The Chicago Cubs have banned a fan from Wrigley Field for life after he made what the team deemed an "offensive" gesture on a live television broadcast of Tuesday night’s game.

But how did the universal "OK" hand symbol become associated with white supremacy?

The apparent racist rebirth of the symbol is tracked by anti-hate groups like the Anti-Defamation League to a 2017 hoax campaign orchestrated on notorious message board 4chan.

"The 'OK' hand gesture originated as one of these hoaxes in February 2017 when an anonymous 4channer announced 'Operation O-KKK,' telling other members that 'we must flood Twitter and other social media websites … claiming that the OK hand sign is a symbol of white supremacy,'" an ADL blog post reads. 

But the Southern Poverty Law Center says prominent white nationalists were using the symbol as early as 2015.

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a member for forming the alleged "white power" hand symbol in an MSNBC video in 2018. Four police officers in Alabama were also suspended after making the sign in a photo outside of a drug bust. The accused mass shooter in Christchurch, New Zealand, flashed the sign during a court appearance.

Some have pointed out confusion over the alleged racist salute and the "circle game" popular among kids in schoolyards. One person makes a circle with their index finger and thumb, holds it below their waist and if another person looks at it they receive a playful punch to the shoulder.

Many social media users have been quick to mention this, including in the Wrigley Field incident, and dismiss the racist accusations outright.

In 2018, a former law clerk of Supreme Court Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh was accused of making the finger formation during a confirmation hearing.

While outrage was quick to spread on social media, experts on extremism threw cold water on the flames.

"Out of all the things you should be legitimately concerned about regarding the Senate confirmation hearings in Washington, DC, today for Judge Kavanaugh & SCOTUS, handshakes and handsigns ought not be among them. Actual serious constitutional issues are at stake," the ADL’s Mark Pitcavage tweeted in response. "Actual serious constitutional issues are at stake."

So what about the fan in the Friendly Confines Tuesday night?

"The incident last night is truly disgusting," Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein told reporters in the clubhouse before the game. "It gave me shivers to watch that, to see that take place at Wrigley Field. Appropriately, we’ve made clear how egregious and unacceptable that behavior is, and there’s no place for that in society, in baseball, and Wrigley Field. The person responsible for that gesture will never be welcomed back at Wrigley Field."

The person seen forming the symbol with his fingers has not been identified and NBC 5 has been unable to reach him for comment. 

As school shootings continue to happen across the country, campuses and medical centers are taking steps to be prepared in the event of a potential emergency.

St. Mary Medical Center is donating "Stop the Bleed" kits to California State University, Long Beach, and nurses will train and instruct staff how to successfully use the emergency equipment provided.

"Stop the Bleed" kits or "emergency survival kits" contain tourniquetes, gloves, gauze and bandages. They will be distributed and installed across campus at nearly 40 locations.

Cal State Long Beach's President Jane Close Conoley, representatives from Dignity Health and the Long Beach Fire Department will demonstrate how to use the kits at the Student Recreation & Wellness Center on campus Thursday.

On Wednesday, a graffiti containing a threatening message was found at a restroom on campus. The threat was deemed "not credible."

Police are investigating after a body was found on a beach in Westport on Thursday morning.

Officers received a call around 8:45 a.m. that the body of an elderly man had washed up on the beach near 132 Beachside Avenue. The road was closed temporarily while police investigated the scene, but has since reopened.

Police said they will identify the man after his family is notified.

The lockdown at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School in New London has been lifted and students are safe, but the building remains in “secure building status” after reports of a possible weapon in the school Thursday morning.

Police said they responded to the school around 9:08 a.m. after a report of a boy pulling a gun on another student in a bathroom and none of that information was validated.

Police said they contacted both students and did not find any weapon or threat.

School remains in session, but parents are welcome to pick up their children and hundreds of parents and grandparents did just that and lined up at the school to pick up their children and grandchildren.

One student said she initially thought the school was conducting a drill and she and her friends started crying when they realized it was not. 

The sister of a student who responded to the school said she was terrified when she heard about what was happening and could not reach her sibling or cousin by text.

The school is investigating and police are conducting a criminal investigation. 

The vehicle sought in the case of a missing 4-year-old girl in Houston was located Thursday in a shopping center parking lot, police say.

Maleah Davis was reported missing Saturday night by her stepfather, Darion Vence, who is considered by police to be a person of interest in her disappearance.

Authorities have been searching for Maleah and the car she had been riding in, a gray Nissan Altima, since the Amber Alert was issued. KPRC-TV reported that the car was found at a parking lot in Missouri City.

Police told KPRC they do not believe Maleah is in the vehicle.

Footage from the scene showed crime scene tape surrounding the area around the car.

No further information was immediately available.

Vence told police that he, his 2-year-old son and Maleah were abducted Friday evening while driving to George Bush Intercontinental Airport. More than 24 hours later, he told police the kidnappers beat him and let him and his son go free.

Houston police Sgt. Mark Holbrook said at a news conference Sunday that investigators were trying to figure out "what story is true, what really happened."

Search efforts for Davis were further complicated by several days of severe weather around the Houston area.

Check back for updates to this developing story. As details unfold, elements of this story may change.

A suspected bed bug was reported at Waterbury Career Academy High School Thursday, around a month after an earlier incident involving a suspected bed bug. 

The superintendent’s office released a statement Thursday that said a suspected incident of a bed bug was reported at Career High School and the school and staff “immediately addressed the issue and collaborated with the City Health Department and the School Facilities Division consistent with established protocol.”

They inspected and cleaned the areas that could be impacted and there will be follow-up inspections, as well as any remediation necessary, according to the superintendent’s office.

“The Waterbury Board of Education in conjunction with the City of Waterbury Health Department maintains a proactive and vigilant protocol with respect to bed bugs. In instances where a bed bug is suspected within a school, the Board of Education Facilities team works in concert with the City Health Department to conduct inspections and testing as necessary,” a news release from the school department said.

School officials said there is no risk of harm to students, staff or visitors.

“Virtually all instances of beg bugs in a school environment are the result of the insect being carried in from the outside in isolated circumstances. The Waterbury Board of Education and the City Health Department consider the health and safety of students and our school community as a top priority. We will continue to work collaboratively and proactively to maintain the schools as insect free and to support the remediation of issues outside of the school environment,” the statement from the superintendent’s office says.

Route 8 North in Torrington is closed after a fatal crash, according to state police.

State police said one vehicle was involved in the crash. They are advising drivers to seek alternate routes.

No additional information was immediately available.

Watertown police have arrested a man who is accused of kidnapping and robbing a man and invading his home and they expect to make more arrests.

Police started investigating on April 23 when they were called to the area of Falls and Sunnyside avenues to investigate reports of a man being kidnapped at gunpoint.

They learned that the victim had met with a female at his home and she drove him a short distance away before stopping the vehicle on the side of the road. Once she stopped, two men who were following in another vehicle got into the backseat of her vehicle and 22-year-old Youssef Mohammed, of Bridgeport, pointed a Colt .45 handgun at the victim and asked for “the money and drugs,” police said.

The group brought the victim back to his house and Mohammed and another man forced him inside then stole cash and some electronics, according to police.

The victim was not hurt and the female and three males left, according to police.

When police found Mohammed, they located drugs on him and he was held on drug charges, according to police.

After the incident, detectives learned that Mohammed was trying to threaten and intimidate the victim, police said. He was charged with attempt at intimidating a witness.

Police believe the victim was specifically targeted and they expect to make more arrests.

Youssef was charged with reckless endangerment in the first degree, kidnapping in the first degree with a firearm, home invasion, burglary in the first degree, larceny in the second degree and robbery in the first degree.

The man in custody in connection with the deadly shooting at a Poway synagogue and arson at an Escondido mosque faces 109 federal counts, officials announced Thursday.

John Timothy Earnest, 19, has pleaded not guilty to multiple criminal counts including murder and attempted murder - both with a hate-crime special circumstance and gun allegations - as well as arson of a house of worship. 

The first two charges are in connection with the shooting inside Chabad of Poway on April 27, the last day of Passover. Earnest is accused of walking into the crowded synagogue with a rifle and ammo and opening fire. 

On Thursday, a federal complaint was filed charging Earnest with 109 new criminal counts including 54 counts of obstruction of free exercise of religion and 54 counts of hate crime acts.

“That’s one count for every person in the synagogue on April 27 including 12 children,” U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer said. “Each of these counts is death penalty eligible.” 

One member of the congregation was killed and the rabbi and two other people were injured.  The complaint states there were 13 children in the synagogue on the day of the shooting.

Earnest is also accused of setting fire to the Dar-ul-Arqam mosque in Escondido on March 24 before early morning prayer. 

In the federal complaint, investigators say that the mosque surveillance video showed a suspect arriving in the same type of vehicle the defendant used on the day of the shooting at the synagogue.

Earnest has already been arraigned on criminal charges in San Diego Superior Court but he now faces parallel federal charges. 

“We will not allow our community members to be hunted in their houses of worship where they should feel free and safe to exercise their right to practice their religion,” Brewer said.

According to the federal complaint, Earnest has been charged with 54 counts obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs resulting in death and bodily injury and involving attempt to kill, use of a dangerous weapon. He will also face 54 hate crime acts charges and damage to religious real property involving use of a dangerous weapon or fire.

He faces one federal charge of damage to religious property by use of fire. 

Investigators say in the complaint that the defendant made many anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim statements and stated his only regret was that he did not kill more people. 

The document also describes the rifle used in the synagogue shooting as a Smith & Wesson Model M&P 15 Sports II semi-automatic rifle. 

Investigators say Earnest bought the firearm from a federally licensed dealer and picked up the rifle on April 26. 

One of the attorneys handling the federal case did not answer a reporter's question asking if the defendant had a hunting license.

“There is no allegation that the defendant violated federal law when he acquired the rifle that he used in the violent attack on the synagogue,” said U.S. Attorney Shane Harrigan. 

Officials expect both the federal and state criminal cases to proceed at the same time.

Earnest will appear in federal court on the new charges on May 14. 

Police said the suspect left a message in graffiti in the mosque’s parking lot. EPD did not reveal what the graffiti said, only noting that it referenced the New Zealand shooting that happened the week before.

In a manifesto published just before the Poway synagogue shooting tied to Earnest, the author praised the suspects responsible for the New Zealand mosque and Pittsburgh synagogue shootings and added they were the inspiration for the planned shooting in Poway.

The synagogue shooting and the mosque arson were less than 9 miles apart.

A San Francisco elementary school teacher battling cancer is being forced to pay her substitute while she receives treatment all because of a state-wide law.

The instructor who wished to remain anonymous, teaches second grade at Park Elementary and parents are not only sad, they’re outraged over the law.

"I just feel sad that from what I heard she is a very good teacher and I just feel sad what's going on to her," said parent Narciso Flores-Diaz.

Instructors are given 10 sick days, once they use all days they are then given an additional 100 days leave, of which $195 is taken out daily from their salary to pay their substitute, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Unified School District said.

California State Senator Connie Leyva has been made aware of the issue and is trying to review the law.

"Candidly, I think that times have changed and it’s our job to change with the times," said Leyva.

Parent have raised more than $13,000 to help the instructor pay for her substitute while she receives treatment. The money raised is enough to cover the substitute through the end of the school year.

"Our school is pulling together to help her and to make her feel that she’s not alone," Flores-Diaz said.

The teachers union said they are talking with their members to find a change to the policy before negotiations for a new contract begin.

A 21-year-old Danielson man was killed in a fiery crash in the Moosup village of Plainfield early Saturday morning. State police have identified him as 21-year-old Shane Currier.

Officers found Currier when they responded to a one-vehicle crash on Sterling Road around 2:40 a.m. and found a car in flames

Firefighters extinguished the fire and found Currier’s body in the driver's seat, but they were not immediately able to identify him because of the fire and the severity of the crash, according to officers.

The State of Connecticut Medical Examiner's Office was contacted and helped identify Currier.

Investigators said they believe the vehicle, a Hyundai Sonata, was driving eastbound on Sterling Road when it veered off the right side of the road and hit a large tree head-on. They believe the vehicle immediately caught fire after the crash.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

Two additional flu deaths have been reported in Connecticut and 77 have been reported this flu season, according to the state Department of Health.

Of the 77 people who have died 52 were 65 years old or us, 20 were 50 to 64 years old, four have been 25 to 49 years old and one was between 5 and 17.

There have been 10,038 influenza positive laboratory tests reported during the current season.

President Donald Trump will nominate Patrick Shanahan to be his second secretary of defense.

The former Boeing executive has been leading the Pentagon as acting secretary since Jan. 1, a highly unusual arrangement for arguably the most sensitive Cabinet position.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said "Shanahan has proven over the last several months that he is beyond qualified to lead the Department of Defense, and he will continue to do an excellent job."

Shanahan, 56, has a depth of experience in the defense industry but little in government.

He replaced former Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis, a retired Marine general, who quit in December after clashing with Trump over the president's call to withdraw American troops from Syria.

More and more people are turning to flowers for Mother’s Day or any other occasion, but as more of the industry goes online it may not be clear exactly where those flowers are coming from or what you’re going to get.

Brandon Patrick of Killingworth surprised his wife with the “My Sun, Moon and Stars” bouquet from Avas flowers. But what was delivered instead, was an even bigger surprise. He thought they were delivered from a Hamden florist.

“She was thrilled. Then, she sent me a text with a picture of the flowers thanking me,” said Brandon Patrick.”

On Avas’ website, the arrangement was supposed to include: white lilies, yellow roses, and purple miniature daisies.

Patrick said his wife received pink, white, and yellow roses with pink daisies and came in a different colored vase.

“It kind of quite frankly looked like somebody grabbed some flowers through it in a vase that they had and just delivered them.”

In response to his complaint, Avas flowers acknowledged another local florist filled the order and apologized stating:

“There are issues that we have had with them that have been addressed and dealt with.”

Avas issued a $20 store credit to Patrick’s account for any further purchases.

The cyber florist industry is impacting more than just the average consumer, but local flower shops too.

Stephanie Fusco, owner of Terri’s flower shop in Naugatuck is feeling the brunt.

“I’ve received some phone calls of people calling asking where their flowers are? Why they haven’t been delivered? I received some phone calls from people saying something didn’t look very nice,” Fusco said.

After looking up the orders, Stephanie found out the orders didn’t exist or come from her shop. But addresses of other flower shops claiming to be local but not actually located Naugatuck.

“It’s just wrong,” said Fusco.

Our investigation revealed that Teri’s flower shop is the only florist physically located in Naugatuck. But when you google Naugatuck florists, two other businesses pop up.

An address listed at 175 Church St. which is an office building with multiple businesses. The other one at 26 Church St. is a beauty salon. Neither of them affiliated with a flower shop.

We called both businesses who told NBC Connecticut Responds that they are located in Hamden.

The man who answered the phone at the flower shop listed at 175 Church St. claimed that was the wrong website address and he needed to change it.

NBC Connecticut Responds also with a woman whose shop was listed at 26 Church St. She said they closed the location to do building work.

Lora Rae Anderson with the Department of Consumer Protection says buyers should beware:

“Make sure you go right to that company’s website, call their number, and check out their email and contact them based on that information. Instead of the information that you see pop up Google,” Anderson said.

Anderson said if there are too many options and you’re not sure whether the storefront is real or fake, ask around.

“You can usually pretty quickly figure out who’s legitimate and who’s not,” said Anderson.

The Society of American Florist told NBC Connecticut Responds:

“There is an issue of deceptive listings where companies list themselves under a variety of fictitious florist names with a local phone number.”

Here’s what people should keep in mind when buying flowers:

-Don’t wait until the last minute, especially around holidays like Mother’s day.

-If you do go the online route, see if the flowers come from a central warehouse or if the company contracts with a local florist.

-Have reasonable expectations. The bouquet probably won’t look exactly like the one in the photo, but it should be pretty close.

-If it’s not, let the company know. Many florists will offer to replace it free of charge.

A New Canaan social worker is accused of selling marijuana and vape pods to a child under her care.

Police said the investigation began in March 2019. According to police, 32-year-old Kelly Howard was treating the child at home and providing the child with the drugs.

Investigators also said Howard failed to report potential neglect and/or abuse.

Howard was charged with failure of a mandated reporter to report abuse, sale of a controlled substance, and illegal sale of tobacco to a minor.

She was released on a $100,000 bond and is due in court on May 21.

Some Manchester residents have had make do with a stink from the local landfill for a couple of years, but they're finally getting some consolation.

“It’s just like dog poop or something,” said 9-year-old Nicole.

“Yuck,” said her twin brother Matthew.

Even third-graders can articulate the foul-smell that had been coming from the Manchester Landfill.

“The people who live close in, obviously it was very uncomfortable. I mean it really smelled,” said Manchester General Manager Scott Shanley.

Thankfully, people living near it say the stench has simmered down after the town built a better system to burn off the repugnant gasses.

Now, the town is thanking the people who dealt with the pungent odor with the splash pad.

It will be built right near the Verplank School, which is currently under renovation.

“So it’s directly related to the people who have to deal with the truck traffic, have to deal with the smell, get a small benefit from that,” said Shanley.

The 3,000-square foot project’s priced at $450,000, which includes an irrigation system to reuse the water.

“But I think this is really important. This is not tax dollars. This leftover money from the revenue that we get from the commercial tipping fees at the landfill,” said Shanley.

While there are always some who make a stink about the price, Shanley hopes to make most people happy.

“There are a lot of children that live within a mile of that location and it’s a neighborhood amenity that they currently don’t have.”

Lifelong resident Barbara Cassel can see the school’s current construction from her home.

“All the kids in the neighborhood, that’ll be awesome for them because families are growing and houses are selling," she said.

Over 300 kids live in nearby Squire Village.

“It’s always so hot and I live like three blocks down, so I can just ride my bike here and come in it all the time,” Matthew said.

The town will soon be taking input from locals for what they hope to see at the splash pad.

They hope to have it complete by the start of the school year, ready for use next summer.

A tornado did not touch down on South Main Street in Wallingford on May 15, 2018, but a microburst is to blame for the damage at a historic church built in the mid-1800s.

"We’re just not that part of the country that gets that kind of weather, so you saw the dark sky you knew it was probably something more severe than usual,” said Rev. Kathy Cunliffe from the First Congregational Church.

She remembers well what happened that afternoon almost a year ago.

“Suddenly from the west we could see very dark skies coming,” Cunliffe said.

The senior pastor and five parishioners were preparing for a meeting to discuss the future of their church.

“But then suddenly all of our phones went off because there was a tornado warning that went out as an emergency alert,” Cunliffe recalled.

They took shelter in a basement hallway.

“Through the door at the end of that hallway we could see everything blowing kind of straight across and knew something bigger was going on out there,” Cunliffe said.

The next day Cunliffe said she noticed the damage caused by the microburst's 100 mph winds.

"A whole bunch of the roof tiles scattered all over the yard in the side memorial garden," she said, "so I just collected a pile of them because wasn’t just one or two, probably 40 or 50.”

Inside the church, a water stain is visible above the balcony. The damage outside is so significant that the entire roof needs to be replaced.

"We were actually kind of surprised," Cunliffe said. "We thought maybe there was just gonna be some sections of repair and the ultimate conclusion was that we needed a whole new roof.”

Tim Keogh, the church's senior trustee, has overseen filing the insurance claim.

"It's taken a while to get to this point but we’re here anyway,” he said.

The price tag for the roof replacement at the church is $289,000, Keogh said.

“A lot of it is in the scaffolding behind me, quite an expense to set this up, its gonna have to go around the building to get to it,” Keogh explained.

The insurance company is covering the entire claim, Keogh said.

“We’re really grateful for that because we have a lot of other work we want to do here,” Cunliffe said.

Work to repair the historic house of worship should take eight to 10 weeks.

The church is planning to raise money in order to repaint the area of the water stain and the entire interior of the sanctuary.

Milford police are trying to locate two missing toddlers.

Authorities issued Silver Alerts for 3-year-old William Perez and 2-year-old Theodore Perez Thursday. The boys have been missing since Wednesday.

Police said they believe their parents left the area with the boys to avoid a visit from the Department of Children and Families, and that they do not think the boys are in any immediate danger.

William has blond hair, brown eyes and weighs around 40 pounds. Theodore has blond hair, brown eyes and weighs around 30 pounds.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts should call Milford police at 203-878-6551.

The investigation is ongoing.

New life is on its way to a historic building in New Britain that was once the reported site of a Harry Houdini trick.

The John Andrews building on Main Street will be turned into apartments.

Built in 1903, it’s gone through several transformations over the years. Soon, what is now office space will be turned into apartments with restaurants below.

“It's good for us for business, good for neighbors, good for everything,” said Walaed Alkutini, who owns the nearby Main Street Food Store.

While he sees a good amount of traffic now, Alkutini thinks adding more residential space to downtown can only help.

The historic Andrews building is just a short walk down the street from his business.

“We need more people living in downtown New Britain to take advantage of the amenities we have here but also more feet on the street to help support the businesses,” explained New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart.

Stewart said with the arrival of CTfastrak they noticed a need for more housing.

The city said the one bedroom apartments will be 20 to 30 percent lower in rent compared to similar units in the region.

Jasko Development, which owns the building, says the apartments will have high-end finishes with 1900s Prohibition era decor.

“When you have attractive rents that are affordable to working class individuals, that's what’s going to make people want to move here,” Stewart said.

Residents said it’s development they’re glad to see downtown.

“It should be good for the area because there's a lot of people here that need apartments,” said New Britain resident Juan Gonzales.

The city said another project nearby will bring in more than 100 new housing units.

The renovations are expected to be completed early next year.

A man was shot on Garden Street in Hartford Thursday.

Police said it happened in the area of 380 Garden St. and that the victim was shot at least twice. He was conscious and alert when emergency crews arrived, police said.

The Major Crimes Division is investigating.