Governor's Panel Issues Early Gun Control Ideas

A commission reviewing the deadly Newtown school shooting for Connecticut's governor is recommending universal background checks for all gun sales and transfers, the registration of all firearms, and bans on high-capacity magazines and possession or sale of guns capable of firing more than 10 rounds of ammunition without reloading. The panel also believes Connecticut officials should consider requiring all K-12 classrooms to be equipped with doors that can be locked from the inside and hardware that's capable of implementing a full perimeter lockdown. Those and other ideas are included in the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission's interim report to Governor  Malloy, submitted yesterday. Chairman Scott Jackson says the group plans to continue its work, focusing on mental health services. Members expect to present a final report within the year.

FBI Focusing On Recovery In '90 Art Heist

The FBI believes it knows the identities of the thieves who stole art valued at up to $500 million from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in 1990. Richard DesLauriers, the FBI's special agent in charge in Boston, says the thieves belong to a criminal organization based in New England and the mid-Atlantic states. He says authorities believe the art was taken to Connecticut and the Philadelphia region in the years after the theft, and offered for sale in Philadelphia about a decade ago. The has a new website aimed at getting help cracking the case at www.FBI.gov/gardner . In a video, DesLauriers says the statute of limitations has passed for the crime of art theft and authorities are focused on recovering the art. There's a $5 million reward in the case involving 13 stolen works, including masterpieces by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Degas and Manet.

Bill Would Create Early Voting Pilot Program

Connecticut lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a pilot program for early voting in municipal elections. While not fully drafted yet, the proposal is one of several bills being offered during this year's legislative session to allow people to cast their ballots prior to Election Day. Secretary of the State Denise Merrill testified in favor of the legislation on Monday before the General Assembly's Government Administration and Elections Committee. Merrill said Connecticut needs to modernize its elections and provide more options for busy voters.

She said she has already asked several municipalities whether they would like to develop the idea further. Merrill said a pilot program would be a great opportunity to "test the waters" and get some data on early voting to see how it would work.

Small Fire Reported Aboard USS Miami

Officials say a small fire broke out aboard the USS Miami just three days after a former shipyard worker was sentenced for setting a fire that caused about $450 million in damage.A shipyard spokeswoman says sandblasting operations damaged a light fixture, causing a fire that was doused with an extinguisher Monday afternoon. It's unclear if the nuclear submarine will be restored to service after the first fire. Repairs have been postponed because of mandatory budget cuts, and Rear Adm. Rick Breckenridge, commander of Submarine Group Two in Groton, Conn., said the Navy must weigh competing priorities. The shipyard's 4,700 civilian workers will be forced to take 22 days off without pay between April and Sept. 30 under forced federal budget cuts known as sequestration. Workers plan to rally Wednesday.

Colchester Man Pleads Guilty To Embezzlement

A Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $730,000 from a Washington law firm. Forty-eight-year-old William B. McNichols of Colchester entered the plea yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. He agreed to pay restitution and faces a maximum of 20 years in prison at sentencing June 17. According to government evidence, McNichols was the finance and business manager at Trister, Ross, Schadler and Gold. Prosecutors say McNichols got money from the firm by giving himself excessive salary payments and issuing unauthorized checks to himself to pay personal credit card bills.

Man Who Helped Get WWII Photo Published Dies

A Connecticut man who helped get a groundbreaking photograph of dead American soldiers during World War II published, has died. He was 94. A.B.C. "Cal" Whipple of Greenwich died Sunday of pneumonia. His death was confirmed by his son, Chris Whipple. Chris Whipple says his father was Pentagon correspondent for Life magazine who tried to convince the military to allow the photo by George Strock of three dead soldiers on a landing beach to be published. He says President Franklin D. Roosevelt eventually cleared the photo. Whipple says publication of the photo ended the censorship rule, boosted support for the war and had a lasting effect on photo journalism. His father went on to become executive editor of Time-Life Books and wrote more than a dozen books about maritime history.