A Tolland doctor who officials said had thousands of files of child porn on his home computer has been sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography. 

Carl G. Koplin, a 55-year-old former family practice physician in Vernon, was sentenced on Tuesday to 51 in prison, followed by fives years of supervised release. He will also have to pay a $10,000 fine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, a Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent based in Virginia used a publicly available Internet file sharing program to download approximately 300 images and videos of child pornography from the shared directories of a user with an Internet Protocol address belonging to Koplin’s Tolland home.

On July 9, 2010, federal agents searched Koplin’s house and seized a desktop computer, storage media and other computer components and Koplin admitted that he used a file sharing program to trade images of child pornography and that he was responsible for any child pornography found as a result of the search of his residence, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

“This defendant’s appalling collection of child pornography was one of the largest that we have seen here in Connecticut,” U.S. Attorney David Fein said in a statement. “It’s reprehensible that a practicing physician who held such an important position of trust in the community victimized so many children by collecting and trading sexually explicit images of them.  This Office is committing to working with the FBI, Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force and our other law enforcement partners to protect children by stemming the distribution of these images and vigorously prosecuting offenders.”

According to officials, Koplin had thousands of images and videos depicting child pornography, totaling more than 800 gigabytes in size. 

Officials said Koplin was a family practice physician in Vernon before his arrest. 

He has been in home confinement under electronic monitoring since being arrested.

New London police have arrested a man suspected of robbing a teen at knifepoint on Monday night.

Police responded to Colman Street, by Garfield Avenue, at 9:07 p.m. on Monday and found a teenage boy who had superficial lacerations on his neck and told police that Malik Nunn, 19, pushed him against a wall and held a knife to his throat, police said.

Nunn is accused of stealing cash and other items from the victim, who was able to escape.

Police found Nunn, of Mashantucket, in the Laurel Drive area and the victim identified him as the attacker.

Nunn was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery, second-degree strangulation, third-degree assault and sixth-degree larceny. He was held on a $75,000 bond.

Police are looking for a second person who might have been involved. The investigation is ongoing.
 

Newly released documents on Newtown shooter Adam Lanza's brief college career add a few small details about his life but do little to answer any questions about what motivated him to kill.

The Western Connecticut State University paperwork, released Tuesday, outline Lanza's attempts, after completing his high school credits early, to continue his education.

In May 2008, just after his 16th birthday, Lanza took an algebra placement exam, saying in his background questionnaire that he did not want to indicate his gender or anything about his background. He scored a 95.9.

That summer, Lanza took two computer science classes, earning an A and an A-minus, the documents show. He followed up in the fall with another computer science class, which he withdrew from, and a philosophy class titled "Introduction to Ethical Theory," in which he earned a C.

Lanza began the spring 2009 semester with classes in German and American history, but apparently dropped his studies in April.

The records end there.

Nearly four years later, on Dec. 14, 2012, Lanza, 20, killed his mother at home in Newtown and drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he gunned down 20 first-graders and six educators before committing suicide.

Afterwards, investigators searched the Lanza home and found a massive cache of guns, knives, swords and ammunition, according to documents released by authorities last week.

Those documents not only described a household enamored with guns, but also raised questions about what Lanza's 52-year-old mother, Nancy, knew about the danger that her son posed, and whether she was complicit in allowing him to obtain guns.

Among the paperwork taken from the home they shared were photographs of what appeared to be a bloody body, a New York Times article about a 2008 mass shooting at Northern Illinois University, self-help books for understanding the minds of people with Asperger's Syndrome and autism, a paperback entitled "Train Your Brain to Get Happy," a guide to pistol shooting and a holiday card containing a check Nancy Lanza wrote to Adam for the purchase of a firearm.

Authorities released video on Tuesday of the initial inspection of the sinkhole that claimed the life of a man at his home in Seffner, Fla. just over a month ago.

The video shows glimpses of the earth beneath Jeff Bush’s home at 240 Faithway Drive in Seffner, near Tampa.

Bush, 36, died when the ground opened up and swallowed him on the night of Feb. 28. Five others who were in the house that night escaped unharmed.

Check back for updates.

A Bridgeport police detective shot a man who was armed with a rifle on Monday night and the man later died at the hospital, according to Bridgeport Police.

The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. near the corner of Pequonnock Street and Benham Avenue.

Police said the detective, Christopher Borona, a 15-year veteran of the department, was on a break inside Golfinho's Fish Market when someone reported a man with a rifle outside the store.

When the detective got outside, the armed man, identified as Bryan Stukes, 21, was in a confrontation with two people, police said. 

The detective drew his service weapon and fired at least two shots after Stukes pointed the rifle at him, according to Bridgeport Police.

Stukes ran after being shot, but was found a short distance from the scene. He was rushed to the hospital, where he died. An autopsy will be conducted.

State Police and have taken over the investigation and said a .22 caliber level action rifle was found at the scene.

Borona was not hurt, but was taken to St. Vincent Hospital for evaluation.

This is the second police-involved shooting in Bridgeport this year.

In January, police officers shot a knife-wielding man multiple times near the University of Bridgeport after he lunged at officers, according to police.

That suspect was arrested after recovering from his injuries.

President Barack Obama will be in Connecticut next week as he continues his national efforts to enact new, stricter gun control legislation.

The president will be at the University of Hartford on Monday, officials from the White House confirmed on Tuesday.

The Hartford Courant obtained a statement from the White House that states: 

“On Monday, April 8, President Obama will travel to the University of Hartford where he will continue asking the American people to join him in calling on Congress to pass common-sense measures to reduce gun violence. Additional details on the President’s event at the University of Hartford will be forthcoming.”

 Families of those killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December are being invited to attend, the Associated Press reports.

In the days after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Obama visited Newtown, visited privately with the families of the 20 students and six educators killed and attended an interfaith vigil.

Then, he asked Vice President Joe Biden to lead a task force to come up with ways to reduce gun violence.

During a news conference about gun control, he said he has a painting by one of the victims, Grace McDonnell, in his private study and it stands as a reminder of that tragic December day.

“I hung it in my private study, just out of the Oval Office. And every time I look at that painting, I think about Grace, and I think about the life that she lived, and the life that lay ahead of her, and most of all, I think about how, when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable among us, we must act now – for Grace, for the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give,” Obama said in January.

State and federal gun control proposals have been met with mixed reaction. Families of the victims have asked for strict regulations, particularly for guns with large-capacity magazines, while guns rights groups have said law-abiding citizens’  will be penalized.
 

Two fragments that could be human remains were found on the first day of sifting debris from construction sites around the World Trade Center site in a renewed effort to find 9/11 victims, officials said Tuesday.

The two pieces were found Monday in the first day of a 10-week sifting operation. The city has collected about 60 dump truck loads of debris from construction areas around the trade center site over the past two and a half years that is now being examined for remains. 

The debris was collected from the World Financial Center, West Street and a lot near Liberty Street since the last sifting operation in mid-2010.

The material amounts to 590 cubic yards -- 38 from the WTC, 13 from the western edge of the southbound lanes of West Street and 539 from the Liberty Street area, where four pieces of possible human remains have already been found.

Any human remains will be analyzed by the medical examiner's office for possible matches to 9/11 victims. Of the 2,750 people killed at the trade center, 1,634 have had remains identified.

Today, Connecticut lawmakers plan to vote on possible new gun control laws that could be some of the toughest in the country. 

This was a big concern for gun owners, and thousands of them rushed to gun stores to stock up on guns and ammunition that could soon be illegal. 

• Feds Conduct Drug Sweep in Southeastern Connecticut
• Caught on Tape: Rutgers Coach Hurls Anti-Gay Slurs, Shoves Players
• Woman Sexually Assaulted on Way to Work
• Newtown Gunman's School Records, New Photo Released

Ocean sounds, weather patterns, captains that stick to schedule and attentive staff — all face criticism on cruise lines.

British online cruise travel agency Bon Voyage has reportedly published a top 10 list of the most outlandish complaints from its customers in the last year.

One woman complained the sea was "too loud" and suggested better sound-proofing of passenger accommodations, because she couldn't sleep well on her Mediterranean cruise, The Courier Mail reported.

A couple who left a note behind on the ship while sightseeing in the port claimed the captain was "rude" for sailing away without them.

One man reported that he did not get "an impressive tan" on his cruise around Alaska, insisting every cruise is supposed to have sunny weather.

Another woman was said to have asked for a refund from Celebrity Cruises because there were "no celebrities on board."

A couple even complained about good service, saying that they should receive compensation since they had to shell out tips for staff and spent "a lot more money than planned."

Those passengers might have had more to complain about, though, if they had been cruising on the Carnival Triumph, which lost power and drifted for more than five days without working toilets or electricity in February, or on the Carnival Dream, which was docked in the Everglades and featured hours-long disembarking lines — or perhaps on the Royal Caribbean ship where more than 100 people suffered from a stomach virus.

A former Kaufman County, Texas, judge says he was questioned by agents just hours after the slain district attorney and his wife were found but insists he had nothing to do with it and doesn't even own a gun.

"If I was in their shoes, I would want to talk to me," Eric Williams said in an interview at his house. "In the investigators' minds, they want to check with me to do their process of elimination."

Williams, a former Kaufman County justice of the peace, was charged with theft and later convicted in a high-profile trial. He was kicked out of office, and his law license was suspended. He was sentenced to two years' probation and is appealing his conviction.

But he said he is not bitter and wouldn't want to harm anyone.

"I've cooperated with law enforcement," Williams said. "I certainly wish them the best in bringing justice to this incredibly egregious act."

Williams' name has swirled around the courthouse because his trial was sensational news in this small community, and it included testimony of death threats.

William said he was contacted Saturday night by investigators -- only about three hours after Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were found dead inside their Forney home.

He said he met the agents at a nearby restaurant, where he allowed them to swab his hands for gunpowder residue. He also gave them his and his wife's cellphones, which they returned the next day.

"I know I didn't do anything," he said. "I know where I was."

Williams said he was at home with his wife or up the street at his in-laws late Friday and Saturday.

Williams, a one-time police officer, said investigators who searched his home during the theft investigation found guns but added he no longer has any weapons.

"I got rid of everything," he said.

Williams said agents have not searched his house.

He expressed shock at the crime and sympathy for the victims' families.

"I want to say my deepest condolences go out to the McLelland family and all the people at the courthouse," he said.

Asked if he is angry at prosecutors, he said, "No, I'm not. Obviously that was also a part of them doing their jobs."

A student from the University of Pennsylvania died in a rock climbing accident in Namibia, southern Africa on Sunday. Oliver Pacchiana, an Engineering major and Junior at the school, was studying abroad at the University of Cape Town in South Africa this semester. He was 20-years-old.

While on Spring Break, Pacchiana, originally from Greenwich, Connecticut, went on a trip to Victoria Falls and Botswana, according to the Daily Pennsylvanian. The DP reports he then went off on his own to visit Namibia, a country 1,000 miles north of Cape Town, to go rock climbing on Sunday. While climbing with the group, Pacchiana slipped and fell to his death.

The American consulate in Namibia contacted Pacchiana’s family Sunday morning by phone and informed them of his death. UPenn students found out Monday night through email.

Oliver was an Eagle Scout and an altar server at his local parish, according to his brother Nolan Pacchiana.

"The cliche that appears in every obituary is that the world mourns the passing of a good kid, taken before his time," said Nolan. "That is absolutely the case for Oliver. Oliver had a strong moral compass and a good heart."

Nolan also says his brother had a passion for traveling.

"He was always looking for a new experience, a new part of the world he hadn't seen," said Nolan. "He hiked the deserts of New Mexico and climbed the trails of Alaska. He had visited over 15 countries and five continents."

Pacchiana was also a member of the UPenn band.

"Oliver was a mainstay in the band as a freshman tuba player," said Penn band director Greer Cheeseman. "I don't think he missed an event, the whole year, rehearsal, game, anything. He was one you could always count on. He was a good kid. And he'll be missed."

David Kaiser-Jones, the president of the band, described Oliver as "cheerful, funny and instantly likable."

"He was enthusiastic and unabashedly quirky," said Jones. "So naturally, the band loved him. The Penn Band is a particularly tight-knit group, so his loss impacted us deeply."

A support meeting was held Tuesday afternoon inside a UPenn auditorium. A memorial service will be held in Greenwich this Saturday. UPenn will host a separate service on Monday.
 

Local police and federal investigators have arrested around 100 people after a 15-month drug trafficking investigation and said they took down two of the largest heroin and cocaine trafficking rings in Connecticut.  

Federal officials said the 52 federal arrests, 52 state arrests are in connection with a large-scale trafficking operation from the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico into southeastern Connecticut.

The heroin ring was being operated out of an apartment building on Hawthorn Drive in New London, officials said.

Officials said Luis Ariel Capellan Maldonado, a citizen of the Dominican Republic, would regularly get multi-kilogram quantities of heroin from the Dominican Republic and worked with several people to distribute the drug in southeastern Connecticut. 

Capellan Maldonado is accused of supplying customers with raw heroin, often in quantities of 50 to 150 grams.

He also had access to kilogram quantities of cocaine, which he sometimes supplied cocaine to wholesale cocaine distributors in New London, according to federal investigators.

Federal authorities said Pedro Rivera, of Groton, obtained kilograms of cocaine from Puerto Rico and he, Luis Zayas, of Waterford, and their associates transported the cocaine from Puerto Rico to the United States, through several methods, including the U.S. mail. 

Pedro Rivera and Zayas are also accused of supplying drugs to other individuals, including Frankie Rivera, who used his business, PR Speedshop on Westwood Avenue in New London, to sell cocaine to street-level customers.

Federal officials also said Oscar Valentin and his employees sold narcotics Rivera and others supplied to customers from a garage Valentin managed at the intersection of Walker and Bristol streets in New London.

In addition to drugs, law enforcement officials seized drugs, cash, guns and cars.

"Homeland Security Investigations, along with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners, are executing numerous federal and state arrest and search warrants at locations in southeastern Connecticut. More information about this massive law enforcement operation will be announced later today," a high-ranking official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement to NBC News and NBC Connecticut.

The drug raid extends beyond Connecticut and includes 722 law enforcement officials from New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico.

Officials said this involved human trafficking in which people swallowed the drugs to transport them. Other drugs were sent through the mail.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office, New London State’s Attorney’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, ATF, DEA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection - Office of Air and Marine, U.S. Marshals Service, Connecticut State Police and the New London, Norwich,  Waterford, East Lyme, Groton Town and Putnam Police Departments were all involved in the investigation.

 

A Tennessee girl has missed nearly a month of school this year over suspensions tied to her alleged foul body odor, NBC affiliate WSAV reported.

The Washington County school reportedly sent the 8-year-old home several times since October, describing her smell as so potent that it distracted teachers and classmates. Suspension documents for an incident last week claimed the second grader did not bathe for the two days straight, slept in her clothes and couldn’t remember the last time she took a bath or brushed her teeth, WSAV said.

A school notice from October warned that suspensions would continue until there were "corrective measures." The child has been suspended at least seven times and missed a total of 24 school days, according to the station.

The girl's mother, Krystal Hensley, denied the accusations, saying her daughter takes daily baths. “You go to school to learn, not to be sent home,” she told WSAV.

The Department of Child Services investigated the issue at one point, Hensley said. The agency told WSAV they did not have an open case.

A California man's family is asking questions after he died following an oral surgery to remove his wisdom teeth late last month.

Marek Lapinski went into cardiac arrest during the common surgery, according to medical records provided by a friend of the family.

Lapinski was 24 when he died three days after the March 21 surgery at a clinic run by Dr. Steven Paul.

Thomas Keiser, the friend of Lapinski's family, called the death a "senseless tragedy."

Paul's attorney said in an email that the surgeon provides "state of the art services and monitoring for his patients," but wrote that "no surgical procedure is without risk."

"All standard protocols" were followed during surgery, Paul's attorney Clark Hudson said in the email.

"The circumstances regarding Mr. Lapinksi’s complications are not completely understood. What is understood is that Mr. Lapinski’s complications occurred despite the fact there were no apparent contraindications for his oral surgery, routine anesthetic medications were being used for the procedure, and immediate measures were undertaken to revive the patient as soon as the patient began to decompensate," Hudson wrote.

Complications developed 30 minutes into the surgery, which is a fairly routine procedure, according to a website created in Lapinski's honor.

The ambulance report states Lapinski's doctor told first responders that he began to wake up and cough during the procedure, and was then given propofol, a surgical anesthetic that killed singer Michael Jackson. Lapinski had "surgical gauze in (his) airway," the report stated, as well as a "small 'surgical cone'" that could not be removed.

Lapinksi was taken to Rancho Springs Medical Center from Paul's office. The patient was later transferred to UCLA Medical Center, according to Keiser.

An investigator at the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner said Lapinski's body still had not been examined, so no cause of death was available.

April Lapinski told NBC4 her son had been an "good kid."

"Our lives are ruined," April Lapinski said. "We don’t have him and he was the center of all of our lives."

She wants a full investigation of the death, which came after what Keiser said was the administration of six drugs during surgery.

Marek Lapinski was a founding partner in a San Diego company called Total 3rd Dimension, which developed thermal and night-vision equipment for military use, according to the website.

Lapinski had grown up in Wexford, Penn., and attended Duquesne University before moving to the San Diego area for work.

He played football at Duquesne, where a coach told a local Patch website that he was being mourned.

A day before his surgery, he had tweeted, "gettin my wisdom teeth out tomorrow. Loading up on some #soup and #yogurt."

A memorial page for Lapinski has been set up on Facebook, where the image at left above was posted. The website in his honor includes a way to make donations for a memorial fund.

The Securities and Exchange Commission gave chief executives a green light to disseminate news about their companies via Twitter, Facebook or blogs, but Tuesday’s ruling embracing social media comes with a caveat.

In line with the existing Regulation Fair Disclosure, known as Reg FD, companies can reveal information on social media only if they notify shareholders ahead of time which social media accounts will be used to release material information. The point of the rule is to ensure that all investors have access to the same information at the same time, according to All Things D.

"One set of shareholders should not be able to get a jump on other shareholders just because the company is selectively disclosing important information," said George Cannellos, acting director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, in a statement. "Most social media are perfectly suitable methods for communicating with investors, but not if the access is restricted or if investors don’t know that’s where they need to turn to get the latest news."’

The new policy comes after Netflix CEO Reed Hastings used his personal Facebook account last year to announce that Netflix had surpassed one billion hours of streaming for the first time.

Netflix’s stock price jumped after the news was posted. The SEC then launched an investigation into whether the post violated SEC’s fair disclosure rules because the news had not been shared with the investors through more traditional means of communication like a press release or SEC filing.

The SEC eventually dropped its investigation, noting that there has been "uncertainty" about how companies and their CEOs should use social media for disclosing information.

Tuesday’s ruling clarifies the agency’s position on social media, but it doesn’t mean all companies will adopt that strategy to communicate with shareholders, according to Mashable.

"I think companies will be very cautious,"  David Balto, the former policy director for the Federal Trade Commission, told Mashable. The traditional methods that they relied on for years, I don't think you will see them vary a lot."

The one thing that did seem to change is the SEC’s attitude toward social media. The regulator has been very cautious about corporate disclosure policies, according to The New York Times' DealB%k. Back in 2008, as part of Reg FD, the SEC decided that corporate Web sites are public enough if investors were already informed that those pages could be sources for company news. The Netflix incident forced the SEC to further relax its position.

“The S.E.C. had to ask itself, How do we adopt a 2000 regulation to 2013 when social media is commonplace?” Thomas A. Sporkin, a former S.E.C. enforcement official told  DealB%k, referring to Reg FD. “That obviously wasn’t even a thought back when this was written.”

With Tuesday's ruling the SEC seems to have acknowledged that social networks like Facebook and Twitter have  massive reach – exceeding 1.2 billion people on a monthly basis—and could prove more effective at keeping shareholders informed than the more traditional email blasts, newswire releases, or even SEC filings, according to All Things D.

If you want to get away to Florida, you will be able to get there from Worcester Regional Airport.

Daily service from Worcester Regional Airport to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale begins on Nov. 7.

From today through April 10, flights from Worcester to Orlando are on sale for $60 one-way, while tickets to Fort Lauderdale are on sale for $70 one-way, from Nov. 8 and Dec. 17.

Rutgers men's basketball coach Mike Rice was fired today, after months-old footage surfaced of him habitually verbally abusing players and throwing basketballs at them during practice. Sadly, Rice's outbursts and subsequent dismissal find him a pretty good company in the annals of college coaching.

For all the good they do, college athletic programs have often been a haven for explosive personalities and bad behavior. Here are some of the most notorious bad actors and outrageous displays:

Mike Price, Alabama Football
In December 2002, Price landed one of the most coveted jobs in college sports, being named football coach at the University of Alabama. But the dream was over before he ever coached a single game. He was fired in May for failing to live his "personal and professional life in a manner consistent with university policies," according to school president Robert Witt. What does that mean? Sports Illustrated answered the question with a piece that detailed an evening of debauchery they claimed Price enjoyed in Florida. According to the article, he spent a great deal of money getting dances from a stripper named Destiny, and later retired to his room with two other women, one of whom claimed, "We started screaming 'Roll Tide!' and he was yelling back, 'It's rolling, baby, it's rolling.'"

Price would awaken to a $1,000 room service bill, Sports Illustrated reported, and a rumor mill that was beginning to swirl. He would later sue SI over the allegations of sex. The suit was settled out of court, with Price declaring himself "one happy man," but admitting that given another chance, "I definitely would have made a different decision that one night, no question. That was a bad night." 

Bobby Knight, Indiana Basketball
Bobby Knight, the Grand Poobah of Explosive Tempers, once expressed his frustration with the refs by throwing a chair onto the court, was convicted in absentia of assaulting a police officer Puerto Rico and littered journalists, players, IU staffers and refs with profanities fairly regularly. In 2000, a videotape from 1997 surfaced that showed Knight  choking Hoosier player Neil Reed. That final offense forced IU president Miles Brand to adopt a "zero tolerance" policy regarding Knight's behavior. Knight was gone that September when it was reported that he grabbed a student by the arm.

Woody Hayes, Ohio State Football
In the '50s, Woody Hayes was accused taking a swing at journalist, but insisted he had only "shoved him along." In the '70s he was fined for shoving a camera into a photographer's face and for charging an ABC cameraman. Hayes would strike his final blow in the 1978 Gator Bowl, when he punched an opposing player in the throat, touching off a bench-clearing brawl. He was fired the following day.

Ed Hall, Fairfield Football
In 1978, Fairfield was clinging to a 15-14 lead in the third quarter of a game against Western New England College when WNE kick returner Jim Brown found some daylight and appeared to be headed for the end zone. But Hall, himself a former college football player, ran onto the gridiron and took Brown down at midfield.

"Are you out of your mind, coach?" said Brown. "I guess I am," said Hall.

John Chaney, Temple Basketball
Temple and UMass enjoyed a heated rivalry beginning ion the late '80s, but it reached a boiling point during a 1994 press conference being held by UMass coach John Calipari, following a 56-55 win over Temple.

Cheney was furious, claiming that Calipari had intimidated the ref, and burst in screaming, "I'll kill your (expletive) a**. You remember that," Chaney screamed at Calipari. "I'll kick your a**. Kick your a**."
Worse yet, when one of Calipari's player stepped in between the two coaches, Cheney pushed the kid.

"Some things never cease to amaze me," said Calipari moments after Cheney was escorted from the room.

Chaney later apologized and served a one-game suspension.

“The Tonight Show” is returning to New York with Jimmy Fallon as host.

Fallon will take over hosting duties from Jay Leno in the spring of 2014, NBC confirmed on Wednesday. Leno has hosted the show for 22 years in Burbank, Calif.

“I’m really excited to host a show that starts today instead of tomorrow,” Fallon said in a statement.

Leno joked in the statement: “Congratulations Jimmy. I hope you're as lucky as me and hold on to the job until you're the old guy. If you need me, I'll be at the garage.”

Steve Burke, chief executive officer of NBCUniversal, called Leno an "entertainment icon."

“His long reign as the highest-rated late-night host is a testament to his work ethic and dedication to his viewers and to NBC," Burke said in the statement.

Leno and Fallon teamed up earlier this week to address news reports of the transition with a humorous parody of the "West Side Story" song "Tonight."

"The Tonight Show" has been based in Burbank since Johnny Carson moved it west in 1972.

The show will return to its original home in New York, where it was first conceived in 1954. The show will be taped at 30 Rock and executive-produced by Emmy-winning “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels.

At the time of his departure, Leno will have the distinction of being the second longest serving host of the nightly entertainment program. "The Tonight Show" began airing in 1954 with Steve Allen behind the main desk. He remained until 1957 when he was succeeded by Jack Paar (1957–1962), who was followed by Carson (1962–1992), then Leno (1992–2009, 2010–2014) and Conan O'Brien (2009–2010).

When Carson stepped down in 1992 it was rumored that David Letterman, the then-host of NBC's late-night spot immediately following “The Tonight Show,” would be his successor. Soon after Leno was announced to the position, Letterman decamped to CBS where he has hosted the “Late Show with David Letterman” in the same time slot as “Tonight” ever since.

In a switch that garnered as much publicity as the Carson/Leno/Letterman change, current host Leno departed the program in 2009 to move into prime time with “The Jay Leno Show,” which would air at 10 p.m. and be a lead-in to “The Tonight Show.” Conan O’Brien took the reins as host and the show was moved from Burbank to a new studio located on the back lot of Universal Studios Hollywood.

It was a short-lived change. After only eight months O’Brien left NBC when negotiations to keep him as host of the show – albeit in a later time period – broke down following the announcement that Leno would be returning to the coveted late-night slot. The move came on the heels of a ratings falter at “Tonight” and conjecture over the success of “The Jay Leno Show” in prime time. O’Brien returned to late-night television that same year hosting “Conan” on the cable channel TBS. Leno resumed his host duties on "The Tonight Show" and brought the program back to the Burbank studio.

In an interview with the New York Times, Leno addressed the impending Fallon hand-over by dispelling rumors that the negotiations were not amicable or in any way similar to the O'Brien brouhaha. “The main difference between this and the other time is I’m part of the process. The last time the decision was made without me. I came into work one day and — you’re out,” he said, adding that this time around “there really aren’t any complications like there were the last time. This time it feels right.”

As for his future plans after stepping down, Leno, who will turn 64 in 2014 and has been married to his wife Mavis for 33 years, told the New York Times that he expects to be “back on the road, being a comedian again.”

Facebook has been teasing the release of an Android product since last week and while details have been scarce, an official announcement scheduled for Thursday is widely expected to reveal a Facebook phone launch.

The phone is reportedly made by HTC and will use a "forked" Android system, which is an altered version of the popular Google operating system, according to Forbes.

The public has been touting this as a "Facebook phone," but Tech Crunch and Mashable says it is more like an Android phone with Facebook functionalities on an HTC handset. This is consistent with a statement from CEO Mark Zuckerberg who said last summer that a Facebook phone "wouldn't make much sense."

The smartphone is created around the functions of the social networking site. This means that users will log in to the phone with their Facebook accounts and see news feeds, data and apps displayed on the home screen, according to Tech Crunch.

Facebook's strategy, according to The New York Times, is expose users to the site as much as possible so they can see more mobile advertisements, a source of revenue that advertisers have yet to harness.