Amid renewed calls for urgent action on gun control, members of Congress are weighing potentially bipartisan ideas to curb gun violence after mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, Dayton, Ohio, and Gilroy, California, over the last two weeks have left nearly three dozen people dead.

The legislative proposals under consideration include stronger background checks, “red flag” laws that prevent those threatening harm to themselves or others from buying or possessing firearms and bans on large-capacity magazines or assault-style firearms, NBC News reports.

House and Senate lawmakers are back home in their districts for August recess, however, and are expected to stick to that schedule given that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has ignored Democrats’ calls to bring the Senate back for an emergency session to take up House-passed legislation to tighten background checks on gun buyers.

The Senate's absence through Labor Day could diminish any momentum for action, resulting in Congress not passing any legislation at all — as was the case after numerous mass shootings over the last decade such as the 2012 Newtown mass shooting, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and 2018 shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Dozens of people rolled up their sleeves to help put the finishing touches on the Seamster Park Playground in East Hampton Sunday.

Over 20 years ago, members of the community helped build it for the local kids, but the old playground was deemed unsafe after years of wear-and-tear.

For the past couple of years, organizers have been fundraising to get money they needed to make this happen and with a little help from the town, it all came together.

"This is really going to be a breath of fresh air for the community to see the kids playing in a safe environment where they can have a place to go now," Director of East Hampton Parks and Recreation Jeremy Hall said.

The playground has plenty of new features for kids to enjoy including a zip line and a ropes course.

A 2-year-old New Haven girl has been reported missing and police have issued a Silver Alert for her.

Alina Bodrick has been missing since Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Bodrick, who is 2'3" and weighs 30 pounds, is a black female with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone with information is asked to call New Haven Police at 203-946-6321.

A 2-motorcycle accident has closed part of Interstate 95 South in North Stonington Sunday night.

I-95 is closed between exits 93 and 92, according to the CT Department of Transportation.

The accident was reported around 7:45 p.m.

Troopers said there are injuries but the the extent is unknown at this time.

The scene is still active.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

A former New York state trooper died Saturday of an illness related to his Sept. 11 duties, state police said Saturday. 

Sgt. Jeffrey M. Cicora was assigned to help with the search and rescue effort at the World Trade Center site after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, police said. 

He served with state police for 24 years until he retired in May 2017 because of his illness, police said. 

Cicora, of Baldwinsville, is survived by his wife and son. 

A motorcyclist is dead after an accident in Seymour Sunday afternoon.

Police said they were called to a crash at the intersection of Route 67 and North Street at around 2:15 p.m.

A motorcycle was traveling north on North Street and a car was traveling west on Route 67 when they collided at the intersection, police said.

The motorcyclist was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

The female car driver was transported to the hospital for evaluation without injury.

Police have not yet released the identity of the motorcyclist.

Part of Route 67 was closed to traffic for several hours but has since reopened.

Any witnesses to the accident are asked to call police at 203-881-7600.

Police have charged a man wanted in one Florida county for allegedly making threats toward a prominent Democratic member of Congress who has been the target of recent attacks by President Donald Trump.

Investigators arrested 41-year-old Timothy Ireland Jr. at his home near Toledo, Ohio, after he threatened to shoot and kill first term Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from New York in a Facebook post last month, according to NBC affiliate WFLA-TV.

Ireland is wanted for a charge of failing to appear on a case out of Sarasota County and also has charges against him out of Georgia, according to Vice News, which said Ireland told investigators he was “proud” of what he had written.

U.S. Capitol police along with the ATF became aware of the post and began their investigation, according to the station. Ireland is expected in court next week. Ocasio-Cortez has not commented.

It's been five months since Boeing's 737 Max jets were grounded, and for Dallas-based Southwest Airlines and Fort Worth-based American Airlines, the negative financial impact continues to grow.

A new analysis by aviation travel company OAG estimated the five largest North American airlines have lost 11 million seats due to the grounding, with Southwest and American losing 3 million and 2.2 million seats, respectively.

"You are going to see the airlines changing up their routes to make use of the aircraft they've got," industry expert Steve Cosgrove said.

As a result, holiday travel is expected to be pricey, with supply unlikely to be able to meet demand.

"With the shortage of seats, get your tickets now. Don't sit back in wait, they are going to run out of seats, there won't be any sales," Cosgrove said.

In a statement, American Airlines said in part:

"American Airlines remains confident that impending software updates to the Boeing 737 Max, along with the new training elements Boeing is developing in coordination with our union partners, will lead to re-certification of the aircraft this year."

Southwest Airlines directed NBC 5 to a previous statement, that among other things, asked customers for "continued patience."

Zion Clark was born without legs. He moves around with the help of a wheelchair. But, at 21, he's not one to dwell on what he doesn't have.

Clark weighs 97 pounds and is 3 feet 2 inches tall but his physical feats would be remarkable for someone with legs. He back flips, wrestles and wins Paralympic track championships, all of it documented on social media. 

A video of Clark slam dunking has over 134,000 views and 34,000 likes on Instagram. But his trainer, Mada Abelhamid, said the biggest feats Clark has overcome are in his personal life.

Clark was in and out of foster homes throughout his childhood and bullied by others. 

"I wasn't the greatest kid, I was really down on myself," said Clark. "Growing up, it was really tough, I got ridiculed a lot." 

Clark said his life turned around when a woman named Kim adopted him. She taught him to excel with what he does have and ignore what he doesn't — something Abelhamid said he sees on a daily basis. 

"That mental aspect is what separates the good from the great, and he has it," said Abelhamid. "No matter what challenge I throw in front of him, he will find a way." 

Crews are investigating after a fire in Ledyard displaced a family Sunday night.

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Firefighters said they were called to Avery Hill Road at around 3 p.m. for a reported garage fire.

When crews arrived at the scene, they said the garage was fully engulfed in flames. The fire spread to the main residence and firefighters saw fire in the attic and on the second floor.

The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes but crews said they were on-scene extinguishing hot spots until about 6 p.m.

All occupants and pets were able to safely exit the home.

No one was injured in the fire.

A live downed power line was sprawled across the driveway at the time of the rescue, according to crews.

Crews said the family will be displaced due to minor fire and heavy water damage but the majority of their personal belongings will be salvageable.

A new movie that just debuted in theaters is highlighting the extraordinary story of Brian Banks and the San Diego attorneys who helped exonerate him.

In 2002, at just 17 years old, Banks was sentenced to six years in prison and forced to register as a sex offender for life for a rape he didn’t commit.

His accuser later reached out to him on Facebook and admitted to him on camera that she fabricated the story.

That’s when the California Innocence Project got involved.

Banks had reached out to the San Diego-based nonprofit before, but with no indication that the victim was going to recant her story, they had to reject his case.

“In our system, the presumption of innocence goes away once you’re convicted. So now, we are starting with the presumption of guilt, and that’s very, very hard to undo,” said Alissa Bjerkhoel, litigation coordinator for the California Innocence Project.

Bjerkhoel said in order to reverse a conviction in California you must have “new evidence that completely undermines the prosecution’s case and points unerringly to innocence.”

The video with Banks’ accuser’s confession was just what they needed to prove his innocence.

“It was the type of evidence that is so compelling that you don’t get that very often, and as soon as I saw that video, I knew there was no way we were gonna turn this guy down,” Bjerkhoel said.

Bjerkhoel and the rest of the team at CIP, made up of mostly student volunteers from California Western School of Law, got to work.

On May 24, 2012, with Bjerkhoel and CIP founder Justin Brooks by his side, the judge reversed Banks’ conviction.

“It’s so crazy how a decade of just a horrible life and all of the things that Brian had to go through literally just got undone in like one second, with just a few words -- the judge just saying ‘petition granted,’” Bjerkhoel said. “It was overwhelming and I cried, Brian cried, and it was a very powerful moment.”

Bjerkhoel said seeing that powerful moment played out on the big screen still brings her to tears.

“Because it’s not just Brian’s case, but I have flashbacks of every single one of our clients where we’ve sat in that room and the judge says ‘petition granted,’and it is a flood of emotions, and it’s what we live for,” Bjerkhoel said.

The California Innocence Project gets about 1,500 new requests for assistance each year. To date, the nonprofit has helped to exonerate 27 people and have never charged for their services.

To learn more about the California Innocence Project and how you can help, visit www.californiainnocenceproject.org.

Plainville Police are investigating after a woman was killed in a one-car crash on Ledge Road on Sunday.

Crews responded to reports of a vehicle over a cliff just over the Southington line.

The car dropped 200 feet below the roadway and was 150 feet above the bottom of the embankment at the base of the cliffs, according to firefighters.

The driver was extricated from what crews call a "very steep and challenging terrain."

One Southington firefighter suffered a minor injury to the shoulder, crews said. He has been treated and released from New Britain General Hospital.

At this point, investigators are not saying what led up to the crash and have not released her name.

A military service member killed in combat in Iraq over the weekend was identified Sunday as a U.S. Marine from Colorado, authorities said.

Gunnery Sgt. Scott A. Koppenhafer, 35, was killed Saturday by enemy small arms fire in Ninewah Province while he was advising an Iraqi Security Force mission, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Koppenhafer’s death was still being investigated, and more details were unavailable, the Pentagon said.

Koppenhafer, of Mancos, west of Durango, was assigned to the Marine Forces Special Operations Command in Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, NBC News reports. His death comes days after the release of a Pentagon watchdog report that described a resurgent Islamic State terror group in Iraq and Syria — and U.S.-backed forces struggling to contain it.

A man was arrested after trying to outrun Plainfield Police Sunday afternoon.

Officers said 45-year-old Trevor Gaudreau was driving recklessly in the area of North Main Street.

Police said they spotted Gaudreau's car and he then sped off. He pulled into a driveway and took off running.

Gaundreau was then apprehended by police and placed under arrest, according to police.

Gaudreau is facing a list of charges including interfering with an officer and failure to obey the signal of an officer.

He was released on a $5,000 non-surety bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 26.

One man was arrested in Dartmouth, Massachusetts following a stabbing at a hotel on Saturday.

Tyreke Brooks, 26, of Manchester, Connecticut, is accused of stabbing a 30-year-old male co-worker during an altercation at the Residence Inn on Faunce Corner Road in Dartmouth. Both men were staying at the hotel with several other co-workers.

Dartmouth Police arrested Brooks at around 8:21 a.m. on Sunday after receiving information that Brooks had returned to the Residence Inn after initially fleeing. In addition to charges for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, Brooks had two outstanding warrants for his arrest.

The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries but was transported to Rhode Island Hospital for further evaluation.

A Los Angeles woman says her "Number Neighbor" experience took a dark turn and now she's warning others of the possible downsides to the latest social media game.

The woman, who only wanted to be identified as Ashley, said she wanted to play along with the online challenge, in which people text the phone number that is one off of their own number. There are thousands of examples online, and most seem to show positive interactions.

Instead of the positive response, she got death threats and terror.

The person on the other end of the text thread threatened to kill her in a series of terrifying messages, insisting that he was on his way to her house. She received videos of someone loading two different guns and more than 70 calls, which she did not answer. The calls continued from a different number even after she blocked her number neighbor. 

Ashley has filed a police report and will change her own phone's number. Even though the calls have stopped she said she wanted to speak out to warn others that the seemingly fun "game" could have frightening repercussions.

"A lot of people were telling me that there's no way he can track me. But when someone's sending you things like that and calling you non-stop, second after second after you reject it's really scary," she said. "I just really don't think you should even talk to any strangers."

A 45-year-old Somers woman has been reported missing and a Silver Alert was issued for her.

Kimberly Kasulis was last seen Sunday in the area of Soapstone Mountain Trail in Ellington, according to the Silver Alert.

State Police said search and rescue dogs will be searching the area today. They said they are also coordinating with the fire departments in Ellington and Somers to search the trails.

Kasulis has brown hair and brown eyes. It’s not known what she was wearing.

Anyone with information on where she is is asked to call state police, Troop C at (860)896-3200.

Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman was stopped by police in Connecticut and officers swarmed his vehicle -- some with guns drawn -- in a mix-up involving his own stolen vehicle and separate report of an armed man, police said. 

Cashman was driving his white Jeep and had stopped at  Shell gas station in Darien when he was surrounded by police. 

The officers were responding to an unrelated report of a man who brought a gun at a doctor's office and had reportedly left in a white, Jeep-like vehicle, Darien police said. Then they ran the plates on Cashman's Jeep and found that it had been reported stolen. 

Cashman had reported the vehicle stolen earlier in the week, the New York Post reported, but the NYPD had recovered the vehicle in the Bronx and returned it to him. He was driving to the Norwalk police station when he was stopped in order to have it processed for evidence. 

It's not clear why his vehicle was not taken off the stolen list. 

Two officers had their guns drawn when they stopped Cashman, police said. 

He was "fully cooperative with all commands and instructions given by the officers conducting the stop and the encounter was quickly, efficiently and properly deescalated," police said in a statement. 

“They executed a very tactful interception,” Cashman told the Post.

“They’re clearly very professional and trained and they asked me to turn my car off, exit the vehicle, walk backwards towards them…they were executing their duty.”

Officers esscorted him to the Norwalk police station. 

Police said they later found the patient who had brought a gun to the doctor's office. He had a valid license and wasn't aware he had caused any alarm. 

The former president of the Wilton High School booster club is accused of embezzling more than $20,000 from the organization.

Brian Colburn, 50, of Wilton, was arrested Friday and charged with larceny in the first degree and forgery in the third degree.

The arrest comes after police investigated a complaint received in May from the Wilton High School football program, as well as others affiliated with the boosters, about the organization’s finances. 

Police said Colburn became president of the boosters in 2016 and essentially had sole control over its finances by the end of 2017. 

As police investigated the finances, they realized that he’d diverted money from legitimate boosters’ financial accounts to his personal accounts, according to police. They said Paypal records showed that he transferred more than $20,000 into his personal account.

When the executive board of the boosters confronted him in May about the finances, Colburn produced forged bank statements to try and show more money in the boosters’ accounts that there was, police said.

Bond was set at $50,000 and Colburn is due in court on Aug. 19.

Police are investigating a robbery at the Santander Bank branch on Grand Avenue in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven.

The bank robbery was reported at 9:35 a.m.

No additional information was immediately available.