Police have issued a Silver Alert for a 3-year-old girl from Waterbury.

Police said Cherish Wright is with her father, who is 17 years old, and he has not been in touch with family since Monday. Police do not believe the little girl is in any danger.

When Cherish was last seen, she was wearing a pink shirt, blue jeans and pink light-up shoes.

She is 3-feet-tall and weighs 28 pounds.

If you have information on Cherish’s whereabouts, call Waterbury police at 203-574-6911.
 

The Hartford City Council voted to approve three resolutions Tuesday night on development in Downtown North that will bring a new minor league baseball park and the Rock Cats to the capital city.

"This is new growth, new development," Thomas Deller, Hartford's development director said. "This is things that help change character and nature of the city and helps bring some life and vitality back to the town."

While many agree Downtown North needs development, there have been varying viewpoints on how to accomplish that.

Protesters have spent months letting city leaders know they don't want another sports stadium in the city and many residents said they have mixed feelings about the proposal.

"They're spending a lot of money on the park, but there's a lot of other things that need to be fixed around this city as well. So I'm a little torn about that," Gina Townes, of Hartford, said.

"It's going to take a long time to be built up. Why don't they keep it in New Britain like always?" Ramon Dejesus, of Hartford, said.

The plan for the area includes commercial and residential buildings in addition to the ballpark and now officials said the project will begin picking up speed.

"Then we have to finalize the contracts with the developers and the ball team and the project starts construction," Deller said. "It's a very aggressive schedule. We expect construction start in the new year."

Farmington police have arrested a 20-year-old man and a juvenile accused of breaking into a local restaurant and stealing alcohol and beer, police said.

Police responded to Apricot's Restaurant at 1593 Farmington Avenue just after 3 a.m. on Tuesday after an alarm went off and found Jeremy Bryant West, 20, of the Unionville section of Farmington, and a juvenile next to a Dumpster with several bottles of alcohol and beer that were stolen from inside the restaurant, police said.

West admitted to breaking into the restaurant and stealing the alcohol, according to police. http://www.farmington-ct.org/docs/arrests/Tuesday.pdf

He was charged with sixth-degree larceny, first-degree criminal trespass, third-degree burglary, third-degree conspiracy to commit burglary, possession of less than f ounces of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and possession of burglar's tools.

Bond was set at $25,000 and he has been released from custody, according to online court records. http://www.jud2.ct.gov/crdockets/CaseDetail.aspx?source=Pending&Key=725ced46-f193-4769-9bb6-90c8de7ac1e2

It is not clear if he has an attorney. 

NBC 5 will stream its 11 a.m. midday newscast and a noon CDC news conference in the player  above. Occasionally the signal may drop to black, this is normal.

The second health care worker who tested positive for the Ebola virus traveled by air between Dallas-Fort Worth and Cleveland a day before she began showing symptoms for the potentially deadly disease, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Wednesday

On Oct. 14, the health care worker, whose name has not yet released, reported a low-grade fever and was isolated. The day before, the CDC said, she traveled on Frontier Airlines Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

The health care worker showed no signs or symptoms of Ebola while on board the flight according to the flight crew. However, due to the proximity in time between the flight and the patient's symptoms, the CDC would like to interview all 132 passengers that were on board the flight. Those who traveled on the flight can call 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636).

Frontier is working closely with CDC to identify and notify passengers who may have traveled on Flight 1143 on Oct. 13.

"After 1 p.m. ET, public health professionals will begin interviewing passengers about the flight, answering their questions, and arranging follow up. Individuals who are determined to be at any potential risk will be actively monitored," the CDC said in a statement Wednesday.

Frontier said the patient also traveled from Dallas-Fort Worth to Cleveland on Frontier Flight 1142 on Oct. 10.

Frontier said the flight landed in Dallas-Fort Worth at 8:16 p.m. and was parked overnight at the airport.  The aircraft was cleaned per normal end-of-day procedures that are consistent with CDC standards and returned to service on Oct. 14. The aircraft was cleaned again in Cleveland at the end of the flight day in Cleveland on Oct. 14.

With the patient's positive Ebola test, Frontier removed the aircraft from service Wednesday.

A second health care worker at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas who provided care for Thomas Eric Duncan has tested positive for the potentially deadly disease, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Her grandmother told The Dallas Morning News the nurse is 29-year-old Amber Joy Vinson, a registered nurse in Texas.

Vinson reported a fever Tuesday and was immediately isolated at the hospital within 90 minutes, officials said. If confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she will be the second case of Ebola spread within the United States.

As with Nina Pham, a nurse who was the first known person to contract Ebola in the U.S., Vinson was among the workers who took care of Duncan ahead of his Oct. 8 death.

It is not clear how Pham or Vinson contracted the virus, leading the CDC to say, "an additional health care worker testing positive for Ebola is a serious concern."

Health and city officials cautioned that more cases could surface among those involved in Duncan's treatment. They are currently monitoring 75 additional hospital employees for symptoms.

"We are preparing contingencies for more and that is a very real possibility," Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said Wednesday.

Jenkins said the latest patient is heroic person "dealing with this diagnosis with the grit and grace and determination that Nina has dealt with the diagnosis." He said the protocol for identifying symptoms of the virus worked well in both new cases.

"We pray that, like Nina, she will get on a good track," Jenkins said.

Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said he wanted to reassure Dallas residents who he knows might be afraid at the moment.

"The only way we are going to beat this is person by person, moment by moment, detail by detail," Rawlings said.  "It may get worse before it gets better, but it will get better."

Breach of Protocol

The CDC has said Pham's infection was the result of a "breach of protocol" and warned in recent days that more cases could surface among other workers who may have been exposed during Duncan's care.

The confirmation of a second case lends support to nurses' claims this week that they have inadequate training and, in some cases, protective gear, to take care of Ebola patients. It also highlights the need to quickly determine how the health care workers contracted the virus and how many of the other 75 who treated Ebola patient Thomas Duncan, who died Oct. 8, are at risk.

"They're not prepared" for what they are being asked to do, said RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, a union with 185,000 members.

Based on statements from nurses it did not identify, the union described how Duncan was left in an open area of the emergency room for hours. It said staff treated Duncan for days without the correct protective gear, that hazardous waste was allowed to pile up to the ceiling and safety protocols constantly changed.

DeMoro refused to say how many nurses made the statement about Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, but insisted they were in a position to know what happened.

"We are looking at every element of our personal protection equipment and infection control in the hospital," said Dr. Daniel Varga, chief clinical officer for Texas Health Resources, which operates Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas.

The second case may help health officials determine where the infection control breach is occurring and make practices safer for health workers everywhere. For example, if both health workers were involved in drawing Duncan's blood, placing an intravenous line or suctioning mucus when Duncan was on a breathing machine, that would be recognized as a particularly high-risk activity. It also might reveal which body fluids pose the greatest risk.

The latest diagnosis comes one day after the CDC announced additional measures and precautions for fighting and containing the virus on U.S. soil, including plans to immediately send a team of experts to any hospital where a case is confirmed. CDC Director Tom Frieden said the agency is also stepping up training and education for health care workers and providing more infection control supervision at the Dallas hospital to minimize risk of transmission during Pham's treatment.

“I wish we had put a team like this on the ground the day the first patient was diagnosed," Frieden said. "That might have prevented this infection." 

Frieden said initially that safety measures in place at the hospital should have prevented the virus' spread. But some have questioned how ready and equipped the hospital in Dallas was to treat Duncan and prevent spread of the illness there and whether patients should instead be routed to special facilities that have successfully treated Americans who fell sick with Ebola while abroad.

On Tuesday, a national nurse's union claimed the nurses in Dallas did not have proper protective gear and worried about exposure to Duncan's bodily fluids. The hospital did not respond to the specific claims but said it will continue to review and respond to concerns raised.

"I want to be very clear. We want to trust our health care workers and we want to protect our health care workers," Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Zach Thompson said.

Second Patient's Apartment Cleaned

Emergency responders in hazardous materials suits began work before dawn Wednesday to decontaminate the Dallas apartment of the second hospital worker. Officials said she lives alone with no pets.

Notices handed out to neighbors advise them that "a health care worker who lives in your area has tested positive for Ebola."

Ryan Fus, 24, who lives in the same building as the blocked-off apartment, said police knocked on his door before 6 a.m. to notify him and make sure he was doing OK.

"It's a little scary. It's a little shocking that it's right near me," he said. "But I'm not afraid or anything like that. I'm not gonna run away."

Containing the Virus

Ebola is spread through direct contact with bodily fluids of a sick person or exposure to contaminated objects such as needles. People are not contagious before symptoms such as fever develop, CDC officials say.

"What this case further illustrates, these two heroic women, is that Ebola comes from the body fluids of a symptomatic Ebola patient," Jenkins said.

Health officials are once again completing "contract tracing" to identify potential exposures in what they say is now a "two-front fight" against the virus. Officials are actively monitoring 75 additional hospital workers, as well as several dozen individuals who may have had contact with Duncan or a close associate outside the hospital. Those who may have been exposed before Duncan's hospital stay are nearing the end of the monitoring period and are now less likely to show symptoms of the virus.

"This is not going to be a situation where we’re going to put protective orders on 75 heath care workers," Jenkins said. "The system right now is working. If they have any temperature or any loose stool or any other symptom, they immediately go to isolation in the hospital and they are tested."

The preliminary Ebola test was run late Tuesday at the state public health laboratory in Austin, and results were received at about midnight. The CDC is conducting a confirmation test.

Dallas police set up a media center at the Bend East in The Village apartment complex at 5454 Amesbury Drive. Authorities went door to door distributing information about the Ebola virus to residents.

The commute in San Jose was a stinkin' mess Wednesday morning after a big-rig carrying a load of port-a-potties tipped over on the highway just before the height of the head-to-work rush.

Luckily, though, the toilets were empty. There was only cleaning fluid inside the portable latrines when the accident was reported about 5:15 a.m. on southbound Interstate 280, in a chain-reaction collision that stretched out from 4th Street to 11th Street, California Highway Patrol Officer Matt Rasmussen said.

The driver of a black BMW had a solo spinout, prompting him to crash into the tanker, causing a chain reaction, Rasmussen said. Five other vehicles were involved, but the CHP said all the injuries were minor.

There were about 100 gallons of deodorizer on board the rig, San Jose Fire Battalion Chief Jose Guerrero said. The manager of the sewage tanker said he thinks his driver may not have seen the BMW spin out because the lights on the side of the road weren't on.

There was no immediate reason given for why the driver spun out, though Guerrero told NBC Bay Area he thinks slick roads might be to blame.

The driver did not give his full name, and although he was speaking after the accident, he went to the hospital to get checked out.

The CHP is investigating the accident and did not immediately make any arrests.

The body of a 19-year-old was pulled from Union Pond in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon, according to Manchester police.

Emergency officials searched the scene after the teen was reported missing.

East Haven police are seeking the public's help in identifying a burglary suspect who broke into a beauty salon overnight, police said.

Maria's Beauty Salon on 673 Main Street was burglarized at about 3:35 a.m. on Wednesday.

The burglar broke the glass on the rear window to get into the business, police said.

Police released a surveillance photo of the suspect. The department asks anyone who can identify the person or provide information to call police at 203-468-3820 and reference case 14-19844.

Willimantic police are investigating after an officer was allegedly caught sleeping on the job in a photo that has circulated on Facebook.

"At this time, the police department is aware of the Facebook posting and there is an internal investigation, which is ongoing," said Willimantic police spokesperson Corporal Stan Parizo. "It's a personnel manner, so it will be handled internally."

The photo appears to show the officer sleeping in his cruiser in full uniform. It's not clear where in Willimantic the picture was taken of who snapped the photo.

The name of the officer has not been released to the public.

LifeStar airlifted a crash victim to Hartford Hospital on Wednesday afternoon after a car struck a tree in Lebanon, according to helicopter dispatchers.

Police have not released any information on the crash. LifeStar said a helicopter was requested around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.

The victim's condition is unknown.

Check back for updates.

A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the masked man who robbed a bank in Guilford on Thursday afternoon.

According to police, the man walked into the Webster Bank at 1069 Boston Post Road around 3:20 p.m. Thursday and demanded money from the tellers.

He left the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash and was last seen getting into a white SUV in the parking lot, police said.

The suspect is described as a man in his mid 30s standing between 5 feet 8 and 5 feet 9 inches tall. Police said he was wearing an oversized gray hooded sweatshirt, dark blue jeans, an orange or yellow flat-brimmed baseball cap and black-and-orange sneakers.

A black cloth was covering the lower half of his face, police said. Surveillance footage shows him carrying a black bag.

Anyone with information on the robbery is urged to call Guilford police detectives at 203-453-8061. Police said a reward has been offered for tips leading to an arrest.

After the Meriden Best Buy announced that it would be closing, the business released a statement Wednesday confirming that it will instead be there to stay.

The landlord renegotiated the terms of the store's lease that reduces the rent, so Best Buy reversed its decision to move out Nov. 1 and instead renewed the lease.

"We appreciate the customers of our Meriden store and we apologize for any confusion this change of plans may have caused," Abbey Theiler, a spokesperson for Best Buy, said in a statement. "We look forward to being able to provide great advice, service and convenience during the upcoming holiday season."

Best Buy will be hiring for Meriden, Newington North Haven and West Hartford next week.

Miami Heat's Shabazz Napier may have graduated from UConn, but his name still "reins" supreme on campus.

And that's not just because of the Huskies' championship ride last spring.

But it was a "mane" reason the university named a colt after him housed in the barns on campus.

UC Shabazz was born on March 29 in the middle of March Madness, a day after UConn won its Sweet Sixteen game and a day before the Huskies defeated Michigan State to qualify for the Final Four, according to a UConn blog posted Tuesday.

"The choice of his name reflects the excitement that was mounting during his early days on campus, as the men’s basketball team continued their run to the NCAA Championship win on April 7," UConn said in its UConn Today blog.

The Morgan foal was born to mare Friend Charity Rose and stallion UC Doc Sanchez through the university's horse breeding program that trains horses for cavalry, according to the blog.

From court to pasture, UConn is showing Shabazz pride.

"He is tipped for a productive career at UConn in the training program, and eventually as a lesson horse," UConn's blog states.

Hartford students marched from Breakthrough II Magnet School to the firehouse on Blue Hills Avenue to hand-deliver cards Wednesday after the brainchild of one student grew beyond what anyone had imagined.

According to John Mancini, the engine mate of fallen Hartford firefighter Kevin Bell, one student had the idea of bringing a handmade card to Engine 16 to show support in the wake of Bell's death.

The plan spread like wildfire and soon other students joined in and collaborated in what became a school-wide initiative.

"We are right down the street from this firehouse and our students really wanted to come up here and just say thank you, thank you for everything you do each and every day, keeping us safe," explained Principal Tammy Cassile.

Police closed Blue Hills Avenue to traffic on Wednesday as the student body marched from the magnet school on Lyme Street to the firehouse, accompanied by a police escort.

One student from each grade approached the firehouse and handed over cards and well-wishes on behalf of their peers, adding hundreds of cards to the ever-growing memorial for Bell outside the fire station.

"Kevin would be so engaged with everyone here. He would be really just full of joy," Mancini said. "He was a very animated man, very animated and passionate."

Mancini said the firefighters were touched and gave students fire hats in return.

"It's humbling, really, to know that we're appreciated and the community's so grateful for what we do," said Hartford Fire Capt. Helene Lynch.

Lynch said cards and patches have been pouring in from all over the world in what she calls an overwhelming outpouring of love and support.

Bell was killed fighting a two-alarm at a home on Blue Hills Avenue down the street from the fire station on Oct. 7. He was laid to rest Monday morning.

Three other firefighters were injured, one of them critically.

Residents of Ocean Avenue in West Haven cast anxious looks across the street Wednesday to the dump truck and bulldozer spreading sand on the beach. They wondered whether a berm would block their view of the water. They wondered how far the sand would extend. And they wondered whether the work would last.

Construction is underway as the city restores what was lost when Superstorm Sandy swept the shore and works to protect the beach against future natural disasters.

Mark Paine, the assistant commissioner of public works for West Haven, said the sand will extend about a hundred feet to the water and that he doesn't expect the berm to block the sea. But he admitted that a strong enough storm could send them back to square one.

"We're potentially one storm away from losing the road, and along with the road, our storm sewer lines and potentially the homes across the street," Paine said, of one spot in particular along the beachfront, where Prospect Avenue and Grove Place dead end at an eroded part of the beach.

"The idea is that the beach and the proper slope dissipates the wave energy during the storms – allows the waves to come in, sort of run out of gas, and run back out."

He said scientists at Southern Connecticut State University will study how well the sand performs, measuring levels of erosion over time. The Army Corps of Engineers is managing the project.

Paine said the Army Corps previously worked on the 4,100 linear feet of beachfront in the past and felt some responsibility to maintain it.
 

Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas is apologizing for initially misdiagnosing the country's first Ebola patient in testimony prepared for a Thursday hearing on Capitol Hill.

In remarks prepared for delivery before a House committee, the hospital's chief clinical officer, Dr. Daniel Varga, admits mistakes were made during Thomas Eric Duncan's care when he first arrived at the hospital's emergency room.

"Unfortunately, in our initial treatment of Mr. Duncan, despite our best intentions and a highly skilled medical team, we made mistakes," Varga is prepared to testify. "We did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of Ebola. We are deeply sorry."

Duncan died at Presbyterian Hospital on Oct. 8, two weeks after he had first gone to the hospital because he was feeling ill. He was initially treated and released but returned three days later and was put in isolation.

Varga's prepared testimony calls Duncan's death "devastating to the nurses, doctors, and team who tried so hard to save his life." 

"We keep his family in our thoughts and prayers," Varga said.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Thomas Frieden, has said caregivers improperly donned protective gear, using more layers than recommended because they believed it would better protect them.

In fact, he said, it may have put them at higher risk.

But in his prepared testimony, the hospital executive said doctors and nurses followed guidelines.

"The hospital followed all CDC and Texas Department of Health Services recommendations in an effort to ensure the safety of all patients, hospital staff, volunteers, nurses, physicians and visitors," Varga said in his prepared testimony.

Varga admits that the hospital didn't provide accurate information about an electronic records system after it was discovered they were caring for the nation's first Ebola patient.

"Also, in our effort to communicate to the public quickly and transparently, we inadvertently provided some information that was inaccurate and had to be corrected. No doubt that was unsettling to a community that was already concerned and confused, and we have learned from that experience as well," Varga's testimony said.

As a result of the hospital's admitted mistakes, Varga said there have been "a number of changes based on the preliminary lessons learned from our experience."

Read Varga's full statement below:

Milford marked its 375th anniversary Thursday by burying a time capsule to be opened in 25 years, when the city turns 100.

All city residents were invited to contribute to the capsule, and submission boxes were placed in schools around the city. Many donated letters, photos and books to be buried in front of River Park Apartments, a senior housing facility located on West River Street.

“We’re so proud of our history. We’re so proud of the people, we’re so proud of the accomplishments, and so many wonderful people have contributed over the many, many, many, many years,” said DeForest Smith, who is heading up the Time Capsule Project.

The capsule was buried during a short ceremony held at 6 p.m. Thursday. It will be unearthed in 2039, when the city celebrates its 400th anniversary.

A 14-year-old boy is in the hospital after he was shot in the leg Thursday night in New Haven.

Police said the boy was walking on Eastern Street heading toward Foxon Boulevard when he heard gunshots and started running. A bullet struck his calf.

An ambulance brought the boy to Yale-New Haven Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, where the victim was joined by his mother.

Witnesses described the suspects as two men dressed all in black. According to police, they left the scene on foot.

It's not clear if the boy was the shooter or shooters' intended target.

Detectives roped off the scene to investigate and gather evidence.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call New Haven police detectives at 203-946-6304.

A Carlsbad woman who claimed she fatally shot her husband in self-defense will be tried again on second-degree murder charges.

A jury acquitted Julie Harper on first-degree murder charges last month, but deadlocked on lesser charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Prosecutors said Wednesday they intend to re-try Harper in April.

In her weeks-long September trial, Harper told jurors that she shot her husband, Jason Harper, on Aug. 7, 2012, because she feared he would kill or rape her.

Harper was a math teacher at Carlsbad High School.

Prosecutors, on the other hand, said Harper was angry and spiteful over the marriage. They questioned why, if she were innocent, she would bury the gun and not immediately report the shooting to police.

In closing arguments, defense attorney Paul Pfingst said that there was no evidence Harper was angry or spiteful, just a victim of months of verbal, physical and sexual abuse. Pfingst said she feared for her life and that her actions were out of love for her children.

“One could say that neither one is irrational, neither one is unreasonable,” Pfingst told jurors in his closing argument. “But if there is an argument that has reason to support it that comes to the benefit of Ms. Harper, she's entitled to the one that supports her."

Harper is free on $2 million bail.
 

Green Hollow Road is closed in Danielson while police respond to a crash.

There has been no word on injuries. State police said it's not clear when the road will reopen.

Check back for updates.