Quantcast
Channel: NBC Connecticut
Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live

After 50 Years, Asian American Studies Programs Can Still Be Hard to Find

0
0

A more than 15-year push came to an end last year when Duke launched its Asian American Studies program. It is the only one of its kind in the American South, according to its director, Nayoung Aimee Kwan.

Duke is one of the latest colleges to establish an Asian American studies program among a push across U.S. campuses for the field of study, NBC News reports. According to the College Board, the not-for-profit group that administers the SAT, 25 U.S. colleges and universities offer majors in Asian American studies. The number does not include institutions like Duke that have a program but don't offer a degree.

Asian American studies dates back to the five-month strike in 1968 led by Third World Liberation Front, a coalition of student groups who demanded the creation of programs that focused on the histories of people of color. The term Asian American was created that same year, according to activists and academics.

The first Asian American studies curricula were established at the University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco State University and the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1969. But only a handful of post-secondary institutions offer degrees in the field today.



Photo Credit: Sara D. Davis/Getty Images

Sacred Hawaiian Tree Species Threatened by Deadly Fungus; Tourists Can Help Save It

0
0

A deadly fungus threatens one of Hawaii’s most beloved and important species, the ʻōhiʻa tree, and those believed responsible for introducing the threat to the tree in the first place are now being asked to help save it — tourists.

The native ʻōhiʻa is sacred to Hawaiians as a cultural touchstone and ecological underpinning for the state’s lush forests and abundant wildlife, NBC News reports. The flowering evergreens that can tower to 85 feet comprise 80 percent of the state’s canopy, covering 1 million acres, and its nectar sustains birds and insects found nowhere else on Earth.

Now, public agencies and private citizens are trying to avoid biological and economic catastrophe by proclaiming war against a deadly fungal disease coined “rapid ʻōhiʻa death,” or ROD, that is swiftly destroying the trees. What’s more, invasive species like the miconia tree, native to North and South America and called the “green cancer” of Hawaii’s forests, are choking out the ʻōhiʻa.

Manakō Tanaka, a Hawaiian culture expert at the Oahu Visitors Bureau, said tourists can play an important role in staving off ROD, particularly on islands like Oahu, which has not yet been infected with the fungus. He said they should always make sure their shoes are clean and free of debris and seeds, and he urged visitors to stay away from areas marked off-limits to protect delicate ecosystems.



Photo Credit: Stefan Irvine/LightRocket via Getty Images

10 Dead After Plane Crashes Into Hangar at Texas Airport

0
0

All 10 people aboard a plane that crashed into a hangar at Addison Airport in Addison, Texas, Sunday morning have died, according to an official with the National Transportation Safety Board.

A twin-engine Beechcraft BE-350 King Air crashed just after 9 a.m. Sunday, killed the two crew members and eight passengers on board, NTSB Vice Chair Bruce Landsberg said.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane had just taken off for St. Petersburg, Florida before it crashed into the private hangar. There was no one inside the hangar at the time of the crash, but two aircraft, a helicopter and a jet were damaged, Landsberg said.

The aircraft that crashed was destroyed by the fire, according to a statement sent out by the FAA. The hangar took damage from the impact of the crash and the fire after the fact.

The airport was closed for about 45 minutes after the crash, but operations then resumed as usual.  

Investigators said the preliminary crash report would be completed in about two weeks, but it could take longer to complete the "heavy lifting."

The investigation will focus on the aircraft, the personnel, the environment and communication. The crew's experience and communications between the aircraft and air traffic control would be key, Landsberg said.

The NTSB said it could not confirm the experience of the flight crew or the cause of the crash.

The aircraft had apparently changed hands recently, but it was previously owned by a charter company based in Chicago, Landsberg said.

Dallas County was helping the city of Addison set up a family assistance center for people affected by the crash, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said. The center is staffed with chaplains, counselors and other mental health and support workers, he said.

"It's a horrible, sad, shocking thing to lose a family member like this," Jenkins told The Associated Press. "So we're doing whatever we can to comfort them."

NTSB investigators arrived at the airport around 7 p.m. Sunday. They asked that anyone who witness the crash or has video of it to email them at witness@ntsb.gov.

NBC 5's Catherine Park, Maria Guerrero, Tim Ciesco and Chris Blake contributed to this report.



Photo Credit: Texas Sky Ranger

Florida Woman Dies of Flesh-Eating Bacteria, Family Says

0
0

A woman died of a flesh-eating bacteria two weeks after cutting her leg in the waters off Anna Maria Island in Florida, her family says.

Carolyn Fleming — who went by Lynn — of Ellenton, Florida, fell into a small dip in the water at the barrier island's Coquina Beach, near St. Petersburg, on Friday, June 14, NBC News reports. The fall left her with a cut on her left leg, according to her son and daughter-in-law, Wade and Traci Fleming, who were with her that day. 

Lynn Fleming exited the water on Friday with a three-quarter-inch cut and a bump on her shin, Traci Fleming said, but the severity of the wound dramatically escalated throughout that weekend. She showed no symptoms that Friday or the following morning. But by Saturday afternoon, she told them she was in pain. On Sunday, her leg was red and swollen and her friends forced her to go to an urgent care facility, where she received a tetanus shot and an antibiotic. A day later, her left shin was black.

On June 27, Lynn Fleming died after suffering two strokes and organ failure during surgeries to save her leg, Traci Fleming said. She was 77. NBC News has not confirmed flesh-eating bacteria as the official cause of death.



Photo Credit: Traci Fleming

Six Injured, One Seriously, in Deck Collapse in Fairfield

0
0

Six people were injured in a deck collapse in Fairfield Sunday night.

One of the six people injured sustained serious injuries in the collapse.

The incident occurred on Rhode Island Avenue around 6:30 p.m.

The deck collapsed away from the house and no one was trapped under the deck, according to firefighters.

Crews said the injuries were consistent with a fall from eight feet.

The extent of injuries and cause of the collapse are unknown at this time.

The building inspector was called to the scene to investigate the collapse.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

One Dead in Fairfield After Sunday's Storm

0
0

Police are investigating after a man died as a result of Sunday's severe storms that produced strong winds and stormy conditions in Fairfield.

Dave Schmerzler, 54, was driving with his wife and adult daughter when a tree limb from a Sassafras tree flew through the windshielf and struck him on Sturges Highway.

Schmerzler was transported to Norwalk Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

Schmerzler's wife Donna was in the front seat and sustained minor injuries. His daughter did not sustain any injuries.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Person Falls in Water, Taken to Hospital in Norwalk

CT Should Soon Have Rest Area Relief

0
0

Summer is the time when so many of us hit the road for a vacation, but people who visit or drive through Connecticut can sometimes run into some trouble.

A change should come Monday as "a relief" for travelers, state-operated highway rest stops will soon be open around the clock.

NBC CT Reporter Caitlin Burchill watched countless travelers stop at the Interstate 91 northbound Middletown rest area to use the bathroom. It is closed between 3:30 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. Hours so bizarre most people we talked to didn’t believe it and tried to enter anyway.

“I mean it looks like it’s open. The lights are on, but the doors are locked and you can’t use it,” Jon Stephan of Westford, Massachusetts said.

“This is the second time I stop here and try to use the bathrooms with my kids and it’s closed. For me as a girl, it’s a little— I don’t want to use those potties over there,” Mily Brieva of Haverhill, Mass. said on her way home from visiting family in New Jersey.

We met lots of out-of-staters frustrated that they had to relieve themselves in a porta potty.

“They are in disgusting condition. The graffiti is really awful,” Stephan’s 16-year-old daughter Paige said.

Despite most travelers’ disgust, “doesn’t really matter to me,” said 14-year-old Gabe Hill of New Hampshire, on his way back home from a basketball tournament in Pennsylvania.

Hill's father Jim said they had been driving for about seven hours.

As of 8:30 a.m. on July 1, the state’s seven rest areas will now be open 24/7.

“That will be great especially for the people who like to travel with their family in the summer. It will be terrific,” Brieva said.

More folks leaving the state with a ...cleaner... impression of our state.

“It’s too bad we’re traveling today instead of tomorrow. We’re a day early I guess. next time it will be better,” Jon Stephan said.

For almost three years, the facilities hours have been limited.

Funding for the round the clock rest areas was included in the latest budget.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

DHS Warned in May of Bad Conditions at Texas Border Station

0
0

The government’s own internal watchdog warned as far back as May that conditions at an El Paso, Texas, border station were so bad that border agents were arming themselves against possible riots, countering Friday’s assertion by a top Trump administration official that reports of poor conditions for migrants were “unsubstantiated."

In an internal report prepared by the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General and obtained by NBC News, inspectors noted during a May 7 tour of a border station in the El Paso sector that only four showers were available for 756 immigrants, over half of the immigrants were being held outside, and immigrants inside were being kept in cells maxed at over five times their capacity.

Border agents remained armed in holding areas because they were worried about the potential for unrest, the report said.

A cell meant for a maximum of 35 held 155 adult males with only one toilet and sink. The cell was so crowded the men could not lie down to sleep. Temperatures in the cells reached over 80 degrees, the report said.



Photo Credit: U.S. Customs and Border Protection via Getty Images, File

Several Westport Roads Closed Due to Storm Damage, Fairfield Town Hall Opening Late

0
0

Fairfield Town Hall will open late Monday because of damage from the weekend storms and several roads in Westport are closed.

Fairfield Town Hall will open at 10:30 a.m.

The powerful storms are to blame for the death of a man in Fairfield. Police said he was driving with his family when a tree limb went through the windsheid. 

On Monday morning, Fairfield police said four to six poles are down on Old Post Road near town hall and a vehicle is trapped between two poles. The driver was able to get out of the vehicle. 

Town hall was not damaged.

Westport police are urging people to stay home as the cleanup happens. Several roads are closed and several power lines are down.

Because of power outages, the traffic control signals are still not functional at the Sherwood Island Connector.

Police said anyone who must be on the road should drive with caution and not attempt to go around police tape or barricades. Police urge drivers to allow for extra time because of extensive damage throughout town.

Thirty-five roads have been re-opened.

There are road closures at the following locations:

 

  • Long Lots Lane
  • 1 Long Lots Road
  • 30 Long Lots Road
  • Long Lots Road at Morningside Drive North
  • 30 Morningside Drive South
  • Spicer Court at Spicer Road
  • 6 Clapboard Hill Road
  • 235 Greens Farms Road
  • 245 Greens Farms Road
  • 23 Hillandale Road

 

Get updates on the Westport Police Instagram and Facebook pages  as roads re-open.

Power outage reports, general outage questions, or non-emergency issues associated with electrical repairs should be directed to Eversource Energy at (800) 286-2000.



Photo Credit: Westport Fire Department

Connecticut Highway Rest Areas to Open 24/7 as of Today

0
0

All seven of the state-operated highway rest area buildings, including indoor restroom facilities, will be open to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week as of Monday, July 1, 2019, according to the governor’s office. 

Governor Ned Lamont announced Friday that funding to return the rest areas to round-the-clock operations was included in the budget signed into law earlier this week. 

“While certainly well intentioned, I believe the move to shut our state’s rest areas was penny wise and pound foolish,” Lamont said in a statement. “We have to make the necessary investments to attract people to visit and return to our state. This is a small but meaningful step toward making Connecticut more attractive to visitors and our residents alike.” 

The Connecticut Department of Transportation maintains the state’s seven rest areas – four on Interstate 84, two on Interstate 91 and one on Interstate 95. 

The governor’s office said they are part of a statewide network of facilities, which also include 23 service plazas that are located on interstate highways and the Merritt Parkway and offer parking, food, rest and relief, as well as other amenities. 

The seven rest areas are in the following locations: 

 

  • I-84 Danbury EB past Exit 2
  • I-84 Southington EB past Exit 28
  • I-84 Willington EB past Exit 69
  • I-84 Willington WB past Exit 70
  • I-91 Wallingford SB past Exit 15
  • I-91 Middletown NB past Exit 19
  • I-95 North Stonington SB past Exit 93


Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Fire Breaks Out at East Hampton Nursing Home

0
0

Fire broke out at a nursing home in East Hampton Sunday night and officials are investigating what caused it. 

The fire was reported at Colbalt Lodge on Middle Haddam Road around 11:30 p.m. Sunday and residents were told to shelter in place while firefighters investigated. 

It’s not known whether anyone was hurt.



Photo Credit: Submitted

Man With Knife Threatened Children on CT Transit Bus in Hamden: Police

0
0

Hamden police have arrested a man who is accused of threatening children on a Connecticut Transit bus, pulling a knife on them, pulling down his pants and exposing his buttocks. 

Police said officers responded to the corner of Shepard Avenue and Howard Drive around 11 p.m. on Friday to investigate reports that a man “pulled a knife out on people on the bus” and children were onboard. 

Moments later, officers arrested 48-year-old Alonzo Humphrey, of New Haven. 

They said he had a pocket knife and was uncooperative. 

As officers investigated, they learned that Humphrey threatened three children, ages 11, 14 and 17, according to police. 

He is also accused of asking the juveniles if they wanted to “smoke and drink” with him, then he pulled his pants down, exposed his buttocks and “pulled out a knife on them,” police said. 

The bus driver immediately stopped the bus, according to police. 

Humphrey was charged with threatening in the second degree and breach of peace in the second degree. 

Humphrey, who was detained on a $1,000 bond, is scheduled to appear in Meriden Superior Court on July 12. 



Photo Credit: Hamden Police

One Flown to Hospital After Car Hits Tree in Stafford

0
0

One person was flown to the hospital after a driver hit a tree in Stafford Monday morning. 

State police said one person was trapped when a car hit a tree in the 100 block of Crystal Lake Road and had to be removed from the car. No information was available on the condition of the injured person. 

The road was closed, but has reopened.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Taxi Driver Accused of Sexual Assault at Walnut Beach in Milford

0
0

Milford police have arrested a man who is accused of sexually assaulting girls after driving them to Walnut Beach in his taxi. 

Police said 43-year-old Tyrone Craddock, of Bridgeport, was providing a taxi fare through his own taxi business, My Personal Transportation Service LLC, on May 24 when he brought three girls to Walnut Beach, where the alleged incident with Craddock and two of the three girls happened.

Craddock was taken into custody on June 24 and charged with sexual assault in the first degree and risk of injury. 

Bond was set at $75,000.


Diarrhea-Causing Parasite on Rise in US Swimming Pools: CDC

0
0

Excited to hit the pool this summer? A new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may make you think twice before you dive in.

Outbreaks of Cryptosporidium, a parasite spread through the feces of infected humans or animals, increased an average 13% a year from 2009 to 2017, the CDC announced in a report published Friday. 

Crypto is the leading cause of disease outbreaks in the U.S. linked to water, specifically recreational water, like swimming pools and water parks, that have been contaminated with diarrhea, according to the CDC.   

From 2009 to 2017, public health officials in 40 states and Puerto Rico reported 444 outbreaks linked to Crypto, resulting in 7,465 people becoming sick, 287 hospitalizations, and one death, according to the CDC.

The findings, published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, revealed that 35% of the outbreaks, or about 156, occurred in treated recreational water and resulted in 4,232 cases of illnesses and 183 hospitalizations. 

Crypto can spread through the feces of another person who is infected, including through pool water that's been contaminated with diarrhea, according to the CDC. Chlorine can't easily kill the parasite, meaning it can last for up to 10 days in water that is otherwise properly treated.

One mouthful of contaminated water can leave a healthy person sick with diarrhea, cramps and vomiting for up to three weeks.

"Young children can get seriously sick and easily spread Crypto. They don’t know how to use the toilet and wash their hands, or are just learning how," said Michele Hlavsa, chief of CDC's Healthy Swimming program, in a statement.  

The CDC recommends avoiding the swimming pool if you or your kids have diarrhea. If diagnosed with cryptosporidiosis, do not swim until two weeks after diarrhea completely stops. The agency also warned against swallowing water you swim in.

It is not clear whether the number of outbreaks has increased or whether better surveillance and laboratory methods are leading to better outbreak detection. The CDC also noted that the reported number of cases "likely underestimate" the actual magnitude of an individual outbreaks since most people don't report their illnesses to the agency.   

The CDC provides more information here



Photo Credit: Getty Images/File

Man Accused of Using Cell Phone to Record in Women’s Bathroom at Milford Club

0
0

Milford police have arrested a local man who is accused of using his cell phone to record females as they were using the restroom at a Milford club. 

Police said the incidents happened in April and May and they took 19-year-old Tyler Snyder into custody on Friday. 

He was charged with voyeurism and was released on a promise to appear.



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Highway Rest Areas Reopen 24-Hours Per Day

0
0

Starting today, travelers will be able to rest a little easier than they have the past three years. For the first time since 2016, all state-run rest stops on Interstates 84, 91 and 95 are open around the clock. 

Some travelers Monday morning though were just a bit early to take advantage. The doors opened at 8:30 a.m. Those who arrived earlier had only one choice – portable restrooms, something they are happy to hear are going away. 

“That’s the place of last resort that you’d want to go to but when you don’t have a choice, you’ve got to deal with it,” said Kristen Sokitch of Dobbs Ferry, New York. 

Travelers will not have to deal with it any longer. All state-run rest stops will now stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

It’s a relief for many, especially truck drivers who are weary from a 14-hour shift. 

“To not be able to use the rest room or get a bite to eat, even out of a vending machine, it’s frustrating,” said Charlie Robertson, a truck driver from Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Due to budget cuts, the seven state-run rest stops on the interstates had been limited to daytime operation since 2016 and indoor facilities were closed from 3 p.m. to 8 a.m. Last week though, Gov. Ned Lamont announced a budget allowing these facilities to resume full-time operation. 

“I want to thank Governor Lamont because Governor Lamont understands that for us to do business we’ve got to be open for business,” Danbury Mayor, Mark Boughton, said during a news conference at the Danbury rest stop on I-84. 

Department of Transportation Commissioner, Joseph Giulietti was happy to provide travelers something more than portable rest rooms. 

“We’ve always felt these rest areas are important safety amenities for travelers and especially truckers who need a place to rest and park overnight,” Giulietti said. 

While at the Danbury rest stop the governor said, “Danbury is the front door to the State of Connecticut.”

Lamont explained there are more than 1,000 cars that visit that rest stop every day and it’s important to give them a positive experience.

“We welcome you. We want you to come to Connecticut so that you stay in Connecticut,” the governor said. “Enjoy the amazing things we have to offer for a long weekend and some of you stay longer than that.”



Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut

Freak Summer Hailstorm Leaves Guadalajara Covered in Ice

0
0

Residents in Mexico's Guadalajara metropolitan area woke up buried in ice Sunday morning after an unusual freak summer hailstorm hit overnight.

The phenomenon left six suburbs of Guadalajara covered in thick hail, with up to five-feet of accumulation in some areas burying cars and trucks, and leaving people trapped in their homes. Guadalajara is the capital of the state of Jalisco.

Jalisco's Gov. Enrique Alfaro tweeted on Sunday that no deaths or injuries were reported and that clean-up efforts with the Mexican army, and Guadalajara and Tlaquepaque first responders continued all day. However, several properties suffered damages. 

“I just witnessed something that I’d never seen before: more than a meter-high of hail [...] And then we wonder if climate change exists,” the governor said on Twitter.

Alfaro said that the Mexican army joined the municipal and state authorities to help people whose homes were damaged.

Both the leader and the police advised people to drive and walk carefully after reopening some streets and sidewalks, respectively, since traces of hail remained.

This type of atmospheric activity, although not rare, doesn’t usually see big amounts of accumulation like the one in Guadalajara this weekend, according to NBC Bay Area meteorologist Kari Hall. 

“Hailstorms are caused by rain that falls and then is picked up by an updraft (current of air), it goes all the way up into the thunderstorm clouds where it freezes and then it comes back down,” Hall said. “If it’s still light enough it can get picked up again by an updraft, it freezes and when it gets too heavy, gravity takes over and it falls to the ground.”

The on-level hail accumulation registered in Guadalajara this weekend is almost three times more than the record amount in the U.S., which stands at about 18 inches, according to Hall.

Hall was cautious in pointing at climate change as a possible factor in this event. “We have to look at the wider view of things,” she said. “Climate takes on the scope of a broader view of what’s going on, so we can’t attribute one crazy freak storm to climate change.” 

The only way climate change would be considered a factor in this event is if accumulations like this occur more often.

Topography, on the other hand, may have contributed to the storm this time, according to the meteorologist. Guadalajara is a city 5,000 feet above the sea level which, with a thunderstorm’s low freezing level, can lead to a massive accumulation.

“I think the elevation may have played a role if you had that alone with a low freezing level within the thunderstorm,” she said.



Photo Credit: Ulises Ruiz/AFP/Getty Images
This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Crumbling Concrete Agreement Renewed

0
0

Two companies at the center of a state investigation into crumbling foundations have renewed an agreement with the state to stop selling materials or products for residential foundations from a quarry in Willington.

In the agreement, the two companies, now defunct J.J. Mottes Company, in Stafford Springs, and Becker Construction, in Willington, acknowledged that pyrrhotite, an iron sulfide mineral, may be a contributing factor to the crumbling foundation problem in Hartford, Tolland and Windham counties.

Construction experts say there is no fix for the foundation problem and that all the concrete must be replaced, at a cost of $150,000, or higher, for most homes.

NBC Connecticut Investigates broke the story on crumbling concrete in foundations four years ago.

To date 800 homeowners have filed complaints with the state about crumbling concrete basements.

Construction experts estimate that thousands of homes across eastern Connecticut might be impacted by the faulty concrete.

J.J. Mottes and Becker Construction have said the problems with these foundations are the result of faulty installation.

Unlike prior agreements with the state signed since 2016, this one lasts two years. The prior agreements had just lasted one year.

Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images