March 31 / 10:45 pm
Three U.S. soldiers presumed captured near Yugoslavia
(Pentagon-AP) _ Three U.S. Army soldiers were missing in Macedonia near the Yugoslav border Wednesday night after possibly being captured by members of the Serb military or police while on a reconnaissance mission, the Pentagon and NATO officials said. An immediate search and rescue mission was launched, involving ground and helicopter teams from several NATO countries and the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps based in the Macedonian capital of Skopje, U.S. officials said. Searchers included 80 to 90 soldiers on U.S. Blackhawk, British, French and Italian helicopters.
 Here's more of the story.
Aid for Kosovo Refugees Needed
(WTNH) _ With tens of thousands of refugees fleeing Kosovo, there is a great need for humanitarian aid in Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro. Groups across the US and Connecticut are pitching in and lending a helping a hand in the troubled region.
News Channel 8's Judy Chong has details.
Holocaust Survivors Say Kosovo Crisis far Different from WWII
(WTNH) _ A week after NATO launched its strike campaign the "Crisis in Kosovo" is more intense than ever. The White House says no ground troops are necessary, but while the air war continues. On the ground refugees are pouring out of the region by the thousands trying to escape atrocities; random killings, house burnings, and ambushes. Some even compare the situation to the holocaust. But survivors of the holocaust feel this crisis is very different.
News Channel 8's Peter Standring reports from our Southeastern Newsroom at The Day .
Dodd Urges Continued Airstrikes Against Yugoslavia
(AP) _ After meetings with NATO officials, Sen. Christopher Dodd said Wednesday that the bombing of Yugoslavia should continue for as long as it takes to stop the offensive against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. "We're hitting our military targets," said Dodd, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who is on a taxpayer-funded visit to NATO headquarters in Brussels. "Destroying his capability day after day is having an effect," said Dodd, speaking with reporters by telephone from Brussels. "It's not success you can measure yet in terms of victory, but it is a measured success that is taking it's toll." Dodd, the only member of Congress on the trip, is in Brussels to discuss the Kosovo crisis and also the Year 2000 computer problem. Dodd and Sen. Robert Bennett, R-Utah, head the Senate's special panel on Y2K.
Yugoslav Hackers Disrupting NATO e-mail
(Brussels, Belgium-AP) -- NATO is coming under attack from Yugoslavia -- in cyberspace. Spokesman Jamie Shea says Yugoslav hackers have disrupted NATO's Internet site and e-mail system. Shea says NATO is dealing with viruses from Belgrade and a flood of e-mails. He says one person has been sending 2,000 messages a day. NATO officials say the disruption is limited to the Web site and isn't affecting military computers.
Rowland Holds Stadium Summit
(Hartford-WTNH) _ After a stadium summit at the capitol, Governor John Rowland says progress is being made in efforts to clear the the New England Patriots site in Hartford, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to find any. The state must file a progress report to the team in just two days, and the governor says he will be able to show progress, and the patriots will not pull out of their deal to relocate the NFL franchise here in Connecticut.
But if there is progress it's being measured in inches and not yards.
Chief capitol correspondent Mark Davis reports.
Poll Suggests Public Support for Stadium Project is Eroding
(Hartford-AP) _ A new poll suggests that public backing of the New England Patriots stadium project is eroding a bit. The Hartford Courant/Connecticut poll shows a drop in support since just before the legislature approved the project in December. A poll then indicated 59% generally in favor of the state's plan to finance the $374 million stadium. The newest poll indicates that the support has slipped to 45 percent. Although with the margin of error, the poll's director says it means people are split down the middle. The new poll shows residents are not convinced that investment will pay off and people are almost evenly divided on whether the state will get its costs back on football-related tax revenues. The poll of 500 randomly selected state residents was conducted last week and has a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points.
Governor's Budget Chief seeks $80 million Tax Rebate in Budget
(Hartford-AP) -- The governor's budget chief is asking the Appropriations Committee to approve an income tax rebate like the one issued last year. The rebate proposal would cost about $80 million. It would mean rebates of $75 for single taxpayers, $120 for heads of households and $150 for people filing joint income tax returns. The governor says rebates of $50 might also be offered to the poor and elderly if the state's surplus is big enough. Critics of the rebates say there are better ways for the state to spend its money. But since last year's plan was popular and did not hurt the state's economy, they say it'll be an uphill battle to defeat it this year.
Proposal Would Make Killing Witness a Capital Crime
(Hartford-WTNH) _ Killing a witness would become a capital crime in Connecticut under a proposal from the governor's law enforcement council.
It's part of a proposal drafted following the slayings of 8 year old Leroy Brown, Jr. and his mother, Karen Clarke. The council says Connecticut should make it easier to hold suspects without bail and investigate people who post cash bonds in excess of $10,000. Chief state's attorney John Bailey predicts Connecticut will become the country's leading state in witness protection if the proposals are approved by the general assembly.
Husband Charged With Strangling Wife
(Hartford-AP) _ A gynecologist who's charged with murder in the strangling death of his wife is being held on $2 million bond. 48-year-old Andrew Carrabba was arrested today and charged with murdering his wife, whose body was found in a car at the Jewish Community Center parking lot in West Hartford earlier this week. He's been charged with murder and tampering with physical evidence in the strangulation death of 40-year-old Diane Carrabba. The woman found dead inside a red Jeep Cherokee on Monday afternoon. Carrabba had been reported missing from her home in Hartford by her husband on Thursday. Police believe the woman was killed in her home and her body was moved. Police say although the husband is a gynecologist, he has not been practicing his profession recently. He's due back in Hartford Superior Court for arraignment on April Sixth.
Autopsy Reveals Cause of Nanny's Murder
(WTNH) _ An autopsy shows a blow to the head killed a Madison nanny.
43 year old David Taylor is charged with the murder of the 22-year old.
The nanny, identified in published reports as Milena Pitkova, had been caring for Taylor's two children. Police will not say how the victim died but they did say a knife or gun was not used. Taylor is being held on $100,000 bond.
Gang Leader Gets Life Sentence
(Bridgeport-AP) _ A high-ranking leader of the Latin Kings gang is going to federal prison for life. Roberto Nieves of New Haven was sentenced today for ordering the killings of two rival gang members. Nieves was vice president of the New Haven chapter of the gang when two members of the Dog Pound gang were shot in October of 1995. Nieves was convicted in January on federal charges of conspiracy and racketeering. He was given two life terms, plus ten years, all to be served concurrently.
Proposal to Name Building in Honor of Late FBI Chief
(New Haven-WTNH) _ Connecticut Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro wants a federal building named after the late FBI director Merrill Parks, Jr. Parks spent 29 years with the FBI, and investigated organized crime in New York City, Houston and Washington. Parks died earlier this month.
DeLauro plans to introduce a bill naming the new FBI building in downtown New Haven in honor of Parks.
SNET accuses Rival of Bankrolling Front Group
(New Haven-AP) _ The latest skirmish in the Connecticut phone wars has SNET accusing AT&T of bankrolling a lobbying group. At issue is the group know as Connecticut Citizens for Phone Choice which Southern New England Telephone says is simply a mouthpiece for AT&T. SNET says the group is headed by a professional lobbyist who is trying to get state lawmakers to overturn requirements that phone companies doing business in the state must provide service to any consumer who wants it. AT&T says it is merely a contributor to the group and part of a coalition, although it does say the group's director, Fergus Cullen does work for it.
SNET says AT&T wants to provide service to only the most lucrative segments of the state's population. SNET says Connecticut Citizens for Phone Choice has repeatedly attacked it through what it claims are misleading letters to business groups and media outlets. Cullen says SNET is going to extraordinary lengths to preserve its monopoly.
City unveils Welfare to Work Initiatives
(New Haven-WTNH) _ The city of New Haven announced three new welfare to work programs Wednesday. Each initiative addresses a specific barrier to employment: welfare recipients with criminal records, recipients who have substance abuse problems, or language barriers. New Haven Mayor John DeStefano says the state is enjoying prosperity and it's time to share the wealth.
Mayor John DeStefano Jr., D-New Haven: "This is a good effort and I'm excited about this, I'm looking forward to positive results and to show what we can do when leadership is here in New Haven."
Funding for this program will come from a $400,000 state grant given to the city.
Money Targets Dropouts
(Hartford-AP) _ A personal care products company is putting up some cash to keep kids in Hartford schools from dropping out. Unilever has created a partnership with ASPIRA, a Latino organization, dedicated to meeting the needs of young Hispanics. The company is making $42,000 available to set up after school clubs at Bulkeley High School and South Middle school. Last year Bridgeport school officials cited ASPIRA for helping decrease the dropout rate among Latino students by 50 percent over the past four years.
Union Says State Wasting Money on Computer Bug Fix
(Hartford-AP) _ A state workers' union has filed a formal complaint, claiming the state is wasting money by hiring private vendors to fix Connecticut's Year Two Thousand problem. The Connecticut State Employees Association says state workers could have done the job cheaper by working overtime. The state has set aside $95 million dollars to figure out how to keep its computer systems free of problems from the Year 2000 bug. Talks are underway with Texas-based Electronic Data Systems. Although those negotiations have not been made public, CSEA officials say state employees can do the job for a fraction of the cost of a private vendor.
Prison for Manchester Molester
(Hartford-AP) _ A Manchester man has been sentenced to a dozen years in prison for sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl. 47 year old Joseph Gagnier was sentenced yesterday for charges stemming from his arrest in June of last year.
He was charged after complains that he assault the girl, a relative of a woman friend in the fall of 1997. Police say Gagnier molested the girl while the woman was away on an errand. At the time Gagnier was on probation for previous criminal charges.
83 year old Mugging Victim Fends off Attacker
(New Haven-AP) _ An 83 year-old woman who was a mugging victim says she managed to dish out more damage to her attacker than he might have expected. The retired schoolteacher says she punched and slapped at a robber who had lurched into her car and grabbed for her purse in a New Haven shopping center parking lot. The Woodbridge woman says the attacker did get her purse, but he didn't get her car. She says she didn't get hurt because she was so busy punching the mugger. The stolen purse contained identification, a Social Security card, some credit cards and some cash.
Cash Settlement in Discrimination Lawsuit by Former Firefighter
(New Haven-AP) _ The city of New Haven is paying $3,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit filed by a former female firefighter. Ann Voss of Derby had claimed she was discriminated against while attending the Fire Academy because she was a woman. The case dates back to June 1995 while Voss was one of 35 cadets at the New Haven Regional Fire Academy. According to her lawsuit, two days before the scheduled graduation, she received a letter indicating she would not graduate with her class because her performance was deficient in three areas. She was given five additional weeks to improve performance and graduated at that time. She later resigned from the department.
Yale Scientists Set to Climb Everest
(New Haven-WTNH) _ A group of Yale scientists and doctors is planning a courageous climb 17,000 feet up Mt. Everest, and what they learn in that high altitude may help people with diseases here at home.
The Everest Extreme Expedition Team will leave in about three weeks to study the effects of oxygen depravation in a high stress environment on climbers bodies. Their vital signs and sleep patterns will be monitored. The data will be transmitted back to base camp, and then shared with folks at Yale.
Dr. Peter Angood, Yale Trauma Surgeon: "Understanding how their bodies are changing, and translate that back to a patient who is not normal because of illness."
The team will leave for Nepal April 21st.
Special Eyedrops for Computer Users - Great or Waste of $$$
(WTNH) _ Computer eye drops are being sold next to registers at the biggest stores. They can cost as much as $10 and work only for a few minutes.
Are they worth they money or is it a rip-off that could bring you to tears?
Consumer Team 8's Anna Sava has some answers.
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/sor.htm
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