A rollover and a vehicle fire closed two highways on Tuesday afternoon.  

Route 2 East is closed in East Hartford at exit 5A after a rollover with injuries.

Interstate 84 was closed on both the eastbound and westbound sides in West Hartford at exit 43 after a vehicle fire.

Police said the Econoline van was carrying chlorine and crews from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection were called to remove the chemicals.

On Tuesday afternoon, officials from DEEP said most of the chemicals were destroyedin the fire, so there was nothing to clean up.

Water ran into Trout Brook, so the fire department flushed the brook with more water to dilute the chlorine.    

The westbound side of the highway has reopened and the left lane of the eastbound side of the highway is getting by, but there are heavy delays. 

Though the heat and humidity has disappeared for now, it will return in force late this week.

Tomorrow's a similar to today, as it will be comfortable with temperatures in the 80s.

90-degree heat returns Thursday, and middle 90s are in the cards Friday.

A few thunderstorms are possible Friday. Some could be strong late in the day.

It will be hot, hazy and increasingly humid this weekend. Early on, it won't be that humid.

Highs will be in the lower and middle 90s, at least. It's not out of the question that a few locations soar into the upper 90s.

An isolated storm is possible Sunday and Monday.

FactCheck.org is a non-partisan non-profit organization that will hold candidates and key figures accountable during the 2016 presidential campaign. FactCheck.org will check facts of of speeches, advertisements and more for NBC.

Summary

• The 2016 Republican National Convention opened with the first day’s theme “Make America Safe Again.” But in some cases the facts weren’t safe from distortion:
• Two security contractors at the CIA annex in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012, repeated their claim that they were told to “stand down” and not help Americans under attack. But multiple official reports say such an order was never issued.
• The sister of a slain Border Patrol agent said President Obama has left “border patrol agents thinly equipped,” and undermanned. In fact, both funding and staffing have increased under Obama.
• A Senate candidate claimed “neighborhoods have become more violent” under President Obama. In fact, the violent crime rate has gone down 20 percent under Obama, as of the most recent FBI statistics for 2014.
• Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Rep. Michael McCaul both wrongly claimed that Hillary Clinton supports “open borders.” She supported a bill that would have created a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, but it also would have increased border security.
• Giuliani said that Clinton “advocated for the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya” and should be “accountable” for the country’s chaos. But he failed to mention that Trump, at the time, also supported the ouster of Gadhafi.
• Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions claimed that wages “have fallen,” when they’re up under Obama. He blamed immigration for a low labor force participation rate, when it’s mainly the result of demographics, including the aging of baby boomers.

Note to Readers
Lori Robertson, is on the scene in Cleveland. This story was written with the help of the entire staff of FactCheck.org, based in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. FactCheck.org intends to vet the major speeches at both conventions for factual accuracy, applying the same standards to both.

Analysis

The Republican National Convention convened on July 18 for a four-day affair that will culminate with the nomination of Donald J. Trump as the party’s presidential nominee. The first day focused on public safety under the theme “Make America Safe Again.”

The speakers — a mix of citizens, soldiers and politicians — accused Democratic President Barack Obama and his former secretary of state, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, of making the country less safe at home and abroad.

Benghazi: No ‘Stand Down’ Order

Two security contractors who were stationed at the CIA annex on the night of the Benghazi attacks in 2012 reiterated their oft-told claim that they were told not to help Americans under attack at the State Department’s nearby diplomatic facility. But several government investigations concluded there were no intentional delays in responding to the attacks, and no “stand down” order was issued.

“Rather, there were mere tactical disagreements about the speed with which the team should depart prior to securing additional security assets,” the GOP-controlled House intelligence committee said in a 2014 report, citing “eyewitness testimony, ISR video footage, closed-circuit television recordings, and other sources.”

Mark Geist and John Tiegen, both Marine Corps veterans and co-authors of the book “13 Hours” that was the basis for a movie by the same name, spoke together from the stage. They gave a lengthy recap of that night. Both said they were told to “stand down” by the CIA base chief, identified in their book as “Bob.”

"Tiegen, July 18: We got told to stand down.

Geist: Opportunities taken when we defied the stand down orders and opportunities squandered when Hillary failed to protect her people on the ground. Had she done her job that night, we wouldn’t have had to compromise the annex."

We have explored this allegation before at some length. A quick recap:

The attack on the diplomatic facility started at about 9:42 p.m. Benghazi time on Sept. 11, 2012, according to a Defense Department timeline. The military quickly diverted an unmanned surveillance drone to Benghazi, while the base chief at the CIA annex near the Benghazi diplomatic facility began plotting a rescue operation.

At 10:04 p.m., six members of the CIA security team and a translator left for the diplomatic facility in two armored vehicles, arriving at 10:25 p.m., according to a bipartisan report released by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in December 2012.

The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence issued a report in 2014 that said “some Annex team members wanted urgently to depart the Annex for the TMF [temporary mission facility] to save their State Department colleagues.” But the CIA annex chief “ordered the team to wait so that the seniors on the ground could ascertain the situation at the TMF and whether they could secure heavy weaponry support from local militias,” the report said on page 20.

The committee report said the base chief’s order for his team to wait has been misrepresented as a “stand down” order. The committee said the evidence shows “the Annex leadership deliberated thoughtfully, reasonably, and quickly.”

"House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Nov. 21, 2014: The evidence from eyewitness testimony, ISR video footage, closed-circuit television recordings, and other sources provides no support for the allegation that there was any stand-down order. Rather, there were mere tactical disagreements about the speed with which the team should depart prior to securing additional security assets."

The Senate intelligence committee 10 months earlier released a bipartisan report that came to the same conclusion.

"Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Jan. 15, 2014: The Committee explored claims that there was a “stand down” order given to the security team at the Annex. Although some members of the security team expressed frustration that they were unable to respond more quickly to the Mission compound, the Committee found no evidence of intentional delay or obstruction by the Chief of Base or any other party."

After the movie “13 Hours” was released, the Washington Post in January interviewed the CIA base chief, “Bob,” who told the paper: “There never was a stand-down order. At no time did I ever second-guess that the team would depart.”

Border Patrol ‘Thinly Equipped’?

In a videotaped appearance, the sister of slain Border Patrol agent Brian Terry laid blame for her brother’s death at the feet of President Obama’s “failed policies” — even though both funding and staffing have increased under Obama.

"Kelly Terry-Willis: Obama’s failed policies are leaving border patrol agents thinly equipped and not able to do their jobs effectively. And my brother paid the ultimate sacrifice for those failures. They need the personnel and equipment required to keep our borders secure."

In fact, however, the U.S. Border Patrol budget went up 43 percent between fiscal year 2009 (which started before Obama took office) and fiscal year 2015, the most recent full fiscal year on record.

Often lost is the fact that the total number of Border Patrol agents doubled under Obama’s predecessor (rising from 9,821 in fiscal year 2001, the last fiscal year for which President Clinton signed the appropriations bills, to 20,119 in fiscal year 2009, under funding levels signed by President George W. Bush).

Under Obama, the number of agents went up further, to a peak of 21,444 at the end of fiscal year 2011. It dipped to 20,273 at the end of fiscal year 2015, but the administration is seeking funds from Congress to increase that to 21,070 in fiscal year 2017, which begins Oct. 1.

Whether or not those staffing and funding levels are adequate is of course a matter of opinion. But the fact is, the Border Patrol has more people and more money under Obama than it did previously.

Brian Terry died in a December 2010 shootout near the Mexican border with a group of bandits, two of whom were later extradited from Mexico and convicted of his murder in federal court in Arizona. Guns found at the scene were traced to the flawed “Fast and Furious” operation in which U.S. federal agents allowed suspected gun smugglers to purchase hundreds of weapons from U.S. gun dealers with the hope of tracking them to leaders of Mexican drug cartels.

Violent Crime Down, Not Up

Darryl Glenn, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Colorado, wrongly suggested that violent crime in the United States had gone up during President Obama’s time in office. The violent crime rate has gone down 20 percent from 2008, the year before Obama was sworn in, and 2014, the most recent statistics available from the FBI.

"Glenn: Here’s some more facts Mr. President. Neighborhoods have become more violent under your watch."

We wrote about this issue last week, when Obama claimed that there had been “huge drops in the murder rates” and Donald Trump claimed that “violent crime has increased in cities across America.” The murder rate, and violent crime rate — which are the reported offenses per 100,000 people — have gone down considerably over the past several decades, according to data from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics, which come from voluntary reports from local law enforcement agencies.

The drop is true nationwide and for major cities in America. And it’s also true if we look at the sheer number of murders and violent crime offenses, not the rate. The peak for these crimes was in the early 1990s.

Trump was referring to a year-over-year rise in the number of murders in some cities recently. Criminology and statistics experts told us a few years was not enough to discern a trend.

If we look at murders and nonnegligent manslaughter during Obama’s entire time in office, the time frame Glenn cited, the number has gone down in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Dallas, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. The number of murders is up in Baltimore, St. Louis and Milwaukee. That’s from 2008 to 2015, using the most recent year’s numbers from the Major Cities Chiefs Police Association.

That doesn’t support Glenn’s blanket statement that “neighborhoods have become more violent.” And as the chart above shows, the nationwide violent crime rate has gone down.

On a night with the theme of “Make America Safe Again,” former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani also boasted of bringing down crime in New York City.

"Giuliani: It’s time to make America safe again. … I know we can change it, because I did it by changing New York City from the crime capital of America to the safest large city in the United States. What I did for New York, Donald Trump will do for America."

But the fact is, both New York and the nation overall saw a reduction in crime during Giuliani’s tenure. The violent crime rate in New York dropped by 56 percent from 1993, the year before Giuliani was sworn in as mayor, and 2001, his last year in office. Nationwide, the violent crime rate decreased by 32 percent during the same time period.

New York’s violent crime rate had actually peaked earlier, in 1990, and begun to decline a few years before Giuliani was sworn in. The nationwide rate peaked in 1991.

No ‘Open Borders’

Giuliani and Rep. Michael McCaul, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, both wrongly claimed that Hillary Clinton supports “open borders.”

As we wrote when Trump himself made a similar claim, Clinton supported a Senate immigration bill that would have created a path to citizenship for those in the country illegally, but it also would have included large investments in border security.

Sticking to the theme of public safety, Giuliani and McCaul argued that Clinton’s position on immigration makes America less safe. But they both went too far with the claim that Clinton supports open borders.

"Giuliani: Hillary Clinton is for open borders.

McCaul: Hillary Clinton is promising more of the same — open borders, executive amnesty and the surge of Syrian refugees."

Those comments mirror Trump’s own, when he claimed in a speech attacking Clinton’s character on June 22 that she would “end virtually all immigration enforcement and thus create totally open borders for the United States.”

Clinton has said she supports “comprehensive immigration reform,” and she has vowed that within the first 100 days as president, she would send a plan to Congress that would include “a path to full and equal citizenship” for those currently in the country illegally. She has also said that she would defend Obama’s executive orders that “provide relief from deportation for DREAMers and parents of Americans and lawful residents.” On her campaign website, Clinton says she would “focus resources on detaining and deporting those individuals who pose a violent threat to public safety.” But the site also states that she will “uphold the rule of law” and “protect our borders and national security.”

In her book “Hard Choices,” Clinton said she supported the 2013 Senate immigration bill, S. 744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act.

"Clinton, “Hard Choices”: I only wish that the bipartisan bill passed in the Senate in 2013 reforming our immigration laws could have passed the House."

The bill would have funded an enhanced border security plan, additional border fencing, the implementation of an E-Verify system, and an exit visa system to stop visa overstays.

“Border security has always been a part of that debate,” Clinton said during a Democratic debate in November.

At a campaign stop in November, Clinton was even more explicit.

“We need to secure our borders, I’m for it, I voted for it, I believe in it, and we also need to deal with the families, the workers who are here, who have made contributions, and their children,” Clinton said in New Hampshire in November. “We can do more to secure our border and we should do more to deal with the 11 or 12 million people who are here, get them out of the shadows.”

That’s far short of advocating for open borders.

Libya and Leadership

Contrasting Trump’s leadership with Clinton’s record as secretary of state, Giuliani noted that Clinton “advocated for the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in Libya” and should be “accountable” for the country now being in chaos. What Giuliani failed to mention is that at the time, Trump also advocated for the ouster of the Libyan dictator.

Clinton found herself facing a similar attack during the Democratic primary from challenger Bernie Sanders, who argued that Clinton was too eager to support regime change in countries without a well thought-out exit strategy. During a Democratic debate in February, Sanders said removing Gadhafi created “a political vacuum” that was filled by the terrorist group the Islamic State.

Giuliani picked up with a similar attack on Clinton at the Republican convention.

"Giuliani: Donald Trump is a leader. He will reassert America’s position as the nation with the best values to lead the world. It was Hillary Clinton who advocated for the overthrow of Gadhafi in Libya. Now Libya is in chaos. Hillary Clinton is accountable for this and much more."

Clinton’s actions are certainly fair game for scrutiny, but Giuliani failed to mention that Trump also supported a military ouster of Gadhafi at the time — a point that Trump’s Republican opponent in the primary, Sen. Ted Cruz, brought up during the 10th GOP debate. Trump denied Cruz’s claim and argued that, “We would be so much better off if Gadhafi were in charge right now.”

But as we wrote after the debate, Trump said in 2011 that the U.S. should go into Libya “on a humanitarian basis” and “knock this guy out very quickly, very surgically, very effectively and save the lives.”

Trump made that comment in a video posted to his YouTube channel in February 2011:

"Trump, Feb. 28, 2011: I can’t believe what our country is doing. Gadhafi, in Libya, is killing thousands of people. Nobody knows how bad it is and we’re sitting around. We have soldiers all over the Middle East and we’re not bringing them in to stop this horrible carnage. And that’s what it is, a carnage. … Now we should go in. We should stop this guy which would be very easy and very quick. We could do it surgically, stop him from doing it and save these lives. This is absolute nuts. We don’t want to get involved and you’re going to end up with something like you’ve never seen before. Now, ultimately the people will appreciate it and they’re going to end up taking over the country eventually. But the people will appreciate it and they should pay us back. But we have to go in to save these lives. These people are being slaughtered like animals. … We should do it on a humanitarian basis. Immediately go into Libya, knock this guy out very quickly, very surgically, very effectively and save the lives."

Giuliani is free to disagree with Clinton’s support for Gadhafi’s removal, but he’s trying to have it both ways by citing it as a failure of her leadership while ignoring Trump’s call to “knock this guy out.”

Wages and Employment

Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions painted an overly bleak picture of U.S. wages and employment.

Citing a 2014 study by a group favoring a reduction in immigration, he said all net job growth in the U.S. between 2000 and 2014 had gone to immigrants. Then he said:

"Sessions: Does this help to explain why our wages have fallen and why we have the lowest percentage of Americans actually holding a job in 40 years?"

But as we’ve reported elsewhere, real wages have been rising, especially in the last two years. And the U.S. jobless rate is now well below the historical norm.

A quick reality check:

• Wages have been rising. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ measure of average weekly earnings for all workers, adjusted for inflation and seasonal factors, was 4.2 percent higher in June than it was when Obama first took office. It has gone up 3.1 percent in the most recent 24 months alone.
• The unemployment rate was 4.9 percent in June, well below the historical norm. In all the months between 1948 and the time Obama took office, the median jobless rate was 5.5 percent.

The jobless rate is the portion of those who say they want to work but can’t find a job despite looking at least once in the past four weeks. Since that rate is historically quite low, Republicans including Sessions have focused on the “labor force participation rate,” which is the percentage of those 16 years and older — regardless of their age or whether they want to work — who hold a job.

And in fact, that rate isn’t the lowest in 40 years, as Sessions claimed. In June, it was 62.7 percent. That’s actually higher than it was last September, when it hit a recent bottom of 62.4 percent.

And that September low was the lowest since October 1977 — 38 years and 11 months earlier, not quite 40 years.

More important, as we reported back in 2015, the decline was predicted a decade ago and is a result mainly of demographic factors having nothing to do with immigration or the health of the economy. The reasons cited then were the aging of the baby boomers and the end of a surge in the percentage of women working outside the home, which peaked in 1999.

Sources

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics. State-by-state and national crime estimates by year(s). Accessed 18 Jul 2016.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics. Large Local Agency Reported Crime by Locality (city, county). Accessed 18 Jul 2016.

Major Cities Chiefs Police Association. Violent Crime Survey – Totals. Comparison between 2015 and 2014. 30 Jan 2016.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (National); Average Weekly Earnings of All Employees, 1982-1984 Dollars.” Data extracted 19 Jul 2016.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey; Unemployment Rate, Seasonally Adjusted.” Data extracted 19 Jul 2016.

Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey; Labor Force Participation Rate.” Data extracted 19 Jul 2016.

“Investigative Report on the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12, 2012.” House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Nov. 21, 2014.

Kirkpatrick, David D. “New Book Says C.I.A. Official in Benghazi Held Up Rescue.” New York Times. 4 Sep 2014.

Kiely, Eugene. “Boehner and Benghazi.” FactCheck.org. 17 Feb 2015.

Parrish, Karen. “DOD Releases Detailed Timeline for Benghazi Response.” American Forces Press Service. 10 Nov 2012.

“Flashing Red: A Special Report On The Terrorist Attack At Benghazi.” Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. 30 Dec 2012.

“Review of the Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Facilities in Benghazi, Libya, September 11-12.” Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 15 Jan 2015.

Goldman, Adam and Greg Miller. “Former CIA chief in Benghazi challenges the story line of the new movie ‘13 Hours’.” Washington Post. 15 Jan 2016.

FactCheck.org. “Trump’s Attack on Clinton’s Character.” 22 Jun 2016.

Project Vote Smart. “Hillary Clinton: Remarks on Investing in Infrastructure During the First 100 Days in Office.” 25 May 2016.

Hillary Clinton Campaign Website. Issues: Immigration reform. Accessed 19 Jul 2016.

Clinton, Hillary. “Hard Choices.” Simon and Schuster Paperbacks. New York. 2014.

Website of Sen. Marco Rubio. “The Border Security, Economic Opportunity & Immigration Modernization Act of 2013.”

Washington Post. “The CBS Democratic debate transcript, annotated.” 15 Nov 2015.

FactCheck.org. “FactChecking the Sixth Democratic Debate.” 12 Feb 2016.

FactCheck.org. “FactChecking the 10th GOP Debate.” 26 Feb 2016.

Kaczynski, Andrew. “Trump Says Removing Qaddafi Was Mistake, But Pushed For Libya Intervention In 2011.” BuzzFeed. 19 Jan 2016.

YouTube.com. “From The Desk Of Donald Trump.” 28 Feb 2011.

Seven-year-old Kellen Garvey brightened the day for East Hampton police officers when he showed up at the station today with a gift.

He spent his birthday money on bagels and doughnuts as a way to say thank you to the local officers.

Along with the baked goods, Kellen presented police with a thank you card, thanking police for “helping in the parade and everything else you did.”

He also wrote “We’re sorry 8 Police Officers died in the past few weeks,” police said.

Police said it’s “so nice to know that our officers are recognized and appreciated for what they do every single day.”

Part of Route 9 South in Berlin was closed because of a crash and vehicle fire, but it has reopened

The road was closed near exit 23, or Christian Lane. 

No additional information was immediately available.

A professional flutist going for a spin in the Pacific on a paddle board was bumped by a humpback whale last week.

But Viviana Guzman, 52, of Montara, California, said she wasn’t scared at all. In fact, she said she thinks the juvenile mammal was more scared of her, as she was standing atop of a paddleboard, her plastic flute tucked in her wetsuit.

“It just really caught me by surprise,” Guzman said on Monday, en route to her native Chile to perform in one of the 80 or so concerts she’s asked to play in each year. “I do this all the time, but this one came just a little closer.”

She shot some of the video with a GoPro attached to her chest, while her friend took a second video with a GoPro attached to her head. The two go out regularly to swim, paddleboard and whale watch near the Miramar Beach Restaurant in Half Moon Bay, which is where they spotted the whale last Thursday or Friday. Since Guzman is a flute player, she also always brings her instrument.

Guzman said she started coming to this beach last year, and has continually been seeing the whales coming closer and closer to shore.

As a flutist, she thought she would cool to bring her music and a plastic version of her beloved instrument out to the sea to play for the giant creatures, Pied Piper-style.

The video also shows a whale diving under Guzman's paddle board as she played the flute. 

“I felt maybe they would like it,” she said. “It’s kinda fun.”

Music on Guzman's video is from her song "Native Soul." 

Wheeling City Tours allows you to glide along the New London shoreline, eat fantastic foord fomr local restaurants located right on the water and take in all the sights. 

"We talk about things that different people might be interested in," said Kristin Harkness of Wheeling City Tours. "If you're interested in architecture we know a fair amount about that, if you like the history there's a ton of history here in new London if you just want to have fun on the segways we have plenty of that."

Harkness said if you've never ridden on a Segway, tour guides are happy to teach you.

"We love teaching people this very new technology," explains Dawn Harkness of Wheeling City Segway Tours. "It's a new skill and we've taught anybody from 14 to 84 that's been our oldest customer and everybody's had a blast on it."

While on the tour, people can stop for food and enjoy the sights on the water. 

"We go to Devs and we get Tapas, Devs on Bank and then we go out to Capatin Scotts and we get a lobster roll we go all around Fort Trumble which is completely beautiful there's gorgeous paths, water views," Kristin said. "And then we come on back and get an ice cream cone at Berrys ice cream and candy bar. Then we give you the drink coupon because no drinking on the segways so we give you the drink coupon to go to hot rods."

Not only do the tours provide an incredibly unique way to see and eat your way through New London, they also benefit local businesses.

"They promote downtown New London, we're just excited that we can offer a small bite as part of the tour, as part of a taste of New London, as part of Wheeling City," said Candace Devendittis, the owner of Dev's.

"They give a lot of information about all the local businesses as they're segwaying past all of us,"  Laura Beckham from Berry's Ice Cream said. "And it's just a great way to incorporate all the small businesses."

The Dine and Glide tours run every Thursday for $95.

Police said there was a pedestrian involved accident on I-95 Tuesday afternoon. 

Minor injuries were reported from the accident on the exit 51 off-ramp going northbound, police said. 

The scene should be cleared soon, police said.

There were no other details immediately available. 

A woman who suffered from burns sustained from a structural fire in New Britain last month died a few weeks following the incident, the fire department said. 

The 63-year-old woman was rescued from the home after New Britain Fire Department responded to a two-alarm house fire on 163 Miller Street at 1:28 p.m. on June 11, the department said. 

Firefighters said they found the woman in a burning room of the apartment.

She was first transported to a local hospital before being moved to the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries on June 30, the fire department said. 

The cause of the fire has been ruled undetermined, fire officials said. While smoke alarms were present in the home, they did not sound an alarm, New Britain Fire Department said. 

Donald Trump's daughter, Tiffany, will take center stage at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old recent college graduate, the only child from Trump's six-year marriage to Marla Maples, has been much less visible on the campaign trail than her older half-siblings, all of whom have acted as surrogates for their father over the past 13 months.

Following Melania Trump's address at the RNC Monday night, which appeared to lift entire passages from Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech, the campaign is facing heightened scrutiny -- especially Trump's family members, who will be speaking throughout this week, NBC News reports.

Gas prices are taking a plunge around Connecticut with the average price lower than $2.40 a gallon.

Experts said the decreasing prices has three key factors; how we get crude oil, how much crude oil we get, and how industries are fighting to sell it.

"A week ago we were at $2.39, and a month ago we were at $2.45, so we're down three cents in the last week and almost $.10 in the last month,” said the executive director of Connecticut Petroleum Counsel, Steven Guveyan.

The three major contributing factors to lower gas prices:

"We have the fracking boom which is going on in the U.S. which led to a huge increase in the amount of oil being produced that in turn will get shipped to refineries, refinery output has been very high which then goes into inventories which are very high. So when you put all of that together that's downward price,” said Guveyan.

According to a recent AAA study, last year the price plunge put $550 back into driver's wallets.

"That's a car payment. That's a nice car payment,” said commuter Thomas Hadis.

With an increase in the amount of oil more industries compete for pricing, according to oil experts.

"When you have a glut, everybody tries to undercut their competitor. That's exactly what's going on," said Guveyan.

Experts said there's no telling whether the low price will stay low.

"It's hard to project what's going to happen in the future," said Guveyan.

Oil experts said a month ago crude oil was around $51 to $52 a barrel, and on Tuesday it's around $45 or $46 which drives the price down and keeps cash in your wallet.

Cases of aggressive prostate cancer appear to be on the rise, researchers reported Tuesday.

The good news is it's still rare for prostate cancer to spread, NBC News reported. Just 3 percent of cases have already started spreading when men are diagnosed and prostate cancer overall has not become more common, the team found.

However, they found that cases of metastatic prostate cancer — the type that has started to spread in the body — nearly doubled in men aged 55 to 69 since 2004. The reason is not yet clear.

"One hypothesis is the disease has become more aggressive, regardless of the change in screening," said Dr. Edward Schaeffer, chair of urology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Medicine, who led the study.

Fox News Channel is nearing a decision on CEO Roger Ailes' future at the network, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday evening, amid allegations of sexual harassment by a former network anchor.

21st Century Fox, which owns the network, disputed reports Tuesday that a decision had been reached, saying in a statement: Roger is at work. The review is ongoing. The only agreement that is in place is his existing employment agreement."

But sources told CNBC that Fox is nearing a decision, and the decision is likely to result in his departure from the network.

Ailes, who has been with the network since its launch in 1996 and has been credited with building the it into a powerhouse, was accused of sexual harassment in a lawsuit filed earlier this month by former Fox News host Gretchen Carlson.

Connecticut’s delegation to the Republican National Convention has one of the best seats in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.

The historically Democratic leaning state landed a prime spot at the very front of the campaign floor, just to the right of the speaker’s podium.

Connecticut GOP Chairman J.R. Romano said the favorable seating arrangement came as a surprise to him.

"There is some speculation and I'll take the speculation that it's because CT could be in play and in fact because of recent polling, is in play for Trump,” Romano said during a Skype interview Tuesday morning. “We're getting a little facetime. We're excited about it."

One of the things that Romano may not be excited when the delegation returns to Connecticut could be some of the ties to the national RNC platform.

The official party platform reads, “Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, is the foundation for a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values.”

Connecticut has allowed same-sex marriage since 2008 and the issues has largely disappeared from political campaigns run by both Democrats and Republicans. There is even a gay Republican candidate running against Rep. Elizabeth Esty for Congress, named Clay Cope.

Romano said the party platform does not necessarily reflect the views and values of Connecticut Republicans.

"What I think we all have to understand is that gay marriage, it's been decided by the Supreme Court," he said. "It doesn't define the party. It's not a litmus test that every candidate has to follow. You know, Donald Trump I'm not even sure follows 50 percent of it."

Romano said the Republican Party is far more concerned with putting people back to work than with social issues.

"We are the big tent party. We're not mandated to all think the same the way the Democrats are. We have different opinions, we can have adult conversations about it unlike shouting matches which is what the left does."

Next month youth teams from New Haven, Hartford and Bridgeport are invited to compete in the third annual Hoop It Up 3-on-3 basketball tournament.

New Haven will again shut down Church Street along the green to set up a dozen basketball hoops.

“We’re one community and that’s what we want to get across,” said Jason Bartlett, New Haven’s director of Youth Services.

Organizers are expecting even more than the thousand participants last year with the addition of teams from Bridgeport.

“I’m very excited because I get to play what I love which is basketball,” said New Haven fifth grader Nigel Ragsdale, who is signed up for the first time.

Mayors Toni Harp of New Haven, Luke Bronin of Hartford and Joe Ganim of Bridgeport say this event is about showing camaraderie between their cities and keeping young people engaged over the summer.

“They play together competitively, hard, believe me, street ball, 3-on-3 is some hard basketball,” Bartlett said.

A nighttime basketball session where the children will get the chance to shoot hoops with local police and firefighters is also new this year.

“Let me tell you, this year more than any,” Ganim said, “I think it’s critical whether us pushing to create youth opportunities to interact with police or supporting community policing with everything that’s going on in the country.”

If your children are interested in playing in the tournament, contact city hall in New Haven, Hartford or Bridgeport or visit this link.

The tournament is August 6 and 7.

The original draft of Melania Trump's Republican National Convention speech did not include the section that appears to have been lifted from Michelle Obama's 2008 convention speech, according to documents obtained exclusively by NBC News.

The Trump campaign has shifted its story about the speech a few times, keeping the matter alive well into the second night of convention festivities.

But the documents, including the original draft and corroborating emails, obtained by NBC News, suggest the passage in question originated within the Trump campaign, and raises new questions for the GOP nominee's top aides, who spent much of Tuesday deflecting blame and insisting there was nothing wrong with Melania Trump's speech.

The campaign repeatedly refused to identify who, if anyone, helped her craft the speech, though multiple sources identified one Manafort aide who apparently signed off on the final text.

On Tuesday night, nearly 200 people entered Faith Congregational Church in Hartford to start a conversation.

"Too many in this community feel the police are not on their side. The whole community has to work to change that perception," said Reverend Stephen Camp with Faith Congregational Church.

"Every time (police officers) go to a call, every time they make a stop, they try to be perfect in every aspect, and we don't always get it right," said Hartford Police Chief James Rovella.

Hartford's mayor, police chief, local clergy and community leaders spoke to residents and listened to concerns and suggestions.

With tensions rising across the country between police departments and communities, Reverend Stephen Camp felt it was important to address the violence, saying it's a concern facing every community.

"We have work to do. We're not exempt from what we see in other places. There is work to be done to make sure the police department has the kind of relationship with the community that is meaningful, that is not at odds with the community," said Rev. Camp.

Middletown Police Captain Gary Wallace also attended the meeting to hear the conversation and maybe bring some ideas discussed Tuesday night back to his department.

"What we really want to do deep down inside is talk about why it's happening and then together come up with solutions," said Middletown Police Captain Gary Wallace.

Hartford Resident Michael Harris brought his two children to the meeting, saying it's important for him to have his kids active in the community. He said he feels like Connecticut is insulated from troubling developments nationally.

"In Connecticut I think it's a beacon of light here. You don't really hear about police brutality and things escalating like you do across the country," said Harris.

Even so, Harris said he has had experience with police harassment in the state.

"I went to high school and I worked in West Hartford. And just driving to work every day, I'd get pulled over. They'd said stuff like a car, like this, was stolen, and it went on and on until my mom went screaming to the chief of police there and shut it down," said Harris.

Harris said he's also had the conversation regarding police interaction with his own 15-year-old son who's in high school.

"it's a source of stress for African American parents in general to have a teenage son. It's something that's constantly on your mind," said Harris. "I've had to have that discussion. It pains me. That's why I'm here."

Harris said he's seen community policing in the Blue Hills area and said one-on-one relationships like that help.

"I think more interactions between police and community, walking the beat like in the old days, riding bikes, talking to people, that to me is how you make a difference," said Harris.

the Tuesday night meeting, Police Chief Rovella also asked for help from the community. He said he needs police recruits from Hartford, he needs residents to report crimes, and he needs everyone to look after their neighbors.

Rev. Camp said it's important that Tuesday night's meeting be the start of many conversations for positive change because a difference can be made when everyone comes together.

The Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles is warning teen drivers to stop putting themselves and others in danger when playing 'Pokemon Go'.

The 'augmented reality' mobile game has become extremely popular nationwide. DMV officials said that the states roadways are no place to be playing the game.

“To me, it’s addicting," said Leiah Evans, 13, from New Haven.

That so-called 'addiction' has prompted DMV officials to warn teenagers about playing the game while driving.

“You could end up killing somebody or yourself," said Leiah's mother, Louella Pratt. While she believes the DMV's new message is a bit odd, Pratt said is also very much needed. “As a parent, you just have to monitor their time," Pratt said.

Teen drivers and their parents are being reminded that state law prohibits 16 and 17 year old drivers from using any mobile device while behind the wheel.

“To me, it’s cool to see an animated character in the real world," said Evans about her new favorite game. She admits that it can be distracting. "One time I walked into a poll while doing it," she said.

Officials from the DMV warn that distraction could become disastrous or even deadly out on the open road.

“It’s dangerous; whether it’s Pokemon, texting, checking emails," said Igor Ginzburg, of Hamden, who said he downloaded the Pokemon Go app but then later uninstalled it because it was not to his liking.

Teenagers caught playing the game while driving will lose their license for 30 days after the first offense. It will cost $175 to get the license reinstated.

An Oakland, California, company dedicated to rooting out plagiarism was hopping on Tuesday, hours after Melania Trump's speech to the Republican National Convention raised questions about what it took from Michelle Obama's speech in 2008.

Turnitin spokesman Chris Harrick popped both speeches into his company's anti-plagiarism algorithm at NBC Bay Area's request and found that six percent of Trump's speech to the convention on Monday in Cleveland, matched the first lady's eight years ago. Trump used 23 of the same words that Obama did in sequence, the text analysis company found.

"I won't answer what percentage counts as plagiarism or not," Harrick said, "but our mission is to show that writing with integrity matters."

Comparisons of the two speeches flooded the news and social media near midnight, as the convention drew to a close, on Monday. On Tuesday, members of the Trump team defended Trump or, like campaign manager Paul Manafort, denied there was any plagiarism at all.

Trying to tamp down the controversy, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said on NBC's "Today" show that "93 percent of the speech is completely different" from the speech Obama delivered at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. He did not explain how he arrived at the 93 percent figure, though it was remarkably similar to the Turnitin analysis.

To put Monday's incident in context, Harrick gave this example: Say a student were asked to turn in a 1,000-word poem and wrote every word herself, except for the first line of "To be or not to be, that is the question?" Isn't that cheating? Harrick asked rhetorically.

That said, scientists often use the exact same words to explain something because those are the only words that can be used to describe a phenomenon like genome sequencing, Harrick said. His company has even come up with a plagiarism spectrum, from "cloning" exact words and phrases to "find and replacing" words, which Trump did, to retweeting without sourcing.

Journalists weren't the only ones wanting to see the similarities between the two speeches. Harrick said he estimates "hundreds" of his company's clients, mostly professors and universities, were using the algorithm to see the same thing on Tuesday.

Turnitin's computer program found that Trump copied about two dozen words word-for-word from Obama's speech eight years ago.

Trump said on Monday: ..and we need to pass those lessons on to the many generations to follow. Because we want our children in this nation to know that the only limit to your achievements is the strength of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."

Obama said in 2008: "...and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children – and all children in this nation – to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them."

There were other incidents in which Trump's speech kept some of the same wording as Obama's.

Harrick said this is the biggest question of plagiarism Turnitin has ever been asked to decipher since the company was founded in 1998. And Harrick said the company is hoping take this 15 minutes of a teachable moment to impress what copying can do to prevent people from doing it in the future.

"Think for yourself," he said. "Or you'll run into problems down the road."

The Florida Department of Health is investigating the first possible non-travel related case of Zika virus in the state, officials said Tuesday. The case was reported in Miami-Dade County. 

The department is working with the Centers for Disease Control in its investigation.

Mosquito control has conducted reduction and prevention activities in the area of investigation, while Zika prevention kits and repellent will be available for pickup and will be distributed in the area.

Some 88 travel-related Zika cases have been confirmed in Miami-Dade. Another 50 travel-related cases have been confirmed in Broward.

The CDC recommends that women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant postpone travel to Zika-affected areas. For more on the Zika virus, click here.