A decade after a 24-year-old woman with bipolar disorder was released from custody and whose remains were found nearly a year later in the Malibu hills, friends and family pressed Friday for a new investigation into what happened to Mitrice Richardson.

Richardson disappeared Sept. 17, 2009 after being arrested on a misdemeanor offense after acting erratically at a Malibu restaurant and failing to pay her tab. She was held at the Lost Hills Sheriff's station and released in the middle of the night without her cellphone, wallet or car.

Her remains were found nearly a year later in the unincorporated community of Monte Nido, north of Malibu in the Santa Monica Mountains.

The handling of her case was criticized and after years of investigations by multiple agencies, there is still no cause of death that has been made public and sparse details about what happened to her in her last hours.

"I am here today because, yes, I want to find out what happened to Mitrice," said Dr. Ronda Hampton, a friend of Richardson. "What happened to her was wrong. You do not release a young woman in the middle of the night. You do not disregard the family who are fighting for her."

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the sheriff's department has made improvements over the years in how it handles people with mental illness.

But he stopped short of calling for a new investigation into the case, saying several agencies, including the Coroner's Office, the District Attorney, the former California Attorney General and Office of Inspector General had already investigated and found no wrongdoing.

"It's been examined three different times and unless we have new information, that's not going to change," he said. "In 10 years we've learned a lot. We learned that we have to care. And we have to care in ways previously we didn't think about, particularly when it comes to the mentally ill."

Kim Baldonado contributed to this report.

A line of sweatshirts embroidered with names of schools where mass shootings have occurred is provoking anger and controversy on social media.

The brand behind the idea is called Bstroy. Their website advertises streetwear like graphic t-shirts, brightly colored parkas and jeans for a few hundred dollars. But it’s a line of sweatshirts that isn’t even available for sale right now that has some people bothered.

The hoodies bear names like Sandy Hook Elementary, Columbine, and other schools where mass shootings have happened, along with holes that look like they came from bullets.

The New York brand showed the hoodies earlier this week as part of their Spring 2020 collection, invoking angry comments on Instagram.

Sandy Hook Promise denounced what they called the “offense and traumatic release” of the sweatshirts.

“The fact that a designer would seek to profit by glamorizing the school violence that killed our children, Dylan and Daniel, and the deaths of so many more, is repugnant and deeply upsetting,” said Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden, co-founders and managing directors of Sandy Hook Promise. “This is not about inspiring change to prevent these acts of violence, nor is it a difference of politics or opinion; it is human decency to immediately halt the production of these items and apologize.”

“The release of these items and the nature in which they were posted online have drawn condemnation from thousands, including others in the communities of Parkland, Virginia Tech, and Columbine, which also had styles released with their school names. To attempt to capitalize on using supposed bullet holes as a style statement is repulsive and wrong.”

In a statement to NBC News, Bstroy’s owner said, in part “"We wanted to make a comment on gun violence and the type of gun violence that needs preventative attention and what its origins are, while also empowering the survivors of tragedy through storytelling in the clothes."

Hartford resident Joey Batts said conversation about guns is a good thing, but perhaps not like this.

“It’s tasteless,” he said. “I think it’s a shock factor. Shock sells and shock gets you Instagram likes and shock gets you retweeted on twitter. So it makes sense.”

Instagram pictures of the hoodies have garnered thousands of likes along with those upset responses, prompting some people to just look the other way.

“It’s not going to get me talking. I think it’s just stupid. Don’t make a big deal about it. It’ll go away,” said Dave Savage of Somers.

Whether the controversy or the brand will go away remains to be seen. In that statement to NBC the owners of Bstroy also said the school shooting sweatshirts were originally made just for the fashion show, but “that may change now.”

With professional athletes consistently in the news facing accusations of violence against women, Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence (CCADV) and the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence (The Alliance) are getting set to address domestic and sexual violence prevention.

Kendale Johnson it took one meeting to get him hooked.

“It really starts with how you treat others,” said Johnson. “Your partner in your relationship deserves the same respect that you went from them.”

Coaching Boys Into Men is an innovative, proven model for positively influencing young men and helping prevent domestic and sexual violence and sexual harassment.

Athletic coaches play an extremely influential and unique role in the lives of young men. Organizers say due to the these relationships, coaches are poised to positively influence how young men think and behave, both on and off the field.

The program comes at a time where several professional athletes face sexual assault or domestication violence accusations.

This week, a woman accused New England Patriot’s wide receiver Antonio Brown of sexual misconduct.

It’s the second woman to accuse Brown in less than a week. Brown has denied the allegations.

Coach Harry Bellucci is the head football coach for Hartford Public High School.

“We’re just extending the classroom out and teaching them what ingredients make up a successful relationship,” he said.

A national project of Futures Without Violence, CBIM is the only evidence-based prevention program that trains and motivates coaches to teach young male athletes healthy relationship skills and that violence never equals strength, ultimately empowering student athletes to be leaders in violence prevention.

The Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Connecticut Alliance To End Sexual Violence created the idea for coaches who play a significant role in athletes lives.

Karen Jarmoc is the CEO of CCADV and says it’s important to reach students at an early age.

“If students can hear these really important ideas around integrity and respect on and off the field, than we’re making a difference,” said Jarmoc.

Felony charges were filed Tuesday against Democratic political activist and noted donor Ed Buck, after two men overdosed on illegal drugs and died inside his apartment in West Hollywood, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said.

Buck was charged with operating a drug house and providing methamphetamine to a man who survived an overdose Sept. 11.

Prosecutors have also filed court papers to increase Bucks' bail to $4 million, saying he's a danger to the community.

The bail motion states, "...defendant Buck is clearly a predator with no regard for human life. His behavior is malicious and beyond reckless."

The motion also says that even after the deaths of two men in his apartment and the recent criminal charges, authorities say they are still unaware of the extent of Buck's illegal behavior.

The bail motion continues, "In addition to these three incidents, Defendant Buck has engaged in and continues to engage in the exact same behavior, namely preying on vulnerable men and injecting them with dangerously large doses of methamphetamine. The full scope of his consistent malicious behavior is unknown. However, during the investigation into these incidents, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department found hundreds of photographs, taken in Defendant Buck's residence, of men in compromising positions."

The bail motion also details conduct related to the charges:

"On or about September 4, 2019, Buck personally and deliberately administered a dangerously large dose of methamphetamine to Joe Doe. Concerned he was suffering from a methamphetamine overdose, Doe left the apartment to get medical attention. Joe Doe returned to Buck's apartment on September 11, 2019. On that date, shockingly, Buck again personally and intentionally injected two dangerously large doses of methamphetamine into Doe. Doe again developed the symptoms of methamphetamine overdose. Buck refused to render aid to Doe, but rather thwarted Doe's attempts to get help. Doe eventually fled the apartment and called 911 from a nearby gas station."

Buck, through his attorney Seymour Amster, has repeatedly denied he had a role in the deaths of Gemmel Moore in July, 2017, and Timothy Dean in January, 2019, and said he would fight wrongful death and civil rights allegations filed in a civil lawsuit earlier this year.

"We'll fight the allegations vigorously," Amster said earlier this year.

The lawsuit was filed in February by Moore's mother, LaTisha Nixon, who said she was angry authorities had previously failed to file criminal charges in the death of her son, who was 26 years old. 

"I just think they don't care," Nixon said of prosecutors and detectives who've worked on her son's case and who were also named in the lawsuit. Last week a federal judge asked Nixon's attorneys to clarify and resubmit allegations against all of the defendants as the judge considered efforts by Buck and the LA County District Attorney's Office to dismiss the case.

The lawsuit alleges wrongful death, sexual battery, hate violence, drug dealer liability, negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and two violations of civil rights. An updated filing also accused Buck of engaging in human trafficking, for allegedly paying for Moore to travel to West Hollywood from Texas.

The case accused Buck of personally administering the drug that took Moore's life. "Mr. Buck injected Mr. Moore with a lethal dose of crystal methamphetamine," it said.

"There's more to the story than is being told," Buck's attorney said of the allegations in the suit. "If necessary, we'll tell the full story in a court of law." 

The District Attorney's office declined to comment in February and July, when the lawsuit was amended.

Moore's death was initially classified as an accidental methamphetamine overdose. The LA County Sheriff's Department re-examined the case after Nixon and activists demanded a deeper investigation, though the LA County DA's office ultimately declined last year to file criminal charges against Buck.

"They are extremely grateful and relieved that that Mr. Buck is finally off the streets, or out of his drug home," Hussein Turk, an attorney representing Nixon in the lawsuit against Buck and LA County, said in response to the charges against Buck.

Turk added, “It’s unfortunate that it’s taken a third overdose for the LA Sheriff's Department to finally act, we believe that that third overdose could have probably been avoided."

In January, 55-year-old Timothy Dean died in Buck's apartment on Laurel Avenue under similar circumstances. Buck through his attorney has said Dean arrived at the apartment already under the influence of a drug. The LA County Coroner's Office said this week the cause of death was still being investigated and any findings will be kept secret at the request of the Sheriff's Department.

Nixon's attorneys, Nana Gyamfi and Hussain Turk, said they believe Buck has received preferential treatment from police and prosecutors, possibly as a result of his history of political activism and campaign donations to a wide variety of elected officials.

"The civil lawsuit doesn't only get some level of accountability from Ed Buck and from the District Attorney's office, the County - in the language that they understand, which is money, but it also enables us to expose what Ed Buck is doing," Gyamfi said.

An Amber Alert has now been issued for a young girl who went missing while visiting a South Jersey park.

Police and volunteers in Bridgeton, New Jersey, spent Tuesday searching for 5-year-old Dulce Maria Alavez after releasing her photos on Monday. The search was called off for the night around 7:30 p.m. but an Amber Alert was later issued with information on a possible suspect.

The girl, who has dark hair tied back in a ponytail and stands around 3-foot, 5-inches tall, was last seen in Bridgeton City Park Monday afternoon while wearing a yellow shirt, black and white checkered pants with a flower design and white dress sandals, police said Tuesday morning while updating her description.

Police then announced Tuesday night that Alavez was taken by a light skinned, possibly Hispanic male, standing between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8 with a thin build, no facial hair, and acne on his face, wearing orange sneakers (possibly Nike), red pants and a black shirt. The man led Dulce from the playground to a red van with a sliding side door and tinted windows. Dulce was placed in the backseat by the man who drove away with her at approximately 4:20 p.m., police said.

Prior to her abduction, the girl had arrived to the Bridgeton City Park with her mother, her 3-year-old brother and her 8-year-old aunt Monday afternoon, Bridgeton Police Chief Michael Gaimari said.

The mother, Noema Alavez Perez, 19, let the younger children run out of the car toward a playground area while she and the other child remained in the car, police said.

Each child had an ice cream in hand as they ran toward the playground, Alavez Perez said.

About 10 minutes later, the mother saw the 3-year-old boy upset and crying, his ice cream on the ground and his sister nowhere to be found. The boy pointed behind some buildings saying his sister went that way, Alavez Perez said.

"I thought she was just playing hide-and-seek, that she was playing in the woods," Alavez Perez said.

The mother called family members and they began to search the park and playground area. Afraid that someone had taken Dulce Maria, Alavez Perez said they called police around 4:50 p.m. Officers immediately began to search for the girl.

"We conducted an extensive search last night," Gaimari said Tuesday morning. The search utilized a New Jersey State Police helicopter and police K-9s.

The girl's mother, who is not considered a person of interest, remained with police through the night, Gaimari said.

Family members and people from the community continued to search the park Tuesday morning, playing ice cream truck music and calling out 'Dulce' in hopes of getting the missing girl's attention as they scoured the woods and park facilities. At one point they gathered in a prayer circle.

About 50 police officers also carried out a grid search Tuesday morning, investigators said. Crews also searched the woods and dive teams searched waterways in the large park. Police also towed away Alavez Perez's car from the park Tuesday night though they did not reveal the reason why.

Anyone with information about the disappearance should contact Bridgeton police at 856-451-0033.

When an explosion destroyed a building, killed a firefighter and injured seven more people Monday in Farmington, Maine, it battered a local fire department with a tight-knit "brotherhood" and family ties that run deep.

Captain Michael Bell was killed in the blast, while his brother, Farmington Fire Chief Terry Bell, remained in critical condition Tuesday night. So did Captain Scott Baxter and his father, firefighter Theodore Baxter, according to the Maine Medical Center.

While his own son, also a Farmington fire captain, was recovering in the hospital, Acting Fire Chief Tim Hardy spoke at a news conference Tuesday to assure the community that their 911 calls would still be answered.

The massive propane explosion, the biggest one a state inspector said he'd ever seen, has "really hit home with all of us," Hardy said.

"It's a brotherhood, it's a family," Hardy said. "They say we play hard and we work hard and that's where the family part of it comes from. A lot of times we're together in the best of conditions but then again we're together in the worst of conditions."

Smell of Gas, Then an Explosion

That worst of conditions came after the Farmington Fire Department was called over the smell of gas at 8:07 a.m. Monday. Police said the building blew apart when firefighters were investigating the scene; the force of the blast damaged  buildings and vehicles nearby and sent smoke and dust high into the sky.

In all, five of the town fire department's seven officers were hurt or killed in the blast at the housing nonprofit Life Enrichment Advancing People.

Two other firefighters were hurt, along with Larry Lord, a maintenance officer at the LEAP facility who was flown to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston to be cared for. Lord may not have been a firefighter, but the 60-year-old was hailed as a hero at Tuesday's news conference.

"He was responsible for evacuating at least a dozen or so employees and, without his quick actions, I think it would have been a much more horrific tragedy," Farmington Police Chief Jack Peck said.

The wreckage looked much the same Tuesday as it had the day before.

State fire marshal investigator Sgt. Ken Grimes said at the news conference it was "a tremendous explosion ... the worst one I've seen as far as structural damage and neighborhood damage."

There is no immediate suspected cause at the start of the painstaking investigation, which also involves the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Grimes said. He may be able to report a suspected cause by Friday.

Farmington Fire's Local Ties

The Farmington community has rallied around its fire department, which has been and continues to be led by its own.

Both Terry Bell and acting chief Hardy were born and raised in Farmington, a town of about 7,600 just under two hours north of Portland.

They both graduated from Mt. Blue High School in town, joined the town fire department and climbed the ranks after attending Maine State Fire Academy, according to their biographies on the town's website. Bell joined the department in 1977 and Hardy the year after; Bell was hired as the town's first full-time fire chief, a role he's held for 19 years.

"We've all come up through the ranks together," Hardy said. 

Gov. Janet Mills is also from Farmington and knows the Bell family, she said in a Facebook video, adding, "Please join me in keeping them in your thoughts and prayers."

A stillness hung in the air in Farmington Tuesday as the town awaited updates on the condition of the wounded. 

"Text messages, a phone call, something," Selectwoman Paula Nason said. 

Community and Family Support 

The "overwhelming" community support for the department has manifested in donations of food, drinks and more, Hardy said, as well as a helping hand from fire departments near and far. They will be assisting with day-to-day calls while the Farmington department focuses on its needs, especially those of the family of Capt. Michael Bell, a 30-year veteran of the force.

"We will recover from this and we will eventually be back to full staff. This is going to take some time," Hardy said.

He said Bell's wife is receiving excellent support herself: "Under the circumstances and conditions right now, she's doing well."

Bell's body was returned to Farmington from an autopsy in Augusta Tuesday in a procession that brought Mainers out to pay their respects all along the route.

Hardy's son, Capt. Timothy D. Hardy, was one of two firefighters upgraded to satisfactory condition at Maine Medical Center Tuesday night. Earlier, the son had encouraged the father to go attend to the duties of his new, hopefully temporary job.

c"I'm very lucky, I have a very supportive wife, I have a very supportive son. My son and I have worked together in some serious conditions, some serious fire scenes," Acting Chief Hardy said at the news conference. "They have both told me that, for the time being, i'm where I need to be to help with the community."

Among the funds being set up to accept donations is the Farmington Fireman's Benevolent Association, where people will be able to contribute funds for the firefighters and their families.

necn's Dustin Wlodkowski contributed to this report.

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it joined a U.S.-led coalition to secure the Mideast's waterways amid threats from Iran after an attack targeting its crucial oil industry.

The kingdom's decision to enter the International Maritime Security Construct came ahead of a planned visit by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Saudi officials separately planned to share information about the weapons used to attack a Saudi oil field and the world's largest crude oil processing plant Saturday.

Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed the attack, but the U.S. and Saudi Arabia say they suspect Iran carried out the assault. Iran denies that, though it comes amid a summer of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington over its unraveling nuclear deal with world powers.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency carried a statement Wednesday morning quoting an unnamed official saying the kingdom had joined the International Maritime Security Construct.

Australia, Bahrain and the United Kingdom already have joined the mission.

"The kingdom's accession to this international alliance comes in support of regional and international efforts to deter and counter threats to maritime navigation and global trade in order to ensure global energy security and the continued flow of energy supplies to the global economy and contribute to maintain the international peace and security," the news agency said.

U.S. military officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

The coalition aims to secure the broader Persian Gulf region. It includes surveillance of the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world's oil travels, and the Bab el-Mandeb, another narrow strait that connects the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden off Yemen and East Africa. Smaller patrol boats and other craft will be available for rapid response. The plan also allows for nations to escort their own ships through the region.

The U.S. Navy already has sent Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers to chokepoint positions, like either end of the Strait of Hormuz. There, they observe ship traffic and monitor for anything unusual as drones and other aircraft fly surveillance routes overhead.

The U.S. blames Iran for the apparent limpet mine explosions on four vessels in May and another two in June sailing in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, something Iran denies being behind. Iran also seized a British-flagged oil tanker and another based in the United Arab Emirates.

It's unclear what role the kingdom will play in the coalition. Bahrain already serves at the headquarters of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.

Wednesday's announcement comes after Saudi Arabia's energy minister said late Tuesday that more than half of the country's daily crude oil production that was knocked out by an attack had been recovered and that production capacity at its targeted plants would be fully restored by the end of the month.

"Where would you find a company in this whole world that went through such a devastating attack and came out like a phoenix?" Energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said about state-owned Saudi Aramco, which was the target of the attacks. His question to reporters, many of them Saudi, drew applause.

Prince Abdulaziz said Aramco will honor its commitments to its customers this month by drawing from its reserves of crude oil and offering additional crude production from other oil fields. He said production capacity would reach up to 11 million barrels a day by the end of September and 12 million barrels in November.

He said production at the Abqaiq processing facility is currently at 2 million barrels per day.

Oil prices spiked Monday, with benchmark Brent crude having the biggest percentage gain since the 1991 Gulf War. Prices dropped Tuesday around the Saudi announcement. Brent traded Wednesday morning around the same prices as the day before, with a barrel costing over $64.

Pompeo was due to land in the Red Sea city of Jiddah, where he was scheduled to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Pompeo later will travel to the United Arab Emirates on Thursday to meet with Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Both nations are U.S. allies and have been fighting against the Houthis in Yemen since March 2015.

The Saudi military planned to speak to journalists Wednesday in Riyadh to discuss the investigation into Saturday's attack "and present material evidence and Iranian weapons proving the Iranian regime's involvement." It did not elaborate.

Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday that U.S. military experts were in Saudi Arabia working with their counterparts to "do the forensics on the attack" — gleaning evidence that could help build a convincing case for where the weapons originated.

On Wednesday, French President Emmanuel Macron's office announced experts from his nation would be traveling to Saudi Arabia to help the kingdom shed light " on the origin and methods" of the attacks. France has been trying to find a diplomatic solution to the tensions between Iran and the U.S., so any conclusion they draw could be used to show what a third-party assessed happened.

Associated Press writers Aya Batrawy, Robert Burns and Angela Charlton contributed to this report.

Crews responded to a bus fire at a school in Tolland on Wednesday morning.

Officials from Tolland said first responders were called to Tolland Middle School after getting a report of a bus fire around 6:30 a.m.

Units at the scene said the fire was out shortly after crews responded.

According to Tolland Alert, the bus was in a bus lot and there were no children on board.

There is no word on what caused the fire.

There will be beautiful weather for Connecticut Day at the Big E on Wednesday.

It will be mostly sunny with temperatures in the upper 60s.

If you are heading out to the Big E after work or school, you may want to bring a light jacket. Temperatures will drop back into the 50s later in the evening.

The nice weather will continue for the rest of the week with temperatures in the 70s and lots of sunshine.

This weekend will be warmer with temperatures in the 80s with mainly sunny skies.

The Big E runs through Sunday, September 29.

For more information about the Big E, click here.

The search for Jennifer Dulos continues as the missing mother of five has not been seen for more than three months.

On Wednesday, the girlfriend of Jennifer's estranged husband, Fotis Dulos, is due in court in Norwalk on a new tampering with evidence charge in connection to the case.

Michelle Troconis has been out on bond after she turned herself into state police for the new charge last week.

"I'd like you to remember that Michelle is presumed innocent and she should be," said attorney Andrew Bowman.

The latest arrest warrant said that Troconis did not see Fotis Dulos the morning of Jennifer's disappearance. He returned later in the afternoon and started cleaning one of his employee's pick-up trucks after lunch.

Investigators said Troconis told them that Dulos handed her a towel while cleaning what she thought was a coffee spill. She told them she put the towel in one of the black plastic garbage bags she brought there. She told police it didn't smell like coffee, according to the arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant also said that Troconis admitted it was her and Fotis Dulos on surveillance video in Hartford, where a man is pictured throwing away trash bags that were found to contain Jennifer's blood, but Troconis said she didn't know what Fotis Dulos was doing.

Fotis Dulos is facing the same charges and has already pleaded not guilty.

Both of them have previously pleaded not guilty to other tampering and hindering prosecution charges.

A gag order was put in place by a judge last week. The gag order means the prosecution, defense and police can no longer speak publicly about the investigation.

Madison will have an increased presence at Daniel Hand High School football games and other sporting events after some incidents involving alcohol.

First selectman Tom Banisch spoke with the police chief, school superintendent and the beach and recreation director about the plan to enforce an alcohol ban at the Surf Club, where the school plays its football games.

“We experienced some problems at last week’s home football game where alcohol was involved," Banisch said in a statement.

Police said they had a few incidents at the game and one person, an adult, was arrested.

In addition to officers who are already inside the stadium during games, there will now be officers patrolling the Surf Club and parking lots to ensure that tailgaters do not have alcohol, according to police.

Alcohol is only allowed by permit at the Surf Club from Memorial Day to Labor Day, according to the first selectman.

“This is an exciting year for our football team and it shouldn’t be ruined by a few people who have a couple of drinks and then get rowdy at the game. Let’s all work together to make this a great season for our teams in a safe environment for all the fans,” Banisch said.

Merriam-Webster's dictionary is adding a new entry to the definition of the pronoun “they”: a way to refer to a nonbinary individual, one who identifies as neither exclusively male nor female, NBC News reported.

It’s been a year of heightened visibility for nonbinary people, from the popularity of MTV’s “sexually fluid” season of the dating show “Are You the One?” — which counted nonbinary folks among its cast members — to the Grammy-winning artist Sam Smith’s recent decision to use gender-neutral they/them pronouns. Merriam-Webster’s addition is yet another recognition of the cultural relevance and growing acceptance of nonbinary identity, and it gives new credence to the increasingly common use of they/them pronouns.

Emily Brewster, a senior editor for Merriam-Webster, said factors like the growing practice of soliciting or giving out one’s pronouns, the growing number of people who identify as nonbinary, and the acceptance of the nonbinary “they” pronoun in a wide variety of texts all coalesced to make the new addition an obvious choice.

“We are always aiming to reflect usage,” she said. “It’s very clear that this is fully established in the language at this point.”

Watertown police arrested two men on drug charges on Wednesday.

Detectives were investigating drug sales at a home on Pullen Avenue. A car being driven by 19-year-old Gelson Cruz pulled up to the home and police conducted a vehicle search.

According to police, Cruz had a ice tea container with a false compartment with 110 bags of heroin and six grams of crack cocaine inside.

A passenger in the car, 21-year-old Philip Arnold, had 101 bags of heroin, according to police. Some of the heroin was stamped "Narcan nasal spray," "El Chapo," and "Candy," they said.

Cruz is facing several drug charges and was held on $25,000 bond.

Arnold, who is a convicted felon and was on parole at the time of his arrest, was issued a $100,000 bond and was turned over to the Department of Correction by parole officers.

Shelton police arrested a 74-year-old man on Wednesday after they say he caused a disturbance on a school bus.

Police were called to Indian Wells Road where they say Donald Hutchinson stopped his vehicle in front of the school bus and then got out of his car and boarded the bus.

He began arguing with the bus driver while three small children were on the bus, police said.

Hutchinson was apparently upset about an argument he had with the same bus driver the day before, according to police.

Hutchinson was charged with disorderly conduct and three counts of risk of injury to a child. He was released on $2,500 bond and is scheduled to be in court on Thursday.

When President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, visits New Britain Sunday, it will be the first time a sitting Polish president has visited Connecticut.

New Britain, known for having a very large Polish population, is expecting thousands to attend.

“We are very surprised but very happy about that because we (are a) Polish community and it’s never happened before,” said Krystyna Obara, a New Britain business owner.

There are few towns in Connecticut with a richer Polish community than New Britain. Broad Street is lined with restaurants, cafes and stores, all with ties to Poland. So with the Polish president scheduled to visit, there is noticeable excitement.

“What do they say, 'Polish and proud,'” Mary Piascik said. “You never forget your heritage and where you came from. Even though I’m an American citizen, I’ll always be Polish.”

Piascik, moved from Poland to New Britain when she was five years old. She’s excited about the visit, but will miss it because she going on vacation to Poland.

“I’ll watch it on the news in Poland,” she said.

Thousands will be at Walnut Park at 3 p.m. Sunday to mark this significant event. For the city, security is a high priority.

“It’s a tremendous task,” explained Darek Barcikowski, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Poland in Connecticut. “I think in the hierarchy of tasks, it’s probably the number one task.”

Barcikowski said a security plan goes well beyond local and state police.

“It involves national security and we have folks from Poland and the president’s security detail,” he explained. “It’s a multi-level operation but I think the city is prepared.”

This is not the first time New Britain has hosted a high profile visitor. Barack Obama, Ronald Reagan and even Harry Truman have visited New Britain before and Barcikowksi thinks he knows why.

“New Britain has a designation and status as an all-American city and I think that’s the short answer, we’re an All-American City,” he said

Barcikowski says he is looking forward to showing off why he and others have made New Britain home.

“To all of us here in New Britain, this is our home, this is our all-American city and this is our American dream.”

Those interested in signing up for a meet and greet with President Duda are asked to pre-register here.

Gun violence hits America's youth and rural states the hardest and has reached the highest levels in decades, a report released Wednesday by Democrats on Congress' Joint Economic Committee has found, NBC News reports.

U.S. teens and young adults, ages 15-24, are 50 times more likely to die by gun violence than they are in other economically advanced countries, according to the 50-state breakdown.

In 2017 — the year of a mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 58 and injured hundreds — nearly 40,000 people died from gun-related injuries, including 2,500 school children, the report said, noting that six in 10 gun deaths in the U.S. are suicides.

That year marked the first time firearms killed more people than motor vehicle accidents, the report said.

Rural states, meanwhile, have the highest rates of gun deaths and bear the largest costs as a share of their economies. Nationally, the cost of gun violence in the U.S. runs $229 billion a year, or 1.4% of the gross domestic product, the report said.

Beulah, an Asian elephant that has been on display at the Big E for years, has died.

The Eastern States Exposition released a statement on Wednesday confirming the elephant had died.

"We are broken hearted," said Gene Cassidy, Eastern State Exposition president.

Beulah was 54 years old and died of natural causes, the released stated.

It is not clear when the animal died.

The elephant belonged to R.W. Commerford & Sons, which has a farm in Goshen.

The Commerford family asked for time to grieve before the announcement about Beulah's death was made, according to the Big E.

“If you truly loved Beulah, kindly remember her and the Commerford family in your thoughts and prayers,” Cassidy said.

The Federal Reserve is the central bank of the United States and is charged by Congress to maintain a stable economy and financial system.

One of the ways the Fed does this is by increasing and lowering the cost of borrowing money. These interest rate cuts are intended to encourage more borrowing and spending by people and companies. That spending, in turn, tends to accelerate growth and energize economies. Lower mortgage rates, for example, typically lift home sales. And cheaper borrowing can lead businesses to take out loans and expand and hire.

On Wednesday, the Fed announced it was cutting its benchmark interest rate by one quarter of a percentage point, its second rate cut this year.

"When the Fed raises or reduces the cost of money, it affects interest rates across the board," said Greg McBride Bankrate's chief financial analyst. "One way or another, it’s going to impact savers and borrowers."

Here are some ways the Fed cut could impact your wallet:

How Fed cuts affects credit card, borrowing rates

Most credit cards have variable interest rates and those are tied to the financial institution's prime rate, which is the rate that banks charge their more creditworthy customers. The prime rate is based on the Fed's benchmark rate, which is the overnight rate banks charge each other to lend money in order to meet mandated reserve levels. When benchmark rates go up, it becomes more expensive for banks to borrow money and they pass those costs on to consumers in the form of higher interest rates on lines of credit.

A rate cut, meanwhile, could lower interest rates for cardholders and borrowers with variable APRs.

But with APRs at record highs, Wednesday's .25% cut won't likely offer much relief to people with large credit card balances, says McBride.

Bankrate.com advises consumers to consider balance transfer card options to pay off their credit card debt. With the fed rate cut, consumers with strong credit scores will have even more access to credit cards offering zero percent interest on balance transfers, Matt Schulz, chief industry analyst for CompareCards.com, told Reuters. Consolidating and paying off your charges within the introductory zero percent APR window is one way to eliminate your debt without interest.

Will the Fed cuts affect mortgage rates?

The impact of the Fed rate cut on home loans depends on whether the borrower has a fixed or adjustable-rate mortgage (ARMs), and even then, only slightly. That's because the Fed rate and mortgage rates are not directly linked. 

A home loan is a long-term financial product, the most common being a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, while the Fed rate is for short-term overnight borrowing. Long-term mortgage rates are pegged to yields on government bonds, especially the 10-year Treasury note, according to CNBC.com.

"I don’t expect that the Fed rate cut will have much of an effect on fixed rates, but it may help support lower rates on ARMs," Lee E. Ohanian, professor of economics and director of the Ettinger Family Program in Macroeconomic Research at UCLA, told BankRate.com. "The 10- and 30-year Treasury rates are still extremely low, even after moving up a bit from last week and those low rates will support relatively low fixed-mortgage rates." 

Some homeowners with ARMs could eventually see their interest rate go down and lower monthly payments. But that depends on when their rate is scheduled to reset as ARMs only reset once a year.

Meanwhile, mortgage rates remain at near historic lows. As of last week, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.56%. A year ago, it stood at 4.6%, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac.

McBride said that this full percentage point difference is "the single biggest impact on consumers" in this low rate environment. Low interest rates on mortgages can open the door for homeowners to refinance and save money or for people shopping for a house to secure an attractive rate. Someone with a $200,000 mortgage could potentially save $125 to $150 a month with a reduction of that size, McBride estimates, which is a meaningful increase in a household budget.

What about the return on my savings?

Savers won't benefit from the Fed rate cut. Interest rates on savings accounts were already historically quite low and will likely stay that way.

The FDIC reports that the average rate paid on savings accounts in the U.S. is 0.09%. While some lenders have been competing online to offer high yield savings accounts with rates well above 2%, a few banks have already opted to dial back those offers. Marcus, the retail bank arm of Goldman Sachs, and Ally Bank both lowered the rates on their savings accounts this spring, just ahead of the Fed's prior rate cut in July. There are still some savings accounts well above the national average available but those rates will likely dip after this most recent announcement.

All the same, this shouldn't discourage people from saving, McBride said.

Consumers who find themselves worried about an economic downturn should still take steps now to shore up their finances, regardless of rates. That includes paying down debt, refinancing at lower rates and boosting emergency savings.

This "will enable households to better weather an economic downturn whenever one should materialize," he said.

The Associated Press constributed to this report. 

Police in Boston say a missing woman has been found safe.

Sixty-seven-year-old Kim Doan of Connecticut had last been seen just after 4 p.m. Wednesday at the IMAX theater at the New England Aquarium.

Police said later Wednesday evening that Doan has been located and is safe.