Connecticut at 3 a.m.
The breaking news staffer after 5 a.m. is Pat Eaton-Robb. The New England News Editor is Cara Rubinsky. To reach the AP bureau in Hartford, call 860-246-6876. To reach the photo department, call 617-357-8106. AP stories, along with the photos that accompany them, can also be obtained from http://www.apexchange.com. Reruns also are available from customer support at 877-836-9477.
TOP STORIES:
WHITE BISON
GOSHEN — The birth of a white bison, among the rarest of animals, is bringing Native Americans who consider it a sacred event to celebrate at one of the least likely of places, a farm in northwestern Connecticut. Hundreds of people including tribal elders from South Dakota are expected to attend naming ceremonies later this month at the farm of Peter Fay, a fourth-generation Goshen farmer. By Michael Melia.
AP Photos. AP Video.
CONNECTICUT SENATE-BYSIEWICZ
HARTFORD — Connecticut’s former Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz went on the attack, accusing her Democratic Senate primary rival of being too financially cozy with Wall Street, only to acknowledge by the end of the day that a key part of her new TV ad blasting U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy was wrong. By Susan Haigh.
CONNECTICUT HOUSE FIRE
NEW HAVEN — A man has been indicted on federal charges that he set a fire to a house last year that killed three people, including an 8-year-old boy. The indictment alleges Hector Natal is a cocaine dealer who set the fire in part as retaliation for failure to pay a drug debt. By John Christoffersen.
CONNECTICUT UNEMPLOYMENT
WETHERSFIELD — The Connecticut Department of Labor says the state’s unemployment rate jumped to 8.1 percent in June, as cuts in government jobs overshadowed employment gains in the private sector. The agency says the 0.3 percent increase from May included an increase of 5,000 jobs in the private sector, led by education and health services. By Stephen Singer.
ATTEMPTED ABDUCTION
NEW BRITAIN — An 11-year-old girl told police last week that a man in a gray minivan tried to abduct her within blocks of her home, and authorities soon found video evidence that she was telling the truth. New Britain police have released that video, which was captured by a surveillance camera mounted on a nearby home. By Pat Eaton-Robb.
YELLOWTAIL-CUTS
BOSTON — A scallop industry group is calling on fishing regulators to overhaul their method for estimating the troubled yellowtail flounder’s population, saying it’s arbitrary and indefensible. The Fisheries Survival Fund made the request in a July 13 letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s regional fisheries science chief, William Karp. By Jay Lindsay.
HEDGE FUND-INSIDER TRADING
NEW YORK — A former financial consultant-turned-government witness was spared prison time and given only two years of probation after prosecutors credited him with helping convict a pair of Wall Street titans, including a Connecticut man, on insider trading charges. By Tom Hays.
ALSO:
— EDUCATION TEST SCORES — The latest results from two statewide education performance tests are mixed, with younger Connecticut students showing improvements, but fewer than half of 10th graders meeting a statewide goal for math, science and reading.
— CONNECTICUT HOUSE — A Republican candidate for an open seat in the U.S. House of Representatives called Islam a cult on Thursday and questioned if it is a religion of peace.
— ADVOCATE HONORED — The president and CEO of Foodshare is being honored for her work providing food to people in need in Hartford and Tolland counties.
— OCEAN BUOYS — An organization that monitors a series of ocean buoys in the Gulf of Maine and off southern New England is benefiting from a new round of federal funding.
SPORTS:
BBA–WHITE SOX-RED SOX
BOSTON — The Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox meet for the finale of a four-game series.
AP Photos.
BBA–YANKEES-ATHLETICS
OAKLAND, Calif. — Freddy Garcia pitches for the New York Yankees in the opener of a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics, who have won 10 of 12 after their majors-leading ninth walkoff win Wednesday against the Rangers. By Janie McCauley.
AP Photos.
— FBN–PATRIOTS-HIGHTOWER — The New England Patriots signed first-round draft choice Dont’a Hightower on Thursday to a four-year contract.
