Hundreds gathered on Wednesday at a mall of Minneapolis to protest the police shooting of Jamar Clark last month.

The protesters gathered in Mall of America's central rotunda on one of the busiest shopping days of the year, and then abruptly walked outside. Many chanted "What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now!" Police urged onlookers out of the mall's central rotunda, threatening arrest.

Police shot Clark while responding to a recent assault complaint.

The privately owned mall said another demonstration would mean lost sales. The massive retail center in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington houses an amusement park and more than 500 shops spread across four floors, attracting shoppers from around the globe.
 

A Hartford man is dead after a serious multi-car crash in the capital city overnight.

Police responded to the area of 213 Hamilton Street near Pope Park for reports of a crash around 1:30 this morning.

The 29-year-old male victim succumbed to his injuries.

Hamilton Street is closed.

No further information was immediately available.

Be sure to check back here for further details. 

One person is dead after a serious crash on an Interstate 95 northbound ramp in Old Saybrook that shut down the ramp and caused delays Thursday morning.

LifeStar was called to respond to the crash on the I-95 north exit 68 on-ramp and then canceled. Multiple people were extricated from the vehicle, which landed against a guard rail alongside a wall.

The small, red vehicle had heavy front end damage.

The ramp was shut down for several hours, but the scene has since cleared. The accident happened just before the bridge that spans the Connecticut River.

An accident reconstruction team responded to investigate.

It's unknown how many people were involved.

In parts of the U.S. accustomed to cozying up to the fireplace this time of year, Christmas is going to feel more like summer amid another day of record-breaking holiday heat, NBC News reported.

Forecasters say this will be the warmest Christmas Day on record for many cities up and down the East Coast, where temperatures will be between 15 and 25 degrees higher than normal this time of year.

New York City's Central Park reached 66 degrees early Friday, topping the previous record of 64 degrees in 1982, according to the National Weather Service. That high followed an exceptionally balmy Christmas Eve, when the mercury hit a record 72 in Central Park — rivaling temperatures the city saw in July.

Washington, D.C., could see temperatures soar to more than 70 degrees after the morning's low temperature had already set a record high, The Weather Channel reported. Chicago was expecting to see a high 10 degrees higher than normal (44 degrees) and St. Louis 16 degrees higher than normal (56 degrees).

Warm weather is here to stay on this Christmas Day, but First Alert forecasters have their eyes on the season's first snow next Tuesday.

A mix of sun and clouds is expected today, but the clouds be of the high variety. That means there will be breaks of sun and it will still be fairly bright. Temperatures will be in the lower 60s!

Tomorrow starts with some sun, though clouds increase and showers will arrive in the evening. Temperatures will be noticeably lower, only near 50 degrees.

Sunday is the wettest weekend day with two rounds of showers: one early in the day, and another late in the evening. In between, it will still be cloudy. Temperatures will once again return to the lower 60s.

Monday is a day of transition.

The typical high clouds before a storm will spread over the region and result in considerable cloudiness. More importantly, high pressure over Quebec provide a flow of cold, very dry air on a north and northeast wind.

That sets the stage for the season's first winter storm.

Snow will come down hard for a time Tuesday morning statewide. A few inches are expected. Warm air will nose in aloft and change the snow to sleet and freezing rain from New Haven to Enfield.

Given that the high pressure system will be in prime position to lock the cold in at the surface, many hill towns will likely not see any plain rain from this system. Shoreline areas should go over to plain rain at some point.

The one factor that will help is the unfrozen ground. It's warm and moist. That may decrease the chance for prolonged freezing rain or even impact how the snow accumulates.

High temperatures will range from freezing in the hills to about 40 degrees along the water of Long Island Sound.

Wednesday brings drier weather, with perhaps a mix of clouds and sunshine. There's some question as to how much low level moisture will be left, which cloud result in more clouds and even drizzle.

Another system brings rain showers on Thursday (New Year's Eve) with temperatures in the 40s.

So, while there are signs of winter in the forecast and some snowmaking weather to be found, the temperatures generally remain above average heading into the final day of the year.

One person died in an accident that closed Route 6 in Bolton on Friday.

The road was closed between Johnson Road and South Road, according to state police.

At approximately 2:25 pm troopers responded to a rollover crash. Two people were sent to the hospital. One person has died from injuries and it is not clear what happened to the second passenger. 

More information will be posted when it becomes available.

Along with carols and gifts, Christmas day brings Christmas dinner. Even if you couldn’t afford it, December 25th, anyone could have their fill.

Raju (RJ) Gomez has spent the last 14 years making it all possible.

“The first time I did it I fed about 25 people,” said Gomez. “Now it’s about 14 shelters.”

The dinner held at the Manchester Country Club, was donated by both Villa Louisa and Tastebuds catering. A myriad of volunteers showed up to help serve food and tend the crowded room.

“They get coats, they get toys, and it’s just a very special day in Manchester,” said Mayor Jay Moran of Manchester.

For Mary-Ellen Schon, the Christmas dinner with a room full of strangers was just what she needed.

“I need to be here,” said Schon. “My mother passed away last December, this is the first Christmas without her.”

Whether you were a mother of two, like Michelle Cloutier, who said she was just happy she didn’t have to cook, or a loaner looking for company like Schon, you were welcomed to sit down at those tables.

Gomez has been putting on the dinner for the well over a decade and he hopes to do so for many years to come.
 

Officers had a brief standoff with a woman who circled a police department with a fake gun and pointed it at officers. 

"What are you doing? Shoot me!" Elaine Rothenberg told the Torrington police. "Boom, boom, boom."

On Christmas Eve, Rothenberg, 66, was seen circling the permiter of the Torrington police station. She pointed what appeared to be a gun at two civilians and asked if they were police officers. The civilians were able to get away unharmed.

Rothenberg then stood in front of an employee only entrance way and stood with the handgun raised in a shooting stance. After pointing it at officers she threw the gun and was taken into custody.

Police quickly discovered the gun was a BB gun which Rothenberg purchased that day. 

Rothenburg was charged with first degree threatening, reckless endangerment, and interfering with police. She is being held in custody. It is not clear if she has an attorney. 

Videos and photographs belonging to the ringleader behind the Paris terror attacks offer a glimpse of his life as a "gore hero" on ISIS' front lines, NBC News reported.

Anti-ISIS activists told NBC News they obtained the files from Belgian-born Abdelhamid Abaaoud's cellphone in northern Syria in early 2014.

The series of nearly 50 digital photographs and video clips show shocking scenes of death and brutality, but also commonplace images of people in unremarkable settings. There are also pictures of rental car flyers and one of a boat.

Abaaoud, 27, died in a gunbattle with police five days after a series of shootings and bombings in the French capital killed 130 people. In addition to participating in assaults on a cafe and restaurant in Paris, officials allege Abaaoud was involved in four of the six attacks foiled by French intelligence since the spring.

A man distracted by his electronic device fell 60 feet to his death at San Diego's Sunset Cliffs on Christmas Day, San Diego Lifeguards confirmed to NBC 7 San Diego. 

The incident happened at 4:50 p.m. Friday on the 900 block of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard when the man, in his 30s, tumbled off the side of a cliff. 

"Witnesses stated seeing someone distracted by an electronic device and he just fell over the edge," said San Diego Lifeguard Bill Bender. "(He) wasn't watching where he was walking, he was looking down at the device in his hands."

The details of what he was doing were unclear, Bender said. Lifeguards have not found a device yet and said the device could have been a camera or a phone. 

When the man fell, three Good Samaritans found their way down the rocks to help rescue him and administered CPR.

"They acted quickly, they found a way to get down the cliff," Bender said. "They put themselves at jeopardy...They administered CPR to the person in attempt to save a life."

A lifeguard on scene told NBC7 a teen who lived across the street was one of the people who raced out with a rope to help. 

The man, in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene by medics. 

Bender warned people to be more aware of their surroundings. 

"Just like driving and using a cell phone, you don't want to be walking and using a cell phone or be distracted or anything," Bender said. 

No further information was immediately available. 

Refresh this page for updates on this breaking news story. 

Firefighters were battling a 1,000-acre brush fire fanned by gusty winds that began Friday in Solimar Beach and forced road closures, fire officials said.

About 500 firefighters were at the scene of the fire where 30 homes were threatened by the blaze, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

Fire officials said there was no containment for the blaze.

The California Highway Patrol shut down a stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway, the northbound 101 Freeway at Highway 33, the southbound 101 Freeway at Bates Road, and the Union Pacific Railroads.

Around 1:15 a.m. on Saturday, firefighters said the fire had reached the tunnel at the State Beaches exit at the northbound 101 Freeway.

There were also mandatory evacuations in Solimar Beach and area campgrounds, Capt. Mike Lindberry said. Faria Beach was subject to voluntary evacuations.

The Red Cross Santa Margerita chapter set up an evacuation center in the Carpinteria Veterans Memorial Building at 941 Walnut Avenue in Carpinteria.

Road closures begin on the 101 Freeway north of Highway 33 and end on the 101 Freeway just south of State Route 150 at the Santa Barbara County line.

Alternative routes include taking the Highway 33 up to State Route 150 towards the 101 Freeway in Santa Barbara. Conversely, drivers could also take State Route 150 to Highway 33 to the 101 Freeway in Ventura.

Officials said multiple fire agencies were assisting with the fire, including the Los Angeles County Fire Department and the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Fire officials also said air operations would be ordered to fight the fire Saturday morning.

A press conference was scheduled for 10 a.m. at the fairgrounds to provide an update on the brush fire.

No injuries were reported.

Refresh this developing story for updates.

The childhood home of former President Bill Clinton was partially damaged early Friday in a fire that local Arkansas police are investigating as an arson, NBC News reported.

A passing driver reported smoke pouring from the side of the Hope home — designated in 2011 as a National Historic Site — at 3:17 a.m. CT, Police Chief J.R. Wilson said.

"There was a strong odor of accelerant at the point of origin. It smelled like gasoline," Wilson told NBC News.

The back side of the two-story home was torched, and the flames reached about 8 feet high before they were distinguished, he added.

State police are investigating a fatal crash and car fire in East Hartford involving an overhead sign and electrical box.

It happened on I-84 West near Robert Street around 4am this morning. The victim has not yet been identified.

Highway will be closed for next several hours for investigation, according to police. I-84 West is shut down at exit 58. The Robert Street ramp is closed.

Drivers can get off the highway at Robert Street but not off. Traffic is being diverted at 5/15, then back onto I-84 West.

Police are investigating whether there was a criminal element to a fatal Hamden house fire early Saturday morning.

The fire broke out at a white home at 28 Lilac Avenue and firefighters were called to the scene at about 1:30 a.m. The call originally came in as a fire on the porch and in the attic.

A neighbor who lives across the street said she was woken up by a popping sound which turned out to be the power lines in front of the house that had caught on fire. She didn't want to go on camera, but described seeing flames pouring out of the front of the home. The front porch was damaged and there was significant damage around the second floor window. The neighbor said she didn't see the car of the woman who lives there so she hoped that she wasn't home.

Neighbors say a woman in her 30s lived in the house alone and that they're shaken up by the fatal fire a day after Christmas.

"You didn't know what to think. It scared me because you never see anything like that over here," neighbor Ulysses Casteel said.

Now investigators are focused on investigating the fatal nature of the fire and whether the incident may have been of a criminal nature. Police have not identified the person killed in the fire.

The medical examiner responded to the scene and is working to identify the victim and the cause of death. Authorities are working to determine the circumstances surrounding the deadly fire.

The electric company also responded because of a live wire that fell near the scene.

The amount of damage inside the home is unknown.

Firefighters were on scene for about two hours and left when a crime scene unit arrived and took over the investigation.

A New Haven family was surprised on Christmas with six new bicycles donated by students from the New Horizon School.

“You know how some people like faint and stuff, that’s how I wanted to feel,” 7-year-old Carlos Cordoba said after receiving his new bicycle.

With no snow on the sidewalk this Christmas, the Cordoba children were quick to test out their new bikes.

“Nine children and one on the way, these bikes rightfully should go to this family,” Metashar Dillon said, “The husband is out of work. They’re doing the best they can.”

Dillon, the chairman of the Kingdom International Economic Development Corporation, organizes an annual toy drive out of the New Haven police substation community room on Charles Street.

After she says thousands of dollars of toys were stolen last weekend, she put out an emergency call to the community for donations at the beginning of the week.

“It is no longer the Grinch that stole Christmas in New Haven,” Dillon said, “it’s the Grinch that tried.”

United Way of Greater New Haven raised $4 thousand toward a shopping spree at Walmart.

New Horizon School students dropped off the six bicycles on Tuesday.

“They made these bikes and they were originally for sale,” Dillon said, “but when they heard about the story at New Horizon, they came and donated these bikes.”

“Without this lady here, nothing would be possible,” Talia Cordoba said, thanking Dillon for the gifts for her children. “You see they’re all over, they’re were super excited.”

New Haven Police are still investigating last weekend’s theft of the toy donations.
 

The Danbury Fire Department is responding to a third alarm fire on Main Street.

A three-story building is on fire and people are reported to be trapped inside, officials said.

This story is still developing.

Willimantic police arrested a man who attacked a female police officer in the evening on Christmas and who fought with several other officers, sending three more to the hospital, police said.

Edgardo Santos, 49, of Willimantic, is accused of assaulting a female Willimantic police officer in an Ives Street driveway at about 10 p.m. on Friday, police said.

The man was eventually subdued and taken to the Willimantic Police Department. He was combative again when they arrived and fought with multiple officers, police said.

After police contained him in a secure holding cell, he spit blood at several officers, resulting in three having to go to Windham Hospital to be treated for exposure to his blood, police said. The female officer attacked was also treated for injuries to her left leg and has since been released from the hospital. One of the male police officers hospitalized was treated for a bite to his hand after the incident handling Santos in his cell and he has since been released from the hospital, police said. So have the other two officers hospitalized.

"I am pleased to report that all of the assaulted police officers have been treated and released from the Windham Hospital emergency room prior to midnight. This is a most unfortunate incident where officers could have been seriously injured," Cpl. Stanley Parizo Jr., public information officer for Willimantic police, said in a statement early Saturday morning.

Santos was arrested and held in police custody on a $100,000 cash/surety bond. He is facing breach of peace, interfering with police, criminal trespass and four counts of assault on a police officer charges. He is due in Danielson Superior Court on Dec. 28.

Chase Litton went 23 for 34 for 218 yards and one touchdown as Marshall won its 10th game this season by beating Connecticut 16-10 in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Saturday.

Nick Smith had three field goals for Marshall (10-3), including a 32-yarder with 1:44 to play that was part of a 13-play, 80-yard march that lasted 6:35. The Thundering Herd went 13-1 a year ago and 10-4 in 2013.

Bryant Shirreffs completed 10 of 17 passes for 86 yards and gained 75 yards on 19 carries for UConn (6-7), which came up short in a bid to have a winning record for the first time since 2010.

UConn stopped Marshall on fourth-and-2 at the 17 on the initial drive of the second half after the Thundering Herd opted to skip a field goal try that could have made it 16-7.

The Thundering Herd also failed to increase a 13-7 lead on their next possession when Smith missed a 43-yard field goal attempt with less than 3 minutes left in the third.

The Huskies got within 13-10 on Bobby Puyol's 52-yard field goal with 2 seconds left in the third.

Marshall took a 7-0 lead 7 minutes into the game when Litton, who played in high school in Tampa, threw a 16-yard TD pass to Ryan Yurachek. Deandre Reaves' 26-yard punt return set up Marshall at the UConn 20.

Reaves also had nine receptions for 88 yards.

Connecticut tied it at 7 late in the first on an 8-yard run by Ron Johnson that completed a 13-play, 75-yard drive.

Marshall responded with a 13-play, 65-yard drive that concluded with Smith's 21-yard field goal that gave the Thundering Herd a 10-7 advantage 8 minutes before halftime.

Smith made it 13-7 with a 29-yard field goal on the final play of the first half that finished off a 15-play, 85-yard drive.

Connecticut sophomore cornerback Jamar Summers got his eighth interception of the season, including six in the last five games, early in the fourth.

Vienna police said on Saturday a "friendly" intelligence service had warned European capitals of the possibility of a shooting or bomb attack before New Year's, prompting police across the continent to increase security measures, NBC News reported.

"Several possible names of potential attackers were mentioned, which were checked, and the investigation based on (these checks) has so far yielded no concrete results," Vienna police said in a statement, some six weeks after 130 people were killed in Islamist bombing and shooting attacks in Paris. 

Extra steps include surveillance in crowded spaces, "especially at events and traffic hubs" as well as intensive identity checks and higher alertness for objects which could carry explosives such as bags or "bicycle frames", it said.
 

After a Torrington dairy farmer took to Facebook on Christmas Eve hoping to catch the person(s) who drained milk from their farm, an outpouring of support from the community has raised a couple thousands of dollars for the dairy farmers in just a couple days.

Torrington police received a report of vandalism at Weigold Farm sometime after midnight on Dec. 24.

While no one has been reported arrested in connection to the incident, Tom Flynn, who identifies himself as a friend of the Weigold family, took to gofundme.com to ask the community to help them out, raising $2,960 for the farm in just two days.

"Sometime last night a person or persons broke into the barn and drained the raw milk out of the holding tank and down the drain," Flynn posted on the gofundme.com page he created. "Karl works his butt off with his family and is a kind and humble person who would do anything for anyone. This is a devastating loss for the family and especially at Christmas time. So I am pleading with anyone friends or aquaintances who can help out in a time of need. The dairy business is a hard job without question and they should not have to deal with this set back. So if anyone can help it would mean a lot to them. Merry Christmas and may God bless."

Earlier in the day, Amy Weigold Drown posted on her Facebook page that "someone came onto our property and opened the drain on our milk tank and let it all out without us knowing." She wrote on Facebook that her father discovered the milk was missing when he went to milk the cows at 4:30 a.m. The family contacted police.

"That was milk from 71 cows down the drain," she wrote on Facebook, asking people to share her post and contact them or police if they had a tip about the milk draining incident. "That money goes towards feeding our animals and providing for our families."

Later in the day, she posted on her Facebook page to thank the community for their support.

"In regards to the support and outpouring of donations we've received because of the vandalization that occurred at our dairy farm... We never thought we would receive such attention and our intention was only to catch the bad guy!" Amy Weigold Drown posted on Facebook. "However, to our surprise people all over the place have come together to help us! We immediately were in contact with our insurance company and they are going to help us take this hit. With that and the incredible acts of kindness from friends, family and complete strangers... We are going to make a full recovery! We don't even know how to show our appreciation... You all have helped restore our Christmas spirit and we are forever grateful! Thanks a million!!!!"

It's unknown whether there are any suspects in the incident at this time.