UConn students are getting a special opportunity to get some inside information on “Game of Thrones” right from the actress who plays Gilly as well as a producer and writer of the hit HBO show.

Spring Weekend is underway and Hannah Murray, who plays Gilly, and Bryan Cogman, a producer and writer who has written more than 10 episodes of the hit show, will be at UConn in Storrs tonight for “Inside Game of Thrones,” a moderated conversation about the show.

The event is free, but it is only open to UConn students.

It starts at 9 p.m. at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.

Nearly 700,000 Kids II infant sleepers are being recalled after reports of infant deaths, just weeks after Fisher-Price announced a massive recall of a similar product.

Kids II is recalling all models of its Kids II Rocking Sleepers, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Friday.

Since the product was introduced in 2012, five babies have died in Kids II Rocking Sleepers after rolling from their backs to their stomachs while unrestrained, or under other circumstances, the CPSC said.

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The sleeper, made in China for the Atlanta-based Kids II, has been sold at major retailers nationwide, including Walmart, Target and Toys "R" Us and online between March 2012 and April 26, 2019 for about $40-$80.

Anyone who owns the product should immediately stop using it and should contact the company for a refund or voucher. Customers can call 866-869-7954 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays or visit www.kids2.com and select to "Important Recall Information."

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About 694,000 sleepers are included in the Kids II recall. See the full list of affected model numbers and product names below:

• 10081: Bright Starts Playtime To Bedtime Rocking Sleeper
• 10126: Rock & Dream Sleeper - Iggy
• 10127: Ingenuity Rock And Dream Sleeper Lucy
• 10148: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Cuddle Giraffe
• 10178: Bright Starts Pretty In Pink Playtime To Bedtime Rocking Sleeper
• 10289: Ingenuity Smartrock Poweradapt Sleeper Cambridge
• 10292: Ingenuity Rock N' Soothe Sleeper Dayton
• 10320: Automatic Rock 'N Soothe Sleeper - Cuddle Lamb
• 10380: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Cuddle Lion
• 10568: Ingenuity Soothing Light Rocking Sleeper Vesper
• 10729: Bright Starts Toucan Tango Rocking Sleeper
• 10872: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Zoo Zoo Zebra
• 10888: DreamComfort Automatic Rocking Sleeper - Whitley
• 10890: DreamComfort Soothing Light Rocking Sleeper - Addington
• 11021: Bright Starts Rocking Sleeper Jungle Bursts
• 11022: Bright Starts Pretty In Pink Rocking Sleeper Jungle Blooms
• 11063: Rock n' Soothe Sleeper - Moxley
• 11164: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Lullaby Lion
• 11171: Ingenuity Rock N' Soothe Sleeper SUNNY SNUGGLES
• 11357: Ingenuity Rock N' Soothe Sleeper DAYTON
• 11429: Ingenuity Dream Comfort Automatic Rocking Sleeper Braden
• 11714: DreamComfort Automatic Rocking Sleeper - Anders
• 11792: Automatic Rock 'n Soothe Sleeper - Nolan
• 11894: Bright Starts Rocking Sleeper - Jungle Garden
• 11895: Bright Starts Rocking Sleeper - Evening Safari
• 11962: Automatic Rock 'n Soothe Sleeper - Flora the Unicorn
• 12115: Automatic Rock N Soothe Sleeper – Nolan - Display
• 60130: Taggies Snuggle Me Sleeper Nestling Vine
• 60131: Bright Starts Playtime To Bedtime Sleeper
• 60163: Bright Starts Pretty In Pink Playtime To Bedtime Sleeper
• 60327: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Deluxe Emerson
• 60328: Disney Baby/Bright Starts Bows & Butterflies Sleeper Minnie Mouse
• 60331: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Lullaby Lamb
• 60401: Bright Starts Playtime To Bedtime Sleeper Playful Pinwheels
• 60600: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Deluxe Winslow
• 60635: Ingenuity Moonlight Rocking Sleeper Deluxe Seneca
• All cloth component parts of the models identified above

Earlier this month, Fisher-Price announced a recall of about 4.7 million Rock 'n Play sleepers after more than 30 babies died in them over a 10-year period.

A police investigation is underway on Laurel Street in East Haven.

Police said they were called around 11:30 a.m. and do not believe the incident was random. They said the victim is familiar with the suspects and there is no threat to the community.

Several police vehicles were at the scene, but the scene has cleared.

Check back for updates.

President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton are on a speaking tour and they will be in Connecticut tonight.

“An Evening with President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton” will be at the Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford this evening. 

The Clintons will be sharing stories about their careers in public service and discussing the presidential election, issues of the day as well as looking toward the future, according to LiveNation. 

Tickets are still available. 

The SWAT team has been called to a gun shop in Enfield after police received no response during a call for a well-being check. 

The SWAT team has been called to A Call to Arms at 660 Enfield St., according to police. 

Police said they might shut down Route 5 but have not determined whether they will need to yet. 

No additional information was immediately available.

Visitors to the Grand Canyon on Thursday appeared unphased by a series of recent deaths at the national park, NBC News reported.

Two days after a 69-year-old died in a 200-foot fall from the South Rim, visitors continued edging as close as possible. For an Instagram gag, one even stood on a thin rock ledge below the edge to make it look like a friend was saving her from falling.

Four people have died at the Grand Canyon this year. Still, on Thursday there were no new warning signs or park staff warning thrill-seekers to back up.

"People walk behind the railings, over the top of railings, hang their feet over the edge. So more signs is not necessarily going to encourage more safety," said John Quinley, a National Parks Service spokesman.

One of the world’s smallest surviving babies just came home to Connecticut after spending his first nine months of life in the hospital.

John Florio will never have to look any further than his own hand to remember just how little his little boy was at birth. His newborn son fit entirely within it.

“My wedding band fit easily over his hand and foot,” Florio said.

Jaimie Florio was only 19 weeks pregnant when doctors noticed her baby’s growth falling behind because of IUGR, or intrauterine growth restriction.

At 25 weeks, she was admitted to Westchester Medical Center in New York. By 26 weeks, the baby’s life was in jeopardy. If doctors didn’t deliver immediately, they risked stillbirth.

On a Friday afternoon in July, baby Connor Florio came out fighting – all 11 ounces of him.

“The surgeon told us he came out swinging,” Jaimie said. “He said he was the tiniest baby he’s delivered in 40 years and the feistiest.”

According to Dr. Dennis Davidson, unit chief of the infant floor at Blythedale Children’s Hospital in New York, babies born at 500 grams have about a 10 percent chance of survival. Connor weighed far less, at just 310 grams.

“A 26-week baby born at normal weight would probably have an 80 to 90 percent chance of survival today,” Davidson said. “However, Connor was less than half of the appropriate weight for a 26-week baby. Babies who are that small barely have a chance for survival.”

Two weeks would pass before the proud parents could even hold their son. So began a nine-month hospital stay full of scares and setbacks, including a brain bleed, a hole in his heart, eye disease and a potentially deadly infection. Connor required intensive respiratory support including a ventilator, developmental care and feeding tubes as he struggled to gain weight.

Jaimie and John leaned on each other and their NICU nurses for support through the terrifying ordeal.

“I remember telling [Jaimie] that if something bad does happen, you need to enjoy the time that we did have with him,” John said.

But with the expert medical care he received at Blythedale and Maria Fareri children's hospitals, this little superhero defied the odds.

With tiny clothes made for teddy bears, Jaimie and John found fun in the face of fear. A NICU nurse purchased a Superman outfit for Connor in October from Build-A-Bear, inspiring the parents to dress him in colorful costumes for every holiday after that: A pilgrim for Thanksgiving, an elf for Christmas, Cupid, a leprechaun, even Abraham Lincoln for President’s Day – a wink to his dad’s job as a history teacher. It gave the family something to look forward to.

“You’ve got to smile and find the joy in everything that you do, because those moments are going to disappear,” John said. “And if you don’t find the joy in them, you’re not going to want to remember them.”

Now it’s time to make new memories at home. After 270 days in the hospital, Connor finally came home to Danbury on April 9. He’s still on oxygen, a feeding tube and a monitor, and takes medications eight times a day. But overall, he’s happy and healthy, weighing almost 11 pounds, and doctors expect him to thrive.

“He cracks us up because he’s such a goofball. He likes to stick his tongue out. He smiles all the time. He’s got a smirk-y smile, talks,” John said.

Who knew someone so tiny could teach a life lesson so big: No matter the odds, there is always hope.

“Even if it’s one in 500, why can’t you be the one?”

Hartford police have responded to the Dr. Michael D. Fox School to investigate a threat made through social media.

Police ‏Tweeted that a former student made a threat through social media to a current student or students at the Dr. Michael D. Fox School and police are at the scene and investigating.

The Tweet from police said there was an initial miscommunication about the school location and there Is no lockdown in place.

Aislinn Johnson was on duty at Clarinda Academy the night that staff restrained Jesus Lopez, then a 17-year-old foster child from Washington, so severely that he lost consciousness and woke up covered in bruises, NBC News reports.

Sequel Youth & Family Services, Clarinda's for-profit parent company, provides behavioral health treatment to children in 44 facilities across the country. In a previous report on allegations of abuse and improper use of restraints at the facility, NBC News detailed the incident and the state investigation that followed.

Since then, parents, and former students and employees have reached out to NBC News to share their stories. Johnson is one. She said she witnessed multiple incidents of Clarinda staff using improper and physically abusive restraints on children throughout the approximately seven months she worked at the facility.

In a statement provided to NBC News, a spokesperson for Sequel wrote that Clarinda staff believed that Lopez was a threat to himself, and that a restraint was necessary. However, said the spokesperson, staff did not use proper restraint technique. Sequel then "conducted a comprehensive internal review, contacted regulatory authorities, suspended employees, and implemented additional training."

An airborne cellphone landed on the stage as President Donald Trump approached the lectern Friday to address the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, NBC News reported.

In a video of the speech in Indianapolis, the phone can be seen apparently hurtling from the crowd toward the stage.

It lands to Trump's left as he arrives at the lectern and the president glances in that direction.

They are blighted and boarded up but Friday they were at auction.

There were 41 properties up for grabs at the City of Hartford’s tax deed sale Friday.

“Good for the city because those properties can be turned around to functioning properties,” Clifford Knight said.

Knight has bought up around 65 properties over the last 15 years. Friday he had his eye on several buildings he hopes to transform.

“The cost of building a new home is high so renovation is the way if you can get a property and turning around it’s actually more beneficial,” Knight said.

The sales allow the city to recoup delinquent taxes and transfer properties to new ownership.

“It’s more of an art than it is a science but it is an opportunity to really pick up some properties that are being undervalued,” John Kennelly said.

Kennelly, general counsel with Plan B Group, was looking for properties that could potentially become restaurants. He says buying up the buildings is an investment in Hartford.

“Obviously you look at properties that don’t need a huge amount of work that are completely dilapidated for a balance between how much do you have to invest here towards how much is reinvested in the future,” Kennelly said.

The bidders put down a $5,000 deposit and will then pay the balance of the sale price of the properties within five days.

Between the bidder and the city, it’s a win-win for both in the battle against blight.

Friday was National Arbor Day, but in Middletown it was about much more than planting a tree. The community came together to honor a local woman for her service and commitment.

Lucille Ruggiero volunteered for years at the Wesley School in Middletown, creating deep roots and watching her young students blossom for years.

"I think about her every day. She made a big impact on my life. She inspired me to think of other always,” said Ann Anderson, a teacher at the school.

Before she passed last December, Ruggiero up until the age of 94 helped Anderson's kindergarten class. Ruggiero volunteered for decades for the Nutmeg Big Brother Big Sister foster grandparent program

"She mentored children in this school for over 20 years, she loved coming here. It gave form and meaning to her later years in life,” said Andy Fleischmann, president and COO of Nutmeg Big Brother Big Sisters. “Even when she was under the weather she'd motivate herself to get out here because she so loved working with these adorable kids.”

Fleischmann, along with Middletown Mayor Dan Drew, were on hand for today's ceremony, where they planted a tree in Ruggiero’s honor. The mayor also proclaimed Monday April 29 Lucille Ruggiero day in Middletown.

It was emotional for Ruggiero's family, realizing all their grandmother had done for the Middletown community.

"To see the mayor the president of big sisters and 100 kids she helped guide it was overwhelming,” said her grandson Chris Cirullo.

Ruggiero's legacy lives on in the hearts and minds she touched and the tree that will grow into something special, like the countless kids she helped

"Every time I see that tree I am going to think of what a wonderful person she was and the impact she made on the lives of other people,” Anderson said.

“My grandmother always loved dogwood flowers to memorialize her with a tree on arbor day right next to the classrooms that she taught....yeah I'll be making special trips here to see this tree,” Cirullo said.

The Nutmeg Big Brothers Big Sisters foster grandparent program impacts about 350 kids from Greater Hartford to eastern Connecticut.

Twenty-two ducklings were found abandoned in a tote sitting in the sun outside a liquor store Thursday in Putnam, according to a wildlife rehabilitator.

“I didn’t really realize what was in there. I knew I did see a little squawking beak,” said Katie Spenard, an employee at Big Gary’s Discount Liquors.

While she thought it might have been one or two ducklings, she found 22 of them trapped in a covered 18-gallon tote in the beating sun.

Those ducklings were panting, according to Spenard, who ran them inside. The ducks, all different sizes were trampling one another.

Spenard said employees, even customers, used empty wine boxes to separate the ducks.

But the ducklings got cold. So Katie and her sister put them in her sister’s van where they and an animal services officer with Northeaster Connecticut Council of Governments (NECCOG) started rubbing the ducks to warm them up.

“They were going into shock. Some of them might have been (seizing). We weren’t really sure,” Spenard explained, adding her sister called State Police and Sherry Harmon, rehabilitator and president of Nutmeg Acres Wildlife Rehabilitation.

“When they came to me, one of them was in very critical condition, unresponsive, trampled, and unfortunately that one did not make it,” Harmon said. She had put that duckling in an incubator and tube fed it.

She’s still nursing the 21 other ducklings to health which are domestic, not wild ducks, according to Harmon.

“We can only speculate, but Easter just happened. Unfortunately people will buy cute chicks and ducklings,” Harmon said.

She hopes this time around, they find a loving home.

“That they find amazing homes that they can live their ducky lives out,” Harmon said.

There weren’t cameras on the side of the building where the ducklings were found, according to liquor store staff.

Troop D said they are not investigating. NECCOG said they don’t have enough information to launch an investigation but anyone with information on who might be responsible is asked to give them a call.

The Connecticut Children’s Medical Center is in Hartford but on Friday it felt like Gotham.

During its sixth annual Superhero Day, doctors, nurses and staff all joined in, wearing costumes, inspiring patients through the power of imagination.

“It was great,” said pediatric patient Kellan Matulis, who was one of many pediatric patients who enthusiastically interacted characters who roamed the halls.

From Batman to Wonder Woman, superheros visited patients who also played along wearing their own superhero costumes.

“At the hospital we do everything we can to make the hospital, not a scary place,” said Kelly Foy, a child life specialist, “Most days we have things like art and music but today we get to show them they are superheros as well.”

Superhero decorations were displayed throughout the building, There were Hole in the Wall Gang Camp superhero themed art and LEGO model building activities. The Hartford Police participated in a parade while wearing capes.

Perhaps though the main attraction was when a team of three superheros cascaded down the outside, glass façade of the building. While watching through the windows from the inside, patients clamored and cheered as there heros waved and interacted.

“Bringing kids down to see the window washers as they come down it gets them out of bed,” added Foy, “It gets them moving around. It gives them a sense of happiness that they don’t always get in the hospital.”

Among those repelling down the building, in full costume, was neurosurgeon John Martin.

“These kids are looking for something to fill their day and make them smile and an event like this can make them do that,” explained Martin.

Martin’s duties weren’t limited to to providing cheer. After reaching the ground, after repelling down the glass he he was called into surgery, proving he truly is a superhero.

Russia’s efforts to influence American public opinion are not confined only to periods around elections but are a “365-days-a-year threat,” FBI Director Christopher Wray said Friday.

The FBI chief said Russia’s campaign consists of constant use of social media, with "fake news, propaganda, false personas, et cetera, to spin us up, pit us against each other, sow divisiveness and discord, and undermine Americans' faith in democracy,” NBC News reported.

In an appearance before the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, Wray said social media companies "have made enormous strides" in identifying and shutting down Russia's social media efforts.

One person was taken to the hospital after a CT Transit bus caught fire while traveling down Interstate 91 Friday morning.

Hartford fire officials said the bus was traveling on I-91S back from Bradley International Airport when smoke started to fill the passenger area. The driver pulled over at the State Street exit and activated the fire extinguishing system to quell the flames. Firefighters responded and knocked down the fire.

None of the five passengers onboard at the time were hurt. The driver suffered some smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital as a precaution.

Fire investigators said they believe the fire started by some kind of side component like the air conditioning, not the engine.

Hamden has opened its own local investigation into a police shooting involving one of its officers.

Police say that on April 16, Hamden Police Officer Devin Eaton and Yale Officer Terrance Pollock opened fire on a car at the intersection of Dixwell Avenue and Argyle Street in New Haven while investigating reports of an attempted armed robbery in Hamden. A passenger in the vehicle, 22-year-old Stephanie Washington, was injured. The driver, 21-year-old Paul Witherspoon was not hit.

The case is under investigation by the Connecticut State Police and the New Haven State’s Attorney. Both officers are currently on leave.

In the days since the shooting, protesters have been demanding the firing of both officers, transparency in the investigation, and changes in the departments.

Both Hamden Mayor Curt Leng and Yale officials have said they are asking for patience and waiting for the state investigation to finish before a decision will be made about the two officers' futures with their police departments.

In a press release sent Friday, Leng announced that the Hamden Police Department was launching its own investigation into the incident. Hamden’s investigation will focus on compliance with their department policies and expectations.

“The Police Chief and I have been, and will continue to be, in regular contact with the State’s Attorney to ensure that we avoid any potential conflict and to receive regular updates on the criminal investigation,” Leng wrote in a statement.

Police have released surveillance and body camera footage of the incident. The State Police investigation is ongoing.

Dozens of students gathered at the Yale Police Department Friday, calling to disarm the department after a Yale officer was involved in a police shooting that injured a young woman last week.

“Our tuition is paying for this department. It’s paying for the guns, it’s paying for the bullets and I do not want to have my name attached to that kind of violence,” said sophomore Makayla LaRonde-King.

Members of Black Students for Disarmament at Yale led the demonstration, which is the latest protest against the shooting of Stephanie Washington by Yale and Hamden police officers in New Haven 10 days ago.

Police say that on April 16, Hamden Police Officer Devin Eaton and Yale Officer Terrance Pollock opened fire on a car at the intersection of Dixwell Avenue and Argyle Street in New Haven while investigating reports of an attempted armed robbery in Hamden.  No weapon was found in the car.

 The case is under investigation by the Connecticut State Police and the New Haven State’s Attorney. 

Protesters are specifically calling for the firing of  Pollock, who fired his gun in last week’s incident. They also want the restriction of Yale patrol grounds to a more reasonable campus area, and the disarming of all officers at the university.

“You already have New Haven Police Department. Why is it necessary for Yale PD to have weaponry as well?” asked freshman Isaac Yearwood.

Students pledged that despite the end of the school year drawing near, this demonstration would not be the last.

“We will definitely be continuing throughout the next semesters because even though this movement started out as justice for Stephanie and Paul, the history of police violence goes on way beyond that. So even if we don’t get it now, we’re definitely going to continue to push for disarming YPD,” Seyade Tadele, a sophomore, said.

Part of the student demands include that Yale University President Peter Salovey respond saying the police department will disarm by noon on Sunday.

NBC Connecticut reached out to Yale but has not heard back.

 Yale officials have said they are asking for patience and waiting for the state investigation to finish before a decision will be made about the officer's future with the department.

Some towns are starting to reap the benefits of using a free, state two way radio network, while others are still spending millions on their own systems. It’s the latest story in a continuing series by NBC Connecticut Investigates “At a Price-The High Cost of Local Town Living.”

When downed power lines across Interstate 95 on April 2 rerouted rush hour drivers through Groton, leaving traffic at its worst, the town of Groton’s brand new police radios were at their best.

Chief L.J. Fusaro says while new radios his officers got just a week earlier did not help them eliminate the gridlock, they did assist in responding to traffic pattern changes faster than they would have before.

Groton recently became one of the first police departments in Connecticut to give up running its own, locally controlled, radio system.

It moved communications to a network operated by the state, an exclusive NBC Connecticut Investigates shared with you earlier this year.

“By spending literally pennies on the dollar, we’re getting capabilities that would have cost us a much greater amount of money”, Fusaro said.

This new radio setup not only gives officers more reliable two-way communication, for the first time they could also listen on handhelds to what State Police are doing, something that came in handy April 2.

“They could forecast some stuff, so if traffic is moving off the highway, they kind of got advance notice of it, and vice versa”, Fusaro explained.

Groton’s early success was a topic of conversation with a state 911 panel.

Connecticut’s director of emergency telecommunications says in addition to Groton town, Groton city, Norwich, Stonington, and Coventry, other towns and cities are either planning to join the state’s radio network, or are considering it, ultimately saving their taxpayers money.

“We're working with the cities of Middletown and Wallingford to connect both of their systems to our system”, said Connecticut Director of Emergency Telecommunications Clayton Northgraves.

One community opting not to join the state’s shared police radio system is the town of Avon.

It will instead spend $4 million to build its own police, fire, and town services radio network, saying a partnership with the state would only produce minimal savings. So far though, the town has not provided us with any studies that prove its point.

Meriden Police are investigating two overnight shootings on Saturday.

One of the shootings was at an establishment near the intersection of East Main and Broad Street. Several people were inside when bullets were fired through the front window and into the apartments above, according to police.

The second shooting happened at a home on Hillside Avenue. Officers said the home appears to have been exclusively targeted.

There have not been any reports of injuries from the shootings.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Meriden Police Department's Detective Bureau at (203) 630-6201.