Well before first pitch on Opening Day, there was a stampede of Yard Goats fans at the Retro Brand Team Store.

“I have tickets for about four games already this season set aside,” Phyllis Maccutcheon said.

Maccutcheon had to get her hands on Yard Goats gear for the start of the season.

“Last season I got a lot of T-shirts, hats, mugs, the mascot stuffed animal, baseball cards,” Maccutcheon told NBC Connecticut.

She even replenished her goat gear supply for her out of town friends.

“They love it because it's a great logo and a great team and I have a lot of friends are into baseball to begin with,” Maccutcheon said.

Fans have a lot of options - The Yard Goats don’t just offer your basic t-shirt and baseball caps with the team logo.

“We're not content to just stick with one T-shirt with our logo on it we do all sorts of crazy stuff,” Mike Abramson, Yard Goats general manager, said.

The team store reflects that, with a range of gear in all different colors of the rainbow.

Abramson said the demand for goat gear is on the rise after its 41 sellout games last season.

“It's always caps for us, the brand just popped so amazingly after everybody was fearful of the Yard Goats name, it took them about a month to get used to it,” Abramson said.

Abramson says the Yard Goats’ standout season held steady even after the games were over.

“That momentum never slowed down in the off-season or sales department which is usually very quiet in October, November but it was just cranking they never stopped it was like there was no off-season,” Abramson said.

On Opening Day, an already promising season for the team Hartford has come to love.

“We are on the brink of about eight sell-outs right now which given we haven't even thrown a pitch is insane,” Abramson said.

A train derailed in New Britain late Wednesday in the same area as several other incidents, including a derailment in December 2016 that took days to clear up.

Police said that they received multiple calls around 10 p.m. Wednesday reporting that a train was blocking several intersections in the city. When officers responded they found a Pan Am train derailed and with the cars tilted in the area of Columbus Boulevard near Chestnut Street.

The conductor told police he felt the wheels hit the ground as he was traveling in the area of the Price Rite on Columbus Boulevard. He pulled the e-brake to prevent the cars from tipping over. Three of the four engines derailed, but no one was hurt.

The train was 4,000 feet long and was carrying hazmat materials like propane. The train was put back on the track Thursday morning, but crews were still out Thursday evening repairing the damaged track.

“Engineers from Pan Am did respond to the scene. A plan was set. They sent an additional engine out of the Plainville transfer station here to try and pull the train back to unblock our intersections and open it up to vehicle and pedestrian traffic,” said New Britain Police Capt. Thomas Steck.

Multiple intersections near the Columbus Plaza were blocked by the scene, but everything has since reopened.

The Federal Railway Authority will investigate the incident.

The area has been the scene of other train accidents. In December 2016 a Pan Am train derailed in the same area, forcing the city to spend thousands of dollars in overtime on cleanup. Pan Am reimbursed the city for the cost.

According to police, just last week a train carrying 80 cars got stuck in the area and had to reverse back to Berlin.

When asked for a statement, Pan Am Railways told NBC Connecticut they were investigating the cause. The city of New Britain has sent a letter requesting that Pan Am take action to ensure safety in the area.

President Donald Trump touted the urgency of tougher security measures along the border between the United States and Mexico on Thursday, claiming women trying to cross the border in an immigrant caravan “are being raped at numbers never seen before.”

"Yesterday, it came out where this journey coming up, women are raped at levels that nobody has every seen before," the president said at a White House tax reform event in White Sulphur Springs, W.V. "They don't want to mention that, so we have to change our laws."

Trump did not provide any evidence to support his claim that rapes are taking place, nor did he identify its source, NBC News reported. 

The state is one step closer to adding tolls to Connecticut roads.

A bill that could lead to the Department of Transportation implementing tolls statewide passed through the Finance Revenue and Bonding Committee Thursday.

Residents who spoke to NBC Connecticut about it were split on the issue, which has been a hot topic.

“Bringing toll roads to Connecticut? I think it’s ridiculous honestly,” said Evan Monterio of Newington. “I think we already pay enough in taxes for the roads.”

“I’m all for it,” Hartford resident Yuvonne Grant said. “It’s going to bring a lot of money into the state.”

Gov. Dannel Malloy has endorsed tolls as a way to raise money for the states special transportation fund which could run out of money in the next few years.

The tolls would be electronic. Legislative and transportation leaders have discussed installing the tolls on the state’s busiest highways.

The bill will now move on to the House for a vote.

President Trump on Thursday claimed women in an immigrant caravan are being raped in record numbers. The remark came during a West Virginia event that was supposed to focus on the new tax plan.

Students are asking “what’s next” after Ridley-Lowell Business and Technical Institute closed Wednesday without warning, just weeks before some students were set to graduate.

Students at the New London location, who said they were blindsided by the email announcement that evening, are now weighing whether it’s worth transferring and finishing their coursework – if that’s even possible – or finding a way to get their money back.

“I don’t have time. I was able to take eight months out so I didn’t have to work. My boyfriend taking care of our daughter, paying the bills. But we can’t afford to take another eight months to start all over,” student Grave Leonardi said, who was studying to become a dental assistant.

It’s a concern the New London resident shares with several of her former Ridley-Lowell classmates.

The State of Connecticut Office of Higher Education (OHE) is stepping in to help. On its website, it’s outlining options for students to transfer to a different occupational school. But previous course credit isn’t guaranteed. Plus students would be responsible for previous loans and might have to take on more. Staff also provided a list of alternate approved private occupational schools.

OHE additionally outlined options for students to have their federal loans discharged, if they don’t choose a transfer option, due to the sudden closure of a school. It also explains how the Connecticut Student Protection Fund will assist students who paid out-of-pocket or have taken out personal loans.

“I worked so hard. A whole year of my life went into this school and now I’m standing here with nothing,” student Shannon Ozkan said.

Ozkan was studying medical assisting and was just five weeks from graduating.

She said she contacted Brandford Hall to possibly transfer but was told it could take a few months.

A Branford Hall representative told NBC Connecticut that they have been in touch with some Ridley-Lowell students but have no concrete agreement with the state to take in those students. At some point, they hope to be able to, but the details need to be hammered out with state officials.

Ridley-Lowell has locations in New London and Danbury, as well as Rhode Island and New York.

Ozkan said students demanded answers from Ridley-Lowell’s director this morning in New London.

“She hid behind glass said ‘no other information for us at this time’…. But we’re still left with a $20,000 debt,” Ozkan said.

Some staff was in and out of the building, packing up belongings. But the doors remained locked. One teacher told NBC Connecticut off camera that she too was blindsided by the news.

Students who spoke with staff said they were gut-wrenched to learn of the closure. But some said they were not surprised.

NBC Connecticut reached out to Ridley-Lowell administration multiple times via email, Facebook, phone and in person, but did not hear back.

Now students who were looking to better their families are in a crunch.

“I’m going to try to get hired at my externship office. They like me a lot. They said they’re going to do what they can for me. But other than that it’s putting out job applications and listing the experience I have gained, I guess,” Leonardi said.

NBC Connecticut obtained a copy of the email Ridley-Lowell’s Vice President of Operations, Andréa Weymouth, sent to OHE at 3:25 on Wednesday. The letter says, in part, “Ridley-Lowell is insolvent. Since our national accreditor, ACICS, was eliminated, owners have poured personal financing into Ridley-Lowell to carry two accreditor costs over the 18-month bridge and pay for 2 campus teach-outs and programmatic teach-outs for programs that did not meet new accreditor metrics.”

State Department of Education spokesperson Peter Yazbak said Ridley-Lowell is a for-profit business, so what happened is not necessarily illegal. It’s too early to tell if an investigation would be launched.

Rep. Joe Courtney sent a letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Thursday asking her to quickly provide resources and debt relief to Ridley-Lowell students.

“Many of the students used federal student loans and grant programs to pay tuition, and it is imperative that the Dept. of Ed exercises its statutory authority to protect both taxpayers and the students who put their faith in this school’s promise of a certificate that would provide gainful employment,” the letter reads in part.

A couple of good Samaritans came to the rescue of an eagle on Route 9 in Berlin Thursday.

Merle Mckenzie told NBC Connecticut he was driving on Route 9 north in Berlin Thursday afternoon when he spotted an injured bald eagle. Mckenzie said the bird had been hit by a car.

The bird was dazed and appeared to need help. With help from a woman who stopped, Mckenzie wrapped the bird in a towel and put it in a cage to take it to a local animal hospital.

Mckenzie said they took the bird to the Kensington Bird And Animal Hospital. The experts there examined the bird and determined it had no broken bones, just a scratch on the eye. The hospital plans to reach out to a rehabilitator to help the bird get back into the wild.

A 10-year-old girl is recovering after she was hit by a car in Putnam Thursday afternoon.

Police said the child was struck by a car on Church Street around 4 p.m. The girl was taken to Day Kimball Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information should contact the Putnam Police Department at 860-928-6565.

Users' data are the lifeblood of Facebook, and if they wanted to opt out of all of the platform's data-driven advertising, they would have to pay for it, Sheryl Sandberg, the company's chief operating officer, told NBC News on Thursday.

In an interview with "Today" co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, Sandberg again acknowledged that the company mishandled the breach that allowed Cambridge Analytica, the data analysis firm that worked with Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, to harvest millions of users' information.

"It is definitely the case in 2016 that we were behind and we didn't understand that kind of election interference," Sandberg said.

Connecticut State Police have issued a warning about scammers trying to use a “fallen officer’s fund” to steal money from sympathetic victims.

Police said the scammer calls would-be victims claiming to be collecting donations for a “fallen officer’s fund.” Police believe this scammer is trying to capitalize on the recent death of Trooper First Class Kevin Miller.

State police were alerted to the scam when a Connecticut State Trooper received one of these phone calls and began asking questions. The scammer offered two different names and claimed the company he worked for was based in Wyoming. When the trooper identified himself as law enforcement, the scammer hung up.

State police remind you never to give credit card or bank account information to any stranger requesting donations, especially over the phone.

There is a memorial fund established for Miller through the Connecticut State Police Union. Those interested in donating send a check payable to “The Connecticut State Police Union, Inc.” and please include “Kevin Miller Memorial Fund” in the check memo.

Checks can be mailed to:

Kevin Miller Memorial Fund

Connecticut State Police Union

500 Main Street

East Hartford, CT 06118

All donations to that fund will go toward funeral arrangements and any extra will be provided to Miller’s children.

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has been arrested and charged with assault and criminal mischief after he allegedly went on a caught-on-camera rampage after a UFC 223 press conference at Barclays Center, the NYPD says.

Two senior law enforcement sources told News 4 late Thursday that McGregor is expected to face a judge Friday after multiple social media accounts captured video of him acting wildly in a non-public area of the arena.

One video showed McGregor picking up a metal guardrail and running with it in an apparent attempt to throw it at a departing bus carrying several other fighters including rival Khabib Nurmagomedov.

McGregor allegedly continued flailing other items around and ultimately launched something that hit the window of the bus, cracking it and shattering the glass, video taken from inside the bus shows. Michael Chiesa, another UFC fighter who was set to compete in the weekend's events, had minor injuries. 

A source close to McGregor told News 4 that he was "upset and distraught" following the episode.

The NYPD said McGregor has been in custody since late Thursday. Earlier the department said it was looking to question the fighter about the exchange and added that one man was taken to the hospital with broken glass on his head and possibly in his eyes.

UFC President Dana White -- who earlier this week announced that McGregor was being stripped of his UFC lightweight championship -- told MMAjunkie in a Facebook interview that McGregor and a crew of about 20 men "stormed" the building after gaining access from media-credentialed people at Barclays and got to the loading dock, where fighters were boarding buses after a press conference for Saturday's pay-per-view card.

"They started to attack the buses, throwing trash cans and dollies and things like that -- broke one of the windows and cut Michael Chiesa really bad. He cut his head, he cut his face," said White, adding that other people were injured. 

"Obviously everybody's shaken up... this is the most disgusting thing that's ever happened in the history of this company," White said. 

White added McGregor would be "sued beyond belief" and that it was a "real bad career move on his part." 

"It's disgusting," he said. "I don't think anyone's going to be a huge Conor McGregor fan after this." 

"The police are going to take care of Conor," White said. "The police are gonna handle Conor." 

In a statement, UFC called the disruption "completely unacceptable," and is "working on the consequences." 

Later, Chiesa tweeted he had been pulled from UFC 223 bout against Anthony Pettis by the New York State Athletic Commission.

"I’m devastated to say the least," he said in the tweet.

UFC confirmed Chiesa was pulled from the event after he suffered "several facial cuts." 

The UFC also said another fighter was injured and is unable to fight. 

"Flyweight Ray Borg, who was scheduled to face Brandon Moreno, was deemed unfit to fight as well due to multiple corneal abrasions," UFC said in a statement.

McGregor is tight with UFC 223 fighter Artem Lobov, who was also involved in the rampage, UFC said. Lobov has been yanked from this weekend's card. However, police said they haven't charged him, but they say they charged MMA fighter Cian Cowley, 25, of Ireland, with assault and criminal mischief.

"UFC 223 will proceed as scheduled with 10 bouts," UFC said in the statement. "Moving to the Pay-Per-View main card is the featherweight bout between Zabit Magomedsharipov and Kyle Bochniak."

It's not clear what McGregor was doing in New York or at Barclays Center; White speculated that he may have been in town to watch the upcoming fight Saturday. 

Police sources told the New York Post that they believe the episode may have been a "publicity stunt" ahead of UFC 223.

After McGregor was officially stripped of the UFC lightweight championship, White said the winner of Saturday's bout -- Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Max Holloway -- would become the undisputed champion in the division. 

McGregor profanely responded on Twitter and wrote, "You'll strip me of nothing."

The winner of the bout was likely to be among the top contenders for the next big-money fight with McGregor. White had said he didn't want McGregor defending belts in two divisions when he was the champ in two weight classes.

McGregor has not fought for UFC since he won the 155-pound title at UFC 2015 in November 2016. McGregor last fought in a boxing loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Aug. 26, 2017.

A truck rolled over in the 200 section of North Road in East Windsor and police said injuries are reported.

Police, fire and ambulance crews responded and said a person was trapped.

Expect delays and possible detours in the area.

A former high school football player and his family will receive millions of dollars after a civil suit settlement with a San Diego County school district over accusations of improper steps by the coaching staff to recognize and respond to concussion symptoms.

The suit stems from an October 2013 freshman football game at Grossmont Union School District's Monte Vista High School when 14-year-old Rashaun Council started feeling sick and confused.

A concerned teammate even told a coach about the star running and defensive back's odd behavior, but Council returned to the game and finished on the field according to his family's attorney.

Council was slumped over and throwing up in the locker room after the game, according to attorney Brian Gonzalez, but the coaches never called 911 and he didn't receive proper medical care until the boy's father took him to the hospital.

Council's brain had already started to swell, requiring emergency surgery, and he was later placed in a medically induced coma.

After taking a year off for treatment, Council is now 19 years old and preparing to graduate from Clairemont High School, which has a program for traumatic brain injury survivors.

Gonzalez says Council will likely never be able to drive, live by himself or pursue the career of his dreams due to the confusion and forgetfulness caused by the injury.

"Because of the delay in diagnosis, the delay in treatments, he is forever going to be in the condition he is," said Gonzalez. "They continued to play him cause they wanted to win this game. That type of reality should never take the place of protecting our kids."

During the civil suit, Gonzalez discovered none of the freshman coaches on the 2013 Monte Vista Football Team had completed state-mandated concussion training because of a loophole that allowed them two years to complete it. He says the loophole is now closed and he hopes the story serves as a reminder to all youth coaches to take potential brain injuries very seriously.

According to a spokeswoman for the Grossmont Union High School District, the $7.125 million settlement is paid through the San Diego County Schools Risk Management Joint Powers Authority (JPA), of which it is a member.

The School Board ratified the settlement in March with a 5-0 vote.

Hundreds of people gathered in Crown Heights on Thursday evening amid swelling outrage over the death of a man who was shot and killed by police, who’d mistaken a pipe he was holding for a gun.

As the sun set over Brooklyn, members of the crowd shouted “No justice, no peace” and chanted the name of Saheed Vassell, the 34-year-old man who had been shot and killed by NYPD officers the day before.

“We have no room, no space for law enforcement officers who are trigger happy in our communities,” one man shouted before leading a chant of “Whose streets? Our streets!”

One sign read: “NYPD – Biggest gang in New York.” Another simply read: “How many more?” 

The protesters lit candles and left flowers at the Thursday night vigil where Vassell was shot.

At one point, national political activist Linda Sarsour went up to the microphone and called for the Brooklyn district attorney to indict the officers involved.

“Those men who killed our brother Saheed need to spend some time in jail,” Sarsour said to cheers.

Vassell was shot and killed in the neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon. The city medical examiners office on Thursday revealed that Vassell was struck by bullets nine times.

None of the officers were wearing body cameras at the time of the shooting.

NYPD officials say the cops who responded to the 911 calls thought he was about to fire on them. Chief of Department Terence Monahan said Vassell "took a two-handed shooting stance and pointed at" the four officers who encountered him at Utica Avenue and Montgomery Street. The cops fired 10 shots.

Nine of those bullets hit Vassell, according to the medical examiner's office. He was hit in the head once, twice in the chest, once in the abdomen and once in each arm. His lower body was also struck by three bullets. He died from brain, aorta and spinal cord injuries.

The office ruled his death a homicide but noted its determination was not a criminal finding. Rather, the office said the term indicates that Vassell died due to the actions of other people.

After the shooting, the officers approached to administer aid, Monahan said. It was then that they discovered the man had not been holding a gun, but a pipe with a knob at the end. Vassell was pronounced dead at a hospital.

On Thursday morning, the state attorney general's office said it was opening an investigation into the shooting.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said, "This is a very painful situation; it is a tragedy by any measure."

Vassell was well-known in the neighborhood, according to his family. His parents Eric and Lorna Vassell tell News 4 he had bipolar disorder but was a "good person." They said they're not angry, but "hurt" that they say police didn't give him a warning to drop the pipe before opening fire.

Another neighborhood resident described Vassell as a mentally ill man who sometimes talked to himself but should not have been shot.

Wednesday's shooting comes amid nationwide uproar over the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black man, Stephon Clark, in Sacramento, California. In that case, officers responding to a call about someone breaking windows shot and killed the 22-year-old Clark in his grandmother's backyard.

Officers said they fired their weapons because they believed Clark was holding a gun, though he was holding only a cellphone.

Researchers expect to see 14 named storms and 7 hurricanes this Atlantic hurricane season.

Schools are on break and Bradley International Airport warns the airport will be busy through April 15 and passengers should plan accordingly.

“The key during this busy travel period is to give yourself extra time and to be prepared,” Kevin Dillon, executive director of the Connecticut Airport Authority, said in a statement. “As always, we will do everything we can to make your travel through the airport as smooth as possible.”

Passengers traveling domestically should allow at least 90 minutes for checking in with the airlines and going through the TSA screening. People traveling internationally should allow three hours.

To help ensure that your journey will go smoothly, contact your airline before leaving for the airport to confirm the status of your flight. Or check Bradley International Airport’s website.

Twitter users can also tweet their flight number @BDLFlightInfo to receive real-time flight information.

Familiarize yourself with Bradley International Airport’s parking options. Free shuttle service is provided from the surface lots. To learn more about Bradley Airport’s parking options, visit www.parkbradley.com.

To speed up the screening process, review TSA guidelines ahead of time. For further information regarding the screening process visit www.tsa.gov or contact the TSA directly.

Police have arrested two suspects after a brazen smash-and-grab break-in and burglary at a liquor store in Wolcott in December.

Surveillance footage captured one of the men breaking the glass of the front door of North End Package Store to get in early on the morning of Dec. 2, causing damage in the frantic search for cash, then stealing several packs of cigarettes, according to police.

On Thursday, police arrested 36-year-old Casey McAdams, of Derby, and 55-year-old Edward Cavallaro, of New Haven.

According to police, Cavallaro drove McAdams to the package store to commit the burglary and the store’s surveillance system captured Cavallaro’s vehicle pull into the parking lot, then McAdams break into the store.

Cavallaro was charged with conspiracy to commit burglary in the third degree and conspiracy to commit larceny in the fourth degree. He was released on a $10,000 bond.

McAdams was charged with burglary in the third degree, larceny in the fourth degree, criminal mischief in the second degree, conspiracy to commit burglary in the third degree and conspiracy to commit larceny in the fourth degree.

He is detained at New Haven Correctional Facility after a recent arrest.

Both men are being investigated in connection with several similar burglaries throughout the area, police said. They are due in Waterbury Superior Court.

An 88-year-old grandmother just couldn't contain her excitement after her granddaughters surprised her with a ticket to see Justin Timberlake in concert. 

The adorable exchange was all captured on video by Bette Maloney's granddaughters Sarah Watson and Elizabeth Watson. The young women had tucked the surprise ticket in their "Nammie's"  Easter basket.

"Is this for real? For real, real?" Maloney says, fighting back tears. "I've been trying to figure out how to save money to go."

Nammie is a huge Justin Timberlake fan, Sarah told NBC affiliate WESH. “She loves him so much she thinks he (is) ‘just a really nice young man,’” she said.

Her grandmother has loved Timberlake and his music since seeing him perform on Jimmy Fallon's talk show and "Saturday Night Live," and she told WESH that she's constantly finding Justin Timberlake-related searches left open on Nammie’s iPad.

Nammie is excited that she'll be sitting closer to the stage at the May 14 show in Orlando, Florida, compared to their much higher seats at the "20/20 Tour" show.

Mississippi's Supreme Court ruled Thursday, in a case watched by gay rights activists and groups aiding in vitro fertilization, that a woman does have parental rights to the 6-year-old boy her ex-wife gave birth to when they were married, NBC News reported.

Christina "Chris" Strickland brought the appeal and challenged a lower court decision that she did not have rights and that they anonymous sperm donor did. Strickland ultimately hopes to win 50-50 custody of Zayden Strickland, who bears her last name and was born by Kimberly Day through artificial means when Day and Strickland were married.

The justices found that the original ruling was unworkable and unfair, saying such a standard would "would disrupt the familial relationships and expectations of Mississippians who have conceived children" using artificial insemination.

The original judge had granted Strickland visitation rights, and she pays child support. But Attorney Beth Littrell, who works for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Strickland had a much inferior status to legal parenthood.