Interstate 95 was closed between exits 56 and 57 in Guilford after a tanker truck fire, according to state police, but traffic is getting by again.
No additional information was immediately available.
Residents in part of Griswold are being urged to boil their tap water before consuming it as a precaution after a water main break.
Connecticut Water said the boil water advisory is in effect for around 100 households on the Bay Mountain water system in Griswold due to a water main break that caused a loss of water pressure Wednesday morning.
Connecticut Water said the precautionary boil water advisory will remain in effect until water samples can be collected and tested in a state certified lab to confirm that no bacteria got into the water system.
The company expects to receive these results within 48 hours.
No other Connecticut Water customers are affected, according to the organization.
Once water service is restored, customers of the Bay Mountain water system should boil their tap water as a precaution before using it for drinking, cooking, food preparation, reconstituting baby formula or using for any purpose where it will be consumed, or customers may use bottled water for these purposes, a message Connecticut Water sent to customers says.
The water can be used for bathing, cleaning, sanitation or other purposes where the water is not consumed without boiling as a precaution, the company said.
Chicago Public Schools canceled classes Wednesday for the 10th consecutive day after a dramatic few days of negotiations and deliberation in the ongoing teachers strike.
The Chicago Teachers Union held a House of Delegates meeting Tuesday evening after a marathon 16-hour bargaining session the day before failed to yield an agreement.
Bargaining continued Tuesday morning into the afternoon before the union's meeting, which CTU said was to give its more than 800 delegates a "detailed presentation of where bargaining stands on both resolved and outstanding issues," accusing CPS and Mayor Lori Lightfoot of misleading the public by sending a robocall that the meeting was to vote on the district's latest proposal.
“We were still at City Hall, talking to the mayor as late as four in the afternoon and that was productive, respectful,” CTU President Jesse Sharkey said at a news conference Tuesday evening.
“Based on how it goes tomorrow, if there’s a tentative agreement, we would bring in our delegates in the afternoon," Sharkey said. “I think that we have seen meaningful and important offers on those items and issues, but I’ve got to actually see the written language.”
After accusing CTU's bargaining team of moving the goal posts in negotiations the day before, Lightfoot on Wednesday said she was "hopeful" the union would accept the district's latest offer.
"This has been a long journey," Lightfoot said at a news conference after reading with students at Kennicott Park. "Unfortunately, I think there's a lot of harm that's been done to our young people, but my hope is that when the House of Delegates reconvenes today that there will be a robust presentation of the tentative agreement that's on the table and that they will vote on it up or down."
Lightfoot said the district's team put a proposal on the table Tuesday and asked the union's bargaining team to take it to the House of Delegates, but acknowledged that CTU did not commit to doing so.
"My understanding is that there was a discussion of the parameters of the deal last night and that this was going to be socialized over the course of last night and this morning and then they would go back to the House of Delegates today," Lightfoot said. "But obviously, I don't run the CTU, so I'm hopeful and aspirational but really the ball's in their court as to whether or not they present the deal and whether or not they want to end the strike."
CTU's statement early Wednesday said negotiations were seeing progress, but that there were "significant issues still unresolved" like the length of the contract, prep time for teachers, particularly in elementary schools, and standardized testing.
More than 25,000 teachers and support staff in CTU, as well as roughly 7,500 school employees in Service Employees International Union Local 73, went on strike Oct. 17, canceling school for more than 300,000 students in the country's third-largest school district. SEIU announced a tentative agreement with the district on Sunday but said its members would continue to picket with CTU until a deal is reached.
A trial will be postponed for a man who pleaded guilty to killing five people at the Capital Gazette newspaper's offices in Maryland last year.
Jarrod Ramos pleaded guilty on Monday after previously pleading not guilty and not criminally responsible, in Maryland's version of an insanity defense. A jury still will determine whether he was responsible for his actions because of the insanity his defense claims.
A judge granted a motion on Wednesday for postponement. The defense said prosecutors were late in providing information on expert witnesses regarding Ramos' mental state.
Jury selection was set to start Wednesday.
In court on Monday, newspaper employees and victims' relatives held hands and wiped away tears.
Capital Gazette employees Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith and Wendi Winters died after Ramos stormed into their newsroom in Annapolis on June 28, 2018.
Police found Ramos hiding under a desk. Police said he targeted workers — in one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in the United States — after they published an article in 2011 about criminal harassment to which he had pleaded guilty.
Stay with News4 for more details on this developing story.
A special education teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave amid an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct by the teacher who was engaged in the discipline and restraint of a student at B.W. Tinker Elementary School in Waterbury, according to a statement from Waterbury Public Schools.
The statement says the superintendent’s office was alerted on Oct. 21 and school administrators and the district immediately filed a report with the State Department of Children and Families and contacted the Waterbury Police Department for follow up.
The employee involved in the alleged incident was placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, according to the school department.
No additional information was immediately available.
A powerful lightning bolt hit a Fort Worth parking lot Wednesday morning, opening a 15-foot hole in the concrete, authorities say.
The Fort Worth Fire Department tweeted lightning struck near a Chevron gas station, at the intersection of Shadydell Drive and Boat Club Road, just before sunrise. The department said no one was hurt by the blast.
Pictures and video posted to social media showed chunks of concrete strewn across the parking lot and a large hole blocked off by yellow caution tape.
NBC 5 obtained surveillance video from the gas station showing the bolt hit the pavement and the resulting explosion that sent chunks of concrete and dirt flying.
The damage was done as heavy thunderstorms swept across the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
A Freeze Watch will be in effect Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
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After nearly four years of fighting the federal government, the American Civil Liberties Union has published documents it said show the abuse of minors at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol agents.
The ACLU received more than 33,000 pages of official documentation including audio and video clips from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Some of the documents include several complaints from San Diego and Imperial Counties.
In one complaint, a 17-year-old boy accused a CBP agent of punching him in the head three times.
The documentation of alleged abuses goes back to 2008, long before President Donald Trump took office.
"The difference is that back then the enforcement, if someone reported something like that they were taken more seriously as opposed to now it is almost brushed under the table," immigration attorney Jacob Sapochnick said. "You can complain about CBP mistreatment — nothing’s going to happen."
Sapochnick told NBC 7 this issue of CBP abuse is not an issue of the past, but one he sees regularly in his office.
“We had an incident a few months ago where two sisters were held in a holding facility with cockroaches there for 48 hours," Sapochnick said. Both of those girls were minors, he added.
NBC 7 also recently spoke to a Salvadoran asylum seeker who was detained by CBP for 10 days with her 9-year-old daughter.
“They would give us spoiled burritos with beans to eat, crackers and juice,” the unidentified woman said.
Click here for the complete publication and documents.
The ACLU initially started its search for public records after filing a complaint asking the Department of Homeland Security to look into the abuse of more than 100 children by CBP.
The DHS responded saying it would look into the complaints but closed the case 4 months later, according to the ACLU.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection responded to the claims via email:
“CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility investigates allegations of misconduct on the part of CBP employees when an allegation provides sufficient information necessary to conduct an appropriate inquiry.
All CBP employees embody our core values, perform their duties with integrity, and are dedicated to our mission of securing the American people and our borders while facilitating legitimate trade and travel. The men and women of CBP perform their duties professionally and treat everyone equally with dignity and respect. Children represent the most vulnerable population, and every agent carries a fundamental ethical and moral belief as well as a legal obligation to put the welfare of any child first.”
The records include a wide range of documents such as reports of investigations, agency emails describing investigations, complaints submitted by third parties or nonprofit organizations, agency files describing internal investigations, online complaint forms, and interviews with DHS employees alleged to have abused or mistreated children.
Sapochnick added, “It starts there and then if you don't stop it where is it going to end? Because once you start torturing people that are helpless. what’s going to happen when you go to people that are actually in this country, immigrants that being detained driving by CBP or ICE.”
"Friends" is coming to Boston!
Fans of the hit show will soon have the opportunity to experience some of its most iconic moments in a pop-up experience in the city’s Fenway neighborhood.
Fresh off its debut in New York, the FRIENDS 25th Anniversary Pop-Up Experience will recreate some of the most iconic scenes and locations from the show, creating the perfect opportunity to capture Instagram-worthy photos.
In all, the pop-up includes more than 50 original props from the show.
Tickets go on sale Friday, Nov. 1 at noon. The pop-up experience opens Nov. 21, 2019, and runs through Jan. 5, 2020, from 9:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.
An investigation into allegations of child molestation in Vernon has led to the arrest of a man who has been charged with sexual assault and a woman who is romantically linked to him and accused of hindering the investigation, according to police.
Police said they arrested 50-year-old Ronald Daniel on June 10 and charged him with several counts of sexual assault. On Tuesday, they arrested 53-year-old Dianne Margelony, of Vernon. According to police, she was romantically linked to Margelony, encouraged a witness to lie to the police and refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Daniel was charged with four counts of sexual assault in the first degree, three counts of employing a minor in an obscene performance, four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a victim under 13 years old, four counts of illegal sexual contact with a victim under 16 years old, three counts of sexual assault in the third degree, risk of injury to a child, unlawful restraint in the first degree, two counts of threatening in the second degree and assault in the third degree.
He is due in court on Nov.22, according to online court records.
Police said there was a joint investigation between the Vernon Police, Department of Children and Families, State Police and Homeland Security Investigations and Daniel was charged in both state and federal courts.
Police said Margelony’s actions hindered the investigative efforts, prolonged the investigation, and potentially subjected the child to further harm.
She is also accused of providing additional false information to investigators regarding how, when, and why she got rid of a camper she owned that was reported to be where some of the sexual assaults occurred, according to police.
Investigators did track down the camper and said they recovered evidence potentially related to the sexual assaults.
Margelony has been charged with tampering with a witness, interfering with police and providing a false statement in the second degree.
She was released on a $5,000 non-surety bond and will be arraigned on Nov. 12.
Connecticut State Police have arrested a Glastonbury man who is accused of murdering a man during a drive-by shooting in Preston over the weekend.
Troopers received a 911 call from a motorist who thought he witnessed a shooting at the intersection of Route 2A and Route 12 in Preston around 1:30 a.m. on Saturday.
Shortly after, police said a man suffering from a single gunshot wound, later identified as 35-year-old Robert Thompson, was transported to Lawrence + Memorial Hospital by a friend. Thompson later died from his injuries.
After an extensive investigation, authorities said a person of interest was developed by Eastern District Major Crimes Detectives.
At 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday, state police arrested 25-year-old Francis Giannelli, of Glastonbury, troopers said.
Giannelli is facing charges including murder, criminal use of a weapon and carrying a pistol without a permit. He is being held on $1 million bond and is in court on Wednesday.
A woman has died after a fire on Tetlow Street in West Haven Wednesday morning and her son is hospitalized after suffering smoke inhalation, according to fire officials.
Fire officials said the fire happened around 10:30 a.m.
An elderly woman who was bedridden was in a first-floor bedroom and hoarding conditions made it difficult to get the woman out, officials said, but they were able to get her out of the house.
The woman’s son was taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
No additional information was immediately available.
Before you dress up as a ghost or zombie, vampire or witch, experts say costume choices like colored contact lenses and face paint can cause injuries or allergic reactions haunting you well after Halloween.
The Food and Drug Administration wants to remind trick or treaters to make safe costume choices.
“I’m planning to be the Joker,” said Mirla Sales.
Sales is trying out face paint for the first time.
“I haven’t done it before. It’s very possible I could be allergic. I was definitely planning to test it out beforehand,” said Sales.
That’s advice the FDA wants you to follow. The agency says if you’re using face paint, be careful because you could have an allergic reaction.
“As a parent, yeah, I don’t want my daughter’s face breaking out from some allergic reaction,” said Robert Santos.
“Common ingredients include dyes and sometimes preservatives,” said Dr. Hao Feng, assistant professor of dermatology at UConn Health.
Feng said in some cases, patients will notice some redness after using the face paint and once they stop, it goes away.
“However, some people can get extremely allergic to it. So, they have a full-blown rash and sometimes that rash can spread to other places,” Feng explained.
Feng suggested if you do decide to use face paint, give it a test run.
“Get it, rub it on your arm in a small area for multiple days before Halloween. So, that you can see if you develop an allergic or irritant reaction. If you do, certainly, don’t use it on your face,” Feng said.
And if you haven’t worn contact lenses before, Halloween should not be the first time you try them out.
“Contact lenses are not one size fits all,” said Dr. Neil Kemp.
Kemp, of Kemp Eyecare in West Hartford, says Halloween is busy time for them. That’s when they receive complaints about costume or colored contact. He says even though they may be advertised like toys, it is illegal to sell them without a prescription.
“They’re not over the counter merchandise. They are actually medical devices that are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and they require a prescription,” Kemp said.
Experts recommend getting an eye examination and prescription before buying colored contact lenses. You could risk getting an eye injury to blindness.
“Unfortunately, what can happen with consumers who do obtain these contact lenses, they don’t often get any kind of training on how to care use them,” Kemp told NBC Connecticut.
Parents like Robert Santos says it’s a scary thought to know that may the case.
“If there’s a warning like that and they’re not getting prescriptions…that’s a great idea to have that type of warning out there,” said Santos.
The FDA says consumers should only use brand name contact lenses from well-known contact lens companies, not ones that are sold without a prescription on the internet or in retail shops and salons – especially around Halloween.
As for that vibrant colored makeup at Halloween, if the products aren’t approved by the FDA, don’t use them.
The Mexican government on Wednesday released a trove of unedited videos showing its botched raid seeking to arrest a son of drug trafficker Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.
The Mexican government’s failed attempt to capture one of Guzmán’s youngest sons, Ovidio Guzmán, on Oct. 17 left eight dead and at least 20 more injured after cartels members waged a gun battle against Mexican security forces in the town of Culiacán.
Thirty-five troops arrived at Ovidio Guzmán’s home to arrest him on a 2018 extradition request from the United States, where he and another of Guzmán's sons were indicted on charges of trafficking cocaine, methamphetamines and marijuana, the Associated Press reported.
In one of the videos, Guzmán willingly exits his home with his hands on his head as armed security officials point their weapons.
The officers then direct Guzmán to stand against a wall as he calls one of his brothers to stop the violence against the public.
“Listen, stop everything now. Tell them to withdraw,” Ovidio Guzmán says. “Stop everything now, I gave myself up ... Tell them already. I don’t want a rampage.”
At another point in the video, a woman is seen exiting the house as troops from Mexico’s Ministry of National Defense and National Guard tell her to calm down.
"There are children," the unidentified woman repeatedly tells security forces.
In a statement made by the Guzmán family lawyer, the Guzmán family apologized for the damage and deaths caused by its gunmen and promised to cover the expenses of the wounded and killed.
"In this case, the family apologizes to the people of Sinaloa, and particularly to the people of Culiacán," lawyer José Luis González Meza said during a news conference in Mexico City. "They will take care [of the expenses] of the wounded and the dead."
After hearing of the violence in Culiacán, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered troops to give up on the operation.
"The capture of one criminal cannot be worth more than the lives of people. They made the decision and I supported it," López Obrador said, adding "We do not want deaths. We do not want war."
Stonington Police are investigating after someone abandoned 10 small dogs across four towns last month.
Police said the dogs, which were adults and puppies, appear to be Chihuahua mixes. The animals were found in blue reusable Walmart bags left in private driveways in Stonington, Preston, Groton and Norwich on September 6.
The suspect vehicle is described as a black car, possibly an Acura.
Anyone with information on this case should contact Officer Kristy Murray at 860-599-7547.
Police said the dogs that were taken to Stonington Animal Control have all been adopted.
A 24-year-old man is accused of attacking an 81-year-old man from behind during an attempted robbery in Manchester Tuesday.
According to the police report, multiple witnesses saw the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Anthony Torres, attack an 81-year-old man who was out walking the neighborhood near Cambridge and Oxford Streets around 9:45 a.m.
The victim told police he was attacked from behind and never saw anyone coming. A witness told police she heard the commotion from her home and went outside to try to break things up. She told police she heard Torres shouting “I’m a cop! I’m a cop” as he struggled with the victim. The witness also said she saw the suspect with what she believed was a handgun.
“The male was extremely aggressive and was not even stopping while I was right there. He was out to do some damage. I can’t even imagine what could have happened if I was not there,” the witness told police, according to the report.
Police found the suspect running on West Middle Turnpike. He was carrying a large silver and black folding knife, according to police.
According to the report, Torres told police that “someone broke into his house and he ran after them because he thought they had a gun.”
The victim suffered cuts to his face and told police he may have hit his head. A doctor said the victim may also have a torn rotator cuff, according to the police report.
Torres was charged with second-degree assault on an elderly person, impersonating a police officer, carrying a dangerous weapon and criminal attempt at robbery. Bond was set at $200,000 and he is scheduled to appear in court on November 12.
A board set up decades ago to advise management at our state’s maximum security psychiatric facility said it was kept in the dark about a high profile abuse case.
The chairman of the Whiting Forensic Hospital Advisory Board told a task force Wednesday that administration at Whiting did not tell him about the abuse of patient Bill Shehadi in 2017.
William Wynne said he learned about it when NBC Connecticut Investigates broke the story.
The task force said it will recommend the advisory board gets more authority over Whiting in the future, in part, to make sure advisory board members are apprised of situations like this.
The advisory board did say however, that its relationship with Whiting has improved somewhat since it got a new director.
NBC Connecticut Investigates has reached out for comment to the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, which oversees Whiting Forensic Hospital.
So far there has been no response.
Read Wynne's full statement below.
Activists walked through the streets of Hamden Wednesday calling for the firing of a police officer involved in a shooting in New Haven that injured a young woman.
The activists were bound for Hamden’s Government Center, hoping to hand deliver a letter to the mayor demanding the action.
Earlier, dozens rallied outside Town Hall to demand the termination of Officer Devin Eaton.
He’s been charged with felony assault and reckless endangerment.
Investigators say Eaton shot at a car with an unarmed couple inside back in April in New Haven.
Authorities say the officer fired 13 times after the driver – Paul Witherspoon - got out unexpectedly. A woman in the car – Stephanie Washington – was reportedly seriously hurt.
The officer’s attorney says they intend to plead not guilty and the charges send a dangerous message to law enforcement.
Now protesters are calling for the town to follow police policies when it comes to reviewing an officer’s actions.
“We’re concerned about the shooting of unarmed people over our town’s line. It seemed reckless and random and that’s why he received charges by the state. So we want make to make sure he’s no longer employed by the town of Hamden,” said Rhonda Caldwell, Hamden Action Now Organizer.
NBC Connecticut reached out to the mayor and the police department for comment but has not yet heard back.
The Central Connecticut Fall Baseball League is disbanding, organizers announced Wednesday.
In the announcement, the CCFBL president and the Board said they were disbanding the league citing liability concerns and a lack of time and resources to address those.
“Our legal counsel has advised us of areas that would need to be addressed to reduce the amount of potential liability to CCFBL, its administrators, coaches, participating organizations/leagues, and others, but addressing these areas would require more time, effort, and expense than would be manageable,” the letter reads.
Steve Bickford the league facilitator, said the decision is effective immediately, as this season has already wrapped up.
The league was designed for players under 17 to improve their skills and worked with town little leagues across central Connecticut to offer a fall season for young players. Bickford said each year there were approximately 80 to 100 teams, with 12 to 16 kids on each team. The teams came from 10 different towns.
The season typically started in late August and runs for about six weekends.
It’s been almost one month since a B-17 crashed at Bradley International Airport, killing seven onboard and injuring seven others.
As investigators continue to look into what caused the crash, Gov. Ned Lamont thanked some of the first responders at Bradley Air National Guard Base in East Granby who witnessed the unimaginable.
The governor also took some time to speak with survivor Chief Master Sgt. Jim Traficante, who was on board and off-duty during the crash.
“He happened to be looking in as the plane was about to take off and saw how the pilot had closed the hatch and he happened to pay attention to that fact,” said Lamont.
Traficante hasn’t wanted to speak with media since the crash, but we watched on as the Bradley Air National Guard command chief and volunteer Simsbury firefighter shared his story of survival with Lamont, bracing what appeared to be an arm injury.
“And there they were a half an hour later, he had his gloves on. The heat was in, a fire was behind them. He’s the guy who knew how to open that hatch and saved two extra lives.”
Chief Master Sgt. Robert Cross is CT Air National Guard’s fire chief.
“I didn’t know he was part of the incident. I actually thought he was one of the responders,” he said.
He said Traficante is making his way back to work. In the meantime, Cross reflected on the response.
“I think if there’s anything that might have been different was the amount of water and foam in the area which presents additional problems as far as getting into the site.”
But as for stabilizing the incident as a whole, he says working relationships made between responders in different departments locally during trainings made all the difference.
“It worked out even better than our training, so I could not have seen anything different as far as how our response went.”
Cross also thanked the responders who traveled to other emergencies locally while they were busy at the incident.
“These are the folks that stand up, put themselves at risk and saved lives that day,” said Lamont.
The investigation into what caused the B-17 vintage plane to crash continues.
Hundreds of jobs could be coming to New Britain as a Connecticut company eyes a big expansion.
Polamer Precision started in Newington in 1997 and eventually moved its headquarters and most of its manufacturing to New Britain’s Pinnacle Business Park.
Wednesday its CEO, Chris Galic, announced the company’s intention to purchase the 27 acres of undeveloped space in the city’s business park.
The city says it will sell the property for $1.1 million.
Galik said the company first started looking at expanding three months ago when it signed a big contract with Rolls Royce for its aerospace engine components.
The company counts Pratt & Whitney and GE among its other big contracts, but said this expansion will allow it to take government work as well.
Over the next seven years, Galic plans to build three more facilities in the business park for a total of 600,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
That also means the addition of 460 jobs, to bring Polamer’s total workforce to 600 people. Galic said they are looking to hire more engineers, truck drivers, and administrative employees in addition to the plant workers.
“We’re hiring as we speak. So, the growth and expansion continues. We’re still adding more equipment and more employees to our current facility,” said Galic. “We will probably break ground within two years on the first building and this is going to be anywhere between 150,000 and 200,000 square feet.”
A new contract with Rolls Royce led to the immediate need to expand the company’s workforce , according to Galic.
He said their Newington property will stay open but become fully devoted to research and development while the New Britain facility will be the manufacturing hub.
It’s not a done deal yet. The city says it is negotiating a finance package with the company that will likely tie tax incentives to job creation.
City officials said the incentives the company will be offered will depend on the investment Polamer Precision is willing to commit to.
“It takes a lot of commitment, a lot of hard work to make sure that our business community is expanding and that we’re creating an environment where businesses like Polamer can grow and thrive. This isn’t just for the city of New Britain. This is big for the state of Connecticut, too,” said Mayor Erin Stewart.
While many companies have made headlines for leaving Connecticut, Galik said Polamer Precision has been insulated from changes in Connecticut’s business climate and the minimum wage increase because it has automated its processes, relying on machines as well as people.
However, with the addition of three more facilities and the potential for more contracts including government work, he expects the company’s need for a larger workforce to grow.
