Police are investigating a home invasion in Bristol after two men with a gun and a baseball bat forced their way into a home on Caesar Drive.

A resident called Bristol Police at 9:11 pm on Thursday to report that two men forced their way in through the back door.

The victim told police one man was holding a handgun and the other was holding a baseball bat.

They forced two of the occupants to get on the floor but left when they found that a third person in the house had called the police.

No injuries were reported.

The man who had the gun was muscular, between 5-feet-10 and 6-feet-tall and was wearing all black clothing.

The man who had the baseball bat was around 5-feet-9 with a heavy build and was also wearing all black clothing.

Anyone with information about the incident should call the Bristol Police Detective Division at 860-314-4561.

A Torrington elementary school will be closed today after an outbreak of a stomach virus, according to local reports.

The Register-Citizen reports that around 100 children and staff members of East Elementary School have become stick and the district was forced to close the elementary school today to prevent more students from becoming ill.

A Hartford teen who saved his family from a raging fire this week, exclusively shared his story with NBC Connecticut.

“I’m in shock to think that's my house right there,” said Christopher Brown. On Thursday, he came back to his home on Edgewood Street in Harford’s North End and saw it in shambles.

“Wow... is this real?” Brown added.

The 16-year-old was asleep around 3 a.m. Wednesday when flames engulfed the place. His mother woke him up seconds later.

The teen instantly knew he had to save his family from the unit on the second floor. First, he got his 12-year-old sister out of the burning building.

“I seen this big red glare and the flames," Brown said. "I thought wow.” 

Then he went back inside to help his mother in her bedroom. She’s partially paralyzed and has trouble walking.

“I tried to get into my mom’s room to see if we could get anything there was too much smoke I said let’s just go,” Brown explained.

He held onto her as they made their way down the stairs, and time was running out.

“It’s amazing what my mom did… She sat down and on each level of the step she slid down as the fire was coming towards us,” he said.

After the family of three escaped, they realized how severe the situation really was. Nothing could be salvaged.

“We don't have anything…Everything is gone my mom and sister left the house with no shoes,” Brown said, adding he's thankful they survived. ”There’s so many things I could complain about… But I’m here.”

The family is staying at a motel while they find another place to live. No one was hurt in the fire. Investigators said a space heater sparked it.

Metro-North is in a negative spotlight again amid new questions about the commuter rail line's workers and what they're doing when they're supposed to be on the clock.

An internal investigation found padded time sheets, including workers who took trips to Pennsylvania for cigarettes and fireworks while they were on the clock, according to The New York Times.

The New York Times, which first reported on the investigation, says the information is contained in a draft letter, dated Dec. 3, from Inspector General Barry Kluger.

Metro-North Spokesman Aaron Donovan released a statement Thursday saying the report "is a draft that was never delivered to Metro-North Railroad, so we cannot comment on its particular findings." But he said the rail system "has been working closely with the Inspector General during his investigation and will aggressively take appropriate disciplinary action when we receive a final report. "

"All Metro-North employees are expected to work a full day for a full day's pay. We will not tolerate any behavior that falls short of that standard. We are installing GPS on all our vehicles in response to an earlier report from the Inspector General, and we have also initiated a comprehensive review with both the Inspector General and MTA Auditor General to strengthen internal controls within Metro-North's Maintenance of Way department," he said.

Still, some commuters couldn't believe the scathing internal report released on Metro-North.

"That's mismanagement no matter where it happened whether it happens at Metro North or a private company it's just mismanagement," said Melissa Ciotoli of Westport.

Mismanagement is just a small bit of what the inspector general uncovered, according to State Sen. Toni Boucher.

"This is using taxpayers money in a fraudulent way. Falsifying time sheets, public automobiles for private use," Boucher said.

Boucher is troubled by the apparent lack of oversight, especially at a time when safety is of an utmost concern to riders after a series of accidents, mostly recent the one in the Bronx in early December that left four dead.

"And it should not be tolerated. Not at all. People's heads need to roll with regards to something like this," said Boucher.

The investigation revealed one crew was driving aimlessly when they were supposedly doing overtime.

"As much as that sounds problematic I'm much more focused on the timeliness of the trains," said Sam Walker of Weston. Walker said he feels the trains have deteriorated in terms of service since the derailment in Bridgeport in May and a worker was struck and killed by a train in West Haven later the same month.

"You'd be kidding yourself if you're not a little more terrified each time you hear a bump or a turn or a twist," Walker added.

Massachusetts State Police say they made a major drug bust early Friday morning after a traffic stop led them to more than 1,000 bags of heroin, many of which where labeled with bright red “Obamacare” stamps.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Joseph Petty was on a traffic stop in the area of Route 91 in Northampton when a vehicle passed him early this morning, according to the Massachusetts State Police Facebook page.

The trooper noticed several violations and stopped the car in Hatfield, a town about 30 miles north of Enfield, Conn. Inside the car, police found 1,250 bags of heroin. Many of the bags appear to be stamped with "Obamacare," a common nickname for the federal health care overhaul.

Police arrested Tyler Robenstein, 23, of Colchester, Vt., and charged him with trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to violate the drugs laws, possession to distribute a Class A substance, speeding, unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and failure to change lanes for an emergency vehicle.

The three passengers -- Marquese Jones, 22, and Sherod Green, 24, both of Newark, N.J., and Ashley Beaulieu, 21, of Colchester, Vt. -- were charged with trafficking in heroin, conspiracy to violate the drugs laws and possession to distribute a Class A substance.

All four were held until their expected appearance in Northampton District Court.
 

The word "whatever" once again topped the list of most annoying word or phrase in the American vernacular, according to an annual poll.

Thirty-eight percent of those polled said they hate the word, while 22 percent said they would be happy if they never hear the word "like" used again. This is the fifth year in a row "whatever" made it to No. 1 on the list, according to Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. 

"You know" came in next with 18 percent followed by "just saying,'" which irked 14 percent of Americans. Rounding out the top five is "obviously" with 6 percent, while 2 percent were unsure.

Americans are also looking forward to a new year where the word "Obamacare" is eliminated from the political vocabulary.

The word, which describes President Barack Obama's health care law, annoyed 41 percent of those who were polled. It was followed by "shutdown," "gridlock," "fiscal cliff" and "sequestration."

The Marist poll surveyed 1,173 adults between Dec. 3 to Dec. 5 and has a plus or minus 2.9 percentage point margin of error.

A love story that started with a chance meeting nearly 70 years ago aboard a train to Southern California included a tearful chapter Friday morning when the 94-year-old widow of Sgt. First Class Joseph Gantt accepted her husband's remains in an honor guard ceremony.

Gantt was taken prisoner during the Korean War as he defended his unit's position near Kunu-ri' in December 1950. He died as a prisoner of war in March 1951.

SFC Gantt had been presumed dead for more than 60 years. His remains were identified at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and forensics labs in Honolulu, then flown to Los Angeles International Airport for Friday's honor guard ceremony.

"I'm so happy -- it's a closure. He's coming home," said widow Clara Gantt, who refused her husband's request that she re-marry in the event of his death. "He was always looking out for my well-being. He wanted me to re-marry and find some man who could give me more than he did.

"I told him, 'No, no. You had a hard time getting me to say yes, and there won't be no more marriage.' So, here I am, still his wife, and I'm going to remain his wife until the Lord calls me home."

Gantt sobbed as her husband's flag-draped casket was removed from the plane before an honor guard transfer to a hearse ahead of a planned burial Saturday in Inglewood, Calif.

Joseph Gantt was born in Maryland in 1924 and joined the Army in 1942. He met his future wife when the two happened to take the same train from Texas to Los Angeles in 1946.

The soldier and other service members were bound for Washington, but Gantt's final stop was Los Angeles.

Read: Boston Bombing Victim Engaged to Nurse He Met in Rehab

"He wrote me a letter and told me to come up there," Gantt said. "We were sweethearts for a while, and I got to know him a little better."

Her sweetheart asked her to marry him, but Gantt insisted on exercising due diligence. She needed to be certain that the stranger she met on a Southern California-bound train was the right man for her and that she was the only woman for him.

Gallery: Top-25 Romantic Movies of All Time

"So many soldiers already were married and already had a wife," said Gantt. "I didn't want to be embarrassed.

"When the government said there was no second party, I was pretty happy about that."

They married in June 1948.

"He was a good husband. He was a good soldier," Gantt said. "That was something he loved. He got out of (World War II) and right into another. That was his life."

SFC Gantt (pictured, right) was assigned as a Field Medic, Battery C, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. For his combat leadership and heroic actions on the day he was captured he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Valor.

Watch: Man Writes Viral Song After Wife's Death

He also earned the Purple Heart, Prisoner of War Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal, Combat Infantry Badge, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, United Nations Service Medal, Republic of Korea War Service Medal and Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation.

Federal agents working along the U.S.-Mexico border south of San Diego dodged a fireball when a man lodged a Molotov cocktail at them Wednesday.

The man threw a bottle filled with gasoline and a lighted rag as he was crossing into the U.S. at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on foot around 1 p.m.

The device landed about a yard away from an inspection booth in one of the vehicle lanes and exploded into flames.

The criminal complaint said the bottle exploded just two feet from four officers who were in the process of inspecting a vehicle.

Photos distributed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection show the fireball and a large plume of black smoke rising from the scene.

There were no injuries.

Special agents with the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service arrested 39-year-old Ricardo Martinez Diaz, a U.S. citizen.

Investigators claim Diaz admitted to throwing the bottle at the officers.

San Diego attorney and legal analyst John Kirby is a former federal prosecutor.

He said the government and the FBI are going to take this incident very seriously.

“It sounds like it like have been an amateurish attempt, but any attempt to harm federal officers is taken very seriously by the U.S. attorney’s office,” Kirby said.

Kirby recalled one case when he was a federal prosecutor that involved an alleged undocumented immigrant defendant who bit a U.S. Border Patrol officer until he bled.

“And the amount of resources that were put into it was astounding,” he said.

While it may be the act of a lone individual who doesn’t like the officers or the policy of the CBP, Kirby said there will be a follow up investigation to see if the defendant is part of a something larger, a coordinated effort.

“If they find that, they could be looking at terrorism charges something even more serious than assault on a federal officer. So there will be significant further investigation,” he said.

The device detonated in an area described as between the international boundary and the CBP inspection booths, officials said.

Agents used fire extinguishers to put out the fire before any damage was done.

Diaz is scheduled for a court appearance on Monday, Dec. 23.

Boston Bombing victim James Costello found love in the most unlikely place, the hospital.

After suffering burns on both his arms and legs in the April 15 bombings that left three dead and over 250 more injured, Costello, 31, spent months in the hospital. During his time in rehab, even President Obama came to visit him, but it was one of his nurses that ultimately lifted his spirits.

“I had noticed her in passing and shortly after that she came into my room to cover for someone on their lunch break and change the dressing on my leg,” Costello said during an appearance on NBC's "Today" show Friday alongside his fiancee. “We then realized we had mutual friends and got to talking.”

His chance encounter with nurse Krista D’Agostino, who was on a temporary six-week assignment at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital led to a first date at a benefit for bombing survivors. D'Agostino said she loved Costello's "smile," and after attending several more benefit events together, the couple got engaged in Paris eight months later.

Costello, who had to pull nails out of his stomach after the explosion, said on "Today" that even though he knows his wife-to-be hates when he says it, he was “glad he got blown up.”

“I don’t think I ever would have met her if I didn’t,” he said. “So yeah, I’m pretty happy.”

An Ansonia home went up in flames on Clover Street Friday afternoon.

The house at 22 Clover Street caught fire around 1 p.m. Friday. Fire offiicals said the fire seems to have started in the back of the house.

No ambulances were called to the scene, so it appears that no one was injured.

Ansonia and Derby fire officials and a crew from United Illuminating responded to the scene.

Derby fire officials said they sent an engine over and were told more water was needed because there are no hydrants in the area.

No additional information was immediately available.
 

A 60-year-old Danbury man is in critical condition after he burst into flames at a gas station on Tamarack Avenue in Danbury.

Police said he burned in a Friday morning explosion while pumping gas at the Wheels Citgo station at 27 Tamarack Avenue just before 6:30 a.m. It’s not clear what caused the explosion, but police said there is no evidence to indicate it was related to his car.

The victim suffers from burns on 50 percent of his body and is being treated at the Connecticut Burn Center at Bridgeport Hospital.

The man, whose name has not been released, was conscious at the scene, but investigators have not been able to question him.

Police are investigating to determine the cause of the explosion, checking surveillance cameras and interviewing witnesses.

More than 130 sailors are home for the holidays following the USS Missouri’s homecoming on Friday.

The Virginia-class attack submarine returned to the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton on Dec. 20 after a maiden voyage of six months at sea.

The crew arrived at the base and were greeted by loved ones waiting with teddy bears, flowers and candy canes, according to Submarine Group 2 Public Affairs Lt. Timothy Hawkins.

Three crew members became fathers while away at sea, Hawkins said. One child was born just five days before the submarine’s return.

The sub left the Groton base for the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations on June 18 and stopped in Norway, Scotland and England. It was one of eight based in the East Coast that departed for a six-month voyage this year.

Three of those eight subs – the USS Scranton, based in Norfolk; and the Groton-based USS Virginia and USS San Juan – are still at sea through the holidays.

A Groton man is behind bars after allegedly luring people to meet a made-up prostitute, then posing as police officer, threatening to arrest the victims and stealing their money, police said.

Police said the male victim had arranged a sexual encounter with a woman he met on a website used to promote prostitution.

When he went to meet her, he was instead confronted by 20-year-old Caleb Harris of Groton, who claimed to be a police officer and threatened to arrest the victim. Harris then reportedly stole an unknown amount of money from the victim and fled, according to police.

Soon after, investigators located another victim who was on his way to meet the same prostitute, who police said was fictitious.

According to police, Harris may be a repeat offender and authorities are working to identify other victims.

Harris was arrested and charged with numerous offenses, including third-degree robbery, second-degree larceny, criminal impersonation of a police officer, interfering with an officer, criminal attempt at robbery and larceny and criminal attempt at impersonating a police officer.

Harris is being held on a $100,000 bond. His court date is pending.

Route 32 is closed in the area of the Spa at Norwich Inn after a crash, according to police.

The road will remain closed until about 5 p.m. as wreckers remove the cars.

The Spa at Norwich Inn is located at 607 W. Thames Street, which is also Route 32.

The battle to keep a 13-year-old who was declared brain dead after suffering complications from a tonsillectomy headed to court on Friday, with the girl's family asking a judge to keep her on life support until at least until after Christmas.

UPDATE: Judge Orders Oakland Hospital to Keep Jahi McMath on Life Support

The civil hearing is scheduled to be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Alameda County Courthouse.

In court papers, the family of Jahi McMath is hoping that Children's Hospital in Oakland will keep the 8th grader on life support, release her medical records and give her a feeding tube. Chris Dolan, the family's attorney, also is asking the court to give the family 48-hour notice should doctors decide to take her off of life-support. He filed the court papers on Friday at probate court in Berkeley.

While some of the doctors and nurses have been "very compassionate," the court request says that other staff members at the hospital have treated the family "quite coldly," where they have been told that "if the ventilator is removed, Jahi will die within a minute or two."

MORE: "Urgent" Request to Keep 8th Grader Jahi McMath on Life Support After Tonsillectomy

Specifically, Jahi's mother, Latasha "Nailah" Winkfield singled out Dr. David Durand, chief of pediatrics, in her court request seeking a temporary restraining order against the hospital. In Winkfield's telling of it,  Durand said he would not authorize a feeding tube because Jahi is "dead, dead, dead." 

"He was condescending and almost angry as if I were stupid," she wrote. "I am not stupid. I know my daughter and she is still here."

For its part, Children's Hospital has been limited in what doctors can say regarding the escalating battle because of state and federal privacy laws.

Late Thursday, Durand released a statement that read, in part: "We want the public to know that the family has not permitted us to discuss the medical situation. We are unable -- without the family’s permission--to talk about the medical procedure, background or any of the details that are a part of this tragedy. Details that would provide transparency, openness and provide answers to the public about this situation."

His statement further added that he would love to be able to correct "misperceptions" but hasn't been able to.

Dolan said Jahi's mother doesn't want to give such authorization because she doesn't want the hospital talking about Jahi's condition to the media before she is told anything.

Despite two EEG tests earlier this week that proved negative, Jahi's family believes the 8th grader can still recover from a Dec. 9 tonsillectomy that led to severe complications. Three days later, she was declared brain dead.

In the court restraining order request, a few new details about Jahi's hospital stay from her family's perspective were disclosed.

Originally, the family was told that Jahi's tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy would be an "in and out procedure."

Sometime after the seemingly uneventful surgery, Jahi was taken to the ICU and Winkfield said she was told the staff had to fix her ICU. About 45 minutes later, Jahi was brought back to her room and was sitting in bed, bleeding from her mouth.

"It was normal," Winkfield said the nursing staff told her.

Winkfield then said she asked for a doctor. Instead, she said she was given a bigger container for Jahi to bleed into, and later, a suction device to suction out the "increasing volume of blood," the court request states.

Jahi's grandmother, Sandra Chatman, who is a nurse elsewhere, made "multiple" requests for a doctor. But Jahi ended up suffering from a heart attack "and fell into a comatose state," the papers state.

Though she was declared "brain dead," her heart beats and her kidneys function, the church-going family states, and "she is not gone from her body."

In an impassioned written plea to the court, Winkfield wrote: "She is alive. I believe in God and that He can heal all. God created Jahi. He can save her. Help me please."

Windsor police are investigating a suspicious death at a home at 52 Overlook Drive.

According to police, a resident of the home was found dead just before 8:30 a.m. on Friday. That resident has not been identified and the circumstances surrounding the death are unclear.

The State Police Major Crime Squad is helping to investigate.

No additional information was immediately available.

An NBC Connecticut crew is headed to the scene.

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A fifth plaintiff has been added to the Title IX sex discrimination lawsuit filed against the University of Connecticut by four women who say they were sexually assaulted while studying there.

According to UConn spokesperson Stephanie Reitz, an amended complaint filed this afternoon added a fifth complainant to the federal suit.

Reitz said the university is working with the state Office of the Attorney General to hire outside counsel to represent the school. They expect to make that hire by early January.

“The University has conducted its own internal review of the facts relating to the original plaintiffs, and looks forward to the opportunity to respond to their allegations at the appropriate time and in the appropriate forum,” said UConn General Counsel Richard Orr, in a statement.

The fifth complainant has not been identified and Reitz said the University can't comment on specific allegations presented by that person.

The four original plaintiffs include lead complainant Carolyn Luby, Rose Richi, Kylie Angell and Erica Daniels. The women are represented by renowned attorney Gloria Allred.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights is investigating civil rights complaints that the four original plaintiffs, along with three other women, have filed against the school.

A judge has ordered an Oakland hospital to keep a 13-year-old girl who was declared brain dead after her tonsil surgery on life support.

The family of Jahi McMath and Oakland Children's Hospital agreed at a hearing Friday to get together and choose an independent neurologist to further examine the girl and determine her condition.

Both sides will be back in court Monday, at which point the judge says he will appoint an independent doctor to examine Jahi.

The McMath family has been granted a temporary restraining order that prevents the hospital from taking Jahi off a ventilator while another opinion regarding her condition is sought. The hospital says it will comply with the judge’s ruling.

The family says doctors at the children's hospital wanted to disconnect life support after Jahi was declared brain dead on Dec. 12. The family says she kept bleeding profusely after the surgery three days earlier, then went into cardiac arrest.

As part of Friday’s ruling, in addition to the ventilator, the 8th grader will continue to receive the intravenous fluids she has been getting.

For the first time after the court hearing, a lawyer for Children’s Hospital spoke out, explaining a bit more of the hospital's position.

Doug Straus said this case is not about a “routine” tonsillectomy. He said the surgery was complicated from the beginning, as three procedures were being done simultaneously. The three surgeries, according to court documents, were: an adenotonsillectomy; a uvulopalatopharyngloplasty, or UPPP, which is tissue removal in the throat; and submucous resection of bilateral inferior turbinates, which is nasal obstruction. The family has previously said the surgery was to help fix Jahi's sleep apnea.

“A young lady has died. No one takes that in a callous or uncaring manner,” Straus told Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo, “but she is dead.”

When brain death happens, Straus said, it is the hospital’s right to take the patient off life support.

DOWNLOAD: Court Order Authorizing Temporary Restraining Order
DOWNLOAD: Official Response from Children’s Hospital Oakland

The battle to keep the teen on life support  has been escalating in the media since the weekend. And it reached a new height in court on Friday, with the girl's family asking a judge to keep her on life support at least until after Christmas.

“This child is warm. She is soft to the touch. If you rub her foot, her foot curls in. The mother has yelled in her ear, and the daughter has lifted up her arms,” said Chris Dolan, the family’s attorney.

In court papers on Friday filed in probate court in Berkeley, Dolan, on behalf of the family, asked the judge to release the girl's medical records and give her a feeding tube. Dolan also asked the court to give the family 48-hour notice should doctors decide to take her off of life support.

The civil paperwork also shed a bit of light on the way Jahi's mother and relatives have felt treated during this ordeal that both sides would agree is tragic.

While some of the doctors and nurses have been "very compassionate," the temporary restraining order request says that other staff members at the hospital have treated the family "quite coldly." Family said they were told in a blunt manner that "if the ventilator is removed, Jahi will die within a minute or two."

MORE: "Urgent" Request to Keep 8th Grader Jahi McMath on Life Support After Tonsillectomy

Specifically, Jahi's mother, Latasha "Nailah" Winkfield, singled out Dr. David Durand, chief of pediatrics, in her court request seeking a temporary restraining order against the hospital. In Winkfield's telling of it,  Durand said he would not authorize a feeding tube because Jahi is "dead, dead, dead." 

"He was condescending and almost angry, as if I were stupid," she wrote. "I am not stupid. I know my daughter, and she is still here."

For its part, Children's Hospital is limited in what doctors can say regarding the escalating battle because of state and federal privacy laws.

Late Thursday, Durand released a statement that read, in part: "We want the public to know that the family has not permitted us to discuss the medical situation. We are unable -- without the family’s permission -- to talk about the medical procedure, background or any of the details that are a part of this tragedy. Details that would provide transparency, openness and provide answers to the public about this situation."

His statement further added that he would love to be able to correct "misperceptions" but hasn't been able to.

Dolan said Jahi's mother doesn't want to give such authorization because she doesn't want the hospital talking about Jahi's condition to the media before she is told anything.

A few other details were revealed in the temporary restraining order request.

Originally, the family was told that Jahi's tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy would be an "in and out procedure."

Sometime after the seemingly uneventful Dec. 9 surgery, Jahi was taken to the ICU and Winkfield said she was told the staff had to fix her ICU. About 45 minutes later, Jahi was brought back to her room and was sitting in bed, bleeding from her mouth.

"It was normal," Winkfield said the nursing staff told her.

Winkfield then said she asked for a doctor. Instead, she said she was given a bigger container for Jahi to bleed into, and later, a suction device to suction out the "increasing volume of blood," the court request states.

Jahi's grandmother, Sandra Chatman, who is a nurse elsewhere, made "multiple" requests for a doctor. But Jahi ended up suffering from a heart attack "and fell into a comatose state," the papers state.

Though she was declared "brain dead," her heart beats and her kidneys function, the church-going family states, and "she is not gone from her body."

Despite two EEG tests earlier this week that proved negative, Jahi's family believes the once-bubbly girl can still recover. They believe in miracles.

In an impassioned written plea to the court, Winkfield wrote: "She is alive. I believe in God and that He can heal all. God created Jahi. He can save her. Help me, please." 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The U.S. Post Office in the Cobalt section of East Hampton was closed again Friday, just one day after an unusual chemical odor was discovered.

On Thursday, a postal worker got sick from a sulfur smell and was taken to the hospital. Police spoke with a patron who described the smell as a burning plastic odor and said that person did not become ill.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection responded to the post office, at 371 West High Street, and did not smell anything when they went through the building.

But again Friday morning, three more postal employees reported feeling sick and were taken to the hospital, according to the Postal Service.

Federal, state and local officials were back out testing the facility again Friday, trying to pinpoint the problem. That left people like Karen Lee of East Hampton nervous, because she has Christmas packages inside the post office.

“I'd like to know I am going to get what's in the building, or do I go out and do more shopping?” she asked.

In a statement, the Postal Service said that it "treats the safety of its employees and its customers as its highest priority." It added that it is working to get the facility safely opened as soon as possible.

It's not clear what caused the smell, but representatives from the U.S. Postal ystem said the post office will be closed again Saturday for repairs to the heating system.

Customers are directed to the East Hampton post office at 57 Main Street. The post office is open Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon.

Police are investigating after a pedestrian was struck and killed on Route 8 in Waterbury on Friday evening.

It happened around 6:30 p.m. near exits 35 and 36 on the northbound side, according to state police. The highway was shut down while authorities worked to clear the scene.

Route 8 reopened and then closed again after two cars collided just hours later. One car rolled over, but injuries were minor, police said.

The pedestrian has not been identified. Police said they're working to determine the cause of the crash.

Check back for updates.