BRAINREE — A New Haven woman was arrested Friday night after she allegedly stole $400 worth of jeans from Abercrombie and Fitch at the South Shore Plaza.

Loss prevention at the store watched Candice M. Couvertier, 27, and two men conceal several pairs of jeans in a bag and leave the store. When the agents apprehended her, she allegedly bit one of them in the hand and ran off.

She was captured at a naerby restaurant and faces charges of larceny over $250 and assault and battery.

The men she was with fled and were not found.

NEW HAVEN — Members of the “New Haven 20″ will be promoted after a U.S. District Court judge ruled today that the city of New Haven violated the civil rights of the 19 white and one Hispanic firefighter when the city thew out fire officer tests in 2004 because too few African American firefighters passed.

Fourteen firefighters were ordered to be promoted. The city confirmed in a statement tonight that the promotions will be completed as soon as possible, WTNH-TV reported.

The case of Ricci vs DeStefano is case of so-called “reverse racism.” The lawsuit claimed that New Haven violated the rights of the plaintiffs when it threw out two promotional exams because blacks scored poorly. The city claimed, in its own defense, that it threw out the tests out of fear that discrimination lawsuits would arise from the black community. Instead, the 19 white firefighters and one Latino who would have been in line for promotions sued the city.

A judge had thrown out the case in 2006. The U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the claim in 2008. But in June, the United States Supreme Court reversed the decision, leading to yesterday’s ruling.

That same judge, Janet Bond Arterton, signed the order granting the promotions after she was overruled by the nation’s highest court. (Click here to read the statement)

Firefighters Frank Ricci, Michael Blatchley, Greg Boivin, Michael Christoforo, Ryan Divito, Steven Durand, Christopher Parker and Mark Vendetto will be promoted to lieutenant.

Advancing to the rank of captain: Gary Carbone, William Gambardella, Brian Jooss, Matthew Marcarelli, Timothy Scanlon and Benjamin Vargas.

Pilot Pen will drop its sponsorship of the annual New Haven professional tennis event, the New Haven Register reported, putting one of the only professional sporting events in Connecticut’s second largest city in jeopardy.

The event will go on next year, August 20-28, but the pen company will drop its sponsorship when its contract is up after that.

The register reported that Pilot Pen has been sponsor of the annual event, which features a men’s and women’s tournament, since 1996. It is held in downtown New Haven, near the Yale Bowl and Yale Field in the 13,000-seat Connecticut Tennis Center. The newspaper reported that Pilot Pen put up $1.4 million annually for the tournament.

“We firmly believe that Pilot Pen Corporation’s long-term support of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament has helped us grow the sport of tennis in the Northeast and put us in a solid position to attract a new title sponsor," tournament director Anne Worcester said in a statement "This tournament has developed into an entertainment event featuring some of the world’s best professional tennis players as well as many off-court events which have expanded our reach to all types of fans. A combined men’s and women’s tournament is a very desirable sports property and will appeal to national and regional partners alike."

"We have enjoyed being the title sponsor of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament" said Dennis Burleigh, President and CEO of Pilot Pen Corporation of America in the same statement. "Unfortunately, the economic recession has severely impacted our consumers and the office products industry in particular, necessitating this difficult decision."

Police have re-implicated Yale lab technician Raymond Clark, previously called a “person of interest,” in the murder of Yale University graduate student Annie Le.

Clark was taken into custody Tuesday, but released after he volunteered a DNA sample.

According to The New Haven Register, police have now obtained a DNA match that implicates Clark in the strangling death of the student, who was supposed to get married last Sunday.

Clark is holed up in a motel in Cromwell, Conn., and police have told the Register that he could be arrested at any time and charged in Le’s death.

ABC News has reported that Clark text messaged Le on the day of her disappearance. ABC News also said that Clark had wounds on his back, his chest and arms after Le’s death.

A Yale University lab technician, who works in the building that graduate student Annie Le was found murdered, has been released from custody after the alleged “person of interest” was cleared by a DNA test, according to The New Haven Register.

Raymond Clark, 24, of Middletown, Conn. was taken into custody by police Tuesday. Officers searched his home also.

But DNA appears to have cleared Clark from wrongdoing.

The question remains, now, who murdered the tiny, helpless grad student who was supposed to have gotten married last Sunday?

Connecticut state police have found a body inside the wall of a Yale University building. While police have not confirmed it, presumably this is the remains of missing graduate student Annie Le, who was supposed to be celebrating her wedding day Sunday.

Police have now switched from a missing person investigation to a homicide case, said New Haven Assistant Police Chief Peter Reichard, in a press conference Sunday night.

“Detectives and investigators have a large amount of physical evidence on the scene that we’re going through to determine if it’s linked to this case or not,” Reichard said.

Bloody clothing was found above ceiling tiles in the same Yale building on Saturday, according to reports.

Le, 24, was last seen at the 10 Amistad St. building this past Tuesday. Her family has been notified about the finding of a body, Reichard said.

“Our hearts go out to Annie Le’s family, fiancƒ© and friends, who must suffer the additional ordeal of waiting for the body to be identified,” said Yale President Richard Levin, in a statement to the Yale community. “I have met again with her family and conveyed to them the deeply felt support of the Yale community.”

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Meeting my mom on her lunch break was nice. Having my father join us was even better. Gazing at the menu trying to determine combinations that didn’t include french fries … not quite as pleasant.

One thing about “going out for lunch” is that sandwiches almost always come with fries or onion rings.

Another salad, but a good one. Bars and burger joints have come a long way from lettuce and Italian dressing, that’s for damn sure. Don’t be afraid to try some of these “bistro salads” either. They’re good.