Evening News Brief

Western NY is under yet another heat advisory until 7pm today.  According to the National Weather service the high heat and humidity will make it feel like it is in the upper 90s today.  This August is now the 2^nd hottest on record in Western NY with an average temperature of 75.3 degrees.  The hottest on record was in 2016 with the average being 75.6 with the 3rd, 4th, and 5^th hottest being in the 1940s and 50s.

In her first week in office Governor Kathy Hochul officially acknowledged that Cuomo had been downplaying the number of COVID deaths in New York by about 12 thousand. Sharp eyed individuals who followed the CDC’s official numbers noticed in the summer of 2020 that the numbers being quoted by Cuomo in his daily updates and press releases were off from the total being reported by the CDC and this gap just kept getting bigger and bigger.  In its first daily update on the outbreak Tuesday evening, Hochul’s office reported that nearly 55,400 people have died of the coronavirus in New York based on death certificate data submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s up from about 43,400 that Cuomo reported to the public as of Monday, his last day in office.  The official reason for the difference was that New York only reported deaths that were laboratory certified and did not count any that were not COVID tested before death.

Custom benches are being auctioned off to benefit the Autism Nature Trail in Letchworth State Park.  Officials say the Austim Nature Trail at Letchworth is close to completion but you still have a chance to be part of its legacy.  There are 6 benches being auctioned which will become part of the trail.  Bidding starts at 5 thousand dollars per bench and the auction will take place online.  They were created by artist Rick Pratt and his family.  To see the benches and bid on them follow the link at wbtai.com.  https://e.givesmart.com/events/n4y/

Bills wide receiver and kick returner Isaiah McKenzie has been fined over 14 thousand dollars for not wearing a mask.  From the letter he received from the NFL “On August 25, 2021, at approximately 2:15 p.m. while walking through the indoor fieldhouse and into the training room, you failed to wear a mask. Then at approximately 4:35 p.m. on August 25, for several minutes, you again failed to wear a mask in the meeting area of the weight room while gathered near other players after the offensive meeting.”  Cole Beasley replied to McKenzies tweet about the fine saying “don’t worry they got me too. But I was wearing a mask when I was in close contact with fully vaxxed trainer who tested positive and still got sent home. So what’s the point of the mask anyways?”  Beasley and 3 others are quarantining at the moment.

The Genesee County Sheriff’s office would like to thank the public for their assistance in locating Madalyn Muntz who went missing yesterday and has since been located.  Several people called in to the helpline which aided in deputies being able to find her and check on her welfare.