Friday News Brief

NOTRE DAME SAYS NO PROPERTY PURCHASE TALKS ARE UNDERWAY

Notre Dame High School officials say there are currently no negotiations to purchase the school’s Union Street property from the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.
The Diocese is selling much of its real estate as part of a 150-million-dollar commitment connected to its bankruptcy settlement with Child Victims Act claimants. That includes several former diocesan high school properties now operated by independent Catholic schools.
Notre Dame has been independent since 1991 and currently leases its Batavia campus from the Diocese under an agreement that runs through 2041.
Board of Trustees President John Borrelli says school leaders are aware the Diocese is liquidating properties, but stressed there have been no talks about a sale involving Notre Dame.
Borrelli added that the school considers the Union Street building its home and intends to remain in Batavia long-term.
The Diocese says three other independent Catholic high schools are also exploring potential purchases of the properties they currently lease.
Notre Dame currently serves students in grades seven through twelve and has an enrollment of roughly 200.

NEW CARDIAC IMAGING TECHNOLOGY LAUNCHES AT UMMC

United Memorial Medical Center in Batavia is now the first Rochester Regional Health facility to use a new artificial intelligence-assisted heart imaging program.
The technology, known as Heartflow CT-derived FFR, analyzes specialized CT scans of the coronary arteries to determine whether a blockage is actually restricting blood flow.
Cardiologist Doctor Bipul Baibhav says that added information can help doctors decide which patients truly need an invasive angiogram or stent, and which can instead be treated with medication and lifestyle changes.
The scan itself takes only a few minutes, and patients can usually leave shortly afterward while cardiologists review the images.
Rochester Regional says the program could also reduce unnecessary procedures, shorten emergency-room stays and allow more cardiac patients to receive advanced testing without traveling to Rochester.
UMMC is the first location in the Rochester Regional system to begin using the technology. Officials expect to expand it into Rochester and additional rural communities over the next year to year-and-a-half.
The CT scanner used for the program is valued at roughly one-and-a-half to two-million dollars.

CANDLELIGHT GHOSTWALK RETURNS TO HISTORIC BATAVIA CEMETERY

The Historic Batavia Cemetery will host another Halloween Candlelight Ghostwalk Saturday night.
Guided tours begin at 7 p.m. and leave every 15 minutes through 8:30, leading visitors along candlelit paths to meet costumed characters portraying figures from Batavia’s past.
This year’s lineup includes Revolutionary War veteran Captain John Burnham, Joseph Ellicott, William Morgan, Dean and Mary Richmond and several others tied to local history.
Admission is 20 dollars plus fees, reservations are required, and proceeds support cemetery preservation and restoration.

BATAVIA DOWNS TO HOST ROSWELL PARK FUNDRAISER SATURDAY

Batavia Downs will turn a night of harness racing into a fundraiser for Roswell Park this Saturday.
Night at the Races begins at 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5 inside the Clubhouse and Rail Bar.
The 65-dollar ticket includes a dinner buffet, 35 dollars in free play and a racing program. Guests can also bid on prize baskets, event tickets and autographed sports memorabilia in a silent auction.
Proceeds will benefit cancer research and patient care programs at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Institute.

JUDGE SETS DECEMBER DEADLINE FOR TRUMP DEPOSITION IN BBC LAWSUIT

President Donald Trump has been ordered to answer questions under oath in his 10-billion-dollar defamation case against the BBC.
A federal magistrate judge ruled Thursday that Trump must sit for the deposition by December 11th. Failure to do so could bring sanctions, including possible dismissal of the lawsuit, unless the court extends the evidence-gathering period.
Trump sued the BBC over a documentary that edited together separate portions of his January 6th, 2021 speech. The broadcaster later apologized for the edit but denies that it defamed him.
Trump had previously been scheduled for questioning October 16th, but canceled, citing a matter of national importance. BBC attorneys noted he spent that day campaigning in Georgia.
Discovery in the case is currently scheduled to close December 18th.

CRITICAL PHP SECURITY FLAWS PUT MILLIONS OF WEBSITES AT RISK

Website operators around the world are being urged to install emergency updates after researchers uncovered two critical security flaws in PHP, the programming language used by roughly 70 percent of websites worldwide.
The vulnerabilities could allow attackers to remotely take control of vulnerable web servers without first logging in, potentially exposing or altering data and using compromised systems for additional attacks.
Several government websites overseas were temporarily taken offline while security teams applied patches and tested fixes.
Artificial intelligence played a major role in finding the problem. OpenAI says its researchers helped identify one of the flaws, while cybersecurity company Wiz independently found both vulnerabilities.
PHP developers have now released corrected versions and are urging all users to update immediately.

ELBA SWEEPS WHEATLAND-CHILI IN GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

In Genesee County high school girls volleyball action, Elba improved to 13-and-3 with a straight-set win over Wheatland-Chili.
The Lancers took the match 25-5, 25-13 and 25-21.
Maggie Caparco finished with 12 assists and three aces, while Brynn Stackhouse added six aces and five kills.
Vivian Hilchey chipped in six kills, one dig and one ace as Elba earned the 3-nothing victory.