Interstate 95 South was closed at exit 66 in Old Saybrook after a serious crash on Friday afternoon.
Lifestar medical helicopter was called to transport a patient to the hospital. The highway was shut down to allow Lifestar to land.
The southbound lanes of I-95 reopened a short time later.
Police have not released any details on the victim.
Homeowners on Timothy Terrace in Windsor awoke Friday to racist and sexually explicit graffiti throughout their neighborhood.
Black spray paint marked homes, mailboxes, sidewalks and even cars for about a half mile along the street.
"Knowing that anyone in Windsor would do anything like this definitely makes me rethink how open of a community Windsor is," said Onyeka Obiocha. To see something like this when I think we are building as a community and building a diverse community, it's astonishing."
The graffiti contained several racial slurs, anti-gay messages and vulgar drawings. In all, 11 homes were vandalized, police said.
Investigators are looking at the possibility some high school aged kids went on a spree through the neighborhood Thursday night. Investigators found similar graffiti on a rock at Windsor High School.
"We don't believe anyone was particularly targeted," Capt. Thomas LePore said.
Randi Sussman, who was visiting her parents on the street, found her car had been vandalized.
"I have to pay my deductible in order to get my car fixed, so I'm not happy about that," Sussman said.
Residents said there have never been problems in the neighborhood or in town.
It's always been very welcoming as a minority to live here," Joshua Jenkins said.
A mid-air fistfight between two passengers, one of them drunk, on an American Airlines flight in Texas on Tuesday left one man bloody and facing criminal charges.
According to a police report, 33-year-old Scott Prascher of McKinney, Texas, was extremely intoxicated and sitting across the aisle from Oklahoma resident Declan Cooper on their flight from San Antonio to Dallas-Forth Worth.
Cooper was engaged in conversation with a fellow passenger discussing plans for the next leg of their flight. Prascher repeatedly interrupted the conversation and even cursed at Cooper, the report says.
Cooper tried to ignore the man, but after Prascher kept directing profane insults his way, Cooper back-handed Prascher with his right hand, leaving Prascher bloody and even more agitated, according to the report.
Witnesses say that it was at that point Prascher removed his seatbelt and hurled himself on top of Cooper, trying to hit him.
Two other passengers, one of them a U.S. Army general, pulled Prascher off of Cooper and held him down for the rest of the flight.
Cooper wasn’t injured, although he did have Prascher’s blood on his shirt.
The pilot notified the FAA control tower of the incident, and when the plane landed, two DFW Airport police officers were waiting.
The DFW Airport police and FBI agents decided that Cooper had acted in self-defense, and they declined to charge Cooper in the incident.
Prascher was charged with one count of public intoxication.
A California preschool teacher charged with spiking toddlers' sippy cups with sleeping pills entered a "no contest" plea, prosecutors said on Friday, reducing her original 10 charges down to five.
Deborah Gratz, 59, of Hollister, Calif., is expected to be sentenced on July 5 and faces a jail sentence on five misdemeanor courts. "No contest" has the same effect as a guilty plea.
Deputy District Attorney Summerle Davis had originally charged Gratz with five counts of attempted child endangerment and five counts of assault.
In a statement, Davis said that this case was about parental "betrayal."
Gratz was released from jail after she was arrested March 11 on her own recognizance following her arrest. She has declined media interviews.
Gratz supervised 10 children at the Kiddie Academy childcare facility in Morgan Hill, Calif., from which she has since been fired.
Prosecutors said that on that day in question, the cups were confiscated before any of the children drank from them. Teachers, prosecutors said, found residue in five of the cups.
The sleeping aid, Sominex, is not supposed to be given to children younger than 12.
The Sandy Hook Elementary Building Task Force will not have a decision on the location of the new elementary school Friday night.
Sandy Hook Elementary School could end up in one of two locations. It will either be built on a lot on Riverside Road, not far from the existing school, or it will be rebuilt on the original site on Dickenson Drive.
You may not notice it just passing by, but an eagles nest has people flocking to State Street in Hamden to catch a glimpse of the rare birds.
“I come a lot, but we come at least a couple times a week to see and now we know that there are two babies they think and the mom and dad,” said Candi Looney.
People say they've seen the birds flying around and lately have seen at least one eagle standing guard at the nest at all times, watching their young as people come to watch them.
“I'm not really a bird person, but all of a sudden I've become one and I'm fascinated with it, because I've never seen them this close really. It's cool,” said Looney.
“I really love checking out birds, especially to see them nesting. I've never seen bald eagles in the nest before. I've only seen them a couple of times, so having them so close to home is really cool,” said Ben Michalak.
The eagles have become somewhat of a local attraction with people stopping by the WB Mason building every day. They bring their binoculars and their cameras for the best view.
“Seeing something that's so iconic and so interesting and there are only a few left, it's a great opportunity for people to come and see these birds in the wild,” said Michalak.
The group tasked with deciding the future home of Sandy Hook Elementary School will not have a decision Friday night.
The school could end up in one of two locations in Newtown, Conn. One option is to build a new facility just down the street from the now-vacant elementary school where 20 first graders and six staff members were killed in December.
The other is to renovate or rebuild at the existing site, an idea that has some of the victims' families upset.
The 28-member task force met Friday night to decide where to reopen the school, but it came to no conclusions.
A group of Sandy Hook teachers talked with task force members privately prior to the public meeting on Friday, according to NBC News. A Newtown school board member said the teachers explicitly stated that they never want to enter the building again during the "difficult" conversation.
The process has taken months. Numerous locations were considered by the special committee using the public's input. Will Rodgers, a committee member, had told NBC Connecticut Friday afternoon that the panel will likely pick a site when it meets.
"I think it's probably going to be the existing site," Rodgers said. He said he knows that won't make everyone happy.
"I will chain my body to it and to protest if they try to re-open it," Erica Lafferty told NBC Connecticut in an exclusive interview.
Lafferty's mother, Dawn Hochsprung, was the principal at Sandy Hook who lost her life running towards the shooter after he broke through the school's front door.
"It should be knocked down," Lafferty said. "There should be some type of long lasting memorial. I don't want people to walk into the building and say, oh well that's where Erica's mom got gunned down. That's not okay."
But for some, keeping Sandy Hook Elementary in the Sandy Hook section of town is important, even if that means using the same piece of property where 20 students and 6 educators were killed.
"Just tearing it down and building a new school in the same place is one of the solutions that would make the most sense," one Newtown parent said.
"It's going to be a wrenching process," Lafferty said. "There just aren't that many options for us. Starting with all these sites available in terms of acreage."
Sandy Hook students have been attending school at a temporary facility in neighboring Monroe. The First Selectman said their stay at Chalk Hill School can be extended until 2016.
The task force will hold another meeting on May 10 at 7 p.m.
Robin Mongillo is getting a new counter-top to go along with new cabinets, a paint job and a whole lot more.
"See there's the all new windows that they're replacing," Mongillo of Milford added.
Homeowners like her battered by Sandy are getting help from groups like AmeriCares.
The Stamford non-profit will send volunteers to four communities this weekend to help repair damaged homes. It's a joint effort between Homefront and AmeriCares the Hurricane Sandy Relief Program. Mongillo finally got in this year after applying two years before and getting denied.
"It wiped out my entire oil tank, my electricity, my furnace, everything, the whole garage is still rotting inside," Mongillo added.
Volunteers will be coming to Robin's house early Saturday morning to do a variety of work as they will be at 19 other houses in need along Connecticut's shoreline. It's something Homefront does every year on the first Saturday of May.
"We just want to do a good job and hope things go well for robin's family," said Maria Tomasetti of Saint Ann Parish in Milford, one of the organizations volunteering their time.
"Coming home every day back and forth and seeing the devastation. You just didn't know," said Mongillo. "You didn't know where to turn. It was just overwhelming.
Mongillo says it was overwhelming to see water flowing from her house during Sandy and to see her front yard in a state of disarray. Yet now she's overwhelmed by support.
"Happiness now that it's getting replaced with new things. It was once sad Sandy. Now it's actually turning out for the best," said Mongillo.
Behind her new pool Robin pointed to a sign left by her neighbors that says today is the day for a new beginning. This mother of two can't wait.
"Until tomorrow. See you tomorrow. Another day," Mongillo added.
A pit bull saved a woman from a fire in her home in New York on Friday, barking to alert her as the flames began to spread from the front to the back of the house.
Jackie Bonasera said she was drying her hair in an upstairs bathroom of the home in East Norwich, N.Y., on Long Island, when she heard the dog barking. She ran downstairs and saw the flames on the side of her garage.
She was able to escape the house.
"I ran out of the house and my neighbors came running over, and then I thought about the dog — I'm like, 'He saved my life, I have to save his,'" Bonasera recounted.
"So I just put my robe over my face and I ran back in and I grabbed the dog and then I stood out here and I watched my house burn," she said.
Bonasera believes she would have been trapped upstairs if the dog, named Cain, hadn't alerted her to the fire.
Bonasera's daughter, Alexus Stallworth, said Cain is "the town hero."
"He's a pit bull, too," said Stallworth. "They have such bad reps, but he's such a good boy."
Stallworth was outside the house when the fire broke out and captured the blaze on her cell phone camera.
More than 70 firefighters were needed to stop the fire. Although the cause of the blaze has not been determined and the arson squad is investigating, police don't believe it's suspicious.
The homeowner is a contractor who is working on several homes that were damaged by Sandy, and he said he now hopes he can get his own home fixed before winter.
--Greg Cergol and Jeff Richardson contributed to this story
A student was arrested after a food fight escalated at Cypress Bay High School in the South Florida suburb of Weston, according to authorities.
A 17-year-old was arrested on one charge of battery and one charge of disorderly conduct Friday afternoon after a massive food fight that spilled out into the school's courtyard, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.
Officials said school administrators witnessed a 12th-grader throw an object. When the assistant principal tried to stop the student, he resisted by pulling, pushing and striking the assistant principal, authorities said.
He was taken into custody by deputies, one of whom sustained a knee laceration and a twisted ankle, according to police. The student, who turns 18 Sunday, faces felony charges for striking a school employee and resisting arrest without violence, authorities said. BSO initially reported the student faced charges of resisting arrest with violence.
The student's sister said he threw a piece of bread.
"Everyone was throwing things and they told him to move away," she said. "Two of the security guards from Cypress tackled him, apparently, and they were ripping his shirt and they were throwing him everywhere."
One Cypress Bay student said the situation "turned just absolutely insane."
"Everybody just started throwing food and 15 minutes later I see the cops showing up," that student said.
According to another student, the fight began when someone started throwing apples. The students then moved outside to the courtyard and formed a giant circle where they were throwing water bottles and other types of food, he said.
The students said the scene was absolute chaos.
"It turned into a mosh pit for some reason in the middle of the riots and me and a bunch of friends got punched in the face and we started punching people," another student said. "They started chanting, 'Only at Cypress,' it was crazy."
Other students said a rivalry with Western High School sparked it.
"I think Twitter had a lot to do with it this morning because Western was talking about having a food fight and they're our biggest rivals, so I feel that Cypress wanted to do something bigger," one student said.
Some parents are saying the situation could have been controlled.
"Cypress Bay has at least five thousand students, and they need more security measures for one thing, but they need people in the cafeteria to not have this happen," mother Jan Silverman said.
The Cypress Bay principal is reviewing video and trying to determine who started the fight, said Broward School Board officials. It is still too early to determine whether or not there will be suspensions, they said.
Friday is a very special day for American Airlines. Eighty years ago today, on May 3, 1933, the first four American Airlines stewardesses graduated from training and headed out on their first flight.
Over the last 80 years things have changed quite a bit for stewardesses, now commonly referred to as flight attendants. The four original American Airlines stewardesses graduated after three days of training in 1933. In 1957 the airline opened the world's first school dedicated to the profession, the American Airlines Stewardess College. At graduation, a "flyover" was not uncommon as part of the celebration.
Traveling the world has always been a glamorous profession. Fittingly, much of the evolution of the profession has had to do with the uniform; from the military look of the early years, to the cutting-edge style of Bill Blass’s uniforms in 1972.
They also broke down barriers by being one of the first airlines to hire black stewardesses. They were also the very first to carry AED’s on every single flight.
American said Friday it is excited to celebrate and honor the professionals who have been the face of the airline for the last eight decades, and for those to come.
Police are investigating after a deadly overnight motorcycle crash in Hebron.
Around 12:45 a.m., police responded to the area of Lake Road and Route 85 after getting a report of an accident.
Upon investigation, the discovered that a Honda motorcycle driven by Benjamin Iacovelli, 22 of Columbia, had went off the road and struck an embankment and utility pole before coming to a rest.
Iacovelli was pronounced dead on the scene.
Police are asking anyone with information to call 860-537-7500.
A man who has threatened young children and is obsessed by the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School escaped from a mental health facility in Orange County, California, Friday, and police were warning the public to be on the lookout for him.
Garden Grove police said Norris Phuoc Nguyen, 23, poses a danger to the community.
Garden Grove Police Chief Kevin Raney said Nguyen walked away at 4:45 p.m. from Royale Health Care Center at Bristol Street and Warner Avenue in Santa Ana, where he had been detained since December 2012.
Authorities became familiar with Nguyen, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and repeatedly detained and institutionalized, in August 2011. At that time, he walked into the Westminster Police Department dressed in camouflage and holding an assault rifle, saying he wanted to "die by cop," Raney said.
The weapon was not loaded, the chief said, adding that Nguyen did not have a permit for the firearm.
Nguyen was questioned, and police found he was fixated on a teacher at a Garden Grove elementary school that he had attended, Raney said, declining to name the school.
"We have statements and we have the firm belief that he is committed, unfortunately, to harming children at this specific school," Raney said.
Nguyen had been detained periodically since then, Raney said, until it became apparent in interviews with him in December that he was obsessed by the massacre that left 26 dead at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school on Dec. 14, 2012.
Nguyen has spoken repeated both about protecting children and endangering them, Raney said.
"He has written manifestos and other writings that are extremely extensive, extremely descriptive," Raney said. "The thoughts that he is having are real to him and there is, unfortunately, a very strong potential that he will act upon those thoughts."
Ten days ago, Nguyen's mother, who lives in Huntington Beach, tried to gain custody of her son at a court hearing, but the judge refused to have him release, Raney said.
Nguyen is described at 5-foot-8-inches tall, 150 pounds and with black hair and brown eyes. Nguyen is of Vietnamese descent.
He was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a white T-shirt, gray pants and white shoes.
Authorities across Orange County and some state law enforcement were actively searching for Nguyen
Odds-on favorite Orb won the 139th Kentucky Derby on Saturday, lingering in the back of the pack for much of the race before dashing through the mud to take the lead down the final stretch.
The winning colt, ridden by Joel Rosario, entered the Derby as the morning-line favorite, fell in early betting and then returned at the last minute at 5-1. With the win, he becomes an automatic early favorite for the Preakness, and a potential contender for the Triple Crown, which culminates with the Belmont Stakes.
Orb finished the 1 1/4 mile race in 2:02.89, followed by Golden Soul, a long shot, and Revolutionary, Orb's top rival, who entered the race at 6-1.
"Oh my God, this is awesome, you know. This is like a dream to me," Rosario said after claiming his first Derby victory. "He was so far behind, and I just let him be calm and let him be relaxed, and he was able to do it all. He was very relaxed, which was exactly what I wanted.
"It was the perfect trip."
Orb was the first morning-line favorite to win the Derby since Big Brown in 2008, and only the seventh since 1974.
The race began at a torrid pace despite sloppy conditions created by a daylong rain. Palace Malice led for most of the race but faded on the final turn. Normandy Invasion took a brief lead down the stretch, but Orb surged ahead as he made his move from the back of the pack.
Orb's trainer, Claude R. "Shug" McGaughey III, won his first Derby in 34 years in the business.
"I'm thrilled to death for (the owners), thrilled to death for the people who put so much time into this horse, and, of course, I'm thrilled to death for me," he said, according to the Associated Press.
Orb is owned by Stuart Janney and Dinny Phipps.
The total purse for the Derby was more than $2 million, $1.4 million of it for Orb.
Saturday's steady rain in Louisville turned the Churchill Downs dirt track into a muddy glob, and the stands into a sea of colorful ponchos—and, of course, hats.
Revolutionary had been bettors' favorite for much of the day, but in the moments before the race a seven-figure surge of wagers pushed Orb to 5-1.
Verrazano, who'd been touted as a top contender for weeks, finished 14th. Another highly admired horse, Goldencents — whose jockey, Kevin Krigger, was trying to become the first black to win the Derby in over a century — came in 17th.
A second jockey running for history was Rosie Napravnik, who lost her chance to be the first woman to win the Derby. She ended up in 5th aboard Mylute. Even still, that finish was the best ever by a female jockey.
Josh Kleinbaum and Patrick Hickey Jr. contributed reporting.
A Connecticut gun manufacturer is considering locating in Horry County after that state passed stricter gun control laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook School shootings.
The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports Horry County is one of six locations around the country being considered for the plant that could hire 100 workers within three years.
PTR Industries is looking to move because of the cost of doing business in the Northeast. Company CEO Josh Fiorini said the final push came when Connecticut passed stricter new gun laws after the Newtown, Conn., shootings.
The company has been contacted by 41 states. The six finalists have not been disclosed although Kansas courted the company and Texas Gov. Rick Perry says he's eager to bring the company to his state.
Associated Press/NBC Connecticut
A father of an 8-year-old boy who fell six stories to his death from a window at a Stamford housing complex has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city's housing authority.
The Stamford Advocate reports Zhongxin (Jong-shin) Jason of New Providence, N.J. is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit, which was filed in Superior Court in February.
The lawsuit argues safety measures should have been installed on the windows in the hallway outside the Rippowam Manor apartment where the boy's mother lived.
The 8-year-old, Alexander Wu, died after pushing through a screen on an open window in June 2012 and falling to a patio six stories below.
City attorneys did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
Associated Press/NBC Connecticut
A grisly find along the Connecticut River in Windsor.
A boater called police just before 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon after spotting a badly decomposed body along the river bank near Palisado Ave.
The State Police dive team joined crews from Windsor, Windsor Locks, and Warehouse Point in the recovery.
Police said it's not clear if the remains are of a man or woman.
"The reason we're using the State Police dive team is so they can evaluate if this is a crime scene, are there things that need to be collected in the immediate area where the body is or is it someone that floated from Points North," said Sgt. Christopher Mckee from Windsor Police.
The State Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy to determine the cause of death.
Connecticut State Police have set up spot checks near the Eastern Connecticut State University campus Saturday.
Police hope to zero in on new evidence and get more information about the whereabouts of Alyssiah Marie Wiley, a 20-year-old from West Haven, who was last heard from on April 20.
Wiley, a sophomore at ECSU, is studying psychology and biology with with the intention to get ready for medical school to get a doctorate in psychology, said Alyssiah's mother Corrinna Martin.
She was last seen at a Diary Queen in Willimantic.
State Police Lt. Paul Vance said law enforcement has already used helicopters, dogs, and the State's Major Crimes Division to find Wiley.
Spot checks have been set up on Main, Valley, and Prospect Streets.
In addition to the spot checks, a Facebook page has been set up for people to leave tips with information relating to her disappearance.
"This is not a young lady who would walk away from such a life," Martin said. "This is not a young lady who would put her family through this much grief. This is, however, a young lady who is full of life, full of energy, and full of the hope that her future is bright."
Martin pleaded, with tears in her eyes, for help finding her daughter.
"I am asking, I am pleading with the public, as a mother who wants her child home, she has her family who wants her home, she has friend who want her home. We need your help, "Martin said.
She pleaded with anyone who has information to come forward.
Alyssiah is 5-feet 6, weighs 150 pounds and has black hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information is also urged to contact the Missing Person Clearinghouse at 860-685-8190 or State Police at 860-537-7500. You can also text a tip anonymously to CRIMES -- 274637 Text a tip, or 711.
Thousands of bikers plan to ride through Newtown this weekend to raise money for those affected by December's shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Organizers say about 3,000 people are expected to participate in Sunday's Green Ribbon Ride, which will start in Shelton and end in Trumbull.
Several Newtown streets will be closed as the bikers make their way through town between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Money raised in the charity ride is slated to go to several charities, including the Sandy Hook Family Healing Fund, Newtown Police Union and Newtown's volunteer fire companies.
Associated Press/NBC Connecticut
Bridgeport Police have arrested a student in connection with recent bomb threats at Bassick High School in Bridgeport Friday.
According to police, the student wrote bomb threats on the walls inside the school three different times.
The school resource officer linked the student to the threats after viewing the school's security cameras.
"These incidents are hugely disruptive. They took a thousand students out of the classroom and diverted significant police resources," said Police Chief Joseph L. Gaudett. Jr. "We don't view it as a prank. It is a serious crime and I trust the courts will treat it as such," he added.
The male student was charged with three counts of first-degree threatening, breach of peace, risk of injury to minors, and criminal mischief.
