July 3 / 11:00 pm
Hot and dry conditions cover state
(Wallingford-WTNH) _ The heat is on. Temperatures are soaring today and they're headed even higher tomorrow. Despite Friday's thunderstorms, conditions throughout the region remain very dry, and this dry spell could mean trouble this independence day weekend.
 News Channel 8's Ned Berkowitz reports.
State police log 122 accidents and hand out hundreds of tickets
(AP) _ Drivers trying to get away too quickly for the holiday weekend are getting slowed down by state police. Troopers have already handed out at least 500 tickets and responded to 122 accidents across Connecticut. Sergeant Paul Vance says 16 of those accidents had reported injuries. More than 260 speeding tickets have been handed out, and police have arrested at least eight drunken drivers.
Hartford man arrested for hit and run of NY Cop
(WTNH) _ A hartford man has been arrested in connection with a hit and run on a New York City Port Authority officer. 32-year old Tony Wilson is being charged as a fugitive from justice. Police say he faces felony charges for running down detective Phillip Stephenson at Kennedy Airport early Friday morning. The officer is still in critical condition tonight. Wilson is being held on $5 million bond. He'll be in court Tuesday morning.
Repeat drunk driver sent to prison
(New Haven-AP) _ A repeat drunken driver will spend six years behind bars for the 1998 drunken-driving crash that killed a Branford woman. Friends and family members of the victim, Laurel Platcow, urged the judge to impose a severe sentence against the defendant, Francis Vancour. 44-year-old Vancour has been convicted twice of drunken driving.
Prosecutors want change of venue in officer involved murder case
(Litchfield-AP) _ Prosecutors want a change of venue in the trial of a New Milford police officer charged with murder in the shooting death of a suspect.
State's Attorney John Connelly says publicity surrounding the case of Officer Scott Smith, 27, will prevent the state from getting a fair trial in Litchfield County. Smith is accused of murdering Franklyn Reid, 27, after a chase on December 29th. Smith's lawyer has said that the state is not entitled to a new venue. Their arguments are scheduled to be heard in November. State Superior Court Judge Alexandra D. DiPentima said she expects the trial to start soon after.
Prison guard sues inmate who tried to escape
(Hartford-AP) _ The convicted murderer who won more than $2 million in a lawsuit for injuries sustained while trying to escape is now being sued by the guard he assaulted. Elizabeth Prete filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Hartford against Kevin King yesterday. If she wins, Prete will be able to claim King's winnings should he ever collect on the controversial jury award of $2 million in punitive damages and $75,000 in compensatory damages.
A federal jury returned a verdict for King in February, saying that correction officers beat him in retaliation for attacking Prete during an escape attempt in 1996 at Hartford jail. The guards have said King suffered cuts and bruises resisting capture.
Report: Lack of mental health services jeopardizes youth
(Hartford-AP) _ A federal report says that a shortage of mental health services is endangering the lives of suicidal youths at two of the state's three juvenile detention centers. Doctor Janet Williams, a West Hartford psychiatrist hired to assess mental health services at centers in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport, found many problems, some potentially life-threatening. Her report says suicidal children in the Hartford and New Haven facilities are not monitored enough and are some times given the wrong medication. The report also says that at all three centers, troubled children wait as long as four months to be placed in a psychiatric hospital.
Students Suspended for selling knife at school
(Trumbull-AP) _ Two 15-year-old Trumbull High School students have been expelled for the start of the next school year in connection with the sale of a six-inch hunting knife in the school. A state hearing officer this week agreed with school officials the two students should be expelled. School officials argued that both the student who sold the knife and the one who bought it last month seriously violated the school system's zero-tolerance discipline policy The student who bought the knife is also accused of threatened to kill a 14-year-old. He had been arrested by police and charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds.
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