July 4 / 6:00 pm
Man drowns in Farmington river
(Burlington-WTNH) _ A man in his 20's died while swimming in the Farmington River Sunday. Police are saying little about the accident, which happened in Burlington near Route 179 Sunday afternoon. The man was rescued from the water, and CPR was performed, on him, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. The man's name is not being released until family is notified.
Nature's fireworks boom over state, Heat follows
(WTNH) _ Mother Nature got an early start on the Fourth of July, with rain and the crack of thunder booming over parts of the state Sunday. At noon Northeast Utilities was reporting more than 2,700 outages throughout the state, but that number was down to only a few hundred by early evening.
Once the stormy weather passed, heat and high humidity blanketed the state. Temperatures peaked well into the 90s, and that's going to continue for at least two more days. Residents did what they could to keep cool.
 News Channel 8's Andrea Stassou reports.
State police log hundreds of accidents over holiday weekend
(WTNH) _ Connecticut state police have been busy patrolling highways this weekend. So far troopers have responded to 231 motor vehicle accidents. They've made 53 arrests for drunk driving and have given out a total of
1,675 tickets, most for speeding and seatbelt violations. The state police have several DWI checkpoints set up throughout the state.
Troopers will be out in full force for the remainder of the weekend and are asking drivers to be careful.
Launching fireworks a blast say volunteers
(Middletown-WTNH) _ Workers across the state are sweating through today's unbearable heat to make sure those annual Fourth of July firework shows go off without a hitch. And you may be surprised at what motivates these men and women. It's not a paycheck.
News Channel 8's Jocelyn Sigue reports.
Aetna selling Hartford apartments
(Hartford-AP) _ Aetna is selling most of its residential real estate in Hartford. The company has reached a tentative agreement to sell 226 apartments in Asylum Hill near the company's Farmington Avenue headquarters to New York-based Alma Realty.
Here's the full story.
Pequots drop bid to develop Norwich Hospital property
(Norwich-AP) _ The Mashantucket Pequot Tribe is no longer vying to develop state property on the former Norwich Hospital site. But the Mohegan Indians, who own the Mohegan Sun casino right across the Thames River from the 470-acre site, are among the remaining potential developers. The Mohegans want to build an 18-hole championship golf course bordered by a marina, stores and housing.
The number of contenders to develop the site has dropped from 24 to four.
Here's the full story.
Federal probe focuses on drug testing
(Stamford-AP) _ There's a federal probe underway to determine whether Stamford officials gave city truck drivers illegal drug and alcohol tests.
The Federal Highway Administration says it has received a complaint from the Stamford Teamsters over the city's random, post-accident testing of highway department workers. City officials say they are cooperating with investigators to ensure testing complies with federal standards. Under federal guidelines, a driver is required to submit to an alcohol and/or drug test when a trained supervisor has observed and documented the driver's behavior may indicate substance abuse.
Here's the full story.
Poll indicates media has too much freedom
(Nashville, Tenn.-AP) _ A survey conducted by the Center for Survey Research and Analysis at UConn says America has become disenchanted with the news media in the past two years. The survey shows 53 percent of Americans believe the press has too much freedom _ a 15 percent increase since 1997 _ and indicates a dramatic drop in public support for its role as the watchdog of government. The survey was released yesterday to coincide with the July Fourth weekend. It was meant to examine America's commitment to the First Amendment that guarantees freedoms of religion, speech, the press, petition and assembly. The poll identified freedom of speech as one of the most cherished of constitutional rights, followed by freedom of religion and the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. The poll was sponsored by the First Amendment Center at Vanderbilt University.
State, Federal offices closed Monday
(WTNH) _ Monday is when the US government officially observes independence day. That not only means many people have the day off from work, but federal and state buildings will be closed. That includes all post offices as well as state offices and courts. Also there won't be any trading on the stock market and all banks will be closed for business. Those offices will open again on Tuesday morning.
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