Hundreds of runners stepped off for the New Haven Road Race on Monday morning.

The air was cool and the sky overcast for the 5K, 20K and half marathon.

“I’m excited. I’ve done races before but this is my first time running in New Haven so I’m pumped, ready to go,” said Debby Foster, a runner from Bloomfield.

Foster and Kevin Lewis ran the 5K for the first time.

“We run 5Ks throughout the summer and we were told by another runner about this race so we thought it would be a good opportunity,” said Kevin Lewis, a runner from Bloomfield.

The course winds its way past Yale University, East Rock Park and the New Haven Green. It has become a favorite for Stephen Diaz-Romero. This was his second year running the half marathon.

“I actually trained for the last three months so I actually feel really good. I definitely want to beat my time from last year,” said Stephen Diaz-Romero, a runner from New Haven.

Diaz-Romero made a goal to beat his time from last year of two hours and 15 minutes. He accomplished his goal and finished the half marathon in one hour and 56 minutes.

The New Haven Road race is the longest running USA Track and Field Championship.

Leonard Korir from Kenya won the half marathon with a time of 59:05.

The last remaining Kmart store in Connecticut is expected to close by the end of this year.

"After careful review, we have made the difficult, but necessary decision to close the Kmart store in Watertown, Connecticut," company officials said in a statement.

Liquidation sales are expected to begin later this month and the store is planned to close by mid-December, the company added.

Customers are encouraged to continue shopping on kmart.com.

Kmart has slowly been closing stores across the state including one in Milford last year and one in Southbury in 2017.

The state program helping people replace their crumbling concrete basements has launched a nationwide search for a new leader.

Last month, Mike Maglaras announced he was stepping down as superintendent of the Connecticut Foundation Solutions Indemnity Company.

Maglaras and his insurance risk management consulting firm oversaw the roll out of the program.

He plans to work with his replacement, who will face funding challenges and large numbers of homeowners affected by the mineral pyrrhotite.

NBC Connecticut Investigates exposed the widespread problem with crumbling concrete more than four years ago.

New Haven police are investigating a hit-and-run that injured a 3-year-old boy on Sunday.

Officers were called to Cassius Street between Cedar Street and Howard Avenue to investigate a report of a pedestrian struck around 6 p.m.

When police arrived to the scene, they said they found a 3-year-old boy with visible signs of injury.

Investigators later determined that there was a physical fight involving multiple women.

Authorities said the offending group of women left in a vehicle, drove around the block and returned to drive onto the sidewalk toward the other group of women. The vehicle then hit the child and fled the scene. No other pedestrians were injured.

The child was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he remains in stable condition, police said.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact New Haven Police at (203) 946-6316.

A woman was flown by LifeStar to Hartford Hospital to be treated for life-threatening injuries after a crash in Torrington on Monday morning.

Torrington police, fire and ambulance crews responded to a single-vehicle crash on South Main Street near Beecher Street shortly before noon.

Investigators determined that a Mazda sedan had hit a utility pole and had rolled over.

The female driver of the vehicle was taken to Hartford Hospital by LifeStar after being extricated from the vehicle by firefighters, officials said.

She sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash, authorities added.

The Torrington Police Department Accident Investigation Team has been called in to help with the scene.

South Main Street is expected to be shut down from Palmer Bridge Street to Bogue Road for the immediate future.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Wethersfield. Crews are filming a holiday movie in town.

“We are happy that a production company out of Rocky Hill has chosen once again old Wethersfield to film a movie they had done a Hallmark movie last year and now they came back,” said Jill Fletcher, Wethersfield Historical Society.

The film is set to air this Christmas season on Lifetime or the Hallmark Channel.

“They just sort of hand-picked a couple sites with very different buildings,” Fletcher said. “They’re enjoying both private residences and some of our historic buildings.”

Although its September, it looks a lot like December around town. They make fake snow by using a mixture of paper and water in order to get it to stick to the trees.

Karen Miller who was visiting from South Carolina said it looked realistic.

“ I think Wethersfield and New England in particular have that New England , Connecticut, you know Christmas kind of feel that’s what we’re looking for here in Wethersfield is the perfect place to do it,” explained Andrew Gernhard, the movie’s producer.

Gernhard said they will be filming in multiple towns for the project.

“We do want a lot of different looks from different parts of Connecticut, so you’ll be seeing a lot of different sites in this film,” he said.

The shoot is a skip to the holiday season, as well as a boost for local business, and fun for residents.

“It’s a beautiful New England town. People take a lot of pride,” resident Shirley Rastallis said.

Even on a cloudy and rainy Labor Day, families were finding ways to enjoy a day off. But for them to relax, some people had to work.

At the Fishin’ Factory in Southington, you’ll find owner Vennie Mangiaracina behind the cash register on almost every holiday.

After nearly four decades of helping fishermen stock up supplies, Vennie heads to the shop every day, except on Christmas.

She even works the 4th of July, which is also her birthday.

“It’s the right thing to do. They want to go fishing and I’m here for them,” said Mangiaracina.

Over at Hidden Valley Miniature Golf, owner Paul Rossi jokes about opening the activities on Labor Day.

“I feel good about that. In another six weeks I take six months off,” said Rossi.

He said Labor Day can be one of their busiest days. Besides himself, he has four staff members working on the holiday including, Mary Gorman.

“I don’t mind at all,” said Gorman.

Even if the workers don’t have the day off, their boss is grateful for what they do.

“They’re wonderful. They’re the greatest. Yeah, I appreciate them more than you can imagine,” said Rossi.

Families evacuating from Hurricane Dorian’s path have traveled as far north as Connecticut for safety.

“We got the alert that the Mayor said it’s time to evacuate in Zone A and B,” Alexandra Richter from Jacksonville Beach, Florida said. “We’re in Zone A, so we had to go.”

Richter lives in Florida with her daughter Aubrey.

“I just didn’t want to take the risk and stay there,” Richter said.

They caught a flight from Orlando to Bradley International Airport this morning, and will stay with Richter’s parents in Danbury until it’s safe to go back home.

“We haven’t been in any type of hurricane,” said Richter, “We were not ready for what Florida had for us.”

Others are returning early from a vacation cut short by the concerning forecast.

“We were just going to stay at a hotel there, but they kept saying it was moving in and the winds winds were going to be high,” said Diane Lanese from Waterbury.

Lanese and her husband‘s trip to Florida was supposed to be a celebration of their anniversary.

“The winds were about 115 where we were in Titusville—hurricane winds,” Lanese said, “We were actually gonna drive to South Carolina, but it headed there, so we decided to just try to find a flight back and just get to safety.”

With closed airports and canceled flights, tickets out of Hurricane Dorian’s path are in high demand.

"We tried to book other flights. Nothing was available unless you wanted to pay like $2,000 for a seat,” Marnie Darzone said.

Without the option to fly home to Pittsfield, Mass., Darzone decided to drive all the way back to Bradley International Airport from Orlando in her rental car.

“We left Friday and we got here today,” Darzone said.

After three days on the road, she can’t wait to get home.

“We still have an hour and a half drive home, so we have a little bit more of our journey to go.”

As families travel north this week to evacuate from Hurricane Dorian’s path, some are also trying to fly back home into areas that are expected to get hit.

“We need to get home, like, now,” 5-year-old Dylan Grodin from Boca Raton, Florida told NBC Connecticut.

 Grodin has been tracking Hurricane Dorian as it moves closer to home.

“It’s like gonna get crazy, like destroy stuff,” Grodin explained, “I saw a flood, it was like all over the place.”

Dylan came to Connecticut with his family for a wedding, and his mom Lauren Grodin said getting back to Florida has been a hassle. Their initial flight back to Ft. Lauderdale was canceled.

“The whole process has been stressful,” said the mom of two. “We haven’t been sure if we’re gonna get home. As of now we got a flight into Tampa and were hoping to rent a car in Tampa and drive home, if the weather allows us.”

After Hurricane Andrew devastated the area she lived as a child, Grodin doesn’t take these situations lightly.

“We know what the worst can look like, so we’re taking this pretty seriously,” Grodin said.

To get ahead of possible cancellations, some travelers moved their trips earlier.

“I was supposed to head back tomorrow on a nonstop flight, but because of the uncertainty with this hurricane we decided to get out today,” said Richard Vespa from Tampa.

Vespa has lived in Florida since the 80s. He knows how these things go.

“I’m trying to avoid actually if they shut the airport down in Tampa tomorrow, and then I’m basically held over here until possibly Thursday or Friday,” said Vespa.

Other travelers who’ve lived through multiple hurricanes, aren’t too concerned.

“We’re good, we’re going to be fine, we’re used to this,” said Elizabeth Jarnot, who lives in Orlando.

Jarnot prepared for the hurricane before her family’s trip to Connecticut.

“We got the water, we got canned food, you know—the most, probably, we lose electricity,” Jarnot said. “Other than that, we should be fine.”

The Trump administration announced Monday that it will reopen the process that helped some seriously ill migrants to defer deportation while receiving life-saving care in the U.S., NBC News reports. 

The announcement over the long holiday weekend came after the administration quietly halted the protections for sick migrants earlier this month, prompting backlash from immigrant advocates and members of Congress.

The “deferred action” program allows migrants in the country illegally to avoid deportation for compelling reasons, such as if they are in need of critical medical care.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent letters on Aug. 7 to every applicant petitioning for renewal in the program to tell them they had just weeks to leave the country or would face deportation.

Officials are investigating a fire at an auto repair shop in Danbury Monday.

Fire officials said police first responded to C and S Auto Truck and Repair on Shelter Rock Lane for a burglar alarm around 5 p.m. When they arrived they spotted smoke coming from the building and called in firefighters.

Crews quickly knocked down the fire and ventilated the building. No one was hurt.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

For the 37th straight year, Lime Rock Park hosted a vintage racing festival. A total of 212 drivers, including 67 from Connecticut, competed in 29 races over Labor Day weekend.

Cars in those races spanned from 1925-1984.

Jack Busch of Torrington won two of the three races in his “East Meets West” race group. Jack was driving a 1965 Jaguar E Type and his fastest lap time around the 1.5 mile track with 59.503 seconds.

The Historic Festival also included a Sunday Concours and Car Show with 800 cars on display and 90 awards presented. Best in show winners included Ralph Lauren’s 1961 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and Peter Kailkow’s 1958 250 GT Cabriolet.

“There are a couple of really special aspects to this particular event, one is that they pull in so many entries from around the country and occasionally even internationally and they also have a concourse, a car show, which brings out some of the most beautiful cars ever made,” said Mark O’Day who participated in the races and acts as the activities chairman for the Vintage Sports Car Club of America.

The man who rescued the only known survivors of the deadly boat fire off the coast of Southern California said "there wasn't a place on the boat that wasn't on fire." 

Bob Hansen described his first look at the boat after his wife heard banging and woke him up around 3:30 a.m. on Monday. 

"The entire boat was engulfed, from the bow to the stern, and 30-foot flames," he said. "It was just terrible. It was just completely lit up."

At least 25 deaths have been confirmed, with nine people still missing Monday night. 

Five crew members of the Conception, including the ship's captain, managed to escape the fire and were rescued by Hansen's nearby boat, called "Grape Escape." Hansen said he saw 30-foot fires, explosions and a distraught crew.

The crew members said they were unable to save anyone else on board because the escape route was on fire, with the tiles from the ceiling falling down, according to Hansen. The five crew members, including the captain, jumped off the boat, Hansen said, before swimming to the back of the engulfed boat and escaping the conflagration via a dinghy on a line at the back of the boat.

One of the men told Hansen his girlfriend was sleeping below deck, and he wasn't able to help her. Hansen said that the boat was hosting three birthday parties, including one for a 17-year-old girl who was on board with her parents.

One of the rescued crew members had a broken leg and one was suffering from a sprained ankle, so the other three men took the dinghy and used a flashlight to look for survivors, but they didn't find anyone else alive.

"They were all underneath and couldn't get out," Hansen said.

The crew said the fire exit and the galley entrance were both on fire, so the people below deck were likely trapped when the fire erupted.

"It's almost like, 'Are you serious? There are 34 people in there?' And I could see what looked like port holes or something in the side that weren't that far off the water and you could see fire behind them. They were all lit up. It was just, I'm still speechless."

Hansen said his boat would have been able to hold all 39 people on board the burning ship if there had been an evacuation, but sadly, he was only able to rescue the five people.

The Coast Guard arrived about an hour after Hansen radioed for help, he said, as they had to cover 25 miles in the dark, through fog.

"It wouldn't have made any difference if they were five minutes away," Hansen said.

Hansen added with a sigh, "I wish I could have done more."

Parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are now under mandatory evacuations, and people there with ties to Connecticut are scrambling to prepare for Hurricane Dorian or getting out just in time.

After landing at Bradley International Airport on Monday, there was relief among the passengers on a flight from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

“I am very glad because there is nothing but rain in the forecast,” said Patti Kidney of Enfield. “A lot of long lines for gas. People are getting prepared with water and stuff. But I think a lot of people are leaving.”

In advance of Hurricane Dorian, South Carolina’s governor ordered people out of some areas starting at noon on Monday.

“Everybody was saying well it’s not going to hit here until Thursday. But they were evacuating. We were thrown out of our hotel at 11,” said Steven Tawa of Durham.

Though some people are preparing to hunker down.

“It’s a little nerve wracking and it’s a little scary because you just don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Wendy Robertson of Longs, South Carolina.

Robertson is originally from Connecticut and is getting ready for her first big hurricane in her new home near Myrtle Beach.

“We actually just got back from Lowe’s; a bunch of supplies. Batteries, flashlights, we’re getting our radios ready and food supply. So I think we’re ahead of the game,” said Robertson.

Robertson tell us schools are closed as shelters ready to open.

For now she and her husband plan to stay.

“They’re predicting our area to be below Category 3. So we anticipate being able to take those winds and rain pretty good in our area. But if it does creep past three, we’re not hesitating. We’re out of here. We’re going to go,” said Robertson.

Airlines are waiving change or cancellations fees for people traveling to or from areas possibly in the path of Dorian.

Tuesday marks the first day of school for kids in Tolland, but it is a few days later than expected.

A crumbling foundation at Birch Grove Primary School caused the delay.

Administrators, teachers and volunteers have been working around the clock to get portable classrooms ready for students on their first day of school.

It required a lot of moving boxes and a lot of unpacking.

Teachers have been rushing throughout the last week to set up their classrooms in anticipation of the first day.

"It’s a lot different. I have 93 boxes to unpack. We all have a lot to do. There's always a ton to do, you know name tags, labels, and getting the classroom ready so there's always a lot to do, but this is a lot more," said kindergarten teacher Anthea Grotton.

On Tuesday, students will be welcomed inside and will spend the next two years learning in the portable classrooms.

During that time, the school building will be undergoing renovations to fix the crumbling foundations.

The state has been a huge help with all of it financially.

The district said the state is paying for 89-percent of the bill to rebuild. The modular classrooms cost an additional $9 million that the state also paid for.

"Tolland has been able to invest in this project to replace our school. Deeply thankful to all those entities. This school is the first step in that process," said Tolland Superintendent of Schools Walter Willett.

The district did delay the start of school for almost a week, but Willett called the quick construction and setup a miracle.

The Connecticut Chapter of the American Red Cross is preparing to respond to the areas hit hardest by hurricane Dorian.

They have eight emergency response vehicles that are ready to deploy at a moment's notice.

“Our volunteers will go where they are needed, either staffing shelters, out there remotely feeding folks, bringing out disaster relief supplies, coordinating logistics, they might be in headquarters coordinating with other agencies,” said Richard Branigan, regional chief administrative officer of the Red Cross. “It’s a massive job.”

The Red Cross has already sent 350 blood products to hospitals to help stock up ahead of the storm.

“Right now we have about 1,600 volunteers on the ground in Florida and moving to Georgia and the Carolinas,” Branigan said. “There will be maybe twice that number if the storm continues on its current path.”

Wendy Robertson, who recently relocated to South Carolina from Connecticut, said she doesn’t know what to expect.

“There’s a sense of urgency,” Robertson. “They’re opening the shelters. They're keeping us well informed.”

Those interested in donating to help Red Cross efforts can do so by clicking here.

A student pilot has averted a tragedy by landing a plane single-handed after his instructor passed out at the controls, NBC News reported.

Australian Max Sylvester took control of the two-seater Cessna and was guided in to land by air traffic control Saturday. 

“Do you know how to operate the airplane?” an unidentified air traffic controller asked Sylvester, according to edited audio obtained by the Australian media.

“...this is my first, um, lesson,” Sylvester replied.

Sylvester, 29, said he had had two flying lessons before, but on a different aircraft which he had not brought in to land.

His flight school, Air Australia International, declined to comment.

As well as landing the aircraft Sylvester had to tend to his unconscious instructor. It was unclear why the instructor had passed out.

An incoming Harvard University freshman who was denied entry to the United States last month has been allowed into the country and is set to begin classes Tuesday, his family and a nonprofit organization said.   

Ismail Ajjawi, 17, who is Palestinian and lives in Lebanon, flew into Boston and was granted entry, nonprofit group AMIDEAST said in a press release Monday.

In a statement, Ajjawi said “With the tremendous help of EducationUSA and AMIDEAST, I now have the opportunity to learn more about chemical and physical biology and to unravel the scientific laws governing everyday life. Thank you for making such a dream attainable." 

There was a lot of uncertainty about whether or not Ajjawi would be able to arrive at Harvard University in time for the beginning of the semester.

Ajjawi is an incoming first year, part of the class of 2023. He told The Harvard Crimson last month that a customs official refused his entry after eight hours at Boston Logan International Airport that included questioning about his religious practices and friends' posts to social media.

An officer who inspected his phone and laptop for hours "started screaming at me. She said that she found people posting political points of view that oppose the US on my friend[s] list," Ajjawi wrote to the college newspaper, which reported that he is from Palestine but has been living in Lebanon.

Customs and Border Protection told NBC News last week that Ajjawi was deemed inadmissible to the U.S. "based on information discovered during the CBP inspection."

At that time, CBP said it could not release specific information about individual travelers because of privacy act requirements and law enforcement purposes, NBC News reported. 

A motorcyclist has serious injuries after the driver of a Nissan Armada turned around on the median of Route 15 in Hamden just 5:45 a.m. Tuesday and struck him, according to police.

Police said a 41-year-old West Haven woman in a Nissan Armada was going south near exit 59 and used the emergency turnaround in the median of the highway in the area of the West Rock Tunnel. She then got onto the northside of the road and hit the motorcyclist, 29-year-old Joao Maiolino, of Bridgeport, who was going north, according to police. 

Maiolino sustained serious injuries. The driver of the Nissan refused medical attention.

The highway was closed between exits 59 and 60, according to the state Department of Transportation, and there were more than four miles of congestion between exits 56 and 60.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the crash to call police at 203-393-4200.