WFSB - Eyewitness News

Winter Storm Zoe is gone, but remnants remainHARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Now that Winter Storm Zoe is gone, her remnants remain across the state. A good portion of the state saw between 5 and 10 inches of snow over its course. It began Thursday night. On Friday morning, a wintry mix moved across parts of the state for the end of Winter Storm Zoe. It put down a quick half an inch to 1 inch of snow across the northern half of the state. Bristol and New Fairfield reported 10 inches of snow from the storm. Waterbury saw 8.5 inches and Southington saw 8 inches. As the afternoon goes on, Meteorologist Mark Dixon said the sun will be out, but a wind will add an extra chill to the air. Temperatures should reach the low- and mid-40s. A strong breeze will help dry the roads. The evening commute will be in much better shape. Friday night will be cloudy, breezy and chilly with lows ranging from 30 to 35 degrees. The weekend is looking pretty good. Saturday should be partly sunny and windy with highs in the mid to upper 40s. Sunday will feature a mix of clouds and sunshine, and highs 38 to 45. While a flurry or two can’t be ruled out, most of the day will be dry. Read the complete technical discussion <a href="https://www.wfsb.com/weather/technical_discussion/" target="_blank">here</a>. For weather alerts on smartphones and tablets, head <a href="https://www.wfsb.com/site/station_info/apps" target="_blank">here</a> or text "WFSB" to 23765 to download the Channel 3 app.
Despite snow, New Britain holds schoolNEW BRITAIN, CT (WFSB) - Despite a wallop from Winter Storm Zoe, New Britain held school on Friday. Dozens of schools around the state canceled after several inches of snow fell. Students in New Britain stayed up waiting and hoping for a snow day. It just wasn't meant to be. However, they did get to sleep in due to a delay. "I wish I could play in the snow, but I’m going to school," said Joalix Venotura, a New Britain student. Isaac Burgos waited at a bus stop as mist fell. He also wished for a snow day. "It must be nice, it must be nice," Burgos said. "It’s pretty cold out here." "They have to go to school, it’s a 2 hour delay," said Ginott Venotura. Some parents opted to drive their children because snow piles hid the path to the bus. "And there’s no sidewalks, and it’s at the bottom of a hill, so I kind of don’t want him standing on the side of the street," said Trisha Alvarez, a parent. New Britain students had mixed reactions to the first snowfall of the season. "It’s too cold, I’ll just lay down and watch a movie," said Zayde Shaklor. I feel it’s going to be a good winter in general," Burgos said. Alvarez regardless of what fell, she's ready for the next one. "We got a long winter ahead of us," she said. The roads began clearing up during the late morning hours of Friday. Stay with Channel 3 for continuing coverage of the aftermath of Winter Storm Zoe.
At peak of storm, it took drivers hours to get homeMERIDEN, CT (WFSB) - Poor driving conditions were reported across the state Friday morning as a wintry mix from Winter Storm Zoe lingered. Interstate 691 in Meriden featured a snowy then slushy mess. At it's height, many drivers reported that it took them hours to get home Thursday night. "[It took] like an hour and a half maybe," said Miguel Hernandez, a truck driver. "It's crazy." A lot of spin outs and crashes were reported in the area in Friday morning. Disabled vehicles littered the median. "[Traffic wasn't] moving at a,," said Gretchen Hayes, a driver. "It was like a standstill. We saw all the trucks stopped so we went around." The state Department of Transportation said it had more than 600 trucks out making sure the roads were clear. Channel 3 spoke with state police and they said they responded more than 1,300 calls for help. They said it's hard for them to keep track of the number of times troopers would simply come across a spinout or a driver who needed assistance. The snow made it extremely difficult to drive on Thursday night. Zoe's leftovers continued that trend into the morning commute. Not only are many roads snow-covered, they are slick with ice and slush. Stay with Channel 3 for updates on the driving conditions. For real-time traffic updates, check the Channel 3 traffic map <a href="https://www.wfsb.com/traffic/" target="_blank">here</a>.
Person killed on I-95 in MilfordMILFORD, CT (WFSB) – A pedestrian was struck and killed by a driver on Interstate 95 northbound in Milford Friday morning, according to the Department of Transportation. State police identified the victim as 24-year-old Alfredo Javier Lopez Marrero of Tampa, FL. The incident happened between Exit 39B and 40 around 3 a.m. According to state police, a driver traveling along I-95 north just south of exit 40 struck Lopez Marrero as he was standing near another vehicle, which was disabled. The victim was transported to Yale-New Haven Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. A passenger in the struck vehicle was transported to the hospital for minor injuries. The left and center lanes were closed but have since reopened. Click <a href="https://www.wfsb.com/traffic/" target="_blank">here</a> for traffic updates.
Lights set to turn on at Holiday Light FantasiaHARTFORD, CT (WFSB) -- The lights at Holiday Light Fantasia are set to turn on Friday night by Ch. 3’s very own Meteorologist Mark Dixon. Folks can start driving through the display starting Thanksgiving through New Year’s Day. Holiday Light Fantasia is set up at Goodwin Park on Maple Avenue in Hartford, and benefits the Channel 3 Kids Camp. The camp serves thousands of campers every summer. For more information about the event, <a href="https://www.holidaylightfantasia.org/" target="_blank">click here</a>.
Torrington digs out from Winter Storm ZoeTORRINGTON, CT (WFSB) - Litchfield County picked up a little extra snow Friday morning after the initial main round from Winter Storm Zoe. People had to do what they're used to doing up in the northwest hills: Dig out. At least they had some sunshine to do it later in the morning. Before that, it was a much different scenario. “Everybody will be skipping the turkey and get the tree out," joked Carmel Indomenico of Torrington. It's hard for some to believe that Thanksgiving is next week when it looked more like the middle of winter in Torrington. Indomenico said he started shoveling his driveway around 6:45 a.m. on Friday. His grandson Andrew Bugryn, who lives across the street, jumped in to help. “I came over here to help my grandfather clean the driveway because he shouldn’t be out here," Andrew Bugryn said. Winter Storm Zoe dumped several inches of snow on the region. Neighbors reported that the conditions quickly changed. “I left work early because I was worried it was going to be a bit slippery," said Jo Bugryn of Torrington. When Channel 3 stopped by Torrington's Department of Public Works on Thursday, it said it was ready to tackle whatever the storm had in store. Schools in Torrington were closed on Friday. Stay with Channel 3 for continuing coverage of Winter Storm Zoe's aftermath.
Judge sides with CNN, orders White House to return Jim Acosta's press pass(CNN) -- Federal judge Timothy J. Kelly sided with CNN on Friday, ordering the White House to reinstate chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta's press pass. The ruling was an initial victory for CNN in its lawsuit against President Trump and several top aides. The lawsuit alleges that CNN and Acosta's First and Fifth Amendment rights are being violated by the suspension of Acosta's press pass. Kelly did not rule on the underlying case on Friday. But he granted CNN's request for a temporary restraining order. This result means that Acosta will have his access to the White House restored for at least a short period of time. The judge said while explaining his decision that he believes that CNN and Acosta are likely to prevail in the case overall. Kelly made his ruling on the basis of CNN and Acosta's Fifth Amendment claims, saying the White House did not provide Acosta with the due process required to legally revoke his press pass. He left open the possibility, however, that the White House could seek to revoke it again if it provided that due process, and said he was not making a judgment on the First Amendment claims that CNN and Acosta have made. CNN has also asked for "permanent relief," meaning a declaration from the judge that Trump's revocation of Acosta's press pass was unconstitutional. This legal conclusion could protect other reporters from retaliation by the administration. "The revocation of Acosta's credentials is only the beginning," CNN's lawsuit alleged, pointing out that Trump has threatened to strip others' press passes too. That is one of the reasons why most of the country's major news organizations have backed CNN's lawsuit, turning this into an important test of press freedom. But the judge will rule on all of that later. Further hearings are likely to take place in the next few weeks, according to CNN's lawyers. The White House took the unprecedented step of suspending Acosta's access after he had a combative exchange with Trump at last week's post-midterms press conference. CNN privately sought a resolution for several days before filing suit on Tuesday. The defendants include Trump, press secretary Sarah Sanders, and chief of staff John Kelly. Kelly heard <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/14/media/cnn-trump-lawsuit-hearing/index.html" target="_blank">oral arguments</a> from both sides on Wednesday afternoon. Kelly, a Trump appointee who has been on the federal bench just more than a year now, was very inquisitive at Wednesday's hearing, asking tough questions of both sides, drilling particularly deep into some of CNN's arguments. Then he said he would issue a ruling Thursday afternoon. He later <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/15/media/cnn-lawsuit-decision-postponed/index.html" target="_blank">postponed it until Friday morning</a>, leaving both sides wondering about the reason for the delay. In public, the White House continued to argue that Acosta deserves to be blacklisted because he was too aggressive at the press conference. Speaking with Robert Costa at a Washington Post Live event on Thursday, White House communications official Mercedes Schlapp said press conferences have a "certain decorum," and suggested that Acosta violated that. "In that particular incident, we weren't going to tolerate the bad behavior of this one reporter," she said. Schlapp repeated the "bad behavior" claim several times. When Costa asked if the White House is considering yanking other press passes. Schlapp said "I'm not going to get into any internal deliberations that are happening." In court on Wednesday, Justice Department lawyer <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/14/media/cnn-trump-lawsuit-hearing/index.html" target="_blank">James Burnham argued</a> that the Trump White House has the legal right to kick out any reporter at any time for any reason -- a position that is a dramatic break from decades of tradition. While responding to a hypothetical from Kelly, Burnham said that it would be perfectly legal for the White House to revoke a journalist's press pass if it didn't agree with their reporting. "As a matter of law... yes," he said. The White House Correspondents' Association -- which represents reporters from scores of different outlets -- said the government's stance is "wrong" and "dangerous." "Simply stated," the association's lawyers wrote in a brief on Thursday, "if the President were to have the absolute discretion to strip a correspondent of a hard pass, the chilling effect would be severe and the First Amendment protections afforded journalists to gather and report news on the activities on the President would be largely eviscerated."
Owl rescued from batting cage at East Windsor High SchoolEAST WINDSOR, CT (WFSB) - A wildlife expert with the help of East Windsor police rescued an owl that became stuck in netting of a batting cage. It happened at East Windsor High School. Police said they were called there on Friday morning. They enlisted the help of someone who works with wildlife. Together, they freed the bird. It was able to fly away on its own and appeared to be unharmed.
Troopers respond to more than 1,300 service calls during stormMIDDLETOWN, CT (WFSB) - State police said they responded to more than 1,300 calls for service during Winter Storm Zoe. Troopers said one of those calls was for a deadly crash. They released statistics for the storm beginning at 4 p.m. on Thursday through 8 a.m. on Friday. They said they responded to 1,341 calls for service. Of those: 230 were crashes1 crash was deadly2 crashes involved serious injuries10 crashes involved minor injuries For real-time traffic updates, check the Channel 3 traffic map <a href="https://www.wfsb.com/traffic/" target="_blank">here</a>.
3 THINGS: Winter Storm Zoe, Vernon sex dungeon, Scot's 20th anniversary, Nicole's phoneWinter Storm Zoe dumped 10 inches of snow in parts of the state, a man was arrested for a sex dungeon in Vernon, Scot Haney celebrated 20 years at WFSB and Nicole Nalepa's phone was covered in bacteria. That's 3 things you need to know and 1 you don't.