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House Will Call Trump Org Executive Weisselberg to Testify

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The House Intelligence Committee intends to call Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, to testify, a source with direct knowledge of the situation tells NBC News.

The committee's intention to call Weisselberg was first reported by the Daily Beast.

The move comes after Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump's longtime fixer, repeatedly cited Weisselberg as having firsthand knowledge of alleged financial irregularities in his public testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday. The chairman of that committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., also expressed interest in hearing from Weisselberg and other Trump Organization executives.



Photo Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images

Inside a Connecticut State Police Major Crimes Van

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From homicides to bank robberies to kidnappings, Connecticut State Police Major Crime Squad investigations run the gamut, and when they're called to a scene, all the tools they need have to be on standby. NBC Connecticut received an exclusive look inside Central District's crime van and learned what happens once investigators arrive at a scene.

State Police have three districts: Eastern, Central, and Western. For CSP Central District Major Crime Squad, the crime van holds everything investigators need to process a scene. The crime van becomes their home away from home. But before they can enter a scene, they may need to wait.

"If we have to get a search warrant in order to process a scene, it could take anywhere from two, four, six hours," said Sgt. Ralph Soda.

Major Crimes works closely with the State's Attorney to review warrants. They need to be specific with what they're looking for. Once that's done, the documentation begins.

"The first thing we want to do is document the scene. We'll document it with photography, two sets of photography and also video. We do the whole crime scene," Soda said.

That includes the interior and the exterior. Once that's complete, investigators can begin to look for evidence.

"We have to identify things that don't belong or things that might have obviously been utilized in the crime," said Soda.

Soda said detectives will work to figure out what is pertinent to the case and mark each item. It will be photographed and mapped in a sketch of the crime scene. The evidence will then be collected and packaged.

Detectives have to make sure they're not contaminating a scene, which is why gloves and foot coverings are their constant companions. They even have to be aware of contaminants from within the scene. Soda said if they handle a piece of evidence, they'll need to put on new gloves before handling anything else.

"You're bringing something in, you're taking something out every time you enter and every time you leave. We try to minimize that as much as we can," Soda explained.

Investigators need to be very thorough and detail-oriented. Missing something could jeopardize a case.

Supporting good detective work, investigators have several tools at their disposal that'll help them piece together what happened.

They can spray a certain chemical that reacts with the iron in blood but won't affect the DNA. The spray reveals those trace amounts that detectives may otherwise not be able to see. Soda showed us a picture of a shoeprint.

"This was not visible to the naked eye, and once we sprayed it, we were able to come up with these shoe sole patterns which was very crucial to finding the person responsible for it. Because they still had the shoes on," Soda said.

Another photo showed a fingerprint with a small dark spot on it. The fingerprint originally was not visible to the naked eye.

"You can see the dark spot within that print. There was blood there, so we sprayed around it, and unbeknownst to us until it was sprayed, there was a very viable fingerprint right there. That was crucial as well," Soda explained.

And investigators said even is someone tries to clean up a scene before they arrive, they'll be able to see it with the chemical.

"You're still able to if someone tries to clean up a crime scene because what they're doing is pushing the blood around. It'll be swipe marks, but it'll still react with the mineral in the blood.”

Another chemical used will make blood luminesce. That's especially useful if the blood is on a dark background.

Major Crimes will process the scene and anything that needs to be examined will be sent to the forensic lab. That includes DNA, which detectives gather with something as simple but crucial as a DNA swab.

The crime van also includes tools to determine the trajectory of a bullet. The FBI asked Central District Major Crime Squad to assist with the Meriden Mosque shooting from several years ago.

"From the outside where the bullet entered, we were able to put a laser on it and it went back down to the residence from which the gunshot originated," said Sgt. Soda.

Blood spatter can also give investigators a lot of information. It can give a good indication of what transpired and where.

And digital forensics play a big part in the investigation. Detective Christopher Meier says they submit a lot of items to the forensic lab but that the lab isn't always open when they're working on a case. In the middle or the night or on the weekend if detectives need something quickly to follow up on a lead to identify a potential suspect or potential motive, they have a mobile device that can do some of the work on scene.

"We're able to extract the information we need, and once we take it from here, we plug it into the computer. We have some software that decodes the information," Meier said.

Every scene will dictate exactly what they're looking for and it can be a crucial component in an investigation, he added.

"In addition to not only getting information like text messages and whatnot, you can identify location history. We can conduct interviews and know right away if someone is lying or not. Because you can tell me, 'Hey, I didn't visit them yesterday.' We can pull up your location history and say, 'Yep, actually we have that your phone was there,'" said Meier.

On top of working their own cases, CSP Major Crimes will assist local and federal agencies. They'll also investigate officer-involved shootings. For those cases, they'll do the investigation and turn everything over to the State's Attorney. Soda said detectives make no conclusions or recommendations or opinions for officer-involved shootings. They just hand the facts over and let the State's Attorney decide the rest.

There's one crime van per district, which means investigators are working several cases at once.

"We never stop. We keep going and we make sure we get our reports done, prioritize, keep things going. Everybody's got multiple cases going at once, right now we have about 22 cases going at once," Soda said.

While the tools inside a crime van are critical, good detective work and long hours are what will solve a case.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Report Says Trump Demanded Top-Secret Clearance for Kushner

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President Donald Trump last year ordered officials to grant top-secret security clearance to his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, according to a report published Thursday by The New York Times.

Kushner was granted the high-level clearance last May after a lengthy background check.

The Times, citing anonymous sources, said Trump demanded Kushner's clearance despite the concerns of intelligence officials, then-Chief of Staff John Kelly and then-White House counsel Don McGahn.

The newspaper said Kelly wrote in an internal memo that he had been "ordered" to give top-secret clearance to Kushner. McGahn wrote a memo in which he advised against such clearance.

Peter Mirijanian, a spokesman for Kushner lawyer Abbe Lowell, responded Thursday to the Times story with a statement, saying: "In 2018, White House and security clearance officials affirmed that Mr. Kushner's security clearance was handled in the regular process with no pressure from anyone. That was conveyed to the media at the time, and new stories, if accurate, do not change what was affirmed at the time."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders declined to comment on the Times story.

Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, said Thursday that the Times report "indicates that President Trump may have granted access to our country's most sensitive classified information to his son-in-law against the advice of career staff — directly contradicting the President's public denials that he played any role."

Trump told Times reporters in January that he "was never involved" with Kushner's security clearance.

Cummings, D-Md., noted that his committee has launched an investigation into the security clearance process and requested documents and interviews relating to Kushner's clearance.

"To date, the White House has not produced a single document or scheduled a single interview," Cummings said in a statement. "The Committee expects full compliance with its requests as soon as possible, or it may become necessary to consider alternative means to compel compliance."

Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and Kushner's wife, said in February that the president did not play a role in granting security clearances to her or Kushner.



Photo Credit: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP (File)

First Alert: Two Chances for Snow This Weekend

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The NBC Connecticut meteorologists have issued two First Alerts for chances of snow this weekend.

The first starts on Saturday morning and ends by midday. Right now it appears it will bring in between 1 to 3 inches, but this is a tough forecast and small changes could lead to more significant snow totals.

Another chance for flakes comes Sunday, with snow developing Sunday evening before changing over to a mix and rain.

Stay tuned for more on both events.

Get the latest forecast anytime here.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

1 Dead in Fire in North Branford Mobile Home

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A man died in a mobile home fire in North Branford early Friday morning.

The fire broke out inside the home at a mobile home park at 224 Foxon Road around 12:45 a.m., according to fire officials.

The victim was a man in his mid-60s, the North Branford fire chief said. he was the only one in the mobile home at the time of the fire.

Fire investigators and state police remained at the scene about six hours after the fire.

There was no word on what started the blaze.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Snow Showers Lead to Slick Roads, School Delays

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Snow showers moved through Connecticut Friday morning, coating roads and making the commute slick for some.

Several schools delayed opening to give plow crews a chance to clear the roads.

In Derby, the superintendent closed school for Derby Middle School, Bradley Elementary School, Irving Middle School, and the pre-K school, Little Raiders University. But students at Derby High School were already at school when the snow arrived, so they will continue their normal school day, according to the superintendent.

Click here for the list of school delays.

There were no major accidents but travel along I-95 in Fairfield County was very slow Friday morning.

The rest of Friday afternoon was expected to be clear but two systems are expected to bring more significant wintry weather to Connecticut over the weekend and into Monday morning.



Photo Credit: Sergio

New Recall for Losartan Blood Pressure, Heart Disease Medication

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Thousands of bottles of a prescription medicine for treating high blood pressure and congestive heart failure have been recalled over the detection of trace amounts of a possible carcinogen.

About 56,000 bottles of losartan tablets were recalled by Camber Pharmaceuticals on Thursday, the latest in a series of losartan-related recalls. No one has reported any adverse affects from the drug in Thursday's recall, the company said in a notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration's website.

Losartan tablets in 25, 50 and 100 mg doses are being recalled by Camber. They were distributed nationwide.

Consumers should speak with their doctor to discuss the recall before they stop taking the drug, or if they have experienced any adverse effects that may be related to the drug.

The identifying NDC numbers in the recall are Losartan 25 mg 31722-700-90, 31722-700-05, 31722-700-10; Losartan 50 mg 31722-701-30, 31722-701-90, 31722-70-10; and Losartan 100 mg 31722-702-30, 31722-702-90, and 31722-702-10. See a more detailed list, with lot and expiry numbers, here.

Trace amounts of N-Nitroso N-Methyl 4-amino butyric acid were found as an impurity or contaminant in an active ingredient. That compound is a potential human carcinogen, according to the recall notice.

Other manufacturers have recalled losartan in recent months, but Thursday's recall is for a different potential contaminant. Those recalls were made over detection of N-nitrosodiethylamine.

Anyone with questions about the latest recall may call Camber Pharmaceuticals at 866-495-1995 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET on weekdays.



Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Camber Pharmaceuticals

Otto Warmbier's Parents Blame Kim for His Death, Contradicting Trump

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The parents of Otto Warmbier said Friday that Kim Jong Un and his government "are responsible for the death of our son Otto" after President Donald Trump said he believed the North Korean dictator was unaware of how the student was treated while imprisoned there, NBC News reported.

"We have been respectful during this summit process. Now we must speak out. Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of our son Otto," Fred and Cindy Warmbier said in a statement. "Kim and his evil regime are responsible for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity. No excuses or lavish praise can change that."

Warmbier, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student, was arrested and convicted for taking a propaganda banner from a Pyongyang hotel in 2016. He was released early — his parents were told he was in a coma since not long after he was sentenced — and died soon after his return to the U.S.

Trump said Thursday that Kim "tells me that he didn't know about it, and I will take him at his word," adding that Kim learned of the case later. Those comments prompted bipartisan backlash.



Photo Credit: Jon Chol Jin/AP, File

Crane Hits Power Lines in Wethersfield

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Emergency crews responded to a construction site in Wethersfield after a crane struck overhead wires on Mill Street Friday.

The accident happened between Maple Street and the Silas Deane Highway around 7:45 a.m. Mill Street was shut down for a short time, police said.

Eversource shut power to the area so the crane operator could be removed from the crane.

There were no injuries, police said.

The road re-opened around 8:30 a.m.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Garbage Truck Driver Arrested After Wild Crash Near Fairfield Daycare

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A garbage truck driver was arrested Thursday after crashing his truck on a street in Fairfield.

Police say Anthony Bustillo, 19, of Bridgeport, was driving the truck carrying garbage too fast on Greenfield Street around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

He lost control of the truck, rolled it onto its side and slid into a set of rocks outside of a daycare.

No one was injured in the crash.

Bustillo was charged with reckless driving and reckless endangerment and was released after posting a $400 bond, police said. He is scheduled to appear in court on March 12.



Photo Credit: Fairfield Police

DNA Test Results Could Affect Your Life Insurance Coverage

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Family intrigue led Larry Guernsey to buy his wife a DNA test kit for the holidays.

"She’s always been interested in genealogy," Guernsey said.

The $99 AncestryDNA test uses a saliva sample to unlock your lineage.

"A simple test can reveal your ethnic mix. Like, if you're Irish or Scandinavian - or both," a commercial for the company says.

For the Guernseys, the test was supposed to be fun.

But their curiosity twisted to suspicion when they read the fine print.

By taking the test they were giving Ancestry a “perpetual, royalty-free worldwide transferable license” to use their DNA, according to the company's contract.

"That entire phrase ‘perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide, transferable’ it just sounds like they’ve left it open to do anything that they want with it," Guernsey said.

Guernsey worried the results could put his family’s DNA into the hands of an insurance company that might deny them coverage over a gene that carried the risk of a life-threatening illness or condition.

"You could get into some really weird science fiction scenarios," he said.

Under federal law, companies are not allowed to use your genetic information against you for things like health insurance or a job.

But that protection does not apply to things like life insurance or long-term care insurance, and the laws are constantly changing.

Privacy is a big concern because many genetic testing companies sell their information to drug companies and others for research.

And what would happen if the databases were hacked?

All the big companies have safeguards in place, but more than 92 million accounts from the genealogy and DNA testing service "MyHeritage" were found on a private server last summer.

Although no DNA data was breached, it showed the potential risk.

Hank Greely is a professor at Stanford University who writes books about the intersection of bio-technology and the law.

His advice is simple: "If it bothers you, if it offends, if you’re worried about what might be in there, then you shouldn’t sign this contract."

Both AncestryDNA and 23andMe say they will destroy your DNA test results if you ask them. There's an online setting to make the request.

All this week News4 is looking into home DNA test kits. Watch News4 at 5 and 6 p.m. on Friday for more on the future of DNA testing.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Trump Attacks Cohen, Says Ex-Fixer Shopped a 'Love Letter' Book About Him

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President Donald Trump lashed out against his former fixer and personal attorney on Friday in a string of tweets aimed at discrediting the blockbuster testimony Michael Cohen delivered while the president was abroad, NBC News reported

Trump, who returned from faltering talks with North Korea late Thursday night, tweeted repeatedly that a book Cohen reportedly shopped to publishers prior to the start of his legal troubles proved the testimony he gave to Congress on Wednesday was "fake" and "a lie!" 

Republican members on the House Oversight Committee also largely sought to paint Cohen as a liar and a profit-seeking opportunist. 

At one point, Cohen testified that it was true he had shopped around a book about his time with Trump, and that he ultimately turned down a $750,000 book deal. He also testified that he soured on his former employer after the president's response to violence at race-fueled riots in Charlottesville in August 2017 and his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki in July 2018. 

In his tweets Friday morning, Trump claimed it was "just revealed" that Cohen penned a flattering book after those events occurred — negating Cohen's stated reason for turning on Trump. But reporting on the book deal dates back to last year, and cites a book proposal — not a full manuscript. It's unclear if the book was ever written or when precisely the book proposal was shopped around.



Photo Credit: Getty Images, File

Police Make Arrest in Connecticut College Voyeurism Incidents

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Police have arrested a Connecticut College student in connection with a series of voyeurism incidents at the New London school.

Carlos Alberti, 21, of Richmond, Massachusetts, was arrested on Friday.

Police began an investigation after several women at Conn College reported that they saw a cellphone pointed at them while in the changing areas of dormitory bathrooms.

Three of the victims, who are all female students, told police that they were in the changing area when they noticed a cellphone camera above or below the stall.

Two of the incidents happened in October 2018 and the others happened in November, December, and in late January. The incidents took place in "gender-inclusive" bathrooms in two residence halls, which anyone can use.

Police identified Alberti as a suspect in the early stages of their investigation.

Alberti is charged with seven felony counts of voyeurism. A judge set a $150,000 bond. It is not clear if Alberti was able to post the bond.

Police are continuing their investigation.



Photo Credit: New London Police

US to End Large-Scale Military Drills With S. Korea: Sources

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The U.S. military is preparing to announce that annual large-scale joint exercises conducted with South Korea every spring will no longer be held, two U.S. defense officials told NBC News.

The move is part of the Trump administration's effort to ease tensions with North Korea, according to the officials. Exercises Key Resolve and Foal Eagle will be replaced with smaller, mission-specific training, they said.

President Donald Trump has often complained about the large-scale exercises, saying they're too costly. But some experts on North Korea questioned whether they can be suspended without significantly affecting troops' ability to counter threats.

U.S. officials insist the exercises and scenarios need to adapt to adjust to the changing situation in the region. A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment.



Photo Credit: Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

Tolland to Replace Crumbling Foundation at Elementary School

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The town manager in Tolland said Friday that the town will immediately have to begin the process to design repairs for the crumbling foundation problem at its elementary school.

The town and the Board of Education first noticed cracks in the concrete at the Birch Grove Primary School more than a year ago, according to Town Manager Steve Werbner.

They hired an engineering firm to test the concrete and a report delivered to town leaders in January concluded the school foundation had substantial cracking from the presence of pyrrhotite in the concrete. Pyrrhotite is a naturally occurring mineral in some stone used in concrete that was mined in parts of Connecticut that causes the concrete to deteriorate over time.

Werbner and School Superintendent Walter Willett, in a news release on Friday, said in order to make repairs to the crumbling foundation at the Birch Grove School, they will have to find alternative classroom space for students at the pre-K through second-grade school beginning with the next school year in September. That could include portable classrooms, they said.

The hope would be to begin construction in early 2020, Werbner and Willett said.

According to Tolland officials, Birch Grove Primary School was built in two phases beginning in 1999 and then again in 2003.

The section built in 1999 is showing the most deterioration. The section built in 2003 is not as damaged and school officials believe they can repair the foundation in two phases. That would allow them to house students in the area of the school built in 2003 as they retrofit the 1999 section first.

“We can’t be in the middle of year one and a half or two and then suddenly have to move the children,” Willett said.

Early estimates for repair costs put the price tag at $46 million. Tolland officials said Friday they have worked out an agreement with the state that will have the state cover 52-percent of the repair costs. The town will foot the rest of the bill.

Town leaders hope proposed federal legislation may one day allow them to seek federal money to help cover the cost.

School officials have scheduled a meeting for parents at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the school to provide more information about the situation.

A town meeting is scheduled for March 27 at 7 p.m. at Tolland High School to discuss the effects on the town. Tolland will have to hold a referendum in May to appropriate the full amount of money for the Birch Grove Primary School repair project.


FOI Commission Orders UConn to Hand Over Documents to Ollie

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A state agency says UConn needs to go back to school when it comes to freedom of information requests.

This week the state’s Freedom of Information Commission ordered UConn to hand over hundreds of records and send staff to more training on Connecticut’s FOI laws.

This is all in connection with former men’s head basketball coach Kevin Ollie, who claims he is owed the remainder of his contract and needs documents from the school to prove it.

UConn fired Ollie in March 2018, citing NCAA violations, allowing the school to forgo paying him $10 million left on his contract.

UConn has been refusing to give certain documents to Ollie, citing student privacy laws.

What got UConn in further hot water is the FOI Commission says the university ignored the commission's orders and would not even let the panel review the documents in question in private.

The commission says UConn also showed up to prior hearings in this FOI case unprepared, so it’s ordering UConn staff to undergo FOI training.

UConn tells NBC Connecticut it is appealing the FOI Commission ruling.

The university says it has already handed over thousands of documents to Ollie.

UConn says federal student privacy laws have very few exceptions when it comes to the release of its records.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! Celebrating Read Across America

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In celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday kids in Connecticut are taking part in Read Across America Day and one elementary school in Cheshire put a spin on the day by having high school students join in to help.

At Highland Elementary School in Cheshire, the classrooms are full of classics.

“Congratulations, today is your day. You're off to great places, you're off and away,” said Abby Dziura, a Cheshire High School sophomore, as she read to a classroom.

With brains in their heads and feet in their shoes, these kids have 40 Cheshire High School students helping steer them in any direction they choose.

“We love reading,” said the teens.

Yes, these teens, know what they know. Saying reading is best, it’s where kids imaginations should go.

“I just think it's so important to enjoy stories and to read for fun, not just because you have to,” said Grace Azaula, a Cheshire High School junior.

“I think that having a strong base of reading when you are young helps cultivate that kind of culture for when you are older and helps your reading,” said Berkley Fang, a Cheshire High School Senior.

Yes, these students are off to great places, influencing these kids with their bright smiling faces.

“Pretty much I think reading is kind of like the most important thing in life,” said Charlie Gilchrist, a first grader at Highland Elementary.

Charlie and his classmates listened with glee, asking questions Dr. Seuss would love to see.

“What's your favorite Dr. Seuss book?” asked one child to their visiting student reader.

Whatever the answer, these teachers agree, there’s another point to be made about reading, you see.

“Really emphasize the importance of reading and limiting that screen time,” said Karen Zetoff, the library media specialist at Highland Elementary School. “Finding multiple ways to enjoy life without the screen time.”

So back in the classroom, what else can we say? Happy birthday Dr. Seuss, today is your day.

“You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way,” read Dziura.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

1 Month After Government Shutdown, Workers Still in Recovery Mode

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It’s been just over a month since the federal government reopened, yet Dallas airport transportation security administration officer Becky Mancha is still waiting to receive part of a paycheck she missed during the partial government shutdown.

“Unfortunately, the checks are not coming up correctly, so now I'm trying to figure out exactly what they paid me for and what am I missing,” Mancha said.

She is just one of 800,000 federal workers who were either furloughed or worked without pay during the longest government shutdown in American history. Mancha and others say the experience has left them insecure, frustrated and scrambling to pay their bills, even a month later.

For the next few months, Mancha and other federal employees whose paychecks were withheld during the partial government shutdown say they are going to be behind schedule when it comes to paying bills.

“I'm just catching up with all of my bills, making sure I'm up to date. I deferred the payments and now there is more interest and additional payments, things like that,” said Mancha, who added that she had to hold off on buying books for her daughter in college.

Air traffic controller Nick Daniels, who also works at Love Field Airport, said one of his young colleagues resorted to working at Starbucks to make ends meet during the shutdown.

“They're having to work at Starbucks ... having to take up a second job before they control your plane and learn how to, for the rest of their career, never make a mistake and never have an error,” Daniels said.

Daniels was able to get help from companies like Chase and Freedom Mortgage. "I cannot tell you how relieving it was to have somebody on your side and somebody willing to help you out in such a time of uncertainty while you're being required to work without pay,” he said.

During the shutdown, which began Dec. 22 and ended Jan. 25, affected federal workers missed nearly $2 billion in pay each week, according to a report from Congress’ nonpartisan budgeting research office. The total amount, about $9 billion, averages out to about $11,250 in income not paid to each affected worker during the shutdown.

And while the government committed to reimbursing those employees — though not contractors — the Congressional Budget Office’s report also noted another complication: some workers may have a higher proportion of taxes withheld from their larger-than-usual reimbursement checks, unless they adjusted their tax withholding to account for the change.

The federal Office of Management and Budget did not respond to requests for information on how many employees have yet to be paid back in full and what is causing any delay.

Three members of Congress wrote a letter to the OMB on Feb. 12 asking them to answer a series of questions by Feb. 26. The OMB has not answered as of Friday morning, according to the office one of the members, Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va.

“Not all of my constituents have received their full back pay,” said Wexton, who represents a portion of Northern Virginia where many D.C.-area federal workers live.

She added that the OMB has not been transparent enough about the issue. 

For Victor Payes, a TSA officer at Los Angeles International Airport and a single father of two daughters, the lost pay meant he had to borrow money to pay his bills on time.

“I had to take out a loan last month just to make sure I was able to pay rent for February, otherwise I would have been late,” Payes said. “This is taking away from my credit score because now I owe more money.”

Many federal employees lived within restricted means during the shutdown. Ones who live paycheck to paycheck had to take out loans, go to food banks and strategically chose what to spend on.

The Capital Area Food Bank, which serves the D.C. area, said that its “Hunger Lifeline” emergency food assistance referral service website had five times as many visitors this January compared to last. A spokeswoman said the organization’s pop-up markets served 5,000 federal workers and contractors through direct distribution efforts during the government shutdown.

A missed paycheck has a “ripple effect,” said Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport TSA agent Laymon Lightfoot, who worked without pay during the shutdown.

“It controls and restricts your movement and your freedom to do things. Even just getting to work was a challenge because of the costs of gas,” Lightfoot said.

The shutdown also affected morale of federal employees, leaving lasting emotional impacts in a way that felt different from previous shutdowns, according to Jenny Brown, who has worked for the IRS for 33 years and is the Chapter 67 president of the National Treasury Employees Union.

“I've talked to a lot of people who say that they feel broken. It is hard to go back to work, and so loyally, when you know you can just get shut down like that for five weeks,” Brown said.

Fear of another government shutdown is changing how some workers approach saving. Brown said she’ll stop having her lawn fertilized professionally and save that money instead.

“I am putting as much money as I can into my savings account,” Brown said.

Traditionally, one of the benefits of working for the federal government is job security, since many federal workers are protected by strong unions. But many federal employees considered switching jobs during the shutdown.

Brown said she knows a few people who found different jobs during the 35-day shutdown and decided to stay there permanently to avoid ever being so directly affected by a federal shutdown again. Lightfoot hopes to eventually find a job within the federal government in “a sector that would not be affected by a government shutdown,” like the post office.

Several unions that represent federal employees are suing the government over the shutdown. The largest such union, the American Federation of Government Employees, claims the government forcing work without pay is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

“The law says we are entitled to our paychecks in a timely basis and that did not happen this time around,” said Payes, the LA TSA agent.

“We just can't be held hostage to solve political disputes as the work we do is so important,” he added.



Photo Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Dog Abandoned in Suffield Expected to Make Full Recovery

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A dog found tied to a tree off a trail in Suffield is getting some well-deserved pampering.

The dog, which officers have named Brooks, was found off a trail in Stony Brook Park Thursday. It is not clear exactly how long the Brooks was left outside, but officials say it was at least a day. His leash was wrapped around the animal’s back legs, cutting off circulation.

Police said there were visible signs of neglect and abuse. Brooks' fur was severely matted and there were icicles hanging from it when he was found.

Brooks was taken to a veterinarian for treatment. On Friday, police released new photos of him without the matted fur and after a bath.

Brooks is expected to make a full recovery and police think he will be available for adoption in the near future.

Police said there will be criminal charges when they identify the person, or people, responsible for abandoning him.

Anyone with information on who may have left Brooks in the woods should contact Animal Control Officer Ryan Selig at 860-668-3870 or Rselig@suffieldct.gov.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

MakerspaceCT Community Coming to Hartford

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The historic G. Fox building in Hartford is getting new life.

It will soon be MakerspaceCT, a place for inventors, manufacturers and students to create and work.

“It’s a 20,000-square foot space filled with education, opportunities, equipment and tools,” said Devra Sisitsky, MakerspaceCT founder and executive director.

It will be the second largest Makerspace in New England. Memberships are being sold now and the grand opening is set for April.

“If you’ve had that idea rattling around in your head — I’m going to make this, I’m going to make it better. Then you can come here,” Sisitsky said.

You can talk to people, you can work with people who can help you with the design, learn how to utilize the equipment, and make your own prototype.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
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