A police chase in Rhode Island ended with an allegedly stolen car crashing into the gate of a home that reportedly belongs to Taylor Swift.

According to Hopkinton Police, an officer saw a car with no license plates around 1 a.m. Tuesday on Main Street. The officer said the driver took off, swerving across lane lines and making his way into Westerly, where he eventually crashed into the wall and the gate of a Bluff Avenue home.

NBC affiliate WJAR reports that the site of the crash was Swift's home. Police said the crash caused heavy damage to the gates.

Police said the car was determined to have been reported stolen from Hartford, Connecticut.

An open alcohol container and marijuana were found in the car, as well, according to police, who reported smelling a strong odor of marijuana as the car sped away.

The driver of the vehicle is facing a reckless driving charge, but he is noted to be suspected of using drugs. Police said additional charges were possible.

Connecticut State Police have arrested a man from Danielson following a stabbing in Brooklyn on Tuesday night.

Troopers received a 911 call around 7:30 p.m. for a disturbance on South Main Street in Brooklyn.

When police arrived, they said they made contact with a man who had multiple stab wounds. He was transported to Day Kimball Hospital and was later flown to UMass Medical by LifeStar. His current condition is unknown.

According to troopers, they developed a person of interest, later identified as 41-year-old Jeffrey Provost. Provost was located on Cady Street in Danielson where he was placed under arrest.

Provost is facing charges including home invasion, violation of a protective order, assault and threatening. He will be in court on Wednesday.

A wind advisory is up for the entire state on Wednesday as wind gusts could get near 40 mph.

The strongest winds are expected mid afternoon into Wednesday night.

Strong winds could blow down limbs, trees and power lines. Scattered power outages are possible.

Temperatures are expected to reach highs near 60 degrees.

You can get the latest forecast anytime here. 

At least 14 people without diplomatic experience who made major donations to President Donald Trump's inaugural fund were later nominated to become ambassadors to foreign countries, NBC News reported.

They donated an average of slightly more than $350,000 apiece. While the Trump administration says the nominees' business acumen qualifies them to represent the United States, six of those 14 nominations have yet to be confirmed in the Republican-controlled Senate.

The nominee for the Bahamas — a donor — incorrectly called the island nation a part of the U.S. in testimony before Congress. The nominee for Iceland, another donor, is well-traveled but had never been to the country. The nominee for Slovenia frequently reposted false far-right social media posts on her Facebook page.

Other presidents have offered plum posts to wealthy donors, but this administration has nominated more political appointees to top-level positions, and seeing more of them stall in the Senate, said two diplomatic experts and a senior Senate staffer.

Dodd Middle School in Cheshire was evacuated because of an odor of gas Wednesday morning, but students have been allowed back into the building.

The school was evacuated around 8:10 a.m. after the principal smelled the odor and students and faculty were allowed back in around 8:24 a.m.

Eversource is responding as a precaution.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 24-17 to authorize a subpoena for the full, unredacted report by special counsel Robert Mueller on Russian interference in the U.S election and alleged obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump, NBC News reported. 

The committee took the action after Attorney General William Barr told Congress that he intends later this month to provide a report to lawmakers with certain material removed. The subpoena for the nearly 400-page report, along with underlying documents, will not be issued until that is approved by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. 

The resolution calls for the final Mueller report as well as “any accompanying exhibits, annexes, tables, appendices, other attachments and all evidence referenced in the report” as well as “underlying evidence collected, materials prepared, or documents used by” Mueller’s office. 

The measure also authorizes the committee to issue subpoenas for documents and testimony from five individuals: former White House counsel Don McGahn, former Trump adviser and White House strategist Steve Bannon, former White House communications director Hope Hicks, former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and former White House deputy counsel Ann Donaldson.

Officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have identified the man who was found dead at Wadsworth Falls State Park in Middletown on Monday. 

He has been identified as 33-year-old David Hoyle, of Middletown. 

DEEP officials said his death is not considered suspicious.

Passengers who are flying out of Bradley International Airport through April 14 are urged to prepare for an increase in passenger volume.

The Connecticut Airport Authority is suggesting passengers take steps to prepare for the busy time accordingly.

“We encourage our passengers to give themselves extra time and to be prepared while traveling through Bradley International Airport during this busy travel period. As always, we want our passengers to love their journey through the airport and we will do everything we can to make their travel as smooth as possible," said Executive Director of the Connecticut Airport Authority Kevin A. Dillon, A.A.E.

Passengers who are traveling within the United States are urged to give themselves at least 90 minutes with their airlines and processing through TSA screening. Anyone traveling internationally should plan to arrive three hours ahead of their flight, airport officials said.

Before passengers arrive to the airport, they're urged to confirm the status of their flight. They are also urged to review TSA's guidelines and come prepared.

The busy period is expected to last from April 3 through April 14, which falls during most schools' spring breaks.

The staff at a Waterbury school are cleaning parts of the building after learning about a suspected bed bug incident.

The incident was reported at Waterbury Career Academy High School, according to the superintendent.

"School staff immediately addressed the issue and collaborated with the City Health Department and the School Facilities Division and the Bus Company consistent with established protocols. Cleaning of all potentially impacted areas has been undertaken and follow up inspections and remediation will be undertaken as necessary," the school system said in a statement.

Any potentially impacted areas within the school building were steamed and cleaned, school officials said.

School officials said virtually all instances of bed bugs in a school environment are the result of the insect being carried in from the outside in isolated circumstances, according to the release.

When she entered the race in May 2018, Chicago's new Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot was a long shot, even by her own admission - and relatively unknown in comparison to some of her opponents. 

Now, Lightfoot has a low profile no longer. After a resounding victory in which she swept all 50 wards, Lightfoot will be sworn into office in May as Chicago's first black female mayor and the city's first openly-LGBTQ mayor as well, an historic election by several measures in the country's third-largest city.

A native of Massillon, Ohio, Lightfoot will also be the first elected mayor since Anton Cermak, in office in the 1930s, who was not born in Chicago. Lightfoot touched on her upbringing in her victory speech Tuesday night, giving a brief but emotional glimpse into the people and experiences she said made her who she is today.

"My parents didn't have it easy," Lightfoot said. "My dad got really sick and slipped into a coma for a year, a whole year, and woke up without the ability to hear anything."

"He lived the rest of his life with his disability," she continued. "He worked as a barber and a janitor and put up with the racism in our small, segregated steel town."

Lightfoot had previously said that her father's disability and its impact on her family "profoundly shaped" her views on social justice.

"My mom worked low-wage jobs in mental hospitals and nursing homes. My parents didn't have much money but they had their dignity and their dreams. Dreams for their children. Dreams for me," Lightfoot said.

"They taught me the value of honesty, decency, hard work and education and they gave me faith - the faith that put me where I am today."

"My mom is watching this tonight, with more than a little pride in her little girl," she added. After Lightfoot finished first in the Feb. 26 election to make the runoff, she told reporters that her 90-year-old mother had called her the next morning to share her hope that her daughter would open doors for others.

"She said, and I agree, I hope that my candidacy demonstrates to young people, particularly young people of color who look like me, maybe growing up in circumstances like me, that with hard work, anything is possible," Lightfoot said the morning after the February election.

As for her father, Lightfoot grew emotional Tuesday night.

"My dad isn't with us anymore, but Dad," she said, pausing seemingly to collect herself, voice wavering ever so slightly. "Wherever you are, look at your daughter. And look at everyone here. And look at our great city."

"Thank you, Dad. Your sacrifices have been born anew. We made it," Lightfoot continued.

Lightfoot left Ohio to complete her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan, then after two years working as a legislative aide in Washington, D.C., earned a full ride to attend law school at the University of Chicago.

She's lived in Chicago since 1986, save for a one-year clerkship on the Michigan Supreme Court, and since she moved to the city she's been a federal prosecutor from 1996 to 2002, and held various roles in city government, including as chief of staff for Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications in 2005.

Lightfoot is the former president of the Chicago Police Board, a position to which Emanuel appointed her in 2015, and which she resigned before launching her mayoral bid. Emanuel also tapped Lightfoot to chair the Police Accountability Task Force in 2016, in the wake of the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald that rocked the city and sparked a U.S. Department of Justice investigation in the Chicago Police Department. Most recently, Lightfoot worked as a senior equity partner at Mayer Brown LLP.

Celebrating the new chapter in her career and for the city on Tuesday night, Lightfoot credited her wife and 11-year-old daughter - featured prominently in her light-hearted closing television ad - for her victory.

"I sure wouldn't have made it without my wife Amy and our daughter Vivian," she said, gazing at her family onstage as the crowd chanted her wife's name. "I want to thank you both for your endless inspiration, your support at the toughest times and your undying love. You are my all, my everything."

Part of Mountain Road in Granby is closed because of a brush fire.

Granby police Tweeted that Mountain Road is closed between Silkey Road and the Hartland Town line.

No additional information was immediately available.

Shelton police have arrested a woman after an investigation into the death of a child revealed that she had left children alone and was not truthful during interviews, according to Shelton police. 

Police said they arrested 30-year-old Jessyka Oliveira, of Shelton, and charged her with three counts of risk of injury to a minor and one count of interfering with a police officer. 

Authorities launched the investigation after responding to a medical call at a home in downtown Shelton in December. Police said the 5-month-old baby received medical attention and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. 

As the investigation continued, police determined that Oliveira had left three children, who were all under the age of 6, alone for a short time around two hours before the medical call was made, according to a news release from police. 

Oliveira was released after posting a $5,000 bond. 

Former Mayor of Hartford Eddie Perez sat down with NBC Connecticut's Keisha Grant on Wednesday to announce he is running for mayor again.

Perez served as the mayor of Hartford from 2001 to 2010. He resigned from office after being convicted by a jury on felony corruption charges.

In his first television interview since his conviction, Perez acknowledged that he made serious missteps while in office.

"I made a big mistake, very big mistake," Perez said. "I am sorry."

Perez was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to three years in prison for taking a bribe from a contractor in the form of home improvements and attempting to extort $100,000 from a developer. The State Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2016, saying the two incidents were improperly combined into one trial.

Perez pleaded guilty to bribery and larceny by extortion charges in 2017 rather than face new trials.  He was given a suspended prison sentence.

Perez told Grant Wednesday he wanted to remind the residents of Hartford about his accomplishments while mayor.

He said he plans to focus on bringing the city together.

"The city is divided," Perez told Grant. "When any neighborhood feels like they are left behind, we pay the price."

Hartford's current mayor, Luke Bronin, issued a statement about Perez's challenge.

"We've come a long way in the last few years, and I'll be working hard every day to make sure we can keep Hartford moving forward. Hartford's heading in the right direction for the first time in a long time, and this isn't a time to slow down or go back."

Perez is scheduled to make his formal announcement Thursday at 5 p.m.

A man has been charged with murder in the 2017 death of a New Haven woman.

Police secured an arrest warrant for 58-year-old John Henry Smith Jr. on Tuesday. Smith is accused of killing 52-year-old Sherri Ruffin in her home on Jennings Way in May 2017. Ruffin's body was found in her home on May 4.

At the time, her cause of death was ruled compression of the neck, and the manner of death homicide.

Smith was charged with felony murder and first-degree strangulation. His bond was set at $3 million. He is currently incarcerated on an unrelated case at Osborn Correctional Institute.

Senate Republicans on Wednesday used a controversial procedural tactic called the “nuclear option” to change chamber's rules to make it easier to confirm lower-level Trump nominees, NBC News reported. 

The effort, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, comes after Republicans failed to adopt a resolution to change the chamber's rules so that non-Cabinet level executive and district court nominations would face only two hours of floor debate rather than 30 before a confirmation vote.

That resolution received only 51 of the 60 votes required for adoption, along party lines.

Democrats have officially launched their assault on President Donald Trump's tax returns.

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass., on Wednesday evening said he had filed a formal request with the Treasury Department for the documents, NBC News reported.

It’s the opening salvo in what’s sure to be a prolonged battle with the administration to see returns the president has refused to release.

It’s the city that picked up steam after March Madness took center stage.

“I think the tournament served as a catalyst for us a little bit,” Julio Concepcion, executive director of the Hartford Chamber of Commerce said.

Two weeks after the Capital City was flooded with an estimated 45,000 people. City leaders are figuring out how to maneuver its momentum.

“I think that’s where the new revitalized chamber of commerce comes in and we haven’t had a chamber a true chamber in about 20 years,” Concepcion said.

Concepcion, just two months in as Hartford’s new Chamber of Commerce executive director is already figuring out how to leverage the city’s upcoming events like the Hartford Yard Goats third season and Hartford Athletic soccer games.

“Having that full Hartford experience, it’s not just going to the game but it’s visiting some of the restaurants, some of the retail that we have here in downtown,” Concepcion said.

“Definitely the exposure worked and we’re hoping that we see a continuing increase in business,” David St. Onge, assistant general manager of City Steam Brewery said.

St. Onge says the influx in foot traffic during the tournament has already helped bring people back through his doors.

“I think people view going into the city as something of an event, a hassle it can be with traffic things like that so the better they come in the more time they spend the better,” Concepcion said.

Concepcion hopes Hartford’s next big events like Jazzfest, the Dragon Boat Festival and Hartford Marathon will see the same success of people coming for more than just one stop.

“Part of my role is to really get that out there in marketing is a huge component of that and making sure that people understand what we have to offer people here in the city of Hartford and that falls on me,” Concepcion said.

Pratt Street had so much success during the tournament, the city will now shut the area down to traffic and provide live music during lunchtime on Fridays. The chamber is also working on a social media and digital marketing campaign to keep the momentum going.

The State Elections Enforcement Commission ruled Wednesday that childcare is not a permissible expense for which a candidate can spend campaign funds.

The decision ended months of discussion and debate on the topic that began with a candidate running for a Fairfield House district who inquired about using her Citizens Election Program grant funds to pay for someone to watch her then 3-year old daughter.

"With a no answer today I think it's a pretty big blow to women and to parents and to families in general,” said Caitlin Clarkson Pereira, who lost her bid as a Democrat to win a Fairfield House seat. Clarkson Pereira argued unsuccessfully that expenses for childcare allowed her more time to engage in activities in her role as a candidate.

She added, “Maybe that it's not a priority for us to be running for office even though we claim that's what's really important to us."

The commission, which consists of five men, ruled unanimously in an eight-page decision that candidates using the Citizens Election Program could not use the program to pay for childcare expenses.

In its ruling, the Commission wrote, The regulations that come into play once a campaign has been approved for a grant state that all expenditures must "directly further" the candidate's campaign and "even if' personal items are used for campaign related purposes, costs for personal support or expenses may not be paid out of grant monies.”

However, the SEEC panel left open the possibility that self-funding candidates, or candidates raising money through private donations and not through the CEP, are free to use their campaign funds for childcare purposes. The ruling also allows for a candidate to use the money they have raised in order to qualify for a grant to pay for childcare.

The commission advised that the Connecticut General Assembly take up the issue.

That will have to wait, because there does not appear to be a measure where this change could be added.

In a statement, Gov. Ned Lamont responded to the ruling saying, “We should be doing more to encourage women to run for office, and that is why I am urging the General Assembly to fix this wrong. Send me legislation clearly stating that childcare is a permitted campaign expenditure, and I will sign it into law.”

Property taxes for some New London residents could decrease if the budget Mayor Michael Passero presented to the City Council Tuesday is passed.

“We have worked very hard to build a budget that does not increase the tax burden on the property owners.”

It’s possible because the city has seen increased revenue over the last handful of years due in part to new development and new building permits, according to Passero.

Plus, a state-required revaluation of city properties last year increased the grand list by 9.4 percent, he said.

That increase caused Passero to propose dropping the mill rate from 43.62 to 39.9 mills.

City Finance Director David McBride said based on the new median assessment of property values, property taxes on the majority of single family homes, condos, or industrial properties will decrease.

A single-family home valued at $109,550 would pay $4,371, a $212 drop in property taxes, according to an estimate from the city.

“If it’s $100, $200 less, it’s not going to be a life-changing decrease, but we can certainly find things to spend it on,” said New London resident Phil Michalowski.

But for people who own a commercial property or a multi-family home, property taxes are likely to go up.

The owner of a multi-family home valued at $102,900 would end up paying $4,106 in property taxes, a $365 increase.

Linda DiPalma owns 60 to 66 Bank Street, which houses her Otto’s Barber on Bank and separate business Nora Cupcake Company.

Based on a city estimate, she might have to pay $2,400 more in taxes.

“I won’t be able to do things maybe to take care of the building, unfortunately. You know they’re old. This building is almost 200 years old,” DiPalma said.