Winchester police said they have arrested a suspect in eight armed robberies in Manchester.

Police said they received information from a reliable source early Friday morning, around 4:14 a.m., that 43-year-old Travis St. John, who is suspected of eight armed robberies in Manchester, was in Winsted.

They found his vehicle on Perkins Street and members of the Manchester Police Department also responded to the scene.

Officers took tactical positions at the residence, announced themselves and St. John answered the door, police said. 

Authorities took him into custody around 5:45 a.m. and said they did not find at weapons on the premises.

Police said St. John is suspected in an armed robbery on Wednesday evening, Oct. 23, and two armed robberies during the early morning hours on Thursday, Oct. 24 in Manchester.

He was processed at Winchester Police Department Headquarters and released to the custody of Manchester police.

Saturday looks beautiful, but Sunday will bring clouds, rain and cooler temperatures. 

This is likely the last weekend for peak fall foliage across most of the state, so that might help you plan your Saturday. Get tips for places to take in the foliage here.  

Bright fall colors will linger along the shoreline a bit longer where they haven’t hit peak quite yet. 

Things to Do Saturday:

West Hartford Halloween Stroll: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in West Hartford Center.  Note: Isham Road, from Memorial to New Street, will be closed during the event as will the Raymond Road parking lot.

Bristol Fall Festival: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Imagine Nation Museum.  

Candy and wine pairing at Sunset Meadow Vineyard in Goshen, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

Things to Do Sunday:

Best Buddies Friendship Walk, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Quinnipiac University, rain or shine! If it rains it will move inside to the parking garage. 

Yard Goats Trick-or-treat, also rain or shine, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford. 

The Patriots take on the Cleveland Browns at 4:25p.m. in Foxboro on Sunday. Not a great day for the game! 

Maria Butina, the Russian operative who used her activism with the National Rifle Association to illegally infiltrate U.S. conservative political circles, was released from a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday after serving an 18-month sentence.

She was taken into custody and is expected to be deported back to Moscow, NBC News reported.

In July 2018, the gun-loving former aide to a top Russian official was arrested and charged with infiltrating politically powerful U.S. organizations to push Moscow's agenda. 

In December 2018, she pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the law governing foreign agents operating in the U.S.

She was sentenced in April of this year, although the judge gave her credit for nine months she had already served.

She remains the only Russian national to be arrested in connection with the U.S. government's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The state Department of Public Health says there is a fourth case of measles in Connecticut for 2019.

The person who contracted the measles is a school-aged child from Fairfield County, according to the Department of Health. They said the child was not infectious while at school.

It appears, according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, that the child contracted measles in early October.

The latest case of measles is not related to three previously confirmed cases in Connecticut reported in January and April.

“We are monitoring and investigating this case very closely, including working with our local health departments and medical providers to follow up with any individuals that may have been exposed to measles,” Connecticut DPH Commissioner Renée D. Coleman-Mitchell said in a statement. “Science tells us that the single best thing anyone can do to protect themselves from this highly contagious virus is to get vaccinated. Overall, Connecticut has high vaccination rates, so we are at low risk for a widespread measles outbreak. This latest confirmed case, coupled with declining statewide immunization numbers for measles, is exactly why Governor Lamont and I are recommending repeal of non-medical exemptions for vaccination.”

The Connecticut Department of Public Health is working with local health departments and healthcare providers to identify and inform identified contacts of the case.

They said the average incubation period of measles is 14 days, with a range of 7 to21 days.

Cases are considered infectious from four days before rash onset through four days after. It is possible that secondary cases of measles among some of these contacts may occur, especially among those who have never been vaccinated for measles, according to the Department of Health.

Symptoms of Measles

A typical case of measles begins with mild to moderate fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and sore throat. Three to five days after the start of these symptoms, a red or reddish-brown rash appears, usually starting on a person’s face at the hairline and spreading downward to the entire body. At the time the rash appears, a person’s fever may spike to more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The rash typically lasts at least a few days and then disappears in the same order. People with measles may be contagious up to 4 days before the rash appears and for four days after the day the rash appears.

From Jan. 1 to Oct. 1, 2019, 1,249 individual cases of measles have been confirmed in 31 states, according to the Department of Health. This is the largest number of cases reported in the U.S. since measles was eliminated in 2000.

Learn more about measles, here. 

Find annual statistics for vaccine preventable diseases in Connecticut here.

A search is underway for a 26-year-old passenger who officials say jumped from a Carnival cruise ship Thursday night, the cruise line said.

The man jumped from his stateroom balcony on the Carnival Dream about 8:45 p.m., according to NBC affiliate KPRC.

The ship was about 47 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas when the man went missing, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Officials were searching for the man.

Carnival Cruise Line released the following statement:

Thursday evening, a guest went overboard from Carnival Dream while the ship was sailing from Galveston. Based on camera footage, it appears the guest jumped from his stateroom balcony. The ship's command promptly began search and rescue procedures, returned to the area near where the incident occurred and notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which is sending a helicopter to assist in the search. The onboard CareTeam is assisting the guest's family.

Five months have passed since Jennifer Dulos, a 51-year-old mother of five from New Canaan, disappeared and her estranged husband’s girlfriend is due in court today on charges connected to Dulos’ disappearance.

Michelle Troconis, 45, of Farmington, has been charged with first-degree hindering of prosecution and two counts of tampering with physical evidence. She pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Troconis has been out on bond. After a prior court hearing, her attorney, Andrew Bowman, said, "I'd like you to remember that Michelle is presumed innocent and she should be."

Jennifer Dulos’ estranged husband, 52-year-old Fotis Dulos, of Farmington, has also been charged with first-degree hindering of prosecution and two counts of tampering with physical evidence and pleaded not guilty.

In previous court documents, prosecutors have said Jennifer is the victim of a serious assault and no longer believe she is alive.

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 pickup 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, and it didn't smell like coffee, according to the arrest warrant.

The arrest warrant also said that Troconis said 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.

Troconis is due in court today.

Police have set up a dedicated website and email on the investigation into the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos and ask anyone with any information to contact them or submit tips. 

Get more information on the case here.

A 16-year-old has been charged in connection with the crash that killed a 71-year-old grandmother in Hartford on Thursday. 

Police said the teen has been remanded to the Juvenile Detention Center on an order to detain and charged with manslaughter in the first degree, evading responsibility resulting in death, and larceny in the second degree. 

Police are still investigating and said charges might be upgraded.

Family of 71-year-old Yvonne Smith said the woman, known as the grandmother of her Hartford neighborhood, was on her way to the corner store, something the woman did every day, when she was hit.

Smith was a mother, grandmother and great grandmother and for many, she was a guardian of the neighborhood.

“Everyone around here loved her. Everyone knew her. She'd help you. She'd help your kids. She always had something she wanted to give. She was a beautiful person,” Blake said.

Hartford police said four people in two cars started shooting at each other at Westland and Garden Streets on Thursday and neighbors ran for cover and called 911.

“As one of the vehicles fled from the shooting scene, they struck a pedestrian that was in the roadway,” Lt. Paul Cicero of the Hartford Police Department said.

For hours crime scene tape wrapped around a large area, with a single shoe left in the middle of the road.

The silver Kia that hit and killed Smith crashed into a nearby building. Police said it was stolen from Manchester two days earlier.

Officers found a 17-year-old suspect with a gunshot wound who is in stable condition at the hospital, and a 16-year-old who was described Thursday as a person of interest.

Police have not identified the teen who was arrested because of the age.

Smith’s family said the 71-year-old spent most of her life in Hartford and never wanted to be anywhere else. So for her, they’re asking for help to make the streets safer.

“She loved this community. No matter how much we tried to get her to move out of the community, this was it for her,” Blake said.

A candlelight vigil for Smith will take place Saturday on Nelson Street.

Actress Felicity Huffman has been released from prison, according to a prison official.

She had reported to the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, California, on Oct. 15 to serve a 14-day sentence for her part in the nationwide college admissions cheating scheme. She served the sentence in California to be near family.

The early release is in accordance with prison policy for inmates scheduled to be released on weekends.

Huffman was sentenced last month to 14 days in prison, a $30,000 fine, 250 hours of community service and a supervised year of release. The 56-year-old Oscar nominee had pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy and fraud for paying $15,000 to boost her older daughter's SAT test scores.

The prison where Huffman served her sentence is a low-security, all-women's facility in Alameda County southeast of Oakland, with a minimum-security satellite camp attached.

Huffman gave an emotional statement in a Boston courtroom before her sentencing on Sept. 13.

"I was frightened, I was stupid and I was so wrong. I am deeply ashamed of what I have done," the actress said.

She reiterated that sentiment in a public statement shortly after the sentencing, saying she accepted it "without reservation" and apologizing to students who worked hard to get into college, as well as their parents. 

"My hope now is that my family, my friends and my community will forgive me for my actions," she said in the statement.

Huffman's sentence was greater than what her lawyers asked for — no time behind bars — but less than the prosecutors' request for a month in prison.

Lesser penalties, including probation, would have meant little to someone with "a large home in the Hollywood Hills with an infinity pool," prosecutors said in a Sept. 6 filing. 

Huffman's lawyers had said she should get a year of probation, 250 hours of community service and a $20,000 fine. They said that she was only a "customer" in the scheme and that, in other cases of academic fraud, only the ringleaders have gone to prison.

In deliberating the sentence, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani said, "The outrage is that in a system that is already so distorted by money and privilege ... you took the step of obtaining one more advantage to put your child ahead."

Huffman's husband, actor William H. Macy, had submitted a letter of support to the judge describing how Huffman has been a wonderful mother who has also occasionally struggled finding the right balance between her instincts and experts' recommendations. 

In her own letter to the judge, Huffman wrote that, "In my desperation to be a good mother I talked myself into believing that all I was doing was giving my daughter a fair shot. I see the irony in that statement now because what I have done is the opposite of fair."

The amount Huffman paid is relatively low compared with other bribes alleged in the scheme. Some parents are accused of paying up to $500,000 to get their children into elite schools by having them labeled as recruited athletes for sports they didn't even play.

In the Sept. 4 letter asking for leniency, Huffman said she turned to the scheme because her daughter's low math scores jeopardized her dream of going to college and pursuing a career in acting. She now carries "a deep and abiding shame," she said.

Prosecutors countered that Huffman knew the scheme was wrong but chose to participate anyway. They said she wasn't driven by need or desperation, "but by a sense of entitlement, or at least moral cluelessness."

Among those still fighting the charges are actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, who are accused of paying to get their two daughters admitted to the University of Southern California as fake athletes.

Authorities say it's the biggest college admissions case ever prosecuted by the Justice Department, with a total of 51 people charged.

A sea of red, white and green flags filled the crowds of mostly young students and professionals from the Lebanese diaspora in lower Manhattan Thursday night, as the solidarity movement sweeping Lebanon spilled over into the United States.

“We stand with you 5604 miles away,” read one sign at the protest in Washington Square Park. “Noble Lebnan” read another, while chants of the Arabic word "thawra," which means revolution, could be heard in the crowd of peaceful protesters.

The unrest in Lebanon prompted geologist Mirna Zahlan, 45, to drive from her home in New Jersey.

"If they are truly leaders, they will resign," Zahlan, who is from Aley in Lebanon, told NBC News as she carried a large Lebanese flag.

“They are all corrupt. We are done. It’s been 40 years,” she said.

She joined the Washington Square Park protest along with her husband and three children, ages 15, 11 and 9. Another rally took place in Los Angeles this week and a third is planned outside the United Nations in New York on Saturday.

In Lebanon, severe economic strains have prompted anti-government demonstrations that began a week ago Thursday. Lebanon is heavily in debt and banks have remained closed as protesters spill into the streets, across the sectarian divides that usually dominate.

Protesters have continued to rally despite a new reform package put forth by the government this week that includes lowering government salaries and reducing the budget deficit, according to Reuters.

Among the disappointed Lebanese rallying for more change in Washington Square Park was Australian-Lebanese model Jessica Kahawaty, who attended a meeting with the Lebanese diaspora in New York City ahead of this week’s protests.

She said there were approximately 80 people present, some of whom are working to get information from people on the ground in Lebanon and permits for additional protests here in the U.S.

Kahawaty said she shared an outline of problems people in Lebanon are facing on her Instagram page and why they’re demanding reforms.

She said the concerns include “nepotism, corruption, poverty, low wages, air pollution, water pollution, no care for the elderly, no health benefits, poor infrastructure.”

“People are down there as Lebanese as one, so this warms my heart and it makes me so happy and for the first time ever, I have hope for Lebanon,” she said.

The sentiment for change also inspired 26-year-old New York University doctoral student Julien Dirani from Beirut to come out and shout in Arabic, “The people want the resignation of the government.”

It’s a feeling reiterated by other youth in the park like 36-year old consultant Sarah Mahmoud who wore a painted Lebanese flag on her right cheek.

“Corruption has just reached a tipping point,” she said.

Mahmoud said it’s “simply impossible to live normally” and that this is the “first protest that’s not sectarian, just Lebanese.”

For 30-year old Roula Hajjar in New York City, it’s a part of the reason why she spends her time balancing work as a political risk consultant and planning these protests.

Hajjar, who is Lebanese, said as long as she could remember, she’s always been on the streets of Lebanon protesting — since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005 to the waste collection crisis in 2015 following the closure of a landfill.

“We are subject to this government that can’t provide us with the most basic of services,” she said.

It’s what brought her 37-year old sister Ranya, who is a psychotherapist, to the streets of Beirut with her 3-year old son to fight for change.

“I wish and hope that in the future that he lives in a country that is not sectarian and that he gets to experience a peace that we haven’t had unfortunately,” she said over the phone from Beirut.

--Noreen O'Donnell contributed to this story. 

The mayor of New Haven said there is an agreement to continue supervised, after-school programming for children at the Boys & Girls Club of New Haven and she will hold a news conference on Friday afternoon. 

The program was scheduled to close today. 

A new release from the office of Mayor Toni Harp said she will hold a news conference at 1:30 p.m. to announce an agreement among the city, New Haven Public Schools, the Housing Authority of New Haven, the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, and the Boys and Girls Club of New Haven to continue after-school programming. 

The news of the closure came earlier this week and Harp’s office said a tentative resolution was reached Thursday afternoon and that plan was further revised this morning. 

The news conference will be held at the Boys & Girls Club at 253 Columbus Ave. in New Haven.

A Greenwich woman contacted police after she saw two people take mail that contained checks from her mailbox and that led to police arrest two men who they said had hundreds of checks from several cities and towns in Connecticut and New York.

A woman who lives on Owenoke Way in Riverside contacted police around 11 a.m. Thursday to report what she saw, and police responded and found a vehicle matching the description provided.

They arrested 23-year-old Mark Anthony Claudio, and 27-year-old Dondre Waugh, both of Bronx, New York.

Police said the two men had 368 personal checks from more than 200 victims from 25 jurisdictions across Fairfield County, Connecticut, Westchester County, New York; and New York City.

Police said the men also had small amounts of marijuana, illegal prescription drugs, fraudulent identifications and fraudulent credit cards.

They face several charges and were each held on $250,000 bond.

The UConn football team has finalized nine games for its 2020 schedule, the team's first season as an independent program since 2003.

With the school leaving the American Athletic Conference for the Big East, UConn was forced to come up with an independent schedule for its football team since the Big East does not have a football conference.

UConn will host UMass, Indiana, Liberty, Army, and Maine. The Huskies will travel to play Illinois, Ole Miss, San Jose State, and Virginia.

The university said it hopes to announce the final three opponents soon.

Here is a look at the dates of the games.

• Sept. 3 vs. UMass
• Sept. 12 at Illinois
• Sept. 26 vs. Indiana
• Oct. 24 at Ole Miss
• Oct. 31 vs. Liberty
• Nov. 14 at San Jose State
• Nov. 28 vs. Army
• TBD vs. Maine
• TBD at Virginia

A Mystic man is accused of shooting an arrow from a crossbow at someone in Groton and has been arrested.

It happened just before 10 p.m. on Thursday, according to police.

They responded to Sunny’s Market on Gold Star Highway in Mystic for a report of a motor vehicle that was struck by an arrow and the victim told police she had gone to the Colonial Efficiency Apartments on Gold Star Highway and 40-year-old Francisco Rolon was standing outside of his apartment.

He told the victim, “this is how you kill someone,” then he went into his apartment, police said.

As the victim moved away, Rolon came out of his apartment carrying a crossbow, shot toward the victim and hit the rear passenger door of her vehicle, police said.

The victim wasn’t injured.

Officers responded to Rolon’s apartment, set up a perimeter and attempted to make contact with him, police said.

Around 12:30 a.m., officers saw Rolon leave a back door in an attempt to get away, but they were able to apprehend him.

He was held on a $150,000 bond and appeared in New London Superior Court. Police said he was on parole.

Rolon was charged with criminal attempt to commit assault in the first degree, threatening in the first degree, threatening in the second degree, breach of peace in the second degree,

reckless endangerment, criminal mischief in the third degree and carrying a dangerous weapon.

Fire destroyed a barn on Hill Road, or Route 222, in Harwinton Friday. 

The fire was reported at 12:09 p.m. Officials said there were horses in the barns, but the owners were able to get them out and they were not injured. 

One firefighter was injured and the extent of injuries is not clear. 

There is some minor damage to another barn. 

The fire marshal’s office is investigating the cause of the fire.

Dozens of inspectors general across the federal government have signed a letter repudiating the Justice Department's legal opinion that the original complaint by a CIA whistleblower about President Donald Trump's conversation with Ukraine's president did not have to be turned over to Congress, NBC News reports.

The opinion by the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel overruled a determination by the intelligence community's own watchdog that the whistleblower's then-secret complaint, which has since sparked an impeachment inquiry, appeared credible and, therefore, should be brought to the congressional intelligence committees.

In a strongly worded statement written by the the Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, the inspectors general portrayed the OLC opinion as dangerously wrong and severely damaging to whistleblower protections.

"The OLC opinion, if not withdrawn or modified, could seriously undermine the critical role whistleblowers play in coming forward to report waste, fraud, abuse, and misconduct across the federal government," the independent watchdogs said.

Late in the evening on Oct. 16, Rudy Giuliani made a phone call to an NBC News reporter.

The fact that Giuliani was reaching out wasn’t remarkable. He and the reporter had spoken earlier that night for a story about his ties to a fringe Iranian opposition group.

But this call, it would soon become clear, wasn’t a typical case of a source following up with a reporter.

The call came in at 11:07 p.m. and went to voicemail; the reporter was asleep.

The next morning, a message exactly three minutes long was sitting in his voicemail. In the recording, the words tumbling out of Giuliani’s mouth were not directed at the reporter. He was speaking to someone else, someone in the same room.

Giuliani can be heard discussing overseas dealings and lamenting the need for cash, though it's difficult to discern the full context of the conversation.

A Massachusetts man is accused of pulling a gun on two people who had arranged to meet with him in Simsbury to sell him an iPhone.

The victims called police to 55 Elm Street Friday and reported said that a man they were trying to sell an iPhone pulled a gun on them and took the device. The victims were not hurt and the suspect walked away.

Police found the suspect in a building within the complex and made contact through the North central Emergency Service Team, which includes crisis negotiators. The suspect surrendered without incident.

The suspect, identified as 28-year-old Christopher Fonville of Springfield Mass., was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a firearm, first-degree robbery, threatening, larceny, and breach of peace. He was held on a $100,000 bond.

Authorities urge the public to use designated safe spots to buy and sell items. Many police department parking lots are designated safe exchange locations.

Amtrak Train 56 was stopped in Hartford due to police activity, according to a tweet from the railroad.

An NBC Connecticut crew reports that the train was stopped at Winthrop Street but was able to leave the scene. Amtrak police are leading the investigation.

Police did not immediately provide any details on the situation.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Hartford police have arrested a man accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend.

Police said officers were called to the area of Benton Street near Franklin Avenue Thursday around 9:15 p.m. for a report of a person brandishing a firearm. When they arrived they found the victim, who said her ex-boyfriend had assaulted her.

The suspect, identified as 39-year-old Jesus Vega, was found hiding under a nearby porch. Police said he was found with a loaded American Tactical 1991, .45 caliber gun. Officers also seized $534 in cash and narcotics.

Vega was arrested and charged with third-degree strangulation, breach of peace, criminal possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics, possession with intent to sell, and interfering with police.

The Hamden Police Department is investigating the death of a woman found with “significant injuries” in a bathroom on High Top Circle Thursday.

Police said they were called to the home around 7:45 p.m. for a report of a medical emergency. The 29-year-old victim was found in the bathroom. Hamden Fire Rescue pronounced the woman dead on scene.

Investigators are calling the case an untimely death at this time. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine cause and manner of death.

No other details were immediately available.