An internet celebrity known as "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" is wanted by authorities in connection with the killing of a New Jersey lawyer.

Union County officials say the suspect, also known as Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, who has appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live," was last seen at a rail station in the Haddonfield, N.J. area and may have cut his hair to try to change his appearance.

Officials believe he killed Joseph Galfy, who was found in his Clark, N.J. home on Monday, dead of blunt force trauma.

Authorities did not say how they knew each other.

McGillvary gained notoriety earlier this year when he was hitchhiking with a man who allegedly attempted to run over a utility worker.

According to the Fresno Bee, McGillvary pulled a hatchet out of his backpack and struck the driver in the head after the dispute, and others held the man until police arrived.

McGillvary describes himself as "homefree," rather than "homeless," and said on Kimmel that he steals from Wal-Mart, Target and Safeway and gives away the loot.

No one won the $360 million Powerball jackpot on Wednesday night, so now the jackpot has jumped to $475 million for Saturday night’s drawing.

If you are the lucky winner, the estimated cash value is $302.4 million. 

While no one won the big jackpot last night, you still should check your tickets. Someone in Connecticut won $1 million. The winning numbers were 2-11-26-34-41 and the Powerball was 32.

Thirty people won $200, 156 people $100 and there were several other prizes.

The last Powerball jackpot winner in Connecticut was Noel Peel, who won a $60 million jackpot in June 23. 

In November 2011, Putnam Ave, Trust, a group of hedge fund managers, won $254.2 million.

When you spend $2 on a ticket, the overall odds of winning a Powerball prize are 1 in 31.8, but the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in 175,223,510 million. 
 

On Tuesday, a group of Connecticut State Troopers traveled to Washington, DC for National Police Week and they met with Vice President Joe Biden.

The group of troopers who made the trip included some who led the team that went into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown to respond to the call of an active shooting in December, those who processed the crime scene at the school and troopers who consoled families of the shooting victims.

State Police union president Andrew Matthews was also in attendance, according to a statement from the state police union.

Dennis Hallon, executive director of the National Troopers Coalition, also attended the meeting, where he learned that both on-duty and off-duty troopers responded, according to state police.

“We are proud of how our Troopers responded to this tragic event,” Matthews said in a news release.

They were required to act immediately and did so without regard for their own safety, Matthews said.

“Our Troopers responded with courage, compassion and professionalism that has been witnessed around the country and the world and their response is a testament to the critical role that State Troopers perform every day,” Matthews said in a statement.

During the meeting, the troopers and Vice President Biden discussed his platform for reducing gun violence in the country.

Biden congratulated the troopers for their unselfish actions and praised them for their efforts, according to the state police union.

The troopers were attending National Police Week to honor the 21 state troopers and 19,981 other police officers who were killed in the line of duty.

The troopers returned to Connecticut on Wednesday. 

A white powder substance was been found at the Budget Rental Car facility, located at 85 Schoephoester Road in Windsor Locks, on Thursday which is technically on Bradley Airport property.

A Bradley Airport Fire Department crew responded, according to John Wallace, a spokesperson for Bradley Airport, and said the powder was found in an envelope.

An NBC Connecticut crew went to the scene and said firefighters and police had left as of 2:50 p.m.

Greenwich police arrested a Canadian woman accused of trespassing at Conyers Farm in Greenwich on Wednesday during an event that Prince Harry was attending at the polo grounds.

Prince Harry was there to raise money for his charity Sentebale at the Greenwich Polo Club, located on Conyers Farm, when police detained Wen Qi, 36, of Toronto, Canada, on the grounds around 2 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a news release from police.

Security was tight for the invitation-only event. Proper identification and credentials were required to gain access and bomb-sniffing dogs were brought in for added security.

Police said Qi matched an individual on the watch list for potential trespassers at the event and is accused of trespassing on private property, trying to get into the event.

Invited guests included millionaire Peter Brant, supermodel Stephanie Seymour, fashion designer Jason Wu and many other members of the fashion community who all made donation of at least $5,000.   

Qi was charged with third-degree criminal trespass ad and was unable to post $1,000 bond.

She is due in court on May 22 in Stamford Superior Court.

 

A state police K9 team and a blood hound helped find missing siblings in East Haven today.

Around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, East Haven police reached out to state police for help finding a brother and sister, ages 9 and 10, who had wandered into a wooded area near Charnes Drive, police said.

Crews found the boy, but the girl was missing for around two-and-a-half hours before she was found unharmed about a half-mile away from her house, according to state police. She was brought back to her home, police said.

State Police K9 Search and Rescue teams and the state police aviation unit were brought in to help in the search.
 

A man accused of assaulting a Brown University basketball player has waived extradition from Connecticut and is headed to Providence.

Vernon Police spokesman Lt. William Meier said Tory Lussier, 25, of Vernon, waived extradition in Rockville Superior Court on Thursday. Lussier was taken into custody Wednesday at his home in Vernon on a felony arrest warrant.

Providence police said Lussier is expected to be returned on Friday for an appearance in Providence District Court.

It wasn't known if he's represented by a lawyer.

A spokesman for Rhode Island Hospital said Wednesday that Joseph Sharkey, 21, of Norwood, Massachusetts, was in critical condition. The hospital did not return a call seeking updated information.

Police said a man hit Sharkey in the head on Sunday morning following an altercation.
   
 

A Chicago-area man is thankful he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar — it turned him into a millionaire.

Ricardo Cerezo's wife said she wanted to throw out a host of old lottery tickets that the family had stashed away in a cookie jar, and told her husband to chedk their value before he trashed them. Cerezo drove to a nearby gas station to see if he had a winner among the months-worth of unchecked tickets.

"The last ticket said, 'file a claim.' Not a congratulations, not an amount, just said 'file a claim," Cerezo said. Intrigued, he contacted the Illinois Lottery. 

The ticket, which he bought in February, turned out to be worth a cool $4.85 million.

The winning ticket couldn't have come at a better time for the family. Cerezo's home in Geneva, Ill. was facing pending foreclosure, and the family was reeling from the loss of his 14-year-old daughter Savannah, who died as a result of a series of seizures.

Savannah had bought the cookie jar for her father a few months before she died on August 12, 2012. The family kept the lotto tickets and some of their family keepsakes in that cookie jar.

The windfall, however, came with a bit of meloncholy.

"The honest first reaction was mammoth regret. Regret because our youngest wasn't here to enjoy this," Cerezo said.

But now he says he's able to find peace, knowing this was an incredible gift from his daughter.

The family plans to keep working to pay off their mortgage, pay for college and donate a portion of the money to charity and their church.

Firefighters from as many as 14 departments responded to a fire in Falls Village on Thursday afternoon.

The fire began in a home at 22 Prospect Street around 1:45 p.m., according to Litchfield County Dispatch. The fire was still burning at 5 p.m., dispatchers said.

Emergency crews from Massachusetts and New York were called to the scene in the small town in northwest Connecticut to help battle the blaze.

There is no word on injuries.

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No one won Wednesday night's Powerball drawing, which is good news for somebody: There will be an even bigger drawing on Saturday night.

As of Friday, the jackpot hit $600 million. That's the largest jackpot in Powerball history and the second biggest lotto drawing overall. A sole winner opting for an immediate cash payout would suddenly have an extra $376.9 million on hand, which would make that lucky gambler wealthier than both Mitt Romney and Beyoncé Knowles.

There are many ways to spend that sort of fortune. Here are 12 suggestions:

DO SOMETHING ALTRUISTIC

• Reduce the nation's debt: The jackpot could reduce the United States' $16.7 trillion debt by about 4 thousandths of a percent. If a winner wanted to feel more useful, he or she could alternatively choose to pay off the entire $200 million government debt for the Kingdom of Tonga, a small nation in the South Pacific, and still have money to spare.
   
• Give $5,454 to every single one of the 110,000 people living below the poverty line in Washington, D.C.
   
• Give about $11,765 to each of the estimated 51,000 homeless people living in Los Angeles county.
   
• Help young professionals: The average 25-year-old owed about $20,326 in student loan debt last year, according to a study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. With $600 million, a Powerball winner could wipe out debt for nearly 30,000 recent graduates.
   
• Pay the bills of American consumers: A winner could bail out more than 38,000 credit card debt-saddled American households. According to nerdwallet.com, the average American household kicked off the year owing credit card companies $15,422.
   
• Give the children of Malawi an education: Annual secondary school fees in Malawi range from less than $30 to more than $700. In a country where more than 40 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day, even the least expensive options are still too costly for many families. A Powerball winner willing to donate $300 per pupil could easily cover the cost of one year of schooling for more than 2 million Malawians.

TREAT YOURSELF AND THOSE LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE YOUR FRIEND

• Blow it on a mega-yacht. Or maybe two: Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko made headlines when he bought a 394-foot ultra-luxury yacht, equipped with its own helipad. It rang in at $300 million.
   



• Buy fancy cars: The most expensive car on the market, according to thesupercars.org, is a Lamborghini Veneno. Each one is priced at $3.9 million, which means a Powerball winner could afford 153.
   
• Take a round trip space voyage every day for the next 20 months: A trip to outer space with five friends costs $1 million with Virgin Galactic.
   
• Buy a sports team. According to a Forbes report earlier this year, the San Antonio Spurs and Brooklyn Nets are in your price range.
   
• Produce the most expensive movie in history. "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," which ranks among the priciest, had a budget of about $330 million.
   
• Buy Downton Abbey, which was valued at $400 million by the Movoto real estate blog. Or you can but this Beverly Hills mansion, which is actually on the market. The "Legendary Beverly House" can accommodate a 400-person sit down dinner, has an art-deco night club wine cellar, two projection rooms, a spa, gym, massage room, tennis court, indoor bar, media center guest house and an eight-car garage. The property, which appeared in "The Godfather" and "The Bodyguard," goes for $115 million. You'll probably need the rest of your winnings for furnishings and upkeep.

New Haven police released images of a man seen abandoning a car stolen during a home invasion.

Officers found a gray Dodge Intrepid behind a building at 181 Henry Street on Wednesday morning.

The car was stolen during a home invasion on Osborn Street Tuesday afternoon.

Two masked intruders went into a residence on Osborn Street and tied up two adults who were inside, officials said.  They stole several items and drove off in the victims' car.

On Thursday, police released several images from a surveillance camera of a man abandoning the car behind the building on Henry Street.

The question of safety was on the minds of several dozen at a special meeting of the Wooster Square Block Watch Thursday night. Residents met with police to talk about the recent break-ins and concerns.

"Right now we're feeling pretty amazing in our space and now a little nervous about moving to the new space," said Jessica Lennington, who will be moving into a new home in Wooster Square that will be blocks from Tuesday's home invasion on Osborn Street.

Investigators hope someone will recognize the man, who they describe as a suspect.

This is the second home invasion reported in New Haven this month.

On Monday, May 6, two men invaded a home on Huntington Street, held two women captive, tied them up and stole a car belonging to one resident, police said.  The home is just two miles from Tuesday's home invasion.

The victims in that home invasion were 71 and 58.

Federal and state investigators have ruled the cause of the deadly fire and explosion at a fertilizer facility in West as undetermined.

The April 17 explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. killed 15 and injured hundreds while laying waste to much of the tiny town.

Texas State Fire Marshal Chris Connealy said a ruling of undetermined is made when the cause "cannot be proven to an acceptable level of certainty."

"This could be due to insufficient information or if multiple causes could not be eliminated," he said.

Robert Champion, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Dallas Field Division agent in charge, said the following could not be eliminated: a 120-volt electrical system, a golf cart and an intentionally set fire.

A West first responder was arrested last week on suspicion of possessing bomb-making materials, but Champion said investigators would not speculate about whether Bryce Reed is connected to the blast.

Investigators have ruled several possible causes, such as the rekindling of a fire, spontaneous ignition, the 480-volt electrical system that ran the plant's heavy equipment, anhydrous ammonia, ammonia nitrate, smoking and weather.

The investigation into the fire is open and ongoing, although the excavation of the scene is complete. The State Fire Marshal's Office, the ATF, the Department of Public Safety, the McLennan County Sheriff's and District Attorney's Offices will continue to have staff in West to work on the investigation.

Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz released the following statement on the investigation:
"We appreciate the individuals and agencies who have worked to investigate the cause of the tragic explosion in West. Our prayers remain with those struggling to recover and mourning the loss of loved ones. While the cause remains undetermined, it is our sincere hope that at the end of the investigation, the residents of West can find closure and begin to heal."

Details of the fire

The fire, which started in the fertilizer and seed building, sparked two explosions, investigators said. The explosions were "milliseconds" apart, and most people would have registered them as one explosion, investigators said.

The fire was reported at 7:29 p.m., and the two explosions occurred at approximately 7:51 p.m. The fire department was dispatched at 7:32 p.m. and firefighters arrived at 7:38 p.m.

Water from the firefighting activities did not contribute to the cause of the explosion.

The blast left a 37-block area of damage and a crater that was 93 feet wide and 10 feet deep. The furthest piece of evidence was found two and half miles away, but most evidence was found within a 3,000-foot radius.

The origin of the fire was determined to be in the northern area of the fertilizer and seed building, in what is referred to as the seed room.

The golf cart that could not be eliminated as a possible cause of the fire was located in that room. The 120-volt electrical system that could not be ruled out was also located in the building.

Investigators estimate that between 28 and 34 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded, the equivalent of approximately 15,000 to 20,000 pounds of TNT.

An additional 20 to 30 tons in the building and approximately 100 tons of ammonium nitrate in a nearby railcar did not explode.

Connealy said the families of those killed in the blast were briefed on the findings before the press conference.

In addition to the investigation into the origin and cause of the fire, the fire marshal's office has also been conducting a firefighter line of duty death investigation, as required by state law. Work on the report for that investigation is expected to take several months.

The Texas Rangers and McLennan County Sheriff's Office last week opened a criminal investigation into the blast. The fire marshal's office said Thursday that the fire investigation had been considered a criminal investigation since the case was opened.

Vandals strike again at a church in Derby for the second time in two weeks. This time the problems are even worse and fixing the damage could be pricey.

“I said you’re kidding me,” explained Al Smith. Smith was shocked when he saw the window at the Immanuel St. James Church in Derby. “This is totally ridiculous,” he added.

On Tuesday, the 90 year old maintenance worker noticed someone threw a rock through the stained glass.  It had been here since the 1800’s.  “Who would damage a church?” Smith questioned. 

It was especially troubling, since the same thing happened there in April.  The damage was still visible on two windows from that incident. 

“I didn't think somebody was going to come back again this fooled me,” Smith admitted.

Fixing the historic windows could be expensive.  Al Smith said the damage from a few weeks ago would cost $45,000.  The problems from this week might have been more costly, the glass was more unique.

“It's up in the hundreds of thousands,” Smith explained.  He said insurance might not cover the entire cost.  His main concern was that the vandals could come back.  “We never had any of these problems before,” Smith said.

Smith had planned to put up wiring in the next few days, just in case the windows were targeted again.

“My first question would be to ask them why?” Smith said. 

Police still have not caught whoever is behind the destruction.

If anyone has any information regarding these crimes, you are urged to contact Derby Police at 203-735-7811.

 

Los Angeles was the worst city in the U.S. for dog attacks on letter carriers last year, according a new report by the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service released its dog attack city rankings on Wednesday as a prelude to National Dog Bite Prevention Week and urges pet owners to help reduce the incidence of dog bites to letter carriers.

“If our letter carriers deem your loose dog to be a threat, you’ll be asked to pick up your mail at the Post Office until it’s safe to deliver,” said Ken Snavely, acting postmaster of Los Angeles, where 69 postal employees were attacked last year.

Nationwide, 5,879 postal employees were attacked.

Snavely said that in situations where a dog roams the neighborhood, delivery to the owner’s neighbors could be curtailed as well.

Also, when letter carriers come to a customer’s door, pet owners are asked to place dogs in a separate room and close the door, as many canines have been known to jump through screen and glass doors.

Dog attacks are a nationwide issue and not just a postal problem.

Nearly 5,900 letter carriers were attacked last year, but that pales in comparison to the 4.7 million Americans annually bitten by dogs — more than half of whom are children — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Many dogs are cherished members of their family and people believe their dog won’t bite, but given the right circumstances, any dog can attack," Snavely said. “Dogs do not reason like people do and they will react to their instinct to protect their family and territory."

Just last week, a woman was fatally mauled by several pit bulls while on a jog in the high desert community of Littlerock, north of Los Angeles. Three days later, a girl on a walk in Corona was attacked by a pit bull.

An Chicago man was sentenced Thursday morning in connection with a beach party fight that turned deadly.

James Malecek, 19, waived his right to a trial and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

A judge accepted the plea agreement, and Malecek will serve 145 days in jail beginning July 1.

Malecek punched Mt. Carmel high school student Kevin Kennelly during a July Fourth disturbance in Long Beach, Ind., in 2011.

Malecek had just graduated from Loyola Academy and was set to begin college at Texas Christian University in Forth Worth. Both families owned second homes in Long Beach.

A teary-eyed Malecek apologized to the victim's family in court, saying, "Mr. and Mrs. Kennelly, I never intended to injure your son, Kevin. It truly was a terribly accident."

But the Kennelly's aren't happy with the plea deal.

"He's been given a gift," Kevin Kennelly, Sr. said outside the courtroom. "He did it, he's been very lightly sentenced for it, he believes it was an accident, I don't know how anyone could believe that."

Malecek will have to wear an electronic monitoring device for up to three-and-a-half years after he's released.

A Southern California Navy official has been removed from his post after he allegedly sent inappropriate text messages to two female members of his command, Naval Surface Force officials confirmed on Thursday.

Navy officials say Cmdr. Allen Maestas, Executive Officer of the Coronado-based Beachmaster Unit 1 (BMU), allegedly sent inappropriate texts and emails to two enlisted female members of his command.

Navy officials would not comment on the exact content of the alleged texts and emails.

The Navy released the following statement Thursday regarding the removal of Maestas:

"The executive officer of Beachmaster Unit (BMU) 1 was relieved May 16 because of inappropriate comments sent in text messages and e-mails to members of his command. Cmdr. Allen Maestas was relieved by Commander of Naval Beach Group (NBG) 1, Capt. Kevin Flanagan. Lt. Cmdr. Geoffrey Belanger, BMU-1 operations officer, has assumed the duties as acting executive officer. A permanent relief is expected to arrive in June. Maestas has been temporarily reassigned to the staff of NBG-1. Beachmasters manage the transfer of equipment and personnel from ship to shore."

The Navy says Maestas first enlisted in 1985 as an Electrician's Mate before working his way up the ranks. He reported to BMU-1 as executive officer in April 2012. Over his career, he has earned the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal, among other decorations.

Maestas’ removal comes on the heels of staggering new figures released by the Pentagon on the number of sexual assaults in the military.

Last week, Pentagon documents showed that up to 26,000 military members may have been sexually assaulted in the last year, indicating that unreported sexual assault in the military is a growing epidemic across the services.

Underscoring the problem, an Air Force officer in charge of its sexual-assault program, Lt. Col. Jeff Krusinski, was recently arrested in a Virginia parking lot for allegedly groping a woman.

And earlier this week, NBC News reported that a U.S. Army sergeant who coordinated a Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention program at Fort Hood, Texas, is being investigated for a host of sexual misconduct charges.

A Pentagon source told NBC News that the soldier is accused of having forced at least one subordinate into prostitution and of having sexually assaulted two others. He has been suspended from his job pending the probe by the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, and his identity has not been released.

If you have to get into and around in New Haven this weekend, prepare for heavy traffic.

Graduations, a parade and several activities will bring traffic and drivers will either have to find alternate routes or brace themselves for traffic delays as lanes are shifted because of the Q Bridge project.

Starting tonight, the ramp from Interstate 95 North to Interstate 91 will be down to one lane and the Long Wharf entrance to Interstate 95 North will be shut down

The Freddie Fixer Parade will be held on Sunday and this is graduation for several colleges, including Yale, Southern Connecticut State University, Quinnipiac University, University of New Haven and Albertus Magnus.

The New Haven police presence will be high to help make traffic move more smoothly, but officers are asking drivers to be patient.

“I still have to come in and out, even going to soccer games and baseball games. We usually have to cross the bridge, too,” Nancy Williams, of Guilford, said. 
 

North Haven Middle School and North Haven High School were locked down Friday morning because of an attempted larceny in the area.

Police said the larceny was not connected to the schools.

The high school is located at 221 Elm Street and the middle school is located at 55 Bailey Road, but they are on the same campus.

The lockdowns were lifted just before 10 a.m.

Police did not say if they had captured anyone in connection with the larceny.

New England has been hit by two unthinkable tragedies in just four months: the Newtown school shootings and the Boston Marathon bombings.

Millions have been raised for the victims of both. However, unlike the families affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings, survivors of the Boston bombings will soon be collecting donations.

"It's heartbreaking when you look at the two cases. You've got the best case scenario and you've got the worst case scenario," said Caryn Kaufman, who represents families affected by tragedies around the country.

Kaufman is advocating for a National Compassion Fund so there's no question post-tragedy donations would go directly to the victims.

According to Kaufman,  Boston got it right by creating "One Fund Boston" which is raising money solely for victims of the terror attack and has used an independent administrator, attorney Kenneth Feinberg, from the start. Feinberg helped distribute funds after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the movie theater shootings in Aurora, Colorado, the Virginia Tech shootings, and other tragedies.

On the one-month anniversary of the attack, the organization released its detailed distribution criteria and also announced that the $30 million raised will be handed out at the end of June.

In comparison, Newtown's largest fund, which was launched by the United Way and is now controlled by the Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation, plans to distribute just 70 percent of its $11 million to the families of the 26 people who died, the families of the 12 students who survived the shooting, and the two educators who were injured.

There's still no criteria set for handing the money out and there is no deadline.

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has intervened on behalf of upset families and declined to comment.

"We believe that that's re-victimizing. You're asking people who are in the depths of grief to have to ask for money that was given to them as a gift and that's not right," said Kaufman.

The foundation says it has met with the attorney general but declined further comment.

In the past, the United Way has pointed out the fund was established not only for the victims, but also to address ongoing community needs.

Quinnipiac University business professor David Cadden says transparency is crucial for any charity.

"You have a small community so in shock that they basically didn't think ahead of some of the procedures they should have put in place fairly early on," said Cadden.

In April, the foundation created a distribution committee to figure out how to split up the funds. Public hearings that were canceled earlier this month have not been rescheduled.

The foundation is also now using Attorney Feinberg as a consultant, after town leaders decided against using him to oversee the fund immediately after the tragedy.

Cadden and others feel the ongoing fight for funds raised on behalf of the Newtown victims is adding to the tragedy.

"They've gone through enough of a horror. They need to have some extent of closure at least on this particular issue," said Cadden.

Eagles starting offensive lineman Evan Mathis has never strayed far from controversy even calling fans "idiots" for wanting former Eagles coach Andy Reid fired.

This time Mathis’ anger was geared towards the Internal Revenue Service.

Per Pro Football Talk:

Like most if not all Americans, Eagles offensive lineman Evan Mathis doesn’t like it.  Unlike most if not all Americans, Mathis has opted to make his views known, in an entertaining way.

“Audit This,” tweeted Mathis as he posted an Instagram photo making it look as if he's urinating on the sign for the IRS’ offices.

In the midst of a federal scandal involving the IRS’ treatment of Tea party and other right-wing non-profit groups Mathis’ photo created plenty of chatter online even getting its own Mashable writeup along with plenty of comments and retweets.

The most interesting aspect of the photo however could be the boot on Mathis’ left leg confirming an earlier CSNPhilly.com report that Mathis would miss the Eagles recent OTAs after ankle surgery.