The mother of a missing New Canaan woman has been granted custody of her grandchildren as the investigation into her daughter’s disappearance continues.

Jennifer Dulos has been missing since May 24. She was in the midst of a divorce and custody battle with her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, at the time of her disappearance, and on Thursday the court granted her mother, Gloria Farber, custody of their five children.

Farber has been caring for her grandchildren since Jennifer disappeared two months ago. Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis have been charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with the case.

Fotis declined to testify during the custody hearing.

In the court’s ruling the judge said that it “has inferred from the defendant’s refusal to testify that it would be detrimental to the children to be in the defendant’s custody, particularly while the disappearance of their mother is under active investigation.”

Fotis has pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges and on Wednesday his legal team filed a motion to dismiss the charges.

For weeks, the search for Jennifer has spanned the state and authorities have spent days sifting through trash at a facility Hartford after bags containing Dulos’ blood were found. Law enforcement officials said surveillance video captured two people resembling her estranged husband, Fotis Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Traconis, throwing out bags that ended up in the trash plant.

Court documents in the case say investigators who responded to the missing person report in May found blood splatter and evidence of cleanup attempts at Jennifer’s New Canaan home.

Police urge everyone with information regarding Jennifer’s disappearance to contact them. In addition to the tip line, 203-594-3544, tips and information regarding Jennifer’s disappearance can be sent to FindJenniferDulos@newcanaanct.gov and submitted anonymously at www.FindJenniferDulos.com.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, one of the Democrats seeking the party’s nomination for president in 2020, sued Google on Thursday for suspending her advertising account, NBC News reported. 

The lawsuit adds to a chorus of bipartisan complaints against Google and other tech companies over the power they’ve accumulated as censors and gatekeepers in areas such as politics, advertising and free speech.

Lawyers for Gabbard, D-Hawaii, filed the suit in federal district court in Los Angeles. 

According to the suit, Google suspended Gabbard’s advertising account without warning June 28, hours after the end of a Democratic presidential primary debate in which she participated. She alleges that Google gave conflicting and false reasons for the suspension before reinstating the account hours later.

Hartford police are investigating a serious stabbing on Park Street Thursday night.

No other details were immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Two separate salmonella outbreaks — one linked to pig ear dog treats, the other to backyard poultry — now have sickened more than 800 people in 48 states, health officials announced this week. 

Salmonella Linked to Pig Ear Dog Treats

At least 93 reported cases of salmonella in humans in 27 states have been linked to pig ear dog treats, according to the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To date at least 20 people have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported, but the CDC warns that the infection is resistant to some antibiotics.

The FDA and the CDC are conducting a joint investigation to try to pinpoint the original source of the outbreak, which has yet to be identified. The agencies determined that the treats — actual dried pig ears marketed as canine chew treats — were the likely original source, as 90% of people interviewed by the agencies reported they’d had contact with a dog before getting sick. And 69% of a smaller sample of those reportedly infected said they’d had actual contact with pig ear dog treats, or dogs who’d been fed pig ear dog treats, before getting sick.

Salmonella can affect animals who consume the pig ears, and there is risk to humans from handling them, especially if they neglect to thoroughly wash their hands after having contact with the products or any surfaces exposed to these products.

Anyone who believes they have been exposed to or infected with Salmonella should monitor for some, or all, of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever, the FDA said. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

Pet Supplies Plus, a nationwide retailer of animal and veterinary supplies that has not been linked to any of the reported salmonella cases, issued on July 3 a voluntary recall of its bulk pig ear products due to the potential of contamination. The recall is limited to pig ears stocked in open bins, rather than prepackaged pig ears, from Pet Supplies Plus stores in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Wisconsin and West Virginia.

For more information, consumers can reach the company by calling 734-793- 6564 between Monday and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, excluding holidays.

Anyone who has bought bulk pig ears should discard them, the FDA said in the July 3 recall announcement. 

If you think you or anyone in your household, including pets, may have come into contact with pig ear dog treats at any time since January 2019, you should:

—Dispose of the treats. The CDC recommends packing them inside a closed container before tossing them to prevent other animals from eating them out of trash receptacles.

—Immediately stop providing dogs with pig ear treats, even if a dog has eaten a pig ear treat recently and hasn't showed Salmonella symptoms.

—Dog owners should also wash the containers, shelves and areas that held the treats with hot water and soap, according to the CDC.

To prevent contracting infections from pet products in the future, you should: 

—Always wash hands thoroughly with soap and water right after handling pet food or treats (including pig ear treats).

—Not let a dog or pet lick your mouth or face after they eat pet food or treats.

—Not let children younger than 5 touch or eat any pet food or pet treats (including pig ear treats).

Salmonella Linked to Backyard Poultry

Two deaths, 122 hospitalizations and at least another 600 reported infections in 48 states have been linked to coming into contact with backyard poultry, according to an update on the outbreak released Tuesday by the CDC. Health officials said an additional 489 cases were reported since its previous update on June 13. The spike in reported cases is likely due in part to the five additional strains of salmonella that have been added to this ongoing joint CDC and FDA investigation.

Illnesses associated with this outbreak started Jan. 1. The median age of those affected is 30 years, with a range in age of less than one year to 99 years, the CDC said. Children younger than 5 years account for at least 159 of reported cases. Officials interviews conducted with patients or their families and laboratory information confirmed the cases were linked to contact with backyard poultry.

It isn’t uncommon, the CDC said, to see an uptick in salmonella infection linked to live poultry during spring and summer months, when more people are purchasing or coming into contact with chicks, ducklings and other live poultry. In 2017, a record 1,120 cases linked to live poultry were reported in the U.S., including one case that resulted in death.

The CDC cautions that people can get sick from salmonella after touching poultry or their environment, and even birds that appear healthy and clean can carry the bacteria. 

To prevent salmonella infection from backyard poultry, you should:

—Always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water right after touching poultry or anything in their environment.

—Use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not immediately available.

—Not let backyard poultry inside the house.

—Be especially careful to keep poultry out of areas where food or drink are prepared, served or stored, such as kitchens or outdoor patios.

Health officials told a 78-year-old cemetery caretaker to clean up trash around a historic burial ground in New Jersey − and he did, but he did it by dumping it into grave sites.

Eric Rickes was arrested Thursday for improperly disposing garbage and other debris into graves at the centuries-old Rahway Cemetery, according to Rahway police. 

Police say they obtained a search warrant for the cemetery after receiving information about Rickes' behavior and found evidence on Wednesday. 

"Our agency took great care to investigate this matter fully because everyone should be able to rest with dignity," police said in a statement. 

Rickes was charged with the desecration of a place of burial.

The Rahway Cemetery, also known as First Presbyterian Cemetery, was established in 1724 and is the final resting place for historic figures such as Abraham Clark, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and numerous soldiers from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, police said.

Lincoln Boehm wanted to know how a pristine In-N-Out burger ended up on a New York City street and he got his answer Wednesday from a 16-year-old girl in Queens.

The double double's journey was published on Vice's website by Boehm himself, who discovered the sad sight of the popular West Coast fast food chain's burger on Saturday.

"Hi. This is actually my burger. You may not believe me," Boehm received the message on Instagram from Helen Vivas, a high schooler who lives in Flushing.

Vivas told Boehm that she had just gotten off a flight from San Diego where she purchased several In-N-Out burgers. As she tried to get home from JFK Airport, she ran after the Q44 bus, burgers in hand, but the greased up paper bag was not made to withstand her sprint.

She managed to catch two of the three burgers before they fell on the street. 

Boehm posted screenshots that Vivas provided to back up her account. They included her In-N-Out receipt, flight info, and a text message exchange where she had lamented that one of her burgers "fell in the streets of Jamaica."  

"THE TRUTH COMES OUT!!!," Boehm tweeted.

The 31-year-old writer started selling t-shirts on the viral incident. He says the proceeds will go to the New York City Food Bank.

An 80-year-old Connecticut man has been reported missing and a Silver Alert has been issued for him.

Robert Ciccarelli has white hair and brown eyes, the alert says.

He was last seen wearing blue jeans and a dark T-shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Troop I-Bethany barracks at 203-393-4200.

The River Access on Platts Mill Road in Naugatuck will be closed this weekend again after people left trash and debris there, according to police. 

Police said the public can expect increased police patrols and enforcement of all areas near the Naugatuck River in the Borough of Naugatuck. 

This comes after several people contacted authorities to address concerns about a large group of people accessed to the river, leaving the area in such a poor state that local community members staged a clean-up effort to remove trash and debris left behind. 

Police are reminding residents that parking in restricted areas and attempting to access the river from borough-owned points might result in enforcement action.

They previously said the area is not safe for swimming and it is intended for “light use that will allow citizens to enjoy the natural beauty of the Naugatuck River.” 

They said camp fires, open consumption of liquor and activities that will deteriorate this area are strictly prohibited and enforcement action may be taken. 

Black and white images of an intimate wedding ceremony between two men, held more than half a century ago, recently surfaced online after making their way into the public archives of the ONE Archives Foundation in Los Angeles and the John J. Wilcox Jr. Archives of Philadelphia, NBC News reported. The photos have piqued the interest of LGBTQ history buffs and those who want to find the couple, so the men can finally, six decades later, receive their wedding pictures. 

The snapshots were unearthed by the daughter of a woman who worked at the Philadelphia drug store where where one of the gay men had tried to get the pictures developed, according to ONE Archives Foundation. The shop’s staff, however, deemed the images “inappropriate” and withheld them from the man. 

“My mother had a somewhat photographic memory for faces and retained these in the event the customers who dropped them off ever came back to the shop so that she could give them to the customers on the sly,” the shop worker’s daughter wrote in a letter to the ONE Archives Foundation. 

Check out NBC News' full story here. If you know the grooms, please contact nbcout@nbcuni.com.

A woman upset over rapper A$AP Rocky's detention in Sweden showed up at the Embassy of Sweden complex in D.C. and threatened to "blow this motherf----- up," screamed obscenities at staff and kicked over furniture before she was arrested by the Secret Service, an affidavit obtained by the News4 I-Team shows.

Rebecca Kanter was arrested by Secret Service agents July 23, the second time she allegedly caused a disturbance at the House of Sweden at 2900 K Street NW.

In the first incident, a day earlier, Kanter allegedly threw liquid from a glass Coca-Cola bottle at the doorway and threatened to blow up the building. She then left before authorities could intervene, although the Secret Service issued a "Be on the Lookout" for her, the affidavit said.

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The following afternoon, the affidavit says Kanter returned and was able to get through security. She began "cursing and screaming" at staff and a student tour group and was "making statements" about A$AP Rocky, the affidavit said.

Kanter then allegedly kicked over a teepee that was on display, as well as a coffee table in the lobby.

When ordered to leave, she sat on the floor and said, "Call the police, I'm not leaving," the affidavit said. Secret Service officers responded and arrested her.

The affidavit also says Kanter made several posts on social media, including one that asked, "why isn't it breaking news that I defiled the House of Sweden last night, that I vandalized the Wold Bank, that I vandalized the IMF ... why aren't I getting press for ASAP."

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Earlier this month, A$AP Rocky — who was in Sweden to perform at a music festival — and his body guards were ordered held for two weeks after being detained as police investigated a June 30 fight in downtown Stockholm.

Swedish prosecutors on Thursday charged the rapper with assault.

Videos published on social media showed someone being violently thrown onto the ground by A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers. It was not clear who else was involved. "This was a self-defense situation," his defense lawyer Slobodan Jovicic told reporters.

As for Kanter, she's now out on bond, but a judge ordered her to stay away from the embassy. She is facing charges of willfully injuring and damaging property of a foreign government and refusing to depart a foreign embassy.

News4 is awaiting comment from her public defender.

Kanter has a preliminary hearing July 31.

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The Equifax data breach of 2017 exposed the information of more than 140 million people — and if you were one of those people, you can now file a claim for reimbursement.

Equifax agreed to a class action settlement this week that includes up to $425 million of reimbursement money for those affected.

You can file a claim for 10 years of free credit monitoring or you can get $125 if you already have credit monitoring.

You could also file for up to $20,000 for the time you spent remedying fraud, for out-of-pocket losses because of the data breach or for expenses you paid for credit monitoring a year before the breach.

Hackers stole information like names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, credit card numbers and driver’s license numbers.

How do I know if I am a part of the Equifax settlement?

You can use the official look-up tool (click here for the link) provided by the Federal Trade Commission to see if your information was exposed. You can also call the settlement administrator at 1-833-759-2982. 

If your information was breached, here’s how you can file a claim:

How do I file a claim for the Equifax settlement?

The quickest way to file a claim is to fill out the form online.

It is critical that you only use the official website, equifaxbreachsettlement.com, to file your claim.

Hackers can buy similar URLs so that people will mistakenly type their information into the wrong website. Double check that your URL is the correct spelling.

You can also mail a hard copy of the claim to this address: JND Legal Administration, PO Box 91318 Seattle, WA 98111-9418.

If you want a settlement administrator to mail the claim for you, call 1-833-759-2982 or email info@EquifaxBreachSettlement.com.

The deadline to file a claim is January 22, 2020.

When would I receive benefits from the Equifax settlement? 

Benefits will begin following court approval. The final approval hearing is set for Dec. 19. 

Check out more information about filing a claim for the Equifax settlement.

A person involved in some sort of accident involving a loader in Harwinton suffered serious injuries and was flown to a local hospital, according to the Harwinton Volunteer Fire Department.

They said it happened around 10:30 a.m. Friday at 131 Clearview Ave. Lifestar was called and flew the patient to Hartford Hospital.

No additional information is available.

People who are fed up with the recent violence in Hartford gathered together on Friday morning on Battles Street. There, they prayed together and urged their fellow neighbors to put down the weapons and end the violence. They also encouraged people to speak up and talk with police about what is happening in their neighborhoods.

Earlier this week a 25-year-old man was shot and killed on Hillside Avenue in Hartford. Hartford Police said he was the 17th person to be killed in 2019 in Hartford and the sixth person in just the month of July.

Hartford Police made an arrest in one of those earlier July homicides behind Bulkeley High School.

Then on Thursday night, Hartford Police say someone was seriously hurt after being stabbed on Park Street.

“I’ve been disappointed, I’ve been heartbroken, but I’m encouraged by the participation of different groups and different sets of people … and more so encouraged by what the community is doing because the community finally said enough is enough,” said Reverend Henry Brown, a community activist.

On Saturday at 6 p.m., Rev. Brown said there will be a prayer vigil at 373 Hillside Ave. in Hartford, the location of Wednesday night’s deadly shooting.

Killingly High School is getting rid of its school mascot, the Redmen, and will replace it with a new one that students, faculty and families have a part in choosing.

The chairman of the Killingly Board of Education released a statement on Friday morning.

“At the request of community members and student leaders at Killingly High School, the Killingly Board of Education revisited an ongoing issue related to the use of Native American imagery as a mascot and using “Redmen” as a reference to our athletes. Although it was never the intention of the district to be disrespectful to Native American culture, we believe it is time to retire the current KHS mascot and begin a new tradition for KHS,” board of education chairman John Burns wrote in a letter to the school community.

The superintendent will be collaborating with students, faculty and families as the school works to identify a new name for a high school mascot. There is also an online survey. 

“It is not our intention to dismiss Killingly’s history and tradition, but to promote an inclusive and unifying environment. It is our belief that a mascot should be a unifying symbol for all our students,” Burns wrote.

It’s been years since Christopher Yarmolovich has taken a dip in the Natchaug River.

“It has no rocks on the bottom, it’s supposedly very clean,” Yarmolovich said.

But today he learned his beloved waterway is one of three eastern Connecticut Rivers that will now be tested for PFAS. The same potentially dangerous chemical that went into the Farmington River earlier this summer after a firefighting foam spill at Bradley International Airport.

“Now I’m hesitating, we came all this way over here. Are we safe here? Yarmolovich said.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection says the Natchaug, Quinebaug and Pawcatuck Rivers will be tested this summer under a federally funded PFAS research program through the University of Rhode Island.

“If there’s a known source that has very high concentrations, we should just avoid putting them into the system completely,” Penny Vlahos, associate professor of Marine Sciences at UConn said.

Vlahos says PFAS is known as an emerging containment but all of us have most likely been exposed to it.

“If I measure every person in Connecticut right now in their blood system we will detect these compounds,” Vlahos said.

DEEP said that testing on the Natchaug comes after elevated levels of PFAS were found in a drinking water well next to the Eastern Regional Firefighting School.

NBC Connecticut Investigates learned from the school that it will no longer be using PFAS foam for training and the water department says it’s in the process of getting a new water line to the affected home.

“I got goggles and I’ll try my best not to swallow it,” Yarmolovich said.

Yarmolovich will now wait to see what the testing results show before he decides to wade in the water again.

One person is dead after a crash on South Canterbury Road (Route 169) in Canterbury Friday.

Crews on scene reported one fatality in the crash near the intersection of Phinney Lane.

Connecticut State Police confirm the road is closed in the area. Drivers should avoid the area if possible.

More details were not immediately available.

Check back for updates.

More than 300 first responders from Connecticut were involved in the rescue and recovery efforts in the days that followed the September 11th terrorist attacks. Friday, those police officers, firefighters, and paramedics celebrated the permanent authorization of the victim’s compensation fund, which President Donald Trump is expected to sign on Monday.

Paramedic Mark Greczkowskie recalled watching the events unfolding on his tv and calling up his brothers and sisters in New York City to ask if they needed his help. He and his fellow first responders with American Ambulance out of Norwich, spent 30 straight hours down at Ground Zero.

“The dust in the air was so powerful,” Greczkowski recalled.

The images of Ground Zero, the sites, the smells, still play out vividly in Mark Greczkowski’s mind. Greczkowski says crews were so busy trying to help they didn’t realize the air they were breathing could be toxic.

“We didn’t think about it I can honestly tell you, no one did until later on,” said Greczkowski.

Despite seeing his fellow first responders suffer in the years that followed, he doesn’t have second thoughts about what he did that day.

“I’d do it again in a heartbeat,” he said.

What he does think about, are the men and women who became heroes that day, fellow first responders who paid the ultimate sacrifice. He wears a black ribbon on his uniform in their honor.

“I want to remember each and every one of them.”

There have been 10,000 cases of cancer diagnosed in people who were at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The 44-year-old paramedic says he has not suffered any health issues so far.

“I can tell you some of my partners though have not fared so well,” he admitted.

Cancer ravaged Connecticut State Police trooper Walter Greene’s body. We talked to his family when his name was added to the State Police Memorial in May.

"He was very loved he would do anything for anyone and that's just who he was,” said his wife Suzanne Greene at the time.

The West Norwalk man fought three different types of cancers, ultimately losing his battle in 2018. His doctors blamed the time he spent at Ground Zero.

Greene’s family is awaiting approval of their claim with the 9/11 fund. Suzanne said on Friday that she’s happy to see that first responders like her husband, who made the ultimate sacrifice, won’t be forgotten.

“This bill is a very small token of thanks to everyone who gave the ultimate sacrifice, to walked in to help, didn’t look over their shoulder, and didn’t think twice about ever going back,” said Brian Foley, a spokesperson for the Connecticut State Police Commissioner.

The victim’s compensation fund, quickly running out money and set to expire next year, is now extended 70 more years, to 2090, thanks to a bipartisan effort to help the families of the victims of the terrorist attack and the families of the first responders.

“How I looked at it, was when someone calls 911 we call and when we need help we should get the same back,” said Greczkowski.

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, who supported the measure, said the fund is estimated to exceed $10 billion in claims.

“Whatever it takes the nation will do,” he added.

Next to that black ribbon on Greczkowski’s uniform was a World Trade Center pin. Friday, he took that pin off and handed it to US Sen. Blumenthal, as a thank you.

“We’re so used to helping other people that it’s hard for us to say I need help. This is gonna make it easier for every one of those people to come forward and say I need assistance,” he said.

Puerto Rico’s soon-to-be Gov. Wanda Vázquez is already under fire a week before she's set to take office.

Vázquez, the head of the island’s justice department, is being investigated for allegedly failing to look into possible irregularities with the distribution of relief aid following Hurricane Maria in 2017. She's also being investigated over alleged influence peddling involving the government’s medical cannabis board.

The island's Office of Government Ethics announced its probe into both areas on Thursday, less than 24 hours after Gov. Ricardo Rosselló said he would resign in response to mass protests. 

As a result, protesters who had called for Rosselló to step down have since switched their hashtag from #RickyRenuncia (Ricky, resign) to #WandaRenuncia (Wanda, resign).

Meanwhile, Vázquez met with Rosselló on Friday morning to plan an "orderly transition," he said on Twitter. 

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Vázquez is supposed to assume the governor position next Friday, Aug. 2, at 5 p.m. But members of her party as well as the opposition don't think she has much of a future as governor, if she even gets the chance to assume office. 

The new scandal broke Thursday when a prominent, independent Puerto Rican journalist, Sandra Rodríguez Cotto, published a string of documents and messages from 2018 on her blog, purportedly from Vázquez and Raúl Maldonado, the former treasury secretary and chief of staff to Rosselló.

The messages show that Vázquez was asked by Maldonado to investigate problems with the distribution of aid under Unidos por Puerto Rico, a project championed by first lady Beatriz Rosselló, from which Rosselló has since distanced herself.

Unidos por Puerto Rico was heavily criticized at the time by people on the island and even by the president of Puerto Rico's Senate, Thomas Rivera-Schatz, a political rival of Vázquez from the same party, for allegedly favoring people with close ties to the government. The organization also allegedly held trailers with aid that were then unused.

In the leaked messages, Vázquez said that it was convenient to say “there was no criminal action and no intervention from Justice was needed.” That determination was made without opening an investigation, according to journalist Rodríguez Cotto. 

The Office of Government Ethics' probe is also digging into documents where Maldonado also briefed Vázquez on possible influence peddling and irregularities involving the Medical Cannabis Board in Puerto Rico. The allegations were referred to him by the island’s health department secretary, Rafael Rodríguez-Mercado, in September of last year. 

In that briefing, Maldonado alleged that a governor’s former consultant on infrastructure and development and her husband were pressuring the former head of the Medical Cannabis Board, Antonio Quilinchini, to provide the consultant's husband the licenses to open 69 medical cannabis dispensers from his clients.

Vázquez reacted on Thursday by denying the report from Rodríguez Cotto.

“The alleged irregularities in the cannabis industry were referred to the head of prosecutors, Olga Castellón-Miranda, and is currently under investigation,” Vázquez said in a written statement.

Regarding the messages exchanged with Maldonado, Vázquez said they’re being wrongfully interpreted and she's been subjected to “vicious attacks."

Besides the investigation and rejection from protesters in the streets and on social media, Vázquez faces other hurdles.

Most lawmakers from Rosselló’s statehood-supporting New Progressive Party (PNP, in Spanish), the commonwealth-supporting Popular Democratic Party (PPD, in Spanish) and the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP, in Spanish) don’t want Vázquez to become governor.

“It’s absurd to have Wanda Vázquez as governor. The Justice Department is not operating properly, corruption is rampant and that’s because of its leader,” House representative José Enrique Meléndez (PNP) told NBC.

Meléndez is hoping that Rosselló instead names a secretary of state to then take over as governor.

Minority representative Ángel Matos-García (PPD) agrees. He said that Rosselló “needs to appoint someone who can reinstate peace and order for Puerto Rico [...] Wanda Vázquez represents lack of reliability.”

“We should have a secretary of state with no political aspirations in order to rebuild the country that has been torn apart,” Matos-García said.

The minority lawmaker is also calling for Rosselló to fill some of the other 18 vacant positions in the governor's cabinet before his departure next week. 

Why is Wanda Vázquez next in line?
Puerto Rico’s constitution, enacted 67 years ago, establishes that if the governor’s position is vacant, the secretary of state fills that position. If both posts were to be simultaneously vacant, as in the current scenario, there’s a 1952 act that establishes a line of succession. The head of the island’s justice department would be next.

However, that law says that all heads of agency in the line of succession have to be appointed and not interim secretaries, except for the secretary of state, who can be an interim secretary and become governor.

“I’m surprised no one has thought of that possibility,” professor Efrén Rivera-Ramos from the University of Puerto Rico School of Law told NBC.

“The governor can name an interim secretary of state right now and that person can become the governor when he leaves without the approval of the legislative branch,” he said.

Constitutionally, there’s no problem with the move, the lawyer said. “Politically [...] That’s a different conversation.”

The governor can also call for a special session to get a secretary of state confirmed. 

Both Meléndez and Matos-García said that many names are being mentioned as potential governors if Rosselló were to nominate a secretary of state. Among those are Resident Commissioner in Washington, Jenniffer González, who's allegedly not interested, former Resident Commissioner and past primary contender for governor against Rosselló, Pedro Pierluisi, former Secretary of Transportation and Public Works Department, Carlos Pesquera, and many more.

"I don't know what it's going to happen," Meléndez said.

A Bloomfield halal butcher forced to close after slaughtering a runaway cow in public will be allowed to reopen, but only after fixing a long list of deficiencies.

Saba Live Poultry came under the scrutiny of federal, state, and local agencies after the July 13 incident, which took place after the calf got loose and ran across the street onto a Home Depot lot.

A Saba employee slit the calf’s throat after corralling it.

A series of inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, and the Town of Bloomfield followed. Multiple violations were found.

Saba must now deal with improving plumbing and ventilation. Plus it must have more sanitary pens, walls, windows, screens and doors, better cage conditions for animals, and the list goes on, and on.

While the new consent order signed by the state said Saba can reopen, it may be a while.

We could not reach Saba for comment.

The next presidential election is still more than a year away, but international efforts are already underway to disrupt it. That’s the finding in a new Senate Intelligence Committee report released Thursday.

The bipartisan report says Russia has been working since 2014 to interfere in US elections and that it targeted all 50 states in 2016 by “exploiting seams” between federal oversight and state election systems.

“We know that there were Russian IP addresses that attempted to enter our voter registry,” said Connecticut’s Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.

Merrill said their attempts were unsuccessful.

“That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t get in another time,” she pointed out.

During his testimony on Capitol Hill this week, former FBI Director Robert Mueller said the US should be prepared for it to happen again.

“It wasn’t a single attempt, they’re doing it as we sit here. And they expect to do it during the next campaign,” Mueller said.

A recently released intelligence report shows that other countries are obtaining the same sophisticated system as Russia.

“The cost of defending against them is one that is the price of our democracy,” said U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D – Connecticut).

Blumenthal said the federal government needs to devote $500 million dollars to election security.

One cyber security expert agrees, the solution isn’t cheap.

“We’re in a world now where you have to spend money on security. It’s no longer optional,” said Tim Weber of ADNET Technologies.

Merrill said Connecticut has received $5 million so far.

“That’s almost a down payment, frankly,” she said, pointing out that the federal government hasn’t spent money to upgrade voting systems since the 2000 presidential election.

The Senate Intelligence Committee found no evidence that any votes were changed or that voting machines were manipulated in the 2016 election.

Locally, the Hartford Republican Registrar of Voters said she hopes any policy changes are done at the state level than in Washington, D.C.

“It’s more personal, it’s closer,” said Sheila Hall. “That can tie up funds and delay getting the things we need in a timely fashion.”

Merrill said she and all of the country’s secretary of the states now have top security clearance and meet constantly about securing the 2020 presidential election.

“Guaranteed that they’re going to try because they were successful in the past and that’s the hallmark of any cyberattack,” said Weber.

That’s something, he says, the state and the country can count on.