxpayers’ real bank accounts to deposit refunds from fraudulent returns.

In some cases, they are posing as debt collectors that contact taxpayers to say the refund deposit was made in error and that they should forward the deposit to the fake debt collector.

Last year, the IRS stopped more than 600,000 identity theft tax returns. The number of thefts are going down, but fraudsters have been targeting tax professionals, Human Resource departments and anyone that handles payroll.

Even though fewer people are reporting identity theft, no one wants it to happen to them.

Here are some steps you can follow to protect yourself:

• File early – If the IRS already has your legitimate tax return on file, fraudsters will have a much harder time filing a fake return in your name.
• Watch for red flags – The IRS will never email you, send a text or contact you on social media. The IRS will contact you by sending a letter in the mail. Following a written notice, you may receive a phone call or a visit from an IRS Revenue officer.
• Safety first – If you’re e-filing your taxes, make sure you have a social security software with firewall and anti-virus protections. Do not use public Wi-Fi; instead use a private, password-protected connection. And don’t leave them lying around in the open.
• Adjust your withholding – When you have too much money withheld from your paychecks, you end up giving Uncle Sam your money (interest-free). But you also don't want to have too little withheld from your paycheck. That could mean an unexpected tax bill or penalty. Ideally, you want to have just enough money withheld so your refund is as close to zero as possible.

With the new tax laws on the books, Roger Cowen with Cowen Tax Advisory group suggests that filers use and accounting firm to make sure your information is accurate. “If you’re not familiar with all of the changes because often you don’t know what you don’t know until someone points it out to you. And then when you have a problem with the IRS, problems are hard, aggravating and time consuming to fix,” said Roger Cowen, Cowen Tax Advisory group.

And if you think you’re a victim of identity theft, experts suggest that you file a police report, reach out to the IRS, contact the fraud department of the three credit bureaus. Make sure to document everything and stay in contact with the IRS until the issue is resolved.

The Hamden Police Department has launched an internal investigation by the Ethics and Integrity Unit after body camera footage of a traffic stop and arrest from February 2018 became public this week.

“This matter is being taken very seriously, a complete and thorough investigation is underway, and I’m confident that when completed appropriate action will be taken,” Hamden Mayor Curt Leng (D) told NBC Connecticut Thursday.

Police said Officer Andrew Lipford’s body camera is rolling after the driver of a BMW, Victor Medina, fled from a traffic stop and led them on a chase ending in his driveway.

The video shows the officer’s gun is drawn in the shadows from the flashing lights.

“If you do something that you’re not told you’re gonna get shot,” Lipford is heard saying in the video. “Do you understand, do not move.”

Attorney Frank Cirillo is representing Medina. He said he obtained the video he shared with NBC Connecticut during the discovery phase of his client’s case.

“I was shocked when I saw it at first,” Cirillo said.

“That’s got to be very scary for anyone, I don’t think most of us have had a gun pulled on them in their lives,” he added. “I can’t imagine what Mr. Medina was going through at this time period.”

Police did not arrest the passenger in the car. An officer is heard saying, “come on over cause this faker is pretending like he don’t speak English.”

Moments later one of the responding cops is heard spelling out the initials for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying, “three letters, I-C-E.”

“That’s offensive to any reasonable person,” Cirillo said.

Brad Macdowall and five other Hamden town council members shared a statement on Facebook describing the video as “disgraceful and unacceptable.”

“The police violated policies that our community entrusts the police to enforce and follow,” the post said. “A Civilian Review Board would hold the Police Department accountable and prevent incidents like this from happening. The threat of ICE involvement is in direct opposition to the arrangements we have been assured exist in Hamden. We must work together to ensure Hamden is and remains a sanctuary for our community.”

NBC Connecticut asked Macdowall how the review board would be any different than the already existing five-member citizen Police Commission.

“This is purely investigative, we’re gonna get the bottom of what happened and we’re here to protect the residents in issues of police malpractice,” Macdowall said.

Cirillo’s client has plead not guilty to charges including DUI and engaging police in a pursuit.

“(Medina) wishes it didn’t have to come to this,” Cirillo said of the video becoming public, “but he feels like maybe somebody else could be prevented from being put in his situation after this.”

The group of council members said in their Facebook post that the results of the internal investigation and any associated punishments should be made public.

So far, the officers in the video remain on duty and they have not been disciplined.

Connecticut’s U.S. senators have been joined by Massachusetts’ U.S. senators in their efforts to combat the crisis that has led to hundreds, and potentially thousands of homes crumbling to the ground.

U.S. Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal have proposed separate bills, but have signed on to each as a co-sponsor, aimed at having a pair of federal agencies provide assistance to homeowners.

Blumenthal’s measure calls for FEMA to pay $20 million annually for five years to affected homeowners, while Murphy’s calls for the same from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Both of Massachusetts’ U.S. senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, have signed on co-sponsors, as their state has been impacted by the crisis as well.

In a statement, Murphy said, “I’ve visited the homes of Connecticut families with crumbling foundations, and I’ve seen firsthand the stress and financial burden this is causing them. While we’ve been successful in getting Congress to take some action, it’s not enough.”

“These common-sense steps will help alleviate the pain of homeowners and businesses across Connecticut repairing and rebuilding crumbling foundations—a continuing financial and emotional nightmare,” Blumenthal said in a statement.

Mike Maglaras, who is in charge of the Connecticut Captive Insurance Company, said if Connecticut were to receive $50 million, half of either bill’s proposal, that could pay for repairs for about 300 homes, on average.

The funding is in addition to the bonding approved by the state last year, and the $12 annual surcharge on all homeowners’ insurance policies.

Tim Heim, one of the most vocal homeowners on the issue, said he’s happy that crumbling foundations has received more broad attention in Congress and in Washington.

“It gives us strength. Massachusetts cannot be forgotten. The issue was a Connecticut issue that crossed state lines and it effects the good hardworking people of not only Connecticut, but Massachusetts as well,” he said.

Heim even had HUD Secretary Ben Carson in his home, and says the issue should not be viewed through a political lens.

“It’s not a partisan issue and it’s a lot of people from both sides working on this and we’re going to continue to keep fighting and stay optimistic.”

Murphy and Blumenthal proposed similar legislation last year but they never received final votes for passage.

There have been eight additional deaths associated with the flu in Connecticut, which brings the number of flu-related deaths reported this season in Connecticut to 22.

A report released today from the state Department of Health says there have been 19 associated with unspecified influenza A, one with influenza A (H3N2) and two with influenza B.

Of the 22 total reported flu-associated deaths, 14 were people 65 years old and older, seven have been people 50 to 64 years old and one was between 25 and 49, according to the Department of Health.

The Department of Health says flu remains widespread in Connecticut and there have been 3,159 influenza positive laboratory tests since Aug. 26 and 1,147 hospitalizations have been reported.

This is the breakdown of flu cases this season and they have been:

• Hartford County: 859
• New Haven: 877
• Fairfield: 678
• New London: 206
• Middlesex: 179
• Litchfield: 131
• Windham: 103
• Tolland: 65
• Sixty-one are in unknown counties.

At this same time last year, the number of flu deaths in Connecticut was nearly triple with 63 deaths. Most of these deaths were over the age of 65.

Dr. John Brancato, assistant director of the Emergency Department at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, says that does not mean you should take this year’s flu lightly.

“It is almost never too late to get the flu shot, really,” said Brancato. “In fact, that is the best way to protect yourself.”

Symptoms of the flu include fever, muscle aches and vomiting.

For more on the flu and how to protect yourself, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

A Greenwich Department of Public Works employee has been placed on leave after photos were taken of a murder victim found in Greenwich, according to a statement from the office of the First Selectman.

Greenwich highway workers found the body of Valerie Reyes, 24, of New Rochelle, New York, Tuesday morning in a suitcase along Glenville Road in Greenwich. Her hands and feet had been bound, according to police.

A statement from the office of the First Selectman says the employee is on leave pending the completion the investigation "into the employee’s actions on Feb. 5, 2019.”

The statement goes on to say the actions “involved the taking of photos of the murder victim and the crime scene.”

Reyes had been missing for nearly a week when her body was discovered. 

Before that, the last time anyone had reported seeing Reyes was around 9 a.m. on Jan 29, according to police.

“The victim was a daughter, a sister and a cousin of a family who is suffering a tremendous loss at this time. This thoughtless and insensitive behavior by an employee is inexcusable. We extend our heartfelt condolences to Ms. Reyes’ family,” First Selectman Peter J. Tesei said in a statement.

Greenwich officials have not identified the employee who was placed on leave and said it is a pending personnel matter.

Police are trying to determine who is responsible for Reyes’ death.

A West Hartford man who receives rental assistance from the state was convicted Tuesday of one felony count of criminal property damage to a rental home.

Chad Anderson was sentenced to two years jail time, which was suspended. One of the conditions of his probation is paying back both landlords who accused Anderson and his wife of trashing their properties.

Chad and Jessica Anderson were arrested in June 2018, one month after NBC Connecticut Investigates first reported the allegations.

The criminal case against Jessica Anderson is pending.

The pair receives rental assistance through the federally-funded Shelter Plus Care program, which is administered by the through the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS). A DMHAS spokesperson declined to comment on the guilty verdict. It is not clear if the family is still receiving aid.

Although DMHAS finds and pays for housing for its clients, the agency says it is the landlord’s responsibility to conduct background checks on any prospective tenants. A spokesperson previously told NBC Connecticut Investigates the leases are between the landlord and tenant, and any disputes should be handled in court.

Laura Guilmartin said she agreed to rent to the Andersons on the assumption that DMHAS would vouch for them.

“I never imagined that the state would allow them to destroy my home,” Guilmartin told NBC Connecticut last year.

DMHAS paid Guilmartin $2,000 for damages, the maximum allowed under the rules of the Shelter Plus Care program. Guilmartin also kept the $2,000 security deposit. She estimates she spent more than $20,000 on repairs.

Last September, the Andersons were charged in connection with damages to a second rental property in West Hartford.

At the time, the couple told NBC Connecticut Investigates they were not allowed back into Guilmartin’s home to clean it or remove their belongings. They also said they were kicked out of the second property because Guilmartin tracked down their landlord and told him they cause trouble.

That landlord, Dritan Dalipi, told NBC Connecticut the couple violated his no pets policy and caused thousands of dollars in damage.

Although Chad Anderson was convicted solely on the charges linked to Guilmartin’s case, he was ordered to pay restitution to both Guilmartin and Dalipi. An exact amount and payment schedule has not been determined.

Anderson and his attorney declined to comment on the guilty verdict.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday blocked Louisiana from enforcing a law that women's groups said would leave only a single doctor legally allowed to perform abortions in the state.

By a 5-4 vote, the court said the restrictions must remain on hold while challengers appeal a lower court decision in favor of the law.

It was the Supreme Court's first significant action on the hot-button issue of abortion since President Donald Trump's nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, replaced Anthony Kennedy, who generally voted with the court's liberals to uphold abortion rights, NBC News reported.

The vote was not a ruling on the legal merits of the Louisiana restriction, but the decision to keep the law on hold signals that a majority of the justices have doubts about its constitutionality.

A newly released transcript reveals that former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort continued working for a political client in Ukraine into 2018, after he had already been indicted in Robert Mueller's probe, NBC News reported.

During a sealed hearing Monday, which was held to discuss Manafort's alleged lies to the special counsel, prosecutor Andrew Weissman referred to "2018 work that he did with respect to polling in Ukraine," according to the redacted transcript.