Attorneys for Robert Kraft will return to court Friday for a motions hearing for the New England Patriots owner's charges of solicitation.

Kraft was charged with two misdemeanor counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution. The charges were filed late February following a massive investigation on prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter.

Kraft, who had requested a jury trial for his case, pleaded not guilty to the charges. Prosecutors previously offered to drop the charges if he were to concede.

Attorneys for the Brookline resident said video evidence capturing Kraft paying for sex acts at the illicit massage parlor could "destroy any prospect" of his chances at a fair trial. They have filed a separate motion requesting to suppress video evidence to be sealed. 

He does not have to appear in court.

A Vermont fourth grader is expressing her frustration after her feathered friend became the butt of a joke on a recent episode of Saturday Night Live.

The joke featured her disabled pet chicken, Granite Heart, learning to walk with a custom wheelchair. The SNL joke suggested that instead of helping the animal walk, she should "just eat the chicken."

"Be more sensitive," said 10-year-old Alora Wood of Vermont.

Wood is disgusted at the thought of eating chicken for dinner.

"Never," she said, asking, would you put your pet on a plate?

"I know it was meant to be a joke, but what if it was a dog?" she added.

Wood does admit it’s cool to see Granite Heart grab the spotlight because her handicapped chicken has quite the story.

"She couldn’t move around like all the other chickens and live a normal life," Wood explained.

Granite was born with a deformed foot and can’t walk, but thanks to Wood and her family things are looking up.

They got Granite a custom wheelchair from Walkin’ Pets, a company in Amherst, New Hampshire that makes and sells pet wheelchairs to families around the world.

"I think it’s going to be easier for her when she learns to push with her foot," Wood said. "She’s still working on it but I think she’ll get it really soon."

Owner of Walkin’ Pets Mark Robinson feels badly that Wood was offended by the SNL joke, but for him, he says he was thrilled to see his wheelchairs on his favorite show.

"It was great, I loved it," Robinson said.

With their 15 minutes of fame, this fourth grader, and her feathered friend are proving that pets come in all shapes and sizes.

"Any creature, no matter how big, no matter how small, they deserve to have a perfect life," Wood said.

Click here for more information about Walkin’ Pets.

A vehicle fire caused delays on Interstate 91 North in Windsor Friday morning.

The vehicle caught fire near exit 36 and heavy delays built in the area until the scene was clear.

State police said a mechanical issue caused the fires. Everyone was out of the car and no injuries are reported.

New Metro-North schedules go into effect on Sunday and they will impact travelers on the New Haven line. Metro-North said trains will have different departure times and the travel times will be longer.

The most extensive infrastructure work will be on the New Haven line and Metro-North says morning and evening peak train schedules will be lengthened by one to six minutes.

Morning peak trains will leave their initial station one to 10 minutes earlier and schedules will be lengthened by one to six minutes. New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury Branch trains will depart one to four minutes earlier with schedules lengthened by one to three minutes.

Weekday Schedule:

Evening peak trains will leave Grand Central Terminal at the same time but schedules will be lengthened by one to six minutes.

Trains on the New Canaan and Danbury branches will depart at the same time but their schedules will be lengthened by one to three minutes, while Waterbury Branch trains will be unchanged, according to Metro-North.

Inbound off-peak trains will leave their initial station between 10 minutes earlier and four minutes later and their schedules will be lengthened by one to 11 minutes, depending on the length of the trip and the time of day,

Outbound off-peak trains will leave Grand Central Terminal at the same time and their schedules will be lengthened by one to 11 minutes. New Canaan, Danbury and Waterbury Branch local trains will depart their initial station three to 16 minutes earlier and arrive three to 16 minutes later than previously, depending on the schedule of the mainline connection.

Weekend Schedule:

Inbound weekend trains will leave their initial station up to 10 minutes earlier and their schedules will be lengthened by two to 10 minutes.

Outbound weekend trains will depart Grand Central Terminal at the same time and have their schedules lengthened by two to 10 minutes.

Metro-North said more service is being added for customers, with more weekday, Saturday and Sunday New Haven Line trains accessible for travel that was previously restricted between Fordham and Manhattan.

During off-peak times, service between Fordham and Manhattan will operate around four times an hour instead of twice an hour.

Learn more here. 

April 12 is National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day! The origin of the day isn't fully clear but it's a Friday and Grilled Cheese Day so we're in!

The popularity of the modern grilled cheese sandwich seemed to have started in the 1910's and 1920's and were originally called "Toasted Cheese Sandwiches," according to TripSavvy.  But it was really those easily accessible processed cheese slices from Kraft that changed the game.

During World War II, Navy cooks would make cheese sandwiches that were open faced with grated cheese, according to How Stuff Works. The grilled cheese game changed in 1949 with the introduction of Kraft Singles.

Some of the top spots for grilled cheese in Connecticut include:

• Melt Mobile in Stamford
• The Whey Stationary in Middletown
• The Cheese Truck 
• Toasted in downtown Hartford

Stop & Shop workers in more than 240 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island will be back on strike Friday after walking off the job Thursday afternoon amid a contract impasse.

On Friday morning, some of the stores have posted signs with temporary store hours during the strike.

The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union said Thursday that the workers who walked off the job were from Locals 371 and 919 in Connecticut as will union members in Locals 328, 1445 and 1459 who work at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

After the strike started, Stop and Shop said it had closed some stores, locked the doors and deployed "corporate personnel as well as temporary replacement workers" and were working on reopening stores as soon as possible to "minimize any disruptions for our customers."

On Friday morning, signs were posted on some stores saying they would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. "due to the union representing our workers calling a work stoppage."

A union representative said the strike is impacting all 90 stores in Connecticut, though stores with pharmacies are legally required to stay open.

People's United Bank said its Stop & Shop branch locations will continue to operate as usual for the duration of the strike, to the extent possible.

"Customer and employee safety is our first priority and we will continue to provide service with as minimal disruption as possible. We hope there is a quick and amicable resolution to the matter for both parties involved," the statement from People's United Bank said.

Contracts for the five unions representing 31,000 Stop & Shop workers in the three states expired on Feb. 23 and Stop & Shop has around 7,500 workers in the state.

The strike comes after a union vote in Hartford in March to authorize a strike amid concerns of possible cuts to pay and benefits and many said they felt there was no choice other than to prepare to walk out.

“Our 31,000 members who work at Stop & Shop work incredibly hard to provide the great customer service that has made the company billions of dollars in profit and the top grocery store in New England. Instead of a contract that recognizes the value and hard work that our members provide every day, Stop & Shop has only proposed drastic and unreasonable cuts to health care benefits and take home pay, while replacing real customer service with more serve-yourself checkout machines,” a joint statement from the five unions that are striking says.

Stop & Shop released a statement on Thursday, saying the company was disappointed in the work stoppage.

“Given that negotiations with assistance of the federal mediators are continuing, we are disappointed that the UFCW chose to order a work stoppage in an attempt to disrupt service at our stores. Stop & Shop has contingency plans in place to minimize disruption,” a statement from Stop & Shop says.

Addressing the contract negotiations, Stop & Shop said it has proposed “a good and reasonable offer to our union locals” that includes across-the-board pay increases for all associates, continued “Gold Level” health care benefits for eligible associates and increased company contributions to the pension fund for current full- and vested part-time associates.

“The hard-working men and women at over 240 stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island are standing together to tell Stop & Shop that it is time to do the right thing. The men and women who make Stop & Shop a success have earned and deserve affordable health care, a good wage, and the ability to retire with dignity. They have earned and deserve a good job that allows them to do what they do best: provide the very best customer service for New England communities," a joint statement from the unions says.

Stop & Shop said the company made several suggestions to the federal mediators Thursday morning to encourage further bargaining and the mediators gave those proposals to the local unions late in the morning.

“The Locals provided no counter proposals to the mediators and simply stated they were proceeding with their plans,” Stop & Shop said.

The company said the unions “proposed a contract that would increase the company’s costs. This would make our company less competitive in the mostly non-union New England food retail marketplace.”

“What Stop & Shop workers don’t deserve, and what no one who works hard in New England deserves, are unreasonable cuts while the company they work so hard for makes billions of dollars in profits. That is wrong and it sends a terrible message to every customer who truly depends on our Stop & Shop cashiers, stockers, bakers, deli clerk, and butchers," the joint statement from the unions says.

Stop & Shop has also posted information about negotiations on its website.

When some of President Donald Trump's top national security advisers gathered at the White House Tuesday night to talk about the surge of immigrants across the southern border, they discussed increasing the U.S. military's involvement in the border mission, including whether the military could be used to build tent city detention camps for migrants, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the conversations.

During the meeting, the officials also discussed whether the U.S. military could legally run the camps once the migrants are housed there, a move the three officials said was very unlikely since U.S. law prohibits the military from directly interacting with migrants. The law has been a major limitation for Trump, who wants to engage troops in his mission to get tougher on immigration.

Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan was at the White House meeting Tuesday night and was open to sending more U.S. troops to support the border mission, so long as their assigned mission is within the law, according to the three U.S. officials.

Thousands of troops are currently deployed along the southern border, and are mainly used for reinforcing existing fencing with barbed wire.

Potential new projects for the troops that were mentioned Tuesday, according to the three officials — two from the Pentagon and one from Homeland Security — also included conducting assessments of the land before the construction of new tent cities in El Paso and Donna, Texas. They would also be used in assessments before construction of a new central processing center for migrants in El Paso, said the DHS official.

Police said they will not make any arrests after video of a woman’s racist rant at a supermarket in East Haven made rounds on the internet and prompted an investigation.

The incident happened on a Friday night in March at ShopRite on Foxon Road and a portion of it that was captured on video appears to show a woman using racial slurs aimed at an African American man.

The tirade at the supermarket continued when the woman, a former Hamden Public Schools employee, made 911 calls to police. In the 911 calls provided by East Haven Police, the woman said she was angry and wanted to talk to an officer.

While on the phone with police, she again used expletives and racial slurs to describe him.

Police said the woman was later identified as Corinne Magoveny-Terrone. She is a former Hamden Public Schools employee.

The superintendent of Hamden Public Schools said Magoveny-Terrone was a clerk in the central office and resigned as an investigation into the video got underway.

The superintendent also said that since it appeared the woman’s children were there at the time of the incident, the district filed a report with the Department of Children and Families.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Children and Families called the video disturbing.

They went on to write in part:

“The Department does investigate reports that a parent or other person responsible for a child’s care is acting erratically or in an impaired fashion that puts a child’s safety at risk or is injurious to their well-being. Under CT law, we are unable to disclose child protection records publicly.”

East Haven police said the office of the State’s Attorney declined to move forward with charges with anything other than a dual breach of peace arrest and police are declining to make dual breach of peace arrests because they don't believe the male victim in the video deserves to be arrested.

A prep school administrator who oversaw college entrance exam preparations is expected to plead guilty for allegedly taking SAT and ACT exams for students in the nationwide college admissions cheating scandal.

Mark Riddell, 36, of Palmetto, Florida, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea on Friday in a Boston federal court for his alleged part in the scandal that rocked the education world. Investigators said between 2012 and February, the Harvard alumnus secretly took exams for students or corrected their answers after their test was turned in, according to documents filed in federal court in Boston. He was paid $10,000 per test.

In one instance detailed in the indictment, Riddell, who oversaw entrance exam preparations at IMG Academy, allegedly flew from Tampa to Houston to take the ACT exam for a student. The complaint claims Riddell was sent a sample of the student's handwriting so that he could mimic it.

The alleged ring leader of the operation, William "Rick" Singer, bribed test administrators to allow Riddell to take the exams in place of students or to replace their responses with his own, according to officials.

Riddell was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

According to an agreement filed last month, prosecutors are recommending incarceration and a fine at the "low end" of guidelines. Riddell will also have to forfeit almost $240,000 that he earned from the scheme. It will be up to the judge to decide whether to accept the agreement. 

Riddell apologized for his roll in the scheme in a statement to NBC News last month.

"I want to communicate to everyone that I am profoundly sorry for the damage I have done and grief I have caused those as a result of my needless actions," he said in a statement released by his attorney. "I understand how my actions contributed to a loss of trust in the college admissions process. I assume full responsibility for what I have done."

IMG Academy, founded by renowned tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, fired Riddell amid the scandal. Riddell graduated from Harvard in 2004 and was a tennis player for the university. 

About 50 people that included Hollywood actresses, a fashion designer, college sports coaches and several CEO’s were indicted by the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office in Boston last month for a bribery scheme to get their children into elite universities.

Ronald Hudson, a 60-year-old veteran from West Haven, has been missing for six days and police are looking for help to find him. 

Police said Hudson is reported to have medical conditions that require prescription medication. 

He was last seen Saturday in the West Haven area and has ties to the Veterans Administration facility, as well as Meriden, Bridgeport and Rocky Hill, police said. 

A Silver Alert was issued Sunday and police issued a news release and photo on Friday, asking for help from the public. 

Hudson is 5-feet- 10, stocky, has salt and pepper short hair, brown eyes and might be wearing glasses. 

Anyone with information is asked to call the police non-emergency number at 203-937-3900.

PetSmart stores nationwide are offering free photos for kids and families with the Easter Bunny April 13 and 14.

The Easter Bunny Photo Days will take place Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 4 p.m.

You can receive your photo in a digital photo file by email or you can take photos on a personal device.

Two additional flu-associated deaths have been reported in Connecticut, according to the state Department of Health.

Flu remained widespread during the 14th week of flu season and 66 flu-associated deaths have been reported in Connecticut since the end of August.

One of the people who died this season was between 5 and 17, four were 25 to -49 years old, 17 were 50 to 64 and 44 were 65 years old or over.

Since Aug. 26, 3,031 people have been hospitalized with influenza.

See the number of lab tests that have been positive for influenza in each Connecticut county:

• New Haven County: 2,787
• Hartford County: 1,965
• Fairfield County: 1,701
• New London County: 735
• Litchfield County: 543
• Middlesex County: 499
• Windham County: 276
• Tolland County: 180
• Unknown County: 243

West Haven Police have arrested a man and charged him with manslaughter after another man died following an assault.

Officers were called to Campbell Avenue near Brown Street on Sunday, March 17, around 8:40 p.m. after getting a complaint of breach of peace and assault.

An initial investigation revealed that one person involved, later identified as Anthony Carlucci, was injured in the incident, according to police. Carlucci later went to an area hospital to be treated for his injuries.

Several days after the incident, Carlucci was pronounced dead, police said.

On Friday, police arrested 36-year-old Antoine David Smith, of West Haven, and charged him with manslaughter in the second degree.

Smith was held on a bond.

Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx has asked county Inspector General Patrick Blanchard to investigate her office's handling of the Jussie Smollett case, she announced Friday. 

“A former prosecutor, Inspector General Blanchard has been conducting independent inquiries for Cook County for over a decade,” Foxx said in a statement. “Ensuring that I and my office have the community’s trust and confidence is paramount to me, which is why I invited an independent review of this matter. I welcome this investigation and pledge my full cooperation and the cooperation of my office as IG Blanchard conducts his review.”

Foxx’s office decided to drop all charges against "Empire" actor Smollett, who was accused of staging his own hate crime. The decision sparked a war of words between city leaders and Smollett’s legal team.

"I will tell you, I’m not going anywhere," Foxx told a crowd at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition Saturday.

Politicians and faith leaders have previously pushed back on criticism over how Foxx’s office handled the case.

"This is the same Kim Foxx who vacated 83 convictions that were wrongfully gained from a corrupt police officer who was planting drugs and guns on others," she recounted.

Meanwhile, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police and suburban police chiefs gave her a no-confidence vote after her office dismissed all charges against Smollett —even though Foxx recused herself from the case. 

F.O.P. President Kevin Graham says "Ms. Foxx needs to resign and she should do it quickly."

While Foxx and her supporters are adamant that special treatment wasn’t given to Smollett, the city is still seeking $130,000 from the actor— to pay for the overtime CPD accumulated to investigate his case.

The city of Chicago's Law Department filed a civil complaint Thursday against Smollett under the city's false statements ordinance.

Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor who will be sworn in as Chicago's mayor on May 20, has also said during a pre-election debate that "the public has to have answers as to why these charges were dismissed." But she hasn't detailed any action she might take as mayor regarding Smollett.

The Smollett case and the city's effort to make him pay is unusual, according to several legal experts.

"We don’t treat cases differently because of one celebrity, because I can ensure you the people of Cook County state’s attorney doesn’t," Foxx said.

A popular breakfast and lunch restaurant in West Haven has picked up and moved because of a planned redevelopment project. 

Construction has yet to begin on The Haven upscale outlet mall, but Nick’s Luncheonette is doing just fine thanks to its loyal customers. 

“For me it was a very important place,” Nick Milas, the owner, said of the location at the corner of First Avenue and Elm Street. 

Milas, his family and staff have settled into the new home for Nick’s on Saw Mill Road. They said they have loyal customers. 

“I’m very happy,” Milas said. “We’re very busy.” 

The numbers of tables and staff members have more than doubled. The kitchen is bigger and there are new options on the menu. 

“More salads and then we have this delicious new cinnamon pancake, a lot more healthier stuff like wraps that are gluten-free,” longtime waitress Alicia Barbagiovanni said. 

Selling the old location to the developers of The Haven was tough for the entire Milas family. 

“It was definitely difficult, more difficult for my parents,” Nick’s oldest son, Kosta Milas, said. 

On Monday, West Haven Mayor Nancy Rossi (D) and city officials stopped by for an official ribbon cutting. 

“I thank them very much for staying in the city of West Haven,” Rossi said. 

Katie Borer, a customer, said she’s been coming to the restaurant “once a week at least” and would have followed Nick’s wherever it went. 

Her oldest son is now 15 and she said she thinks they celebrated his first birthday there. 

Now she brings her younger daughters. 

“They’re 2 and 4 and they love the pancakes,” she said. 

It took nine months to transform a former Pizza Hut into the new restaurant and Nick’s opened on Saw Mill Road in January.

“I was looking for a restaurant so I was thinking this was the right place,” Nick said. 

Now, more people are discovering one of the busiest spots near the shoreline for breakfast and lunch. 

Kosta said it feels like their family has grown because customers feel like family and the Milas family has also literally grown with the birth of Nick’s grandson -- “Little Niko” who is named after him. 

As uneasy as it was to move out of the old location, Kosta said the family is trying to look forward to a future in the new one. 

“Knock on wood everything has been great so far,” he said.

Three years after the Obama administration told transgender individuals they could serve openly and have access to gender-affirming medical and psychological care, the Trump administration has reversed course, NBC News reports. The Pentagon on Friday began to implement a controversial new policy that critics say is essentially a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy for trans service members.

Under the new policy, currently serving transgender individuals who have already received a diagnosis of gender dysphoria may continue to serve in their preferred gender, receive hormone treatments and undergo gender-affirming surgery. But after Friday, anyone with gender dysphoria who is taking hormones or has already undergone a gender transition will not be allowed to enlist. Further, any currently serving troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria after this date will have to serve in their sex as assigned at birth and will be barred from taking hormones or getting gender-affirming surgery.

When told that “transgender Americans say you’ve given up on them,” President Donald Trump said: “You know what I'm doing? I'm protecting everybody. I want to protect our country.”

A man riding a scooter set his jacket on fire in front of the White House Friday afternoon, sources said.

The U.S. Secret Service and D.C. Fire and EMS went to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW just after 2:45 p.m.

The Secret Service put the fire out and provided aid to the man. A suspicious package was found near the man.

D.C. Fire medics were treating the man, who is in Secret Service custody. His condition was not immediately known.

The Secret Service cleared the North Lawn of the White House, Lafayette Square and the sidewalk in front of the White House. Traffic was blocked on 17th Street between H and G streets. The media was asked to stay in the West Wing.

Yujing Zhang, the Chinese citizen arrested at Mar-a-Lago in March while President Donald Trump was at his nearby golf club, was indicted Friday.

The short, two-page indictment gave no new information about how Zhang allegedly got into Trump's resort in Florida two weeks ago, NBC News reported. She was charged with two counts: unlawful entry of restricted buildings and grounds and false statements to law enforcement.

The FBI began investigating Zhang as a possible spy after her arrest. Federal authorities told a judge on Monday that she lied repeatedly to Secret Service agents while carrying computer malware unlike anything a government analyst had ever seen.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health has confirmed a third case of measles in New Haven County, and said the case is linked to the outbreak in New York City.

Health officials said the patient is an adult and that the case is linked to the outbreak in New York City, not the other two cases in Connecticut. They believe the patient was exposed in the last week of March, during a visit to Brooklyn, New York.

There have been two other cases of measles in Connecticut, which were reported in January.

Measles is highly contagious and can spread quickly if you are not vaccinated.

Vaccination is required to attend schools and colleges in Connecticut, but medical and religious exemptions are available. Health officials said the measles vaccine is very effective and two doses, which is the standard recommendation, are about 97 percent effective.

In 2018, there were three confirmed cases of measles in Connecticut.

Symptoms of measles generally start showing a week to 21 days after exposure. Typical symptoms begin with mild to moderate fever, runny nose, red eyes and a sore throat. Three to five days after that, a red or reddish-brown rash appears, usually starting on the face and spreading down.

The rash typically lasts a few days. Someone with measles may be contagious up to four days before the rash appears and for four days after the rash appears.

If you think you might have measles, you should avoid public and contact your doctor before going into the office to avoid exposing others.

Health officers recommend vaccination.

People who received two doses of MMR vaccine as children according to the U.S. vaccination schedule are considered protected for life, reports the Centers for Disease, Control and Prevention, adding that the MMR vaccination is “very safe and effective.”

For more information, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

Hamden fire officials say a cigarette is to blame for a fire at an apartment complex on Town Walk Drive Friday.

Police were called to a fire on a third-floor balcony at 8100 Town Walk Drive around 3:45 p.m. The resident escaped the apartment unharmed and neighbors had partially extinguished the flames when firefighters arrived.

The fire inspector determined the fire was caused by a cigarette that had been thrown into a garden planter.

The deck suffered heavy damage but the rest of the unit was undamaged.