After living for nearly a year aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly says he's two inches taller than his identical twin brother Mark, NBC News reported.

Kelly reports that he that overall he "feels pretty good," but now begins what may be a year-long project to monitor his health. One unique advantage he provides to NASA's doctors is his identical twin brother, Mark, a former NASA astronaut who spent last year with his feet planted on terra firma.

Comparing the twins will help researchers spot any genetic changes that might have occurred in Scott while in space. NASA will be on the lookout for possible brittle bones, weak muscles, decreased heart mass and possible increased cancer risk, among other health effects a year in space could cause to the human body. 

A 24-year-old man is being accused of trying to light a house on fire in Manchester, police said. 

Early Wednesday morning, police were called about a man reportedly pouring gasoline on the home of 76 Devon Drive. The gasoline did not light on fire after the suspected attempted to set the house ablaze, police said.

There were four people in the home at the time. 

Zachary Reddick, 24, of Windsor, was arrested in connection to the attempted arson, police said. The motive appeared to be in response to a theft of the suspect that happened at the victim's home, police allege. 

Reddick is accused of first degree criminal attempt to commit arson, four counts of reckless endangerment and third degree criminal mischief.

He is being held on a $200,000 bond and is expected in court on Mar. 3. 

It was not immediately clear if Reddick had a lawyer. 

Immigration is one of the issues Republicans care about the least, according to exit polls from nearly every state this primary season, NBC News reported.

Voters ranked immigration — an issue that helped catapult Donald Trump to the top of the GOP pool — dead last when asked to choose the “most important” issues facing the country. The economy, jobs and government spending were among the most pressing concerns.

As for the term “amnesty,” Republicans seemed split for many Republican voters. Roughly half of voters said they supported offering undocumented immigrants a chance to apply for legal status in the U.S.

Trump’s ascent in the race and status at the top of the polls appeared to be buoyed by building a giant wall at the Mexican border, deporting all 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., and banning Muslims from entering the country.  

A 24-year-old man is hospitalized after being shot in Ansonia Tuesday night.

Officers responded to the area of State Street and North Cliff Street for a report of shots fired. While they were investigating, a second call came in about a man being shot and needing medical attention on Rockwood Avenue.

They found Christian Balaj there, suffering from multiple gunshots to the stomach and legs. Balaj told officers he was near North Cliff Street when two men tried to rob him and then shot him. He said he drove himself to Rockwood Avenue to get help from a friend.

Balaj was rushed to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he underwent surgery. His condition was not released as of Wednesday morning.

Police had no description of the gunmen, but said they took off in a compact light-colored car.

An elderly woman was killed and two other people were hurt in an overnight fire in Danbury.

Fire officials said the flames broke out just after midnight at an apartment building on Stevens Street.

The victim was found on the first floor.

A man in his 60s was able to climb on to a first floor roof and was rescued by firefighters. He suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation, according to fire officials.

Firefighters also rescued another woman who suffered burns and smoke inhalation, though not as severe as the man's injuries.

Both were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Eight other people, including four children, were able to escape without injury. They are being assisted by the Red Cross.

Two firefighters were also taken to the hospital. One had a medical issue and was released. A second firefighter was evaluated for an orthopedic issue.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by both local and state fire officials.

The winter's been sweet for maple syrup makers in Connecticut. One of the biggest is hoping the season will last into spring, but it depends on the weather.

"Everything that we do is controlled by Mother Nature," said Robert LaMothe of LaMothe's Sugar House in Burlington.

No one in the state has more taps. He defends 26 miles of lines against squirrels, deer, and falling trees. This mild winter he waited to tap maple trees til well into February, til the nights were really cold, days sunny, and the sap really running.

"So the quality's been good. Quantities have been good. For us coming in with five thousand gallons of sap a day, we're pretty happy about that," he said.
 
How happy? One hundred twenty gallons of syrup a day happy. His new reverse osmosis gear separates the sugar from the water in the sap so he only has to boil down seven gallons of concentrate to get a gallon of syrup. Last year was different.

"Last year we never tapped, we never made syrup until the 11th of March. And we went all the way to the 11th of April," he said.

But this year the syrup making may stop by mid-March if warm weather returns as forecast.

"I hope that that's not true," said LaMothe. "If we had a very brief period of really warm weather we could sustain that but it would have to go right back down below freezing, you know, within a couple days."

He said when the tip of a maple branch begins to bud, that's when the maple syrup season is over with.

Shelton Police are looking to identify a man who witnessed the crash that killed a high school student early Sunday morning.

An unidentified went into a Walgreens Pharmacy on Bridgeport Avenue and told employee there had been an accident, police said. 

Shelton police said 17-year-old Edmund Conklin was driving on Bridgeport Avenue between the Crown Point Plaza and Long Hill Cross Road at 4:45 a.m. when the accident occurred. When police arrived they found Conklin’s vehicle rolled over and Conklin outside the vehicle. He was transported to the hospital for treatment but he did not survive his injuries.

The man is considered a witness and does not appear to have been involved with the crash, Shelton Police said.  

Anyone with information on the man is asked to call police at (203) 924-1544

The federal government said Wednesday it will expand educational programs in Flint, Michigan, to help kids get past the effects of lead in their drinking water, NBC News reported.

Emergency funding totaling $3.6 million would be used for transportation, new classrooms, the expansion of early childhood education and other actions.

It’s not clear how many children have been affected by the extra lad in Flint’s drinking water supply, although estimates range between 6,000 and 12,000. Flint changed its water source from treated water to water from the Flint River, which was high in salts that corroded plumbing and allowed lead to leach into the water.

Unborn babies and very young children are the most vulnerable to the effects of lead. It destroys nerve cells — including developing brain tissue, effects that cannot be reversed.  

Three men have been charged for trafficking heroin out of a grocery store in Hartford. 

A federal grand jury indicted Johnny Beltre, 32, of Cromwell, Elvis De Los Santos, 23, of Hartford, and Domingo De Los Santos, 48, of Hartford, with heroin trafficking offenses. 

In July 2015, DEA investigators began to probe Beltre, the owner of the Beltre Family Grocery store on 955 Broad Street in Hartford. Between July and Jan. 2014, police made seven controlled purchases of heroin from Beltre and his associates, according to court documents.

For each transaction, law enforcement would set up the exchange with Beltre over phone or text messages and bring him money at the grocery store. From there, the "purchaser" would go to Elvis De Los Santos' apartment on Sherbrooke Avenue or Domingo De Los Santos' apartment on Newbury street to obtain the promised heroin. 

On Feb. 22, Beltre was arrested in the Bronx, New York, after the grocer allegedly gave a courier a bag with almost $500,000 in exchange for 20 kilograms of heroin, the prosecutors said. 

On the same day, according to the state prosecutor, Hartfod DEA officers arrested the De Los Santos and searched all three suspects' apartments. Police found more than $430,000 in cash at Beltre's, two bags of raw heroin, cutting agents, a digital scale and baggies at Elvis's apartment and a bag of heroin, bag of cocaine, cutting agents, a kilogram press, baggies, scales, gloves, a vacuum sealer and $6,000 in cash at Domingo's apartment. 

The indictment charges all three men with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. If convicted of this charge, each defendant faces a minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. Each defendant also faces multiple counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, heroin.

The three defendants are detained.

 An indictment is not evidence of guilt, U.S. Attorney Daly stresses. 

A bill proposed by state lawmakers to increase penalties for threats against schools was discussed Wednesday afternoon at a Judiciary Committee Public Hearing at UConn in Stamford.

After being evacuated from Stamford High School during a bomb threat on Feb. 9, sophomore Natalie Medero says she supports the Zero-Tolerance Safe School Environment Act.

“I completely agree with that because it’s really disruptive to students, to parents to teachers because and it just freaks everyone out and makes them upset,” Medero said.

Interim Superintendent of Stamford Schools James Connelly testified in favor of the bill during the public hearing.

“All of these situations in my estimation are acts of terrorism,” Connelly said, “given the national anxiety concerning school safety following Columbine, Sandy Hook, etc.”

Back in October, the entire Fairfield Public School district and private schools in the town went on lockdown, prompting a massive police response and early dismissals.

“These are very sophisticated means of trying to scare,” Senator Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield) said.

Hwang’s 16-year-old son goes to Fairfield-Warde High School, one of the three schools police say received a threatening phone call.

“They were forced to lie down to the back of the walls for nearly three and a half hours in pitch darkness with no information,” he said.

Sen. Hwang is sponsoring the bill to make these threats against schools a Class C felony with a punishment of up to 10 years in prison.

“If you threaten schools, either secondary schools or even colleges or elementary schools we are going to catch you and punish you to the highest level under the law,” Sen. Hwang said.

Fairfield Police Chief Gary MacNamara told NBC Connecticut he is backing this bill. He said his department continues to work with the FBI to track down whoever made the threats that prompted the district wide lockdown.

Police watched as a black-colored sedan slowly drove around a sprawling parking lot at the Wal-Mart in Groton on Tuesday afternoon.

They had been tipped off the car with whoever inside might show up at the store off of Gold Star Highway for a drug sale.

Surveillance teams were set up and just before 4:00 p.m. the car arrived. With regular shoppers nearby, the car parked up front right near the handicap parking.

Police said a woman wearing a pink shirt and colorful spandex pants emerged. There were two men inside, one in the front passenger seat and the other in the rear passenger seat.

At that moment, teams made their move and the knock at the window “startled” the man seated up front.

Police said one man reach toward a console, possibly for a weapon, and they swung the door open. Both men were quickly arrested.

The woman police said had started to return to the car, saw the confrontation, and took off running. An officer stopped her just as she was about to enter the women’s bathroom in the store.

Back at the car, officers said they were hit quickly with the smell of marijuana and packaged bags of the drug were sitting out.

Police said those bags were just the beginning.

Officers said the investigation found more than 10.6 ounces of heroin ready to be sold, 6.5 grams of crack cocaine, and 20 grams of powder cocaine.

Police said the heroin tested positive for fentanyl, a synthetic opiate.

Also there was 12.3 ounces of marijuana, $2,000 in cash, and 10 cell phones.

Police said the drugs were worth at least $30,000.

They arrested Lorenzo Malcolm, 27 of New London, Gilberto Alvarez, 29 with no address, and Rachel Mead, 40 with no address.

They all face charges including possession of heroin with intent to sell, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, and possession of cocaine.

On Wednesday, they appeared before a judge in a New London courtroom and each had their bond set at $49,000 cash only. Their next court date was set for Mar. 30.

Police said this is the first big “grab” for a recently formed group, the Regional Community Enhancement Task Force.

“We realize that by gathering our assets, putting them toward this problem, we can get a lot more accomplished,” said Chief Louis Fusaro Jr., Groton Town Police Department.

The task force includes police, politicians, and community groups from around southeast Connecticut. Its aim is to combat the heroin epidemic with enforcement, treatment, and prevention.

“What we’re trying to do is take a multi-faceted approach not just enforcement but really to get people help,” said Fusaro.

Experts said heroin especially laced with fentanyl can be especially dangerous.

“The danger with mixing heroin with fentanyl or any other substance is you have no idea how powerful it is,” said Dr. Oliver Mayorga, the Emergency Medicine Chair at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London.

Lawrence & Memorial has recently seen an “unprecedented number of heroin overdoses,” about 30 in a roughly month-long period earlier this year.

“The scary thing with the drugs that are out there right now, they’re laced with other things so we’re not really sure the therapy that we’re giving, the Narcan therapy we’re giving, is going to work or not,” said Ron Kersey, the EMS coordinator at Lawrence & Memorial.

Paramedics must carefully watch patients and if necessary provide multi doses of Narcan to counter the effects of the heroin overdoses, which can stall breathing.

The rush of heroin into the area has also increased the number of related criminal cases.

Outside the Superior Court in New London, Gordon Videll, the attorney for Lorenzo Malcolm, would not comment on the current criminal case involving his client, but did address the greater issue of heroin invading the state.

“This is an epidemic for sure and it’s a health epidemic as much as a criminal epidemic,” said Videll.

A lack of snow in Anchorage, Alaska, has forced organizers to shorten the epic Iditarod race, NBC News reported.

The start of the race will go from 11 miles to three because dog sledders can’t mush when there’s not enough slush.

Snow was forecast for the start of the race on Saturday in Anchorage, but higher temperatures mean the snow won’t stick around long enough.

Conditions look ever worse when the real 1,100 mile race to Nome kicks off in the town of Willow at 2 p.m. Sunday.  

A new study shows the rates of unintended pregnancies dropped to the lowest level in 30 years between 2008 and 2011, NBC News reported.

Experts say unintended pregnancies have dropped by 18 percent, mostly due to better use of birth control.

The declines were among women of all ages, incomes, race and ethnic groups, according to the study, conducted by the Guttmacher Institute.

Experts conducting the study said the findings help support the abortion debate — that access to contraceptive services leads to a lower incidence of abortion in the U.S., which, the report says, has the highest level of unintended pregnancy in the developed world.  

The Public Health Committee in the Connecticut General Assembly is considering expanding the laws that apply to medical marijuana.

The proposal would allow children the same access to treatments as adults, under the proper medical supervision.

Currently, adults can have access to medical marijuana dispensaries if it's prescribed by a doctor for a documented medical issue. Children who suffer from ailments that could use medical marijuana treatments are currently prohibited.

“It’s not marijuana that could be smoked, it is done through other forms whether it be oils or pills, other or whatever may have you" said Rep. Matt Ritter, the Commitee's Chairman who supports the measure. He says the law has built in requirements to ensure people can't work around the system and abuse it.

“You would have two doctors sign off and a legal guardian" Rep. Ritter, (D - Hartford) said. "Those protections in place we think will make sure that they’re going to those folks who need it most who it’s helpful for and who’s physicians support the measures that we’re taking.”

The Meehan family left their home in Oakdale, CT because of the state's restrictions on medical marijuana three years ago.

13 year old Cyndimae Meehan suffers thousands of seizures every day and a doctor told her and mother Susan that other states have more accomodating policies for Cyndimae's condition.

“Our doctor said there really was nothing left and I think you need get her to a state where she can try medical marijuana legally, so that’s what we did. We moved to Maine in 2013" Susan said.

She says of the medical marijuana treatment, “It stops her seizures in their tracks.”

Some Republicans in the General Assembly fear the expansion could lead to the prescriptions being used as gateways to other drugs like opiates.

However, others in the minority party view the expansion as a reasonable and responsible expansion for people who really need the treatments.

“I think you’re talking about a very limited specific purpose that would be used primarily on the same grounds that we did for the use of medical marijuana for adults" said Rep. Whit Betts, (R - Bristol).

He says the issue needs to be thought about less about politics and more about compassion.

“I don’t of know any individual that would be opposed to helping somebody who is suffering so much.”

Today schools across the country celebrated Read Across America Day in honor of Dr. Seuss’s birthday.

The third graders at Gaffney Elementary School sat down with the principal and guest reader Anita Fazio today to celebrate the Nationwide Reading Campaign. But they don’t need a special occasion to recognize the importance of reading.

“You can find a little bit of yourself in every book,” explains Ray Jr., a third grader at Gaffney Elementary School.

You could also find members of the NBC Connecticut team also spread out across the state to help celebrate Seuss’s birthday. Ryan Hanrahan read to 3rd graders at Thalmberg School in Southington, and kindergarteners from South Side Elementary School in Bristol. Bob Maxon spent time at Mountain View Elementary and Tyler Jankoski went to Stafford Elementary, both in Bristol.

“We have a lot of volunteers here today who are taking time out of their busy schedule just to come and be with the kids and read Dr. Seuss books” says Fazio.

In addition to specials guests stopping by schools all across the state today, Gaffney Elementary school they also had a couple furry friends join in on the fun”

“The kids love when the dogs come to visit,” says Fazio. “It gives them an opportunity just to lay with them, read with them, cuddle with them”

New Britain has a partnership with Pet Partners, allowing services dogs to come spend time with students in a therapy program at the elementary school.

Bonomo Aries, a third grader at Gaffney says, “They’re just fun to come cause you’re not usually used to a dog coming to your school.”

Lawmakers are mulling requiring all new school buses purchased in Connecticut to be equipped with three point seat belts starting in five years.

The legislation comes as the National Transportation Safety Board has recommended the restraints as an increased safety measure for students.

"It all comes down to the safety of our children and I think if we can enable that cost in there, especially, if we put it down the road for four or five years from now, I think it’s feasible" said Rep. Tony Guerrera, (D - Rocky Hill), who chairs the legislature's Transportation Committee.

Guerrera says making the requirement go into effect in 2021 would allow school boards around Connecticut years to budget and plan adequately for the transition.

School buses cost around $90,000 each, and the installation of three point seatbelts on each seat could cost as much as $10,000 extra.

Leslie Sheldon with the Connecticut School Transportation Association says she's not sure how cities and towns would feel about the extra costs.

"Our state’s in bad shape so I don’t know if it’s good enough time or not but you know in 2021, we certainly have advanced notice of what needs to be done.”

Sheldon says it's clear national public policy is progressing toward all buses having seatbelts and Connecticut is likely to join that trend.

"That’s just the way the world is going but I want to remind everybody that the school bus is safe right now. It’s built with compartmentalization in the seats. The school bus is a safe vehicle for your child to be in.”

The biggest concern for Sheldon is protecting individual drivers from liability in the event something happens to a child not wearing a seat belt on the bus.

"They already have their responsibility of driving the bus, their backs are to the kids, the seats are higher now. They can’t see if they have belts on. It can’t be up to the bus driver. Maybe they’ll have monitors on the buses.”

Rep. Guerrera says for the sake of children's safety, the seat belt measure is a no brainer.

“When a parent puts their child on a bus, they want their child to come home in a safe manner and that’s what we’re talking about here. And it may cost a little bit of money but you can’t put a price on that. No price can ever be put on somebody’s life.”

After parents complained last year that their children were taking too many standardized tests, the state government came up with a compromise.

So many students take the SAT for college admissions, all students would take it for Connecticut's standardized test. For juniors at Berlin High and all high schools in the state this was SAT Day.

"It was like a good environment to work on the SAT in. Everybody was quiet. We all were focused. It was pretty good," said Briana Muller.

She was one of three juniors who went out to lunch after school to relax and recover from taking the SAT.

"It wasn't that hard," said Alyssa Grant. "It was kind of hard but it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be."

East Tokyo is where they went for their post-SAT meal. They all said taking the test for free and on a school day instead of a Saturday is a good deal.

"They weren't that hard. Some of like the math part was hard for me. I prepared with like the math questions but that's it," said Teona Martin.

"My mom told me to go to bed early, so I did."

The girls had to begin checking in for the test at 7:10 a.m. Four and a half hours later it was over. They all said they will take it again, hoping a better score will help them get into a college of their choice.

Homeowners in Orange are on alert after what police call a "substantial uptick" in daytime residential burglaries. Investigators said thieves have recently been going into homes and stealing jewelry and electronics when the occupants are not there.

When Maria Giordano and her husband returned to their home in Orange after work on Friday, they said something did not not feel right.

“My husband started down the hallway and said ‘did you leave this closet door open?’," said Mrs. Giordano. She said she did not leave that closet door open. The couple said they went into the bedroom and realized that someone else had been in there. Whoever it was, Giordano said, had not taken all the jewelry she kept inside a dresser drawer.

“He also opened my nightstand, emptied a box of jewelry out, neatly closed the nightstand and then proceeded to a stand-up jewelry box I have and he took all the jewelry out of there," she said.
Giordano estimates that about $5,000 worth of jewelry had been stolen.

Police said at least eight homes in the northwest part of Orange had been hit in the last few weeks. They said one home in the Turkey Hill neighborhood was burglarized Wednesday. Investigators said that the suspects strike during the day when most people are at work.

“If they ring the doorbell a few times and no one answers, they take a sweep around back, look through some windows, see if the house is occupied," said Asst. Police Chief Anthony Cuozzo.

Officers in Orange are alerting the public as well as nearby police departments in Milford, Woodbridge and Derby, about the home burglaries.

The Giordanos said the culprit got into their home through the garage window. “It’s the fear that what if they come back," said Mrs. Giordano. "Now you realize you’re vulnerable.”

The couple has since upgraded their alarm system with camera and motion sensors. They said this ordeal has cost them about $10,000.
"It’s very eerie," said Giordano. "There’s somebody in your home that didn’t belong there," she added.

Orange police said they have yet to make any arrests or name any suspects. In the meantime, police are increasing their patrols but said it is important for neighbors to increase communication with one another and to report any suspicious activity immediately.

“We need those folks who are home to let us know what’s going on, and the only way to do that is to call," said Cuozzo.

For more residential crime prevention information, residents can contact Crime Prevention Officer Robert Amarone at (203) 891-2138.

A classic scam involving fake checks often disguises itself in mystery shopper job postings, according to the Department of Consumer Protection.

In the few years since her retirement, Cathy DeSimone has used mystery shopping as her way to make some extra cash.

“It’s not a high paying job or anything,” said DeSimone. “But it’s kind of fun.”

After signing up, mystery shoppers will usually get assigned to shop at and secretly rate one of several retailers for qualities such as customer service, cleanliness and overall experience.

The mystery shopping company will then take its users’ findings as data to let businesses know where they can improve.

It usually pays around 30 dollars per assignment, so when DeSimone saw an offering for 250 dollars, she wanted to learn more.

“I thought, [200 to 300 dollars], what kind of job are they asking me to do?” said DeSimone.

She reached out to the listed point of contact—an HR Manager who says he’s with The Premier Mystery Shopping Company.

A few days later, she received a Priority Mail envelope with a check for 2,800 dollars. She says they told her to deposit the check, keep her 250 dollar cut, and send the remaining 2,600 dollars back to the company through MoneyGram.

The Better Business Bureau warns this sounds similar to a popular scam, ranked among the BBB’s top ten scams of 2015.

Fraudsters will typically request you wire money as soon as you deposit the check they send you. That check will later bounce, but by the time the bank flags it, it’s too late. Your money is gone.

DCP says consumers should be very careful when wiring money, because that method of payment cannot be traced.

“A legitimate company that’s checking out purchases is not going to ask you to use an untraceable form of payment,” said DCP Communications Director Lora Rae Anderson.

Legitimate companies like Secret Shopper and Mystery Shopper both warn its online visitors about the scheme. Since DeSimone has mystery shopped before, she saw those warnings and decided not to fall for it, but worries about those who will.

“It’s not just stereotypical people [who] fall for scams,” said Anderson. “These are your friends, your neighbors, your family members, or anybody who’s looking for a little bit of extra cash.”

The Old Saybrook Fire Department responded to a second alarm fire at a hotel on Wednesday night. 

At 10:03 p.m., officials went to put out a fire at the Liberty Inn, a two-story hotel on Springbrook Road.

One child was transported to the medical center for evaluation. 

The fire was brought under control about a half hour after firefighters arrived.

There were no other immediate details.