Route 189 in Granby is still closed after a motor vehicle crash that happened early Sunday morning.
The crash was reported to the state Department of Transportation at about 4:47 a.m.
The road is closed between Kelly Lane and Bushy Hill Road.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says the city will "explore every option'' to get its law legalizing marijuana enforced.
District of Columbia voters approved the marijuana initiative in November by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. It would allow possession of up to 2 ounces of pot or up to three mature plants for personal use. But Congress, which as oversight over the city's laws, has worked to keep the city from implementing the measure.
Asked on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press'' whether she would rule out a lawsuit, Bowser said only that the city would explore all its options. She said the measure would be sent to Congress in January.
Bowser was appearing in a "Meet the Press'' segment along with the city's police chief and head of public schools.
The founder of a multimillion-dollar hedge fund was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head Sunday in his posh Manhattan apartment, police said.
The body of Thomas Gilbert Sr., the 70-year-old president of Wainscott Capital Partners, was found by his wife at about 3:30 p.m. in their bedroom, investigators said. His wife was not inside their Beekman Place apartment at the time of the shooting, police said.
Police recovered a gun, which they found near the body.
Gilbert's son, Thomas Gilbert Jr., has been taken into custody and is being questioned by police, authorities said. He was the only other person in the apartment at the time of the shooting, according to police.
No charges have been filed and police say they haven't ruled out calling the death a suicide.
Gilbert founded his hedge fund in 2011 and helped build it into thriving firm. The fund has $200 million in assets and focuses on the biotech and health care industries.
A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School, Gilbert had more than 40 years of investing experience.
Gilbert previously co-founded Syzygy Therapeutics, a biotech asset acquisition fund.
The shooting was a rare act of violence on Beekman Place, a tony enclave just north of the United Nations headquarters.
Homicide detectives from Long Beach have confirmed the body of a baby found in Imperial Beach is that of a missing 3-week-old girl.
Eliza Delacruz, just 3 weeks old and weighing 10 pounds, was missing from the home in the 100 block of 51st Street where her mom, dad and uncle were found shot Saturday evening, according to the Long Beach Police Department.
Police have asked for the public’s help in locating the gunman and possible kidnapper. They also believe the shooter targeted the family.
Around 1:25 p.m. Sunday, a man searching a dumpster at a shopping center in Imperial Beach found the body of a baby inside a trash bag.
The baby found dead was described as a female infant, and the San Diego County Sheriff's Department reached out to Long Beach authorities.
"This is a horrific crime," said Lt. Lloyd Cox of the Long Beach department.
He said police would continue to investigate the crime, and that it does not appear to be gang related in any way, and there is no evidence of drug activity in the home.
"Somebody comes into this house, shoots three adults, flees with an infant who then later is found dead in San Diego," Cox said.
He said the family has not been staying at the house, and is too scared to stay there. Neighbors said they are good neighbors, and don't know why they would have been targeted.
Witnesses heard gunshots during the attack, but no one saw a car flee the scene, so an Amber Alert was not issued.
The child's mother and uncle remain hospitalized in critical but stable condition after surgery at a local hospital. The baby's father was released from the hospital today.
"The family is devastated," he said.
Kate Larsen, Gadi Schwartz and Jane Yamamoto contributed to this report.
A Boston Police officer accused of physically attacking an Uber driver and taking his car has been arrested and placed on administrative leave.
Police arrested 40-year-old Michael Doherty, a 16-year veteran of the department, on Sunday.
The driver for the ride-sharing service reported that Doherty, a passenger, accused him of bringing him to the wrong location. The victim told police that Doherty yelled at him and physically assaulted him.
The victim, who told police that he got out of the car to get away, said Doherty climbed into the front seat and drove off. A passing driver helped the victim follow Doherty, who police say stopped, got out and fled on foot.
Doherty is charged with assault and battery and using a motor vehicle without authority.
Police are investigating.
NECN will have more as this story develops.
Twenty months after Dzhokhar Tsarnaev crawled out of a boat in a backyard in Watertown, Massachusetts, bloodied after a shoot-out with police that killed his older brother, the now 21-year-old suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings is to go on trial.
Jury selection in the federal death penalty case begins Monday in Boston after the judge rejected repeated appeals from his lawyers to delay the trial and to move it elsewhere.
Tsarnaev, an ethnic Chechen who came to the United States with his family about a decade ago, is accused of setting two bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon with his brother, Tamerlan, in April 2013. The explosions killed an 8-year-old boy and two young women, and injured more than 260 others, some of whom lost limbs.
Days later, the brothers also shot and killed a police officer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the indictment against Tsarnaev charges.
The younger Tsarnaev, who has pleaded not guilty, has been described as a well-liked, laid-back student who had adjusted to life in Cambridge. He was captain of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin wrestling team, took honors classes, attended his school’s prom and was enrolled at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.
His friends struggled to reconcile the teenager they knew with a militant Muslim who would kill in retaliation for U.S. foreign policy, as prosecutors charge. Had he been radicalized by his older brother, who had visited Dagestan and Chechnya in 2012? Did he fear Tamerlan because he believed Tamerlan had earlier killed three men in Waltham, Massachusetts — murders that have gone unsolved but for which the Tamerlan is a suspect?
If the trial provides answers, they will likely come later in the proceedings. Once the jurors are selected, in a process that could take weeks, they must first decide whether Tsarnaev is guilty, and if he is, whether he should be sentenced to death. Many expect the defense to focus on the penalty phase in an attempt to save Tsarnaev’s life.
“The government’s case on guilt is pretty much overwhelming from what we understand,” said Michael Coyne, a professor at the Massachusetts School of Law who has studied the evidence that's publicly available.
That evidence includes a video that appears to show Tsarnaev leaving a bomb-laden backpack near Martin Richard, the boy who was killed, and the message that Tsarnaev is accused of scrawling on the inside of the boat as he lay hidden from the police searching for him.
“The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians,” read a message found on the inside walls and beam of the boat, according to the indictment against Tsarnaev. “I can’t stand to see such evil go unpunished, we Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all.”
The 30-count indictment, which includes 17 charges that carry the death penalty, alleges that Tsarnaev used improvised bombs made from pressure cookers, explosive powder and shrapnel. It says that an issue of al Qaeda’s Inspire magazine found on his computer had instructions for building explosives using pressure cookers and that another publication that he had downloaded advocated violence against enemies of Islam.
More evidence against Tsarnaev that has not yet been made public will likely come out in the trial, Coyne said.
If Tsarnaev had thought he would become a martyr, as the message inside the boat would suggest, the presence of famed defense lawyer Judy Clarke on his team would seem to indicate he has changed his mind. She is well known for convincing juries to spare the lives of her clients, among them the so-called Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, and Jared Loughner, who shot former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords point blank and killed six people in Arizona.
Observers say the defense could be trying to show that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was so in thrall of his older brother that he had little choice but to participate in the bombings.
Brad Bailey, a criminal defense lawyer in Boston, said it appeared from court filings that Tsarnaev’s lawyers were focused on possible mitigating factors that include emotional disturbance, potential diminished mental capacity, lack of criminal record and his youth.
“We’ve seen a lot of requests that suggest that they are trying to obtain evidence that would show that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was either afraid of his older brother and afraid not to do things that he may have been directed to do or that he was potentially brainwashed by his older brother,” Bailey said.
Alice LoCicero, a psychologist in Cambridge and the author of the book, “Why ‘Good Kids’ Turn Into Deadly Terrorists: Deconstructing the Accused Boston Marathon Bombers and Others Like Them,” said that she thought a variety of factors could have contributed to radicalizing Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Those range from the lack of attention from his parents, who both eventually returned to the Dagestan region of Russia, to his age, to sophisticated recruiting efforts, to grievances he might have had over the way that Muslims have been treated since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was left to try to integrate on his own whatever past trauma his family suffered with his current life in the United States, she said.
“You have a kid who’s really a good kid who means to do right who gets really confused about what’s right and what’s wrong and how he can best serve a cause that’s important to him, who probably has some legitimate grievances,” she said.
Though the judge, U.S. District Court Judge George O’Toole Jr., has refused to move the trial, he could still change his mind even after jury selection has begun, lawyers say. Tsarnaev’s lawyers have argued that so much of Boston was affected by the bombings that it will be impossible to find an impartial panel of jurors. The trial of Timothy McVeigh, accused of a similar bombing in Oklahoma City, was held in Denver.
“If the trial is not moved you can be sure that this will be the cornerstone of an appeal,” said Randy Chapman, a defense lawyer in Boston.
Some lawyers also say that it is still possible that Tsarnaev and the government could reach an agreement in which Tsarnaev would forego a trial in return for a life sentence without the chance of parole.
Dropping temperatures and wind moving in overnight into Monday could cause some slick spots on the roads for the early morning commute.
Temperatures are expected to be in the high 20s to mid 30s across the state, staying the coldest in the Northwest corner. Some showers could happen overnight, but will clear quickly. A few isolated flurries are possible, but most parts of the state will stay dry.
On Monday, wind gusts could reach as high as 30 miles an hour with partially sunny skies. Temperatures will likely drop even further at about 6 p.m. on Monday.
Tuesday and Wednesday could prove even colder, with further dips in temperature and wind chill making it feel colder.
Interstate 291 east has reopened after closing earlier Monday morning due to slippery conditions.
State police temporarily shut I-291 down at exit 1 in that direction as they waited on a state Department of Transportation truck to come out and re-treat the road.
There is also a crash on the westbound side at the exit 1 off-ramp.
Two cars went off the road in a rollover motor vehicle crash in Farmington on Waterville Road (Route 10).
One car rolled over, landing halfway down an embankment.
The crash has since been cleared.
No further details were immediately available.
Neither driver was injured.
A car struck a house in Windsor Monday morning.
The car went off the roadway and hit the exterior of 857 Matianuck Ave.
No one was injured.
More information will be provided when it becomes available.
State police are investigating to see if four recent armed robberies in Eastern Connecticut are connected.
The latest two robberies took place on Saturday in Marlborough and Franklin.
In Marlborough, police say the suspect and an accomplice entered the 7-Eleven around 2:00am and demanded the money tray from the cash register. Police say the suspect threatened the clerk with a silver and black handgun.
The 7-Eleven clerk says he was not hurt and money was taken.
Later around 5:00pm, police say the Mobil Mart in Franklin was robbed. Police say the suspect also had a silver and black handgun. He was able to get away with cash.
Police say the suspect ran away to where there might have been a waiting car.
In both robberies, police say the suspect wore red gloves, a dark colored hoodie or black jacket, was stocky, Hispanic, and between 5’4” and 5’7”.
Police are investigating to see if these two robberies are linked to robberies in Willimantic.
“A weapon was displayed in all four robberies and the timeframe is leading us to think there might be a connection between the four robberies,” says Corporal Stanley Parizo, Jr., Willimantic Police.
In Willimantic, the Sam’s Food Store was robbed at 8:00pm on New Year’s Day.
Across town 13 minutes later, there was another call for an armed robbery this time at the A-1 gas station.
Both times the suspects got away with cash. Neither clerk was hurt.
Police want you to take a close look at the surveillance pictures and give them a call if you recognize the suspects or saw something suspicious around the time the stores were robbed.
“Anybody with a firearm who is committing a robbery should be considered armed and dangerous. So again, if the public sees this or is involved with this you need to contact the police department as soon as possible,” says Parizo.
Longtime ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott has died at the age of 49, ESPN reported.
Scott, of Avon, passed away after battling cancer three times since 2007, leaving behind his two teenage daughters, Taylor and Sydney.
SportsCenter tweeted about his passing just before 10 a.m. on Sunday.
We are heartbroken to report that Stuart Scott has died after a long fight with cancer. He was 49. pic.twitter.com/aI0TGwFqGU
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 4, 2015
The North Carolina native was hired in 1993 when ESPN 2 started and has been with the Bristol-based sports network for more than 20 years, according to his biography on espnmediazone.com. He started off with short sports segments and grew to become most known for his work on SportsCenter, most recently anchoring the 11 p.m. show, his bio states. He also hosted NFL and NBA programs and co-hosted the first SportsCenter broadcast from ESPN's Digital Center 2 in June, according to his bio.
Scott was known for a lot of catchphrases on the air, but off the air, he was known for saying, "Just do you," meaning to be yourself.
Karl Ravech worked alongside him for 21 years and said they used to take their kids to daycare together. Scott worked as much as he could while undergoing treatment and never lost his sense of humor.
"He could laugh at himself...on television," Ravech said.
He has been battling cancer for about seven years, according to his bio. His cancer was in remission in 2012, but resurfaced the following year, according to his bio.
In addition to being a proud father, Scott also helped others in their fight against cancer. he loved his North Carolina Tar Heels and golf, even though he would be the first to tell you he wasn't very good.
President Barack Obama shared his condolences about Scott's passing.
"I will miss Stuart Scott," President Obama said in a statement. "Twenty years ago, Stu helped usher in a new way to talk about our favorite teams and the day’s best plays. For much of those twenty years, public service and campaigns have kept me from my family – but wherever I went, I could flip on the TV and Stu and his colleagues on SportsCenter were there. Over the years, he entertained us, and in the end, he inspired us – with courage and love. Michelle and I offer our thoughts and prayers to his family, friends, and colleagues.”
SportsCenter also tweeted this quote Scott said about the fight against cancer when he accepted the Jimmy V Perserverance Award at the ESPYs this past July.
"When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer," Scott said when accepting the award. "You beat cancer by how you live, why you live and in the manner in which you live."
Stuart Scott's unforgettable speech when accepting the Jimmy V Perseverance Award in July. http://t.co/qzrJzF4vyp pic.twitter.com/lLRh9lqEQK
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 4, 2015
State police are responding to a crash on Interstate 91 north in Enfield.
A sheet of ice slid off a truck and hit a car behind it, causing a crash. The crash happened near exit 38.
There is no word on injuries.
In Connecticut, motorists face fines for driving vehicles without clearing snow and ice off the roof. It's unknown whether any charges will be filed or tickets issued.
At least one person has died in a crash on I-91 south in North Haven, according to state police.
Police say the crash happened at Exit 10 around 9 p.m. Drivers should expect lane closures in the area. No further details are available at this time.
Check back for updates.
The proposed minor league baseball stadium that would bring the Rock Cats to Hartford is back on the agenda for a City Council special meeting Monday night.
Hartford councilmen are convening to discuss a stadium authority proposal that's expected to save the city at least $10 million in financing costs for the construction of the ballpark.
Under a previous agreement, the city of Hartford would have been obligated to pay an annual lease payment of more than $4.2 million for the proposed minor league ballpark in Downtown North, including a periodic lease increase of 5 percent.
Now, in an effort to save on costs, the city is proposing establishing the Hartford Stadium Authority and transferring the property for the ballpark and financing responsibilities to the authority, all to be heard in a public hearing and referred to the Operations, Management, Budget and Legislative Affairs Committee, according to a news release from City Council President Shawn T. Wooden.
The Stadium Authority will issue revenue bonds to help cover the cost of construction and "will be able to borrow at a more favorable interest rate" than the city would otherwise be able to do, according to the mayor's office.
Lease payments will also remain fixed instead of increasing periodically, as previously agreed upon.
Implementing this revised structure provides additional protection to the City, its taxpayers and is more cost effective in the long run,” Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and City Council President Shawn Wooden said in a joint statement issued Friday. "The goal of the redevelopment of Downtown North is to bring more revenue, vibrancy and jobs to the City of Hartford. This proposal is a result of collaboration among city council, the treasurer’s office and the administration whose primary goal is to strengthen this project and move the capital city forward.”
The special meeting is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday in the Council Chambers at City Hall at 550 Main Street in Hartford.
The city will also address the Downtown North project at a public hearing on Jan. 8.
Monday is the last day you can see a Titanic exhibit that has been at Mystic Aquarium for over three and a half years.
"Titanic - 12,450 Feet Below," which has been at the aquarium since April 2012, features the tragic story of the sunken Titanic and information on Dr. Robert Ballard's discovery of the RMS Titanic wreckage in 1985, Mystic Aquarium officials said in a news release.
"Mystic Aquarium's Titanic exhibit gave us the opportunity to showcase the story of the Titanic in association with the 100 year anniversary of its sinking," Mystic Aquarium President and CEO Stephen Coan said. "We are honored to have been able to educate our guests and to showcase one of the highlights of Dr. Robert Ballard's work."
As the Titanic's journey halts at Mystic on Monday, construction is slated to begin for the next exhibit in the space at the United Technologies Exploration Center, according to a news release. Ballard's Ocean Exploration work will be a part of the new exhibit, Mysic Aquarium officials said.
Tim Delaney, a former Walt Disney Imagineer, designed the exhibit in collaboration with the aquarium and Ballard "to bring Titanic's timeless history to life and real and poignant ways through captivating imagery, breathtaking recreation, emotional soundscapes, hands-on activities and thrilling entertainment," Mystic Aquarium said in a news release.
Visitors can "touch an iceberg, hear the warnings of the Morse code," take a look through Ballard's digital archives and watch videos showing the "Titanic's resting place" and feature the "tale of her discovery," according to Mystic Aquarium.
More information is available on Mystic's Facebook page, Twitter and YouTube.
Eight people were forced from their home late Monday morning after a kitchen fire spread and flames engulfed the two-family house at 54 Maple Street in Meriden, according to the fire department.
Fire officials said one of the residents walked away while food was cooking on the stove, and the kitchen caught fire shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday.
Intense heat and strong winds caused a back window to blow out, and flames spread across the first floor, according to the fire department.
Everyone made it out safely, and the Red Cross is helping residents who need a place to stay. Fire officials said the home suffered heavily damage. Photos from the scene show melted siding on the outside of the home.
Maple Street was shut down while firefighters worked to snuff out the blaze. The fire marshal was called to the scene to investigate.
Route 10 has reopened at the Connecticut border following a serious crash just over the line in Southwick, Massachusetts, according to Granby police.
The road was closed for several hours while authorities responded to the crash. The drivers involved have not been identified and police have not released any information on injuries.
Check back for updates.
Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra wants another term in office. He held news conference early Monday afternoon, where he announced that he will seek re-election.
Segarra. a former city councilman, took over as mayor in June 2010.
He was sworn in right after then-Mayor Eddie Perez resigned after being convicted on corruption charges.
When Segarra took the job of mayor, "it wasn't a job people were lining up for," he said during the announcement.
“After many years, there is optimism back in Hartford,” Segarra said on Monday.
Segarra was elected to his first full-term in November 2011.
He is Hartford's first openly gay mayor.
Among Segarra's iniatives in the coming year is to build a baseball stadium to accommodate bringing the Rock Cats minor league baseball team from New Britain to Hartford.
A 30-year-old man has been charged with murder in the death of his father, a multimillion-dollar hedge fund founder discovered fatally shot in his Manhattan apartment bedroom, police officials said Monday.
Thomas Gilbert Jr. was taken into custody Sunday evening, several hours after his father, Thomas Gilbert Sr., the 70-year-old president of Wainscott Capital Partners, was found with a gunshot wound to the head in his Beekman Place apartment.
NYPD Detectives Chief Robert Boyce told reporters Monday that the son had gone to his parents' apartment Sunday afternoon and asked to speak to his father alone. Gilbert Sr.'s wife -- the mother of the younger Gilbert -- agreed and left to get some food for her son.
Fifteen minutes later, according to Boyce, "she had a bad feeling and decided to return" to the apartment. That's when she found the elder Gilbert dead on the floor with the wound to his head. He had a gun resting on his chest, with his left hand covering it, according to Boyce.
The elder Gilbert was pronounced dead at the scene.
The mother told police where her son lived, and detectives proceeded to the West 18th Street home where they staked out in front of the building and obtained a search warrant, Boyce said. When they saw a light go off in the apartment, detectives knew he was home and executed the warrant, seizing evidence that connected the younger Gilbert to his father's homicide, including gun magazine clips, as well as credit cards and skimming devices.
Gilbert Jr. was taken into police custody for questioning around 11 p.m. Sunday. He was arrested at around 11 a.m. Monday and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, and later, forgery due to the skimming devices.
Gilbert was remanded to jail until his next court appearance Friday, when his attorneys, Marc Agnifilo and Andrea Zellan, are expected to make a bail request at that time. They did not comment about the case Monday, only telling reporters: "It's just too early to say anything."
Investigators are looking into how the younger Gilbert obtained the weapon. NYPD sources say he was having financial problems, among other difficulties, prior to the shooting. In September, he violated an order of protection at a Hamptons beach party stemming from an alleged November 2013 assault of a male friend in Brooklyn, a law enforcement official says.
Authorities say the younger Gilbert has also been arrested in the past for a drug-related offense.
Law enforcement sources said the son had gotten into an argument a few weeks ago about money. The Gilberts were paying $2,400 a month for the younger Gilbert's rent and giving him $600 in allowance each week, the sources said. When Gilbert Sr. suggested cutting the allowance to $400 a week, the son left in a huff and didn't see his parents again until the day of the alleged murder, the sources said.
The elder Gilbert founded his hedge fund in 2011 and helped build it into thriving firm. The fund has $200 million in assets and focuses on the biotech and health care industries.
Business operations at Wainscott are "on hold," Clay LeConey, the fund's vice president for sales and marketing, said when reached at the company's office in the city. LeConey said the fund would not issue a further statement on the death of its founder.
A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Business School, the elder Gilbert had more than 40 years of investing experience. He previously co-founded Syzygy Therapeutics, a biotech asset acquisition fund. Both father and son attended exclusive private schools in Massachusetts in their youths.
The shooting was a rare act of violence on Beekman Place, a tony enclave just north of the United Nations headquarters.
