WWE Seeking Economic Development Aid

 The chief financial officer of Stamford-based WWE says the wrestling entertainment company is seeking aid under Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's "Next Five" economic development program as it plans to launch a cable TV network. George Barrios said Thursday the WWE didn't put a dollar amount on the request. The network would employ about 200.  A state economic development spokesman says he can't comment on WWE's application.  Barrios' comments came during a conference call with reporters about a $4.4 million settlement earlier this year between the WWE and the state involving disputed corporate tax calculation methods. Democrats on Thursday used the settlement to criticize Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon, the WWE's former chief executive. The McMahon campaign says Democrats are "trying to make an issue out of a non-issue."

Former WWE Wrestler Headed To Rehab After Arrests

  A former WWE wrestling diva is returning to alcohol rehab after five recent arrests on domestic violence-related complaints by an ex-boyfriend. WFSB-TV reports a New Haven judge agreed Thursday that 39-year-old Tamara Sytch (SITCH) could go to a Pennsylvania alcohol treatment center. Her attorney, Robert Serafinowicz, said WWE would drive Sytch directly to the treatment center and pay for it.  He said Sytch found herself in violation of a protective order last week after a bail bondsman drove her to an ex-boyfriend's Branford home where she used to live.  WWE says Sytch was last under contract in 1998. It said after her first arrest last month that it has paid for three rehabilitation stints for her and would continue to help her if she wanted it.

Dalai Lama Calls For Dialogue To Solve Problems

The Dalai Lama says this century should focus on dialogue rather than force to solve problems and create peace.  The exiled Tibetan leader spoke Thursday at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury and was introduced by actor Richard Gere. The Dalai Lama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 for his nonviolent struggle in protest of Chinese rule of Tibet. He has been on a speaking tour in New England.  The 77-year-old noted that the 20th century was marked by bloodshed and violence. He said in order to create a peaceful century there must be a spirit of dialogue. He says the world is increasingly interdependent and problems such as global warming cross national boundaries.  

 Hartford Officer Charged In Fatal Accident

 A Hartford police officer has been charged with negligent homicide in connection with an on-duty car accident that killed a man in July. City police also charged Officer Taikwon Dudley on Thursday with reckless driving, traveling too fast for conditions and failure to obey a traffic signal. He was released on a promise to appear in court on Oct. 25. Authorities said Dudley was on his way to help other officers arrest an armed suspect when his cruiser collided with a car driven by 50-year-old Anthony Mansfield of Hartford at the intersection of Albany Avenue and Woodland Street on July 13. Mansfield died seven days later. It's not clear if Dudley has a lawyer. A child who answered a phone listing for Dudley on Thursday said he wasn't home.

McMahon, Murphy Square Off In 4th Senate Debate

Democratic U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy is accusing his Republican opponent in the Connecticut Senate race of not supporting abortion rights, despite her repeated claims that she's a "pro-choice woman."  Murphy pointed on Thursday to support Linda McMahon has received from anti-abortion advocates and her stance on abortion-related issues, including her support of a failed amendment that would have allowed businesses to forgo health insurance coverage for contraception.McMahon has said the proposed amendment to the federal health care bill was an overreach by government. On Thursday, she reiterated her support for abortion rights and said she wouldn't do anything to hurt women and their health care.  Both candidates said they believe life begins at birth. The two faced off in their fourth and final debate, sponsored by the Connecticut Broadcasters Association.

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Former FBI Agent

A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City has indicted a former FBI agent and two other people in a federal fraud case involving U.S. Army contracts in Afghanistan. The indictment alleges that Robert Lustyik of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. used his position as an FBI special agent to try to stave off the criminal investigation of Michael Taylor of Harvard, Mass.  Taylor was under investigation for fraud in the award of defense contracts. The indictment alleges he bribed Lustyik to impede the investigation. The indictment released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Justice says a third person, Johannes Thaler of New Fairfield, Conn., was a conduit between the two men. Each faces 11 charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, obstructing justice and obstructing an agency proceeding.

Florida Man Sentenced For Phone Threats To Insurer

A 50-year-old Florida man has been sentenced to three years' probation for making more than 200 threating calls to employees at the Travelers Insurance Company. The Connecticut U.S. Attorney's office said Brent Hansen of Seminole, Fla., also was ordered at his Thursday sentencing to get mental health evaluation and treatment. He pleaded guilty in August to making harassing telephone calls. Hansen was accused of making the calls and leaving more than 260 anonymous voicemails between March 2011 and last June. Most of the calls were directed at two employees at the Hartford-based company. Prosecutors said Hansen was charged after he ignored authorities' warnings to stop. Prosecutors said the messages told the individuals they were cursed, that God would damn them, and he hoped God would kill them. Prosecutors said he also sent harassing emails.

Plan To Sell Plum Island Questioned In New York And Connecticut

Environmentalists in New York are joining colleagues in Connecticut in questioning the proposed sale of Plum Island, the site of the country's only laboratory that studies infectious animal diseases. The federal government plans to sell the 840-acre island off the eastern tip of Long Island and move research operations to a $1.14 billion laboratory in Kansas. Elected officials on both sides of Long Island Sound have cited federal studies that question the wisdom of placing a lab that would study foot-and-mouth disease in the heart of the nation's so-called Beef Belt. Thursday night's public hearing, as well as one held Wednesday in Connecticut, did not address the issue of moving the lab. Instead, it focused on a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed sale of the island. Environmentalists say their preference is that if the island is sold it be kept as a nature preserve.

Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg To Talk At Yale

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is planning to talk at Yale University. Ginsburg is scheduled to appear at 4 p.m. Friday as part of the university's Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women's Rights. Yale described the event as a conversation between Ginsburg and former New York Times Supreme Court reporter Linda Greenhouse, who lectures at Yale Law School.  The event is sold out, but the talk can be viewed on Yale's live stream channel, ttps://new.livestream.com/yale/YaleLawGinsburg.  The 79-year-old Ginsburg was in the majority in the high court's 5-4 ruling in June that upheld America's historic health care overhaul. Nominated by President Bill Clinton, Ginsburg took her seat on the Supreme Court in 1993.