Quantcast
Channel: NBC Connecticut
Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live

Hackers Now Targeting Smart TVs

0
0

We've heard about security attacks through computers and smartphones, but the next frontier for cyber fraud is already here. Smart TVs offer computer functions, including internet connection. That's how hackers are not only getting confidential information about you, but might be able to see you too. News 4 consumer reporter Lynda Baquero has that story.

Teen Hides in Closet, Inches From Burglars

0
0

A teenaged girl hides just inches from intruders while managing to call for help at the same time. NBC 7's Steven Luke reports.

Crash Causing Delays on I-91 in Hartford

0
0

A crash is causing heavy delays on Interstate 91 South in Hartford between exits 32 and 30.

Multiple cars are involved and one hit a sand barrel.

No additional information is available. 
 

It's Time for the Jets to Get Honest

0
0

The Jets have not subscribed to the belief that honesty is the best policy. 

From their party line that Mark Sanchez has shown the ability to be a good quarterback to their insistence that there was enough talent on the roster to compete last season to the entire shifting rationale for the Tim Tebow trade, the Jets constantly run in the other direction when honesty is one of the options available to them. There's no better time for that to change than right now. 

Peter King of Sports Illustrated reports that the Buccaneers would likely be willing to deal their first- and second-round picks in the 2014 draft for the chance to add Darrelle Revis to their team. King reports the Jets are pushing for this year's first-round pick, but Brian Costello of the Post reports that Jets general manager is not being clear with the Bucs about what the team wants. 

If that first offer is on the table, the Jets should take it and never look back. Getting a first- and second-round pick for a player coming off a torn ACL would be a boon in any year, but especially in a 2014 draft that's shaping up to have a lot more talent than this year's draft. 

The Jets are a contender for the first overall pick, which could mean South Carolina's terrifyingly good defensive juggernaut Jadeveon Clowney or a franchise quarterback joining the team. Beyond that, the Jets also stand to clean up on compensatory picks after watching every free agent on their team sign elsewhere this offseason, which will give them a bounty to use to fill the many holes on their roster while also being in better cap shape overall.

There's also the matter of the fact that the Jets haven't decided whether or not Rex Ryan will be the coach past this season, a decision that would seem to make it even more appealing to push big draft moves into 2014 when they'll know who their coach will be for the long haul.

It's a better return in a better draft at a better time for the franchise, with the only stumbling block being the Jets' unwillingness to approach the season for what it is. 

It's delayed gratification, but why should that matter to a team that is going nowhere fast this season whether they have one, two or three first-round selections? The Jets took their shot during Ryan's first three seasons and it fell short, which means now is the time to start rebuilding for another bite at the apple in the years to come. 

It would be nice to see the Jets act like they understand the reality of the situation rather than continuing to behave like 2013 is something other than a year to wash out the bad and, hopefully, find a little good to build on. Since this is a team that still tries to get people to believe that there's a solution to the Revis saga that doesn't involve trading him, let's just say we're not optimistic about that coming to pass. 

Josh Alper is also a writer for Pro Football Talk. You can follow him on Twitter.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Sandy Hook Commission to Discuss Mental Health Issues

0
0

When the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission meets today, the members will be hearing
testimony from experts on mental health, and it is expected to cover issues related to access to care, public awareness and discrimination.

Gov. Dannel Malloy put the commission together in the days after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December. The gunman shot and killed 20 elementary school students and six educators, then shot and killed himself.

Kim Pernerewski, of the National Alliance of Mental Illness; Louise Pyers, of the Connecticut Alliance to Benefit Law Enforcement; Deron Drumm, of Advocacy Unlimited, and Bryan V. Gibb of the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare.  Also presenting testimony will be state health care and insurance officials to speak about access to mental health care.

The meeting begins at 9:30 a.m. in Room 1A.

Documents submitted for the meeting are posted on the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission Web site



 



Photo Credit: CT-N

19-Year-Old Sailor Found Shot Aboard U.S. Aircraft Carrier

0
0

A 19-year-old female sailor assigned to USS Essex aircraft carrier was found with a gunshot wound aboard the ship Thursday and later died from her injuries, Navy officials confirmed.

According to Navy media operations officer Rick Chernitzer, the ship’s medical personnel responded to the scene and found the wounded sailor.

She was transported to the University of California, San Diego Trauma Center and was pronounced dead a short time later.

Chernitzer said the sailor’s identification is being withheld until her family is notified of her death.

He said a formal investigation is now underway aboard the amphibious assault ship, which is currently at its homeport in San Diego.

It is unclear if the sailor’s wounds were self-inflicted or if any suspects were involved in the shooting.

More Local Stories:

 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Lawmakers Consider Repealing Early Release Program

0
0

Reforming the state prisons' early release program is the aim of the first bill to draw comment at this afternoon's judiciary committee hearing.

In 2011, the General Assembly approved the legislation, which  allows most inmates who participate in various education and counseling programs to shorten a prison sentence by as many as five days a month removed from their sentences.

On Friday, the Judiciary Committee is holding a public hearing on Senate Bill 123, which would repeal the early release law.

"While I respect the intent of the program and its efforts to reduce recidivism, there are simply too many violent individuals abusing this initiative," State Sen. Dante Bartolomeo, (D) Meriden, told the committee in a prepared statement.

Last June in Meriden, Ibrahim Ghazal, 70, was shot and killed in his convenience store.

Surveillance video caught Frankie Resto gunning down Ghazal. Resto had been paroled half a year before his sentence for robbery was up.

Bartolomeo proposes denying early release for anyone serving time for class A and B felonies. 

The state government currently denies early release only to people convicted of six crimes including murder.

Republicans have proposed eliminating the early release program entirely and presented three victims and relatives of victims of criminals who are either up for early release or, like Fabio Ghazal, a criminal who was released early.

"This guy -  he destroyed our life," Ghazal said.

Democrats hold large majorities in both houses of the state legislature.

You can read the bill here.

 



Photo Credit: Getty

Fake American Eagle Ad Touts "Skinny Skinny" Spray-On Jeans

0
0

These skinny jeans truly leave nothing to the imagination. Good thing they're fake.

American Eagle Outfitters' new YouTube ad purporting to sell spray-on jeans has gone viral much to the delight of the company's marketing department.

"We wanted to have fun with our fans," Vice President of Brand Marketing Bob Holobinko said on the Today show. "And the response has been incredible."

At first glance, it looks like any other American Eagle Outfitters ad, replete with cool-looking young adults doing cool things and wearing the retailer's latest creation: Skinny Skinny jeans.

But about 17 seconds into the video, viewers will notice that something is amok. The Skinny Skinny jeans are actually spray painted on and the actors are wearing no pants at all.

The YouTube video has been viewed almost 350,000 times, as of Friday morning. This faux ad comes a week after Pepsi launched a video that shows NASCAR star Jeff Gordon pranking a hapless car salesman. The salesman was reportedly in on the joke, but the video's popularity underscored the power of viral ads and its ability to promote brand awareness and get people talking.

"This is phenomenal," marketing consultant Peter Shankman said of American Eagle on the Today show. "A great way to bust out from the mainstream and people are talking about it."

The link in the video description takes viewers to AEO's online store, which purports to sell the spray-on jeans in Indigo and Bright Light.

But to be clear, the paint is not for sale, Holobinko said. Visitors who try to purchase the paint will get a message that says they're out of stock and a prompt that asks for shoppers' email addresses.

It isn't a total loss for those who were seeking a bigger pay-off to the fake ad.

"There will be an offer that the customer will receive throughout the campaign when we capture their email at the end," he said.

Holobinko also hinted that there will be more ads to come. The second ad is slated to appear next week. 

"We think of it is as a journey," he said. "So this is the first installment."

 

 


Police Investigate Bomb Threat at Southington Starbucks

0
0

The Starbucks at 613 Queen Street in Southington was evacuated just before 8 a.m. on Friday, when someone made a call threatening to blow up the coffee shop and the investigation continues.

Five employees and 20 customers were inside Starbucks when the threat was made, police said.   
Southington Police Department, the Southington Fire Department and an ambulance responded to the scene and the State Police Bomb Squad was requested.

Nothing suspicious was found during the search and patrons were allowed back into the building.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Southington Police Department at 860-621-0101.
 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Home Heating Oil Tax Bill Dies

0
0

More than half the people in the state could have been paying a new tax on home heating oil, but that bill died on Friday, according to Sen. Gary LeBeau,  co-chairman of the Commerce Committee.

If the bill had passed, home heating oil customers would have paid 1.5 cents per gallon in the first year, 2.5 cents per gallon in the second and 3.5 cents the third.

Vice President of the Connecticut Energy Management Association, Chris Herb, previously said its an unnecessary tax on a household necessity for more than half the people in the state.



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Video Shows Man Taunting Animal Activists, Shooting Horse

0
0

A graphic video that appears to show a man cursing at animal rights activists then fatally shooting a horse has sparked outrage and investigations, according to reports. 

The man in the YouTube video is said to be a former employee of a Roswell area-based meat company that is trying to open the first U.S. horse meat slaughterhouse since 2007.

Valley Meat Co. said in a statement to the Albuquerque Journal that it fired worker Tim Sappington after becoming aware of his appearance in the video. A lawyer for the firm told the Journal the video was posted a year ago, but it is now being touted by the Horse Plus Humane Society.

In the 51-second YouTube video, a man is shown leading a horse out on a dirt road.

“All you animal activists, [expletive] you,” he says before firing one shot at the horse’s forehead.

Warning: The YouTube video linked to here is extremely graphic.

The apparent shooting is being investigated by New Mexico’s Livestock Board as a possible act of animal cruelty, according to the Journal.

While Sappington has so far not commented on the video, Valley Meat’s statement to the Journal said he euthanized the horse “as was his legal right for his own consumption.”

KOB-TV reported that the FBI is now involved since Sappington and others connected to the plant have received death threats.

“I didn’t have anything to do with that video, that’s the honest truth, but like I said, people will make assumptions,” Valley Meat part-owner Rick De Los Santos told KOB.

The video has surfaced as Valley Meat is poised to begin slaughtering horses for meat despite opposition from animal activists.

Last year Congress decided not to extend a ban on USDA horse meat inspections, which had kept the meat from being produced in the U.S. for human consumption.

Valley Meat attorney A. Blair Dunn told Bloomberg News earlier this week that it could begin horse slaughtering in the next three weeks. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack did not confirm the timetable.

“We’re very close to getting the work done that’s needed to be done to allow them to operate,” Bloomberg quoted Vilsack as saying.

 

 



Photo Credit: YouTube

Fire Destroys Harwinton House

0
0

A home at 24 Bumper Road in Harwinton was destroyed by fire on Friday morning, but the family who lives there escaped unharmed.

The family smelled smoke just before 2 a.m., got out safely and called for help, officials said.

Harwinton First Selectman Michael Criss reached out to the community to help the family, but now he is asking people to make contributions to the two fire houses in town because the family said it does not need help.

Donations, in the name of the Ruwet Family, can be made to the West Side Fire House at 199 Scovielle Hill Road and Harwinton Volunteer, 158 Burlington Road in Harwinton.

Fire investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire.

 



Photo Credit: Steve Miller, NBC Connecticut

Police Investigate 3 Store Break-ins

0
0

Police are investigating a break-in at a jewelry store in Avon, one at a nail salon in Canton and another at a pizza shop in Simsbury that might all be connected.

Overnight, someone smashed the glass door of Kevin Edward, an Avon jewelry store that specializes in fine jewelry, including diamonds and jewelry from around the world, according to officials.

The burglars also smashed the secondary door inside the store, which is located at 395 West Main Street.

Police said they are searching for an on old pickup that might be connected to the break-in. 

The glass door at Hollywood Nails, a salon at 221 Albany Turnpike in Canton, is also shattered and the burglars stole a laptop and cash, Dao Le, the salon owner, said.

Le said the nail salon does not have surveillence cameras inside, but now he's looking into getting some added security.

"First thing, I have to call my landlord and let's see what we can do about that," Le said.

Simsbury police said they are looking into whether a break-in overnight at Old Town Pizza, at 1616 Hopmeadow St. in Simsbury, is connected.

The glass was also broken at the pizza shop.

 


View Avon, Canton, Simsbury Break-ins in a larger map

One Dead in West Haven Domestic Incident

0
0

A man is dead in what police said appears to be a domestic incident and his girlfriend is hospitalized with stab wounds.

Police identified the man as Lous Maranda and said he died of a self-inflected gunshot to the head. 

His girlfriend, Elaine Krenke, was stabbed in the chest and neck and is being treated.

An obituary for a family member said the couple was engaged to be married.

Police said they live together and had no prior involvement with police.

West Haven Police received a 911 call around 12:30 a.m. reporting a stabbing on 1st Avenue and responding officers found Krenke suffering from puncture wounds to her chest and neck, police said.

As officers searched the residence, they also found Mara.

Other residents said the two victims are in a relationship and there had been a domestic dispute, police said.

A neighbor, who did not want to be identified, reported hearing yelling and heard a gunshot.

Both victims were transported to area hospitals for treatment. 

The male’s injuries are life-threatening, police said. The woman’s injuries are not.

No additional information was immediately available.


View Larger Map

Two People Rescued from Apartment Fire

0
0

Firefighters rescued two people from an evening blaze in Derby Friday.

Emergency crews responded to 130 Main Street just after 7:00 p.m.

The pair appeared to be conscious and were transported to a local hospital, said Derby Fire Chief, Tom Leonard.

At least two apartment units were damaged by the fire and appeared to sustain smoke and water damage.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

 


Search for Man in Bridgeport Grenade Incident Continues

0
0

Bridgeport Police are asking for help to identify the man who delivered a hand grenade to the Margaret E. Morton Government Center last month.

On Feb. 27, a man who has not yet been identified delivered a hand grenade concealed in a coffee cup to the police internal affairs office at 999 Broad Street. He handed the cup to a man who was on the sidewalk near the State Street entrance and told him to deliver it to internal affairs, police said.

The man, not knowing that there was anything suspicious in the cup, brought it to internal affairs, according to investigators.

The state police bomb squad recovered and ultimately destroyed the grenade, the kind of which is available at a nearby store for about $14, police said.

It was filled with a low-grade explosive powder believed to be smokeless gunpowder, according to preliminary report, police are waiting for the state laboratory to confirm that.

Police think the man intended to use the grenade as an explosive, but a bomb technician told investigators that it could not have detonated because of its poor construction,

The man police are looking for is around 35 years old, 6-feet-tall, with a medium build and scruffy hair.

He was wearing a waist-length coat with a belt and had on a light-colored hat on the day of the incident.

He was driving a black Toyota 4-Runner with tinted windows, model year 2003 to 2009, police said. It has five-point rims, a roof rack, chrome door handles and rain guards over the driver’s and passenger’s windows.

The vehicle has a Connecticut plate on the rear and no plate on the front.

Anyone having information regarding this should contact Detective Hoben at 203-581-5247.

Police supplies surveillance video, which detectives Todd Hoben and Martin Heanue recovered from the area.

The vehicle police are looking for is parked at the curb and pulls in front of the bus.


Thousands Expected at Sandy Hook Benefit Run in Hartford

0
0

Thousands of people are expected in Hartford this weekend for the Sandy Hook Run for Families, a special race to honor the lives of the 20 first graders and six staff members who were killed in the school shooting on Dec. 14.

Gov. Dannel Malloy tweeted that he will run in the 5K event Saturday.

To accommodate the crowd and the large race course, several streets will be closed on March 23:

  • Asylum Avenue, from Cogswell to Ford streets, 10 a.m.  to noon
  • Asylum Street, Main to Trumbull streets, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Buckingham Street, 10 a.m. to noon
  • Capitol Avenue, from Trinity to Laurel streets, 10 a.m. to noon
  • Church Street, from Trumbull to Main streets, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
  • Elm Street, 6 a.m.  to 3 p.m.
  • Farmington Avenue, Laurel Street to Asylum, 10 a.m.  to noon
  • Ford Street, 9 a.m. to noon
  • Jewell Street, Ford to Trumbull streets, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
  • Laurel Street, 10 a.m.  to noon
  • Main Street, Pearl to Asylum streets, 6 a.m.  to noon
  • Main Street, Asylum to Church streets, 9 a.m. to noon
  • Main Street, Pearl to Buckingham streets, 10 a.m.  to noon
  • Pearl Street, Lewis to Ford, 8 a.m. – to noon
  • Pratt Street, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • Trinity Street, closes Friday, March 22 at 11 a.m. until Saturday, March 23 at 3 p.m.
  • Trumbull Street, Pearl to Jewell streets, 8 a.m.  to 3 p.m.
  • Trumbull Street, Asylum to Church streets, 6 a.m.  to 3 p.m.
  • Washington Street, from Russ Street to Capitol Avenue, 10 a.m. to noon

During the run, all CTTRANSIT bus stops in downtown Hartford will be closed.

Downtown bus stops for all routes will be on both sides of Main Street between Trumbull and  Pleasant (Ann) streets.

All Downtown CTTRANSIT bus service will be affected by detours and delays between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m.

In particular there will be no service along the following routes:

  • Main Street between Trumbull and Charter Oak
  • Asylum Street between Main and Cogswell
  • Capitol Avenue between Main and Sisson
  • Farmington Avenue between Woodland and Broad

On Saturday, the Star Shuttle will begin operating at approximately 3 p.m., when the race ends, and will continue service until midnight.

The race was originally planned for Danbury, but it was moved to Hartford because the response was so overwhelming.

The Hartford Marathon Foundation is hosting the race and it will be held at 10 a.m. on March 23.
Those who cannot physically attend, but still want to participate in the run can register as a “Virtual Runner.”

The fee is $25 for adults and $10 for children 17 and under. One hundred percent of registration fees will go toward The Sandy Hook School Support Fund to support all of those affected by the shooting.

The Hartford Marathon Foundation is asking for support to assist with volunteers, sponsorship and in-kind donations of products and services.

You can find more information about the race on the Hartford Marathon Foundation Web page or the foundation’s Facebook page.

15 Years to Life for Chef Who Killed Wife, Cooked Remains

0
0

A former chef who killed his wife and cooked her body for four days to dispose of her remains was sentenced on Friday to 15 years to life in prison.

David Robert Viens, 49, was convicted of second-degree murder for the slaying of his wife, Dawn, in 2009.

Before Viens was sent back into custody, the victim's sister, Dayna Papin, urged the court to continue to keep Viens locked up.

"He's going to continue to fight for his freedom, which I hope you don't give to him for a very long time," Papin said.

Viens attended his court proceedings in a wheelchair as a result of injuries suffered when he jumped 80 feet down Inspiration Point in Rancho Palos Verdes on Feb. 23, 2011, after a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy tried to stop his vehicle and Viens' girlfriend tried to stop him from plunging from the oceanfront cliff by grabbing his clothes.

Viens said he argued with his wife and bound her mouth, hands and feet with duct tape because he didn't want her going out driving while intoxicated, prosecutors said.

After he found her dead the next morning, he concocted a plan to cook her remains, prosecutors said.

"I took some, some things like weights that we use and I put them on the top of her body, and I just slowly cooked it and I ended up cooking her for four days," Viens said, according to audio released in court from an interview with deputies.

He jumped off a cliff in a botched suicide after being confronted by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies.

Defense attorneys argued that Viens did not intend to kill his wife.

Dawn Viens was reported missing by friends and family members three weeks after she was last seen at the couple’s Lomita restaurant, the Thyme Contemporary Café, in October 2009.

Toddler Found Wandering Busy Street

0
0

A Waterbury man was fast asleep as his two-year-old nephew wandered alone on a busy street, according to police.

Waterbury police arrested John Dominguez and charged him with risk of injury to a minor for the Friday morning incident.

Shirley Elhannaoui was driving along Eastern Avenue in Waterbury when she saw the boy running down the busy road, with a mailman and a woman frantically trying to catch him. She says she saw three cars nearly hit the boy, so she blocked traffic with her car and rushed to help.

"Turned my car to block the road here, jumped out of my car, and grabbed the baby who was in nothing but pajamas," said Elhannaoui. "My instinct was just to get behind him, bear hug him, and just grab him."

The mailman was on the phone with police, and they soon arrived on the scene.

The boy's uncle was watching him and fell asleep, according to police. That's when the boy wandered out of their Bliss Street apartment through an unlocked door, police said.

No one answered the door at that apartment when we stopped by.

As police continued their investigation at the scene, Dominguez approached them and tried to get the boy back, according to Elhannaoui. They refused to turn the child over to him.

The child was not hurt in the ordeal.

"People need to be more vigilant of who they're leaving their children with," said Elhannaoui.

Besides police, the Department of Children and Families is also investigating the incident.

 

Meteor Streaks Through Sky Over East Coast

0
0

Social media sites were buzzing about a bright streak of light spotted over the East Coast Friday evening. Meteorologists have confirmed that the flash was in fact a meteor.

Multiple reports began coming in around 8 p.m. People spotted the streak of light in both Maryland and Virginia -- and as far north as New York and Maine. Many said it appeared to be blue or green.

"Judging from the brightness, we're dealing with something as bright as the full moon," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environmental Office said, NBC 4 New York reported. "The thing is probably a yard across. We basically have (had) a boulder enter the atmosphere over the northeast."

The meteor was traveling about 10 miles per second, much faster than even a speeding bullet.

While meteors are not rare and come through the Earth's atmosphere every day, this meteor was larger than usual, which is what made it much easier to see, NBC Washington meteorologist Doug Kammerer said. That's why it had such a dramatic light.

"We got more than 400 reports in less than an hour, which is unheard of," Mike Hankey, an amateur astronomer and Operations Manager at the American Meteor Society, told Philadelphia's NBC10.

On Twitter, @MisterNeek said, "[I] definitely witnessed what appeared to be a shooting star around 8 o clock, which then burst into a beaming red/green glow."

Karen Watson said on Twitter: "Yes, yes! Saw the meteor -- bright green -- in the sky over Kingstowne (Alexandria), Va."

"I live in the Croom area of Upper Marlboro and at approximately 7:55 this evening, I saw a rather large bright blue ball with what looked like a bright orange tail go soaring past our house.... It appeared to be just over the treetops,"  Jennifer Stymiest said.

Thomas Birchall said, "Meteor spotted streaking across the sky in Germantown, Md. It was greenish blue in color and could be seen disintegrating in the Gaithersburg direction."

The sighting comes five weeks after a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, injuring nearly 1,500 people and blowing out windows across the region.

Also in February, meteors were reported over the Bay Area and in Florida.

While it may seem like there's been an uptick in meteor sightings lately, Kammerer said it's more likely that the growth of social media has made reports of them more widely known.

 



Photo Credit: Shutterstock
Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images