HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Gov. Ned Lamont has signed a bill into law that places limitations on when Connecticut law enforcement officers can hold individuals sought by federal immigration officials.

The Democrat released a video message Tuesday saying he's proud to sign the Connecticut Trust Act, adding "we're a nation of immigrants and refugees and nothing the president does will ever change that." Democrats have been critical of President Donald Trump's immigration policy.

The legislation takes effect on October 1.

Among other things, it prevents law enforcement from detaining someone on a civil immigration detainer unless it's accompanied by a warrant signed by a judge; the person is guilty of a serious felony; or the person is on a terrorist watch list. Critics say they fear Connecticut is becoming a so-called sanctuary state.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Three Connecticut girls who ran high school track have filed a federal discrimination complaint, saying a statewide policy that forced them to compete against transgender athletes cost them top finishes and possibly college scholarships.

The conservative Christian law firm Alliance Defending Freedom filed the complaint on behalf of the girls Monday with the U.S. Education Department's Office for Civil Rights. It seeks an investigation and actions to make competitions fair.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference governs high school sports in the state. It says its policy follows a state anti-discrimination law requiring students to be treated in school according to the gender with which they identify.

The complaint says transgender athletes have been consistently winning track and field events and the policy violates federal protections for female athletes.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Gov. Ned Lamont has signed legislation that increases the age to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products to 21.

The bill signed into law Tuesday by the Democrat also prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes and vaping products to anyone under 21. The new law takes effects on Oct. 1.

Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, says such "Tobacco 21" laws are "more important than ever" given the increase in youth e-cigarette use. He says adolescents and young adults are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of nicotine and nicotine addiction, making Connecticut's legislation "an important, life-saving measure."

The law also bans smoking on the grounds of child care centers and schools.

Critics of the legislation have complained it violates the rights of adults ages 18 to 21.

NORWALK, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut judge has ordered a Maine man detained on $5 million bail in connection with the 1986 rape and killing of an 11-year-old girl.

The decision came Monday in Norwalk as 53-year-old Marc Karun made his first court appearance in Connecticut since being arrested last week near his home in Stetson, Maine.

Karun is charged with murder and kidnapping in the sexual assault and strangling of Kathleen Flynn. Police say the sixth-grader was killed while walking home from Ponus Ridge Middle School in Norwalk on Sept. 23, 1986.

Karun has not yet entered pleas and his lawyer, Todd Bussert, declined to comment on the allegations Monday.

Police say Kathleen was killed in an attack similar to attacks on four other women of which Karun was convicted.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut couple is seeking to stop the state Department of Public Health from publicly releasing additional information about immunization rates at private and public schools.

Brian and Kristen Festa, of Woodstock, have filed a lawsuit requesting a temporary injunction. The parents of an unvaccinated son say they've suffered "mental and emotional distress due to the vitriolic and hateful statements from the public" since the agency released immunization data on May 3.

The couple's 7-year-old son attends a private school in Meriden for students with autism spectrum disorders where 18.5% of students claim a religious exemption from vaccinations, one of the highest exemption rates in the state. They say it's "reasonable to presume" their son and other students will be harassed.

Attorney General William Tong's office declined to comment.

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges for letting customers on food stamps sell their benefits for cash and buy restricted items at a Connecticut store.

Federal authorities say at the WB Trade Fair Grocery in Waterbury, 50-year-old Muhammad Shahbaz and other employees allowed customers to purchase restricted items like cigarettes and sold them at double the normal price.

According to a release, during a normal year, the store could normally receive $120,000 to $240,000 per year in food stamp benefits. During 18 months starting in 2015, redemptions totaled $3.2 million.

Three other store employees have pleaded guilty to food stamp fraud. Shahbaz, of Jersey City, New Jersey, will be sentenced by a federal judge in October. He faces up to five years in prison.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The suspect in the rape and killing of an 11-year-old Connecticut girl more than three decades ago is expected to appear in court to face charges.

Authorities say 53-year-old Marc Karun will likely appear Monday in Superior Court in Norwalk to face charges of first-degree sexual assault and murder in the 1986 slaying of Kathleen Flynn in Norwalk.

Karun was arrested at his Stetson, Maine, home last week and extradited to Connecticut on Friday. He has been held over the weekend on $5 million bond.

Police allege Karun, a former Norwalk resident, killed the girl as the sixth grader was walking the roughly half-mile home from Ponus Ridge Middle School.
 

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut State Police trooper has suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries while helping a motorist who had pulled over.

Police say Trooper Gregory Sawicki was helping the occupants of a car that had pulled over in the median of Interstate 95 in Fairfield at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

Sawicki stopped his cruiser behind the disabled vehicle and activated his emergency lights.

A third vehicle, an SUV that was driving in the left-hand lane of the highway, struck the cruiser from behind, pushing it into the first car.

Sawicki was taken to Bridgeport Hospital for treatment of undisclosed injuries.

Two occupants of the disabled car and the driver of the SUV that struck the cruiser also suffered minor injuries.

The crash remains under investigation.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Gov. Ned Lamont is expected to meet privately in the coming days with Connecticut legislative leaders to discuss a possible special session on transportation funding, most notably electronic tolls.

The Democrat has made it clear he's not giving up tolls, but acknowledged he's open to making changes to the proposal that was being crafted during the regular legislative session, which ended June 5. He recently suggested to News 12 Connecticut that tolls might be ramped up over a period of time, or "maybe we do tolls not everywhere but somewhere."

While some Democratic legislators, who control the General Assembly, say they're open to changes, Republicans say they're still opposed to the concept.

Lamont has called for no more than 50 tolling gantries on Interstates 84, 91, 95 and Route 15.

NORWALK, Conn. (AP) - Police in Maine have arrested a man in connection with the 1986 rape and killing of an 11-year-old girl in Connecticut.

Authorities in Norwalk, Connecticut, say Marc Karun was taken into custody Wednesday as he left his home in Stetson, Maine. Officials say Karun is expected to be charged with murder and sexual assault when he is brought to Connecticut.

Kathleen Flynn disappeared on Sept. 23, 1986, while walking home from Ponus Ridge Middle School in Norwalk. Her body was found about 100 feet off a path near the school.

Police have not release details about the arrest.

It's not clear if Karun has a lawyer who could respond to the allegations.

Kathleen's family released a statement thanking police and saying it continues to be a difficult time for them.

HEBRON, Conn. (AP) - Police in Connecticut have finally caught up to a man they say broke into a home before Christmas and stole presents that had been collected for a needy family.

The Journal Inquirer reports that Hebron police have charged 33-year-old Clarence Braun III with burglary and larceny.

Police say Braun broke into a Hebron home on Dec. 6 while no one was home. The thief was caught on a security camera taking about two dozen unopened boxes.

The homeowner, Maria McKeon, say the presents including a television and computer had been collected for a New London family in which the mother was suffering from a heart condition.

Braun is being held on $5,000 bond pending a July 3 court date. No defense attorney was listed in online court records.
 

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The Connecticut Senate's Republican leader predicts the state could face legal action if Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont signs a new, two-year $43 billion state budget.

Sen. Len Fasano of North Haven reiterated Thursday he believes it would be unconstitutional for Lamont to sign the Democratic budget because it counts on labor savings that haven't been finalized by state employee union leaders. He says "there are groups out there that may challenge" the legality of the budget after it takes effect July 1.

Lamont says he's signing the budget.

Lamont and his budget chief say only a portion of the labor savings in the budget, $234 million over two years from refinancing state pension payments, needs approval from union leaders. Lamont says he has the authority to enact other savings initiatives.

GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut town has barred municipal employees from wearing slide sandals or flip-flops to work.

Mary Pepe, director of human resources in Greenwich, tells the Greenwich Time the policy that took effect June 1 was not made in response to a specific incident, but to create safer conditions and avoid accidents that can result in injuries, absences and workers' compensation claims.

Megan Damato, the town's director of risk management, says flip-flops or slide sandals can be a tripping hazard.

Pepe says she's heard from several workers supporting the policy, but so far there have been no formal complaints.

There are exceptions. The policy does not apply to lifeguards, staff at town-run camps or swim instructors. Sandals that close around the back of the foot or around the ankle are permitted.

STORRS, Conn. (AP) - The Connecticut Repertory Theatre at UConn has teamed up with the school's interpreting services to make its plays more accessible to the deaf community.

UConn Interpreting Services will provide interpreters this summer for performances of the musicals "Mamma Mia!" and "Cabaret."

The two interpreters will stand just off stage right signing the dialogue and lyrics to a section of the audience where those with hearing loss will be sitting, while also trying to convey the emotions in the words and music.

UConn recently approved American Sign Language studies as a major, beginning in 2020, which will include a concentration in interpreting.

Audrey Silva, the director of UConn Interpreting Services, says the school hopes to eventually offer internships with her office.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A coalition of homecare agencies is asking Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to veto part of the state budget bill they say will harm the industry.

The advocates said Wednesday they were surprised to see language appear in the bill that would ban "non-solicitation clauses" in employee contracts. Such clauses prevent a worker from soliciting an agency's clients to become a private client or to follow them to another agency.

The provision was originally part of a human services bill the Democratic governor proposed earlier this year. Lamont has not yet signed the budget bill.

Advocates say the legislation could have harmful consequences for clients who might decide to forgo using an agency that screens workers.

Lamont's spokeswoman says the administration believes the health and safety of clients won't be harmed.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont says he's been assured United Technologies Corporation plans to hire 1,000 additional workers at Pratt & Whitney over the next few years.

The Democrat said Tuesday he's also been assured Otis elevators, which UTC plans to spin off to become an independent company, will remain in Connecticut and hire more people.

Lamont's announcements follow news UTC is moving its headquarters from Farmington, Connecticut, to the Boston area as part of a merger with Raytheon Co.

David Lehman, Lamont's economic adviser, says the administration would prefer UTC keep its headquarters in Connecticut, but UTC's CEO Greg Hayes has given Lamont "an endorsement of sorts of the footprint they have here" and their plans to keep growing it.

Lehman says the 1,000 new jobs include manufacturing and engineering positions.

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - The estranged husband of a missing Connecticut mother of five has posted $500,000 bail in a criminal case related to her disappearance.

Fotis Dulos was still in an orange prison uniform and declined to answer questions as he left the state courthouse in Stamford shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Dulos and his girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, pleaded not guilty earlier in the day to evidence tampering and hindering prosecution charges connected to the May 24 disappearance of Jennifer Dulos, who remains missing.

The estranged couple is involved in a bitter divorce and child custody case. Jennifer Dulos' mother is caring for the children and seeking custody.

Fotis Dulos declined to answer questions during a family court hearing Tuesday afternoon, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A former Connecticut drama teacher has been sentenced to nine months in prison for having a sexual encounter with a student.

The New Haven Register reports that 46-year-old Jennifer Frechette, of New Haven, was sentenced Monday. She pleaded no contest to having sexual contact with someone under 16.

Court documents say two school guards found Frechette and the victim on a makeshift bed in the Wilbur Cross High School costume closet in 2017.

The victim told authorities he and Frechette exchanged flirtatious text messages and that Frechette performed a sex act on him in her classroom in December 2016.

Frechette must also register as a sex offender for 10 years.

The family of the victim is suing Frechette, the school board and the city for negligence.

WINDSOR, Conn. (AP) - Fluids leaking from a decomposing body upstairs have forced health officials to close a Connecticut restaurant.

WFSB-TV reports Windsor police were called to the Siam Corner Thai Kitchen and Pho restaurant on May 29 for a report of a foul odor and a reddish-brown liquid dripping from the ceiling of the restaurant behind the front counter.

Police say they entered the apartment above the restaurant through an unlocked window and found the tenant's body in his bed. They say he had been dead for several days.

Police say no foul play is suspected. They have not released the man's name.

The health department says the restaurant remains closed.
 

FARMINGTON, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut's reputation has taken another major blow with the announcement that United Technologies Corp. will be moving its headquarters to Massachusetts as part of its planned merger with Raytheon.

United Technologies will join other corporations scaling back in Connecticut. General Electric moved its headquarters from Fairfield to Boston, and MassMutual says it will be closing a major office in Enfield while expanding operations in Massachusetts.

Quinnipiac University business professor David Cadden says the departures are giving Connecticut a reputation for being hostile toward businesses, whether it's true or not.

Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont says nearly all of United Technologies' 19,000 employees in Connecticut will remain in the state, while about 100 executives and other workers will move to the new headquarters near Boston.