Monday, November 25

Author: Grace Thompson

Niagara Falls Man Admits to Cocaine Trafficking Charge, Faces Up to 20 Years
12Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
Courts

Niagara Falls Man Admits to Cocaine Trafficking Charge, Faces Up to 20 Years

(WNY News Now) – BUFFALO, N.Y. — Rashaun Dix, 38, from Niagara Falls, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The charge, announced by U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, carries a potential maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.The case, overseen by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Jacovetti, stemmed from a joint investigation in 2021 by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Niagara Falls Police. Authorities began closely monitoring Dix after he was connected to a suspected cocaine distributor in the Niagara Falls area.According to court records, Dix sought assistance from an associate in March 2022 to convert cocaine into crack, referring to the substance as “nu-nu” and asking for help “cooking” it. The followin...
Read More
Trump has promised lower interest rates. That will be largely out of his control.
12Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Trump has promised lower interest rates. That will be largely out of his control.

WASHINGTON — As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to relieve consumers of high interest rates. As president, doing so will likely be a slow process largely outside of his control. Trump repeatedly said during the campaign that he would bring down interest rates without elaborating on how. He has suggested the president should have a say in determining rates set by the Federal Reserve and publicly berated the central bank and its chairman, Jerome Powell, for not lowering rates sooner. But while Trump has put a lot of emphasis on the Federal Reserve as a way to reduce the interest paid by consumers or businesses, the rates on mortgages and other longer-term loans are outside of any one person’s or institution’s control. Instead, those rates are largely determined by the bond market, w...
Read More
Trump has shaped the Supreme Court, but it could still hinder his agenda
12Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Trump has shaped the Supreme Court, but it could still hinder his agenda

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s ambitious agenda could face pushback from an institution he has done much to shape: the Supreme Court. With a 6-3 conservative majority including three Trump appointees, the court has spent the last few years buffeted by criticism from the left. But if the justices stick true to their stated jurisprudential principles, the new administration could end up on the losing side at least some of the time, legal experts say. “I think if President Trump’s executive agencies tried to stretch the law beyond the breaking point in the same kind of way that the Biden administration has done then, yes, the courts will be a check on that power,” said John Malcolm, a lawyer at the Trump-allied Heritage Foundation. Brianne Gorod, a lawyer with the left-l...
Read More
‘Litigation is a certainty’: Trump’s call to end birthright citizenship would face a mountain of opposition
12Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

‘Litigation is a certainty’: Trump’s call to end birthright citizenship would face a mountain of opposition

WASHINGTON — When Donald Trump took office in 2017, he immediately issued a provocative executive order banning travel from Muslim-majority countries that led to chaos, confusion and a flurry of lawsuits that ended up at the Supreme Court. If he wins the election in November, he has pledged to follow a similar course on another contentious policy proposal: ending birthright citizenship. In May of last year, Trump released a campaign video renewing his call to end the long-standing constitutional right, saying he would sign an executive order on day one of his presidency that would ensure that children born to parents who do not have legal status in the U.S. will not be considered U.S. citizens. “The United States is among the only countries in the world that says even if neither p...
Read More
Price of bitcoin hits all-time high, tops $85,000 as Trump victory sinks in
12Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Price of bitcoin hits all-time high, tops $85,000 as Trump victory sinks in

The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high this weekend, a rally that started shortly after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 election. Major indexes showed bitcoin's price hitting more than $85,000 on Monday. That's up from $68,000 last Tuesday, Election Day in the U.S. Year to date, bitcoin has gained more than 90%, though most of those gains came in the early part of the year. From March to November, the price has been mostly confined to a range of $50,000 to $70,000. Trump's election has been heralded by some as a positive sign for the prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He has promised to quash the aggressive stance taken by the current leadership of the Securities and Exchange Commission against cryptocurrency firms and products it has deemed...
Read More
Local Man Arrested for Sexual Abuse and Lewd Behavior in Silver Creek
12Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
Arrests

Local Man Arrested for Sexual Abuse and Lewd Behavior in Silver Creek

(WNY News Now) – A Silver Creek man, 71-year-old Donald D. Thurston, faces serious charges of sexual abuse and public lewdness following an investigation by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office.On October 31, 2024, a criminal investigation led by the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division resulted in the arrest of 71-year-old Donald D. Thurston from Silver Creek, New York. Thurston is accused of exposing himself to a victim and allegedly engaging in sexual contact with a different victim around 2012.Thurston was charged with Sexual Abuse in the First Degree and Public Lewdness in the First Degree. Following his arrest, Thurston was arraigned at the Chautauqua County CAP court. As are all persons accused of a crime, the accused is presumed innocent until proven...
Read More
11Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
Courts

Contractor Fined $121K for Illegal Construction on Protected Wetlands in Long Island

(WNY News Now) – New York’s Attorney General and DEC secure penalties and enforce restoration after contractor’s illegal parking lot construction threatens vital Carlls River wetlands.NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James and New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar today announced that they have secured over $121,000 in penalties from contractor Anthony Labriola and his two affiliate companies – ALAC Realty, LLC and ALAC Contracting Corp. –for illegally building a construction vehicle parking lot and storage facility on a protected area along the Carlls River in West Babylon, Suffolk County. Labriola and his companies removed trees and vegetation to build the storage areas, leveling a protected “buffer area” adjacent to wetlands ...
Read More
Ruggable’s new washable pet bed is my dog’s favorite space in my house
11Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Ruggable’s new washable pet bed is my dog’s favorite space in my house

I admit it: I let my dog sleep on my bed. She loves the size and plush feel of my queen-sized mattress, but it sometimes makes it hard to get her comfortable and happy in her own dog bed . Over the years, I’ve had to rotate through a number of beds for my 6-year-old havanese and bichon frise mix, Bella, and I’ve struggled to find ones that fit her criteria. Bella’s picky: She gravitates toward fluffy, plush beds over harder, more rigid ones. But she’s also a heavy chewer, so any beds I typically buy don’t last more than a few months before I have to toss and replace them. When Ruggable first sent me its washable dog bed , which the brand launched in September, I was worried that Bella would take a while to open up to it (or worse, destroy it). I was pleasantly surprised to...
Read More
11Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
Buffalo

Buffalo Man Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Fatal West Side Stabbing

(WNY News Now) – In a courtroom plea that concludes a tragic case, a Buffalo man admitted guilt for the fatal stabbing of another man on the city’s West Side.BUFFALO, NY — Timothy A. Austin, 37, of Buffalo, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree for the fatal stabbing of 49-year-old Tremaine Mayfield. The plea was entered on Wednesday before Erie County Court Judge Sheila A. DiTullio, with Austin acknowledging his responsibility in the violent incident that left Mayfield dead.The stabbing took place on June 11, 2023, at approximately 1:00 p.m. on Niagara Street’s 400 block. According to Buffalo Police, officers were called to the scene after a 911 report of a stabbing. Upon arrival, they found Mayfield suffering from a single stab wound to the chest. He was transported to E...
Read More
Stephen Miller expected to be named Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy
11Nov By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Stephen Miller expected to be named Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name Stephen Miller as his deputy chief of staff for policy at the White House, a source with knowledge of the transition team's plans said Monday. While Trump hasn't made his choice public yet, Vice President-elect JD Vance appeared to confirm the news in a post on X as he reacted to CNN's report about Miller being chosen for the role. "This is another fantastic pick by the president. Congrats @StephenM !" Vance said. NBC News has reached out to the Trump team for comment. Trump has named campaign manager Susie Wiles as his White House chief of staff. Miller, a staunch hard-liner on immigration policy, worked in the White House during Trump's first term in office, serving both as director of speechwriting and as a senior advis...
Read More