HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut's two federally recognized tribes have received the long-awaited approval they've sought from the federal government to push ahead with plans for an off-reservation casino in East Windsor.

Rodney Butler, chairman of the Mashantucket Pequot, said Thursday that his tribe and the Mohegans can now "move forward with construction on Tribal Winds Casino." The project has been billed as a way to blunt competition from the MGM Resorts casino in nearby Springfield, Massachusetts while protecting jobs at the tribes' two existing casinos in southeastern Connecticut.

A memo posted by the U.S. Department of Interior says the agency's assistant secretary of Indian affairs on Tuesday approved proposed amendments to two tribal documents, including the memorandum of understanding with the state of Connecticut.

A federal investigation of the delay is ongoing.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A Department of Correction lieutenant has been placed on administrative leave after an unresponsive Connecticut inmate was taken to the hospital and later died.

The agency says an inmate at the New Haven Correctional Center refused to leave the shower area Thursday morning. After several attempts, the offender was restrained by staff members in the facility's medical unit.

The offender then became unresponsive shortly after the incident and staff began lifesaving measures and called an ambulance. DOC says the unidentified offender was pronounced dead at 9:40 a.m. at an area hospital.

State police are investigating the incident. DOC is conducting an internal investigation as well. Preliminary findings led to the lieutenant being placed on leave.

NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) - A teenager accused of stabbing his grandparents to death in Connecticut has been deemed competent to stand trial on murder and arson charges.

The competency finding by a forensic team that evaluated 18-year-old Marcus Fisher was disclosed Thursday in New London Superior Court. Fisher's public defender entered not guilty pleas.

Fisher is charged with killing 76-year-old John Piscezek and 77-year-old Gertrude Piscezek in their Montville home and trying to set their house on fire on Jan. 28.

The Day newspaper reports officials noted Fisher displayed signs of psychosis after his arrest, but the forensic team did not see any signs of psychosis during a subsequent interview. The team said Fisher said he heard voices in the past.

Police say Fisher told them he stabbed his grandparents during an argument.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Legislation stemming from the death of a Guilford teen who accidentally shot himself in the head has cleared a key legislative hurdle.

The Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted 34-4 in favor of "Ethan's Law," drafted in response to the death of 15-year-old Ethan Song, who shot himself in the head with a handgun owned by his friend's father in January 2018.

The bill requires loaded and unloaded firearms to be safely stored in homes where there are minors under the age of 18. Current law only requires loaded firearms to be stored properly if there's a likelihood a minor could gain access.

Ethan's parents sat in the committee room during the committee vote.

New Haven Rep. Patricia Dillon, a Democrat, thanked the couple for turning their pain into something good.

The bill waits House action.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut man who pinned twin 8-year-old boys and a woman who tried to help them against a wall with his car last year has been sentenced to two years in prison.

The Connecticut Post reports that 39-year-old Allen Pearson, of Stamford, was sentenced Wednesday on a second-degree assault conviction.

Police say the boys were standing outside a Bridgeport restaurant when Pearson drove his car at them. Shanta Jordan saw the car and leaped in front of it hoping to protect the boys. All three were pinned.

Police say Jordan suffered a fractured hip. One boy suffered fractured legs and a broken shoulder while his brother got bruises and abrasions.

Police did not test to determine whether Pearson was impaired by drugs or alcohol. He apologized in court.

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. (AP) - Students at Central Connecticut State University are testing a new pilot program allowing of-age students to have alcoholic beverages in their dorm rooms.

CCSU sophomore Nicky Florestal says the idea could bring more students on campus. School Student Affairs Vice President Michael Jasek tells WVIT-TV that the program could help to encourage older students to continue living on campus.

Officials say eligible students can request to live in two dorms where drinking will be allowed with exceptions starting this fall. Jasek says alcohol won't be allowed in the dorms' hallways or common areas.

Students can only keep a six-pack of beer, a bottle of wine or a small bottle of liquor.

School staff members say they will evaluate how the program is going after a year.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Bills touching on nearly every aspect of Connecticut gambling, from casinos to sports wagering, appear to have cleared their first legislative hurdle.

The Public Safety Committee approved a host of gambling-related bills Tuesday, noting the proposals remain unfinished and await negotiations underway by Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont. They include whether to establish a competitive bidding process for another casino and whether to allow the casino proposed by the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes in East Windsor to open without federal approval.

There are also bills allowing sports wagering, internet gambling and internet keno. Some proposals study side effects of legalized gambling, create a Commission on Gaming, and create more problem-gambling treatment funding

Some lawmakers say they only voted for the bills to continue the discussion. Voting ends at 5 p.m.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Opponents of tolls on Connecticut highways are making their opinions known before lawmakers cast their first vote on the issue.

The politically conservative Yankee Institute for Public Policy set up a large inflatable "Toll Troll" on Tuesday on the front lawn of the state Capitol, surrounded by dozens of signs marking proposed tolling gantries.

Organization President Carol Platt Liebau says lawmakers are "very determined" to pass a tolling bill this year. But she says her organization has heard an outcry from angry taxpayers, both Republicans and Democrats.

Neil Tolhurst, of New Hartford, stood outside the Capitol holding a sign that read "Democrats against tolls." He says "no state has 53 or 83 tolls," referring to the various recommendations.

The Transportation Committee is scheduled to vote on several tolling bills Wednesday.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut lawmaker who supports eliminating the religious exemption from vaccinations for public school students says he had no choice but to cancel a planned forum on the science behind vaccines.

Democratic Rep. Josh Elliott of Hamden says he called off Tuesday's planned event at the Legislative Office Building after most of the panel's medical experts canceled.

Elliott says there was concern among the participants about including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic, on the panel, saying it would be "legitimizing debunked and bogus claims" about vaccines.

Kennedy still appeared at a separate event organized by two Connecticut lawmakers who question vaccine safety. It drew a large crowd who oppose ending the religious exemption.

Kennedy says his late father taught him that "people in authority lie."
 

EAST HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A woman caught on video using racial epithets in an argument at a Connecticut supermarket has been identified as a school department employee who resigned after the video went public.

The white woman is heard using a slur multiple times and spitting during an argument with a black couple in the East Haven, Connecticut, store.

The New Haven Register reports that Hamden Public Schools Superintendent Jody Goeler identified the woman as Corinne Terrone. The district in a statement says Terrone, who was a clerk in the central office, resigned.

It isn't clear what led to Friday's confrontation.

Police say they're aware of the altercation but haven't received a complaint.

The Register says no one appeared to be inside Terrone's New Haven home Saturday. A listed number for her had been disconnected.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Legislation that attempts to reduce the number of single-use plastic straws in Connecticut has cleared a key legislative hurdle.

The Environment Committee on Monday voted 22-6 in favor of a bill preventing full-service restaurants from providing the straws unless they're requested by a customer. The bill was changed to make it clear people with disabilities could still obtain a straw to drink.

The bill awaits further action in the state House.

Democratic Rep. Mary Mushinsky, of Wallingford, says lawmakers will eventually have to address fast-food restaurants. She says "take-out straws are really the offender," noting how she often finds straws and plastic lids during a local river clean-up.

The committee also voted 20-8 in favor of legislation barring schools from using plastic foam trays. That bill now awaits Senate action.

WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) - Three children from Connecticut authorities say were taken by their noncustodial mother during a supervised visit have been found safe in Mexico.

Waterbury police Lt. David Silverio said Monday the children ages 7, 5 and 2, were returned to Connecticut over the weekend.

Authorities say the their mother, 29-year-old Crystal McGrath, took them out a side door of a Waterbury's McDonald's on Feb. 16 during a visit supervised by the state Department of Children and Families.

Authorities say she and her registered sex offender boyfriend, 38-year-old Lester Joy, took the children.

They were found in Mazatlan, Mexico, on March 9.

McGrath and Joy are charged in Texas with risk of injury and custodial interference. It's unclear if they have lawyers.

The children are with a legally appointed guardian.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) The Connecticut State Medical Society is taking a new stance on legislation that would allow terminally ill adult patients to receive medical aid in dying.

After years of opposing the bill, citing the principles of the Hippocratic Oath, the organization's physicians and physicians-in-training have adopted a new policy they're calling ``engaged neutrality.''

In written testimony submitted to the General Assembly's Public Health Committee, the society says ``unanimity within the physician community on the physician's role during the transition from life to death no longer exists.''

The committee is holding a public hearing Monday on this year's aid-in-dying proposal.

Opponents of the bill, including a Nevada physician and Connecticut disability rights activists, are planning a news conference before the hearing to warn against what they call the ``dangers of legalizing assisted suicide.''

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) A former Connecticut doctor who prosecutors say bilked Medicaid out of nearly $5 million and spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on women and luxury goods is facing sentencing.

Ramil Mansourov is set to be sentenced Monday in federal court in New Haven. Prosecutors are requesting a prison sentence of nine to 11 years, while Mansourov's lawyer is asking for a sentence significantly below federal sentencing guidelines.

The Darien resident, who ran a practice in Norwalk, pleaded guilty to health care fraud and money laundering in September. Prosecutors say he billed Medicaid for nearly $5 million for services never provided.

State officials are suing Mansourov seeking nearly $15 million in damages for the Medicaid fraud.

State records show Mansourov's medical license became inactive after he failed to renew it.

NORWICH, Conn. (AP) A Connecticut state's attorney has found a Norwich police officer was justified in using deadly force against a man who prompted a manhunt in October 2017.

The Day reports that a report released Friday by Windham County State's Attorney Anne Mahoney found the ``deadly physical force'' used by the police officer was not the ``proximate cause'' of 25-year-old Brandon Uzialko's death.

The state's attorney's office investigated the shooting because a police officer was involved.

Police say Uzialko was wanted for stabbing and seriously wounding his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend in October 2017.

Days later, he traded gunfire with the Norwich police officer before fleeing on foot. He was found dead a few hours later of a gunshot wound to the head and his death was later ruled a suicide.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut judge has revoked the pension of former Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez because of corruption convictions.

Judge Cesar Noble in Hartford issued a ruling Tuesday citing the severity of Perez's crimes and his "disdain for the public good."

State law allows for the revocation or reduction of corrupt public officials' retirement benefits. The state attorney general's office sued Perez seeking to reduce or revoke his nearly $28,000 annual pension.

Perez, a Democrat, was Hartford's first Hispanic mayor and served from 2001 until he resigned in 2010 amid the corruption charges. He pleaded guilty in 2017 to receiving a bribe and attempted larceny by extortion while in office. He received a suspended prison term.

His lawyer says he's disappointed with the ruling, but an appeal isn't planned.

MERIDEN, Conn. (AP) - Two Connecticut-based investment firms are among the 79 nationwide ordered by federal regulators to repay nearly $125 million to clients over an investigation into whether they told clients that lower cost funds were available.

Infinex Investments, of Meriden, has agreed to repay investors nearly $1 million, and Sheldon-based Investmark Advisory Group will repay $100,000.

The Securities and Exchange Commission says the firms purchased or recommended clients buy higher-fee mutual funds when lower-priced options were available.

The violations occurred between 2014 and 2016.

The firms have not confirmed or denied the findings, but have agreed to be censured and repay the improperly disclosed fees.

An Infinex representative said the company has no comment.

Investmark CEO Michael Kusick has not responded to a request for comment.

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Proponents of legalizing recreational marijuana have unveiled a package of legislation, including proposals to tax the drug and clear criminal records of low-level drug offenders.

The group of House Democrats laid out the plan Thursday to allow marijuana to be cultivated, manufactured and sold to consumers in Connecticut. The bills will originate in several committees, but the lawmakers stressed the legislation is not finalized.

Hamden Rep. Michael D'Agostino says one bill creates a pilot program for marijuana sales to adults over 21, beginning the end of 2019. The drafts don't allow people to grow their own marijuana. Rather, lawmakers say it would be modeled after Connecticut's existing, tightly regulated medical marijuana program.

Potential tax revenue from recreational marijuana sales has been estimated to be $30 million to $180 million annually.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - A man who was injured in an exchange of gunfire with police officers in Connecticut has pleaded not guilty.

The New Haven Register reports that 22-year-old Marcus Rivera entered his plea Monday to multiple charges, including assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest.

State police say officers were trying to arrest Rivera on Jan. 8 for fleeing a traffic stop in December when he pointed a gun at Detective Francisco Sanchez, prompting the officer to open fire.

Rivera was struck in the pelvic area. Police say he also fired at the officer, who was not struck.

A judge set Rivera's bond at $825,000. Rivera's attorney argued for lower bond, saying his client does not have the means to pay higher bond.

He is scheduled to return to court April 29.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut university is denying wrongdoing in the choking death of a student during a pancake eating contest on campus in 2017.

Lawyers for Sacred Heart University in Fairfield blamed Caitlin Nelson's own actions for her death, in court documents filed Tuesday in response to a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Nelson's mother.

The 20-year-old junior social work major choked on the pancakes during a charity fundraiser in March 2017 and died three days later at a New York City hospital.

Her mother, Rosanne Nelson, of Clark, New Jersey, is seeking an undisclosed amount of money and accuses the Catholic school of approving the contest despite the dangers, and failing to provide adequate medical personnel.

Caitlin Nelson's father, police officer James Nelson, died in the Sept. 11 attacks in Manhattan.