FBI Director James Comey hosted a discussion at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference (IACP) in San Diego. 

The conference, which started earlier this week, brings together federal, state, county, local and tribal law enforcement agencies across the country together to discuss educational tools and resources to better serve their communities.

Iraqi and Kurdish forces directed by U.S. advisers advanced on Mosul early Monday, launching an offensive to drive out ISIS after their two-year rule, NBC News reported.

Brigadier Helgord Hekmat, a spokesman for the Kurdish forces, said 4,000 Peshmerga forces had retaken a cluster of villages.

Onlookers cheered and danced as tanks rolled toward Mosul. Morale was high and troops flashed victory signs as they moved on the city.

The complex military operation will be the largest in Iraq since American troops left in 2011 and, if successful, the biggest blow yet to ISIS.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on state TV ISIS would be "punished" for its crimes and that the province's cities and villages will be rebuilt.

North Korea has reasserted a warning that it is prepared to launch a preemptive strike on the United States if its forces mobilize against it, NBC News reported.

Such threats have been a staple of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un since he took power after his father's death in 2011. U.S. officials do not believe Pyongyang possesses weapons able to reach the continental United States.

"The U.S. has nuclear weapons off our coast, targeting our country, our capital and our Dear Leader, Kim Jong Un," a top North Korean official, Lee Yong Pil, said in an exclusive interview with NBC News.

Lee said his government's stance was being driven by "the increasingly aggressive" drills by the United States and the South.

After being kidnapped by Boko Haram more than two years ago, 21 Nigerian girls were reunited Sunday with their families, NBC News reported.

"I want to thank everyone for this wonderful thing they have done," one of the girls, Rebecca Mallam, told the Voice of America as she rejoined relatives Sunday in Abuja, the capital.

The liberation of the so-called "Chibok girls" — whose abduction triggered the #BringBackOurGirls campaign — came after negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, said Mallam Garba Shehu, a Nigerian government spokesman.

Shehu didn't say what Boko Haram received in return, but the BBC reported that the government handed over four imprisoned militants as part of the deal.

A hydraulic fluid spill caused problems during the morning commute in Norwich when around 30 gallons leaked from a garbage truck around 7 a.m. Monday.

A spokesperson for the Plainville-based garbage company CWPM said one of their drivers forgot to shut off the pump to his garbage truck, causing a hydraulic line to leak oil, and didn’t realize what had happened and continued driving until running out of oil.

Officials from public works estimates the fluid leaked for half a mile, from the top of Broadway, onto Main Street and through Franklin Square.

School bus routes were also affected by the spill and had to reroute. 

CWPM hired a private environmental company for the cleanup. Around five yards of sand were set down to absorb the oil and streets were closed until the sand was cleaned up.

Crews from the state Department of Energy were concerned about oil getting into the water, but said they did not find any in the catch basins.

CWPM will be responsible for the cleanup costs and the spokesperson did not have an estimate on how much that will be.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Monday that he will vote in this year's presidential election, but he is staying tight-lipped about who he'll vote for. 

Speaking with WEEI-FM radio, Brady said he would open up after the election. 

When asked about his friendship with Republican nominee Donald Trump and if Trump in person is unlike his appearances on television, Brady said, "He's been a friend of mine. He's supported our team. He's supported the Patriots. He's been on the Patriots sideline a lot. He's always called me after games to encourage me over the course of 15 years. That's kind of the way it is." 

He added that the two have played golf together many times. "I've always had a good time with him."

Brady's friendship with Trump has come up several times during the election, most recently last week when necn reporter Jonathan Choe asked him how he would respond if his kids heard Trump's version of "locker room talk."

Brady smiled and said, "Thank you guys. Have a good day," before walking away from the podium. The non-response generated headlines across the country.

The quarterback has known Trump since 2002, when Brady served as a judge for one of Trump's beauty pageants.

Trump was vocal in his defense of Brady throughout the "Deflategate" ordeal, praising him repeatedly while on the campaign trail.

A Tennessee man who was accused of soliciting donations for the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre and using the money for personal gain has been sentenced to three years of probation.

Robert Terry Bruce, 35, of Nashville, was sentenced Friday and was sentenced to home confinement for six months, followed by two and a half years of probation.

He was accused of defrauding donors from around the country, including in Connecticut, who thought they were helping to raise money for Sandy Hook but in reality were paying to support Bruce’s personal training business, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

• Read the indictment
  

According to federal prosecutors, Bruce set up the 26.4.26 Foundation in the wake of the December 2012 shootings and hosted two athletic charity events in early 2013.

He solicited contributions through a PayPal account and told supporters the “Schools 4 Schools run” and “CrossFit Cares” event were designed “to help raise funds for increased school safety, families of victims, memorials to teacher heroes, awareness and prevention in schools across America.” the U.S. attorney's office said.

Bruce told donors all proceeds would benefit the 26.4.26 Foundation, but in reality, he used most of the money to cover personal expenses and bolster his personal training business, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Several donors who fell victim to the scam are from Connecticut.

The allegations came to light over the summer when 26.4.26 co-founder Ryan Graney told the Associated Press that only $30,000 of the $103,000 raised had been used for the true purpose of the organization.

Bruce was arrested Feb. 13, 2015 and pleaded guilty on May 12 to one count of wire frayd.

Two Vallejo police officers shot a man dressed in body armor and pointing an assault style weapon at them inside a Starbucks in the North Bay Area city on Sunday night, according to the Vallejo Police Department.

Vallejo police said the two officers were inside the coffee shop at 199 Lincoln Rd. West around 8:50 p.m., when they saw a man open the door and point an assault style weapon with a high capacity drum magazine at them.

The "suspect appeared to be attempting to manipulate the gun as if it had malfunctioned," Vallejo police said.

A dispatch recording of the brief and tense standoff recorded someone saying, "There's a man with a rifle just trying to ambush us at Starbucks."

At that point, the two officers drew their weapons to protect themselves. The suspect took off through the parking lot, fleeing west on Magazine Street. The officers ran after the suspect and caught up with him near the intersection of Magazine and Sheridan Streets as he continued to manipulate the weapon.

Vallejo police said the suspect "presented himself as a lethal threat to the officers" who shot him three times. The suspect fell to the ground and was taken into custody.

A nearby witness says she heard more than three shots fired.

"We heard seven shots, like a clip, a large caliber clip," Susan Carter said.

The suspect was found to be carrying an additional loaded handgun and was wearing body armor. He was transported to a local hospital and was being treated for life-threatening injuries.

The officers involved in the shooting were not injured. The Vallejo Police Department is investigating the incident along with the Solano County District Attorney's Office.

Vallejo residents posted videos to social media which showed heavy police presence on Magazine street, including at least 10 police cars.

Earlier Sunday, a two-year-old child was shot inside a home in Suisin City. Police are currently searching for a person of interest and that individual may have a connection to the Vallejo officer-involved shooting, according to Bay City News.

Police are expected to hold a press conference Monday morning to further address what happened.

Active crime scene / stay away from the area RT @SolanoFire: Vallejo Trauma Magazine St / Sheridan St Victim of a GSW/ Officer inv sho

— Solano Fire Updates (@FireUpdates) October 17, 2016

@VallejoCANews @KTVU shots fired in vallejo pic.twitter.com/ol8Wj2uEra

— Mitesh Jivan (@MiteshG1) October 17, 2016

A Preston man is dead after riding his bike into his driveway as his wife was backing the car out of it, according to police.

Police said 63-year-old Andrew Macy was pulling into his driveway on Wheeler Farm Road at 12:19 p.m. when he was struck.

He was brought to William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, where he died from his injuries.

The cause of a car fire that killed a 72-year-old Milford man on Oct. 7 is accidental, according to the fire department.

Richard Weir drove off 1 Milford Point Road and onto the boardwalk and his tires got stuck in the sand, according to the fire department. 

As Weir tried to drive forward, the exhaust system touched the boardwalk, causing the wood to burn and set fire to the car, according to the fire department. 

Firefighters responded to the scene around 10:30 p.m. and found the car on fire near the Connecticut Audubon Society Building.

When crews put out the flames they found Weir's body in the the car, fire officials said.

Officials have been investigating and determined the cause of the fire was accidental.

If you had plans on dressing as a creepy clown for Halloween this year you'll have to do your costume shopping at someplace other than Target. The national retailer announced it was pulling its clown costumes and masks from stores and online in the wake of the creepy clown hysteria that has swept the country in recent months.

Target confirmed to NBC's "Today" show all clown masks were being pulled from stores and the company is in the process of pulling the masks from its online site.

A quick check of the Target.com website Monday morning shows a few clown costumes are still available for purchase, but none of the "creepy" variety.

In recent months there has been a rash of creepy clown sightings with costumed men exhibiting menacing behavior. Last week a 53-year-old man wearing what police described as "multi-color clown/performance-style clothing" was arrested for allegedly intimidating a 16-year-old boy with a knife in a Manhattan subway station.

The New Haven Public School district is prohibiting clown costumes and any other "symbols of terror" during this year's Halloween season. Even fast-food giant McDonald's is bowing to the craze, announcing it was keeping mascot Ronald McDonald on the sidelines until the hysteria blows over. 

Hillary Clinton is maintaining a 50-point lead over Donald Trump among Latinos, heading into the final weeks of the presidential election, according to a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Telemundo poll.

Sixty-seven percent of Latino likely voters back Clinton in a four-way matchup, while just 17 percent back Trump, the polls shows. Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein each garner three percent support. Meanwhile, in a head-to-head matchup, Clinton leads Trump among Latino likely voters, 70 percent to 17 percent.

According to the new poll, conducted Oct. 10-13 among 300 Latino voters, more Latinos say they they're very interested in the November contest. Sixty-nine percent of Latino voters now say they are very interested in the election, compared to 60 percent who said the same last month.

A first date led to an arrest two months later after a woman used the man’s credit card without his knowledge to charge hundreds of dollars for a gift card, according to police. 

The victim and 27-year-old Katherine Stonick, of New Haven, had dinner at Finalmente Trattoria, on Post Road East in Westport, on Aug. 17 and he met with police on Aug. 23 after realizing she stole from him, according to police. 

The victim told police he was on a first date with a woman named “Sophie,” who police later identified as Katherine Stonick.

After the victim paid for the meal, Stonick excused herself from the table to use the restroom and asked the manager to charge $300 to the victim’s credit card for a gift card, according to police, but the victim had no idea. 

Stonick then went back to the restaurant on Aug. 18 and Aug. 19 and used the gift card, police said. 

The victim gave police Stonick’s license plate number and they identified her from a photograph lineup, police said. 

Police then obtained a warrant charging Stonick with sixth-degree larceny and illegal use of a credit card. 

She turned herself in to police on Oct. 14 and was released after posting the $10,000 bond. She is due in court on Oct. 26.

It's not clear if she has an attorney.

The Washington Redskins' victory over the Philadelphia Eagles is good news for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

If tradition holds true, the win means Clinton will be the next president of the United States. 

According to the "Redskins Rule," if the team wins the final home game before a presidential election, the incumbent party will keep the White House. If they lose, the opposing party will be victorious. 

On Sunday, the Redskins beat one of the NFL's top defenses in a 27-20 victory. After starting the season 0-2, Washington now has its fourth consecutive win and its best record through six games since 2008. 

If you don't count the time the Redskins played as the Braves in 1932, the "Redskins Rule" has only failed once in over 80 years. In 2012, the Redskins came up short against the Carolina Panthers, but President Barack Obama still secured a win against his challenger Mitt Romney. 

The Vallejo Police Department on Monday identified the man who was shot by two officers Sunday night after he pointed an assault weapon at them at a Starbucks in Vallejo.

Vallejo Police Chief Andrew Bidou said at a Monday morning press conference that 41-year-old Adam Powell "attempted to assassinate" two police officers before they shot him.

"The suspect drove by Starbucks approximately six minutes before this confrontation and so we presume that this was a premeditated ambush on our officers," Bidou said. Police described Powell's weapon as having a drum magazine, with 70 rounds of high-powered ammunition.

Powell is currently in a stable but critical condition at a local hospital.

Bidou said Powell is the father of a 2-year-old boy shot in a home in Suisun City on Sunday who is currently in a critical condition at a regional trauma center. Police have identified Powell as a person of interest in the shooting which took place in the 1000 block of Canary Court. An initial investigation shows the shooting was accidental. Investigators were unable to locate a weapon in Suisun City.

Powell, who was convicted for robbery and drug offenses, was dressed in soft body armor and had an additional weapon on him.

Vallejo police said the two officers were inside the coffee shop at 199 Lincoln Rd. West around 8:50 p.m., when they saw a man open the door and point an assault style weapon with a high capacity drum magazine at them.

The "suspect appeared to be attempting to manipulate the gun as if it had malfunctioned," Vallejo police said.

A dispatch recording of the brief and tense standoff recorded someone saying, "There's a man with a rifle just trying to ambush us at Starbucks."

At that point, the two officers drew their weapons to protect themselves. The suspect took off through the parking lot, fleeing west on Magazine Street. The officers ran after the suspect and caught up with him near the intersection of Magazine and Sheridan Streets as he continued to manipulate the weapon.

Vallejo police said the suspect "presented himself as a lethal threat to the officers" who shot him three times. The suspect fell to the ground and was taken into custody. He was transported to a local hospital and was being treated for life-threatening injuries.

A nearby witness says she heard more than three shots fired. "We heard seven shots, like a clip, a large caliber clip," Susan Carter said.

The officers involved in the shooting were not injured. The Vallejo Police Department is investigating the incident along with the Solano County District Attorney's Office.

Vallejo residents posted videos to social media which showed heavy police presence on Magazine street, including at least 10 police cars.

Active crime scene / stay away from the area RT @SolanoFire: Vallejo Trauma Magazine St / Sheridan St Victim of a GSW/ Officer inv sho

— Solano Fire Updates (@FireUpdates) October 17, 2016

@VallejoCANews @KTVU shots fired in vallejo pic.twitter.com/ol8Wj2uEra

— Mitesh Jivan (@MiteshG1) October 17, 2016

East Windsor and South Windsor are two more Connecticut communities interested in hosting the casino the leaders of Connecticut's two federally recognized tribes hope to build.

MMCT Venture, made up of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, released a statement Monday saying these two towns have joined East Hartford, Hartford and Windsor Locks in submitting proposals.

MMCT Venture has been seeking sites for a proposed jointly run a border casino to compete with MGM Resorts International, which plans to build a casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, but legislative approval is still necessary to make it happen. The venture is made up of the tribes that run Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.

“Now more than ever, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes are confident that the site we select will make our facility competitive with MGM Springfield,” Kevin Brown, chairman of the Mohegan Tribal Council, said in a statement. “We look forward to reviewing and comparing these new and amended submissions and continuing a dialogue with Connecticut’s communities about how we can work together to save jobs and revenue in our state.”

Officials from MMCT Venture said Plymouth also applied, but the application is not being considered because it falls outside the scope of the RFP.

“Our two tribes are now one step closer to keeping thousands of jobs and millions of dollars within Connecticut’s borders,” Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council, said in a statement. “MMCT Venture is eager to explore our options, and ultimately build this facility in a community that values the tax revenue we’ll bring to the town’s grand list.”

South Windsor Town Council member Saud Anwar said in a statement that hosting a gambling facility presents challenges and thinks this is something the residents should be able to vote on.

"Attracting jobs and economic development to South Windsor is a priority. But a gambling venue brings complex issues for any host town and this particular project is mired in uncertainty, and not a clear winner,” Anwar said. “Hosting a casino here will impact every resident of our town, and cannot and should not be made by a small group of political insiders. South Windsor residents need much more information, and they deserve the final say in a referendum.” 

Leaders of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes have said their business in Connecticut will suffer once the Springfield casino opens in 2018 and the General Assembly's fiscal office is predicting Connecticut could lose $68.3 million in revenue.  

In September, Alan M. Feldman, executive vice president of MGM Resorts International, released a statement and called MMCT Venture’s request for proposals process “a sham.” 

Brown last month said the facility needs to be successful if they are going to save thousands of jobs and Butler said they want to build the casino in a place that values the large investment.

Pearce Real Estate, a Connecticut-based real estate company, administered the RFP and the proposals are being evaluated.

A 21-year-old man was stabbed while leaving a New Haven night club early Saturday morning. 

Brandon Williams, 21, of New Haven, was bleeding when he approached an officer working private duty on Orange Street at 1:45 a.m. and said he’d been stabbed in the back, police said. 

The officer called for an ambulance and called in other officers for help to disburse the large crowd of people leaving the club to preserve the crime scene, police said. 

Williams told police someone shoved him from behind when he was leaving Gotham Nightclub, so he turned around to confront the man, who stabbed him with a green switchblade, police said. 

Officers viewed video surveillance from the scene and are hoping it will lead them to the attacker, who is around 5-feet-7, weighs around 170 pounds and has a beard. 

Police said Williams’ injuries are not life-threatening.

Connecticut Water Company is again asking customers across the state to voluntarily conserve water by 10 percent, while they are asking resident in the shoreline communities of Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook and Old Saybrook to reduce their water usage by 15 percent.

Officials from Connecticut Water said supplies in the reservoirs are lower than normal, but they also have groundwater sources in nearly all of their water systems, so they are not solely dependent on our reservoirs for water supply.

“We currently have an adequate supply of water for our customers’ needs but we are taking these steps to ensure we will continue to have enough water for those needs should the drought continue,” David Connors, director of service delivery, said in a statement. “That’s why we are asking all of our customers to continue to conserve water, and our customers in those shoreline communities, where we have had high summer demands and felt the drought’s effects the most, to reduce their consumption by 15 percent.”

A typical Connecticut Water residential household uses about 165 gallons of water per day, according to the company.

Customers can:

• Stop watering lawns
• Shut-off automatic irrigation systems
• Sweep patios, driveways and sidewalks rather than using a hose on paved surfaces.
• Turn off the water when brushing teeth or shaving
• Take showers instead of baths
• Fix leaks, a faucet that drips can waste up to 3,280 gallons of water per year
• Check for silent toilet leaks which can waste large quantities of water Here’s how.

It's a day worth at least $250 in free giveaways and screenings for a family of four.

The date has been set for NBC Connecticut's 2016 Health & Wellness Festival! Join NBC Connecticut for the event on Sunday, Oct. 23 at the XL Center in downtown Hartford. The festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the XL Center atrium.

This is a great event with fun for the whole family! You can meet many members of the NBC Connecticut team. There will be free giveaways and plenty of free health screenings.

You can also participate in the 2nd Annual Health & Wellness Family 5K around the XL Center concourse.  There will be heats starting at 8am and 9am.  Walkers are welcome.  To sign up for the 5K, visit NBCCTfamily5K.com. There is still plenty of room to sign up for the run.  It is a great family activity.

Some of the free test available include women's heart health risk screenings and BMI calculations.  There will be instructional sessions on how to perform breast self-examinations.  A doctor will also be available to answer your questions.

If you are interested in being a vendor at this year's event, please contact NBC Connecticut at (860) 313-6320 or WVITHWFestival@nbcuni.com

Participating vendors confirmed for this year's event include:

• AARP
• Access Health CT
• Alzheimer's Association
• American Liver Foundation and AIDS CT
• American Red Cross
• Atria Senior Living
• Autism Speaks
• Camp Bow Wow
• Casanova Remodeling
• Center for Vein Restoration
• Companions and Homemakers
• Jefferson Radiology
• Enovative Technologies
• Harte MV-1 of Connecticut
• Hartford Wolfpack
• Kathy's Urgent Care
• KIND Snacks
• League of Women Voters
• Live Nation CT
• LYNFIT
• Middlesex Hospital
• Orthopedic Associates of Hartford
• Pack Leaders Rescue of CT
• People's Products
• Primary Residential Mortgage
• ProHealth Physicians
• Pruvit
• Rescom Home Exteriors
• St. Francis
• Six Flags New England
• Stop & Shop
• Visual Perceptions

Temperatures will soar to summer-like levels early this week.

A highly anomalous upper-level ridge of high pressure over the southeastern United States will result in a southwest flow over Connecticut.

Monday's highs will be in the middle 70s. Come Tuesday and Wednesday, 80 degrees is in the cards for inland locations!

The record high on Tuesday is 80 and on Wednesday is 82 in the Hartford area.

For the shoreline, the Bridgeport area's Tuesday record of 75 may be toppled as well.

Both Tuesday and Wednesday will be mostly sunny.

Clouds increase Thursday ahead of a major disturbance late in the week. A shower is possible late in the day.

A big dip in the jet stream will put Connecticut in a favorable position for rising air, and thus rain. Right now, rain is possible on both Friday and Saturday.

Details on the timing and amounts are still scarce, and it's possible that the bulk of the rain just misses to the east.

Given the drought situation, stay tuned to future forecasts.