All people traveling to the United States from countries with Ebola are being warned as of Wednesday about the potentially deadly virus' symptoms, and how it is spread.

The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol will hand out a flyer with information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to all U.S.-bound travelers from those countries. 

That flyer also contains a card that any passenger who starts showing symptoms in the following days can hand their doctors, to alert them of the risk.

The first case of Ebola in the United States has been diagnosed in Dallas, in a patient who had arrived days earlier from Liberia, one of the West African nations at the center of a massive outbreak.

The announcement Tuesday by officials sparked immediate concerns about who may have been exposed and helped shed light on how the potentially deadly virus is, and isn't, spread.

Ebola can only be spread by infected people who have a fever and other Ebola symptoms, the CDC says.

Symptoms appear between two and 21 days of exposure to the virus. If an exposed person does not develop symptoms within 21 days of exposure, the person will not become sick with Ebola, according to the CDC. 

The virus can be spread to other people through direct contact with an infected person's bodily fluids, contaminated objects or infected animals, including by eating infected meat.

See the flyer that customs officials are giving travelers below.

Ebola can only be spread by infected people who show symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. If an exposed person does not develop symptoms within 21 days of exposure, the person will not become sick with Ebola, according to the CDC.

Contact tracing is the process health workers use to find everyone who comes into direct contact with a sick Ebola patient. If the contact develops a fever or other Ebola symptoms within 21 days of the last day they came into contact with the Ebola patient, the person is isolated and provided care. All of the new patient’s contacts are then found and watched for 21 days.

The CDC warns that even one contact can keep the outbreak going.

Check out below a graphic the CDC prepared to explain how contact tracing works.

(Info: CDC)

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

Chick-fil-A will be opening its first stand-alone restaurant in Connecticut in Brookfield on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6:30 a.m.

However, dedicated customers can arrive at 6 a.m. on Wednesday Oct. 8 for a chance to will win a free meal every week for a year.

The giveaway is Chick-fil-A’s “First 100” promotion and a spokesperson for the restaurant said the first 100 customers camp out overnight to get their hands on the chicken sandwich Consumer Reports readers dubbed “tastiest chicken sandwich” in 2014.

Those living in specific zip codes, roughly within a 25-mile radius of the 156 Federal Road location, are eligible for the “First 100” promotion.

The new restaurant will create 80 jobs and is the first of four to open in Connecticut within the next six months.

The Wallingford location will open on Nov. 6 at 1098 N. Colony Road. and will also offer the “First 100” promotion.

Locations are also planned for Danbury and Enfield.

The Brookfield Chick-fil-A will offer take-out, drive-thru, free Wi-Fi, an indoor play area and enough room inside to seat 109 people.

Devon Scalon, the owner of Brookfield location, said she thinks opening the restaurant will have a positive impact on her hometown.

“I couldn’t be more excited to bring Chick-fil-A’s freshly prepared food and signature customer service to Connecticut,” she said.

On Wednesday, Oct. 8, the new restaurant will also host a new book drive to benefit the Brookfield Public Schools District between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.

You can stay up to date on construction progress and grand opening festivities on the Brookfield Chick-fil-A's Facebook page.

A search is underway for a Marine airman missing in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy confirmed.

On Wednesday, an MV-22 Osprey lost power when taking off from USS Makin Island, an amphibious assault ship homeported at Naval Base San Diego. Two crew members bailed out into the water. One of those Marines was rescued safely, but the other is still missing, according to the Navy.

The pilot managed to gain control of the plane and return to the ship, the Navy said. The MV-22 Osprey can carry two dozen troops, though it appears only three were on board at the time of the incident.

The aircraft is part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) based at Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County. 

Planes from aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush and smaller Navy boats have joined the search. The missing Marine's name has not been released.

The Navy and Marine Corps are investigating what went wrong and why the crew members jumped out of the plane.

The Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group and the 11th MEU deployed last July to support operations in the Middle East.

Refresh this article for the latest on this developing story.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

A Massachusetts man wanted in connection to a child rape case also faces kidnapping charges in North Carolina.

Twenty-six-year-old Gregory Lewis of Southbridge has been on the run since Sept. 15, when police say he cut off his GPS ankle bracelet and fled the state. Lewis came back 10 days later, which is when officials said he broke into his stepfather's home, tied him up, and stole a gun.

Wednesday, officials in North Carolina said they believe Lewis kidnapped, robbed and assaulted a woman in Charlotte on Sept. 23.

The 6-foot, 2-inch, 270 pound man was arrested in August and charged with statutory rape of a child under 14 and ordered to stay under house arrest. When he cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet, he left it near the alleged victim's house.

Authorities say that's when Lewis traveled to Kentucky and then later to North Carolina, where the new charges stem. He then returned to Massachusetts, police said, and attacked his stepfather.

"His stepfather had in fact been literally been locked in the home with metal shackles, had been injured, received minor injuries, we are very concerned because of course the violent nature of this," Southbridge Polcie Chief Dan Charette said.

Lewis, who was last spotted on surveillance camera in a Connecticut convenience store, is considered armed and dangerous, and anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Southbridge Police at 508-764-5420. 

Lewis is believed to be driving his parents' blue 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Massachusetts license plate number 85GF63. Police say the plates may have been concealed or changed.

A tractor-trailer driveway was taken to the hospital Wednesday morning after driving too fast and crashing on Jackson Hill Road in Middlefield, according to state police.

Police said Mehmedovic Hamdija, 56, of Jacksonville, Florida, lost control and rolled onto the guardrails along the northbound lane of Jackson Hill Road.

Hamdija was taken to Hartford Hospital for treatment of "incapacitating injuries" and was issued an infraction for driving too fast in the rain, according to police.

Police said the tractor-trailer was totaled.

Suffield police have identified the man suspected of ripping off a Webster Bank in town and are preparing an arreste warrant charging him in the robbery.

Police said the suspect is on parole and is currently being detained by the Department of Corrections Parole Unit.

Authorities initially said the suspect may have been linked to other bank robberies in Trumbull, Stamford and White Plains, New York.

Trumbull police arrested a bank robbery suspect on Monday. George John Bratsenis, 65, has been charged with four felony counts, including first-degree larceny, first-degree robbery, second-degree arson and illegal possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle, according to court records.

It's not clear if Bratsenis is the suspect police believe may be connected to the Suffield case.

The Suffield robbery suspect has not been publicly identified.

Police have arrested the man accused of robbing two West Haven shops in June.

Wayne Bunting, 22, of Chapel Street in New Haven, is accused of robbing Sam’s Food Mart at 663 Campbell Avenue on June 15 and the Great Way Food Store at 502 Sawmill Road on June 18. Police said he may also be tied to robberies in surrounding towns.

Bunting was arrested Sept. 24 and charged with two counts each of first-degree robbery, second-degree threatening, sixth-degree larceny. He was held on $90,000 bond and appeared in court the day of his arrest.

West Haven police and members of the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force worked together to take Bunting into custody.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Police have determined the home invasion was staged.

Police are investigating after someone broke into a Plainfield home and ransacked the residence Tuesday night while a woman and her 2-year-old child were hiding inside.

According to police, an intruder smashed the bedroom window of a home on Juniper Lane in the Moosup Village of Plainfiled around 8:15 p.m. Tuesday. Police arrived to find open doors and said the home had been looted.

The resident told police she and her 2-year-old were home at the time. The victim said she knows the suspected intruder but didn't disclose the details of their relationship.

Officers searched the area with a K-9 but couldn't find a suspect. Police said the home was targeted but didn't elaborate on a motive.

Authorities have identified a suspect and expect to issue an arrest warrant.

The suspect has not been publicly identified.

This is the broken window at the Plainfield home pic.twitter.com/AvAI1fyGiu

— ilana gold (@ilanagoldNBC) October 1, 2014

Several months of failed negotiations between Hartford HealthCare and Anthem have left five Connecticut hospitals out of network for patients covered by Blue Cross Blue Shield, the state's largest health insurer.

Thousands could now be facing higher health are costs as a result.

“For the past several months, we have been working diligently to negotiate a new contract with Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield. Unfortunately, our talks with Anthem were unsuccessful,” said Tina Varona of Hartford HealthCare.

Anthem officials said in a statement Wednesday the insurance provider "has been negotiating in good faith with Hartford HealthCare in an effort to reach a new contract. Unfortunately, a contract agreement was not reached."

As the Oct. 1 contract deadline comes and goes, the groups remain at a stalemate. Starting today, Anthem patients will no longer receive in-network coverage at the Hospital of Central Connecticut in New Britain, MidState Medical Center in Meriden, William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, Windham Hospital, the Institute of Living and Jefferson House at Hartford Hospital.

"We are profoundly disappointed that Anthem and Hartford Healthcare have been unable to reach an agreement by deadline, and we are very concerned about the impact that this situation will have on the thousands of Connecticut residents who now find that their hospital provider is no longer in network. We strongly urge the two parties to put the quality and continuity of patient care first and resolve this matter as quickly as possible,” Attorney General George Jepsen and Healthcare Advocate Victoria Veltri said in a joint statement Wednesday.

If negotiations continue to fail, Natchaug Hospital, Rushford mental health and addiction services, VNA Healthcare, Southington Care Center and the Jerome Home will also be out-of-network as of Nov. 1.

The changes do not affect office visits to Hartford HealthCare Medical Group providers, according to Hartford HealthCare. Patients hospitalized at a Hartford HealthCare facility prior to Oct. 1, or who had surgery and require post-operation procedures after the deadline will continue to receive in-network coverage.

Those receiving Continuation of Care benefits will continue receiving in-network care for a set period of time. Patients are encouraged to call the Anthem number on the back of their insurance cards to see if they qualify.

"Our priority right now is to our members and ensuring that they have access to ongoing and uninterrupted high quality healthcare," Anthem said in a statement. "Anthem is doing everything we can to facilitate a smooth transition for our members. Our nurse case managers are working closely with our members to transition their care to other high quality in-network hospitals and providers, or continue their care at HHC's hospitals when clinically necessary."

Varona said Hartford HealthCare pledges to continue negotiating in hopes of reaching an agreement.

"We are extremely disappointed that Anthem Health Plans, Inc. and the Hartford HealthCare Corporation have allowed their contract to expire today without negotiating a new one,” Gov. Dan Malloy and Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman said in a joint statement.

“We're not interested in assigning blame. We want to make sure that everyone in our state has access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. We simply cannot let profit margins stand in the way of that goal. Both companies need to return to the table and work out a deal that protects the health of Connecticut residents," the statement continues.

Anyone who has problems receiving care because of the failed negotiations should contact Anthem at 203-677-4000 or go online to find alternate in-network providers or request to continue care with his or her current provider.

Patients can also call the Office of the Healthcare Advocate at 866-466-4446 or the Office of the Attorney General’s Healthcare Advocacy unit at 860-808-5318 for more information, or visit Hartford HealthCare online for a full explanation of the changes and their consequences.

The state police major crime squad is investigating after the body of a 72-year-old woman washed ashore at Grove Beach in Westbrook this morning.

A person who lives near the beach found the body toward the End of Broadway South in Westbroook and contacted state police around 7:15 a.m., police said.

The woman has been identified as Carolee Bentley of Westbrook and White Plains, New York.

It's not clear how she ended up in the water or how long she was there.

They are investigating the circumstances of the death, including drowning and foul play. The cause has not been determined at this time.

Officials from the Office of the state medical examiner also responded.

The scene is blocked off as state police investigate.

Check back for updates.

Less than two weeks after a group of Bay Area drag queens met with Facebook to protest how the social networking giant had suspended their accounts for not using "real names," Facebook's chief product officer Chris Cox apologized for their ordeal, promising change.

And Mark Zuckerberg "liked" it.

“I want to apologize to the affected community of drag queens, drag kings, transgender, and extensive community of our friends, neighbors, and members of the LGBT community for the hardship that we've put you through in dealing with your Facebook accounts over the past few weeks,” Cox said Wednesday in a post on his own Facebook page.

“In the two weeks since the real-name policy issues surfaced, we've had the chance to hear from many of you in these communities and understand the policy more clearly as you experience it,” he added. “We've also come to understand how painful this has been. We owe you a better service and a better experience using Facebook, and we're going to fix the way this policy gets handled so everyone affected here can go back to using Facebook as you were.”

Mark Snyder, a spokesperson for the Transgender Law Center who met with Facebook Wednesday over the real names policy dispute, called the meeting productive. "We are excited to continue working with them on solutions so we can all be our authentic selves online," he said. Local drag queens have turned a protest rally initially scheduled for San Francsico City Hall Thursday into a victory celebration.

Bay Area queer performance art group The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and its supporters first met with Facebook on Sept. 19 after some users received messages saying their account had been “temporarily suspended” because it looks like “you’re not using your real name.”

Facebook's stance is that the "real names" policy is designed to "keep the community safe."

But Bay Area drag queens called the policy discriminatory, saying that by requiring performers to use their legal names, Facebook may be compromising their safety and making them vulnerable to attack.

The group said it would mobilize against Facebook if the social networking giant didn’t address its concerns.

“Facebook is discriminating by basically not allowing a large part of the community access to a public forum because of this policy,” said Lil Miss Hot Mess, who reluctantly had to identify herself as Harris Davis on her Facebook page.

Heklina, a 47-year-old drag queen from San Francisco, said she would boycott Facebook if she could, but “it’s too ingrained in our everyday lives.”

A growing coalition of people who support the Bay Area drag queens — including artists, immigrants, domestic violence survivors, activists and members of the transgender community — delivered a letter to Facebook at Wednesday's meeting, requesting that Facebook update its policy to allow everyone to be their "authentic selves online," end the requirement to show ID and make it easier for users to appeal account suspension.

“Many people need to use a chosen name in order to feel safe or to be able to express their authentic identity online,” the letter said. “While drag queens have experienced a rash of reports of being in violation of the 'real name' policy, many others remain at risk of being reported.”

In his post, Cox explained that it all started when an individual on Facebook decided to report several hundred of these accounts as fake. The reports were among the several hundred thousand fake name reports Facebook processes every week, 99 percent of whom he said are "bad actors doing bad things," including impersonation, bullying, trolling, domestic violence, scams and hate speech.

"So we didn't notice the pattern,” Cox wrote.

Cox wrote that Facebook's "authentic name" policy was put in place to act as a safeguard against impersonators: “Everyone on Facebook uses the authentic name they use in real life.”

“For Sister Roma, that's Sister Roma. For Lil Miss Hot Mess, that's Lil Miss Hot Mess," he added. "Part of what's been so difficult about this conversation is that we support both of these individuals, and so many others affected by this, completely and utterly in how they use Facebook."

Cox said Facebook is working on building better tools for “authenticating the Sister Romas of the world."

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

Police are investigating the armed robbery of a gas station convenience store in East Hartford on Wednesday night.

According to police, a robber stole from the store at 58 Ellington Road in East Hartford just before 7 p.m. Authorities are still at the scene investigating.

No additional information was immediately.

Police said no arrests have been made.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasted the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday, pounding the podium as he urged the agency "work harder and better and smarter" to restore service and wondered how one man had managed to cripple the city's air travel for days.

"How can this happen? How can you have an airport that is so integral to the national and international system with no back-up capacity, that one individual can have this impact?" Emanuel said.

He weighed in on the city's transportation woes during an unrelated Q&A with reporters at the Chicago Cultural Center, after announcing a new scholarship program for Chicago Public Schools students.

Emanuel said the agency's primary local job is to get the area's radar facility, heavily damaged nearly a week ago by a saboteur, up and running at full capacity.

"It’s not where it needs to be, and they’ve got to work harder and better and smarter and get it there," he said, as he commended the agency for its efforts to restore service.

Federal officials on Monday set Oct. 13 as their target date for having operations 100 percent restored.

Prosecutors say Brian Howard, 36, of Naperville, entered the Chicago Air Route Traffic Control Center in Aurora early Friday morning and caused incredible, strategic damage to the radar facility that handles high-altitude traffic above a large portion of the country's midsection.

They said Howard, who had worked at the facility for eight years and was involved with the facility's communications systems, was upset about recently being told he was being transferred to Hawaii.

Howard's alleged actions forced the cancellation of thousands of flights and cost an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity. If convicted, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.

Jesse Matthew, the man linked to the abduction of a University of Virginia student as well as the death of another young woman, was investigated for a campus sex assault years ago.

According to officials with Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, Matthew was a student there from January 2003 through Oct. 15, 2003. He was investigated in connection with a sexual assault on campus that occurred Sept. 7, 2003. 

Last month, Matthew, 32, was charged with the abduction of 18-year-old Hannah Graham, who was last seen with him just after 1 a.m. Sept. 13 on Charlottesville's downtown mall. The search for Graham continues.

Since then, Matthew has been forensically linked to the death of Morgan Harrington, a Virginia Tech student who disappeared after attending a concert in Charlottesville in 2009. Her body was found several months later.

In addition, police have said there is a link between Harrington's death and a 2005 Fairfax City sex assault, though they have not named Matthew as a suspect in that incident.

Matthew was also investigated in connection with an alleged sex assault at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 2002 but charges were never filed.

Matthew is due in court Thursday for a reckless driving charge in Charlottesville that led to his arrest last week.

The National Portrait Gallery is unveiling a giant portrait of a young man created in the landscape of the National Mall.
 
Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada says he created the portrait as a compilation of American faces after photographing 30 young men in Washington. It's entitled  "Out of Many, One.''
 
The six-acre portrait is made of sand and topsoil and can be viewed from the Washington Monument or from space.
 
The artist used GPS technology to mark 10,000 points onto an empty field and then linked them with twine to help create precise lines for the portrait made of dirt. Beginning Saturday, visitors will be able to walk along the portrait's features.

The soil and sand eventually will be reused to improve the National Mall's turf.
 

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

The brother of the Bell Gardens mayor police said was shot dead by his wife said Wednesday he will always love his sister-in-law, though he wishes she hadn't taken "matters into her own hands."

Daniel Crespo, 45, was gunned down at his family home Tuesday afternoon after punching his 19-year-old son, Daniel Jr., in the face when the teen tried to intervene in a fight between his parents, investigators said. Police said Crespo's 43-year-old wife, Lyvette, then grabbed a gun and shot the mayor multiple times in his upper body.

The mayor died at a hospital. His brother, William Crespo, said he's conflicted about what happened.

"If it was that, she should've called 911. She shouldn't take matters into her own hands. She's not the cops," he said. "I love her; I still love her. She's still my sister-in-law; I'm always going to love her."

Neighbors told NBC4 they were in shock and never expected their friend would be shot and killed.

"I don't believe what happened in here, because he is my neighbor, and he was a very friendly person," Laura de la Cruz said. "I don't believe it."

Crespo's wife and son were questioned at the Bell Gardens police station. Several hours later, sheriff's detectives said the pair had been released and that no arrests had been made.

"He was working so much and helping the community so much, and I remember he would always give out gifts for the children," Cruz's daughter said. "I didn't believe it was Crespo, because he did so much for this community. He just helped so many people."

Sources told NBC4 the mayor lived at the two-story condominium with his wife, 19-year-old son and 26-year-old daughter, who was not present at the time of the shooting.

"I'd see them as a normal family," said Janet Morales, who said she's known the couple for 25 years. "Never have I seen violence before. That is the reason why I'm in shock."

Investigators have not released additional details about the shooting, and prosecutors will decide whether to press charges against Crespo's wife in his death.

"We don't know exactly what happened," said Alberto Bernal, who met Crespo during his campaign for City Council in 2001. "Only the people involved at the scenes know exactly what happened and to take images and information out of context, it's sad.

"It's just heart-breaking that my friend is no longer with us," Bernal said.

According to the city’s website, Crespo was a Brooklyn, New York, native who had been married to his high school sweetheart since 1986. After moving to Bell Gardens, he worked as a Los Angeles County deputy probation officer for 15 years. He was elected to the Bell Gardens City Council in 2001.

The city issued a statement Wednesday and said Tuesday's shooting "have stunned this very close-knit community."

"This is a tremendous loss for Bell Gardens," City Manager Philip Wagner said in the statement.

Grief counselors were staffed at City Hall on Wednesday to help city employees and will be made available to community members, the statement read.

Bell Gardens is a suburb of about 42,000 residents. It's located roughly 18 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Willian Avila and John Cádiz Klemack contributed to this report.

West Street/Route 372 is closed between Washington Road and Franklin Road in Cromwell while authorities respond to a crash, according to police.

Police said the crash happened around 9:30 p.m. It's not clear how many cars were involved or whether anyone was injured.

No additional information was immediately available.

Check back for updates.

A man with a shotgun took matter into his own hands to bring done a drone flying over his neighbor’s home, according to police along the Jersey Shore.

Lower Township Police said they received a call Friday around 5:30 p.m. from the drone’s owner, who said he was flying the device over his friend’s home along the 1000 block of Seashore Drive in Lower Township, Cape May County, to gather some aerial photographs of construction being done at the home when the drone suddenly went down.

Right before the man lost control of his drone he heard what sounded like several gunshot blasts, said investigators.

When he recovered the drone, the owner found several holes in the device, police said.

When police arrived, the victim pointed them in the direction of where he heard the blasts. Police then went to 32-year-old Russell Percenti’s home.

There, officers found the shotgun used to shoot down the drone, police said. Police didn’t say why Percenti, a waiter at a local eatery, allegedly pulled the trigger.

Percenti posted $250 in bail after being arraigned on criminal mischief and weapons charges.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut

Police are still searching for the Massachusetts man accused of raping a child and seriously assaulting a family member last month, and authorities say he also kidnapped and assaulted a woman in North Carolina before stopping in Connecticut.

Gregory Lewis, 26, of Southbridge, Massachusetts, is wanted on multiple felony counts for repeatedly raping a child, according to police. Lewis is considered armed and dangerous and is believed to be carrying a 9mm handgun, baton and handcuffs.

Police said he has made suicidal threats and has threatened to harm others.

He has been on the run since he cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet Sept. 15. He was spotted in Kentucky and made a stop in Vernon, Connecticut, after assaulting a family member and leaving the house with a gun on Sept. 25, police said.

Lewis is wanted in Massachusetts and is also facing charges in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he’s accused of kidnapping, robbing and assaulting a woman on Sept. 23, just prior to returning home to Southbridge, according to police.

Police said Lewis stands 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 270 pounds. He has brown eyes and brown hair.

He’s believed to be driving a blue 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee with Massachusetts license plates 85GF63, but police said he may have covered or swapped out the plates to avoid recognition.

Authorities from North Carolina and Massachusetts are working together to track him down. They expect him to continue committing crimes and stealing money to find his flight from police.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call Southbridge, Massachusetts police detectives at 508-764-5420.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Connecticut