Buffalo news

• Amtrak’s new baggage policy kicks in Oct. 1

  30-09-2015 23:42 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- Amtrak wants its passengers to travel light, and it’s unveiling a new policy to enforce it.
  Beginning Oct. 1, anyone with more than two regular sized carry-on bags will have to pay $20 per bag.
  Amtrak officials said the change will make travel less of a hassle, especially for upcoming holidays.
  During Thanksgiving, local Amtrak stations are generally slammed: the average of 20-30 passengers per train at Buffalo’s Exchange Street station jumps to more than 1
  
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• Local inventor says he has the key to solving the fruit fly problem

  30-09-2015 23:09 via wivb.com
  
   
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) –  A local entrepreneur has found a new way to solve a pesky problem many homeowners deal with, how to catch and dispose of fruit flies. Michael Bernhardt from Buffalo decided it was time to design an electric trap, which he says will eliminate fruit flies for good. He calls it “Active Green.” It’s an eco-friendly trapping device.
  Bernhardt said, “I got a lot of fruit flies and I saw what was available didn’t work, so
  
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• Region’s heroin epidemic worsens

  30-09-2015 23:08 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Lacie Boyea is the face of western New York’s worsening heroin epidemic.
  “I want to live. I don’t want to die over a drug. I don’t want to kill myself,” said Boyea, 27, who is on her third attempt at treatment.
  She’s been hooked for seven years and has tried desperately to get off
  Now she’s really scared.
  “I know at least five people I can think of right now that have passed away, family included.”
  She’
  
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• Video: Thousands of bees swarm police cruiser after truck accident

  30-09-2015 22:51 via wivb.com
  
  PAULS VALLEY Okla. (NBC NEWS) — A crash along a busy Oklahoma Interstate has motorists all abuzz.
  A semi carrying boxes full of honey bees turned over on the highway in Pauls Valley Tuesday afternoon.
  Video taken from inside a Sheriff’s cruiser shows thousands of angry, swarming bees blanketing the vehicle.
  According to the Oklahoma State Highway Patrol, the deputy was stung only once and escaped otherwise unhurt.
  NBC station KFOR of Oklahoma City reported that it took several hours
  
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• Hamburg highway workers rescue deer

  30-09-2015 22:48
  
  Kudos to some members of the Hamburg highway Department for a rescue above and beyond their normal duties.        
  
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• Arrest made in Tonawanda business burglaries

  30-09-2015 22:04 via wivb.com
  
  TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A 31-year-old man has been connected to two burglaries in the City of Tonawanda that happened months apart.
  Police say Leroy L. Twitty, of North Tonawanda, first struck a Subway restaurant on Niagara Street back on May 15. He allegedly smashed out a side door and stole cash from the office.
  Twitty is also accused of breaking into a McDonald’s restaurant on Main Street on Sept. 18. Investigators say he climbed through the drive-through window to
  
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• Kids Korner at Buffalo VA to remain open

  30-09-2015 21:56
  
  The Kids Korner program at the Buffalo VA Medical Center will remain open.        
  
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• Man in critical condition after stabbing on Dearborn

  30-09-2015 21:39
  
  One man is in critical condition after a stabbing Tuesday night on Dearborn.        
  
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• Georgia executes only woman on death row despite pleas from Pope Francis

  30-09-2015 21:39 via wivb.com
  
  ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) — The only woman on Georgia’s death row was executed early Wednesday morning, making her the first woman executed in the state in seven decades.
  Kelly Renee Gissendaner was pronounced dead by lethal injection of pentobarbital Wednesday at 12:21 a.m. at the state prison in Jackson. She was convicted of murder in the February 1997 slaying of her husband after she conspired with her lover, who stabbed Douglas Gissendaner to death.
  Gissendaner, 47, sobbed as she said sh
  
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• Police: Man continues driving after being shot twice in head in Philly

  30-09-2015 21:16 via wivb.com
  
  PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (AP) — Police say a 29-year-old man in Philadelphia continued to drive a car after being shot twice in the head.
  Philly.com reports that police in the Kensington area of the city pulled over a car that was being driven erratically around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
  The officers found the driver had been shot in the right forehead and right cheek. He was taken to Temple University Hospital where he is in critical but stable condition.
  Police say the man was conscious and speaking
  
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• Drunk driver sentenced to spend victim’s birthday in jail for next 10 years

  30-09-2015 21:10 via wivb.com
  
  ST. LAWRENCE, Wis. (WBAY) – A Wisconsin woman who struck and killed an 18-year-old man will spend his birthday in jail, as well as the anniversary of the day she hit Dylan and every Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, for the next 10 years.
  A judge sentenced 40-year-old Heather Schmidt on Wednesday for the death of Dylan Thorne three years ago.
  Prosecutors say Schmidt’s blood-alcohol level measured twice the legal limit after she hit Thorne’s car, killing the recent Iola
  
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• Retired Buffalo police officer sentenced for fraud

  30-09-2015 21:01
  
  A retired Buffalo Police Officer who faked being injured on duty will spend the next six months in jail.        
  
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• Building partially collapses in Dunkirk

  30-09-2015 19:05 via wivb.com
  
  DUNKIRK, N.Y. (WIVB) — First responders in Dunkirk rushed to the scene of a building collapse just after 12 p.m. on Wednesday.
  Officials confirmed part of the historic Coburn Block building tumbled down, scattering bricks and debris into the street. The building, which spans most of the block, is comprised of storage, apartments and storefronts.
  Witnesses say first responders were on scene of the crash nearly immediately. Fire, Police and EMS responded to the scene. Fire officials say
  
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• House to vote on temporary resolution to avoid shutdown

  30-09-2015 17:03 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (MEDIA GENERAL) – Parks closing their doors, soldiers going without a paycheck and government agencies unable to offer services to the American public are each a possible repercussion of what happens on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
  The House of Representatives plans to vote on what’s called a continuing resolution, which the Senate already passed and temporarily funds the U.S. government until December 11.  If they do not pass anything before midnight Wednesday, the gov
  
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• Students, staff on edge after another robbery on Buff State campus

  30-09-2015 16:46 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – People on the Buffalo State campus are taking stock of their own safety and security after a female student was robbed at knife-point Tuesday night. The incident was the latest in a string of crimes targeting students on campus this semester.
  University Police say the woman was walking between Upton Hall and the Science and Mathematics Complex around 8:50 p.m. Tuesday when she was approached by two men, one of whom had a gun. They took her jacket, which was later rec
  
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• Buffalo’s Preston Brown named AFC defensive player of the week

  30-09-2015 16:39 via wivb.com
  
  ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — An outstanding performance by linebacker Preston Brown earned him national credit as one of the top defensive players in the country after the Buffalo Bills netted the Miami Dolphins.
  In the 41-14 victory over Miami, Brown intercepted quarterback Ryan Tannehill twice. Brown returned one of his two picks for a touchdown, adding to Buffalo’s commanding victory. Three days after the victory, Brown has been named the AFC defensive player of the week.
  
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• Sheriff office: Police investigate report of officer-involved shooting at South Carolina mall

  30-09-2015 16:20 via wivb.com
  
  FOREST ACRES, S.C. (AP) — Law enforcement officials are investigating a report of an officer-involved shooting at a shopping mall near Columbia, South Carolina.
  Richland County Sheriff’s spokesman Chris Cowan says two Forest Acres officers were called to a report of a suspicious person at Richland Mall around 8 a.m. Wednesday.
  Cowan says that during the investigation, shots were fired. Cowan did not say who was shot. Cowan says one person has been taken to a Columbia hospit
  
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• Officer dies after police-involved shooting at South Carolina mall

  30-09-2015 16:20 via wivb.com
  
  FOREST ACRES, S.C. (AP) — A police officer responding to a report of a suspicious person was fatally shot at a suburban South Carolina mall on Wednesday, and police say a suspect is in custody.
  The incident began when the report came in just before 8 a.m., Forest Acres police Chief Gene Sealy told reporters. Two officers responded and attempted to talk to the person, who fled on foot and ran through parts of Richland Mall, including the Barnes and Noble bookstore, officials said.
  
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• Officer dies after officer-involved shooting at South Carolina mall

  30-09-2015 16:20 via wivb.com
  
  FOREST ACRES, S.C. (AP) — A police officer responding to a report of a suspicious person was fatally shot at a suburban South Carolina mall on Wednesday, and police say a suspect is in custody.
  The incident began when the report came in just before 8 a.m., Forest Acres police Chief Gene Sealy told reporters. Two officers responded and attempted to talk to the person, who fled on foot and ran through parts of Richland Mall, including the Barnes and Noble bookstore, officials said.
  
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• Local man accidentally shoots himself in stomach, is brought to ECMC

  30-09-2015 16:18 via wivb.com
  
  CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A 911 call that rang out Tuesday afternoon forced first responders to take emergency action to save the life of a man with a gunshot wound in his stomach that exited his back.
  Police in Cheektowaga say they rushed to the scene of the gunshot and learned the man shot himself in the stomach while cleaning his firearm at about 6:20 on Tuesday. First responders rushed him to the Erie County Medical Center.
  The man, whose identity will not be released b
  
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• Twin arrested, charged with impersonating his brother

  30-09-2015 15:59 via wivb.com
  
  LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — When police arrested a local man on charges of driving impaired, they fingerprint analysis helped prove he wasn’t who he claimed to be.
  New York State Police say when faced with serious charges, James E. Mcdonald, 26, used his twin brother’s identity. Officers pulled over Mcdonald in Lockport and wound up charging him with operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs, driving while ability impaired by drugs, aggravated unlicensed operator, driv
  
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• #Up4TheChallenge: Aerial yoga takes a traditional practice to new heights

  30-09-2015 15:38 via wivb.com
  
  (BUFFALO, N.Y.) – Why do yoga on the ground when you can take your practice to a whole new place?
  At Buffalo Aerial Dance, yogis use suspended hammocks made of stretchy fabric to enhance their postures. They may look light weight, but they’re each strong enough to hold a whole car.
  Aerial Yoga Instructor Nina Vega-Westoff leads students through a series of poses, beginning with your hands or feet still on the ground. As in most yoga classes, there’s a lot of time built in for p
  
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• Hurricane Joaquin forms near the Bahamas

  30-09-2015 14:38 via wivb.com
  
  MIAMI (AP) – Joaquin strengthened to a hurricane Wednesday morning as it nears the Bahamas.
  A hurricane warning has been issued for the central Bahamas as the storm approaches.
  Hurricane Joaquin’s maximum sustained winds increased to near 75 mph (120 kph). The U.S. National Hurricane Center says additional strengthening is expected over the next two days.
  The storm is centered about 245 miles (395 kilometers) east-northeast of the central Bahamas and is moving southwest near 6 mph (9
  
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• Billionaire to invest $100k in Buffalo business startup

  30-09-2015 14:26 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Eight Buffalo business startups will compete to win a $100,000 investment courtesy of billionaire businessman Steve Case on Wednesday.
  Case, who is AOL’s co-founder, is working with Mayor Byron Brown and Buffalo Bills star Thurman Thomas to promote Rise for the Rest’s stop in Buffalo. The program is a nationwide effort to shine a spotlight on startups.
  The investment will be issued to one of the following businesses that started in the Queen Cit
  
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• Water main break causes sinkhole in north Buffalo

  30-09-2015 13:33 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — After more than 24-hours of rain in western New York, north Buffalo got a little more wet Wednesday morning.
  Crews are dealing with a water main break at Hinman and Eugene, all but closing the intersection. As crews responded, a sinkhole formed, swallowing part of a truck there. 
  After getting the truck to safety, work continued. There’s no word on how soon the water main will be repaired.
  News 4 will update this story when more information is availab
  
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• Standoff ends peacefully in Clarence

  30-09-2015 13:11 via wivb.com
  
  CLARENCE, N.Y. (WIVB) — A person is in custody on Wednesday after police responded to a Clarence home following a mysterious incident.
  Officers described the evening incident on Springbrook Court as a standoff after a person barricaded themselves inside a home. Just before 10 p.m., the standoff reportedly ended peacefully.
  Police didn’t offer many details on the situation, but said the person is in custody and they are working to learn what sparked the incident.
  
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• Former Niagara University hockey player charged with murdering wife

  30-09-2015 12:18 via wivb.com
  
  CATON, N.Y. (WIVB) — A former local hockey standout who left Niagara University to play for the Elmira Jackals is behind bars, charged with killing his 35-year-old wife.
  The Steuben County District Attorney announced the murder of Kelley Clayton after police found her brutally beaten in her Caton home. Following the discovery, police arrested 37-year-old Thomas Clayton, a former Niagara University student athlete.
  Police who responded to the home at 12:30 a.m., say they found Ms. Clay
  
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• Buffalo State student robbed at knife point

  30-09-2015 06:21 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo State student was robbed on campus Tuesday night, according to a report issued by University Police.
  The female victim stated that she was walking between Upton Hall and the Science and Mathematics Complex around 8:50 p.m. when she was approached by two men who robbed her of her jacket. Police say one of the suspects was armed with a knife. The victim was not harmed.
  Both suspects are described as black males wearing dark hoodies and sweatpants. One was rep
  
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• Hamburg To Study Partial Closing of Bayview Road

  30-09-2015 05:30
  
  Increased Traffic Leads to Study of Bayview Road Partial Shutdown        
  
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• Niagara County lawmakers want to use solar power to save money

  30-09-2015 05:26 via wivb.com
  
  NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. (WIVB)- Niagara County lawmakers want to use solar panels to save taxpayers money. They held a special legislative session on Tuesday night to address building solar panels on vacant county land.
  Legislators unanimously decided to start contract talks with a Buffalo-based solar company. Draft plans show Solar Liberty may build solar panels on three properties, including possibly a landfill.
  The energy company would then sell the power on the market.
  Contract negotiations hav
  
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• Local florist concerned how Saturday implosion will impact business

  30-09-2015 04:57 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – While some people are putting on party hats for the planned implosion of an old Buffalo hospital this weekend, a local business owner tells us she’s concerned about how it will affect business.
  The former Millard-Fillmore building will be just a pile of dust. It’s expected to be a memorable few moments, but it’s causing a bit of confusion for businesses in the area.
  Fann Markel from the Floristry on Delaware avenue, describes herself as neuroti
  
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• Tenn. man admits to stealing boss’ truck to get arrested & away from wife

  30-09-2015 04:23 via wivb.com
  
  COLUMBIA, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Maury County inmate explained to News 2 why he stole a pickup truck and drove it into a creek last Sunday night.
  Hayden Vandiver is accused of breaking into his old place of business and admits damaging property, vandalizing vehicles, and stealing a truck his ex-boss loves.
  “I did what a lot of his employees want to do to him,” he told News 2 from behind bars.
  Well-spoken and quick to smile, Vandiver explains how he stole the 2012 Dodge 2500 and a tra
  
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• Viral video: Virginia man breaks down when he learns he’s going to be a dad

  30-09-2015 03:23 via wivb.com
  
  DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — A Dinwiddie mother-to-be came up with a special way to let her husband know she’s pregnant.
  Dana Griffin-Graves planted the baby’s ultrasound photos right next to a package of buns in the oven.
  Then she secretly recorded her husband’s reaction.
  The video is now on the verge of going viral.
  It shows Arkell Graves peek into the oven then spin around and exclaim, “You’re pregnant! You’re pregnant!.”
  Then you hear his wif
  
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• 76-year-old auto salesman carjacked during test drive

  30-09-2015 03:15 via wivb.com
  
  INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Bernice Poynter has been selling cars for 50 years.
  The 76-year-old spends most of his days working with his son at Smith’s Auto Sales on the 3200 block of English Avenue.
  On Monday afternoon, a clean-shaven man in his late 20s asked to test drive a white Chevy Malibu.
  Poynter handed over the keys to the man and then sat in the passenger seat while the man got behind the wheel.
  After driving around a few blocks, the man decided he didn&r
  
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• Elderly widow files claim after house fire, then loses insurance

  30-09-2015 02:39 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Josephine DiCioccio’s family has called the house on Goethe Street their home for more than 40 years, and they have been faithfully paying their homeowners insurance premiums every month for most of that time.
  But that all changed on February 8, after an electrical fire caused extensive damage to their Lovejoy home, and Josephine filed a claim with her insurance carrier to cover the repairs—the insurer accused Josephine of trying to inflate her claim and
  
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• Women from across U.S. storm Capitol Hill to support Planned Parenthood

  30-09-2015 02:10 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of Planned Parenthood defended the U.S women’s health organization Tuesday before a Republican-run Congress bent on slashing its federal funding, telling lawmakers that accusations against her group fed by stealthily recorded videos are “offensive and categorically untrue.”
  In Planned Parenthood’s first appearance before Congress since those videos emerged this summer, Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  
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• Woman from across U.S. storm Capitol Hill to support Planned Parenthood

  30-09-2015 02:10 via wivb.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of Planned Parenthood defended the U.S women’s health organization Tuesday before a Republican-run Congress bent on slashing its federal funding, telling lawmakers that accusations against her group fed by stealthily recorded videos are “offensive and categorically untrue.”
  In Planned Parenthood’s first appearance before Congress since those videos emerged this summer, Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  
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• Report hits NYS with low grades for its infrastructure

  30-09-2015 01:55 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — New York’s report card is not up to par when it comes to the state’s infrastructure.
  A new analysis from the American Society of Civil Engineers graded the state in many areas, and the results are not good.
  The report handed down “D” grades for the bridges, roads and sewers, saying the wastewater systems alone need $36 million in upgrades.
  New York airports didn’t fly much higher, receiving just a “C” grade, along w
  
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• Police: Sheriff’s deputy charged with DWI for 2nd time

  30-09-2015 00:36 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A deputy with the Erie County Sheriff’s Office is in trouble with the law, and it isn’t the first time.
  An internal investigation has now been launched after Daniel Harris was charged with DWI in West Seneca in the early morning hours of Sept. 22.
  According to a police report obtained by News 4, Harris smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and red, glassy eyes.
  Harris identified himself as a sheriff’s deputy, and had his gun removed before fai
  
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• CDC confident in new Flu vaccines

  30-09-2015 00:32 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- Flu season is fast approaching, and officials at the Centers for Disease Control said they’re more prepared than last year.
  Last year’s Flu season was crippled by the H3N2 strain, which wasn’t included in the vaccine. This year, it is.
  So far 40 million doses have been distributed, and 130 million more are on the way.
  The CDC is confident the vaccine will be more effective given the added strain.
  Dr. Steven Lana is a Pediatrician at Delaware Pedi
  
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• Lawmaker looks to improve sex offender notification

  30-09-2015 00:14 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- The information is out there, but people have to go looking for it.
  That’s what a resolution by Common Council President Darius Pridgen would try to change when it comes to neighbors being notified whenever a registered sex offender moves into a neighborhood.
  Currently, the NY State Sex Offender Registry, can be found on line and is updated on a regular basis, but public agencies are not required to issue notices to people who live near registered offenders.
  “I
  
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