Buffalo news

• Should lottery winners’ names be secret? States debate issue

  15-01-2016 23:58 via wivb.com
  
  DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Even a jackpot isn’t enough to buy anonymity for many lottery winners, whose names are often made public by state law.
  But now it’s becoming increasingly possible for big winners to hide their identity, and lottery executives are trying to strike a balance between ensuring privacy and safety while still proving to the public that real people can win.
  Jackpot winners “get a big old target painted on their backs,” said Andrew Stoltmann, an Illi
  
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• Niagara Icewine Festival kicks off, runs through January

  15-01-2016 23:58 via wivb.com
  
  ONTARIO (WIVB) — The Niagara Icewine Festival is when wineries all across the Niagara region in Canada celebrate one of Canada’s most cherished products, and it all kicks off tonight. It starts at the Fallsview Casino Resort grand hall, where the Xerox Gala celebrates the start of the festival, but the spirit lies in all the beautiful local wineries.
  “This is the most beautiful time of the year, the snow is a beautiful backdrop.” explains Kimberly Hundertmark, the Ex
  
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• Company moves on promise to buy massive yogurt facility in Batavia

  15-01-2016 23:43 via wivb.com
  
  BATAVIA, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Dairy Farmers of America have acted on a promise issued months ago, paying out $300,000 to Batavia as it begins to assume responsibility for the Müller Quaker Dairy LLC plant.
  The 360,000 square-foot facility was a joint venture between Quaker Oats and the German Theo Müller Group, operating at the peak of the Greek yogurt boom. But sales faltered for the group, which reportedly failed to make a name for itself, and it shuttered the
  
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• If Sabres are sellers, who could be on the move?

  15-01-2016 23:40 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Sabres appear to be sellers once again leading up to the Feb. 29th NHL trade deadline, barring an unforeseen playoff run.
  Sabres GM Tim Murray said as much to ESPN.com earlier this week, noting his intent to try to move veterans – especially those with expiring contracts – for younger pieces if such an opportunity presents itself.
  The Sabres have five expiring contracts on the roster: Goaltender Chad Johnson, forwards Jamie McGinn and Dav
  
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• Former students remember McNulty as “strict, but enthusiastic”

  15-01-2016 23:16 via wivb.com
  
  AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB)- Lucie McNulty would be 69-years-old if she were still alive.
  The body of the former Williamsville Central music teacher was recently found in her Maine home. Police say she died of cardiovascular disease, and had been dead for more than two years.
  McNulty began her teaching career in 1970 at Maple West Elementary in Williamsville. She also taught at Heim and Casey Middle Schools; she left the district in 2001.
  Philip Rothman recalled band practice at Heim Middle School
  
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• Get used to it: Big drops for stocks are back again

  15-01-2016 22:59 via wivb.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Yes, this is scary.
  Stock prices plunged again Friday and are down 8 percent in just two weeks, an unprecedented slide for a start of a year.
  The vicious drops feel even more unsettling because they’re such a departure from the placid and strong returns that investors had been enjoying for years. Like vacationers returning from a warm beach to a slushy commute to work, the shock of change is making something already painful even more so.
  Now investors just need to get
  
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• Verified: Tennessee man won third of $1.6 billion Powerball

  15-01-2016 22:21 via wivb.com
  
  NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Lottery officials verified Friday that a longtime resident of the small town of Munford, Tennessee, bought one of three tickets winning the world-record $1.6 billion Powerball jackpot.
  Tennessee Lottery executive Rebecca Hargrove made the big announcement.
  John Robinson of Munford, a town of 6,000 north of Memphis, said he quickly reached out to his brother and others to assemble a team of lawyers and financial planners.
  What could one person possibly do with all th
  
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• Lawmakers push to relocate KC-135 Tanker Mission to Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station

  15-01-2016 21:39 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Officials representing the people of western New York are putting pressure on President Barack Obama to keep the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station utilized to its fullest potential.
  As Reps. Chris Collins, Brian Higgins and Louise Slaughter met with Niagara Falls military officials on Friday, they detailed their plan to keep the Niagara Falls Air Reserve station an active hub. The station employs 3,300 people locally and has an economic windfall of $200 million
  
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• SUNY tuition hike faces fight

  15-01-2016 21:31
  
  SUNY is vowing to press forward with potentially another five years of tuition increases, and it picked up a key endorsement: Gov. Andrew Cuomo.        
  
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• TV star ‘Grizzly Adams’ Dan Haggerty dead at age 74

  15-01-2016 21:11 via wivb.com
  
  (KRON) — Dan Haggerty, the actor who played TV’s popular bushy bearded mountain man “Grizzly Adams” in the ’70s hit show “The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams,” has died, reports say.
  Haggerty was 74.
  Multiple industry reporters say he had been battling cancer since July. Citing sources, Hollywood news site TMZ is reporting that doctors discovered the cancer after he had surgery for back pain.
  Haggerty was getting treatment in a hospital until recently wh
  
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• Police: Former Lancaster supervisor will not face charges for alleged threat

  15-01-2016 20:29
  
  Lancaster's former supervisor, Dino Fudoli, will not be facing charges for an election-day dispute with a police officer        
  
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• Loonie drops below $.70 against the US Dollar

  15-01-2016 20:06
  
  BUFFALO, NY-- The drop of the Canadian dollar could be having an a big impact on the Western New York economy.        
  
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• Opiate overdose deaths in Erie County double

  15-01-2016 19:54
  
  BUFFALO, NY - Deaths from overdoses of heroin and related opiate drugs doubled in Erie County in 2015. In 2014, a total of 128 people were killed.        
  
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• Spacewalk aborted after water leaks into astronaut’s helmet

  15-01-2016 19:33 via wivb.com
  
  CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Two spacewalking astronauts — including Britain’s first — successfully restored full power to the International Space Station on Friday. But the spacewalk was cut short after water leaked into one of the men’s helmets in a scary repeat of a near-drowning 2½ years ago.
  NASA astronaut Timothy Kopra took everyone by surprise when he reported a small water bubble and a few minutes later, a film of water, inside his helmet. Wa
  
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• Former Williamsville teacher’s body found 2 1/2 years after her death in Maine

  15-01-2016 18:59 via wivb.com
  
  WELLS, ME (WGME) — The body of a retired Williamsville public schools music teacher was found inside her Maine mobile home more than two years after she died. Police made the discovery last Friday.
  The white mobile home blended in with the other houses on Atkins Lane in Wells until last Friday, when police found its owner, Lucie McNulty, a Buffalo native, dead inside.
  They say she’d been there for two and a half years.
  “It’s unfortunate, but it does happen from time
  
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• Niagara Falls tourist robber arrested

  15-01-2016 18:17
  
  A Niagara Falls man is facing charges after he assaulted and robbed a tourist.        
  
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• HARBORCENTER to host College Hockey America finals, semifinals

  15-01-2016 18:06 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — College Hockey America will hold its final and semifinal rounds at Buffalo’s HARBORCENTER.
  HARBORCENTER, which is a neutral site, will host the games on March 4-5.
  “HARBORCENTER is a top-notch facility that has shown that it can support the sport of women’s ice hockey to its fullest extent,” stated DeGregorio. “We are looking forward to the partnership and the exposure that both the CHA and our member institutions will receive.&rdqu
  
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• Canalside hosting Chillabration

  15-01-2016 17:23 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Western New Yorkers are invited to Canalside this weekend to celebrate what the winter has to offer in our area. Canalside is hosting its first ever Chillabration.
  The four day celebration, which will run from Friday January 15 to Monday January 18 will include ice skating, ice biking, curling, children’s activities a local vendor market, live music, ice carving demonstrations, and more.
  MORE | Click here to see the full schedule of Chillabration activities and
  
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• Portland startup works to silence Internet trolls

  15-01-2016 17:16 via wivb.com
  
  PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Have you ever come across an Internet troll? They’re commenters who make disparaging, usually off topic, remarks online.
  Civil Comments, a new Portland-based technology startup, is working to filter out those defamatory remarks and facilitate open dialogue through the web.
  The startup is catering to news organizations, blogs and other websites to filter out their comments sections and restore order online.Civil Comments, a new Portland-based technolo
  
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• Missing sisters found safe; dad arrested in double homicide

  15-01-2016 17:02 via wivb.com
  
  COLOMA, Mich. (WOOD) — Michigan State Police have canceled an Amber Alert for two young girls after they were found safe in Colorado early Friday morning.(Courtesy photo of Nova and Luna Perez via Amber Alert Michigan.)Officers told Media General contributors Nova Perez, 4, and her sister Luna, 3, were taken by their biological father, 24-year-old Alex Perez, after a double homicide at a home near M-63 and Park Street in Berrien County.
  Around 3 a.m. ET a deputy from the Clear Creek C
  
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• Tennessee basketball coaches, athletic director charged in rape investigation

  15-01-2016 16:58 via wivb.com
  
  OOLTEWAH, Tenn. (WATE) – Two Ooltewah High School boys’ basketball coaches and the school’s athletic director have been charged in the case involving the rape and aggravated assault of a player at a cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
  Court documents say head coach Andre Montgomery, assistant coach Karl Williams and assistant principal/athletic director Jesse Nayadley have all been charged in Hamilton County Juvenile Court with failure to report child abuse. Superintendent Rick Smi
  
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• New Ebola case emerges in Sierra Leone

  15-01-2016 16:31 via wivb.com
  
  FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) — Samples taken from the body of a woman who died this week in Sierra Leone tested positive for Ebola, officials said Friday, the day after the Ebola epidemic was declared over.
  The World Health Organization, which on Thursday declared an end to the deadliest Ebola outbreak ever, said the new case emerged during a 90-day period of heightened surveillance, and that Sierra Leone’s government acted rapidly. Authorities are initiating control measure
  
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• Part of Sanders Road closed as crews repair water main break near Delaware Ave.

  15-01-2016 16:20 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Friday morning water main break in North Buffalo has crews on the scene for repairs.
  The break occurred on Sanders Road near Delaware Avenue just before 5 a.m.
  Officials say around 30 people in the area are affected by the break, which city crews hope to have repaired by early Friday afternoon.
  Sanders Road between Delaware Avenue and Markham Place is closed to traffic as repairs take place.
  
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• Shea’s to show off restoration, rare organ in honor of anniversary

  15-01-2016 16:17 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – Shea’s Performing Arts Center has come a long way since it first opened in January 1926. Originally built as a movie house, the theatre has been enjoying a recent surge in sales at the box office for touring Broadway shows and concerts.
  The theatre has grown so much over the last nine decades, but to celebrate its anniversary, they are going back to their roots. Shea’s will present a showing of the silent film, Sherlock Holmes, with live accompaniment on
  
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• 2 hurt in snowmobile accident

  15-01-2016 16:08
  
  NORTH COLLINS, NY-- Two snowmobilers had to be rescued following an accident in North Collins Thursday night.        
  
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• Snowmobilers rescued after crashing in North Collins

  15-01-2016 16:07 via wivb.com
  
  NORTH COLLINS, N.Y. (WIVB) — Erie County Sheriff’s Deputies say two snowmobilers were rescued after crashing on a trail in the Town of North Collins.
  Dispatchers say they received a phone call about a two snowmobilers who crashed shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday.
  The two involved in the crash were located by authorities who used cell phone coordinates and an enhanced 911 system to find them.
  At the scene, one male victim was found unconscious while the other had leg injuries, acco
  
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• Drawing people downtown for 90 years and counting

  15-01-2016 15:55 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (CW-23) – You don’t have to be a big theater fan to appreciate what Shea’s Performing Arts Center means to the Western New York community.
  The anchor of Buffalo’s theater district has been drawing visitors downtown since long before Canalside, HarborCenter, and other new attractions even existed.A trip there is usually a special occasion for members of the audience, and that’s exactly what’s taking place there this weekend.
  With it’s thousa
  
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• Wal-Mart to shutter 269 stores, 154 of them in the US

  15-01-2016 15:33 via wivb.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is closing 269 stores, more than half of them in the U.S. and another big chunk in its challenging Brazilian market.
  The stores being shuttered account for a fraction of the company’s 11,000 stores worldwide and less than 1 percent of its global revenue.
  The closures will affect 16,000 workers, 10,000 of them in the U.S.
  The announcement comes three months after its CEO Doug McMillon told investors the world’s largest retailer would review its store fle
  
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• PHOTOS: Friday sunrise in western New York

  15-01-2016 15:20 via interactives.wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — News 4 viewers woke up to a beautiful sunrise on Friday. Here are some of the photos sent to us.
  APP USERS | Tap here to view the gallery.
  
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• New study says women fight flu virus better than men

  15-01-2016 14:35 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — This season, many people are fighting the flu. Have you stopped to wonder who is a better patient? Men or women?
  In a Twitter poll News 4 ran on Thursday, 19 percent of people said men, 53 percent said women, and the remaining 28 percent said gender does not make a difference.There is science behind this as a new study at Johns Hopkins University says the answer boils down to estrogen.
  Estrogen weakened the flu virus in nasal cells from the female test
  
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• Tennessee couple claims to have winning Powerball ticket

  15-01-2016 14:00 via wivb.com
  
  NEW YORK (WCMH) — A couple who claims to own one of the winning Powerball tickets appeared on live television for an exclusive in-studio interview.
  The couple is speaking out even before they present the ticket to lottery officials.
  The ticket was purchased by John and Lisa Robinson, while John was on his way home from work. He says he bought four quick pick single tickets around 7 p.m. on the night of the drawing.
  Lisa Robinson said her husband was asleep when the numbers were c
  
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• Military aircraft collide off Hawaiian shore; search on for survivors

  15-01-2016 13:44 via wivb.com
  
  (CNN/KHON2) — Two U.S. Marine Corps CH-53E helicopters are missing off the North Shore of Oahu late Thursday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
  USCG is searching for survivors, Marine Maj. Christine Devine said Friday.
  MORE | See photos from the scene here.
  Searchers have spotted a fire and a debris field, including an empty life raft, about 2½ miles north of Haleiwa Beach, according to Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooers.
  The debris field was about 1.5 miles wide.
  The C
  
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• Locals attempt to create world’s longest ice line Saturday

  15-01-2016 12:21 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo will have a chance to set a world record this Saturday.
  The Guinness Book of World Records will see if locals can create the world’s longest ice line.
  To set the record, a continuous line of skaters must travel at least 400 meters together.
  The event occurs during Chillabration at Canalside. Chillibration lasts from January 15-18. Space for the ice line is limited to the first 600 people who sign up. Participants must
  
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• Woman missing from group home on Sycamore St.

  15-01-2016 11:55 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Buffalo Police say a woman living at a group home on Sycamore Street in Buffalo is missing.
  Twynette Rivers, 42, has not been seen since Saturday, January 9. She is described as 5’7″ and 180 pounds. Rivers was last seen wearing a turquoise coat with a white stripe.
  Police say Rivers has not been in contact with anyone from the home and has not taken her daily medication since January 9.
  Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call 911.
  
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• HS hoops and hockey highlights

  15-01-2016 05:48 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB)–  The Williamsville North and Canisius hockey teams each pick up wins. Also, Williamsville South boys basketball team knocks off Williamsville East.
  
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• Winter weather impacting businesses

  15-01-2016 05:24 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — When winter weather hits region, some businesses take one, too, like the restaurant business.
  “People from the suburbs don’t [go out],” said Tony Martina, the chef at Blue Monk. “They’re not going to drive on the 90, and last year during the storm, me personally, it’s been an issue. Like ‘Oh will I be able to get home easily.'”
  Martina said Blue Monk is luckier than some other restaurants, as they’re in the E
  
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• Trump, Cruz go at each other in year’s first GOP debate

  15-01-2016 05:15 via wivb.com
  
  NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz clashed Thursday night over the Texas senator’s eligibility to serve as commander in chief and the businessman’s “New York values,” ending months of civility between fiery contenders seeking to tap into voter anger and frustration.Two hours of prime-time argument presented voters with a sharp contrast to the optimistic vision of America that President Barack Obama painted in h
  
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• Lancaster reacts to Ahold closing

  15-01-2016 04:21 via wivb.com
  
  LANCASTER, N.Y. (WIVB)- More than six hundred employees were told Thursday afternoon that Ahold USA is closing its Lancaster warehouse and the American Sales Company in Cheektowaga by August. Only a small number of the employees will be transferred to jobs in Pennsylvania or Massachusetts.
  “I’m shocked,” said Lancaster resident Paul Lemere. “Very shocked because I know they have a help wanted sign out front and the reason I noticed that, I saw it in the Job Finder. I was
  
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• 2 face animal cruelty charges in NC after dog starves to death

  15-01-2016 04:14 via wivb.com
  
  FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) – Two people from Fayetteville face felony animal abuse charges after police said they starved a dog to death and left another for dead.
  Frankie Lynn Barker, 30, and Danielle Elizabeth Durocher, 27, were each charged with felony cruelty to animals following an investigation.
  On Jan. 12, Cumberland County Animal Control officers responded to a distressed animal call at a residence in the 400 block of Oak Ridge Road, authorities said.
  The officers left a 24-hour not
  
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• Man gets gift of life from wife

  15-01-2016 04:12 via wivb.com
  
  GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A Lowell man celebrated his 55th birthday Thursday with a gift from his wife he’ll likely never be able to match.
  Jim Sisson suffered from polycystic kidney disease, a rare genetic disorder. Complications from the same disease killed his father in the 1980s.
  Sisson got on a waiting list for a new kidney, joining more than 100,000 people nationwide. He prepared for a wait that could have lasted years.
  But it turned out a match was living under the same roo
  
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• Volunteers repair World War II vet’s home after insurance policy was cancelled

  15-01-2016 04:09 via wivb.com
  
  REDDING, Conn. (WTNH) — After his homeowner’s insurance was canceled pending a list of repairs, Alex Sawchyn, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, is getting some help from Purple Heart Homes.
  After 50 years of paying homeowners’ insurance, Alex Sawchyn discovered his policy had been cancelled, leaving him to find another claim for his Redding home. Another insurer gave Sawchyn a list of repairs and renovations – painting the house, replacing the roof, removing larger tre
  
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• Members of drug organization indicted after allegedly funneling $2 million out of WNY

  15-01-2016 03:37 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Federal officials announced Thursday a group of three men are facing serious drug charges after an investigation into a drug organization linked back to Mexico.
  Local law enforcement say they began investigating a drug trafficking organization that dealt in cocaine and heroin and transferred funds back to Mexico using Bank of America branches.
  Police say their investigation led them to Jose Manuel Lua-Guizar, 25, and Max Riestra, 40, each of mexico, and Pethrod
  
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• Woman arrested after police chase, crash on Audubon Parkway

  15-01-2016 03:05 via wivb.com
  
  AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — A Buffalo woman is facing a litany of charges after police say they attempted to stop her in Amherst, but she fled onto the Audubon Parkway.
  Officers say they responded at 2:53 p.m. to Maple Road near the Audubon on hearing reports of a fight, but upon arrival, officers saw people running towards a vehicle. Police attempted to flag the vehicle down, but say the driver accelerated, initiating a high speed chase.
  Multiple Amherst Police vehicles were involved in t
  
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• Family overwhelmed, prepared to give back, after outpouring of community support following devastating fire

  15-01-2016 01:47 via wivb.com
  
  TOWN OF NIAGARA, N.Y. (WIVB) — A family that lost everything after a devastating fire consumed the family’s home is reacting to the community’s rally behind their cause.
  Numerous community members of all ages came together to donate a father and his three young children after their home went up in flames. Adults donated new toys and money, but one of the most touching tributes became the number of children who brought their toys and clothing that they knew another family c
  
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• Attorney General gets gyms to shape up in settlement

  15-01-2016 01:29 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – January is the busiest month of the year to sign up for new gym memberships, as health conscious Americans try to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions to get fit.
  New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement with more than 100 fitness clubs to ensure that “getting ripped” doesn’t lead to getting ripped off.
  Responding to a flood of complaints, the Attorney General warned fitness and health clubs to shape up or ship out,
  
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• Foul Niagara odor remains a mystery

  15-01-2016 00:46 via wivb.com
  
  TOWN OF NIAGARA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Driving along the 190 in the town of Niagara near the outlets and it’s strong enough to stop you in your tracks: A foul odor has been making life miserable for residents who live in the shadow of a nearby landfill, and industry further away.
  “I knew when it started, it wasn’t going to be easy,” said town of Niagara Supervisor Lee Wallace.
  That’s how the investigation started this fall after the onslaught of calls, emails and voic
  
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• Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys arrested in Key West

  15-01-2016 00:33 via wivb.com
  
  KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter has been arrested in Florida after a fight outside a bar.
  Carter, 35, made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon and was released from the Monroe County jail several hours later on $1,500 bail. He faces a misdemeanor battery charge.
  According to a Key West Police report, Carter was intoxicated when officers arrived Wednesday evening at the Hog’s Breath Saloon.
  The report says a bartender refused to serve Carter and Mi
  
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• WNY filled with Powerball winners

  15-01-2016 00:05 via wivb.com
  
  BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Across New York State, there were nearly 100 Powerball winners despite the fact that no New Yorkers took home a slice of the jackpot $1.5 billion prize.
  Five New Yorkers took away $1 million tickets, but 79 winners scored tickets worth $50,000 — with two more scoring $100,000 tickets by utilizing the power play option.
  In western New York, there were five $50,000 ticket winners, between Erie, Niagara and Genesee Counties. The locations are a
  
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