January 27 / 11:15 pm
3 Suspect In Custody in Murder of Officer
 (East Hartford-WTNH) _ Police have arrested a 23 year old Hartford man along with two women for the murder of East Hartford police officer Brian Aselton. Noel "Alex" Sostre was taken into custody Wednesday morning. Sostre, an unemployed, homeless man from Puerto Rico, has a criminal history which includes assault. Police say he has made a written confession to the murder. Hours after his arrest, police announced the arrest of two women on murder and other charges. Sostre and one of the women face the death penalty if convicted.
 Here's more on the arrests and charges.
Officers, Friends, Family Attend Wake for Aselton
 (South Windsor-WTNH) _ More than 1,000 fellow officers, friends and family gathered in South Windsor Wednesday night to honor officer Aselton and pay their respects. Many of those attending are officers from out of state.
News Channel 8's Leon Collins reports.
Bridgeport Suing Gunmakers
(Bridgeport-WTNH) _ Bridgeport city officials feel emboldened after the success of the big tobacco lawsuit so they're taking aim at gunmakers.
The city wants to hold manufacturers and sellers responsible for the results of handgun violence. 20 defendants are named in the lawsuit, including Colt and Sturm, Ruger & Company. It alleges that the companies fail to take simple steps to protect children and others from accidental firings.
Mayor Jospeh Ganim, (D) Bridgeport: "It's about making those guns safe. It's about personalizing those weapons so that only the intended users can discharge those weapons."
The suit also accuses the gun industry of a conspiracy to flood poor and minority neighborhoods with illegal guns. Sturm Ruger, located in Connecticut, says this suit is a "big waste of taxpayer money" and that "we're not the enemies, the criminals are".
Vote To Dismiss Impeachment Fails, Witnesses Will be Subpoenaed
(Capitol Hill-AP) _ Senate leaders are now talking about ending the Clinton impeachment trial by mid-February. There had been talk earlier today of a Republican plan that would end the trial as early as the end of next week. But Republican leader Trent Lott says the plan that's now under discussion would go beyond that date. He says the trial would most likely wrap up before the Presidents Day recess.
After today's Senate vote to subpoena the three witnesses requested by House prosecutors, senators met privately to determine how the trial would proceed from here. Lott says he and Democratic leader Tom Daschle have exchanged ideas, but there's no agreement yet. He's hoping one will be finalized by tomorrow afternoon, when the trial is scheduled to resume. Once there's an agreement, Lott says, subpoenas will go out and he says the depositions could begin over the weekend. He says they could continue into Monday. The plan would allow for Clinton lawyers to also take part in the deposition of witnesses Monica Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan and Sidney Blumenthal. The White House says Clinton's lawyers still need access to more evidence before they'd be able to take part in questioning witnesses and that they may need to call additional witnesses of their own. Lott says whether or not the depositions will be videotaped is still under discussion. The Republican plan from earlier today involved videotaped depositions that would then be made available to senators, as they decided whether to bring the witnesses to the Senate floor for live testimony.
Here's more on today's developments
Man Who Dumped Dog Sentenced
(Groton-WTNH) _ A Groton man charged with ducttaping his dog and throwing it in a dumpster has been sentenced, but won't serve time behind bars.
27 year old Eric Crockett pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of cruelty to animals. His received a one year jail term fully suspended. That means he won't serve any time. He was also sentenced to two years probation, and he must complete 100 hours of community service and anger management counselling. The dog survived the dumping.
State Ready to Fix, Expand Q-Bridge; Work Could Begin in 2000
(New Haven-AP) _ It looks like a decision has been made to deal with one of the major traffic headaches along the shoreline _ the Quinnipiac River Bridge in New Haven. State lawmakers say the state Department of Transportation will soon recommend building a new ten-lane bridge over the Quinnipiac River. The plan also calls for widening Interstate 95 on the east and west sides of the bridge and reconfiguring the Interstate 91 interchange. Branford State Senator William Aniskovich says the package would costs about $800 million. One the state approves a plan, it sill needs to get approval from several state and federal agencies. But Aniskovich says construction could start as soon as next year.
Final Arguments Made in Peckinpaugh Suit Against Post-Newsweek
(Hartford-AP) _ Lawyers for TV anchorwoman Janet Peckinpaugh claim she lost her job at Channel Three because of her age, her sex, and an alleged 1987 incident in a hotel room with another of the station's stars, Al Terzi. Attorneys for the station's former owners claim they simply had too many anchors, and had a dispute with Peckinpaugh over her contract. Final arguments in Peckinpaugh's federal lawsuit against Post-Newsweek were heard Wednesday. She is seeking more than $4 million in damages. Peckinpaugh claims her star at WFSB began to fall in 1994 after the station hired Terzi from Channel Eight, where they both had worked in the 80s. Peckinpaugh claims she had left that station to get away from Terzi after an unwanted sexual advance. He has denied he made any such advance. Peckinpaugh, now 48, is currently employed as a morning anchor on WVIT, Channel 30. The jury is expected to get the case Thursday.
Father, Daughters Injured when Car Goes Into Brook
(Granby-AP) _ A father and his two young daughters were hospitalized after their car went over a snow embankment and a guardrail before landing in a brook off Route 20. The older daughter, who is 7 years old, was trapped under water when rescue crews arrived shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday, Granby Police Sergeant Kevin Bennett said. It took rescuers from the town's Lost Acres Volunteer Fire Department and one local police officer 10 minutes to find her. She was air-lifted to Hartford Hospital where she was in critical condition, Bennett said. The father and the younger daughter were found above water and were transported by ambulance to Hartford Hospital where they were in stable condition Tuesday night, Bennett said. The names of the man and his daughters were not released. The car was headed west on Route 20 before it veered off the road, Bennett said. Investigators remained on scene for hours trying to determine what happened.
State, Motorola Agree on Police Radio Contract
(Hartford-WTNH) _ The decades-old state police radio problem may soon be solved.
A new $80 million contract with Motorola for a two-way radio system that will eliminate most 'radio black-out' areas is expected to be signed within the next week.
Col. John Bardelli, Connecticut State Police: "We were insisting on a 98% coverage factor and they offered some solutions to that and they're doing testing, right now as we speak, to make sure."
The current state police radio system was designed in the 1940's and has never been able to deliver a usable signal in several areas of the state.
Committee Agrees to Hear Bills on Air, Water Pollution
(Hartford-AP) _ The Legislature's Environment Committee is putting air and water pollution on its docket for the session. The committee agreed today to hold a public hearing on a bill to fund tests of polluted land around a University of Connecticut landfill in Mansfield. Neighbors of the landfill have criticized the university and the state for delays in the testing and cleanup of the site. The committee also says it will hold a public hearing on an air pollution bill. All Senate Democrats are sponsoring the bill to provide state funds to clean up or close the state's top five polluting power plants. The plants are in Bridgeport, Middletown, Montville, New Haven and Norwalk.
Eastern Pequots Demand Towns Ignore Historian
(North Stonington-AP) _ The Eastern Pequot tribe of southeastern Connecticut considers itself a victim of three towns over the issue of federal recognition.
The tribe is demanding that the towns of Ledyard, Preston and North Stonington repudiate a historian's report about their tribe that questions if they are Indians. The tribe bases much of its ancestry on Tamer Brushel, who died in 1915. But the historian hired by the towns says there is no evidence that she is an Indian. Last night tribal leaders condemned the towns and likened the towns' action to Nazis trying to eliminate the tribe. The Easterns and the Paucatuck Eastern Pequots have filed separate applications for federal recognition, which are being reviewed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The comments came at a selectman's meeting in North Stonington.
DCF Commissioner Reappointed
(Hartford-AP) -- The head of the state's Department of Children and Families has been reappointed to another four-year term. The Legislature's Committee on Executive and Legislative Nominations voted 5-0 yesterday to reappoint Kristine Ragaglia. She was selected in 1996 as the state's first Child Advocate and became DCF commissioner a year ago. She replaced Linda D'Amario Rossi, who resigned to take a consulting job in Austin, Texas. Ragaglia tells committee members that the 42-thousand children in DCF care are better off now than they were a year ago. She says the biggest change under her administration has been in the area of planning and development.
New Theft Charges Against Social Services Official
(New London-AP) _ A former New London social services official, on probation for stealing from one agency, faces charges of embezzling from another. Joseph Grimmett has been charged with taking $30,000 dollars in state grant money while working for a New London agency that offered program for low-income children.
Grimmett was executive director of BP Learned Mission from December of 1994 to April of 1996. Grimmett is on probation in the theft of nearly $11,000 from the Southeastern Connecticut AIDS project. He was executive director there after leaving the children's agency in 1996. He's due in court on February Fifth.
Return of Seals Means it's Time For People to be Cautious
 (On Long Island Sound-WTNH) _ It's that time of year again. Hundreds of seals from up north are spending the winter here in Connecticut waters. Shoreline residents may encounter seals on the beach and it's important to know what to do and what NOT to do.
News Channel 8's Peter Standring has the story.
Fortified Foods
(WTNH) _ They are called pumped up foods. Snacks, drinks and cereals that are fortified with vitamins, minerals and even herbs. But is orange juice fortified with calcium the same as a glass of milk? Are these foods really what the marketers claim.
Consumer Team 8's Anna Sava has some answers.
Better Care from Higher Ranked Hospitals
(WTNH) _ A new study says you may get better medical care after a heart attack at a hospital that has a high ranking. Yale doctors and researchers were very involved in this study, and they say the focus is not necessarily the ranking of the hospitals, but the need for doctors to use simple drug therapies to improve and extend the life of heart attack patients.
Health Team 8's Kristen Cusato reports.
State Sex Offender Website Online
(Hartford-WTNH) _ The State of Connecticut's Sex Offender Registry went online at the first of the year. Residents can look to see if a convicted sex offender is living in their neighborhood by accessing the information through the Department of Public Safety's website at www.state.ct.us/dps/
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