Connecticut’s members of Congress and governor were quick to condemn the actions by the Trump Administration to end the program that allows children who were brought to America illegally to stay in the country.

On the merits of the program, Governor Dannel Malloy said DACA, which stands for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, was providing good outcomes in some of Connecticut’s largest cities.

"These are kids who we have fully educated in school systems like New Haven and Bridgeport and Stamford and quite frankly across our country," Malloy said during a press conference in New Haven.

"DACA was working," he added. "It was working extremely well."

At Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic, a group of about 150 protesters took to the campus to speak out against President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who made the announcement that DACA would wind down over the next six months.

Daniela Iniestra, a sophomore studying sociology, said she did not have the option to attend college in her home state of Georgia.

She was brought to America from Mexico when she was six and graduated high school in Athens, Georgia, the home of the University of Georgia. She said she wasn’t welcome at any public college in the Peach State.

"Georgia doesn’t like 'dreamers'," Iniestra said. "They don’t offer the same opportunities. They shut down the door on us."

She found herself searching for a state with a college system that would be welcoming to someone like her. Iniestra identifies as a Mexican-American and even has three younger siblings who were all born in Georgia.

She said she had a feeling Trump would end DACA and said there is no justification for it.

"There is no logical reason why they would do this. There is no legit reason why they would take something like this away from us when it benefits not only the economy but it benefits everybody here," Iniestra said. 

New London leaders Tuesday addressed concerns of racial slurs and other disrespectful comments allegedly made at the Coast Guard Academy.

New London Rep. Chris Soto was joined by the city's mayor, Michael Passero, members of the New London NAACP and the ACLU of Connecticut, among other city and religious leaders at City Hall, who all said this kind of climate needs to stop.

The press conference was organized after an article in the New London Day highlighted issues of discrimination at the academy.

"I speak as a graduate, I speak as a former employee at the Coast Guard Academy, as someone who has always supported what the Coast Guard Academy has done, but I’ll never support a system that’s passive on racism or discrimination within the gates," Soto said.

He called on federal lawmakers, specifically Representative Joe Courtney and Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, to investigate the reported issues at the Coast Guard Academy. Soto said he’s even reached out himself.

One cadet, for example, had hate speech directed at them, according to Soto, who says he’s talked with cadets.

"One of the frustrations there was that there wasn’t an accountability mechanism in the same way that we approach sexual assault, in the same way that we approach honor offenses at the academy," Soto said.

The New London NAACP said they’ve heard complaints of racial and ethnic slurs used by cadets’ classmates.

"If they’re saying that to each other, how are they going to protect and serve some of these same people they’re saying it to," New London NAACP President Jean Jordan said.

Jordan said the local chapter has reached out to the Coast Guard Commandant in D.C. and plans to reach out to the Academy again.

Passero said the city is serious about tackling these issues, they want to get to the root of the problem and will help the academy do that.

The Coast Guard Academy released a statement in response:

"The Coast Guard Academy is not unique from other military academies and institutions of higher learning," said Dr. Aram deKoven, Academy Chief Diversity Officer. "We struggle to eradicate all traces of race and gender bias on our campus. And while cadet surveys do not point to widespread discrimination, we know that even one incident is unacceptable. So this is not an idle effort. We are committing people, time, and money to identifying potential barriers to an inclusive climate and then to act precisely to remove them."

“Reports of discrimination or mistreatment are treated seriously,” deKoven said. "And we have taken disciplinary action against staff and cadets to include removal from the institution where appropriate. Beyond responding, however, we are working aggressively in a variety of ways to detect and eliminate any inherent bias in our processes and have honest exchanges of ideas to help faculty, staff and cadets focus on respect and grow in their understanding of issues of inequity. We welcome help from our alumni, our neighbors and others who are willing to constructively partner with us."

Representative Courtney and Senators Blumenthal and Murphy sent a letter to the Coast Guard Academy’s Superintendent Rear Admiral James Rendón.

It reads:

September 5, 2017
Rear Admiral James E. Rendón
Superintendent
The United States Coast Guard Academy
New London, Connecticut

Dear Admiral Rendón:

As members of the Connecticut federal delegation, we are writing in reference to a news story in The Day on Saturday, September 2, 2017, which detailed disturbing allegations from minority cadets alleging that an atmosphere of racial hostility exists on campus. As strong supporters of the Academy and its historic role of producing the Coast Guard’s leadership, we are sure you agree that a meaningful, transparent response is required to further advance the institution’s mission.

We recognize that the Academy has been engaged in a concerted effort to boost minority enrollment over the last eight years and has shown significant progress in the numbers at the time of matriculation. Higher admission rates have to be coupled with robust retention in order to ensure a higher graduation rate for minority cadets so that Coast Guard leadership ultimately reflects the multicultural makeup of the country’s population. Ensuring that the Academy’s environment and culture are free of any racial animus is critical to achieving such an outcome.

As supporters of the Academy, we are committed to helping accomplish that goal. In the meantime, we would appreciate your prompt response to this matter.

Yours truly,

JOE COURTNEY
Member of Congress

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL
United States Senator

CHRISTOPHER S. MUPRHY
United States Senator

Yale University held a dedication ceremony Tuesday afternoon for the Grace Hopper College several months after deciding to remove the controversial John C. Calhoun name.

Hopper earned her master’s and Ph.D. in mathematics from Yale in the 1930s.

"Admiral Hopper was at the vanguard of a new era at a time when opportunities for women especially in math and engineering were extremely limited," Yale President Peter Salovey said, “she charted a remarkable course.”

Hopper is recognized for her innovative contributions to computer programming.

"She made it possible for ordinary people to use computers," Salovey added. "Not just mathematicians and engineers."

She also proudly served in the United States Navy, enlisting after Pearl Harbor and later rising to the rank of rear admiral.

"As a teacher, mentor and distinguished naval officer," Salovey said. "She served others and her country with courage and dedication."

Admiral John Richardson, Chief of Naval Operations, said renaming the college after Hopper is the latest chapter in the Navy’s long relationship with the Ivy League university.

"What a terrific choice to name this college after Admiral Grace Hopper,” he said. "A renowned risk taker."

Back in February, Yale announced the removal of Calhoun’s name saying his legacy as a white supremacist and promoter of slavery is at odds with the university’s mission and values.

"How delightful that the confluence of talk argument and decision produced this excellent outcome and new beginning," said Julia Adams, head of Grace Hopper College.

A new beginning that honors a woman with a lasting legacy as a trailblazer.

"She would tell you if it’s a good idea go ahead and do it," Hopper’s nephew Roger Murray III said. "It is much easier to apologize than it is to get permission."

Hopper posthumously received a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. She died at the age of 85 in 1992.

Between moving into a new home and keeping up with her son’s activities, Jennifer Walsh takes every chance she can to save money, including on energy.

“As my son has (grown) older, we certainly have (said), ‘Turn off the lights!’” said Walsh.

She was totally in the dark when her June statement came around from United Illuminating. The $302 charge, she said, is more than twice as much as what she usually pays.

"I just thought like, ‘How could this be?’ And then in a very small corner of the bill in very fine print you see it written that this is an estimated bill but it doesn’t really explain why it’s estimated," said Walsh.

All of the state’s major utility suppliers—UI, Eversource, Connecticut Natural Gas, and the MDC—will, if they cannot read your meter, estimate the cost of your monthly bill based on the same statement in previous years.

The problem with Walsh’s bill? She didn’t live there a year ago, and her usage is totally different from the previous homeowner.

“Using someone else’s record for mine just didn’t seem fair,” said Walsh.

She reached out to UI and a technician replaced the broken meter. As for the charges, she said, the company offered to assess usage after one month with the new meter and then would consider refunding her.

In the meantime, Walsh said, she was told to keep paying her bills based on the previous homeowner’s usage. That didn’t sit well with her.

"When they told us there was no process to rectify the situation, then you start looking outside the process," Walsh said.

That’s what led her to NBC Connecticut Responds. Shortly after speaking with Responds, a UI representative gave Walsh a more accurate estimated bill based on her own habits and offered a $212 credit to her following bill.

In a statement, United Illuminating’s Bill Reis, the company’s Vice President of Customer Care said:

“99.4 percent of the time our bills are based on actual readings from our meters. In this rare case, the meter did indeed malfunction and did not provide a reading. Our process is to provide an estimated bill based on that meter’s data from the exact time period one year earlier.

During this process, we remained in communication with the customer and regret any inconvenience. Following our standard process, we replaced the customer’s meter in July and compared the estimated bill with a reading from the new meter. We immediately credited the customer’s bank account and the customer seemed satisfied.”

Swarms of bugs were spotted across Connecticut after Tuesday night's storms and experts say the reason appears to be the annual mating ritual for a species commonly known as “Labor Day Ants.”

One Monroe resident, Kimberly Maiden Jacovino, said her home has been "bombarded by a zillion" bugs that look like gnats. However, it's not clear what kind of bugs these are.

"Everyone (is) complaining of the problem," Jacovino wrote to NBC Connecticut. "Putting plastic over their windows. Taping their windows."

Swarms of bugs have been seen in several parts of the state, including South Windsor, Manchester, Berlin, Cheshire, Wallingford, West Hartford, Southington, Seymour and Litchfield, just to name a some towns.

"Total invasion in Cheshire," one viewer wrote to NBC Connecticut on Facebook.

Another viewer said she tried rolling down her car window in Newington but the bugs were too intense.

"They were everywhere!," she wrote on Facebook.

NBC Connecticut has reached out to a bug expert at UConn, who said the bugs appear to be winged ants coming above ground to mate.

Male and female ants will develop wings for travel and come up for mating, then the females fly off to start a new colony.

With South Florida being one of the potential areas Irma could hit, people there are starting to scramble to figure out what’s next for them, including one Connecticut native who’s getting a flight back to New England after just moving to Florida.

NBC Connecticut spoke to Julie Hill via Skype this afternoon as she was packing for the airport. She just moved to an apartment in Islamorada, Florida in the Florida Keys about two weeks ago from Plainfield.

It’s an area that is in the path for some potentially serious damage from Irma.

For Julie, it’s now a race against the radar.

“Just a couple bags packed of things that are sentimental of valuable to me that I’m going to take with me just in case the worst happens down here,” said Hill.

It’s been a desperate search to catch a flight back to her home state – tonight, she and her dog, Bella, plan to fly back. But the worry for her? Traffic.

“The biggest thing here in the keys is the traffic because there’s only one road. There’s one road up and there’s one road down and you can definitely see the increase of traffic going north,” said Hill, who is trying to escape Irma.

But what if you have a trip planned to head south?

Jean Mallory, manager of White Travel, in New Britain said if you haven’t purchased travel insurance yet, it may be a little too late.

“In order to be covered by insurance, you have to purchase it before the storm is declared so you would have had to purchase it last week. So the insurance option is out,” she said.

What if you booked a cruise? Mallory said most of the time you’ll be refunded if the cruise is canceled due to the weather.

You may not get cash back and instead get your money back as a credit to book a future cruise.

With Hurricane Irma now a Category 5, people in Connecticut are now worried about their loved ones who may be in the storm’s path.

Melinda Echevarria, of East Hartford, spoke with NBC Connecticut minutes after she spoke with her mother, Janette Hernandez, who lives in Yabocoa, Puerto Rico.

Even though the eye is expected to remain north of Puerto Rico, it’s still a dangerous storm. Echevarria has been on the phone with her mother constantly.

“Because of the way the lines, the phone lines go in Puerto Rico, it’s going to be hard to reach anybody so it’s going to be a lot of unknowing, a lot of waiting to hear from her to see if she’s OK,” she said. “And all we have is to watch the news and see if we can get a glimpse of what’s going on over there.”

Melinda said her mother will stay inside the home as Irma passes.

“It’s kind of hard on an island because you have nowhere to go,” she said.

It’s too early to know if Irma will make a direct hit on South Florida, where Danbury native Kemar Tucker lives. NBC Connecticut caught up with him at Bradley International Airport. He was visiting the state to see his friends.

“I live right by the water, as well, in Ft. Lauderdale so that’s a big concern. We already started stocking up on water there. My family is still there. So I hope they are fine while I’m gone for a minute.”

Tucker is supposed to leave on Sunday, but that could change depending on Irma’s direction.

“Obviously I don’t want to be stuck here for an extended period of time because that’s kind of concerning,” he said.

Shelley Sweeney, a native of Watertown who lives in Miami, was picked up by her mother Janice today.

Sweeney will head back to Miami on Thursday and has no idea where she and her family would go.

“I don’t know. It depends on what the path is going to be,” said Sweeney. “I may get down there and wish I was here but I don’t know if I’m going to able to because they close all the airports, so I’m really not sure what’s going to happen.”

“She has to do what she needs to do, but of course I’d like her to stay,” said Sweeney’s mother, Janice Pond.

The Trump administration on Tuesday decided to scrap the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, triggering ripple effects throughout Silicon Valley.

The tech industry is known as a place where immigrants have risen to, and often started, successful companies. The loss of DACA, which gives renewable, two-year permits to immigrants who entered the United States as undocumented minors, is expected to heavily cost Silicon Valley.

“This has a very real impact on the bottom line of companies,” said Peter Leroe-Munoz, the vice president of tech and innovation policy at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.

He said certain industries have especially benefited from young immigrant employees.

“Whether in autonomous vehicles, artificial intelligence or cyber security, there is a source of intellectual capital that can help grow those technologies here in the US and increase American jobs,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, at the Asian Law Alliance, the phone rang off the hook, with young immigrants from all over the world reacting to the uncertainty of their future.

"There are people who came here from Asian countries, African countries, European countries, obviously people who crossed the southern border from Mexico to California, but the population of DACA recipients (is) very diverse,” said Richard Konda, with the Asian Law Alliance.

The movers and shakers of the tech world on Tuesday vocalized their support for DACA.

"The decision to end DACA is not just wrong,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “It is particularly cruel to offer young people the American Dream, encourage them to come out of the shadows and trust our government, and then punish them for it."

Dara Khosrowshahi, who was recently named the chief executive of San Francisco-based ridesharing company Uber echoed the sentiment.

“It's against our values to turn our backs on #DREAMers. Everyone deserves a chance to work, study and contribute - the #AmericanDream!” he wrote on Twitter.

NBC Bay Area's Rhea Mahbubani contributed to this report.

A Norwalk police officer is recovering after being injured by an accidental discharge of a gun during department training.

According to police, the officer was accidentally shot Tuesday afternoon and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The officer has not been publicly identified.

The Norwalk Detective Bureau is investigating the incident.

More than 1 million chests of drawers that pose a threat of tipping over onto children have been recalled, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday.

One injury involving the chests has been reported to the agency: a four-year-old boy was hurt when one tipped over. Anyone who has one that isn't anchored to the wall is urged to move it to a place where children can't access it. (See a list of recalled models below.)

About 1.6 million Ameriwood-made Mainstays chests were sold across the country at Walmart and other stores from April 2009 until last May.

Ameriwood is offering a free repair kit with feet for the chests and a device that anchors them to the wall. The company can be reached at 877-222-7460 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT on weekdays, and online at Ameriwood.com.

The Mainstays models being recalled are 5412012WP, 5412301WP, 5412328WP, 5412015WY, 5412301WY, 5412012PCOM, 5412015PCOM, 5412026PCOM, 5412213PCOM, 5412214PCOM, 5412301PCOM, 5412317PCOM and 5412328PCOM. Model numbers can be found on the instruction manual.

The chests are 40 5/16 inches high by 27 11/16 inches wide by 14 11/16 inches deep and have four drawers with a decorative pull on each and plastic drawer glides. They came in these colors: alder, black forest, white, weathered oak, walnut and ruby red.

A woman was taken to the hospital after an accident involving a freight train and a car on West Street in Stafford Tuesday morning, according to emergency dispatchers.

The call came in around 7:15 a.m.  Police said the female driver was taken to the hospital, though details on her condition were not immediately clear.

The freight train sustained superficial damage. West Street was closed for just over an hour while crews investigated but has since reopened.

No other information was immediately available.

Advanced hackers have successfully broken into core operations systems after targeting energy companies in the United States and Europe, according to new report from a cybersecurity firm.

Reuters reported that Symantec researchers found malicious email campaigns helped a group, apparently one called Dragonfly, gain entry into U.S. energy firms, as well as in Turkey and Switzerland and likely elsewhere.

The researchers believe the cyberattacks are probably the work of a foreign government, and while their report didn't name Russia, some code strings were in Russian.

The research adds to concerns that utilities and other industrial firms could be susceptible to damaging cyberattacks in a global conflict. In June, the U.S. government alerted firms about a hacking campaign targeting the nuclear and energy sectors.

A Groton man was arrested in Willimantic after barging into a home on Bridge Street showing off a realistic looking BB gun, according to Willimantic police.

James Bowers, 53, faces charges of home invasion, third-degree burglary, carrying a dangerous weapon and breach of peace.

According to police, on Tuesday afternoon Bowers confronted a resident at 85 Bridge Street as the resident opened the front door. The victim told police that when he opened the door, Bowers lifted his shirt and showed a handgun tucked into his waistband. The victim fled and Bowers entered the home, police said. The victim was not injured.

Police said the victim had recently moved in and the incident appears to be random.

Officers arrived and took Bowers into custody. The handgun was actually a BB gun, police said.

Police said that Bowers is a convicted felon with multiple previous arrests. He was issued a $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.

Connecticut State Police arrested a total of 47 people on DUI charges, responded to 529 crashes and issued over 2,700 moving violations during Labor Day weekend traffic enforcement efforts.

The enforcement effort began just after midnight on Sept. 1 and ended at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday.

Police said they arrested 47 people on DUI charges, issued 1189 speeding tickets, 46 seat belt violations, and issued a total of 2,764 moving violations. In 2016 there were 51 DUI arrests, 1699 speeding tickets, 165 seat belt violations, and a total of 3,552 moving violations.

This year troopers responded to 529 accidents, one of which was fatal and 78 of which had injuries

Police have also investigated 326 accidents, one of which was fatal and 52 others involved injuries. In 2016 there were only 243 accidents. Forty-three had injuries but none of them were fatal.

Trooper focused on drunk driving, aggressive drivers, distracted driving, and speeding. Drivers are reminded to act responsibly as they enjoy the holiday.

Hurricane Irma, one of the strongest storms of modern times, could barrel straight into Florida by the weekend, or it could hit Cuba and lose some of its Category 5 strength, NBC News reported.

The world's best weather minds, and the supercomputers behind them, can't say precisely where Irma is headed. They use half a dozen computer models that analyze environmental data to predict how storms grow and move, experts said, and the models produce different results.

Lately, the one that's been most reliable is the European Union's, known as the European model. The National Hurricane Center in Miami uses that subscriber-only system, plus the somewhat faster-to-process American model, to develop its forecasts.

But even with a set of sophisticated computers to choose from, forecasts four days before landfall are still about 175 miles off the mark, said Jeff Masters, founder and director of meteorology at the Weather Underground.

One person is dead after an unrooted tree came down and landed on an occupied car in New London, according to the New London's acting police chief, Peter Reichard.

The incident happened on Pequot Avenue as storms moved through and Reichard said the male driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

The passenger who was in the back of the car has been transported to Lawrence & Memorial Hospital. 

Fire officials said several trees are down on Pequot Avenue. Reichard said a building on Pequot Avenue was struck by lightning and no injuries are reported.

The City of New Haven is undertaking an extensive search to find the perfect tree for this winter's holiday festivities on the historic Green, including the popular tree lighting ceremony.

To qualify, the tree must be a 55 to 70 foot Norway Spruce.

If your tree is selected to be the centerpiece of the Green this upcoming holiday season, the city will remove it free of charge.

It will be decorated with 30,000 LED lights over the holiday season.

If you have a tree that you would like to offer for this great event, please contact William Carone with the City of New Haven Parks department.  He can be reached at wcarone@newhavenct.gov or 203-946-8576.

Trees that are currently 25 to 40 feet may be considered for future use.

NBC Connecticut is proud to be the official television partner of the City of New Haven's Tree Lighting Ceremony and winter festivities on the Green. 

Benjamin Jacinto, 25, of Ohio, has been in the U.S. for 19 years and just renewed his DACA for another two years.

"I’m set for two years, but what’s after that?" Jacinto said.

President Donald Trump ended the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals program and from Wednesday (Sept. 6), no more applications for DACA are being accepted.

For people who have DACA now and whose DACA doesn’t expire until after March 5, 2018, will continue to have DACA and the work permit that comes with it until the expiration date of their DACA.

People whose DACA expired Tuesday or will expire Wednesday through March 5, 2018, can renew their DACA, but they must apply by Oct. 5.

Gas prices in Connecticut have risen 26 cents in a week because of the disruption Hurricane Harvey caused to the fuel supply, according to AAA.

The national average is $2.66 while the average price in Connecticut is $2.88.

Prices have jumped two cents since yesterday and they are up 58 cents from a year ago.

GasBuddy posts gas prices across the state and allows you to search for the best prices. 

The region from Corpus Christi, Texas, where Harvey made landfall, to the Louisiana state line accounts for about 3 percent of the U.S. economy and is a crucial export market for oil and chemicals. 

Exxon, Shell and other companies reported to Texas regulators that some of their storage tanks and other facilities near Houston were damaged by the torrential rains and flooding. Most of the reports seem to indicate relatively minor damage.

A New Haven man has been charged with the murder of his girlfriend, who was found beaten and strangled in an apartment in Hartford on Sunday night after a neighbor called 911 reporting a woman screaming for her life.

Hartford police said that Lawrence Jennette, 39, has been charged with murder in the death of 30-year-old Cieratiye Henry.

Police responded to May Street at 7:31 p.m. Sunday after a neighbor called 911 reporting that a woman was screaming for help and hanging out a window.

According to Hartford Police Deputy Chief Brian Foley, the victim was found lying on the floor with obvious signs of assault and a shoelace around her neck. He said it was a violent scene.

“There was blood on the floor, blood on the walls, handprints, the air condition was pushed out, the window that she was leaning out screaming was smashed,” Foley said.

EMS transported Henry to St. Francis Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 4:06 a.m. on Monday. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the cause of death was strangulation.

Foley said as they investigated detectives identified Jennette as a suspect. He said it became apparent that Henry had been in an abusive relationship with Jennette.

Jennette has an extensive violent criminal history out of New Haven and Waterbury, and was on probation for strangulation, Foley said. The suspect had no previous history in Hartford.

The investigation is ongoing. The Hartford Police Department will also work with the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence to review the case, which is standard practice for any domestic homicide.

Jennette was arrested overnight in New Haven and is being held on a $2 million bond. He is due in court Wednesday.

TOLL-FREE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE: 888-774-2900 (CT Coalition Against Domestic Violence)