The Buffalo Chronicle
Washington
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Trump-backed $1.15 trillion defense bill and Dec. 11 funding deadline await Congress after the election
The House passed a $1.15 trillion NDAA matching President Trump’s request, but the Senate bill stalled 50-46. With a stopgap expiring Dec. 11 and a $60 billion defense reconciliation instruction pending, the…
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Langworthy holds a 37-to-1 cash edge in NY-23 as Gies outraises him again in the final stretch
Rep. Nick Langworthy entered the last weeks of the NY-23 race with nearly $2 million in the bank to Aaron Gies’ $54,000. But FEC filings show the Democrat has outraised the incumbent…
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Treasury proposes rules for the new federal limit on big investors buying single-family homes
Treasury’s proposed rule spells out how large institutional investors can still build, renovate and sell houses under the ROAD to Housing Act’s ban, and what they would pay for violations. New York…
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Rubio invites Cubans to a ‘discrete partnership’ with the CIA as Trump says Rubio will ‘finish up the deal’
Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Cubans seeking change to contact the CIA, hours after President Trump told a Florida rally he would send Rubio to Havana to “finish up the deal.”…
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New York’s senators press the Justice Department on why it stopped enforcing the under-21 handgun sales ban, citing Buffalo
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer joined 18 colleagues in demanding answers from Attorney General Todd Blanche after the Justice Department declared the federal ban on handgun sales to 18- to 20-year-olds…
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U.S. orders non-emergency diplomats out of Saudi Arabia as Houthi strikes widen and Buffalo diesel sits near a record
The State Department ordered non-emergency staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi missiles and drones hit the kingdom’s airports and oil fields. In Buffalo-Niagara Falls, diesel is averaging $6.37 a…
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DHS letter called Batavia’s planned women’s unit ‘hard-sided’; a same-day ICE contract entry describes a $7.2 million ‘soft-sided tent facility’
DHS told Rep. Tim Kennedy on Sept. 29 that construction of a ‘hard-sided’ 100-bed unit in Batavia hadn’t begun. The same day, ICE obligated $7.18 million for a ‘soft-sided tent facility’ for…
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Trump secures release of American Stephen Hubbard as Russia agrees to talks; the first Russian diesel shipment is small against U.S. demand
Putin freed retired teacher Stephen Hubbard and agreed in principle to mid-November talks with the U.S. and Ukraine. The first Russian diesel tanker sails Thursday, but at about 2.2 million barrels, it…
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Trump announces $8 billion in diesel relief for farmers; USDA sets grain payment rates first, with dairy and specialty-crop methods to follow
USDA will set Harvest Fuel Relief payment rates for corn, soybeans and other program crops in November and decide later how to treat everyone else, as diesel tops $6.36 a gallon in…
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Iran says it offered to reopen Hormuz in seven days. Until there’s a deal, Western New York pays 65% more for heating oil
Tehran says the U.S. accepted its conditions but wants more, and Iranian officials see no breakthrough before Nov. 3. Meanwhile New York heating oil runs $6.34 a gallon, up from $3.84 a…
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Lockport’s short line gets $9.6 million from the last of the infrastructure law’s rail money. Congress hasn’t refilled the pot
The Falls Road Railroad between Lockport and Brockport won $9.64 million in Monday’s $2.3 billion federal rail round, the final one funded by the 2021 infrastructure law. The stopgap Congress passed in…
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Ukrainians’ TPS reaches its deadline with DHS saying a decision will come ‘at the appropriate time’
Ukraine’s Temporary Protected Status hit its Oct. 19 end date with no federal decision, leaving about 101,000 Ukrainians nationwide protected only by a government web alert. The same day, Trump said someone…
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Buffalo wins a new $4 million federal lead grant; the White House budget asks Congress to shrink the national program
Buffalo’s new $4 million HUD lead grant follows one it gave half of back. Federal records show Erie County has drawn about 5% of its own $7.75 million award, and the White…
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Trump keeps 2027 refugee ceiling at 17,500, prioritizing Afrikaners the White House says face persecution; Buffalo resettlement stays low
The 2027 refugee ceiling stays at 17,500, mostly for Afrikaners, after a year in which all but five of 16,292 admitted refugees came from South Africa. Here is what that means for…
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Alberta votes Monday on a path to separation as Carney warns ‘some outside our borders’ want to break Canada
Alberta’s 10-question referendum asks whether to start the legal process toward a binding vote on leaving Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Danielle Smith urge a vote to stay, while Washington…
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New York Democrats press DHS for the last $87 million in counterterror grants Trump pledged to restore; $100 million has been released
Thirteen New York Democrats are demanding DHS release $87 million in counterterror grants still owed to the state. Erie County says the program funds police radios and in-car connections across Buffalo, Erie…
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With talks stalled and a Jan. 1 auto tariff looming, the Niagara Frontier braces for a longer trade war
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer says Washington is “holding fast” with Canada. New Statistics Canada data show Canadians’ car trips from the U.S. are still 31% below 2024 levels.
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DHS records on Batavia ICE expansion redact the bed count and describe the structure as both hard- and soft-sided
Documents released by Rep. Tim Kennedy show a $16.7 million no-bid contract for a women’s detention structure in Batavia. The bed count is redacted, and DHS and ICE describe the building differently.
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Trump urged to ‘seize Panama on paper’ to construct new canals, transcontinental railways
WASHINGTON — Matthew Ricchiazzi, a Washington-based political consultant and founder of Enkindle Capital, is urging President Donald Trump to “seize Panama on paper” by invoking original U.S. rights under the 1903 Hay–Bunau-Varilla…
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RACISM: Liberals say DC’s oldest gay bar has been shamelessly exploiting Roberta Flack’s legacy
By Staff Reporter March 26, 2026 In the heart of Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill, Mr. Henry’s—billed as the city’s oldest gay bar and a “historic gem” since 1966—has built its entire modern…
