Wednesday, January 1
Six Indicted in Federal Scheme to Steal and Re-Sell Restaurant Cooking Oil
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
Arraignment

Six Indicted in Federal Scheme to Steal and Re-Sell Restaurant Cooking Oil

(WNY News Now) Six people have been accused by a federal grand jury with a multi-state plan to steal leftover restaurant cooking oil, a commodity that is needed for the creation of biodiesel fuel. New York's Rochester. Federal charges have been brought against six men for allegedly plotting to steal and resell leftover cooking oil, which is frequently converted into biodiesel fuel. U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced the indictment, which charges Ruimao Yang, Yan Han, and Wen Xiao Zhang of New York City, Guodeng Chen, Didi Huang, and Fangfang Yan of Pittsford, N.Y., with conspiring to transport and sell stolen items across state lines. The maximum punishment for a conviction on the conspiracy accusation is five years in prison. Additional allegations against Chen, Huang, and Yan includ...
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Michigan man admits to planning mass shooting of gay people
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Michigan man admits to planning mass shooting of gay people

Authorities said Tuesday that a man from Michigan had confessed to organizing a mass shooting at the offices of a local political party and a club in the area because he connected both places to homosexuals. In Owosso, which is roughly 25 miles west of Flint, Mack Davis, 22, entered a guilty plea to one count of committing a hate crime by trying to carry out the mass murders. According to a news release from the Department of Justice, he could receive a maximum sentence of life in prison. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke stated in a statement attached to the release that such cruel and despicable hate-fueled violence, which targets innocent people based on their sexual orientation, is incompatible with our beliefs as Americans. The LGBTQI+ community will not be the target of crim...
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Fed cuts key interest rate but signals elevated inflation is likely to persist
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Fed cuts key interest rate but signals elevated inflation is likely to persist

In an attempt to maintain stability in what seems to be a stable but declining economy, the Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point reduction in its key interest rate on Wednesday. This is the third rate cut by the central bank in 2024. The Fed's target rate is now between 4.25% and 4.5% as a result of the action. The Fed now only anticipates two interest rate cuts in 2025, according to its statement announcing the move. The unemployment rate is still low, it said, while the inflation rate "remains somewhat elevated." According to a different paper issued by the Fed on Wednesday, central bankers now think it will take until 2026 to reach their targeted inflation rate of 2%. According to Bloomberg's survey of economists, three cuts were anticipated next year because they thought the econo...
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Buffalo Man Receives 16-Year Sentence for Fatal West Side Stabbing
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
Buffalo

Buffalo Man Receives 16-Year Sentence for Fatal West Side Stabbing

Buffalo, New York (WNY News Now) A guy who fatally stabbed a 49-year-old on Buffalo's West Side has been sentenced to 16 years in state prison. On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, Timothy A. Austin, 37, was sentenced in Erie County Court. In addition, Judge Sheila A. DiTullio sentenced the defendant to five years of post-release supervision. The allegations are related to an altercation on the 400 block of Niagara Street on June 11, 2023, in which Austin fatally stabbed Tremaine Mayfield once in the chest. At at 1:00 p.m., Buffalo police officers answered a 911 call. After being taken to Erie County Medical Center, Mayfield passed away from his wounds. On November 8, 2024, Austin entered a guilty plea to Manslaughter in the First Degree, a serious Class B felony. Buffalo Police Detectives Adam ...
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Israel says it won’t strike in Syria near where American journalist Austin Tice may be held
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Israel says it won’t strike in Syria near where American journalist Austin Tice may be held

According to NBC News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised the mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who has gone missing, that Israel will not carry out airstrikes close to a covert jail outside of Damascus where she thinks her son might be detained. In an appearance with MSNBC on Tuesday, Debra Tice initially talked about the Israeli government's pledge to stay away from the region where her son might be. An Israeli official and a representative for the Tice family affirmed the Israeli leader's promise to Tice, which was expressed in a letter that Axios first published. Netanyahu responded to a written request from Debra Tice to the Israeli government earlier this week by writing, "In response to your letter, please rest assured that Israel and its intelligence ag...
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U.S. reports first severe human case of bird flu, in a patient hospitalized in Louisiana
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

U.S. reports first severe human case of bird flu, in a patient hospitalized in Louisiana

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that a person in Louisiana was hospitalized with avian flu, the nation's first serious human H5N1 illness. According to Louisiana Department of Health spokeswoman Emma Herrock, the patient is in serious condition at the hospital and is suffering from a severe respiratory sickness linked to an H5N1 infection. This would be the first time a backyard flock has been linked to a bird flu infection in a U.S. resident, according to the CDC, which also stated that the patient was most likely exposed to the virus from the flock. During a briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, stated that although an investigation is still underway to determine the origin of this i...
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Trump taps MAGA loyalists who lost their own races for plum administration jobs
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Trump taps MAGA loyalists who lost their own races for plum administration jobs

Washington After losing campaigns to Democrats in recent years, in part because of their connections to Trump, president-elect Donald Trump is selecting a group of devoted supporters for high-profile federal government positions. The selections consist of: Two former Georgia senators who lost their races in 2020 after promoting Trump s false claims that he won the last election. David Perdue, who went on to lose the 2022 primary for governor while echoing Trump s election denial, is tapped to be ambassador to China. Kelly Loeffler has been picked to lead the Small Business Administration. Trump's handpicked Georgia Senate candidate in 2022, former football player Herschel Walker , was tapped late Tuesday to be ambassador to the Bahamas. Walker ran as a MAGA prot...
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Fed cuts interest rate for third time this year as economic uncertainty looms
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Fed cuts interest rate for third time this year as economic uncertainty looms

In an attempt to maintain stability in what seems to be a stable but declining economy, the Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point reduction in its key interest rate on Wednesday. This is the third rate cut by the central bank in 2024. The Fed's target rate is now between 4.25% and 4.5% as a result of the action. The Fed now only anticipates two interest rate cuts in 2025, according to its statement announcing the move. The unemployment rate is still low, it said, while the inflation rate "remains somewhat elevated." According to a different paper issued by the Fed on Wednesday, central bankers now think it will take until 2026 to reach their targeted inflation rate of 2%. According to Bloomberg's survey of economists, three cuts were anticipated next year because they thought the econo...
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Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Supreme Court agrees to hear challenge to TikTok ban

Washington TikTok's appeal against a government law that might ban the well-known social media app by next month will be heard by the Supreme Court, the court announced Wednesday. The court took action a day after TikTok submitted its appeal, and it will decide whether to halt the law after hearing oral arguments on January 10. The matter at hand is a bipartisan bill that was approved by Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It would take effect on January 19, the day before Donald Trump, the next president, takes office. The Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act would force ByteDance, the Chinese corporation that owns TikTok, to sell the platform to an American business or risk being banned. TikTok has contested the regulation, claiming i...
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Fed cuts interest rate for third time this year as economic uncertainty looms
19Dec By Grace ThompsonNo Comments
News

Fed cuts interest rate for third time this year as economic uncertainty looms

In an attempt to maintain stability in what seems to be a stable but declining economy, the Federal Reserve announced a quarter-point reduction in its key interest rate on Wednesday. This is the third rate cut by the central bank in 2024. The Fed's target rate is now between 4.25% and 4.5% as a result of the action. The Fed now only anticipates two interest rate cuts in 2025, according to its statement announcing the move. The unemployment rate is still low, it said, while the inflation rate "remains somewhat elevated." According to Bloomberg's survey of economists, three cuts were anticipated next year because they thought the economy and price rise would have further cooled by now. The Fed's actions are intended to keep the economy from overheating during periods of rapid expansion or pl...
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