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House Passes Bill to Raise Age to Buy Tobacco

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The state House of Representatives has passed legislation to prohibit the sale of cigarettes, tobacco products, electronic delivery systems and vapor products to anyone under the age of 21.  

A news release from the governor’s office says the House voted 124-22 and the bill needs approval from the Senate before getting to the governor’s desk. 

States like Massachusetts and New Jersey have already upped the age to 21. In Connecticut, Hartford and Bridgeport have already increased the age. Other towns like Milford and South Windsor have considered it.

In April, the American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association lobbied to keep pressure up on lawmakers to raise the age.

The bill would also prohibit the sale of flavored products, which . are often viewed as enticing to young teens.

The vaping industry said that will harm people trying to quit smoking cigarettes.

Governor Ned Lamont issued a statement on Thursday afternoon, saying, “(W)ith the rising use of e-cigarettes and vaping products among young people, we are seeing a growing public health crisis. Some have pointed out that raising the age to 21 will result in a net revenue loss to the state, but when it comes to the health of our young people we need to do what is right,” Governor Ned Lamont said in a statement. “I commend the legislators today who had the courage to vote for this bill, and particularly express my gratitude for the leadership of Representative Jonathan Steinberg and Representative Cristin McCarthy Vahey. Let’s get this bill through the Senate so I can sign it into law.” 

Read the bill here. 


Vigil Condemns Hate After Suspected Arson at New Haven Mosque

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In New Haven, community members came together to condemn hate after someone set fire to the Diyanet Mosque on Middletown Avenue.

It comes as worshipers begin to move forward.

There was an outpouring of love, with people of all faiths and backgrounds standing together, as a unity vigil took place at the mosque on Thursday.

The building was scarred by a fire that authorities say was intentionally set.

“Heartbreaking,” Gwen Severance of Hamden said.

We’re getting our first look inside the burned mosque. Pictures captured the damage after flames took off on Sunday.

But there is a bit of good news from mosque leaders about whether they will be able to fix it.

“Yes, we will. We will,” Haydar Elevli, the mosque president, said.

On Thursday, people donated money that will go to a reward for information.

Already more than $12,000 is being offered to help find whoever is responsible.

“I just abhor the violence that has befallen so many people in their worship places around the world,” Judy Lhamon of Hamden, said.

On Thursday, worshipers resumed their prayers here after the mosque rented mobile office trailers.

Muslims are in the midst of Ramadan, considered their holiest month of the year.

While some mosque members say they are not mad at whoever was behind the fire, others delivered a strong message.

“If you burn down any mosque, synagogue or church in our community, we will rebuild it, every single time,” Alicia Strong, a community activist, said.

Right now local, state and federal authorities are scrambling to find whoever sparked the flames there.

Worshipers said they were not aware of any threats against the mosque.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Dems Demand to Know Why This PR Island Still Has No Hospital

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It's been almost two years since Hurricane Maria shuttered the hospital on the small Puerto Rican island of Vieques, yet the Federal Emergency Management Agency has no concrete plans to rebuild it, NBC News reported.

Democrats on Wednesday demanded answers from FEMA's acting administrator, giving him a few weeks to explain to Congress why "U.S. citizens still cannot access comprehensive medical care" on Vieques.

The lawmakers' letter refers to a 64-year-old cancer patient who waited 32 hours on the island of 9,000 people to make sure she had a spot on a ferry to the mainland so she could reach a doctor in the capital of San Juan.

There are only a handful of health specialists and services available on the island. Viequans converted their only emergency shelter building into a public community health center, according to Elda Carrasquillo, who coordinates health workshops in Vieques through the organization Taller Salud.



Photo Credit: Xavier Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images, File

Timeline: Investigation Into Murder of Pregnant Chicago Teen Marlen Ochoa

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Laying out a horrific narrative, Chicago police detailed their investigation into the murder of 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa, who was strangled to death after she went missing in late April.

Police believe that Ochoa, who was nine months pregnant at the time of her disappearance, was lured to a South Side home to buy baby supplies, and that two women at the home strangled her to death and cut her fetus out of her body before taking it to a local hospital and claiming that one of the women had given birth to the child.

Deputy Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan then detailed a timeline of events that ultimately led to the arrest of three suspects in the case:

April 23: Marlen Ochoa was last seen on this date after leaving Latino Youth High School, where she was a student.

April 24: Ochoa’s husband reported her missing on this date after she didn’t pick up the couple’s son from daycare.

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April 25: Ochoa’s husband began cooperating with detectives in the case, and the search intensified on that date. From April 25 to May 7, detectives searched for leads in the case, but police didn’t get any big leads in the investigation until May 7.

May 7: Working with one of Marlen’s friends, detectives discovered that Ochoa was on a Facebook group called “Help a Sister Out,” trying to secure items for the baby she was due to give birth to in early May.

Detectives discovered that a woman had allegedly taken her up on that offer: 46-year-old Clarisa Figueroa. The pair had arranged for Ochoa to pick up items at a home near the intersection of 77th and Pulaski on April 23, the date that the expecting mother was last seen.

Detectives then arrived at the home and encountered Figueroa’s daughter, identified as 24-year-old Desiree Figueroa. When asked about where her mother was, the woman said that her mother was in the hospital having her legs looked at, but later said that her mother had recently given birth.

Detectives also discovered Ochoa’s vehicle nearby on the same date, casting further doubt on Desiree’s story.

Later that day, detectives went to an area hospital to interview Clarisa Figueroa. She denied that she had set up a meeting on April 23 with Ochoa, but acknowledged that she knew her and that they had met in the past.

May 8-13: Detectives subpoenaed hospital records from the birth of the child and found that the baby had been brought to an area hospital, with Figueroa telling hospital employees that she had given birth to the child and that the baby wasn’t breathing.

Detectives also collected DNA samples from Ochoa’s husband, the baby, and Figueroa. The DNA samples later revealed that Figueroa was not the baby’s mother, and that Ochoa’s husband was indeed the father of the child.

“We were getting all the evidence in place to confront Clarissa,” Deenihan said.

May 14: Detectives get a search warrant and execute it at the home. Bleach and cleaning solutions were discovered inside the home, along with blood stains in the hallway and on the carpeting. Burned clothing was also discovered at the scene.

Four people were brought to police stations to be questioned in the case.

Detectives also found a garbage can on the premises, and discovered remains that were later identified as those of Marlen Ochoa.

May 15: The Medical Examiner determined that Ochoa’s cause of death was strangulation, and that a coaxial cable had been used to kill the woman. Police searching the home found the cable, along with other evidence in the case.

May 16: After a long interrogation session, Desiree Figueroa confessed to police that she had helped her mother in strangling Marlen Ochoa. After that, detectives arrested Figueroa and her mother, along with a third individual, and murder charges will be filed against the pair.

A third suspect, 40-year-old Piotr Bobak, was arrested and charged with multiple felony counts for his alleged role in concealing the crime.

‘Perfect Storm’: Ticks Flourish, Lyme Cases Spike As Temperatures Rise

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Ticks and the diseases they carry are on the move, rapidly expanding into new territories once considered inhospitable.

While many factors are to blame, the U.S. government affirmed with "high confidence" in a report that one reason is warmer weather connected to climate change.

In the last decade, the number of cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. have tripled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The risk of this tick-borne disease was historically concentrated in the Northeast and upper Midwest, but a recent study by lab giant Quest Diagnostics found cases of Lyme have been detected in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

"Lyme disease is a bigger risk to more people in the United States than ever before," said Harvey W. Kaufman, M.D., senior medical director for Quest Diagnostics. "Our data show that positive results for Lyme are both increasing in number and occurring in geographic areas not historically associated with the disease. We hypothesize that these significant rates of increase may reinforce other research suggesting changing climate conditions that allow ticks to live longer and in more regions may factor into disease risk."

Named after the coastal Connecticut town where it was first identified in the mid ‘70s, Lyme disease emerged from obscurity to become the leading vector-borne disease in the U.S.

Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which typically lives in white-footed mice, chipmunks and birds — all animals that ticks feast on. The disease is transmitted to deer and humans through the bite of an infected tick.

Lyme can cause fever, skin rashes, fatigue, arthritis-like joint pain and in some cases nervous system complications and brain fog.

Lyme isn’t the only disease that’s spreading. The CDC said state and local health departments reported in 2017 a record number of cases of other tick-borne diseases, including anaplasmosis, spotted fever group rickettsia (Rocky Mountain spotted fever), Babesiosis and Tularemia (rabbit fever).

The agency has also reported an explosion in the population and geographic range of ticks, particularly the blacklegged tick, the primary transmitter of Lyme disease in the U.S. Also known as the deer tick, these blood-sucking arachnids have extended their reach north, south and west — and with it, their illnesses.

Tick Migration and Survival
The deer tick has a two-year life span that is divided into three main developmental stages: larva, nymph and adult. These tiny arachnids require a bloodmeal in every one of these stages for their development, and each of these bloodmeals provides an opportunity for the tick to contract or spread Lyme disease.

A tick’s survival is also dependent on climate.

"If they don’t have a long enough season to find a host, they’ll use up their reserves and drop dead,” said Rick Ostfeld, an ecologist at the the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York.

Deer ticks can't reproduce or seek out a host to feast on if the temperature drops below 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Warmer seasons, earlier springs and longer summers in broader parts of the country mean more ticks stay alive through the winter, remain active for longer periods of time and travel further and further north to look for their food.

Ticks' survival are so dependent on environmental factors that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses the number of cases of Lyme disease as an indicator of climate change.

“Studies provide evidence that climate change has contributed to the expanded range of ticks, increasing the potential risk of Lyme disease, such as in areas of Canada where the ticks were previously unable to survive,” the agency reported. “The life cycle and prevalence of deer ticks are strongly influenced by temperature… Thus, warming temperatures associated with climate change are projected to increase the range of suitable tick habitat and are therefore one of multiple factors driving the observed spread of Lyme disease.”

Across the Northeast, where, over the last three decades, average winter temperatures have risen by almost 4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to NOAA, the cases of Lyme disease have skyrocketed. States from Pennsylvania and northward to Maine are becoming warmer and more humid, creating a favorable environment for ticks to thrive. In 2017, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire had their warmest autumn since record keeping began, the agency reported.

That same year, health officials in Connecticut also discovered that the Lone Star tick, the most common human-biting tick in the southeastern U.S. and Texas, which causes a food allergy to red meat, had reached their shores. In a 2017 press release announcing the findings, Connecticut’s Agricultural Experiment Station (CAER) said their northern range “may be increasing due, in part, to the milder winters the northeast has been experiencing over the past few years.”

Mary Beth Pfeiffer, an investigative journalist and author of the book "Lyme: The First Epidemic of Climate Change," said climate change is abetting the spread of ticks to new frontiers, including Canada.

"They are climbing mountains. They are also climbing latitudes. They are going up the Scandinavian peninsula. They have even been found in parts of Siberia,” Pfeiffer told NBC in a phone interview. "And we’ve had lots of big changes in the ecosystem that's causing ticks to spread."

Lyme Disease Cases Rising
One of those changes is the increase in the developmental rate of ticks due to rising temperatures — and in turn, an uptick in the number of tick-borne illnesses.

A 2015 study found that, as the climate warms, it is pushing the feeding timing of nymphs to earlier in the spring, potentially influencing transmission dynamics.

"When nymphs emerge months before larvae, they inoculate the host community with pathogens that the later-emerging larvae can then contract," said Taal Levi, a biologist at Oregon State University and lead author of the study. "The Lyme disease pathogen is long-lived — it will remain in the host. So an increasing gap between the nymphs feeding in the spring and the next cohort of larvae feeding in late summer will give the nymphs more time to infect the hosts with bacterium that can then be passed to the next generation of tick larvae."

Researchers led by Levi and Ostfeld, the New York ecologist, analyzed nearly two decades worth of data to tie changes in tick emergence directly to climatic changes.

"The climate has clearly warmed," said Ostfield. "That’s not even slightly controversial." And in this one location, at least, ticks have shifted their lifecycles accordingly.

Since 1995, the number of cases of Lyme disease through tick bites reported to the CDC has tripled from less than 10,000 a year to over 30,000 annually. The CDC estimates that the number of infections is actually closer to 300,000 due to underreporting from state health agencies and doctors.

And while the majority of cases of Lyme have historically been concentrated in a cluster of states in the Northeast, the analysis by Quest Diagnostics found that in 2016 and 2017, California and Florida saw the “largest absolute increases in positive test results.” The New Jersey-based lab testing company found infection in California increased 194% over 2015 levels. In Florida, it rose 77% over the same period.

In Connecticut, where a team of scientists around the state are tracking and monitoring the growing tick population, about 50% of the arachnids tested for organisms that cause human diseases have Borrelia burgdorfei, according to Theodore Andreadis, the New Haven-based director of CAER.

Andreadis said this year's tick season is expected to be bad because the winter wasn't severe enough to knock down the population.

"It's always bad here," Andreadis told NBC. "We have so much habitat in the northeast — 60% of the state is forested — so it's a prime environment for ticks to thrive."

More Research Is Needed
The CDC notes that while the exact reason for the geographic spread of ticks and the diseases they carry is unclear, a number of other factors also contribute.

One key driver in the Northeast is the reforestation of land that was once used for farming. Another is the proliferation of the deer population in the Northeast, thanks to stricter hunting laws, fewer predators and the deer-friendly landscape of New England.

Human encroachment into wildlife zones is also factor. With suburbanization, more people are living near the animals that carry Lyme.

“The irony is that we have set this epidemic in motion,” Pfeiffer said. “A warmer world is hospitable to more ticks in more places. Broken bits of forest sustain mice and deer, on which ticks feed and breed. And human development abuts landscapes devoid of predators to curb infection. We’ve created the perfect storm of conditions for ticks to move around the planet.”

The CDC urges people to protect themselves from getting a tick bite by avoiding areas with high grass and leaf litter, walking in the center of trails when hiking, using EPA-registered insect repellents and by wearing long clothes. Shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and more easily find crawling ticks before they bite you. The agency said people should do full body checks using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of the body upon returning from the outdoors.

“The likelihood of picking up a tick is quite high so people should be checking for ticks when they come outside from any outdoor activity, including your backyard,” Andreadis said.



Photo Credit: Climate Central
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Police Search for Man Who Attacked Woman in Hamden

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A man attacked a woman in a parking lot in Hamden on Thursday night, shoved her to the ground and tried to steal her purse, police said, and they are trying to identify him. 

Police officers responded to the parking lot at 1191 Dixwell Ave. at 11:45 p.m. to investigate a report of an attempted strong-arm robbery and the victim, a 22-year-old Hamden woman, told officers that she was walking toward Walgreens when she was attacked. 

She said she did not know the man who shoved her to the ground and tried to take her purse, police said. 

The assailant ran off when someone who saw what was happening pulled the man off the woman, police said. Then the attacker ran toward the Farmington Canal Trail, police said. 

The man was described as between 20 and 30 years old, 6-feet-tall and possibly bald. 

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Matthew Barbuto of the Hamden Police Department Detective Division at (203) 287-4807.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

In Gender-Swap Photo Filters, Some Trans People See Therapy

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Hit a button, and you're "transformed" into a woman. The beard disappears. The face and jaw smooth out. The hair floats jauntily around the shoulders.

"Yo this is SPOT ON my mom." ''Pretty." ''Are you in a sorority?"

A swipe and another click. Suddenly you're a square-jawed man — heavy of brow, sporting five o' clock shadow.

"I look like my brother Jay." ''Hahahaha Suzie I'm dyingggg." ''My sisters were like, 'um... strange. You're kinda hot' haha."

The gender-bending selfies accompanied by flip or sarcastic comments are flooding social feeds since Snapchat introduced a filter this month allowing users to swap gender appearances with the tap of a finger. But for many people who have longed for a button that would change them in real life, the portrait parade isn't a game.

"My gender's not a costume," says Bailey Coffman, a 31-year-old transgender woman from New York. "This story that I feel is very real. I lost a lot to be who I am, and I fought really hard for the body that I'm in.

"And when certain people post it and write about how silly it is and how goofy they look with this filter," she says, "it makes light of the transgender experience."

She and others, though, do see possibility in the pastime.

Some argue that the filter, which Snapchat calls a "lens," could be a therapeutic tool that leads to self-discovery and even helps ease the transition of people struggling with gender identity once they see who they could become.

"There are people who haven't found themselves yet, and this is a great way to say 'This is really affirming for me' and to take that next step," says Savannah Daniels, 32, a military veteran living in Baltimore. She says she realized she identified as female after watching episodes of "RuPaul's Drag Race" while serving in Afghanistan as a chaplain's assistant in the U.S. Navy.

Snapchat is not the first face-altering app with such a feature; FaceApp, for instance, has had one for years. But users of the Snapchat filter unveiled the second week of May have noted its high quality. And, of course, the very popularity of Snapchat amplifies the feature further.

Snapchat's maker, Snap Inc., which has drawn criticism for a Bob Marley filter some likened to blackface and another that overlaid stereotypically Asian features on users' photos, commented about its filter in an emailed statement.

"We understand that identity is deeply personal," the company said. "As we have and continue to explore the possibilities of this technology, our Lens design team is working ... to ensure that on the whole these Lenses are diverse and inclusive by providing a wide range of transformative effects."

Jessie Daniels (no relation to Savannah Daniels), a City University of New York professor and an expert in digital sociology, says that for people unfamiliar with the concept of gender as fluid — not innate and not binary; that is, not strictly male or female — such filters can be both radical and transformative.

"They get a chance to play with gender in a way that many of us who are LGBTQ have played with gender our whole lifetimes and understand the social construct part of it," she says.

That could be meaningful for youths reckoning with gender identity or, she says, just for putting the notion of gender fluidity on youngsters' radar. A survey last year by Common Sense Media found that 44% of teenagers use Snapchat as their primary social app.

"I do hope this does help some people better recognize their gender," says Elliott "Ellie" Wheeler, a 16-year-old sophomore at Michigan's East Lansing High School who, combining the words female and butch, identifies as a "futch" lesbian.

Because most of her social media contact comes with trans people, she says, she hasn't seen much use of the Snapchat filter. But she also doesn't hold the company responsible for any controversy.

CUNY's Daniels, though, wonders whether the filter is an attempt by Snapchat, which has struggled against competition from Facebook and Instagram, to win back market share. Snap Inc. did not respond specifically to questions about its business strategy, saying in its email only that "we regularly experiment with new technologies and features as part of our mission to empower self-expression."

For people who are finding the fun in the game, Savannah Daniels urges them not to enjoy it and then simply dismiss "actual living beings that are trans." She reminded people of that Saturday with a tweet under her moniker, "Miss Clean Legs," that went viral.

"These new Snapchat filters got y'all out here having fun with gender roles, joking about sex with your homeboys, and sporting beards with lashes. All we ask is that you keep that same energy when you interact with actual transgender and non-binary ppl."



Photo Credit: AP

Investigation Into “Irregularities’ in Stamford Police Extra Duty Assignments Over: Mayor

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The mayor’s office in Stamford says an internal investigation into extra duty “irregularities” in the Stamford police department is over, the chief of police has directed that arrest warrants be prepared, and the mayor has called upon the corporation counsel to initiate legal action to recover monies that were taken inappropriately.

Mayor David Martin said the Stamford Police Department in March discovered indications of possible irregularities within the department’s Auxiliary Services Division, or Central Hiring Office, which manages hiring off-duty police officers to work extra duty jobs, such as traffic control at construction sites and security at events.

The investigation showed that three officers and one sergeant who worked in that office violated numerous rules and regulations of the Stamford Police Department, according to the mayor’s office.

After an investigation, the police chief determined that the sergeant and three officers could not continue to serve as Stamford police officers and they would have been brought in front of the police commission for termination but retired before the meeting, according to the mayor’s office.

“The results of this investigation demand we act justly in response to these officers’ abuse of the public’s confidence,” Martin said in a statement. “I applaud Police Chief Fontneau for directing a detailed Internal Affairs investigation into this matter and I strongly support his intention to recommend the termination of these individuals had they not retired. I condemn any inappropriate behavior by City employees. As the chief elected official for our City, such behavior will not be tolerated.”

The city is also conducting an audit of extra duty in an effort to prevent what happened from happening again.

“The public puts its faith and trust in our officers and these individuals betrayed that trust.” Director of Public Safety Ted Jankowski said in a statement. “It is a shame that the inappropriate actions of a few could blemish the excellent work performed by the brave men and women of the Stamford Police Department.”

“I am disappointed in these officers, and I hope their deeds will not tarnish the department in the eyes of the community we serve. The men and women of Stamford’s Police Department work very hard every day in a demanding and dangerous job to keep the people of Stamford safe. I am confident our Police Department will continue to provide the outstanding public service that our community expects, while maintaining the public’s confidence,” Fontneau said in a statement.



Photo Credit: NBCConnecticut.com

Plainfield Animal Control Looking for Bear Believed to Have Killed Lamb

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Plainfield Animal Control is looking for a bear that is believed to have killed a lamb after finding that the lamb was missing and the animal’s enclosure was destroyed. 

Plainfield police issued a news release on Friday morning saying that the town of Plainfield Animal Control Department is warning residents that a black bear has been seen several times in the area of Bishop Crossing Road. 

On Wednesday morning, a Bishop Crossing Road resident woke up to find a young lamb missing from the chain link enclosure where it had been housed. The enclosure was destroyed and the wood housing was tipped over. Police said it is presumed that the bear killed the lamb. The Town of Plainfield Animal Control Department is working with the State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to find the bear. 

Police said some precautions you can take to avoid attracting bears to your property include:

  • Remove bird feeders from your yard 
  • Tightly secure trash containers. 
  • Refrain from feeding pets outdoors. 
  • Thoroughly clean your grills after each use. 

If you own livestock, police recommend that you consider locking them in at night or enclosing their area with electric fencing or reinforced wire. 

They also urge people to avoid any contact with the bear. 

DEEP also offers a web page with tips on how to avoid attracting bears and what to do if you encounter one.  

Any information regarding the bear should call the Town of Plainfield Animal Control Department at (860)-564-8547. 

State Senate Passes Bill to Raise Minimum Wage to $15

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After 6 hours of debate, members of the state Senate passed a bill with a 21-14 vote to incrementally increase the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2023.

Lawmakers began the debate Thursday night and continued it into early Friday and voted at 2:45 a.m.

If it becomes law, Connecticut would become the seventh state in the country to pass a plan to phase in a $15 minimum wage, joining New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, California, New Jersey and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia.

Under the bill, the current $10.10 an hour wage will climb to $11 on October 1; $12 in 2020; $13 in 2021; $14 in 2022; and $15 in 2023. The wage would then be tied to the federal Employment Cost Index.

The bill will now head to Governor Lamont for his signature. The governor says he supports raising the minimum wage to $15.

“With this increase in minimum wage, thousands of hardworking women and men – many of whom are supporting families – will get a modest increase that will help lift them out of poverty, combat persistent pay disparities between races and genders, and stimulate our economy," Governor Lamont said.



Photo Credit: NBC10

TSA Finds Loaded Gun, Ammo in Fanny Pack at Bradley Airport

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A Florida man was arrested Thursday after Transportation Security Administration officers at Bradley International Airport found a loaded handgun and ammunition at a checkpoint, according to TSA.

TSA officers who spotted the gun when the man’s fanny pack went through the X-ray machine, so they contacted the Connecticut State Police, who responded, confiscated the gun and bullets and detained the man, according to TSA.

The Plant City, Florida man was carrying a .22 caliber handgun loaded with 10 bullets and a box with 50 additional rounds of ammunition, according to TSA, and he was arrested on state weapons charges.

Passengers are allowed to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared, but firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided case, locked and packed separately from ammunition, according to TSA.

TSA said this was the fourth gun caught at the airport’s checkpoint so far this year. TSA officers caught nine firearms at the BDL checkpoint in 2018.



Photo Credit: TSA

Romance Schemes Are On The Rise, Costing Online Daters Millions

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Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut
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Small Chemical Spill Prompts Evacuation of Milestone Inc. in Shelton

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Milestone Inc. in Shelton was evacuated Friday afternoon after a small Hydrofluoric acid spill, according to Shelton police.

Police said they responded to the site at 25 Controls Drive in Shelton after receiving calls that initially reported the incident as an explosion, but the fire department determined that was not the case. 

They learned that there was a small Hydrofluoric acid spill and vapor from the chemical reached the ventilation system, prompting the evacuation, according to police. 

No injuries are reported and fire and hazmat crews are expecting to clear the building soon.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Texas Man Suspected of Decapitating Mom With Hacksaw

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A Texas man used a hacksaw to cut off his mother's head before fleeing and leading police on a chase into Oklahoma last week before they arrested him, authorities said.

Isaac Israel Warriner, 22, was being held Friday in a Denton County, Texas, jail on charges including the abuse of a corpse. [[509614551,R,300,274]]

Warriner hasn't been charged with killing his mother, 65-year-old Sarah Warriner, though authorities didn't immediately reply to phone messages and emails seeking further details, including whether such charges could be coming.

Police in Denton, which is about 35 miles northwest of Dallas, were called to an apartment complex May 5 by a neighbor who said Isaac Warriner "was acting weird" and carrying around cleaning supplies, according to an affidavit.

Officers found his mother's headless body and the hacksaw inside the Warriners' unit, though they only said at the time that she'd suffered "obvious trauma."

The woman's head wasn't found in the apartment and it isn't clear whether it has been located.

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Authorities believe Sarah Warriner had been dead for two days before her body was found.

Days earlier, a nurse at a Denton hospital called security when Isaac Warriner threatened to kill his mother and himself, according to the affidavit. It isn't clear why he was at the hospital, but he left before police arrived.

Isaac Warriner was spotted in his mother's car on May 6 and led police on a chase up Interstate 35 into Oklahoma, where he was arrested and held before being returned Thursday to Denton. Online jail records don't indicate whether he has an attorney.

His father, Kenneth Warriner, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this month that his son suffered a mental breakdown a few months ago.

"She had allowed him to stay with her after his last rehabilitation stay," Kenneth Warriner said of his ex-wife. "He was prescribed psychotic drugs to try and help, but that didn't seem to work."



Photo Credit: NBC 5 News
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Pregnant Teen Was Lured to Attackers' Home Through Facebook Group

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Warning: Details of this story are disturbing and may be difficult to read.

The mother-daughter duo accused of murdering a pregnant Chicago teen before cutting her baby out of her stomach distracted the woman with a photo album of their late son and brother before strangling her, prosecutors said Friday.

Clarisa Figueroa, 46, and her daughter Desiree Figueroa, 24, allegedly plotted 19-year-old Marlen Ochoa's death for weeks before luring the teen to their home after meeting her through a Facebook group for mothers in need, prosecutors said. 

The pair, along with Clarisa Figueroa's boyfriend, were ordered held without bond Friday as prosecutors detailed the horrifying case. 

Prosecutors said it all began when Clarisa Figueroa first claimed she was pregnant in late-2018, just months after the death of her 20-year-old son. In February, she began posting in a Facebook group called "Help a Mother Out," stating she had a crib and other baby items available. She ultimately offered to give Ochoa new clothes for her baby, which was due in May. 

According to officials, Ochoa first visited Figueroa's home in the 4100 block of West 77th Place on April 1. While there, Clarisa Figueroa allegedly told her daughter the pair needed to kill the teen. When Clarisa Figueroa's boyfriend threatened to call police, they let Ochoa go and told the boyfriend it was a joke, prosecutors said. 

When Ochoa returned to the home weeks later to obtain baby clothing and a stroller, prosecutors allege the mother and daughter turned up music in the home and went into the kitchen where they discussed a plan to strangle the teen to death and cut the baby from her womb. 

That's when prosecutors say Desiree Figueroa distracted Ochoa with a photo album of her late brother while Clarisa Figueroa wrapped a cable around the teen's neck. 

At one point, Clarisa Figueroa told her daughter "you're not doing your f---ing job," prompting Desiree Figueroa to peel Ochoa's fingers from the cable, one by one, allowing it to tighten around the teen's neck, prosecutors said. 

Ochoa was strangled for four to five minutes before the pair stopped, saying she "must be dead," prosecutors said, citing a confession from Desiree Figueroa. Clarisa Figueroa then allegedly told her daughter to get a blanket, a garbage bag and a butcher knife, which she used to slice Ochoa's abdomen open and remove the baby, placenta and umbilical cord, according to prosecutors. 

The baby, placenta and umbilical cord were wrapped in a blanket before Ochoa's body was placed in a plastic bag and taken to a garbage can on the side of the house, prosecutors said. 

That's when Clarisa Figueroa called 911 and told dispatchers she had given birth and the baby wasn't breathing, according to prosecutors. Both she and the baby were transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center for treatment, where hospital staff told authorities her body showed no signs of giving birth. 

Clarisa Figueroa still had blood on her hands and face at the time, prosecutors said. 

Meanwhile, Desiree Figueroa, who is four months pregnant herself, took Ochoa's phone and car to her sister's house, prosecutors said. Red light cameras captured her driving the vehicle and Ochoa's phone tracked the location before the device was thrown out, authorities said. Clarisa Figueroa's boyfriend Piotr Boback allegedly helped Desiree Figueroa clean the home of blood and other "remnants of Ochoa's body." 

Clarisa Figueroa later created a GoFundMe page for the baby, saying she was the mother, prosecutors said. Her boyfriend also shared the page, they allege. 

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said detectives received a break in the missing person investigation on May 7, when they learned that Ochoa "was in communication with one of the offenders" before she disappeared. 

Deputy Chief Brendan Deenihan said one of Ochoa's friends told police that Ochoa was part of a "chat site" on Facebook, and detectives went into the group to find that Ochoa had arranged to go to Clarisa Figueroa's house to pick up baby items the day she went missing.

DNA evidence determined Clarisa Figueroa was not the mother of the child and Ochoa's husband, Yovany Lopez, was the father, authorities said.  

On May 14, Ochoa's body was found by police in the garbage can at the home with a cable still wrapped around her neck, prosecutors and police said. 

"They find a garbage can on the premise, it's kind of in a hidden area on the premise, and unfortunately that's when they discover the remains of Marlen," Deenihan said, adding that investigators also found a device used to strangle Ochoa, as well as remnants of burnt clothes and traces of blood in several places throughout the house.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Ochoa died of ligature strangulation and ruled the death a homicide.

Deenihan said that during an interrogation earlier this week, Desiree Figueroa confessed "that she assisted her mother strangling Marlen," and she and her mother, as well as Bobak were charged later that day. 

Clarisa Figueroa, 46, and Desiree Figueroa, 24, were each charged with one felony count of first-degree murder Thursday, according to police. 

They were also both charged with one felony count of aggravated battery to a child under 13 resulting in a permanent disability, authorities said, in connection with the harm caused to Ochoa's baby. 

Bobak was charged with concealing a homicidal death and concealing the death of a person, both felonies, police said.

"Words cannot really describe how disgusting, and thoroughly disturbing, these allegations are," Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Thursday. “I would like to offer my sincere condolences and prayers to Marlen’s family, who instead of celebrating the arrival of a new life into their family, are now mourning Marlen’s loss, while at the same time caring for a new little baby that’s in grave condition.”

"It's a blessing that we found Yadiel, the baby, that's the name of the baby that Marlen had chosen," family spokeswoman Cecilia Garcia said at a news conference Wednesday.

Ochoa's family stood by a family spokeswoman Thursday morning ahead of the suspects' bond hearing, calling the trio "monsters" and saying they were living a "nightmare." 

"Today there is only one message that the family has and that is justice for Marlen," said Julie Contreras, with the League of United Latin American Citizens.



Photo Credit: Chicago Police Department

Ala. Women Worried by Abortion Law Flood Clinics With Calls

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The phones began ringing at the clinic not long after the Alabama governor signed a bill that would ban nearly all abortions in the state, including in cases of rape and incest. The desperate women calling the POWER House, home of Montgomery’s only abortion clinic, all wanted to know the same thing, NBC News reports.

“They’re asking: ‘Can we still come in? Are you still open?’” said volunteer Bianca Cameron-Schwiesow. “They’re in a panic and they’re scared. And we say that is fine, you can still come in, because they don’t realize that this is going to stay open for the next six months.”

If not longer. The law is supposed to go into effect in six months, but likely legal challenges from the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood mean it could be years before the controversial Alabama law is enforced, experts have said.

“They are still terrified though,” said Margot Heartline, who also volunteers at POWER (People Organizing for Women’s Empowerment and Rights). They fear “they’re going to be thrown in jail if they go to a clinic.”



Photo Credit: Hal Yeager/Alabama Governor's Office via AP

New Haven Police Seize 10 Firearms During Crackdown on Gun Violence

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New Haven police seized 10 guns and arrested four people as part of a crackdown on gun violence in the city.

Police said the Criminal Intel Unit, Shooting Task Force and Narcotics Enforcement Unit seized the weapons between May 6 and May 11. The operation was in response to increased gun violence in the city, specifically the shooting of a 9-year-old on May 4.

The following suspects were arrested.

Ernest Harold, 28, found with two guns, according to police.

Theo Sargent, 40, found with three guns, according to police.

Marvin Gaye, 20, found with one handgun, according to police.

Errie McClendon, 28, found with one handgun, according to police.

Police said one of the weapons seized was stolen, and another had a destroyed serial number.

The investigations are ongoing.



Photo Credit: New Haven Police Department

Nice Weekend Weather a Welcome Change for Many Businesses

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The warm and dry weekend weather is a welcome change for many Connecticut businesses.

“Weather always affects us, we’re 100% subject to weather,” Stephen Stanley, owner and operator of Flower Power Farm said.

In bloom and ready for business, Stanley is preparing for more customers with a nice weekend weather stretch.

“Usually on Saturdays we’ll have a police officer because we’re right on Route 5, it gets really busy,” Stanley said.

“I’m looking for some peas, some early spring vegetables that my daughter can pick later on,” Wells said.

Wells, who is from Windsor Locks, is looking ahead to the warm up that will allow her some time outdoors.

“It’s been so rainy and I’m looking forward to all the warmth and some sun and getting out and getting my fingers out in the garden,” Wells said.

While Stanley says the rainy Mother’s Day weekend washed away some customers, he expects plenty of them back this weekend.

Get the latest forecast anytime here.

Waterbury Company Could Leave After Minimum Wage Hike

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A bill to raise Connecticut minimum wage to $15 is almost a done deal. But some say that change is coming at a price to local business owners.

Forum Plastics, LLC. has been making medical devices in Waterbury for eight years. The company started in Stamford in 1992, but its president says its days in Connecticut are numbered.

“We have a lot of minimum wage employees. It’s kind of the nature of our business,” said Mark Polinsky, president of Forum Plastics, LLC. “When the minimum wage hits $15 an hour it’s gonna have about a $1.2 million effect on our profitability.”

Friday, the state Senate passed the minimum wage bill which incrementally increases the minimum wage, starting in October. The bill already passed the House and is awaiting the governor’s signature. Wages will increase by $1 each year until they hit $15 an hour in 2023. Ultimately, beginning January 1, 2024, the minimum wage will be indexed to the employment cost index, which is calculated by the U.S. Department of Labor.

“It will reduce our profits from nine percent to less than two,” said Polinsky.

The company employs roughly 150 people Polinsky said around 80 are full time and 65 are temporary workers. He said 100 of their employees make $15 an hour or less.

“We’re squeezed in the middle,” he explained. “My customers buy products from China, from Mexico, from outside the US. I can’t go to them and say listen I need to charge you more because of the minimum wage is going up.”

Instead of raising prices, Polinsky said the company will cut jobs to cover the new cost of doing business in Connecticut.

“In the next six months we’re going to try to significantly reduce our workforce with automation. We have to.”

“I know they’re looking for their best interests but I think they could push it a little more to help the working group,” said Neldy Echebarria, a Forum Plastics employee for over seven years. “It’s going to be difficult for them to find a job in Waterbury because the companies are leaving Waterbury.”

“Here we go again. Been through it in the past and it’s not a fun thing,” added Santiago Cora, referring to another company he worked for that went through a round of cuts.

Although Cora is a full-time technician, he said he’s worried about his job.

The cuts are just the beginning. Right now, the company covers 80 percent of their employee’s health insurance costs. Employees will be asked to pay a bigger piece of the pie.

Forum’s owner has also said that he plans to close the plant and set-up shop in another state in the next four years.

“It kind of hurts a little to see that a good company like this, because of the economy and the minimum wage, had to move out of state,” said Cora.

“There’s nobody working. So, what is this accomplishing,” asked Waterbury resident Kevin Russell. “They won’t be the only ones to leave.”

Opponents of the minimum wage hike think the increase will ultimately be passed onto them.

“I think it’s absolutely awful. I mean we are barely surviving as it is,” said Sharon Zabbara of Wolcott.

Zabbara said she and her husband have considered leaving Connecticut.

“It’s sad to say but it’s almost becoming unaffordable, just unaffordable to stay in Connecticut anymore,” she pointed out.

Her son, Alex, has held a number of minimum wage jobs. With one more year left at the University of Connecticut, he's also worried as he looks towards his own future.

“I was thinking initially that within the next year I’ll be better off with a higher minimum wage but as someone who’s going to be getting a degree in electrical engineering there’s a lot of smaller business that are looking for engineers that may be moving out of Connecticut,” said Alex.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont believes the hike will spur growth.

“This is a fair, gradual increase for the working women and men who will invest the money right back into our economy and continue supporting local businesses in their communities,” he said in a statement.

Polinsky said Forum plans to cut five to 10 jobs in the next six months and ten more each time the wage goes up. They plan to be moved out of Connecticut by the time it reaches $15 an hour in 2023.

He added that the company will offer employees jobs in their new location, which will likely be North Carolina or Texas.

Cora said he doesn’t blame the business for worrying about their bottom line and would gladly follow them wherever they end up.

“The company has to better themselves, just like we have to better ourselves,” he said.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

EMS Workers Criticize PTSD Bill, Say They Also Need Help

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High praise earlier for an agreement to help first responders cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, has been dampened by criticism in a few short days.

Ambulance workers say they don’t understand why a new bill includes police and firefighters, but not them.

NBC Connecticut Investigates has reported extensively on this issue the past two years, previously addressing on a survey of almost 8,000 officers on PTSD by the Fraternal Order of Police and NBC owned stations, which took a deeper look at the issues officers reported experiencing after stressful calls.

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A similar survey addressed the issue among firefighters.

The bill aimed at providing PTSD coverage came through nine months of negotiation and compromise.

Yet ambulance workers wonder why, during all that time, they weren’t also considered.

The smiles when the Connecticut Conference Of Municipalities, unions, and legislators announced agreement on a PTSD bill have been followed up with frowns in ambulance bays across the state.

EMTs like Tara Norman can’t believe the bill includes police and firefighters, but not her.

“We go to the same calls that the police department goes to that the fire department goes to and we also go to calls by ourselves, which do have some atrocious conditions that we are exposed to,” Norman said.

Norman says thousands of ambulance workers have signed an online petition asking to be added to the bill, because of the toll PTSD takes on first responders.

“I know people who tried to kill themselves, people who did kill themselves, it’s horrible,” Norman added.

In a statement, the Connecticut Conference Of Municipalities said in part, “We remain open to how the benefits may need to be improved over time.”

The Association Of Connecticut Ambulance Providers, which had opposed similar bills in the past, says it is now willing to consider including them in the new proposed legislation.

It’s all part of the process, says state Sen. Cathy Osten.

Osten led unsuccessful attempts to pass PTSD legislation in the past, and explains she took a back seat this time around.

“It all doesn’t get solved in one legislative session. It took us six years to get to this point where people would agree to bring something forward, and so we know that we’re gonna move this forward over the next couple of years and this is where we are today,” Osten said.

Osten says for example, she would like to include ambulance workers, correction employees, and many others in the PTSD bill.


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