January 31 / 6:15 pm
Missing Man Found Dead in Lake
(Thomaston-WTNH) _ A Thomaston man is dead after he apparently fell through some ice while riding his mountain bike. Shirley Minor reported her husband Ernest missing Saturday night after he didn't come home from a bicycle ride.
Thomaston police, state police, and divers from the Thomaston Fire Department found his body this morning at Black Rock Lake.
The state medical examiner will be performing an autopsy to determine exactly how Minor died.
Deli Destroyed
(Waterbury-WTNH) _ An explosion caused a Waterbury business to go up in flames.
Investigators say they don't know if the fire started in the basement of the Paramount Deli or a neighboring unoccupied apartment. A deli employee had just opened the store when it happened.
Mike Baker, Waterbury: "I heard this explosion in the back room and as spark come out the door I just run to the phone. Thank God thank god I'm still talking right now. Thank God."
No one was injured.
Falcons Star Busted for Soliciting Sex on Eve of Super Bowl
(Miami-AP) _ Pro Bowl safety Eugene Robinson of the Atlanta Falcons was cleared Sunday to start the Super Bowl hours after his arrest on a charge of soliciting an undercover police officer for oral sex. Falcons coach Dan Reeves said the team would not discuss the Saturday night arrest until after the championship game against the Denver Broncos. But he had no misgivings about allowing Robinson to play. Police said Robinson was arrested at 9 p.m. on Biscayne Boulevard, a major street frequented by prostitutes and drug dealers.
Big Game Can be Big Problem for Gamblers
(WTNH) _ Super Bowl Sunday is prime time for compulsive gamblers to get into trouble. And experts say it's also a time of year when domestic abuse centers see an increase in clients.
 News Channel 8's Jocelyn Sigue reports.
Group Opposed to Stadium Gathers Signatures
(Hartford-AP) -- A group of Patriots stadium opponents want people to sign a petition they've drawn up to block the deal. Members of Stop the Stadium have vowed to collect 100,000 signatures to urge lawmakers to overturn the $374 million deal that Governor Rowland made with Pat's owner Robert Kraft. That deal is set to be finalized between Kraft and Rowland sometime this week.
Starr Claims Power to Indict President; White House, Congress Grumbles
(Washington-WTNH/AP) _ It could mean more trouble for President Clinton down the road. The New York Times reports that Kenneth Starr has concluded he has the constitutional authority to seek a grand jury indictment of Clinton before the president leaves office. But the paper says the independent counsel has not decided whether to do so. The Times' story cites several unidentified associates of Starr.
The White House is wasting no time in blasting the report. Special counsel Jim Kennedy says it shows Starr is "reinforcing his own stereotype as an out-of-control prosecutor," and is "tampering with the Senate trial."
Kennedy adds "Somebody ought to tell him he's not the 101st senator."
Sen Joseph Lieberman says he was surprised to read this morning's New York Times' report about Starr.
Sen Joseph Lieberman, D-Connecticut: "It seems to me that the strong possibility of an indictment of the president, either in office or out, reminds us
that he will be subject to the rule of law or certainly can be subject to the rule of law, regardless of what the Senate does in exercising our constitutional responsibility to decide whether he has committed high crimes or misdemeanors."
At least one House impeachment manager says he's not happy with the timing of a report on Kenneth Starr. Arkansas Republican Asa Hutchinson tells CBS that the issue is a distraction to the ongoing Senate trial. He also says it aids Clinton defenders who say the president shouldn't be removed from office since he could face a criminal trial after his term ends. Some GOP senators have concerns of their own. Maine's Olympia Snowe says there are serious constitutional questions about the criminal indictment of a sitting president.
House managers in the impeachment trial are still hoping for live testimony before the Senate. They and the White House lawyers question Monica Lewinsky, Vernon Jordan and Sidney Blumenthal this week, on videotape. On NBC, California Congressman James Rogan says even if there are no new revelations, he still wants live testimony to test the witnesses' credibility. Florida's Bill McCollum tells Fox that Lewinsky will help nail down the obstruction-of-justice charge. But senators aren't so sure. Republicans Orrin Hatch and Richard Shelby say there won't be live witnesses unless there's explosive testimony in the depositions. Louisiana Democrat John Breaux also doubts it will happen. And, he predicts a dozen Republicans will ultimately vote against conviction.
Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd will be one of three democrats presiding over depositions.
Accidents Tie Up Interstate-95
(WTNH) _ Trouble on Interstate 95 caused traffic to tie up in two Connecticut Towns. In Bridgeport southbound traffic came to a standstill for four miles near Exit 29 by Beardsley Street. Police say a driver lost control of her car and it rolled over about 2:00pm. The unidentified driver was taken to Bridgeport Hospital. She is in stable condition.
On I-95 in Milford a man apparently lost control of his jeep and it rolled over.
That happened in the northbound lanes near exit 40.
The two people in the jeep were wearing seat belts. They escaped with minor injuries. Traffic backed-up for four miles from that accident, too. It took authorities about 45 minutes to clean up the scene.
And problems off 95 today at the Milford rest stop. The stop on the southbound side had to shut down for a couple of hours because a transformer went out. Highway
signs warned drivers they would not have another full-service rest area until Fairfield.
Report: Hate Crimes on Rise
(AP) _ Hate crimes are on the rise in Connecticut, despite a state law passed a decade ago to make them illegal. According to statistics from the state Department of Public Safety, 82 hate crimes were reported in 1989. In 1997, there were 119. State officials say the increase is due to the fact that many more police departments are monitoring and reporting the crimes. But some victims and civil rights advocates say hate crimes are more prevalent than the official statistics indicate because many of the crimes go unreported.
Strip Club Bust
(New Haven-AP) _ A strip club in New Haven has been busted for illegally selling alcohol. The owner and two employees of Silhouettes Nigh Club were arrested when police raided the place Friday in a search for illegal booze and underage dancers. They found no underage dancers, but seized $2,600, beer wine and liquor. Silhouettes doesn't have a liquor license.
Man Sentenced for Setting Teen on Fire
(Hartford-AP) _ A 36 year old Hartford man who intentionally set a teenager's pants on fire, seriously injuring the youth, has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison. The judge also ordered Hector Cardova to five years of probation and 150 hours of community service at a burn center. Cardova pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and reckless endangerment for having ignited 17 year old Angel Rios' pants last summer. Rios, who was funnelling gasoline into an automobile when Cardova ignited his pants with a cigarette lighter, suffered serious burns to the lower part of his body.
Chiang Kai-Shek Items Auctioned
(Norwalk-AP) _ More than 700 items belonging to the 101-year-old widow of former Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek went on the auction block Saturday at the Braswell Galleries in Norwalk. Several hundred people showed up to bid on everything from art work to teacups once owned by the most famous woman in China. A pair of French chandeliers reportedly sold for more than 60-thousand dollars. Born Soong Mayling, Madame Chiang became widely known in the West as a diplomat and spokeswoman. She headed the Chinese air force in the 1930s and frequently came to the United States to rally support for the embattled Nationalists, first in their fight against the Japanese in World War II and then against the Communists. Madame Chiang has lived in the United States since the death of her husband in 1975. She recently sold her 37-acre New York estate.
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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