Connecticut at 2:15 p.m.
The breaking news staffer is Sylvia Lee Wingfield. The New England news editor is Cara Rubinsky. The correspondent in Hartford is Mike Melia. 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:
GRANDMOTHER-CHILDREN DEATHS
PRESTON — A woman who picked up her two young grandsons from daycare and was supposed to bring them home so the 2-year-old could open his birthday presents instead drove them to a neighboring town and shot and killed the children and herself, state police and family members said. By Pat Eaton-Robb.
AP Photos BX101, BX102.
GUN CONTROL-CONGRESS
WASHINGTON — Battling tears, the father of one of the first-graders slain at the December elementary school massacre in Connecticut pleaded with senators to ban assault weapons like the gun that killed his 6-year-old son. "I'm not here for sympathy," Neil Heslin, a 50-year-old construction worker who said he grew up with guns and had been teaching his son, Jesse, about them. "I'm here because of my son." By Alan Fram and Philip Elliott.
AP Photos DCSW117, DCSW123, RPBW101, DCSW119.
INDIAN CASINOS-REVENUE
HARTFORD — Indian casinos brushed off weak consumer spending in a sluggish U.S. economic recovery to post a modest increase in revenue in 2011, an industry study reports. Not only did revenue rise 3 percent, to $27.4 billion, but Indian casinos are holding on to their share of total casino gambling revenue, competing closely with commercial casinos, according to the report, "Casino City's Indian Gaming Industry Report." By Business Writer Stephen Singer.
ALSO:
— SCHOOL SHOOTING-GUNS — Urban residents who've lost loved ones to gun violence are urging Connecticut lawmakers to focus on stopping gun deaths in cities in addition to addressing the Newtown school shooting.
— ZERO DARK THIRTY-9/11 VICTIM — A Connecticut woman whose son died in the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center says she's upset the Oscar-winning movie "Zero Dark Thirty" used a recording of his last words without her permission.
— WATER RATE INCREASE — A water company buying up smaller systems to consolidate service in Connecticut is seeking a nearly 17 percent rate increase.
— NEGLECTED ANIMALS — State and local officials say they seized 41 animals in Oxford after finding many of them malnourished and in need of veterinary care.
— EAST HARTFORD STABBING — East Hartford police say they're questioning several people in connection with an early morning stabbing death.
— LURIE PRIZE — Chicago philanthropist Ann Lurie has established a new prize for researchers who are early in their careers and whose findings have advanced basic biomedical science. The first Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences goes to Ruslan Medzhitov of Yale University School of Medicine.
SPORTS:
BKC--T25-GEORGETOWN-UCONN
STORRS — Otto Potter leads No. 7 Georgetown as the Hoyas bring their nine-game winning streak to Connecticut to face the playing-for-pride Huskies, who have won four of their last five. 7 p.m. start. By Basketball Writer Jim O'Connell.
AP photos.
BBO--ORIOLES-YANKEES
TAMPA, Fla. — The Baltimore Orioles are off to a solid 3-0 start in the spring training season, and will send a split squad on Wednesday afternoon over to Legends Field to take on the rival New York Yankees (1-3). 1:05 p.m. start.
BBO--RED SOX-ORIOLES
SARASOTA, Fla. — Chris Tillman starts on the mound for the Baltimore Orioles in a home exhibition game under the lights against AL East rival Boston. 7 p.m. start.
