In a male dominated sport, a 7-year-old girl in Southern California is shining on her undefeated youth football team.

Amazyn East, who plays for the Carson Colts, is the only girl on her team.

She is the only girl on any of the 13 teams she plays against in the Orange County All American Football Conference, her father, Eric East, said.

The league is for 5 and 6 year olds, but Amazyn, having just turned seven, is still able to play this year.

Amazyn's brothers played football and she has been watching football from the field since she was born, her dad said.

Eric East said his daughter asked to try out for the team this year, and after seeing how talented she was, he agreed to let her play. Since the season started in August, Amazyn has scored in every game.

Eric East admits there are challenges for Amazyn being the only girl on the team.

"It's very challenging, but they've welcomed her with open arms," Eric East said. "They love her."

The young athlete isn't limited to football. According to her dad, Amazyn also plays basketball and runs track for youth teams in Carson.

If Amazyn continues football next year, she will move up into a tackle football league, and while her dad says Amazyn wants to keep playing, he isn't so sure. For now, Eric East says, they will face that challenge next year.

A young salon manager was found dead inside a cryochamber where she is thought to have suffocated, according to police and local media reports. 

Employees at Rejuvenice in Henderson, Nevada found the body of Chelsea Ake, 24, inside one of the ice machines earlier this week NBC station KSNV reported. 

Ake, the manager of the business, is thought to have gone into one of the cryochambers on her own, it said.

Whole-body cryotherapy is offered as an alternative to cold-water immersion or ice packs, but machines are never used for more than three minutes because temperatures can fall as low as minus 240 degrees Fahrenheit.

Five people were killed in a head-on collision on a highway leading to California's Yosemite Park Saturday evening, NBC News reported.

Two others were flown to regional trauma centers after the crash at around 6:30 p.m. local time (9:30 p.m. ET) on State Route 120 near Smith Station Road, the California Highway Patrol Officer Nick Norton said.

The highway is an entrance to Yosemite, a national park covering nearly 1,200 square miles in the Sierra Nevada mountians in central California. Both vehicles, a 2012 Mercedes and a 2012 Nissan, reportedly caught on fire after the collision.

The Vatican kicked him out and his diocese fired him, but Krzysztof Charamsa says his faith is not shaken. If anything, he says he's a better priest for coming out — and it's time for the Church to wake up, NBC News reported. 

With Catholic bishops set to release a report on issues of family, Charamsa spoke to NBC News about how he lost his.

The life he'd built evaporated when Charamsa stood before television cameras on Oct. 3 alongside his boyfriend and announced he was gay. The Vatican called the declaration "very serious and irresponsible," dismissing Charamsa from his work there and from his teaching roles.

To Charamsa, that meant losing everything while gaining something new: total freedom.

Stratford police are asking for the public’s help to track down a person who has been stealing political signs.

Police say on October 15, 21 and 24 they received complaints of stolen political signs from in front of the Vitamin Shack at 1615 Main Street. Police say at each incident a single male suspect is seen stealing the signs. They are unsure if it is the same person every time.

Surveillance photos capture a car driving away after one of the incidents. A pickup truck may also have been used

Each time three or more signs were taken. Police say it appears the suspect, or suspects have been stealing “Vote Yes” signs, “Rich Fredette for Zoning” signs, and “Barnaby for Council” signs.

Anyone who recognizes the vehicle in the picture or has information on these thefts is asked to contact Stratford police Detective Michael Panton at (203) 385 4143, the Stratford Police anonymous tip line at (203) 375 8477, or report it through the Stratford Police Anonymous Tips IWatch app.
 

Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson said he would "love" to see Roe vs. Wade overturned, making abortion illegal nationwide, with almost no exemptions.

"I'm a reasonable person and if people can come up with a reasonable explanation of why they would like to kill a baby, I'll listen," Carson said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

While the Republican candidate said he opposes abortions for unwanted pregnancies and in cases of rape and incest, the retired neurosurgeon told moderator Chuck Todd he might be open to allowing abortions to preserve the life and health of the mother. 

Manchester police are looking for a man who robbed a local TD Bank Saturday afternoon.

Police say they responded around 3 p.m. to the TD Bank at 180 Deming Road. It was reported to them that a suspect entered the bank and handed the teller a note indicating he had a weapon. The suspect took an undisclosed around of money then fled the bank. No injuries were reported.

The suspect is described as a thin male, wearing a black leather coat, black ski hat and sunglasses. Anyone with information should contact Manchester Police at (860) 645 5510.
 

Two fishermen who rescued an 18-month-old Syrian migrant baby visited the child and his mother on Saturday, days after they found him floating on the Aegean Sea, according to a Turkish news agency.

Fishermen Recep Evran and Cenap Gumran met with little Muhammed Hasan and his mother, Lorin Halef, in the western province of Izmir, according to news agency DHA. The boy's father is still in Syria.

Muhammed was rescued on Wednesday, when the fishermen spotted him floating in a life jacket, after the boat carrying him and around a dozen others to a nearby Greek island sank, according to DHA.

"We thought he was dead. Then, when we were pulling Muhammed to the boat, we heard his voice ... And at that moment, we were ecstatic. I said 'He's alive, he's alive!"

The dramatic footage shows Muhammad being plucked from the water as the fishermen scrambled to save his life.
 

Two men were arrested in a string of paintball shootings in Waterbury, including one that seriously injured a girl's eye, police said.

Demaine Brocket, 28, and Benjamin Estrella, 26, face assault and risk of injury charges.

Both suspects are accused of shooting multiple people and damaging property with paintball guns, police said. There were at least a dozen reported paintball shootings in Waterbury recently, according to police.

In one of them, a girl, whose age was not disclosed, was struck by paintball fire in Harris Circle, according to police. Other paintball shootings happened in the neighborhood of Willow Street, Brookside Avenue and Bunker Hill, police said.

Waterbury officers confiscated four paintball guns this week.

Estrella and Brocket were released after posting their $50,000 bonds.

Estrella has served jail time before after shooting another man three time with a pistol, police said. He was also arrested this past August after drunkenly firing a gun in a housing projects parking lot, according to police.

Police ask anyone with information to call detectives at 203-574-6941 or to leave a confidential tip on the Crime Stoppers line at 203-755-1234.

Police have identified the victim of a fatal crash in Trumbull that happened Saturday.

Phek Ing, 62, of Bridgeport was getting off of Route 8 south and traveling onto Nichols Avenue when another vehicle headed northbound on the road struck her on the driver's side, police said.

Walter Mayorga, of Bridgeport, was driving the other car.

Trumbull firefighters extricated both drivers from the cars.

Stratford EMS personnel also responded.

Mayorga's 13-year-old son was also in his car and both were taken to Bridgeport Hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

Ing was transported to St. Vincent's Hospital, but died of her injuries.

Police haven't filed charges, but they continue to investigate the fatal crash.

Hartford firefighters were called to the same neighborhood twice to battle fires.

A fire broke out at a garage at 464 Hillside Avenue around 1:30 a.m. Sunday.

The fire was so hot, it melted the siding off a nearby house.

The garage collapsed and the fire spread to several other garages nearby.

Five cars were completely damaged.

A neighbor called 911 when he first saw the fire.

“I never experienced something like this in my neighborhood," Armando Roman, who lives in the neighborhood, said. " I mean this is a scary thought because anybody could be sleeping and something like this happens, that’s a scary thought for anybody.”

Crews were called back to the scene a few hours later, after some stray embers sparked another fire on a dead tree nearby.

A person under 18 is facing charges after shooting a flare gun pistol at another juvenile in Norwich early Saturday and started a brief fire, police said.

Norwich police responded to the intersection of Williams and Uncas streets at 1:24 a.m. on Oct. 25  to investigate a report of gunfire in the area, police said.

Five juveniles were involved in a disturbance on Williams Street. One of the juveniles pulled out a flare gun pistol and fired it at one of the other juveniles, police said.

The victim wasn't injured in the altercation, but the flare hit a house in the area and sparked a fire that went out on its own.

Police arrested the juvenile who fired the flare gun on charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm, first-degree reckless endangerment, reckless burning, third-degree criminal mischief and carrying a dangerous weapon, police said.

The juvenile was released to a parent's custody and is scheduled to appear in Juvenile Court in Waterford at a later date, police said.

The New Britain Police Department and Connecticut Veterinary Medical Foundation are hoping to have 100 pets in the city "examined, immunized and sterilized" by the end of the weekend, police said.

It's part of the foundation's 2015 Big Fix Program, focused on pet sterilization and care for those in need.

The clinic is being held at the Oak Street Substation and runs for 12 hours. Appointments are available all day. All surgical equipment being used has been donated or rented.

"Thousands of unwanted cats and dogs are abandoned every year and thousands more become sick and die due to lack of proper veterinary care and basic immunizations," New Britain police said in a news release. "The 'Big Fix Program' hopes to combat this serious and growing problem by offering this low cost option for pet owners in the city of New Britain."

The Connecticut Veterinary Medical Foundation, American Veterinary Medical Foundation and New Britain Police Animal Control Division collaborated on the event.

The event began Saturday and runs through Sunday at 99 Oak Street in New Britain and is for New Britain residents only, police said.

New Britain residents can call Sgt. Paula Keller at 860-826-3079 to make an appointment to have their cat or dog spayed or neutered.

More information is available at www.crowdrise.com or on the New Britain Police Department's website.

Directly following Hillary Clinton's marathon testimony before the Benghazi Select Committee hearing, Rep. Trey Gowdy, the committee chairman, needed more time when asked what new information he learned from the former secretary of state.

Appearing on NBC's "Meet The Press" Sunday, Gowdy was armed with an answer.

"When she's asked whether she takes responsibility, she says, 'Yes.' But when you ask, 'Responsibility for what?' I can't tell you what she's taking responsibility for."

When pressed about criticism, even from fellow Republicans, about disproportionately focusing his line of questioning on emails from Clinton friend Sidney Blumenthal, Gowdy responded, "How do you not ask: how does this person, who has no formal role in government and no expertise in Libya or Benghazi — how does he have unfettered access to you? But the ambassador — there is not a single email to or from him." 

State police from Troop C in Tolland took two people into custody who were racing at a high speed on Interstate 84 Saturday, state police said.

Two drivers were racing each other at 109 miles per hour on the highway.

No further information was immediately available.

Police arrested two people suspected of running a drug factory in their New London home.

Anthony and Jessica Anderson, 31 and 30 respectively, of 58 West Coit St. 1, are facing narcotics and risk of injury to a minor charges.

New London police and a state police narcotics task force searched 58 West Coit Street 1 on a warrant Oct. 23 after a lengthy investigation, police said.

Police found and seized 92 bags of synthetic marijuana, also known as K2, that amounts to a street value of $4,000, a facsimile firearm, drug packaging paraphernalia and more than $1,300, police said.

New London police also seized a motor vehicle.

Police charged Anthony and Jessica Anderson with three counts of risk of injury to a minor, operating a drug factory, possession of hallucinogenics and possession of hallucinogenics with intent to sell.

The department didn't release information on what prompted the risk of injury to a minor charge.

Police ask anyone with information on narcotics activity to contact the New London Police Department at 860-447-5288 or to submit an anonymous tip through the Tip411 system, police said.

Counseling will be available at Fairfield schools Monday after at least three of the town’s 17 public schools received phone calls from someone threatening violence with guns or pipe bombs on Friday.

All public schools were placed in lockdown for around two hours, and some private and parochial schools went into some level of secure mode as well.

"I am writing to thank you for your cooperation today as we dealt with multiple potential threats to our schools and the resulting lockdown and early dismissal. School personnel, working in conjunction with police and fire department personnel, ensured that our students and staff were secure throughout the day. Although we practice and drill for emergency events such as today’s, it can be unnerving for both students and staff when such events occur unexpectedly," Fairfield Superintendent David G. Title wrote to district families on Friday.  "As a resource, we have posted on our home page some tips for parents. In addition, should any student need assistance on Monday, we will have counseling staff available. If you believe that your child may be in need of assistance on Monday, please contact the school and let the teacher or principal know of your concerns, and we will ensure that your child receives appropriate support."

Title reminded parents to update notification preferences on the school's Infinite Campus system, which he said is the district's primary way of communication with families about emergencies. Police told school leaders that all Fairfield schools were "safe and ready to open as of Saturday morning," Title said.

On Friday, Fairfield police went on alert around 9 a.m. when a man called them claiming to be at a home on Black Rock Turnpike and said he had killed his girlfriend, was holding a hostage and was in possession of guns and pipe bombs.

Officers responded, shut down the street, checked all the houses and determined there was no such address, according to police.

Then, Fairfield schools started receiving gun- and bomb-threat phone calls.

"(We) don't know if the Black Rock Turnpike thing is used as a diversion, or whether it was just in fact part of the plan," said Fairfield police spokesman Lt. James Perez. "But I will tell you that we, as law enforcement officers, take all of these calls extremely seriously because we have to."

Holland Hill Elementary School received a call saying a man was coming down with an M-16, according to police. A threatening call placed to Roger Ludlowe High School claimed there was a bomb in the school, and Fairfield Warde High School received a call reporting pipe bombs scattered throughout the building.

One or two additional schools may have received threats as well, police said.

As they faced the challenge of sweeping 17 schools to ensure the safety of everyone inside, local police received assistance from officers from Westport, Trumbull, Newtown, Easton and Bridgeport as they responded and searched each school Friday morning.

Gov. Dannel Malloy said Friday morning he had been in contact with authorities in Fairfield. His office was monitoring the situation and state resources from several agencies were on standby, Malloy said.

Fairfield Sen. Tony Hwang (R-28) said after Friday's incident that he plans to re-introduce school safety legislation "to set a new standard on how states can respond to the growing rate of threats of violence against schools," his office said in a news release. He had spearheaded the Zero-Tolerance Safe School Environment Act  bill, which passed unanimously in the state senate, but wasn't voted on at the House of Representatives level, his office said. The bill called for stiffer penalties in the state's threatening statutes.

“Our message must be heard loud and clear: Connecticut does not tolerate threats of violence against our schools,” Hwang said in a written statement. “And if someone does commit such a despicable act, they will face severe penalties that bring the punishment more in line with the crime. Today’s threats in Fairfield reinforce the need to strengthen our laws in this area.”

By late morning, school officials decided to release students from the public schools on an early dismissal schedule, beginning at 11:45 a.m.

As police continue to investigate, they are asking anyone with information about any of the calls to reach out to police and call 203-254-4840.

Members of law enforcement, school administrators and parents agreed that Fairfield, and every other city and town in Connecticut learned vital lessons about response and preparedness following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.

Those lessons led to an organized response that had parents informed and students in the right place throughout the the day Friday.

“They did keep us informed and the group got larger and larger as time went on and they took the time to come over and say ‘we know you’re concerned. We’re parents, as well. This is what we know. This is what we don’t know and we’re asking you to stay here and not get closer to the school'” said Stephanie Richthammer, a parent of a student at Holland Hill School in Fairfield, one of the 17 schools that were placed on lockdown Friday morning.

Parents across the district received text and email alerts, as well as an automated phone call informing them that all schools were on lockdown. Parents were advised to go to a staging area set up at Fairfield Prep to receive their children. The staging area ended up not being needed.
Fairfield Police said they couldn't have responded to an incident that involved 10,000 people without the understanding and response from neighboring departments.

“We, unfortunately, have done this before and I will tell you it’s working out pretty well right now" Lt. James Perez said Friday.

He said officers across Connecticut have similar protocols for what do during situations like Sandy Hook, or even a false alarm like the one in Fairfield.

“Sandy Hook in Connecticut especially, the impact it’s had hits so deep with how we do business in law enforcement. Our officers are trained to respond on a moment’s notice out to any town that needs us and that’s something that took place today," Perez said.

He said thankfully, some of the things they had set up and ready didn't need to be used.

“We had an area in town staged just for EMS. We had an area staged just for parents to show up. We had another area staged for law enforcement to show up," Perez said.

Dr. David Title, superintendent of Fairfield schools, told reporters that every school in the district practices at least two lockdowns per year.

He said the priority is to not alarm young students during such situations.

“Our lockdown procedures are much more carefully done. Kids and faculty are used to this and we’re in a much better position on this than three years ago on a lot of different fronts," he said.

He also conceded, "Unfortunately, this is the world now."

So far as he can tell, lockdowns for serious situations are no longer major events to many students and parents are in a better place as well with their comfort level.

“What once was a very scary thing to go into lock down, it’s been practiced now for three years, people feel much more comfortable and they know what to do when the real thing happens.”

Parents said they were concerned but felt comfortable knowing that police and school officials had the situation under control.

Crystal Moynihan said the state has learned valuable lessons.

She said, “I think after Sandy Hook, you always prepare yourself for anything but comparatively speaking, this is a walk in the park, so everyone’s safe. No one’s hurt. I’m just happy that it’s a good outcome.”

Counseling services will be offered at Fairfield schools on Monday.

State elections officials and Democrats are preparing to face off in court in a dispute over whether the party illegally spent money on Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's successful re-election bid last year.

A hearing in Hartford Superior Court is set for Tuesday on whether elections officials can issue subpoenas.

The State Elections Enforcement Commission is investigating whether the state Democratic Party illegally paid for a mass mailing supporting Malloy's re-election with money from an account designated for federal office campaigns.

Republicans say the Democrats' federal campaign account included money from state contractors, who are allowed to contribute to the federal account but are prohibited from giving money to candidates for state office.

Democratic Party officials say the federal account spending was legal because it was part of a get-out-the-vote effort.