When Puck was found, stranded in Little Compton, Rhode Island, on March 5, the seal was thin, dehydrated and had rocks in his stomach.

After surgery and treatment at the Seal Rescue Clinic at Mystic Aquarium, the 1- to 2-year-old harp seal has recovered and is ready to be back out in the ocean.

The Mystic Aquarium's Animal Rescue expects to release him on Blue Shutters Beach in Charlestown, Rhode Island on Thursday.

The Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program supports animals in need and it also educates the public about the marine environment and its inhabitants.

If you encounter a marine mammal or sea turtle in Connecticut, Rhode Island or Fishers Island, New York, call the aquarium’s 24-hour hotline at 860.572.5955, ext. 107

Hillary Rodham Clinton was greeted by a packed room at Chicago's Harris Theater as she arrived to an audience dominated by women, many of them already holding her book, "Hard Choices."

In a well-cut gray pant suit, aqua jewelry, and well-coiffed hair, Clinton looks much as she did in the 2008 presidential campaign that was won by Barack Obama.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the former Secretary of State talked about her mother's terrible childhood, her less than "artful" statement in the book that she and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, were "dead broke" when they left the White House.

Emanuel and Clinton discussed the problems of income inequality and problems plaguing the middle class.

"Trickle down economics doesn't work!" she said to applause.

Wednesday's appearance, a discussion for Chicago Ideas Week at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, was Clinton's second public appearance in the city.

A manager at a New York City strip club and four dancers who allegedly worked as his accomplices are accused of drugging unsuspecting wealthy men and taking them to Scores and another topless club, where they charged their credit cards for thousands of dollars.  

Investigators say the women, ranging in age from 26 to 30, were recruited to stalk doctors, lawyers and bankers at restaurants, slip drugs into their drinks, including ketamine and "molly," and take them to Scores and the Roadhouse NYC Gentlemen's Club in Flushing.

The women were not dancers at those clubs but had worked in others in the area, authorities said.

In all, more than $200,000 was billed to credit cards belonging to the victims during the alleged scam carried out between September and December last year. Some of the victims were charged on multiple cards in one night.

One man, a cardiologist in New Jersey, had more than $100,000 in charges on his card.

• New York Archbishop Was Jewish But Didn't Know It, Sister Says

Prosecutors said some of the victims had no knowledge of even being at the clubs, and only learned of the charges after seeing their statements or hearing from their banks.

“This crime ring targeted wealthy men in the New York City area to extort hundreds of thousands of dollars," DEA Acting Special Agent in Charge James J. Hunt said in a statement. "Four women and one man preyed on, drugged, endangered and robbed unsuspecting victims while they were under the influence of synthetic drugs used as a date rape drug."

When the victims later tried to reverse or cancel the charges, the suspects allegedly sent threatening text messages warning them not to contest the charges, officials said. In some cases they were told explicit photos of them would be released if they tried to get out of paying.

Officials said one Wall Street worker was fired because his corporate card was charged in the scam.

• Hidden Cash Craze Coming to NYC

Authorities say the clubs paid the women as part the scam. But the establishments aren't facing criminal charges.

The five people are being charged with grand larceny, conspiracy, assault and forgery. An attorney for Karina Pasucci, one of the defendants, said she was not involved in the scheme. Lawyers for the others were not immediately reachable.

No one answered the phone at Scores Wednesday, and a message left at Roadhouse was not immediately returned.

Members of Ron Goldman's family say their loss still feels fresh 20 years after O.J. Simpson was accused of murdering Ron alongside Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson.

“It’s like yesterday, the loss is exactly the same, nothing has changed,” Fred Goldman, the victim's father, said Thursday on NBC’s Today show.

“It’s just become a new normal, minus my son, without any of the opportunity to share his life with him, his joys, his happinesses, his successes… all of that is gone."

Friday marks 20 years since the bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were found outside her townhouse in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in an eight-month trial that captivated the nation.

Ron Goldman’s sister, Kim Goldman, who wrote a book recently entitled, “Can’t Forgive,” about her brother’s murder, told "Today’s" Matt Lauer that she had to force herself to reclaim her life after the tragedy.

“I had to find what was important to me again,” Kim Goldman said. “At the age that I was in, early twenties, to be walking away from what I was supposed be doing. After my brother died I didn't know what that was because everything shifted and I was lost for a long time. It was hard to find that place.”

Kato Kaelin, who was living in O.J. Simpson’s guest house at the time of the murder and was a witness during the trial, reflected Thursday on how his life changed from being in the spotlight.

“One day I’m in a courtroom, I walk out of the courtroom and everyone is shouting my name,” Kaelin said. “I became this public figure and everybody had an opinion. I was Kato the character. Still to this day I can’t believe some of the hate that can come over social media. If I work, they say you’re capitalizing, if I don’t then I’m a bum. I can’t win, it’s a difficult situation to be in.”

The family of Cardinal John O'Connor has recently made a stunning discovery -- the New York archbishop's mother was born Jewish, and her family is buried in a Jewish cemetery in Connecticut.

O'Connor, archbishop of New York from 1984 until he died in 2000, had a brother and two sisters. One of those sisters, Mary O'Connor Ward, recently wrote a column for Catholic New York, explaining the revelation about her family.

"It was a surprise I never expected," she wrote.

She told The New York Times for a story published Tuesday that, according to Jewish tradition, her mother being Jewish means she and her siblings are too.

"Of that I am very proud," she said.

• Wealthy Men Drugged, Taken to Strip Clubs and Charged Thousands of Dollars

O'Connor Ward, who is 87 and lives near Philadelphia, said she stumbled upon the information while researching her ancestry, and found that her grandparents were buried in the Jewish cemetery in Fairfield.

"How could this be?" she wrote. "How did I go through life not knowing this?"

She said she is convinced her brother was not aware of their mother's heritage.

• Hidden Cash Craze Coming to NYC

The children had always known that their mother, who died in 1971, converted to Catholicism before marrying their father, but assumed she made the change from another Christian denomination.

"Her journey of faith was simply never mentioned or spoken of in our family," O'Connor Ward wrote. "My eyes fill with tears and I smile as I think of how my brother would have cherished the thought. "

Her brother, she said, "had a deep and profound love for the Jewish people. ... He cherished their friendships and thought of them as his dear older spiritual brothers."

A 17-year-old has been charged with criminal mischief after setting four brush fires in Haddam, painting graffiti on traffic signs in town and spray-painting windows at the Haddam Fire Station, according to state police.

The teen was identified as a suspect in brushfires that were set in January, March, April and May and confessed to setting them with a lighter, according to state police. No houses or other structures were damaged in the fires, according to police.

He also confessed to spray painting 33 traffic signs in Haddam, as well as the garage bay windows at the fire station on Saybrook Road in Haddam, and several signs at the sports complex on Jail Hill Road.

Police have not released the teen’s name because of his age.

He was charged with five counts of third-degree criminal mischief for the brushfires and first-degree criminal mischief for the vandalism.

He will appear in juvenile court in Middletown on June 18.
 

A probate court judge granted a four-day trial, scheduled for next month, in an effort to resolve an ongoing team ownership dispute and move forward with a sale of the Los Angeles Clippers, an attorney for the estranged wife of embattled team owner Donald Sterling said Wednesday.

Rochelle Sterling's attorney filed paperwork Wednesday morning asking a judge to affirm she was within her rights last month when she, acting with the authority she claimed as head of the Sterling Trust, negotiated a team sale to ex-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The judge did not rule on whether Rochelle Sterling acted properly in negotiating the deal, but instead scheduled a four-day trial to begin July 7 to hear testimony on the matter.

Her attorney and a representative of Ballmer's were in court Wednesday morning when the request was filed. The timing is important because the NBA's Board of Governors is scheduled to meet July 15 and could take up the Clippers ownership dispute.

"The judge recognized the urgency of the matter and granted to request to expedite this far earlier than the normal process," said attorney Pierce O'Donnell, who represents Rochelle Sterling, also known as Shelly.

• Sterling Firestorm: Timeline, Key Players

The trial before a judge will involve expert witnesses and testimony from doctors, O'Donnell said.

"We're hopeful that the judge will rule promptly thereafter that Donald Sterling, sadly, was properly removed as a trustee for mental incapacity," said O'Donnell.

Donald Sterling's lawyer, Bobby Samini, left the courthouse without comment after a clerk announced the trial schedule. Neither Sterling was present.

The proposed $2 billion sale to Ballmer appeared to mark a turning point in the Sterling saga, which began after an audio recording surfaced of Sterling making racist comments and telling a companion not to bring black people to Clippers games. Donald Sterling, 80, indicated he had agreed to the proposal, but announced earlier this week that he planned to move forward with a lawsuit against the NBA.

The lawsuit alleges the league violated his constitutional rights by relying on information from an "illegal" recording when officials announced a life-time ban and substantial fine. It also claims the league committed a breach of contract by fining Sterling $2.5 million and that it violated antitrust laws by trying to force a sale, which would require approval from other team owners.

Shelly Sterling announced late last month that she had negotiated a sale of the franchise to Ballmer on behalf of the Sterling Family Trust. She claimed authority as head of the trust to negotiate the sale and claimed her husband's mental capacity is impaired.

• 20 Years Later: The OJ Simpson Case

Her attorney said Wednesday outside of court that the provisions of the trust agreement, agreed to by Donald Sterling, make it clear that Rochelle Sterling acted within her rights when she negotiated the sale proposal.

"Mr. Sterling signed a trust agreement with a provision that authorizes his removal if two licensed physicians certify that he lacks mental capacity," O'Donnell said before the judge's decision was announced. "Three doctors have have now certified his incapacity to function as a trustee of this very complex business."

League officials have said they want a resolution as soon as possible. An extended timeline is not what Ballmer had in mind when he proposed the $2 billion deal, his attorney said.

"Mr. Ballmer is not going to stick around for years for this to wind through the courts, and the NBA has made it very clear that it will take over the team and that's a consequence that is not going to benefit the Sterling family or the trust," said Ballmer attorney Adam Streisand.

The NBA's longest-tenured owner continued to sound a defiant tone Tuesday when he released a statement in which he said he is fighting the NBA in the name of privacy rights and freedom of speech.

• Read: Donald Sterling Ready to "Move On"
  

"I am shocked (but not surprised) that the NBA wants to take away those fundamental rights," Sterling said in the statement. "I feel that every American has to protect those rights and that the NBA should not be allowed to take away those rights. I have apologized for my mistakes. My apology is sincere. I want every American to know that I will not give up fighting for those rights."

As for the NBA's involvement at this point, the league's commissioner said it's a legal matter to be hammered out by the Sterlings and their attorneys. During an interview with ESPN at halftime of Game 3 of the NBA Finals Tuesday, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the league is waiting for "this dispute between Donald and Shelly Sterling to play itself out."

The league scheduled a hearing earlier this month at which team owners were to vote on Silver's request to terminate Sterling's ownership. That hearing was canceled after Rochelle Sterling announced plans to sell the team and attorneys for Donald Sterling indicated he agreed to allow her to negotiate the sale, Silver said.

In response to the statement Sterling released Tuesday, Silver said he has "no idea what (Sterling) is talking about."


 

Users of Twitter's popular web app TweetDeck are encouraged to log out of their account right away.

Users reported on Wednesday morning that the app was creating pop-up alerts all by itself. The issue seemed to be affecting those who use TweetDeck on Google Chrome, but some reports show that other versions were affected as well, according to the tech blog Gigacom.

Mashable reported that the service has a security flaw that could allow hackers to gain access to user accounts. TweetDeck confirmed on Twitter in the afternoon that the issue has been fixed.

In addition to logging out of and logging back into the app, users are encouraged to remove access to TweetDeck from the Twitter app before using the service again.

A security issue that affected TweetDeck this morning has been fixed. Please log out of TweetDeck and log back in to fully apply the fix.

— TweetDeck (@TweetDeck) June 11, 2014

A man who landed a car on the construction site for the new busway and flipped over a retaining wall in West Hartford last month was under the influence of PCP and marijuana, according to police.

Police said Dennis Kelly, 29, of Hartford, was driving a stolen 2013 Nissan Altima 88 miles per hour when he hit the embankment of the railroad tracks at New Britain Avenue at Carney Road, went 57 feet over the tracks and landed on the busway construction site. The car then slid off the busway and landed on a barrier 17 feet below. 

The crash happened at 11:50 p.m. on Sunday, May 11, police said, and the car Kelly was driving was equipped with a "black box" data recorder.

Kelly and his passenger, Malicia Ortiz, 29, of Hartford, were both injured. While Kelly suffered minor injuries, Ortiz was seriously injured, according to police.

Kelly has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, first-degree larceny, speeding, second-degree assault with a motor vehicle, failure to drive in a proper lane and third-degree damage to railroad property.

He is being held on $75,000.

A San Diego woman says she's been told her son won't be allowed to walk in his 8th grade graduation ceremony-- all because of a lost textbook.

Keri Park’s son, a student at Taft Middle School in Serra Mesa, checked out some textbooks in September 2013. When he went to return his books last week, he had unknowingly lost one of them.

Park says she didn't find out she owed $143.34 until just days before her son’s graduation.

"I'm willing to pay the money. I've said that from the very second I found out about it. I just need some time to pay it,” the single mom told NBC 7.

• Read: Wealthy Men Drugged, Dragged to Strip Clubs: Prosecutors

After first being told it was too late to settle the fine, Park said she received a letter with a handwritten note that reads, "Payment plan offered to parent so promotional activities can be given.”

Park says she’s not exactly sure what the payment plan is. She claims the school’s principal asked if she could pay “a good chunk” of the bill. She says when she asked what that meant, she wasn’t given a clear answer.

NBC 7 called Taft Middle School's principal for comment.

The principal’s secretary took a message and a short time later, a spokesperson for the San Diego Unified School District sent NBC 7 a link with the district's policy on textbooks.

The policy states there will be no charge if the loss or damage to a book is beyond a student's control but if there is "willful" damage, a principal can withold diplomas, grades or transcripts.

However, it also says the principal should also make arrangements for a payment plan by a date agreed upon with the child's parent or draft a schedule so the student can "work off" the cost of the damaged book.

• Read: New Dunkin' Donuts Announced

Park thinks the school’s policy should change for single moms like her, who can’t afford to fork out that kind of money on such short notice.

"It should be about the students achieving their goals in academics, not money. It always seems to go back to the money with schools and the district, and it's broken."

On Tuesday, Park's son was not allowed to go on a field trip, which she said was already paid for, due to the lost textbook.

The school agreed to put the $17 paid for the field trip toward the balance of the lost book.

Taft Middle School’s 8th grade promotion is scheduled for June 13.

The World Cup opens Thursday in Brazil and along with the beautiful game that can be seen on the field, there's plenty of off-the-field action as well.

This year's tournament takes place in Brazil from June 12 to July 13, and the Latin American county has so far spent about $63 billion on infrastructure ahead of the games. This hefty spending in a country beset by poverty, corruption and crime means this World Cup is shaping up to be one of the most controversial events in FIFA history.

Here are 10 things you should know about the world's most popular sporting event.

Artistic protests

Street artist Paulo Ito painted an untitled work on an elementary school fence that captures the sentiments of Brazilians who think the World Cup should be disrupted in favor of social issues. An image of the painting was reportedly shared more than 96,000 times on Facebook, according to the LA Times. Protests have continued throughout the country as discontent grows over the amount of money spent on building and refurbishing the 12 stadiums, the cost of which have quadrupled from initial estimates, making the 2014 event the most expensive in FIFA history.

Photo credit: NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP/Getty Images

Art in the sky

Not all art work coming out of Brazil has been political. The Brazilian national team will get to travel on a plane made over by artists and identical twins Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo, also known as "Os Gêmeos." They used 1,200 cans of spray paint to cover a Boeing 737 with faces that they say represent the diversity and color of Brazilian culture.

Photo credit: Douglas Magno/AFP/Getty Images

A whole new ball game

A new soccer ball will make its World Cup debut when Brazil and Croatia play in the tournament opener on June 12. Adidas says the "Brazuca" was tested by more than 600 of the world's top players, 30 teams and in more than 10 countries over two and a half years, according to The Associated Press. The ball is made with fewer panels, with each panel exactly the same shape and size, which means the ball is more accurate, according to an Adidas spokesperson.

AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano

Move over, Beckham

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo is the most marketable soccer player in then world, according rankings determined by sports marketing research company Repucom. Globally, 83.9 percent of people know of Ronaldo in Italy, Spain, Germany and Turkey. The figure goes up to 95 percent in Argentina. This is a boon for the 29-year-old, whose global appeal will surely be used to drive sales for big brands during the World Cup.

Photo credit: AP/Manu Fernandez

Team USA

The U.S. team arrives in Rio with low expectations, even from head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who has said his team can't win the tournament. He's probably right considering the team's opponents in the first round – Germany, Portugal and Ghana - but fans likely would have appreciated a bit more optimism before play begins. Cutting the team's most recognizable player, Landon Donovan, who is also the all-time leading goal scorer for the U.S., didn't endear the German-born coach to Americans either. Perhaps Klinsmann is hoping to surprise rather than disappoint.

Ballsy demands

Brazilian newspaper Lance compiled a list of unusual requests from the soccer teams participating in this year's World Cup. SB Nation kindly translated the list here. France, for example, will only use liquid soap. No bar soap for the French. The Chilean team wants new beds and new TVs for every hotel room it stays in. Team Ecuador wants a basket of bananas in every room. And Portugal wants six bodyguards at all times, four of which are just for Cristiano Ronaldo.

The real just got real

Tourists craving a Big Mac a Coke or just a place to sleep will be in for some sticker shock. Hotel prices have more than doubled ahead of the World Cup, according to the AP, and so have prices for iPhones, Nikes and Levi jeans. But nothing beats the $6.70 Big Mac, which costs $8.90 with a Coke and fries, making it one of the most expensive Big Macs in the world, the AP said. The Washington Post's Brazil correspondent Dom Phillips tweeted a series of photos that capture the cost of popular everyday items with their sticker price in Brazilian real. Check them out here.

The Brazil Cost no.1: Big Mac $6.70. $8.90 with coke n fries. pic.twitter.com/xJebOSEw63

— Dom Phillips (@domphillips) June 6, 2014

A four-legged World Cup predictor

An ocelot will give Paul the Octopus and his eight legs a run for his money this year when she makes her way to the world stage as the new World Cup predictor. PRI's The World launched a Twitter account on Monday for Isidoro, a Brazilian ocelot tasked with predicting the outcome of U.S. World Cup games. The team at PRI teamed up with the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston to get Izzy involved in this year's tournament. Her first prediction for the U.S. versus Ghana match on Monday will be announced on Friday.

My first prediction is: I will predict all #USMNT games correctly.

— Isidoro the Ocelot (@IzzyPicks) June 10, 2014

#Hashflags

Twitter is bringing back hashflags, which they introduced in 2010, to pepper Twitter feeds with country flags that appear each time a user puts a hashtag in front of the relevant three-letter country code.

Cheer on your favorite teams like Shakira:

Twitter's just unlocked its new World Cup feature - from today country codes become hashflags! Shak #COL #ESP #BRA #FRA #GER #daretodream

— Shakira (@shakira) June 10, 2014

The vuvuzela of Brazil

Brazil took a page from South Africa's playbook and introduced their own noisemaker ahead of the World Cup. The caxirola (pronounced cah-she-rolla) was invented by Oscar-nominated Brazilian composer Carlinhos Brown specially for the tournament. The hand-held plastic shaker with finger grips has been certified by the Brazilian Ministry of Sports and FIFA. And much to the relief of everyone's ear drums, a report said that it would take 30,000 caxirolas to make the same amount of noise as one vuvuzela, which some have called an "instrument of torture."

AP Photo/Fabio Pozzebom-Agencia Brasil

State police have arrested a man suspected of robbing an East Lyme shop at knifepoint over the weekend

Police were called The Whimsical Consignment Shop on Pennsylvania Avenue around 6 p.m. on Saturday and learned that a man wielding a knife demanded money from the store clerk, according to police. He stole an undisclosed amount of cash and walked out.

Police said he was later seen leaving the area on a motorcycle.

Travis Pullen, 27, of East Lyme, turned himself in to police  and he was charged with first-degree robbery and sixth-degree larceny.

He is due in court on Wednesday,

An Oklahoma inventor's podiatrist appointment sparked an idea and yielded an unexpected result: a bulletproof pad, released this month, to protect school children from shootings and tornadoes.

The Bodyguard Blanket is a bullet- and tornado-resistant blanket made of 5/16-inch thick ballistic fabric, with backpack-like straps that students and teachers can put on during a disaster.

"To say demand has been overwhelming would be the grossest understatement of my life," says Stan Schone, one of the blanket's inventors. His company took 1,000 orders the first day it offered them for sale, and they have sold briskly since, he says.

His podiatrist Steve Walker had first been inspired to create a protective blanket for children last year, shaken by the deadly Moore tornadoes and the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting. Walker shared his prototype with Schone, who then teamed with Oklahoma State University professor Jay Hanan to develop the Bodyguard Blanket.

The Bodyguard Blanket has passed 3A armor testing, the same testing used for police officers' bulletproof vests. According to its maker, it can resist bullets of 90 percent of the types of guns used in past school shootings, like 9mm pistols, .357 magnums, 12-gauge shotguns and 22mm pistols.

The blankets are pricy — just under $1,000 each — but Schone says his aim is to partner with local companies, donors and other investors to provide the blankets for school districts, so schools themselves wouldn't have to pay for the protection.

He also points out that the dyneema blankets are much less costly than comparable bulletproof vests, which he says can cost more than $3,500.

ProTecht is not the only armor manufacturer to shift its focus to civilian needs, and its bulletproof blankets are just the latest in a growing range of protective school equipment, following a tragic spate of school shootings — from Newtown, Connecticut, to the shooting sprees at Seattle Pacific University and near the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Maryland's Hardwire makes bullet-resistant whiteboards and door protectors and has sold a local county dozens of bulletproof clipboards and shields to provide security for officials and government workers.

Other companies, like Bullet Blocker, manufacture a range of bulletproof book bags, backpack inserts and briefcases.

But some security experts have cautioned that such safety supplies may be distracting from the need for schools to implement stronger safety procedures and may not be practical.

"There's feeling safer, and then there's actually being safer," school safety consultant Ken Trump told NBC last year. "Schools have limited resources, and they ought to use that money very wisely, put it into an additional school psychologist or a school police officer, train your staff and work with first responders. The most valuable school security tools are invisible."

Still, Schone feels his company's blankets, which cover the body almost completely, could help students stay safe. He says his company keeps prices close to cost and wants to work with non-profits to make Bodyguard Blankets part of their lockdown protocol.

"We didn't do this for the money. Making money was secondary. Protecting the kids was primary," he says.

A man was robbed at gunpoint, then beaten and pistol-whipped in Bridgeport and police said his coworker is the suspect. 

A 22-year-old Stratford man told police that a man who he works with in Westport, known as “Javon,” agreed to sell him auto parts for $800, but then robbed him when they met up shortly after midnight on Sunday, police said. 

The victim told police that he called Javon late on Saturday, arranged to meet in Bridgeport to buy the auto parts and brought $800.

When they met up, Javon pulled out a gun and ordered the victim out of his car, police said.

When the victim refused, another man pulled the victim out of the vehicle, where he was beaten and pistol whipped, police said.
Police arrested Javon Oden, 21, of Bridgeport, at the Westport store and are looking for the other man.

Oden was charged with first-degree robbery, first-degree assault and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery.

Bond was set at $75,000.
 

A 33-year-old Hartford man who was shot in the chest on 44 Vine Street in Hartford early Wednesday morning has died, according to Hartford police.

The man, identified as Tyron Taylor, 33, was found at 26 Vine Street around 2:45 a.m. and had been shot in the chest, according to police.

He was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:44 a.m.

Taylor lived at a Main Street shelter, according to Hartford Police.

He is fifth homicide victim of the year in Hartford.

The are of lower Vine Street where the man was shot is vacant and under construction. Police are looking for witnesses and information. Anyone who has information to help in the investigation should call Sergeant Andrew Weaver at (860) 757-4214 or make an anonymous report to crime stoppers at 860-722-TIPS (8477).

The last shooting death in Hartford was on Monday, May 5, when a man was shot on Park Street. The shot-spotter system detected 11 gunshots.

Two people were rescued from a car that plunged into a pond in Killingly on Wednesday afternoon.

The car hit a utility pole and then went into the pond on Hartford Pike near Pond Road.

A passerby helped get the elderly driver and passenger out of the car, according to fire officials.  The driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to the hospital to be evaluated.

Hartford Pike was closed for several hours while crews repaired the broken utility pole.  The road  reopened around 6 p.m.

Newington police are warning residents to be cautious after a man posing as a landscaper distracted an elderly woman as an accomplice stole her jewelry and money on Wednesday, police said.

The woman was sweeping her front porch around 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday when a man approached her and said he wanted to speak with her about shrubbery on her property line. 

He told her that a neighbor hired him to remove shrubbery, then led the woman to the backyard to distract her while an accomplice went into her property, police said.

The man was 5-feet-6 to 5-feet-8 and weighed between 160 and 200 pounds. He was clean shaven, had short hair and was wearing a navy blue T-shirt and jeans.

Police said they are issuing the warning to cut down on the number of victims of the common scam.

If you have information about this burglary or similar incidents, call Newington Police at 860-666-8445.

It's a long way from San Francisco to Brazil.

But a 1955 Chevrolet 235 pickup truck named "Nellie" got a Dutch soccer fan there in one piece.

Ben Oude Kamphuis drove Nellie nearly 13,000 miles to watch his team play in the 2014 World Cup.

"Four years ago when we, Holland, lost again in the final I was crying one more time -- that's three times that I cried in the final,” Oude Kamphuis said. “So I was telling my friends and family back in San Francisco, you know what, I'm driving old Nellie to Brazil."

His journey began on Jan. 15 and took him through 12 countries.

• World Cup: Where to Watch in the Bay Area

In Colombia, Oude Kamphuis took a boat to continue through Ecuador and Peru before arriving in Brazil's Praia do Forte on June 2.

Oude Kamphuis said he and Nellie developed a “special relationship.”

"Every morning it started. I went through the highest mountains, through the deserts, through the Amazon, the rainforest. She has never let me down,” he said.

Oude Kamphuis, 53, works with disabled children in San Francisco and said they helped him paint his truck.

• Sheep "Play" Soccer to Celebrate World Cup

The Netherlands' first World Cup match Friday is a repeat of the 2010 final and a chance for revenge against Spain.

A 10-year-old Northern California boy whose father said he "came out smart" has graduated from high school — eight years earlier than most people do.
 
Tanishq Abraham of Sacramento received his diploma at a private ceremony with 100 guests at the California Auto Museum on Sunday, and even got a congratulatory letter from the White House.

"It was really emotional," his mother, Taji Abraham, said on Wednesday. "He said he liked being home-schooled but really wanted a cap-and-gown ceremony. He worked so hard for it."
 
Tanishq was home-schooled because he got "bored" in regular school, and ended up graduating with a 4.0 GPA, completing his high school proficiency exam in March.

• "My Journey:" Tarnishq Abraham's Graduation Speech

His mother, a veterinarian, put her own Ph.D studies on hold to teach him, though her son has been taking classes at American River College, a community college, in Sacramento since he was 7 years old.

His father, Bijou, a software engineer and Cornell University graduate who himself earned a perfect SAT score in math, said in an interview last year: "He came out smart."

Nobody seems to dispute that.

• "Linda Listen!" 3-Year-Old's Cupcake Argument With Mom

When he was 4, Tanishq joined Mensa International, a group for people whose IQ is in the top 2 percent of the population. His sister, Tiara, who is now 8, also joined Mensa and is now taking classes at American River College, his parents said.

Tanishq and Tiara Abraham (Courtesy Bijou and Taji Abraham)

The boy's college astronomy professor, Paulo Alfonso, said Tanishq is "thirsty for learning" and is "different, in a positive way," in an interview on THINKR, a YouTube station that produces stories about prodigies and "extraordinary people,"  when Tanishq was just 9.

His geology professor, Steve Sterling, said in the video that Tanishq "retains difficult concepts better than any other student I've ever had."
 
At the time, Taji said the most fun thing for her son is "learning... and people just can't understand that."

In the interview, both Tanishq and his parents acknowledged that it is hard for him to make friends, and so he joined the San Francisco Boys Chorus to socialize with others his own age. His mom said his family has been driving the round-trip three-hour comjute twice a week from Sacramento because he loves singing with the troupe.

• Purple Toes Lift Sick Wife's Spirits

The bright boy's Twitter profile lists himself as an aspiring doctor, scientist and U.S. president, and his hobbies include social media, programming and, of course, playing.

He also has two cats, one of which he named Bili, which in Hindi means "cat." His own name means "jewel" in Sanskrit, reflecting his parents' Indian roots.
 
Tanishq's post-high school plans do not including flipping burgers.

He has his sights set on medical school at the University of California, Davis, and finding a cure for cancer.

Tanishq Abraham, 9, of Sacramento (left) talks with friends from the San Francisco Boys Chorus while waiting to sing the National Anthem in 2013. (Courtesy Bijou and Taji Abraham.)

A massive outlet mall with 100 stores and several restaurants is coming to West Haven and is expected to open in the fall of 2016.

“I would imagine this is the biggest project that ever came to West Haven,” Mayor Edward O’Brien said.  “It's gonna happen.”

The city owns most of the site, along New Haven Harbor between Elm Street and Main Street, and officials have been looking for developers since 1997, O’Brien said.

The plan includes 100 outlet stores and several restaurants, with potential for a pier and a hotel.

The site is close to exit 44 of Interstate 95, according to O'Brien, who hopes the state government will widen the on- and off-ramps. 

The federal government has already spent millions on the seawall and environmental cleanup.

“The contamination is remediated, so on this site we're ready to go,” he said.

City officials will be helping existing businesses relocate.