Police are looking for two suspects who robbed a TD Bank Friday night.
New Britain and West Hartford police officers responded to a TD Bank located at 587 Hartford Road around 7:30 p.m.
Investigators said an undisclosed amount of money was taken.
Police describe the suspects as two small, Hispanic males. Both were armed with handguns.
No one was hurt.
The investigation is still ongoing.
The city of Bristol is considering a temporary ban on proposals for drive thrus in the downtown area. Though there are none on North Main Street now, the city hopes the idea will help revitalize the area.
"It's good idea actually to make it more walkable," said David Barrieau of Burlington. He doesn't frequent drive thrus and says the choice is really up to the Bristol community.
"I know a community like West Hartford has no drive thrus in their downtown area and it doesn't seem to hurt the business at all," he added.
Jay Patel who owns Jay's Wine and Spirits on North Main Street doesn't see the point.
"[Drivers] don't want to step out in the cold weather or some bad conditions so drive thrus actually help the consumer," Patel said.
The no drive through plan is part of the downtown revitalization project to make streets like North Main easier to walk. The first phase of the project is expected to include nearly 200 residential units and up to 60 thousand square feet of retail space.
"I think drive thrus would be good for North Main Street because it would mean more people driving onto North Main and they would see our business," said Lynn Stamatopolous. She owns Milestone on North Main Street.
She says she'd love the foot traffic but feels it's not going to happen.
"There are too many parking lots here and big businesses so nobody is going to be walking up and down, "Stamatopolous said.
The drive thru ban would last 18 months. The city zoning commission is expected to vote on the plan later this month.
"Nurturing. Healing. Love."
Scarlett Lewis noticed the chalk-written message on her kitchen chalkboard when returning home for the first time – days after her son Jesse was taken from her on December 14th. “It was in 6-year-old handwriting. Right about where he’d be standing,” says Lewis from her Sandy Hook farmhouse. “It’s phonetically spelled. It's very clear what it says. I was stunned.”
Lewis described her son as an “energetic, happy boy” whose personality could dominate a room. This type of message, however, was out of the ordinary for him but feels it was left for when she and her oldest son, J.T. would need it most.
“He isn’t the type of boy who would write that. He was loving and sweet and kind but that was a prophetic statement. I felt like it came from his spirit.”
It was this same message that the single mom sent while eulogizing her son. “I said ‘I have something for you to do for us. That’s to consciously change an angry thought into a loving one’ because it is a choice.”
It’s now the mission of the newly formed Jesse Lewis Choose Love Foundation. Scarlet hopes it grows from the chalkboard to the pulpit to – one day – your child’s classroom. She is meeting with professional educators to create a school curriculum that will be taught nationwide.
“This will be taught right along Math, Reading and Writing. It will be a life management course.”
Lewis was the first family member to speak at Wednesday’s Legislative Gun Violence Prevention and Children’s Safety hearing held in Newtown. She says she is not looking to get involved in the political debate that has followed the shootings. Rather, she will focus on a message that can be supported on all sides of the discussion.
“I feel like he wrote that message for a reason and handed me a torch. I’m gonna take it and hopefully – with everyone's help – change the world so this will never happen again.”
Steve Hodel cannot let go.
And so he returned to a distinctive Hollywood mansion with another retired cop, Paul Dostie, and Dostie's search dog, Buster. Hodel had a mission for them.
In his book "Black Dahlia Avenger," the longtime LAPD detective and best-selling author convinced many skeptics that he had solved the gruesome 1947 murder that perhaps became LA's most notorious cold case.
The body of Elizabeth Short, 22, had been severed in two with surgical skill and technique, leading investigators to conclude early on that the killer likely had medical school training.
That killer, Steve Hodel ultimately concluded, was his late father, George Hodel, MD.
What's more, because there was no trace of blood in the empty Leimert Park lot where the remains were found, detectives realized she must have been killed elsewhere.
That elsewhere, Hodel concluded, was the landmark Hollywood mansion where Dr. Hodel made his home, the distinctive "Sowden House" designed on a Mayan theme by famed second-generation architect Lloyd Wright.
Steve Hodel lived there as a child. As he looked into the case, he was able to determine from records that he and his siblings were away with their mother at the time of the Black Dahlia murder.
Hodel marshaled considerable evidence, which was later corroborated after "Black Dahlia Avenger" was published, when the District Attorney Steve Cooley agreed to reopen decades-old case files.
Right at the top was a picture of Dr. Hodel; it turns out he had been the principal suspect. Investigators had even planted a bug in the house to listen for incriminating admissions. But before authorities brought charges, Dr. Hodel abruptly abandoned his family and relocated to Asia.
The likes of Steve Kay, then a head Deputy DA, concluded that Steve Hodel had made the case against his father.
But that wasn't good enough for Steve Hodel, who has continued seeking more evidence in hopes of convincing his former employer, the LAPD, to declare the case officially solved.
So when the opportunity arose to return to the Sowden house with Dostie and Buster, Hodel took it.
The arrangements with the current ownership had been made by producers of a segment for the "Ghost Hunters" program on the SyFy Channel.
Hodel knew that the sounds of blows and a woman's screams had been heard coming from the basement, according to the transcript of what police heard through the bug. The basement had never been finished and when Hodel, Dostie and the SyFy crew went there last November, the floor was still dirt.
With his keen sense of smell, Buster alerted in four locations, indicating he had picked up the scent of human decomposition, faint traces of which can remain for decades, Dostie said.
But is it corroboration? Dostie cannot say for sure. The decomposition of human tissue that Buster detected did not necessarily originate in the basement.
With the house on a slope, it is possible traces may have migrated downslope from the hillside lot above. Labwork may be able to pin down the possibilities. Hodel is waiting for the results.
Dostie and Buster have moved on to other searches, Buster hardly losing a step despite the fact that the black lab was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in a hind leg, which had to be amputated.
The New York Knicks will host 150 children, their families and teachers from Sandy Hook Elementary School on Saturday.
Twenty or more children from the Newtown (Conn.) Choir from Sabrinas Encore Products will sing the national anthem before the Knicks' game against Sacramento.
The Knicks organization on Tuesday visited Newtown, where 20 children and six adults were shot and killed at the school in December.
The team and its Garden of Dreams Foundation hosted 400 children from Sandy Hook and their families in what was called a "Knicks Family Fun Day" event.
There were basketball drills and contests, along with other activities such as a magician and balloon makers.
A multi-car crash shut down I-84 West in Waterbury for a few hours Saturday morning.
State Police said the crash happened between exits 23 and 24 at around 9:30 a.m.
8 vehicles, including a truck, collided.
According to police, traffic was stopped due to construction, but a a Fed Ex truck did not slow down in time and swerved into a metal guardrail. It side swiped two other cars causing a chain reaction.
Four drivers were taken to a local hospital with minor back and neck injuries, police said.
The driver of the Fed Ex truck was issued an infraction.
Funeral arrangements were announced Friday for the 15-year-old girl whose shooting death on Chicago's south side this week captured national attention.
Meanwhile, officials announced the pool of reward money for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Hadiya Pendleton's killer had increased to $40,000.
Pendleton, a student at King College Prep High, was shot Tuesday afternoon as she and a group of other teens sought cover from a rain storm in Vivian Gordon Harsh Park, on the 4500 block of South Oakenwald Avenue.
A visitation for the teen will be held Friday, Feb. 8 at Calahan Funeral Home, at 7030 S. Halsted St., from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. A wake and funeral will beheld the following day beginning at 9 a.m. at the Greater Harvest Baptist Church, at 5141 S. State St.
It was unclear late Friday if President Barack Obama would heed a request to attend the funeral, but a pastor confirmed the president did speak with the girl's parents.
"We thank him for that, and if he does come, that's fine. If he doesn't, we know he sends his love," said Pastor Courtney Maxwell.
Earlier in the day, dozens marched from the girl's school to where she was gunned down, passing out leaflets along the way and pleading for the shooter to come forward.
Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said his officers were chasing a "ton of tips" from the community and felt confident that "something's going to pan out."
"If we get this guy into custody, we may save somebody else from going through what this family is going through right now, because that's a stone-cold killer," McCarthy said with Pendleton's heartbroken family and religious leaders at his side.
Online, moving tributes to Pendleton were being posted and shared so that no one forgets what's been lost while authorities search for a killer.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rainbow PUSH Coalition planned to hold a Saturday rally in honor of Pendleton. Organizers planned to begin the event at 10 a.m. at the group's headquarters, at 930 E. 50th St.. Ministers, legislators, school officials, parents and other supporters then planned to march toward Vivian Gordon Harsh Park.
Dozens of funeral directors who served or volunteered to help the families of 20 elementary school students and six educators killed in Newtown, Conn., have held an emotional service during which they recalled the shooting and the work they did that December.
About 80 funeral directors at the 11 Connecticut that served the Newtown families and others who volunteered their services shed tears, hugged each other and recalled with emotion the shooting when they gathered in Southbury on Saturday for a service of remembrance and reflection.
The Connecticut Funeral Directors Association organized the event to recognize the work done by the funeral directors.
Twenty-six candles burned on a table in front of the room as participants streamed in. The service began with the group's executive director, John Cascio, reading the names of each victim.
Copyright Associated Press/NBC Connecticut
Worshippers coming to Mass in Catholic churches throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles on Sunday are hearing extraordinary words of apology for decades of child sexual abuse.
At every church, priests are reading a letter from Archbishop José H. Gomez that denounces the abuse as “evil” and apologized for both the molestation and for the church’s failure to expunge pedophile priests from its ranks.
More: Read Archbishop Gomez' letter
“There is no excuse, no explaining away what happened to these children,” Gomez wrote in the letter, which was originally released Jan. 31. “The priests involved had the duty to be their spiritual fathers and they failed.”
The letter that priests are reading is the same one in which Gomez late Thursday announced that he had removed his predecessor, retired Cardinal Roger Mahony, from all administrative and public duties. Gomez also relieved Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Curry from his position as Regional Bishop of Santa Barbara.
“To every victim of child sexual abuse by a member of our Church: I want to help you in your healing,” Gomez wrote. “I am profoundly sorry for these sins against you.”
Stonington Police arrested the man involved in a string of burglaries over the past few weeks in the Pawcatuck section of town.
Lenny Fayerweather, 24, of Pawcatuck, was arrested on a warrant Friday night, according to police.
He was charged with multiple counts of burglary, larceny and criminal mischief. Investigators said some stolen property taken from homes in Pawcatuck were recovered.
Fayerweather is being held on an $85, 000 bond and is scheduled to appear in New London Superior Court on February 4th.
Police said the case is still under investigation and more arrests are possible.
For much of the night, it seemed like Super Bowl XLVII would be remembered as the night the lights went out in New Orleans. But it will also be remembered for Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who responded to questions about whether he's an elite QB by winning the Super Bowl MVP.
The 34-minute power outage in the third quarter at the Superdome may have been the most surreal moment in the history of our country's biggest spectacle. With the Ravens up 28-6 at that point and doing absolutely nothing wrong, it seemed like the only thing anyone would be talking about was who to blame for a embarrassment of epic proportions for the league and the city.
We'll never forget seeing the stadium going dark, but the way the game unfolded from that point guarantees that we'll be thinking of it for a lot more than the blackout. The Ravens' 34-31 win was chockful of storylines that will make for good fodder in our football-less future.
The 49ers rattled off 17 points in just over four minutes after the blackout, their offense finally coming to life after a sloppy first half that featured two turnovers. What looked like the first Super Bowl rout in a long time turned into an incredible game. A bad punt and a Ray Rice fumble helped the 49ers turn the tables.
Colin Kaepernick fulfilled the hype during the second half comeback, finishing the day with 302 passing yards and rushing for 62 yards and a touchdown to nearly bring the 49ers all the way back. The delay from the blackout might have sapped some energy from the Ravens' legs, but we've seen Kaepernick do this enough in his first 10 games to know that it can't take all the blame.
One of the things we'll wonder about the most is why Jim Harbaugh chose not to have his quarterback run on any of the team's four plays inside the Ravens' 7-yard line as with time running out in the fourth quarter. Kaepernick wound up throwing incomplete to Michael Crabtree on fourth down as Harbaugh screamed for a holding flag that would not come.
Debating whether or not that was a foul could take a whole blackout, but Harbaugh's usage of Kaepernick is a more interesting question. Harbaugh chose not to run Kaepernick on a two-point conversion earlier in the fourth and Ravens safety Ed Reed blew up the play with an unmolested rush into the backfield to force an incompletion.
Kaepernick's ability to make plays with his feet helped the 49ers get back into the game and the coach will have plenty of people wondering why he didn't let him do it in some of the biggest spots.
John Harbaugh won't have to answer any such questions.
Joe Flacco's been doubted an awful lot over the years, but the team put the game into his hands on a crucial third-and-one with 6:30 to play and a two-point lead to protect. Flacco audibled into a pass and found Anquan Boldin, who fought off good coverage to catch the ball and keep the drive alive long enough for a field goal that proved essential.
It wasn't the greatest throw you'll ever see. Neither was the 56-yard lollipop to Jacoby Jones for a second quarter touchdown. Flacco made them and two other touchdown passes without throwing an interception for the fourth time in four playoff tries, though, and that counts for a lot.
There are things to pick apart about Flacco, but at some point you have to surrender to the record and his is sparkling. Five playoff trips, three trips to the AFC title game and, now, a Super Bowl MVP earned when it looked like the lights had gone out on the Ravens when they went out in the dome.
That's what you want when you talk about a franchise quarterback and it's why Flacco is going to cash in handsomely when the Ravens sign the impending free agent before he can even speak to another team.
There will still be those that argue Flacco isn't elite, but it's a moot point when you're a winner, and that's pretty much the final word on the referendum about Flacco's standing in the league.
On a night when Ray Lewis went out a winner, Kaepernick made us wonder what he'll do for an encore and the biggest show in America was plunged into darkness, Flacco's confirmation wound up as the biggest story of all.
Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.
Eight people were killed and 38 people were injured on Sunday when a tour bus that apparently had brake problems collided with a truck and a second vehicle on a mountain road 80 miles east of Los Angeles.
Firefighters from multiple agencies responded to Highway 38 near Bryant Street in Mentone (MAP) about 6:30 p.m. The road is used to travel to and from the mountain resort of Big Bear.
Passengers told NBC4 that they were coming down the mountain from a day of skiing and snowboarding in Big Bear when the driver said something to the effect that the brakes were out.
The passengers heard noises they thought were brakes and smelled something burning and then watched in horror as the bus weaved in and out of traffic for up to three minutes, trying to avoid cars.
The bus hit a car, then flipped.
Some riders blacked out only to awaken up to 20 feet away from the bus.
They said the driver was stuck under a rock, but he survived.
CHP Officer Mario Lopez told the Associated Press that eight people were confirmed dead and 38 were injured.
Lopez said the bus driver reported having brake problems as it came down the mountain, rear-ending a sedan then flipping over and hitting a pickup truck that was pulling a trailer.
There were 39 people aboard the bus. Four other people in two other vehicles were involved in the crash.
The bus rolled at least once, said Ronald Walls, a battalion chief at the San Bernardino County Fire Department. It had significant damage to the passenger's side, he said.
Terri Kasinga of Caltrans described the crash as the worst she's seen in 23 years working for the agency.
The bus was from Tijuana headed back from Big Bear, she said. A member of the Mexican Consulate was at the scene.
It was a chaotic scene as firefighters worked to extricate people from the bus and emergency crews set up triage areas in a "mass casualty" situation, said Eric Sherwin, with the San Bernardino County Fire Department.
People were being extricated from the bus more than an hour after the crash on the two-lane highway. Rescuers were still searching the wreckage for victims hours later. Television footage showed the bus sitting upright but turned sideways on the road.
Firefighters called a network of doctors and nurses to poll hospitals on bed availability, Sherwin said.
Arrowhead Regional Medical Center said four women had been admitted from the crash and their conditions were still being determined. Redland Community Hospital said it received one person in critical condition and one with minor injuries, while two more were en route with minor injuries.
Community Hospital of San Bernardino said it had received one patient with undetermined injuries, while St. Bernadine Medical Center said it had two patients, whose injuries were being assessed.
Witnesses said a bus hit a truck and rolled down an embankment, possibly clipping other cars.
Highway 38 was closed in both directions while emergency crews worked the scene.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
San Francisco police reported minor flare-ups of violence as disappointed San Francisco 49ers fans reacted to their team's loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday during the Super Bowl.
Fans threw bottles at police officers in the Mission District following the 49ers 34-31 loss, according to Officer Carlos Manfredi. And as of 10 p.m., police had arrested 25 people, mostly for being drunk.
Police were doing their best to prevent more major calamities as they shut down parts of the Mission to stop cars from cruising and parking while street sweepers cleaned up any potential fire hazards.
"I think they're doing a great job," said Shanah Ucan of San Francisco. "People are safe, people who want to come out and enjoy what's happening."
The city was much calmer than when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in October when several vandals took to the streets, setting fires, breaking windows and torching a Muni bus.
For full U.S. news coverage, visit NBCNews.com.
For the Super Bowl, Mayor Ed Lee had worked with police, fire and bar owners to prevent such mayhem from happening on the streets in San Francisco, even asking patrons to not serve hard alcohol and cut customers off if they were getting too drunk.
"It's nowhere compared to the Giants," Manfredi said.
At Pete's Tavern in San Francisco, the mood was definitely somber, as fans clapped their hands to the heads as the Niners lost the game. Still, many said they were proud of their hometown team.
Elsewhere in the city, in neighborhoods such as the Haight Ashbury, fans reported a somber mood but no violence. Although in some part of the city, residents felt the need to set off some fireworks, despite the loss.
Lee congratulated the 49ers for their "spectacular performance" despite the 34-31 defeat.
"The entire team demonstrated what you can accomplish with enough perseverance and teamwork," Lee said in a statement. "The journey of the 49ers in their 'Quest for Six' reinvigorated San Francisco Bay Area football fans in a way unseen for nearly two decades."
The Boy Scouts of America begin debating their anti-gay policy on Monday.
The new policy under discussion would be up to individual troops to allow gay members.
The Boy Scouts expect to announce a decision after this week's board meeting.
Several groups plan to rally near the national headquarters in Irving, Texas, both for and against a possible change in policy.
President Barack Obama weighed in on the matter in an interview that aired Sunday just before the Super Bowl, saying he wants the Boy Scouts to allow gays and lesbians to join.
The president called the Scouts "a great institution" that promotes young people and said "no one should be barred from that."
President Obama also called out the Scouts during last year's presidential campaign, saying he opposed the long-standing policy of excluding gays as members.
But Texas Gov. Rick Perry, speaking Saturday to an annual gathering of Scouts from around Texas, discussed his own experiences in scouting and made it clear he's against changing the Scouts' controversial policy.
"Scouting is about teaching a substantial amount of life lessons," Perry said. "Sexuality is not one of them. Never has been and doesn't need to be."
The Boy Scouts have previously reviewed their policy on not accepting gays as members. Last year, after a two-year review of the rule, the Scouts reaffirmed their longstanding policy as it has been a continual target of numerous protest campaigns.
In recent months, some corporate sponsors, including pharmaceutical giant Merck, had pulled funding from the organization due to the exclusionary rule.
James Turley, the chairman of Ernst & Young, and Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T, vowed in 2012 to work together to change the Boy Scouts' policy after a den leader in Ohio was ousted from her position due to her sexual orientation.
The Helene Grant School in New Haven will be closed on Monday and Tuesday as a safety precaution after pre-construction work on the building uncovered common, but elevated levels of a material that requires the district to take action, according to a news release from the school department.
Helene Grant is scheduled to be demolished this summer and a new facility will be built as part of the district’s school construction program.
Helene Grant School will be relocated to its temporary home a little earlier than planned until the new school is completed in 2015.
More information will be provided to parents on Monday, including the new location of the school when students return Wednesday.
When school alerts are sent out, they show up on the school closings section of NBCConnecticut.com.
You can sign up for alerts here.
State police are investigating a fatal crash on Route 15 southbound, south of exit 40 in Norwalk.
Police responded to a crash with a possible fire on the Merritt Parkway South just before exit 40B at 12:15 a.m. and found a 7 series BMW down an embankment, according to the fire department.
A state trooper had extinguished the fire before firefighters arrived.
Paramedics from Norwalk Hospital pronounced the man, who was alone in the car, dead.
Police closed Creeping Hemlock Drive while emergency personnel were at the scene.
The scene was cleared at 4:16 a.m.
Police have not yet released the man's name.
A one-car crash closed Route 10 in Avon for hours.
A car crashed into a utility pole near Talcott Notch Road around 11 p.m. Sunday, according to police. The driver was not hurt, but the utility pole came down, police said.
Power crews worked Monday morning to repair the pole and the road reopened around 10 a.m.
Glastonbury police have filed charges against a Manchester man accused of grabbing a baseball bat and going after another man who took offense to his “Impeach Obama” bumper sticker.
Police said Paul V. Guaschino, 61, of Manchester, has an “Impeach Obama” bumper sticker on his vehicle and another driver apparently took offense to it on Friday and stuck his middle finger up at Guaschino, according to Glastonbury police.
Guaschino proceeded to follow the motorist to a stop light, got out of his car with a baseball bat and hit the other driver’s trunk, according to a news release from Glastonbury police.
The motorist fled in fear of his safety, according to police.
Guaschino was charged with second-degree threatening, second-degree criminal mischief and breach of peace and released on a written promise to appear.
He is due in court in Manchester on Feb. 20.
NBC Connecticut was unable to reach Guaschino at the phone number listed for his residence and left a message.
