Buffalo news

• Local mother struggles for answers after fatal crash

  01-12-2015 23:57 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A local mother of three is struggling to find answers and help after a fatal crash took a man’s life, and her house, just as the holidays got underway.
  But she said her faith is helping her through it — so much so that she and her family will be attending the driver’s funeral on Wednesday.
  Regina Hadley had just changed the configuration of her house, feeling an accident through her front window was possible, as her house faces an intersection.
  Last
  
  Read more

• Contractor arrested for not fulfilling services after accepting payment

  01-12-2015 23:56 via wivb.com
  
  LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WIVB) — A contractor in Lockport is facing felony charges after police say he didn’t hold up his end of the bargain with a customer who paid him.
  Police say they investigated Craig D. Semple, a 44-year-old Cambria native, after a customer said they paid him to remove a barn from a piece of land in Lockport in April. Police say the customer paid in full for the project, but Semple never returned to complete work after he was paid.
  Officers arrested Semple on Monda
  
  Read more

• Falls water pipes now buried deeper

  01-12-2015 23:49 via wivb.com
  
  NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB)- This winter should be easier on some Niagara Falls residents no matter how cold it gets.
  For the past few weeks, crews from Yarussi Construction have been working to fix the problem that left dozens of residents with frozen pipes along 72nd Street last winter. Crews have removed the old water main line which they say in some cases was only three feet underground, and replaced it with a new line that in most cases is more than six feet deep.
  “They won’t hav
  
  Read more

• Local man charged with 117 felonies in unemployment benefits fraud case

  01-12-2015 23:43 via wivb.com
  
  JAMESTOWN, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Jamestown man is facing a pile of felony charges after police say they concluded an investigation into unemployment benefits fraud.
  Officers say Larry Phillips falsified business records and committed insurance fraud between December of 2010 and March of 2013. New York State Police levied 116 felony counts of first degree falsifying business records and one count of felony third degree insurance fraud against him.
  Police say Phillips will appear in court in
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• State has its sights on safer hunting season

  01-12-2015 23:32 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Despite a few hunting-related incidents this year in the Western New York region, the sport remains safer than ever according to statewide numbers.
  With about three weeks left to go there were twenty-one hunting-related shooting incidents statewide and no fatalities, according to the State Department of Environmental Conservation.
  While safety advocates say one incident is too many, that’s not a bad record considering there are a half-million hunters just
  
  Read more

• VIDEO: Food fight captured on camera inside Calif. 7 Eleven

  01-12-2015 23:15 via wivb.com
  
  Concord, CA (KRON) — An obtained video of a food fight inside of a Concord 7-Eleven store has police on the hunt.
  This incident occurred back on November 20 at the story on Monument Boulevard.
  The clerk refused sell cigars to two female customers without identification.
  The customers got angry, went to the car to get their male friend wearing a baseball cap and returned to the store.
  A heated argument between the clerk and the customers turned into a wild food fight after one of
  
  Read more

• Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg pledges 99% of Facebook’s shares to charity after his daughter is born

  01-12-2015 22:50 via wivb.com
  
  MENLO PARK, CA. (WIVB) — The birth of Mark Zuckerberg’s daughter will be remembered as the day he and his wife pledged to give away 99 percent of the extremely valuable company.
  In a Facebook post — where Zuckerberg posts updates about his life — he wrote a letter addressing his newly born daughter, noting his desires for the advancement of technology in the world.
  Zuckerberg said although many times humans focus on the negatives, there are many positives, and he fee
  
  Read more

• Remembering Rosa Parks on anniversary of Montgomery Bus Boycott

  01-12-2015 21:31 via wivb.com
  
  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — Tuesday marks an important milestone in civil rights history — remembering the Montgomery bus boycott.
  Celebrities, activists and politicians will commemorate the boycott.
  There’s a National Bar Association Tour, which includes a key note speech by democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton.
  But the bus boycott would have never happened without the actions of Rosa Parks.
  The daughter of Leona and James McCauley, Rosa Louise McCauley was born on Fe
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Conviction of ex-speaker sends NY politics into turmoil

  01-12-2015 21:24 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The conviction of former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has shaken New York politics down to the granite foundations of the state Capitol, provoking fresh calls to overhaul a system that has stubbornly clung to its long history of corruption.
  A jury convicted the 71-year-old Manhattan Democrat on Monday on charges that he traded favors for $4 million in kickbacks from a cancer researcher and real estate developers.
  The rapid downfall was as shocking to lawmakers as it
  
  Read more

• Cuomo nominates prosecutor to preside at top NY court

  01-12-2015 21:22 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday nominated Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore to be New York’s chief judge, responsible for administering the state court system and presiding at the Court of Appeals, its top court.
  DiFiore, Westchester’s top prosecutor for nearly a decade, would replace Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman. Now 70, he must retire after this year.
  “Chief judge is a very, very important position and I think she’s going to do an
  
  Read more

• NY regulators propose new steps against terrorism financing

  01-12-2015 21:19 via wivb.com
  
  ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York regulators on Tuesday proposed requiring banks to annually certify having sufficient programs to deter terrorism financing and money laundering.
  The Department of Financial Services said the proposed regulations would apply to all New York-regulated banks, branches of foreign banks licensed to operate in the state and licensed check cashers and money transmitters.
  The rules would require banks to certify that they monitor transactions and filter them through wa
  
  Read more

• Police investigating death of freshman at Clemson stadium

  01-12-2015 21:12 via wivb.com
  
  CLEMSON, S.C. (WSPA) — The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating a death at Memorial Stadium in Clemson.
  The Pickens County Coroner identifies the victim as Michael Joseph Allen, 19, of DeKalb, Ga.
  Aaron was a freshman at Clemson University
  SLED investigates all on-campus deaths at colleges and universities in the state.
  
  Read more

• A family shares their story of heartbreak in an effort to help others

  01-12-2015 21:09 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The number of suicides in Erie County has increased over the past few years.
  There were 114 deaths by suicide in 2014. That’s a 31 percent increase from 2013.
  If you compare those numbers to 2012 data, there’s been a 44 percent increase.
  A Williamsville family who recently lost their daughter to suicide is now sharing their story. They hope it helps so another family doesn’t have to go through heartbreak.
  “She was just an all-around good heart
  
  Read more

• Stolen dog reunited with family almost a year later

  01-12-2015 19:22 via wivb.com
  
  SHERWOOD, Ore. (KOIN) — A local family was reunited with their dog Monday, nearly a year after she was reportedly stolen.
  Pippin the Australian Shepherd was taken in front of a Beaverton store on December 14, 2014, Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.Penelope Whipple, 54, was arrested and charged with felony first-degree theft of a companion animal. (WCSO)“We searched all over and she was just gone,” Cara Esau, who adopted Pippin last year, told KOIN 6 News.
  
  Read more

• Radio station launches new holiday tradition

  01-12-2015 19:20 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Some holiday traditions are long lasting, and some are newer. At Alt 107.7, the hosts and listeners are looking forward to a new tradition they launched last year. “Kerfuffle Before Christmas” is the holiday-themed version of their popular “Kerfuffle” concert that takes place at Canalside each summer.
  Morning host Bentley explained the idea behind the show and some of the acts when News 4 Wake Up cameras recently visited her studio in Amherst.
  
  Read more

• Crimestoppers offering reward for information leading to arrest

  01-12-2015 19:14 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Law enforcement officers are looking for a man they say shot someone during a robbery.
  Michael Rodney Morris, 31, was previously convicted of assault and is currently on parole. Authorities say he absconded from parole, leading to a warrant for his arrest.
  Morris is 6’1″ and weighs 250 lbs. Crimestoppers is offering up to $1,000 for information leading to his arrest.
  
  Read more

• Blast near Istanbul subway station injures at least 1

  01-12-2015 17:48 via wivb.com
  
  ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — An explosion near a subway station in Istanbul on Tuesday injured at least one person, a Turkish official said. The cause of the blast wasn’t immediately known, but some reports said it might have been caused by a faulty transformer.
  The state-run Anadolu Agency said the explosion occurred at an overpass near the city’s Bayrampasa station. Several ambulances were sent to the area.
  Istanbul Gov. Vasip Sahin said at least one person was slightly injured.
  &ld
  
  Read more

• Bills’ place Kyle Williams on injured reserve, sign three new players

  01-12-2015 17:29 via wivb.com
  
  ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Bills announced Tuesday morning that defensive tackle Kyle Williams was placed on the injured reserve list.
  The Bills also announced three new signings — defensive tackle T.J. Barnes, defensive end Lavar Edwards and linebacker Kevin Reddick.
  Reddick is returning to the Bills after spending time on the practice squad earlier in the season, according to the Bills’ website.
  The Bills play the Houston Texans this Sunday, December 6 at 1 p.m.
  
  Read more

• Giving Tuesday celebrated in Niagara Falls

  01-12-2015 17:02 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — You’ve heard it said, “It’s better to give than to receive.”
  Cities across the country have celebrated Tuesday as “Giving Tuesday” for the last four years. It’s a day dedicated to paying it forward during the holiday season.
  Dozens of volunteers will help those in need at the Niagara Falls Community Missions. Community Missions has helped thousands of people since it opened 90 years ago, giving out more than 75,000 hot m
  
  Read more

• Man accused of smuggling turtles in pants expected to plead guilty

  01-12-2015 16:34 via wivb.com
  
  ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – A Canadian man caught with dozens of turtles inside his pants is getting snapped by the U.S. justice system.
  Kai Xu is expected to appear in Ann Arbor federal court on Tuesday to plead guilty in the smuggling case. He was arrested last year while returning to Windsor, Ontario, with turtles.
  The government says it was a typical practice. Agents say that Xu ordered turtles online and would travel to the U.S. to pick them up or ship them to China.
  In September 2014, Ho
  
  Read more

• A real-life Grinch: Suspect caught on camera stealing Christmas lights

  01-12-2015 16:30 via wivb.com
  
  PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) – A real life Grinch made his presence known in Portsmouth over the weekend.  The suspect stole Christmas lights from a home, but what he didn’t know was that it was all caught on camera.
  “It just makes you angry,” said victim Jason Ward.  “You feel violated.”
  Over the weekend Ward began putting out his lights at his home on Greeneland Boulevard. “It makes the neighborhood look better when everybody is decorating,&rd
  
  Read more

• Most popular baby names of 2015 revealed

  01-12-2015 15:59 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Babycenter.com has revealed the most popular baby names of 2015. Here they are:
  TOP GIRL NAMES:
  Sophia
  Emma
  Olivia
  Ava
  Mia
  Isabella
  Zoe
  Lily
  Emily
  Madison
  Falling from the top 10 this year was Madelyn, being replaced by Madison.
  TOP BOY NAMES:
  Jackson
  Aiden
  Liam
  Lucas
  Noah
  Mason
  Ethan
  Caden
  Logan
  Jacob
  MORE | See Babycenter’s full report here.
  
  Read more

• Grand jury to take up case today of Va. men accused of plotting race war

  01-12-2015 15:47 via wivb.com
  
  CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Today, a federal grand jury is expected to take up the case of two of three suspects charged with plotting to start a race war in the Richmond area.
  According to federal court documents, Robert Doyle and Ronald Beasley Chaney III talked about planning attacks on Jewish synagogues and Black churches.
  Doyle, 34, and Chaney, 33, are charged with conspiracy to possess firearms after being convicted of felonies, according to an FBI affidavit.
  The
  
  Read more

• Woman killed after Route 240 accident

  01-12-2015 15:32 via wivb.com
  
  TOWN OF ASHFORD, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Cattaraugus County woman was killed after a Sunday vehicle accident in the Town of Ashford.
  The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office says Karolyn Penfold, 26, was traveling south on Route 240 when she struck a ditch on the opposite side of the roadway, overturning the vehicle.
  Penfold was flown to ECMC, but later died from her injuries.
  The accident is under investigation by the Sheriff’s Office.
  
  Read more

• Niagara Falls plant layoffs to affect nearly 200 workers

  01-12-2015 15:13 via wivb.com
  
  DOVER, Del. (AP) — The Chemours Co., a chemicals business spun off from the Dupont Co. earlier this year, says it is laying off about 5 percent of its global workforce.
  The Wilmington-based company also said Monday that the workforce reduction will affect about 400 employee and contractor positions, including roughly 50 in the Wilmington area.
  Chemours also will stop production at its Reactive Metals Solutions site in Niagara Falls, New York, by the end of 2016. About 200 employees an
  
  Read more

• Red Cross helping displaced residents from fire

  01-12-2015 13:47 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Four people were forced from their home Tuesday morning because of an overnight fire.
  Crews battled flames around 1:30 a.m. at an apartment building on Massachusetts Avenue and Winter Street. Investigators on the scene said it started in a back apartment, then spread to the roof. Everyone inside made it out safely. The Red Cross is providing shelter to those who were forced from their homes.
  Fire officials estimate the damage at $90,000.
  The cause is still
  
  Read more

• Man shot and killed in LeRoy; suspect in custody after setting own house on fire

  01-12-2015 12:11 via wivb.com
  
  LEROY, N.Y. (WIVB) — Authorities are investigating after a man was shot and killed inside a home in LeRoy Tuesday morning. Relatives of the victim identified him as Norman “Don” Ball. According to his sister-in-law, Ball was sleeping in his bed when a neighbor came into his house and shot him.
  A short time after the shooting, a call came in about a fire at the suspect’s home, about a quarter mile up the road. Law enforcement officials say they believe the suspect set
  
  Read more

• Father shot and killed; two family members still inside home in LeRoy

  01-12-2015 12:11 via wivb.com
  
  LEROY, N.Y. (WIVB) — A father was shot and killed in LeRoy Tuesday morning. The shooting victim was identified as 68-year-old Norman “Don” Ball.
  WBTA reports the incident began around 4:20 a.m.
  Authorities responded to the scene on Selden Road where a dispatcher said, “the victim has been shot in the face” and that “the suspects appear to have left the area.” according to The Batavian.
  After the originally reported incident, The Batavian says a
  
  Read more

• Father shot and killed in LeRoy; suspect in custody after setting own house on fire

  01-12-2015 12:11 via wivb.com
  
  LEROY, N.Y. (WIVB) — Relatives say a father was shot and killed inside a home in LeRoy Tuesday morning. They identified the victim as 68-year-old Norman “Don” Ball. According to his sister, Ball was sleeping in his bed when someone came into his house and shot him.
  The Monroe County Sheriff says a suspect is in custody and the incident was resolved. The suspect was armed and hoping police would shoot him, according to the Sheriff.
  The suspect was taken into custody in his
  
  Read more

• Erie County Sheriff’s Office ends Marine Patrol’s season

  01-12-2015 03:43 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Sheriff’s Deputies charged with patrolling the waters of Erie County will hang up the keys to their boats as the Marine Patrol unit season ends.
  The Erie County Sheriff’s Office patrols the waters from the middle of may May through the middle of November each year on average and in 2015, logged more than 3,400 hours actively patrolling throughout the boating season.
  Deputies on duty aided in 25 search and rescue missions, issued 165 summons
  
  Read more

• Police cite woman after photo posted of dog with mouth taped shut

  01-12-2015 03:14 via wivb.com
  
  CARY, N.C. (WNCN) – A woman who posted a picture of her dog with its mouth taped shut now faces charges in Cary, where she was staying with the dog.
  The image of the dog with thick gray tape across its mouth was posted Friday and exploded on the Internet.
  Katharine F. Lemansky, 45, whose Facebook page lists her as Katie Brown, is charged with Class 1 Misdemeanor Cruelty to Animals. The charge carries a fine and up to 150 days in jail. Her Facebook page had listed her as living in South Day
  
  Read more

• Millennials ‘shifting trends’ in shopping

  01-12-2015 03:11 via wivb.com
  
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Shoppers have changed their expectations on what they expect from retailers, and while an event like Black Friday or Cyber Monday is good entertainment, it doesn’t have the cachet it once did.
  So says Tom Gillpatrick, the executive director of the PSU Center for Retail Leadership.
  Shoppers, he said, are better and more knowledgeable about the timing of sales and use technology to help find discounts.
  “We definitely are seeing shifting trends” in th
  
  Read more

• Sinclairville woman charged with crashing car, leaving scene & resisting arrest

  01-12-2015 03:04 via wivb.com
  
  SINCLAIRVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) — Following a car crash on Sinclair Drive, police say they arrested a local woman after a struggle.
  New York State Troopers say Kelly Berenguer crashed her car and then departed from the scene, confusing first responders who rushed to the scene but didn’t find an accident victim.
  Police say they checked the car’s registration to learn the owner of the vehicle, then followed up at Berenguer’s home where they located her.
  When they attempted
  
  Read more

• NY holds toy drive for less fortunate families

  01-12-2015 02:57 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — New York’s Governor is calling for New Yorkers to help out the less fortunate this holiday season.
  Governor Andrew Cuomo launched a state-wide toy drive program on Monday, announcing anybody can drop off toys, coats or school supplies any time up until Dec. 18.
  The drop-off location for western New York is the Walter Mahoney State Office Building on Court Street in the City of Buffalo.
  
  Read more

• Another block of Main ready to open to car traffic

  01-12-2015 02:52 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)- Another of block of Main Street is almost ready for cars to share the road with the Metro Rail.
  “Well it’s key to Main Street becoming successful again.” said Joe Incao who just opened  a business on the block.”You saw what happened on the 600 block when it opened to traffic, spaces started filling in very quickly, so knowing the 500 block was gonna open, we felt it was prime time.”
  Joe Incao grew up in Buffalo, but went on to be Vice Pres
  
  Read more

• 8 things to know about the climate talks

  01-12-2015 02:35 via interactives.wivb.com
  
  PARIS (AP) — The United Nations Climate Conference in Paris is playing host to thousands of representatives from hundreds of countries around the world.
   
  APP USERS | Click here to view the gallery.
  
  Read more

• Florida woman accused of sexual battery against baby

  01-12-2015 02:32 via wivb.com
  
  ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. (WFLA) — A Zephyrhills woman is accused in a disturbing sexual battery case involving an infant.
  Investigators with the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office say Katherine Grace Rice, 31, made a video that showed her performing a lewd act with a 1-to-2-month-old baby.
  A probable cause affidavit said that someone reported receiving the video on Facebook and identified the person in the video as Katherine Rice. Deputies say they spoke with Rice’s husband, who allegedly
  
  Read more

• Up to 5 million VTech customers, kids exposed in breach

  01-12-2015 02:26 via wivb.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) – Kid’s technology maker VTech says the personal information of about 5 million of its customers and their children may have been stolen by hackers.
  The Hong Kong-based company disclosed the breach of a customer database late last week, but didn’t say how many people could be affected until Monday.
  The affected database includes the names, birthdates and genders of child users.
  It also includes adult user information including names, email addresses, passwords, se
  
  Read more

• Man killed in Planned Parenthood shooting was Iraq veteran

  01-12-2015 02:24 via wivb.com
  
  COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — One of the people killed in the Black Friday shooting at the Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs was an Iraq war veteran.
  Ke’Arre Stewart, 29, was one of three people killed in the shooting. The others were Jennifer Markovsky, 35, and Garrett Swasey, 44.
  Army records indicate Stewart was deployed to Iraq from November 2005 through November 2006. He lived in Waco, Texas when he joined the Army in October 2004. He was stationed at Fort Carson from
  
  Read more

• Cost of “real” Christmas trees in WNY up slightly

  01-12-2015 01:44 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – A holiday tradition is getting a little pricey—but not by much. When you go to pick out your Christmas tree—whether you are chopping it yourself, or it is pre-cut–make sure you bring enough money.
  While enjoying the unseasonably mild weather, you might not have noticed, the real Christmas trees are out, and if you are looking for a big one, you might have to shell out a little more this year.
  But the Christmas tree retailers are dealing, and the fi
  
  Read more

• US warns of ‘imminent’ attack in Afghan capital

  01-12-2015 01:38 via wivb.com
  
  KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The U.S. Embassy said Monday it has received “credible reports of an imminent attack” in the Afghan capital.
  A statement on the embassy’s website urged U.S. citizens to exercise “extreme caution” if moving around inKabul during the next 48 hours. The statement said the embassy has no further information about the targets, timing or nature of the planned attack.
  The Taliban often carry out attacks in Kabul and elsewhere, mainly targeti
  
  Read more

• Local doctor going on 30+ years with HIV

  01-12-2015 00:39 via wivb.com
  
  CASSADAGA, N.Y. (WIVB)- Dr. Neal Rzepkowski is a picture of perfect health. At 64, the Dunkirk native has a busy schedule seeing patients, but makes time to tend to his greenhouse, where he grows papayas.
  He even built his Cassadaga home, with his bare hands.
  So it might surprise some that he’s HIV positive, and has been for more than 30 years.
  “I probably picked it up in 1982-81, or even before, either through not using gloves with my patients who turned out to have AIDS, or by
  
  Read more

• SPCA rescues over 50 cats from an ‘animal rescue’ organization

  01-12-2015 00:11 via wivb.com
  
  WEST SENECA, N.Y. (WIVB) — More than 50 cats were rescued by police officers and SPCA workers on Monday from an organization that purportedly rescues cats.
  Officials with the SPCA serving Erie County say they secured a search warrant before raiding an organization called Bob the Cat Animal Rescue on Creekview Drive in West Seneca.
  Reports of cats that weren’t being cared for fueled the search warrant, which they were able to serve to the owner of the organization. After entering
  
  Read more

Follow @Buffalo_News_US on Twitter!