BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Buffalo Diocese is continuing to roll out its recommendations for local parishes to merge or close as it seeks to “rightsize and reshape” itself amid a series of challenges. The complete list will be updated on this page. As of June 12, the list is nearing 50 parishes across Western New York set to be closed or merged. In total, the diocese plans to reduce in size from 160 parishes to 106, a decline of 34%. The reshaping comes amid a challenging period for the diocese, with declining numbers of priests and parishioners compounded by its October announcement  ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- On Wednesday night, the Buffalo Diocese recommended the closure or merging of St. George, St. John Neumann, along with several other worship sites in their Wyoming Genesee Vicariate following the Buffalo Diocese restructuring. Parishioners across the diocese told News 4 this process has made the last two weeks unbearable, saying a new list coming out one by one instead of at once is like reopening a wound again and again. As of Wednesday night, the churches recommended to close is nearing 50. Parishioners have until July 15 to make their counter proposal. "Nobody wants ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The Buffalo Diocese announced their recommended closures and mergers Wednesday night for the Genesee Wyoming Vicariate during a meeting at the St. Joachim and Anne Church in Attica. The recommendations come after the diocese's decision to 'rightsize and reshape' their parishes due to financial troubles from payouts to settle child sexual abuse cases, declining Mass attendance, and a priest shortage. At least five parishes in the Genesee Wyoming Vicariate are affected by the recommendations, along with numerous worship sites that are being recommended to close. The total ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Air 1 and the Buffalo Police Department apprehended nine subjects in three separate stolen vehicle incidents during the overnight hours of Tuesday into Wednesday, the Erie County Sheriff's Office announced. Air 1 was on routine training and patrol flights over Erie County when they were requested on three separate occasions by Buffalo police to help track stolen vehicles seen by area patrol units. See the details from each incident below, according to the sheriff's office: 124 Maple Ridge: One stolen vehicle out of Buffalo was tracked and recovered. Two of the three in ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A New York State corrections officer who was on administrative leave was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on gun charges, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Wednesday. Officials said Matthew Zamborowski, 48 and of Hamburg, was charged by criminal complaint with possession of a firearm or ammunition by a person under a qualifying domestic violence order of protection. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. According to the complaint, on May 6, an Erie County Sheriff's Deputy conducted a traffic stop on Route 219 after ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The attorneys representing the estates of two victims of the train crash in North Tonawanda that left three people dead last month have filed a petition against the North Tonawanda Police Department as well as the city. The petition, which was filed in State Supreme Court in Niagara County on Monday, claims police negligence leading up to the train hitting the car on Felton Street and River Road in North Tonawanda around 8 p.m. on May 17. The three killed were identified as 69-year-old David McMinn, 66-year-old Olive Geldart and 6-year-old Ra'Mari Geldart. The documents ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- Buffalo police said an altercation at a Kensington Avenue daycare facility on Tuesday has led to an arrest. Around noon that day, officers responded to the scene for a report of an alleged assault. They said a 17-year-old girl got into a verbal altercation with the daycare's director "over allegations of an employee harming a child." According to police, the altercation turned physical and the teen was pushed out of a door in front of a classroom of children. 52-year-old Tonawanda resident Mary Goodwill has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and harass ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The University at Buffalo says a woman who was killed in a Monroe County crash earlier this month was a student at the school. Maria Eichas was 18 years old on June 2 when her vehicle was struck by another driver on Burritt Road in Parma. She was pronounced dead at the scene, our Rochester sister station WROC reports. The Spencerport High School graduate was a student in UB's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. UB says she was studying within the school's Industrial and Systems Engineering Department. "The university community is very sad to learn of the tragic ..read more

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – The Opening Ceremony for the Paris Olympics will be held Friday, July 26. Here is a list of athletes with Buffalo and Western New York ties to root for in the Games. This list will continue to be updated as more rosters are announced by their respective teams. Is there another local Olympic or Paralympic connection we should know about? Email reportit@wivb.com to let us know ..read more

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Gable Steveson thought he achieved the impossible with his stunning last-second takedown of three-time world wrestling champion Geno Petriashvili to win gold at the Tokyo Games. Three years later, the 24-year-old Steveson is raising the degree of difficulty in approaching his next challenge: Pro football. Having never played a down of football in his life, he is the rawest of NFL rookies in opening his second week of practice with the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday. It’s a passion project and a personal challenge for Steveson to see how far he can stretch his athl ..read more