There's more bad news for the retail industry.

Women's fast-fashion retailer Charlotte Russe announced Thursday that it is going out of business and closing its remaining 416 stores. 

The liquidation sales begin Thursday in all stores nationwide. Customers can expect deep discounts on tops, jeans, jackets, dresses, shoes and accessories. Gift cards can be redeemed until March 21, 2019, though the sale is expected to wrap up quickly.

California-based Charlotte Russe first filed for Chapter 11 early last month. 

In a press release, the company, which was founded in 1975, said sales reached their peak in 2016 at $986 million.

In 2009, private equity firm Advent International bought Charlotte Russe in a $380 million deal. The mall-based apparel brand has since struggled as it tried to downsize its debt load, CNBC reported.

Meanwhile, denim brand Diesel USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday, citing online shopping and expensive store leases as contributing factors to its downturn. 

Unlike Charlotte Russe, Diesel USA has no plans to close all stores, according to a court filing by chief restructuring officer Mark Samson. 

Instead, it intends to exit some of its 28 stores, where landlords’ refusal to offer lease concessions has led to heavy losses, CNBC reported.

With an uptick in jean sales across the market overall, Diesel USA hopes to focus on their more profitable stores and improve its product lines going forward. 

Levi Strauss & Co, which invented blue jeans in 1873, said last month that it plans to return to the U.S. stock market after a 34-year hiatus, through an initial public offering.

Several other retailers have gone bankrupt in recent years as more consumers turn to online shopping.

Last month, shoe chain Payless, filed for bankruptcy and said it will close its roughly 2,500 stores.

Other stores that have announced closures include Victoria's Secret, Gap, J.C. Penney, Gymboree and Sears.  

There have been more than 4,300 closures so far this year, CNBC reported, citing a Coresight Research note. The pace has been faster than the same period a year ago. 

--Maria Chamberlain contributed to this story

Westport firefighters put out a fire in a church on Thursday night.

They responded to a fire alarm at Christ and Holy Trinity Church at 75 Church Lane just before 8:30 p.m. and found heavy smoke inside when they arrived.

Firefighters searched the building and found the fire in a room adjacent to the altar, according to fire officials.

No one was injured. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

House Democrats are faced with internal fractures on highly charged issues, the kind of major challenges that often come with majority rule, NBC News reported.

The most explosive example is the debate over controversial comments about Israel made by freshman Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, which came to a head in a tense meeting Wednesday morning over a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism. Possible impeachment proceedings and tactical votes called "motions to recommit" are other fronts in Democrats' internal struggle.

"I describe it as the growing pains of a majority. We haven't been in this situation in a decade," said Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., adding that the party isn't in a "state of critical care."

Some party leaders say that reports of rifts have been overblown, with Caucus Chair Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York telling NBC News "I don’t accept the premise that we're divided." But different parts of the party — leadership and new members from conservative and progressive districts — are seeking to pull the party in different directions just two months into the new Congress.

Live coverage from the scene above. 

A U.S. Marshals task force officer was shot while trying to serve an arrest warrant at a Rockford hotel Thursday morning and the suspect remains at large, police said as they searched for him in northern Illinois.

Authorities initially said officers were at the scene investigating an "active shooter" situation at the Extended Stay hotel off North Bell School Road.

Rockford police said members of the task force were attempting to serve an arrest warrant around 9:15 a.m. when they were fired on. One officer was hit in the gunfire. His or her condition was not immediately known. 

Police said the suspect, armed with a rifle, fled the room and remained at large as of 10:50 a.m. Thursday. 

Rockford police identified the suspect as 45-year-old Floyd E. Brown, believed to be a resident of the Springfield area. His suspected vehicle is a light blue or silver Mercury Grand Marquis with a license plate of BF13112 or a temporary plate of 4850256. 

Police spokesman Andre Brass warned that Brown is considered "armed and dangerous" and urged residents not to approach if he is seen but to call 911. 

Residents were advised to avoid the area. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was responding to the scene as well. As of 10:13 a.m., they reported the scene was "still active." 

"We just want to end this incident peacefully with his surrender," Brass said.

Check back for more on this developing story. 

There are three new reported flu-related deaths in Connecticut, according to the Department of Public Health.

That brings the total number of flu-related deaths to 40 since the agency began releasing flu statistics on August 26. The data includes all flu statistics through March 2.

Of the 40 flu-associated deaths, 25 were people over 65 years old, 11 have been people 50 to 64 years old, three have been people between 25 and 49 years old, and one was in a child aged between 5 and 17.

To date, a total of 2,118 people have been hospitalized with influenza in Connecticut.

A total of 6,104 patients have tested positive for the flu.

A total of 5,295 positive influenza lab tests have been reported this season:

• New Haven: 1,892
• Hartford County: 1,399
• Fairfield: 1,239
• New London: 435
• Middlesex: 357
• Litchfield: 353
• Windham: 210
• Tolland: 110
• Unknown: 109

Stop & Shop workers have voted in favor of authorizing a strike during union contract negotiations.

The vote does not guarantee a strike, but rather authorizes the union that represents the workers in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 371 union, to call for a strike at any time during the negotiation process.

According to the union, they and four other New England UFCW unions, representing a total of over 30,000 workers, have been in contract negotiations with the company since January 14. The union claims the company is proposing “drastic cuts” to worker pay and benefits. The union argues that these kinds of cuts will force workers away, increase turnover and affect store productivity and customer service.

“We hope that yesterday’s decision will send a clear message that our union family is committed to making Stop & Shop a better place to work and shop. The cuts that Stop & Shop are proposing not only hurt workers, but will also affect the customer service and shopping experience our communities have come to know and appreciate,” wrote UFCW Local 371 President Tom Wilkinson.

Stop & Shop responded to NBC Connecticut’s request for comment with the following statement:

“Stop & Shop is the only large fully unionized supermarket remaining in New England, and our full-time associates are among the industry’s highest paid. We are working hard to reach strong new contracts that will continue to provide highly competitive wages, comprehensive health care coverage and, unlike any other area food retailers, a defined benefit pension. Stop & Shop has also committed up to $2 billion to upgrade our stores over the next several years to better serve our customers and communities as we also lower prices and expand opportunities for our associates.

“We are proud of our relationship with associates and optimistic that we will be able to reach new agreements. We are continuing to negotiate in good faith and have additional bargaining sessions scheduled for this week and next.”

A former blackjack dealer at Mohegan Sun is facing charges that he helped two players cheat the casino out of more than $61,000.

David Peters, 49, of New London, was originally arrested in October after Mohegan Tribal police said they observed him using various cheating methods to help a gambler at the blackjack table.

According to an arrest warrant, Peters would steer cards in the player's direction to help his blackjack hand, pay the player for a push, allow the player to add to his wager after the cards had been shown and not collect the player's wager for a losing hand, among other things.

Police reviewed surveillance tape of other nights and found Peters had done this on several occasions, involving two different players, the warrant stated.

On a single night in October, Peters and the two players cheated Mohegan Sun out of nearly $35,000, police said.

One of the patrons was identified by police, but the other was not.

Peters was expected to be in court on Thursday.

Facebook announced on Thursday new policies to reduce the visibility of vaccine misinformation on its platform, including rejecting advertising and excluding groups and pages from search results that spread “vaccine hoaxes.”

The announcement comes after weeks of criticism from public health advocates and lawmakers who have called for action to curtail inaccurate information about vaccines, which have led to a resurgence of childhood diseases that had effectively been eradicated.

“We are fully committed to the safety of our community and will continue to expand on this work,” wrote Monika Bickert, Facebook’s vice president of global policy management, in a blog post announcing the change.

The anti-vaccination community is united by the unscientific theory that vaccinations are toxic and cause myriad illnesses, including autism, and misguidedly believe a conspiracy helmed by the government and the pharmaceutical industry is keeping the truth about vaccines from the public.

Connecticut State Police are responding to a person barricaded inside a home in Woodbury Thursday.

Police confirmed a person was barricaded inside a house on Cowles Road.

No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A Pennsylvania father who said he fell asleep with his month-old son on his chest is facing charges after the infant suffocated and died.

Owen Labrenn Copney, 26, told police that on Sept. 17 he dozed off with his son on his chest and when he woke he noticed that the baby "had shifted from his chest and was now laying face down in the crook of his armpit," according to a criminal complaint by detectives in Westmoreland County, near Pittsburgh.

Copney told detectives that the child, Isaiah, was sweaty and not breathing, the complaint states.

The baby was treated by paramedics at the scene and then taken to the hospital where he died two days later, on Sept. 19. A medical examiner said the cause of death was sudden unexplained infant death.

In a jailhouse interview with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Chris Watts talked about how he is haunted by the last words his 4-year-old daughter said to him before he killed her and how he tried to cover up the crimes by making it seem as if his wife took their children and left him, NBC News reports.

In a 31-page document released Thursday, Watts also detailed his affair and revealed why he pleaded guilty to the murders of Shanann Watts, and daughters Bella, 4, and Celeste, 3, last August.

Watts, 33, is currently serving three consecutive life sentences in prison.

More than 100 employees are out of a job as a trucking company shuts down its terminal on Research Parkway in Meriden.

New England Motor Freight, based in New Jersey, has filed for bankruptcy.

Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati said he received a letter informing him of the 122 layoffs at the terminal in his city. One worker said it caught everyone by surprise.

"We all were caught off guard I mean the business was booming," said Michael Bianchi.

The layoffs come after what industry experts consider the best year for trucking in recent history. Bianchi said he’s noticed a slow-down since the start of 2019.

"But nothing to be suspicious of a shutdown or losing our jobs," Bianchi said.

After 22 years of driving trucks for New England Motor Freight, Bianchi learned last month that he’d be getting laid off as the company shuts down its terminals and trucking operations.

"Very depressing I mean you find out you no longer have a job so now I have a child no more insurance, insurance runs out in 60 days and now we’re all scattering looking for jobs," Biacnchi said.

Mayor Scarpati said he’d like to find out how many of the terminated employees live in his city.

"There’s New England motor freight trucks all across the nation, this is the only terminal in Connecticut so to see this is somewhat surprising," Scarpati said.

This week the company agreed to improve the severance package for 2,500 full-time employees after a class-action complaint saying they weren’t provided the federally-mandated 60 day notice about the layoffs.

Bianchi said he’s unsure if he’ll be able to earn as much if he starts over driving for a new company.

"Everybody was heartbroken, we’re like family you know, we were prided on being a family," he said.

The company’s chief restructuring officer, Vincent Colistra, reports two years of losses.

"We have worked hard to explore options for New England Motor Freight, but the macro-economic factors confronting this industry are significant," Colistra wrote.

The mayor says any laid off employees who live in town are welcome to reach out to his office.

Advocates for increasing the minimum wage in Connecticut from $10.10 per hour up to $15 per hour think this year they have momentum because of the Democrats’ increased majorities in the Connecticut House and Senate.

“It’s time to make a real change,” said Sen. Julie Kushner, (D – Danbury), at a press conference calling for an increase.

She said Connecticut now needs to join its nearby states with a higher rate.

“Connecticut badly lags behind our neighbors: Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont all have higher minimum wages,” she said.

An increase in the minimum wage is favored by the top Democrats in both the House and Senate, and it was a campaign promise by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. He even mentioned the issue in his first State of the State Address in January.

Lamont and General Assembly Democrats are in line when it comes to the dollar figure, but they have a slight difference when it comes to how fast the rate should be raised.

Lamont favors reaching $15 per hour by 2023, while Democrats in the legislature prefer to go in steps: $12 in 2020, $13.50 in 2021, and $15 by 2022.

“If you put in an honest day’s work, you should be paid an honest wage. We need to give the workers in Connecticut what they deserve,” said Rep. Robyn Porter, (D – New Haven), one of the sponsors of the bill.

Opposition is easy to find to the proposal. Many in the business community fear for the ripple effects and unintended consequences of increasing the minimum wage.

“It places a huge financial burden on the working middle-class parents of our state. This hits home at every district in our state,” said Ken Judson who owns a childcare facility in Hamden.

He says the increased cost to his business will leave his customers to cover the difference and he’s not sure many of them could sustain such a price hike.

"I have a single divorced mother that makes $45,000 a year. She's not eligible for the Care for Kids program and we're going to ask her to pay $4,000 more? She doesn't have the money. I have another family, I have three kids in program, two young infants and a 3-year-old. We're going ask that couple to pay $12,000 more per year. Where's the money going to come from?"

Hartford Police will investigate over a dozen current and former city employees for health insurance fraud.

This comes on the heels of an audit of the city employees’ health care plan.

NBC Connecticut Investigates has learned auditors have forwarded the names of 19 current and retired City of Hartford employees and their dependents to police.

The independent audit firm Secova determined at least eight, and perhaps all 19 of the city employees failed to have their spouses taken off the city health care plan after they divorced.

This may have cost the city, which is self-insured, as much as $400,000.

“We mean to investigate this on a regular basis at city hall, and at the board of education level. We mean to get tough, and serious about these claims”, said Hartford Internal Audit Commissioner Bruce Rubenstein.

A separate audit of Hartford Public Schools employees found almost twice as many fraudulent health insurance claims as Hartford city employees.

There is some good news - city auditors are optimistic they will recover most of the fraudulent health care claims.

Secova says Hartford has a relatively low amount of fraudulent health care claims compared to other government agencies it has audited.

Amber Alerts that were issued in Texas for three siblings who were reported missing from Waterbury last month have been discontinued.

Waterbury Police were searching for 2-year-old Maryah Matthew, 5-year-old Dylan McGrath and 7-year-old Maddison McGrath. All three siblings were reported missing from Waterbury on Saturday, February 16, and were believed to be with their biological mother, 29-year-old Crystal McGrath. 

Police said all three children were last seen with Crystal on February 16, 2019, at approximately 12:30 p.m.

Officers said Crystal was allowed supervised visits with her three children, but she violated the conditions of the supervised release last weekend.

Police said Crystal left a McDonald's restaurant on Reidville Drive in Waterbury with the children. Her boyfriend, 38-year-old Lester Joy, was believed to be in the vehicle, authorities said. They are driving a maroon 2002 Volvo with a Connecticut license plate of 417-YTY.

Police said they were searching for Crystal and Joy in connection with the kids' abduction. Officers said they were last heard from in Sealy, Texas.

It was not immediately clear why the alert was discontinued.

Paul Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, was sentenced on Thursday to 47 months in prison for tax and bank fraud.

Two people were taken to the hospital after their car flipped into a pond in Essex Thursday.

Fire officials confirmed the crash on Essex Road (Route 153), near Rintoul Pond Road. An assistant fire chief from Essex happened to witness the crash and was able to pull the victims out of the car.

They were transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment and their conditions were not immediately clear.

No other details were immediately available.

A state ethics panel has determined former UConn Diversity Officer Charmane Thurmand violated two ethics rules and has fined her $20,0000.

The Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board found Thurmand used her position at UConn to award her husband a fellowship valued at $50,000, even though he was not eligible for it. An audit determined that her husband, Martinus Evans, never applied for the money.

Thurmand resigned from the university when the accusations came out and has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against UConn. The trial has not yet begun.

Her attorney said he’s not surprised by the ethics panel decision, adding it consists of political appointees and is a government apparatus that has simply continued the racial discrimination initiated by UConn.

NBC Connecticut has reached out to the university for comment but has not yet heard back.

The man accused of kidnapping Wisconsin teenager Jayme Closs and holding her for nearly three months has apologized to Jayme in a letter he wrote to NBC affiliate KARE 11. Jake Patterson, 21, also indicated in his letter that he planned to plead guilty.

Kare 11 reporter Lou Raguse received a letter from Patterson postmarked Feb. 28. In it, Patterson answered questions Raguse had previously sent about Jayme's kidnapping from her family's home in Barron, Wisconsin, on Oct. 15.

Patterson is also accused of killing the teen's parents.

Our next storm moves in pre-dawn Sunday and will bring a period of snow, ice and rain for parts of the state. 

While there is still some uncertainty to the strength and track of the storm, it looks increasingly likely that we'll see a burst of snow early Sunday morning away from the shoreline eventually mixing over to sleet and potentially a period of freezing rain before transitioning to rain across the state for the afternoon and evening. 

Minor accumulation is possible for interior Connecticut, and while it doesn't look like much, it could make for slick travel early Sunday morning. 

We're also monitoring the threat for a prolonged period of freezing rain away from the shoreline that could glaze trees and powerlines, though any ice accretion seems minor.