With opioid overdoses on the rise, Connecticut is looking to tackle the epidemic in a new way.

There were nearly 500 overdoses in June in Connecticut. A new opioid overdose reporting project is collecting hard statistics on the situation.

The program is the first in the nation and helps emergency responders, police and harm reduction groups tackle the opioid crisis in a new way.

Peter Canning, the EMS coordinator at UConn John Dempsey Hospital, has seen first-hand the way the epidemic is taking lives.

“We’re you know very trained in heart attack care and stroke care and trauma care. But overtime…I’ve noticed maybe in the last five years the increasing escalation of the opioid overdoses. It was suddenly becoming you know an everyday occurrence,” Canning said.

He helped start the Connecticut EMS Statewide Opioid Reporting Directive, known as SWORD.

“I thought you know, EMS hasn’t really been involved in this and EMS is in the ideal position because we see people right after they’ve overdosed,” Canning said.

Through the programs, responders at the scene of an overdose follow-up with a call to the state’s Poison Control Center and answer a series of questions that ultimately help identify overdose spikes in our communities. A call takes around three minutes and goes a long way.

It starts with the basics, like the location of the overdose and age of the patient. Then the questions get more specific. Was the drug inhaled or ingested? What kind of packaging was the drug in and what else was at the scene?

“The type of information we’re collecting--the name of the bags, the paraphernalia at the scene, pictures/photos of the paraphernalia…is really not been collected by other poison centers or other entities, so that’s quite unique,” explained Suzanne Doyon, the medical director at the Connecticut Poison Control Center.

On June 1 SWORD was implemented across the state. In that first month, EMS reported 496 overdoses, 388 naloxone administrations and 41 fatalities in Connecticut.

“We’re a small state, but it is hitting us pretty hard,” Doyon said.

Within the first 10 days of June, 10 overdose deaths were reported to Poison Control in the City of Hartford alone.

The alerted the Public Health Department, local law enforcement and harm reduction groups.

“This is providing absolute real time. If there are five overdoses in an hour in Hartford we’re gonna know about that in an hour,” Canning explained.

“In the past our data has been very staggered and late, this gives us day-to-day operations so that we can keep our eye on it and send the appropriate resources to the appropriate place,” added Raffaella Coler, director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services at the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

What started as an idea in the back of an ambulance is now a way to help more people in need before it’s too late.

SWORD started as a pilot program in Hartford in 2018 before being expanded statewide last month. DPH then issued a mandate requiring all EMS responders to take part. The hope is this program will serve as a nationwide model.

Connecticut State Police are investigating a shootout in a Durham driveway.

According to police, a homeowner reported he arrived at his home at 49 Mountain Road around 10:30 p.m. Monday and found a strange vehicle in the driveway. The homeowner said when he approached, the people in the car started shooting at him. He then pulled out his own gun and started shooting back as the suspicious vehicle drove off.

The suspect vehicle is described as a dark colored Ford pickup.

Eastern District Major Crimes detectives are investigating. Anyone with information should contact police at 860-399-2121.

Joe Biden, who long described himself as one of the poorest members of the U.S. Senate and built his political persona on his middle-class roots, became a multi-millionaire after leaving the White House, according to new tax filings and a financial disclosure released by his campaign Tuesday.

The former vice president and his wife reported an income of more than $11 million in 2017 and $4.5 million in 2018, mostly from their respective book deals. Other income included the couple's salaries as professors — Joe Biden through his new affiliation with the University of Pennsylvania and Jill Biden from her continued employment as a community college professor in Virginia, NBC News reports.

Biden also collected tens of thousands of dollars in speaking fees, some at events promoting his 2017 autobiography but also for at least a dozen non-book tour events, ranging from as little as $25,000 to $190,000 for one lecture at Drew University. The Bidens continued to collect rental income from a cottage house on the grounds of their home in Delaware.

The Bidens reported paying more than $3.7 million in federal income taxes in 2017 and $1.5 million in 2018. They gave more than $1 million and $275,000 to charity in those years, respectively.

Hartford police are investigating a shooting on Main Street.

Police said the victim was conscious and alert when they arrived in the area of 60 Main St. Tuesday afternoon.

Drivers are advised to find an alternate route to avoid traffic delays in the area.

No other details were immediately available. Check back for updates.

Problems at our state’s maximum-security psychiatric hospital extend well beyond patient abuse - the physical building itself needs a makeover at a minimum, according to a task force looking at improving the facility.

NBC Connecticut Investigates broke the story about abuse at the Whiting Forensic Hospital in Middletown that led to arrests and suspensions of employees and the creation of that task force.

Task force members got a tour of Whiting and said it provides a poor setting for good patient outcomes.

The hospital houses dozens of patients getting their mental competency restored for trial, and others accused of serious crimes found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Task force co-chair Michael Lawlor said many patient activities take place in basement rooms.

“None of them have any natural light whatsoever. The corridors are very narrow, everything is very dated.”

Options to improve Whiting include updating or replacing the building, or moving away from Connecticut’s large-scale psychiatric patient treatment model.

Paul Acker of Advocacy Unlimited, and a member of the task force, asked, “Is institutional care still a thing? Do we need to start looking at alternatives because I found Whiting to be depressing.”

Others on the panel wondered if Whiting’s current building might be replaced by a smaller, maximum-security facility housing those found not guilty by reason of insanity, and having people treated for shorter term competency issues elsewhere.

The Whiting task force plans to give the legislature a report with recommendations in a year and a half.

UT Austin announced a plan Tuesday to completely cover tuition and fees for students from families that earn up to $65,000 a year and have a financial need.

The plan was made possible through a $160 million endowment from the Permanent University Fund.

Students will be able to apply for the assistance starting in the fall of 2020.

The money will also provide some tuition support for students from families with incomes up to $125,000 who have a financial need.

"Recognizing both the need for improved access to higher education and the high value of a UT Austin degree, we are dedicating a distribution from the Permanent University Fund to establish an endowment that will directly benefit students and make their degrees more affordable," Chairman Kevin P. Eltife said after the vote. "This will benefit students of our great state for years to come."

The median household income in Texas was $59,206 in 2017, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

UT Austin says this is one of the largest financial aid commitments to improve the predictability and affordability of higher education among the nation's leading public research universities.

The Permanent University Fund includes money from oil and gas royalties earned on state-owned land in West Texas.

The money will allow the university to provide full tuition coverage to more than 8,600 undergraduates every year.

The plan is part of the Texas Advance Commitment program.

Les’ Dairy Bar in Meriden has been serving up ice cream and frozen yogurt by the cones and cups for decades. But the summer hotspot is set to serve its final cool treats at the end of the season.

“I was going to end it last year. And everybody said you’ve got to do one more year and make it your final and make the announcement,” explained owner Debra DiGiandomenico.

DiGiandomenico has been running the stand her family purchased in the 1970s for more than 35 years. She said she loves the place and the customers who keep coming back summer after summer, but now is the time to step away.

“Nobody wants to see it end. However, I can’t do it anymore. And I really can’t hand it over to a manager. It’s not my style. Its either all or nothing. Somebody wouldn’t run it the way I want,” she said.

The dog days of summer on East Main Street may look a little different next year if she can’t find a new owner. The lines that stretch down the block on a hot summer night are something customers like Caterina Marinelli said make this place a part of home.

“It’s like childhood memories. Used to hang out in this parking lot and eat so much ice cream,” Marinelli said.

Younger Les’ patrons say for them, this place represents summer, and they don’t want to see it close.

“Chocolate ice cream is my favorite ice cream… and the sprinkles,” Chloe Wilson said.

“I like all the flavors except the pistachio… I love the upside down banana splits,” added London Wilson.

DiGiandomenico said she’s gotten a ton of feedback on Facebook to the news she’s looking to move on, including a couple of interested buyers, so there may still be hope that Les’ will live on under new ownership. For now, the plan is to stay open through the summer, serving those final scoops sometime in October.

Gov. Ned Lamont is getting a new communications director, and it’s a face you’re used to seeing on NBC Connecticut.

Political Reporter Max Reiss will take over the position later this month.

Max has been at NBC Connecticut since 2014.

A conspiracy theory about a murdered Democratic National Committee staffer that was repeatedly brought up on Fox News and by allies of President Donald Trump was planted and promoted by Russian intelligence, according to an investigation by Yahoo News.

The theory centers on Seth Rich, a DNC data director who was shot in 2016 in what authorities have suspected was an attempted robbery in Washington. Rich's death was quickly seized on by a variety of internet conspiracy theorists and far-right media, as well as Wikileaks, which offered a $20,000 reward for information in the case.

The theory roughly posited, without evidence, that Rich had been murdered as part of an effort to cover up supposed crimes by Hillary Clinton. The conspiracy theory broke into the mainstream in part with the help of Fox News, which later retracted an article claiming Rich was a potential source of leaked DNC emails published by Wikileaks.  

A West Hartford firefighter had a memorable call when a new baby decided she wasn't going to wait for mom to get to the hospital to come into the world.

Victoire Will is a former EMT who has responded to all types of emergency calls including expectant mothers to get to a hospital quickly.

Will thought that’s what one call would be too, but she was in for a surprise.

“We were having a pretty busy night,” Will said.

Willwas working her normal shift when a familiar call came through the scanner.

“A women 37 weeks pregnant,” said Will. “It was an imminent delivery status.”

West Hartford Fire Station 1 is right down the street from the family’s home.

“We found her in her home,” said Will.

The crew quickly realized the baby didn’t want to wait.

“The mother knew she needed to push and could feel the baby’s head,” said Will.

Will says she was preparing to get mom to the hospital.

“I told my crew you know maybe we need to get her out of here and that we needed to transport her,” said Will. “I turned back around and she’s having a baby.”

The crew only had a few seconds to switch gears and work together to bring the 6 pound, 10 ounce baby girl into the world.

“I think the fact that we get trained on a lot of the skills that we are required to know and do on a yearly basis helps,” said Will.

Will says the entire process comes with the territory but she’s glad to lend a helping hand.

“I just think that it’s a part of the scope of practice,” said Will. “It’s just something that you have to be prepared for.”

NBC Connecticut did reach out to the mother who says she and baby Kennedy are healthy.

The family has a 2-year-old who slept through the delivery upstairs.

The 2-year-old stayed behind with neighbors while mom and dad went to the hospital.

The family is back at home resting and enjoying their newborn.

A former New London Public School employee is accused of violently raping a middle school student and ordering another student to perform oral sex on him, according to two recently unsealed arrest warrant applications in the case.

Corriche Gaskin, 35, is facing various charges including sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and child pornography charges.

Gaskin was employed as a behavioral specialist at Bennie Dover Middle School at the time of the alleged crimes, according to police. 

In an unsealed arrest warrant dated June 24, it states that in March 2019 police received a report that Gaskin had an ongoing relationship with a student that began in the 2016-2017 school year, when the victim would have been 13 or 14 years old.

According to the court documents, the victim initially denied having a sexual relationship with Gaskin, but said he showed her sexually explicit videos on his phone. She later told her mother that Gaskin raped her on two occasions.

In the victim’s interview with police, she said Gaskin called her into his office and told her to lift her shirt. When she refused, he pushed her onto his desk and pulled down her pants and underwear, forcing her into sexual intercourse. The victim said he also made her perform oral sex. She told police Gaskin threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

The victim also reported a second incident. She claimed Gaskin forced her into a storage room and blocked the door, then pulled down his pants and grabbed the victim by the neck, forcing her to perform oral sex.

The victim said these incidents happened when she was in seventh and eighth grade.

In another arrest warrant application, Gaskin is also accused of having oral sex with another student around the same age and recording it. According to the arrest warrant application, that victim told police Gaskin called her into his office and “pulled it out.” The victim told police that she then performed oral sex on Gaskin. She told police this was their only sexual encounter and she did not know he had recorded it.

Also in the documents, police say they found multiple searches on the suspects iPhone about the archival of Snapchat messages like, “can police retrieve snaps once removed?”

Gaskin was first arrested in April as a result of alleged criminal activity involving a student and was charged with risk of injury to a minor, police said. In May, he was arrested again and charged with sexual assault, possession of child pornography, voyeurism, disseminating voyeuristic materials and multiple counts of risk of injury.

Gaskin was placed on leave when the allegations first surfaced in March and fired after the second arrest, district officials said.

The allegations against Gaskin set off a large-scale investigation that led to the arrest of two other employees and prompted the New London school board to look into the district’s hiring processes. 

Police have not said exactly how the three cases are connected.

In a statement to the New London School Community Friday the superintendent said in part,

As our community continues to work through the aftermath of heart-breaking news from past events, NLPS remains committed to ensuring the well-being of our students. In addition to the highly-qualified and professional staff working in all of our summer programs, additional counselors will be available this week to talk with students and families as needed, at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School.

The statement goes on to say that the counselors will be available starting Monday July 8 through Friday, July 13 from 9 a.m. to noon. An appointment is not required.

“We have camps at the school and in New London. Children are talking with one another," explained Jennifer Messina, senior director of community relations at the New London-based Child & Family Agency. “You hear a lot on the news. You may hear your parents talking. It can cause a lot of stress, a lot of worry, a lot of anxiety.

Messina said while these are just allegations, the topic can be traumatic for children.

The nonprofit suggests talking and listening to your kids, and keeping an extra eye on them as it gets closer to the school year.

“The best thing parents can go is take care of their own mental health and be calm and maintain routines with children and notice any behaviors that may seem out of the ordinary," Messina said.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call the New London Police Department’s Detective Bureau at 860-447-1481 or submit anonymous information through the New London Tips 411 system by texting NLPDTip plus the information to Tip411 (847411).

On Tuesday there was another round in the battle over a potential housing development in Avon.

There was a second part of a public hearing for a needed zone change.

The developer argues this is good project for the town but neighbors are fiercely opposed.

“They don’t make any more land. And I come from a farm background,” said John Clark of Avon.

Clark tells us he lives near where dozens of homes could be built off of Nod Road.

Backlash has been intense to the proposal and led to the creation of a group called “Save Nod Road.”

“It’s a beautiful road and we don’t need any more houses. We got 95 I think they are proposing. There’s enough houses already,” said Clark.

There are concerns about traffic and the environment if the development was built on about 40 acres of a golf course near the Farmington River.

And there are other worries.

“My question is really how are they going to handle the amount of people in a small area with sewer and water usage?” said Carl Gisnarian of Avon.

The developer – The Keystone Companies – is pushing back.

“Quite candidly had I thought this would have been this crazy I probably would have second guessed myself,” said Anthony Giorgio, The Keystone Companies managing director.

Giorgio points out 80 percent of the total site would be protected from future development.

He says there are other benefits for the community including preserving the golf course, a more than one-million dollar boost in tax money and improved traffic in the area, with one key feature kept.

“The entire streetscape of Nod Road will be preserved. There will be no change when you drive up and down Nod Road,” Giorgio said.

On Tuesday, the developer asked for the Planning and Zoning Commission to approve rezoning land to residential, while opponents argue it should be kept agricultural.

The conversation will continue at the next meeting in two weeks.

The poor treatment of migrant children at the hands of U.S. border agents in recent months extends beyond Texas to include allegations of sexual assault and retaliation for protests, according to dozens of accounts by children held in Arizona collected by government case managers and obtained by NBC News.

A 15-year-old girl from Honduras held in Yuma, Arizona, described a large, bearded officer putting his hands inside her bra, pulling down her underwear and groping her as part of what was meant to be a routine pat down in front of other immigrants and officers.

A 16-year-old Guatemalan boy said after he and others in his cell complained about the taste of the water and food they were given, CBP agents took the mats out of their cell in retaliation, forcing them to sleep on hard concrete.

In a statement about the Yuma allegations, a CBP spokesperson said the agency "treats those in our custody with dignity and respect and provides multiple avenues to report any allegations of misconduct. ... The allegations do not align with common practice at our facilities and will be fully investigated." 

Jennifer Araoz says she was 14 years old when a young woman approached her outside her New York City high school in the fall of 2001, NBC News reported.

That casual encounter led her to Jeffrey Epstein's townhouse, where after a few visits, Araoz said, she was performing half-naked massages on Epstein and leaving with $300.

In the fall of 2002, Epstein pressured her to do more, Araoz said. He told her to remove her panties. Then he grabbed her 15-year-old body.

"He raped me, forcefully raped me," Araoz told NBC News in an exclusive interview. "I was terrified, and I was telling him to stop. 'Please stop.'"

Epstein, 66, was charged Monday with operating a sex trafficking ring in New York and Florida between 2002 and 2005. Federal prosecutors in New York say the wealthy financier, who has socialized with the likes of Donald Trump and Bill Clinton, sexually abused dozens of minors and paid his victims to recruit others, allowing him to build a vast network of girls to exploit. He entered a plea of not guilty.

East Windsor police are looking for three people who they said vandalized a park in town.

Surveillance cameras captured the three people in East Windsor Park on Reservoir Road during the overnight hours Monday into Tuesday morning, according to police.

The suspects appeared to be aware of the cameras in the park and covered their faces, police said.

Police did not say what type of damage was done.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call East Windsor police at (860) 292-8240.

A crash has closed the southbound lanes of I-91 in Middletown.

The highway is closed between Exits 21 and 20, according to the Dept. of Transportation.

There is no word on injuries.

A fire forced several people from a home in Meriden on Wednesday morning.

Flames broke out in the attic of a two-family home on Bunker Avenue around 3:20 a.m., according to fire officials.

All of the residents got out of the house before firefighters arrived and no one who lived in the house was injured, fire officials said.

Firefighters found heavy fire in the attic.

"There’s extensive damage in the attic and on the second floor," Deputy Chief Ryan Dunn said.

The homeowner called 911 and reported some type of electrical problem, but investigators still haven't determined what started the fire.

The families will be displaced for some time, Dunn said.

Two firefighters received minor injuries while fighting the fire.

Crews from Wallingford and Berlin were called in to help with the fire.

Police are trying to locate a car and the driver who hit and seriously injured an off-duty firefighter in Bridgeport last month.

According to police, the firefighter was walking across Stratford Avenue on June 28 when he was struck by the car. The driver turned onto East Main Street, stopped briefly, then sped off, police said.

The victim, who has only been identified by police as a 46-year-old Bridgeport firefighter, was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries.

The car is a dark gray Toyota Corolla, possibly from the 2015 model year, according to police. The car would have heavy front-end damage and would be missing the driver's side rear-view mirror.

Anyone who may have information on the crash or the location of the car or driver is asked to call Bridgeport Police Department's Traffic Division at (203) 576-7640.

Police responded to a partial train derailment in Bristol on Wednesday morning.

Several cars of a PanAm freight train went off the tracks near Mellen Street and Riverside Avenue around 6 a.m., according to police.

Police said there are no injuries.

Six of the seven train cars came off the rails, according to fire officials.

Mellen Street is closed from Riverside Avenue to Prospect Street and may be closed for some time, according to police.

The train was carrying dry materials and there are no hazmat concerns, fire officials said.

A Johnson County, Texas, man reported missing earlier this year was eaten by his own dogs, investigators say.

The gruesome discovery was made public Wednesday morning following an investigation by Johnson County sheriff's deputies and medical examiners in Johnson and Tarrant counties.

According to deputies, 57-year-old Freddie Mack was reported missing by family members after deputies conducted a welfare check at his home on May 9. A relative said Mack hadn't been seen for several weeks.

Deputies said the family member went to Mack's property, located in the 1300 block of King Cotton Road, near Venus, to check on the man but was unable to get past the 18 "aggressive" dogs that lived on the property.

Deputies attempted to search the property but were also unsuccessful due to the dogs' aggressive behavior. They were finally successful with distracting the dogs and getting onto the property but were unable to find Mack.

Family members of Mack stated that although he had stopped contacting them in the past, Mack had recently been in consistent contact with the family for several years. He would ask for rides to the store at least twice a month.

Mack was entered into the system as a missing person the day after deputies first investigated the property.

On May 11, two days after detectives filed Mack as a missing person, family members told police that they would be unable to care for the dogs, so deputies began putting out food and water for the animals.

Family members and neighbors were interviewed, and deputies even made several trips to local hospitals and jails in an attempt to locate Mack. Those who knew Mack told deputies that it was unusual for him to leave his dogs unattended.

A few days later, detectives returned to the property to search once again and this time, they were able to recover a small piece of bone. This caught the attention of investigators and two days after that, a search warrant was executed to check the trailer and shed on Freddie’s property.

Bone fragments and other small pieces of bone were found on the property and detectives had the medical examiner’s office conduct tests on the pieces of bone.

A seizure warrant was executed for the dogs so a more detailed investigation could be conducted of Mack’s property.

Johnson County deputies and detectives, along with the help from the Tarrant and Johnson County Medical Examiner’s Offices, found more bone pieces and possible human hair scattered on the property. Strips of cloth were found in the feces of the animals and the cloth matched the description of a similar set of clothes that Mack was known to wear, according to family and neighbors.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office notified detectives on July 9, that the bone fragments found on Mack’s property were positively identified as human and a familial DNA match positively identified the remains as belonging to Mack.

According to the sheriff’s office, 13 of the 16 dogs that were seized from the property were put down due to their aggressive behavior and the evidence that led detectives to find that those dogs had eaten their owner. There were originally 18 dogs found on the property but two of those dogs were killed by the others.

"During the course of our investigation it was found that Freddie suffered from serious medical conditions so we will never know if the dogs killed Mr. Mack or consumed him after he died from a medical condition. Either way, it is a very gruesome event and we extend our sympathy to Freddy Mack’s family," said Sheriff Adam King with the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.