Two California professors installed pink seesaws at the U.S.-Mexico border to allow children in both countries to play with each other, NBC News reported.

Ronald Rael, an architecture professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia San Fratello, an assistant professor at San José State University in California, came up with the idea for a "Teetertotter Wall" in 2009.

Their idea finally came to life at an event Monday in Sunland Park, New Mexico, when three bright pink seesaws were installed across the giant steel border wall, stretching into Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.

"The wall became a literal fulcrum for U.S.-Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side," Rael wrote on Instagram.

Rael said the event was filled with "joy, excitement and togetherness."

The 2019 annual Connecticut sales tax-free week will begin Sunday, Aug. 18 and go through Saturday, Aug. 24.

What that means for shoppers is that several items are exempt from sales tax when sold for less than $100. For items costing $100 or more, sales tax is calculated on the full purchase price.

For Connecticut residents who are ready to do some back to school shopping or need some wardrobe changes, this is what you need to know.

Here is a list of just some of the things you can buy tax-free. Click here for the full list. 

• Antique clothing
• Arm warmers
• Athletic socks
• Bandannas
• Baseball hats
• Belts, suspenders, belt buckles
• Blouses
• Chef uniforms
• Children's bibs
• Dresses
• Earmuffs
• Employee uniforms (such as police, fire, mechanics, nurses, postal)
• Formal wear gowns
• Formal wear rentals
• Foul weather gear
• Garters
• Gloves
• Golf dresses and skirts
• Golf jackets
• Golf shirts
• Graduation caps and gowns
• Hats, caps
• Fashion boots
• Jeans
• Leg warmers
• Leotards, tights
• Overclothes
• Overshoes, rubber, boots
• Ponchos
• Rain jackets, rain suits, rainwear
• Robes
• Sashes
• Scarves
• Shirts
• Shoelaces
• Ski sweaters, ski jackets
• Slippers
• Sneakers
• Socks
• Square dancing clothes
• Swimsuits
• Tennis clothing (dresses, hats, shorts, and skirts)
• Ties (men’s and women’s)
• Wedding gowns, headpieces, and veils
• Work clothes

When shopping during tax-free week, it's also important to keep a lookout for items that are still taxable. Click here to see the full list.

Some of the taxable items, even if sold for less than $100, include:

• Athletic supporters
• Boots (fishing, mountain climbing, paddock, riding, ski)
• Gloves (athletic, garden, golf, tennis, work)
• Hair nets
• Handbags and purses
• Ice skates
• Insoles, arch supports
• Jewelry
• Lobster bibs
• Martial arts attire
• Party costumes
• Pot holders
• Riding pants
• Roller skates
• Shin guards
• Shoes (ballet, bicycle, bowling, cleated, football, golf, track, jazz, tap, turf)
• Shower caps
• Ski pants
• Sports helmets
• Sports uniforms
• Umbrellas
• Wallets
• Water ski vests
• Wet suits

OSHA has responded to the water pollution control facility in Enfield after a worker was pinned, according to police. 

A worker was pinned between an articulating boom and a stationary object for around 30 seconds and was transported to a local hospital, according to police. The person's injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

Police said they are not at the scene. 

No additional information was immediately available.

Boys in the Junior PGA Championship not only battled fierce competition, they also battled Tuesday’s heat and humidity on Keney Park Golf Course in Hartford. 

“It’s tiring,” said Ethan Chung, a player from Murrieta, California. “But when you play golf for this long, you got to learn to push through that kind of stuff and not let it affect your game.” 

There are 144 players in the championship. Ethan Chung was fortunate and teed off early this morning. Other players will not even begin their day until the afternoon. 

Event staff members were doing their best to keep the ice piled high in coolers and make sure the players stay hydrated. 

Spectators also said they look for shade, whether that is under a tree or an umbrella. 

“It’s to guard against any storms. But it is a reflection umbrella so whenever you use it, underneath, it’s a few degrees cooler. So it’s another secret weapon,” said Marque Wotnosky, from Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Paramedics are also on hand in case anyone gets overheated.

A St. Louis man was shocked to discover a "mummified" baby in his mother's freezer as he cleaned out her home after she died, NBC News reported.

Adam Smith told NBC affiliate KSDK he had moved into his mother’s home in Missouri as she was battling cancer, to help care for her in her final days. 

When she died, he started going through her stuff, sorting out what to keep and what to toss. He remembered a box that had been in his mother’s freezer his whole life. He was told that it was a wedding cake top and never to open it. 

“It still had skin, hair, and everything,” Smith said of the baby, which was wrapped in pink fleece. 

Smith said his mother had mentioned she had lost a child before he was born. He called police to let them know what he found. 

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police told NBC News they are investigating the case as a "suspicious death."

People who use some e-cigarettes are consuming more than the ingredients listed, according to a new study from Yale University.

Chemical reactions in flavored liquids of the popular JUUL e-cigarettes created unexpected chemicals that can irritate users' airways, researchers said.

Despite the popularity of JUUL, little is known about the vapor that's created, researchers added.

They recommend future regulations address the potentially toxic compounds and the health effects of flavors in e-cigarettes.

NBC Connecticut reached out to JUUL for comment about the study.

In a statement, a spokesperson said in part that the analysis "failed to take into account real world conditions, including realistic human exposure to vapor products like JUUL."

Multiple staff members have been taken to the hospital after being exposed to an unknown substance at Cheshire Correctional Facility on Tuesday morning.

Police said the three staff members were transported after the exposure.

Authorities have not identified what substance the staff members were exposed to.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is heading to the scene to investigate.

A lockdown is in place, but is expected to be lifted shortly.

The attorney general and secretary of the state are warning businesses about what they say is an illegitimate business mailing that tells companies they must pay a fee to obtain a document that companies are not actually required to have. 

Attorney General William Tong and Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said in a statement Tuesday that the mailing from a company that calls itself CT Certificate Service suggests that Connecticut businesses must pay it a fee of $112.50 to obtain copies of a "Connecticut Certificate of Existence." A certificate of existence is not a required document in Connecticut, state officials said and a business in need of one can request it online from the Secretary of the State by going to www.concord-sots.ct.gov for a fee. 

State officials said the mailing also misrepresents that a business owner should order the Certificate of Existence because the document supposedly proves that a business "complies with all state requirements."

The document, in reality, shows only that a company is active and up-to-date with its annual report filing, according to Tong and Merrill.

Officials said the illegitimate mailing comes in an envelope that marked "IMPORTANT – OPEN IMMEDIATELY" and "BUSINESS MAIL – TIME SENSITIVE," in order to create a false sense of urgency.

The envelope lists a West Hartford address, which is actually a private mailbox service, state officials warn. They said CT Certificate Service appears to be a fictitious name used by a company based in Saint Petersburg, Florida.

"CT Certificate of Service has no affiliation with the State of Connecticut and this is not a legitimate mailing. If you have received this letter or sent money to this company, I want to hear from you," Tong said in a statement. 

"A certificate of legal existence is an optional document that you may request from our office that confirms that your business is active and current with annual report filing obligations,” Merrill said in a statement. “There is no legal requirement for any business to obtain a certificate of legal existence, or to pay the inflated fee indicated. If you are ever unsure about the legitimacy of a business filing notice you receive, please contact my office at 860-509-6003 or email us at crd@ct.gov. We are ready and eager to help any Connecticut business owner."

If your business paid CT Certificate Service in response to the “2019 CERTIFICATE OF EXISTENCE REQUEST FORM,” state officials urge you to file a complaint with the Office of the Attorney General at attorney.general@ct.gov and include a copy of the mailing.

Three people, including two police officers, have been taken to the hospital after a driver who was fleeing from police in New Haven led officers on a chase and caused a four-vehicle crash on the ramp to Interstate 95 in Branford, according to New Haven police.

Police said undercover police officers on an assignment in an unmarked car reported that a vehicle was following them aggressively in the Hill neighborhood and uniformed police officers responded to help.

Officers tried to stop the car, but it fled to I-95 North, then proceeded to get off the highway at exit 53 in Branford, causing a four-vehicle crash, before getting back on I-95, police said.

The cars involved in the crash included a police vehicle and two vehicles driven by civilians.

Two police officers and one civilian were taken to the hospital. Police said they detained two males from the vehicle that led police on the chase and an investigation is underway.

Bottled water that health officials say contains elevated levels of potentially dangerous chemicals is still being sold at stores across New England, according to a Boston Globe report.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health warned on July 2 that bottled spring water sold by Haverhill, Massachusetts-based Spring Hill Farm Dairy Inc. contained elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. 

DPH officials said the water contained high enough levels of PFAS that it should not be consumed by people who are pregnant or breastfeeding or by bottle-fed infants. They added that the chemicals are not certain to lead to health risks.

The company is defending its decision to continue selling the water, saying chemical levels in the water were within federal guidelines. 

"If state or federal regulators believed there was a danger to the general public then they would not have issued an advisory which applies only to a very small segment of the population," Spring Hill Farm said in a statement. 

The company added that a new filtration system was installed on July 22nd and that "all PFAS should be eliminated from bottles after that date.”

The water is reportedly sold at stores including Whole Foods, Stop & Shop, Cumberland Farms and Market Basket.  

Health officials did not require stores to warn customers or the company to issue a recall, the Globe reported. 

The warning was issued after Massachusetts officials were alerted by officials in New Hampshire that PFAS levels in the company's water were four times higher than New Hampshire's standards, the Globe reported. 

PFAS are used in a variety of industry and consumer products, including firefighting foam and carpets.

Two Massachusetts beaches were temporarily closed Tuesday after shark sightings, authorities said. 

Newcomb Hollow Beach at the Wellfleet-Truro line was closed in the afternoon after Massachusetts State Police said in a tweet that a white shark was spotted by a helicopter "near the swimmers."

Police in Edgartown, on Martha's Vineyard, then tweeted that South Beach had been closed to swimming due to a shark sighting.  

It was unclear when either beach would reopen to swimmers. 

More than 100 great white sharks have been spotted off Cape Cod this summer, according to the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy's Sharktivity app.

Two men came to the rescue after a car caught fire in Milford and they dragged the driver away from the burning vehicle.

Police said officers responded to a motor vehicle accident on West River Street near Wolf Harbor Road around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday after a vehicle went off the roadway, hit a large tree and burst into flames.

The driver had managed to crawl out of the vehicle, but wasn’t able to move far from it because of serious leg and hip injuries as well as internal injuries, police said.

Police identified the good Samaritans, Jake Tymon, of Fairfield, and Mark Bernier, of Milford.

The driver was transported to a local hospital.

Authorities said the car was destroyed.

The Milford Fire Department extinguished the fire.

Bridgeport firefighters came to the rescue of a dog who found himself on the roof of a home Sunday afternoon.

Fire officials said the dog walked out of an open third-floor window and got trapped on the roof in the hot late afternoon sun.

Firefighters rescued the dog, who drank two bowls of water before he was turned over to the building’s first-floor tenant until his owner got home.

A federal judge rejected the Trump administration’s second attempt to dismiss a lawsuit that challenges turning back asylum-seekers who present themselves at ports of entry along the southern border, NBC News reports.

U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant ruled against the government’s motion to dismiss part of a second amended complaint in the lawsuit, according to court documents released Monday.

“Turning back prospective asylum applicants pursuant to an alleged executive policy that seeks to deter asylum seekers through false assertions of lack of capacity is plausibly inconsistent with and violative of the scheme Congress enacted,” Bashant wrote in the 84-page order.

Among the tactics being targeted by the lawsuit is the use of “metering,” or limiting the number of migrants who can enter at a port of entry per day.

The Department of Justice declined comment. The government has until August 16 to respond to the second amended complaint, according to court documents.

It’s the hottest July ever on record for the Hartford area, but that’s not stopping dedicated gym-goers from getting in their workout.

We checked in on CrossFit New Haven during the heat of the day.

At CrossFit New Haven, athletes at the warehouse space didn’t mind the challenge.

“I had off today and the class was here at noon so-” said one participant, shrugging.

It was 89 degrees in New Haven when she was working out.

Carole Nasrallah of New Haven resident was getting her workout in too.

“Honestly it’s been feeling the same for the last few weeks. It’s like just sweating constantly. So it doesn’t really matter.

Nasrallah is training for or a weight lifting competition Sunday. She coaches at a Stratford gym too. She says the heat doesn’t deter the diehards.

“Successful people in fitness have a routine. They stick to the routine no matter what most of the time, so we just see the same number of people at our gym.”

District Athletic Club Operations Manager Derek Marsette agrees.

“Our afternoon crowd is very loyal, so I mean, I would say relative to the summertime, just New Haven dropping off in general just with Yale being gone and the schools being down and whatever the case, but as far as our overall attendance. It stayed pretty relative.”

Those we spoke to make sure the stay hydrated while staying fit.

“”It’s year round beach body,” said Marsette.

Tuesday was the perfect day to cool off along the shore.

“It’s really hot, but going in the water is really refreshing,” said 11-year-old Hope visiting Hammonasset Beach State Park with some friends.

But it wasn’t quite so cool if you’re working in here, a Hammonasset Beach State Park snack shack.

“I wouldn’t want to be back there because it’s so hot and with the oven on it’s even worse,” said 11-year-old beach-goer Julia.

“There’s no AC, no fans, all we have is a little bit of the breeze off the water,” said snack shack employee Alex Russello.

But he and others we spoke to make the best of the brutal temperatures.

“You don’t get used to it. You just make sure you drink a lot of water and stay hydrated.”

And in this heat, many beach-goers rely on these guys to make their meals.

They ask for your patience if the line backs up during lunchtime.

“Days go quick when you’re busy,” said Luis Torres, a snack shack employee who says he’s used to the heat as Puerto Rican.

Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Ned Lamont got a glimpse of some of the work state employees provide in the park.

He stopped at Meigs Point Nature Center a popular spot for visitors because air conditioning is plentiful.

“This is my second year here and this is one of the hottest summers we’ve had,” said Gia Carboni, interpretive guide at the center.

Lots of locals braving the heat, so many of us can enjoy a day at the beach.

On Tuesday, Gov. Ned Lamont and others celebrated their efforts to help 10,000 Puerto Rican families that came to Connecticut after Hurricane Maria hit the island in 2017.

Many of those who came to the state after the hurricane have since returned to Puerto Rico, but about 450 displaced families stayed here.

“It’s hard,” says Ashlyn Gonzalez, whose family moved to Connecticut after the hurricane. “I still have photos and sometimes we look through them and we say ‘wow, it’s unbelievable how all of it be destroyed in seconds.’”

Ashlyn’s home, her belongings and everything she and her husband had worked for were gone from one day to the next after Hurricane Maria.

“We are alive. Thank god for that,” she says.

On Tuesday at the Catholic Charities Institute for the Hispanic Family, Lamont described helping families like Ashlyn’s “the heart that is Connecticut.”

“These are Connecticut values,” Lamont said. “A lot folks donated their time, donated their money for a cause that maybe for some of them seemed far away.”

Other leaders congratulated the state’s relief efforts so far and emphasized the work that still needs to be done.

“We as a country have not dedicated anywhere near the level of resources that this crisis of the hurricane demanded, or that the daily struggle of families and communities like Hartford around the country demands,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

Ashlyn says she is grateful for the assistance she received from FEMA and from the Connecticut Coalition to End Homelessness when she came here. She is now living in Portland with the help of those funds.

“It’s been a relief, because for a few months we didn’t have any money. We were able to set those funds given to us aside for rent.”

Now, Ashlyn is following through with a promise she says she made to God while she prayed for her life during the hurricane: to spend her life giving back to those in need. She is helping other displaced families through an organization called Lily Sin Barreras, LLC.

“It comes from my heart, to help.”

The French flag flew above the state Capitol Tuesday as five Connecticut war veterans were honored for helping liberate France 75 years ago.

“France will forever be grateful,” Anne-Claire Legendre, consul general of France in New York.

Legendre presented the prestigious French Legion of Honor Medal to four men and one woman who served on French soil during World War II.

“Their exceptional bravery their exceptional courage is a message to the next generation that we need to continue working together and fighting together for our shared values,” added Legendre.

The Legion of Honor Medal was established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, to recognize military merit and is considered the highest distinction given to a French citizen or foreigner.

American Veterans’ Liaison Wayne Rioux helped petition for the recognition.

“To be able to do something like this for a veteran and to give them this kind of recognition and pageantry. You go home with a smile on your face saying, mission accomplished,” said Rioux.

The group of recipients included tail gunner Francis King, combat medic Ben Cooper, nurse Elsie Shultz, prisoner of war John Horan and transportation officer Ron Freeburger.

“I’m honored to know that something I did 70 years ago is still being remembered,” said Freeburger.

Ben Cooper of West Hartford wore his full World War II uniform to the ceremony.

“I am very honored to have this award. It brings back a lot of memories of a lot of the boys that sacrificed their lives to save humanity,” says Cooper.

Cooper, who also served in Germany, says he witnessed the horror of Nazi concentration camps.

“It was horrible. The scent of burning flesh permeated the whole area,” he said. “We had no idea what kind of camp it was. But we soon found out.”

Cooper says he couldn’t talk about the atrocities he witnessed for 45 years but now give speeches about it because he feels it’s important people know what happened.

“We’re all one,” he explained. “You can have different religions and different cultures but we all belong to the human race let’s try to remember that.”

Joining in the ceremony was Gov. Ned Lamont, who acknowledged the long standing alliance between the US and France. As he addressed each recipient today he thanked them and said, “we celebrate what you did in the name of freedom for both of our countries.”

South Korean authorities are on alert after multiple projectiles were fired from North Korea's eastern coast, NBC has confirmed.

“We confirm that North Korea has launched several unidentified projectiles from Hodo Peninsula area within Southern Hamkyung Province at dawn on Wednesday,” a South Korean military official told NBC News.

Police are looking for information on an elderly woman who was found at an East Haven Chinese restaurant Tuesday.

Police said the woman, who identified herself as Vercelia Mercado Garcia, appeared disoriented and may be suffering from dementia. She was found at Foliage Chinese Restaurant and was unable to tell officers her age, birthday, or where she lives, or any contact for family members.

She was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital for evaluation.

Anyone who recognizes Garcia is asked to contact police at 203-468-3820.