First Lady Michelle Obama teamed up with the Miami Heat to create a fun YouTube video about healthy eating.
Head Coach Erik Spoelstra along with star players Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen start the video off by talking about drinking water and eating right. But the real action occurs when the first lady and Chris Bosh videobomb the interview by munching on apples and drinking water in the background. Then Michelle Obama slam dunks a basketball using a hoop held up by LeBron James.
The video ends with Michelle Obama sitting on a couch at the White House flanked by the NBA stars, eating more apples.
Michelle Obama's Let's Move! organization filmed the video when the Miami Heat visited the White House last week for winning their second NBA championship in a row. The first lady posted the video to Twitter on Tuesday.
In Hartford, the parking ban begins at 3 p.m. today and goes until tomorrow at 3 p.m. The Winterfest skating rink in Bushnell Park will close at 5 p.m. and open tomorrow at 11 a.m..
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra said the emergency operating center partially opened at noon to monitor the storm and will be fully operational by midnight.
Starting at 6 p.m., the Hartford Fire Department will increase staff.
“The snow could be anywhere from 5 to 10 inches in Hartford but residents should also be mindful of extremely cold temperatures over the next few days,” Segarra said. “We’ve done this before and should take the necessary precautions. I encourage folks to check on their neighbors whenever possible. Our shelters will remain open for 24 hours as long as the temperatures are below freezing.”
During a snow emergency parking ban, all on-street parking is prohibited throughout the city. Any vehicles not removed from city streets by the start of the parking ban will be ticketed and towed.
Residents without access to off-street parking should move their vehicles to one of the following authorized parking areas before the start of the parking ban:
2 Holcomb Street Lot
Keney Park Entrance Lot—Ridgefield Street
KDA Center Lot—Naugatuck Street
Pope Park Center Lot—Park Terrace
Metzner Center Lot—Franklin Avenue
Colt Park Lot—Wawarme Avenue
Elizabeth Park Lots
Morgan Street Garage- 155 Morgan Street
All Hartford Schools Parking Lots beginning today at 3 p.m.
Residents whose vehicles are towed during the parking ban should contact the Hartford Police Department at (860) 757-4000.
The cost for retrieving a towed vehicle is $97.84. An additional $99 ticket will be issued which owners are responsible for paying before the answer date. Visit http://www.hartford.gov/snow-parking for a list of snow emergency parking locations, and for information regarding towed vehicles.
Due to the severe cold weather, residents should take the following precautions:
Stay indoors if possible.
If you must go outside, wear several layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. Wear a hat and change wet clothes frequently to prevent loss of body heat.
Cover your mouth with a scarf to protect your lungs.
Anyone in need of shelter is urged to call 211. As long as the temperatures are below 25 degrees, the following shelters will be open 24 hours:
McKinney Shelter: 34 Huyshope Ave, (860) 722-6922
Immaculate Conception Shelter: 560 Park St, (860) 724-4823
Shelton police are investigating after a man offered a 17-year-old a ride to school several times this morning.
The teen told police that she was walking to her bus stop in the White Hills area just before 7 a.m. when a man in a white Nissan stopped next to her, told her the bus had already come and offered her a ride to school.
When the girl refused, the man offered a few more times before driving away, police said.
The man is described as an older heavyset white male.
Police checked the area, but could not find the vehicle.
Anyone with any information should call police at (203) 924-1544.
Police are investigating after a man with a handgun tried to rob the Global gas station in Glastonbury on Monday night.
According to police, the suspect walked into the gas station at 2997 Main Street just after 11 p.m. last night. He displayed a handgun and tried to grab money from the cash register, but was unsuccessful and fled.
The suspect is described as a man of average height wearing a camouflage jacket, black-and-white striped hat, black mask and gloves, jeans and black shoes.
No one was injured during the incident.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Glastonbury police at 860-633-8301.
Seventy years after being killed in action during the 1944 invasion of Guam, a Central California Marine has received a funeral with full military honors.
The Fresno Bee says that two years after the war, Cpl. Thomas Jefferson Johnson got a quiet burial in his hometown of Chowchilla -- with no bugle playing "Taps," no color guard, no presentation of the flag.
The Marine's son Kevin Johnson, now 75 and a military veteran, says it bothered him his whole life that his father never received proper military honors.
Johnson was in attendance Monday as a team of guard members gathered at the Chowchilla Cemetery for the long overdue funeral.
The newspaper says Johnson fought back tears while standing over his father's grave as his colleagues with the American Veterans Post 56 in Tulare presented him with a folded flag.
From top-tier restaurants that serve foie gras burgers to greasy fast-food chains that dish up mouthwatering patties, our inner burger critic has always judged the American classic by its taste and presentation.
Thanks to Time Magazine’s recent poll of hamburger historians and experts, we can now add "how influential the burger is" to our judging criteria. The list revealed juicy details of which burgers have the largest impact on the burger industry and world.
White Castle took the crown for the "most influential burger of all time," beating iconic burger joints like McDonald's (No. 2), In-N-Out (No. 3) and foodie favorite Shake Shack (No. 7).
White Castle’s palm-sized, square patty originated in Wichita, Kansas, in 1921 and was the “first burger to spawn a fast-food empire,” Time notes. By 1930, the family-owned business had opened 30 locations. Today, White Castle restaurants are located in New York City, the Midwest and upper South.
Time ranked the Burger King Whopper in fifth place, stating that it's the fast-food industry’s first gimmick burger, inspiring competitors to create “deluxe” versions.
At No. 7, Time gave credit to chef Danny Meyer’s ShackBurger for sparking a food frenzy and attracting long lines at New York’s Madison Square Park. The chain has 21 locations in the U.S. (nine of them in New York City) and 13 Shake Shacks internationally.
With a price tag of $325,000, No. 9 is the most expensive burger. The burger is so pricey because it is lab-grown, making it suitable for vegetarians. The meat patty, which looks, smells and tastes like a burger, was grown from cow stem cells by researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands.
The Ramen Burger, which consists of a bun made of ramen noodles and a beef patty, landed in the No. 12 spot. Shortly after the cronut crave, the burger drew crowds to Smorgasburg, Brooklyn's outdoor food fair. An official Ramen Burger restaurant has not been opened, but that doesn't stop copycats from making it.
The least influential of the 17 went to the Krusty Burger (No. 17), a "Simpsons" tribute at Universal Studios Orlando.
It looks like there's another athlete who graduated from same charm school as Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman.
Dutch speed skater Sjinkie Knegt was reportedly disqualified from a competition in Germany after he gave Olympic gold medalist Viktor Ahn of Russia a middle finger salute with both hands, according to The Independent.
Ahn beat Knegt, capturing first place in the men's 500 meter final this weekend at the ISU European Short Track Speed Skating Championships, which took place in Dresden.
While Ahn raised his hands with his index fingers in the air to celebrate his win, Knegt was right behind him, flipping the bird with both hands.
The obscene gesture was captured by an Agence France-Presse photographer and the photo is making its round on news sites and social media.
Knegt wasn't the only athlete making headlines this weekend for his display of questionable sportsmanship. The Seahawks' cornerback Richard Sherman went on a rant that was captured on-camera after his team beat the 49ers in the NFC's championship game.
A 54-year-old West Hartford man is accused of forging his ex-wife’s signature on child support checks he wrote her so he could deposit them back into his account, according to Glastonbury police.
Glastonbury police have charged Peter Turner, 54, of Kane Street in West Hartford, with second-degree forgery, third-degree identity theft and fifth-degree larceny.
He was arrested on Monday, according to police, and is due in court on Feb. 5.
A 25-year-old employee of the Chipotle Mexican Grill in Glastonbury is facing charges after allegedly stealing more than $1,000 from the restaurant, police said.
Christopher Fyffe, of Bell Court in East Hartford, is accused of stealing $1,018 from the Chipotle restaurant at 140 Glastonbury Boulevard in Glastonbury, where he worked at the time.
Fyffe is charged with larceny and is due in court Feb. 5.
A 22-year-old Harwinton man is facing child pornography charges after police found that computer files were being shared from an Internet account investigators traced back to his home, authorities said.
William P. Pirotta, of Spring Hill Road in Harwinton, was arrested Tuesday, Jan. 21 and is charged with promoting a minor in an obscene performance and illegal possession of child pornography.
Pirotta’s arrest stems from an investigation launched in Feb. 2013 after police traced child pornography activity to his residence. A search and seizure in May 2013 revealed child pornography files on Pirotta’s computers and related equipment.
He’s being held on a $10,000 bond and is due in court Feb. 3.
A BART police officer was accidentally shot and killed by a fellow officer while performing a probation search in Dublin Tuesday afternoon, police said.
Transit agency officials said in a statement that the shooting occurred at Park Sierra Apartments, near the intersection of Dougherty Road and Park Sierra, around 1:03 p.m., and the male officer was transported to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, where he died of his injuries.
A number of BART officers had come to the apartment complex to do a probation search, according to Sgt. J.D. Nelson of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. They were looking for a man suspected of robberies on BART trains. Officers went into the apartment and at some point one officer accidentally discharged his gun, wounding the other officer.
Nelson said there are no suspects at large, and Dublin police are investigating the shooting. The city of Dublin contracts with the sheriff's office for police services.
He said this is the first time a BART police officer has been killed in the line of duty.
In an emailed statement, BART officials said, "The entire BART organization is deeply saddened by this tragic event and we ask the public to keep the officer’s family in its thoughts and prayers.”
Police are searching for the New York City man accused of shooting and killing a Waterbury resident Friday night in the city's first homicide of 2014.
Ismail Abdus-Sabur, 34, is wanted in connection with the fatal shooting of 38-year-old Kareem Morey. Police said Morey was shot and killed after he and his sons, ages 19 and 21, confronted Abdus-Sabur and a group of men around 10:30 p.m. Friday at 17 Chestnut Avenue in Waterbury.
Police believe Abdus-Sabur shot Morey once in the upper chest, then fled the state. It’s not clear why Abdus-Sabur was in Connecticut, but police say he’s facing multiple felony drug convictions in New York.
Morey died of his injuries Saturday morning at Saint Mary’s Hospital.
Waterbury police are working with the U.S. Marshals to track down Abdus-Sabur and serve and arrest warrant obtained today.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Waterbury police.
Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife were indicted Tuesday on federal corruption charges after months of investigation into gifts the couple received from a political donor who was seeking state government support for his nutritional supplement company.
The 14-count indictment accuses the McDonnells of accepting gifts totaling more than $135,000 including loans, a Rolex watch, rounds of golf at an exclusive club and designer clothes, among other gifts. It connects those gifts to support that Maureen and Bob McDonnell gave to Star Scientific, a Glen Allen, Va.-based company that makes dietary supplements.
In a statement Tuesday, McDonnell insisted he had done nothing wrong.
"I deeply regret accepting legal gifts and loans from Mr. Williams, all of which have been repaid with interest, and I have apologized for my poor judgment for which I take full responsibility," McDonnell said. "However, I repeat emphatically that I did nothing illegal for Mr. Williams in exchange for what I believed was his personal generosity and friendship."
Tuesday, his lawyers filed a memo in federal court that blasted the indictment, saying prosecutors hadn't shown that the governor had agreed to perform an official act to help Star Scientific.
"Bob McDonnell is an innocent man. He never entered into an illegal agreement with Mr. Jonnie Williams or Star Scientific, nor did he ever promise or provide them any official benefits."
The 43-page indictment against McDonnell and his wife charges the couple with one count of conspiracy to commit honest-services wire fraud; three counts of honest-services wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to obtain property under color of official right; six counts of obtaining property under color of official right; and one count of making false statements to a federal credit union.
McDonnell is also charged with an additional count of making a false statement to a financial institution, and Maureen McDonnell is charged with one count of obstruction of an official proceeding.
The indictment traces years of an alleged relationship between the McDonnells and Williams, whose company's dietary supplements allegedly helped people stop smoking and reduce inflammation.
Before McDonnell was even elected, the indictment claims, he used a jet owned by Williams. By the time McDonnell was about to take office, his wife, Maureen, allegedly reached out to Williams for help finding a designer dress for her husband's inauguration.
A member of McDonnell's staff, identified as "JE," talked Maureen out of the gift; "as a result, Maureen McDonnell became upset with JE," the indictment reads.
According to the indictment, Maureen McDonnell sent an email to JE, reading:
"I need to talk to you about Inaugural clothing budget. I need answers and Bob is screaming about the thousands I'm charging up in credit card debt. We are broke, have an unconscionable amount in credit card debt already, and this Inaugural is killing us!! I need answers and I need help, and I need to get this done."
Maureen did not accept the dress but said she would take a "rain check" from Williams, according to the indictment.
In April 2011, Maureen McDonnell asked Williams to take her shopping in New York City, and said that she would ensure Williams was sitting next to the governor at an upcoming political event, the indictment claims. She said she needed dresses for her daughter's wedding and her anniversary party.
Williams spent almost $20,000 on the shopping spree, including "$10,999 at Oscar de la Renta, approximately $5,685 at Louis Vuitton, and approximately $2,604 at Bergdorf Goodman," the indictment read.
In May, Maureen McDonnell told Williams that she and the governor were having severe financial difficulties, and asked him for a $50,000 loan, according to the indictment. She also said she needed $15,000 to finish paying for her daughter's wedding.
Shortly after Maureen McDonnell agreed to attend a Star Scientific event, the indictment claims, Williams had his assistant write a $50,000 check, described as a loan with a 5 percent interest rate and no documentation, and a $15,000 check marked "wedding gift."
The indictment details more alleged gifts to the McDonnells from Williams, including repeated rounds of golf at exclusive Kinlock Golf Club for the governor, his sons, their friends and the governor's future son-in-law, and a July, 2011 trip for the family to Williams' multi-million-dollar vacation home in Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia.
At that house, Maureen had asked that Williams' Ferrari be available for the governor to use, the indictment claims. Later, she sent Williams an email containing only a picture of the governor in the car.
In August, 2011, Maureen admired Williams' Rolex and encouraged Williams to buy one for the governor, with "'71st Governor of Virginia' engraved on the back," the indictment read. Maureen gave the watch to the governor for Christmas.
At the same time, Williams was trying to grow his company -- particularly, getting the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University to do clinical studies of the company's supplements, including one called Anatabloc. The indictment says Maureen McDonnell spoke at Star Scientific events and sent an email to McDonnell's staffer asking about the progress on the studies: "Gov wants to know why nothing has developed w studies after [JW] gave $200,000," the indictment quotes the email as reading.
In February 2012, the governor sent an email to his staffer, "JE," saying "Pls see me about anatabloc issues at VCU and UVA. Thx."
The indictment alleges the response from JE came quickly: "will do. We need to be careful with this issue."
In March of 2012, the indictment reads, McDonnell met with Virginia's secretary of administration to discuss the state's employee health plan; during the meeting, he pulled some Anatabloc out of his pocket and said he personally took it.
More loans and vacations -- including at a luxury resort in Cape Cod -- followed, the indictment alleges. So did "yard work and other miscellaneous home repairs," including installation of a hot tub cover and staining the defendant's deck.
Williams also provided "round trip airline tickets for two of the defendants' daughters to travel
to a bachelorette party for one of the daughters in Savannah, Georgia," the indictment claims.
The indictment also claims Maureen McDonnell twice bought Star Scientific stock. Once she sold it before the deadline to disclose the ownership in official state records, the indictment claims; a second time, she transferred some of the stock into her childrens' names.
McDonnell left office earlier this month after four years in the governor's office. Virginia law limits governors to a single term.
In July, McDonnell apologized and said he had returned more than $120,000 in loans and other gifts from Johnnie Williams, the CEO of Star Scientific. He insisted that he had done nothing illegal on behalf of Star Scientific but said he'd do "things differently today than choices I made a couple of years ago."
Three Southern California men accused of starting the 1,952-acre Colby Fire allegedly smoked marijuana as the brush fire flared, according to a federal complaint filed on Tuesday.
Clifford Eugene Henry Jr., 22, of Glendora; Steven Robert Aguirre, 21, a transient last known to live in Los Angeles; and Jonathan Carl Jarrell, 23, of Irwindale, were charged with one federal count each of unlawfully setting a fire.
The men allegedly tossed papers into a campfire when winds sent embers into the brush above Glendora, setting off the Colby Fire.
A federal complaint alleges they were camping, smoking pot and watching videos on a laptop when their campfire got out of control.
The suspects are expected to appear in federal court on Wednesday.
They face up to five years in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The three men were taken into custody shortly after the fire broke out early Thursday morning amid a red flag warning denoting an elevated risk of wildfires.
Glendora police Chief Tim Staab last week a resident called police shortly after the fire began and reported seeing at least two people near what was believed to be the origin of the blaze.
The Colby Fire was 95 percent contained as of Tuesday.
It destroyed five homes, damaged 17 others and injured six people, including five firefighters and a civilian. It also prompted evacuations of several neighborhoods.
A 32-year-old man is facing charges after driving erratically during the snowstorm in Hartford and leading police on a chase that ended when the officer fired his weapon, authorities said.
According to police, Sadiki Blake, of Hartford, was driving recklessly on Mather Street in Hartford around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. A nearby officer reported seeing Blake speed through several stop lights and red lights, and tried to pull him over on Mahl Avenue.
Police said Blake sped up and led the officer on a chase, stopping momentarily, then backing his car toward the police cruiser and speeding off. The officer said he was afraid for his life and fired three shots at Blake’s red Ford Expedition. The shots struck the car’s front end, and Blake stopped the car. He was taken into custody, uninjured.
Blake is charged with reckless driving, disobeying the signal of an officer and criminal attempt at assault. He was held on a $500,000 bond. Police said Blake has 21 previous arrests in Hartford.
Mahl Avenue was closed at Main Street while authorities responded to the scene.
The Hartford Police Department Major Crimes Division is investigating.
Route 320 in Willington was closed north of Hancock Road because of a crash early this morning, but it has since cleared, according to the state Department of Transportation.
The crash happened around 12:15 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation.
Check our traffic map to see if there are issues on the roads that will affect your commute.
The second massive snowstorm of the season buried parts of the Northeast in up to 15 inches of snow Tuesday, creating dangerous whiteout conditions that caused a messy commute and brought subzero temperatures to the region overnight. But for some, the blizzard seemed like a perfect opportunity to get out and play.
In Philadelphia, children and adults alike grabbed what they could to slide down the snow-covered Art Museum steps.
“If it slides, it rides,” said one man, explaining his technique.
In Washington, D.C, where federal offices were closed, hundreds of snow revelers took advantage of their snow day and participated in a massive snowball fight at Dupont Circle. The gathering was a hit on social media with #DCSnowballFight trending on Twitter.
The snow snarled travel on major highways in the region and backed up traffic in New York City for hours during the evening commute. One taxi driver took to the slippery sidewalk to get around a snowed in truck blocking a Manhattan street. The dangerous stunt was caught on camera.
One of the casualties of the snowstorm may have been a glass panel at Apple’s iconic cube store on Fifth Avenue in New York City. It cracked when hit by a snowblower, an Apple rep told BuzzFeed. Images of the damage were shared on social media.
Apple has not yet returned a call for comment to NBC 4 New York.
An arctic chill — an offshoot of the global vortex that wreaked havoc across the United States earlier this month— is set to last through the weekend.
Take a look at some of the stunning images of the blizzard shared on social media:
Employees at a Victoria's Secret in Texas banned a mother from breastfeeding in the store, even though nursing is allowed under company policy, Today.com reported.
A store employee in Austin last week told a mother to take her crying son into the alley outside of the store to breastfeed him after she requested a private changing room to nurse, she told a local TV station. Ashley Clawson, a 27-year-old mother of two, had just finished shopping and spent $150 at the store at the time of the request.
"I was humiliated by the whole thing. I immediately called my husband," Clawson told KTCB in Austin.
She filed two complaints before the company told her she'd receive a response in the mail. Clawson received an official apology and a $150 store gift card after her interview with the local Fox affiliate, Today.com reported.
Clawson said she has received a rush of support from people on Facebook after she took to the social media site to vent her frustration.
Mothers are allowed to breastfeed their babies in public, according to Texas state law. Victoria's Secret issued a statement after the fallout saying that it was "longstanding policy permitting mothers to nurse their children in our stores and we are sorry that it was not followed in this case."
"We have apologized to Ms. Clawson, and we are taking actions to ensure all associates understand our policy that welcomes mothers to breastfeed in our stores," the statement said.
