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Of immediate interest is the potential impact on post-Thanksgiving travel and the Sunday Night Football game in Orchard Park between the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — For the first time this season, snow is in the forecast for much of Western New York, with the potential for a "significant" lake effect event later this week and the weekend.

So, we're looking into the possible impacts on Thanksgiving travel and the Sunday Night Football game in Orchard Park between the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers.

"We've been watching it now for about a week," said Andy Slotman, Highway Superintendent for the Town of Orchard Park. "We're anticipating winter weather coming in for the end of the holiday and the Bills game Sunday."

Slotman told me that the Town of Orchard Park works with the state and county during any snow event to clear the roads near and around Highmark Stadium.

"We'll have a lot of visitors that come into our community. We'll be here probably on standby to make sure they can all get home safely if the weather does come in as predicted," said Slotman. "We're ready."

Elizabeth Carey with the AAA predicts the number of people flying or driving to their holiday destination could surpass 80 million.

She said new federal regulations should make it easier for travelers to receive refunds if they face any cancellations or long delays because of the weather.

"They have to give you a refund if that's what you want," said Carey. "So, you have the option of a refund or the other flight they're going to put you on. But you can't have both."

"We're from New York so it doesn't matter. We'll make do with whatever."

"Is what it is. I mean I'm used to it."

"I'm willing to stay there as long as I need to. I'm worried a little bit about coming back and running into it but hopefully everything will be okay."

But if you're not traveling during the holiday, the Erie County Office of Health Equity released some winter weather preparedness tips, including purchasing essential supplies and checking for updates through reliable sources.

You can create your own emergency plan and purchase winter weather essentials online here and here.

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Seen as a major win for abuse survivors, likely to speed up settlement talks

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A judge has issued a decision to allow the 17 'test cases' to move ahead in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo bankruptcy case, allowing the litigation in state court to determine liability and damages.

The diocese had opposed the motions and had asked the court to instead appoint mediators to assist all parties involved to resolve claims through a plan of reorganization.

RELATED: Survivors of alleged clergy sexual abuse react to latest ruling

The decision is a major win for abuse survivors and could have the potential to speed up a final resolution to the bankruptcy case, which has dragged on in federal bankruptcy court in Buffalo for more than four years.

"They've already waited five years for something to happen, and they've been waiting a lifetime that's been full of trauma," said Stacey Benson, an attorney with Jeff Anderson & Associates, which represents hundreds of survivors in Buffalo. "So I hope and think that the survivors...are grateful that the court has seen things our way this time."

Diocese spokesman Joe Martone said in a statement, "While the Diocese of Buffalo is disappointed that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court has provided for relief from the stay for 17 plaintiffs in today’s ruling, it is our intention to resolve all claims through active mediation which we hope will resume as soon as possible."

Hundreds of lawsuits were filed in State Supreme Court after the passage of the Child Victims Act in 2019, which allowed abuse survivors to sue their alleged abusers or the institutions that enabled the alleged abuse.

Those lawsuits were stayed when the diocese filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2020. Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Carl L. Bucki's ruling on Friday means those cases will move ahead in state court. If the cases go to trial, each one has the potential to end in multi-million-dollar judgments against the diocese.

That possibility is likely to motivate diocesan lawyers to put a more significant settlement offer on the table. Diocesan officials had talked previously about a $100 million settlement offer for the more than 900 claimants. That figure is significantly lower than other New York dioceses have offered in their settlements to victims who were raped by priests.

A mediator was assigned in 2021 and a second one assigned in 2023. The judge rejected the request for any additional mediators.

The court is requesting all the parties involved, including the current mediator, Retired State Supreme Court Justice Patrick NeMoyer, to attend a status conference on Dec. 13 to see how the case can move forward. The court is also expected to inquire about the likelihood of a settlement.

2 On Your Side's Pete Gallivan recently disclosed that he is one of the plaintiffs in this case. You can read his story here.

Since the program began on October 1, there have been 16,550 "events" where a vehicle has been caught on camera passing a school bus as it activates its stop signals.

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — If you're caught driving past a school bus with its stop arm out in the City of Buffalo, it's going to cost you between $250 and $300.

This is because the city started enforcing its School Bus Stop Arm Camera Program about two months ago.

"The program has let us realize that we do have vehicles that pass school buses every day when a school bus is out on the road." said Octavio Villegas, Executive Director of the Buffalo Traffic Violation Agency.

Since the program began on October 1, there have been 16,550 "events" where a vehicle has been caught on camera passing a school bus as it activates its stop signals.

Nearly 10,000 of these events have been reviewed so far.

"Unfortunately, we're still seeing folks ignoring the yellow lights, and so when they are going by those school buses, it's not only going from yellow to red, but the stop arm is coming out," Villegas said.

If you are caught passing a school bus with the stop arm extended, AI technology notifies Bus Patrol, the company providing the cameras on each school bus.

That information is then sent to the City of Buffalo, which determines whether or not a ticket will be issued.

"We are confirming that a vehicle passed the school bus when it was in the process of picking up and dropping off a student," he said.

Despite the cameras, some drivers have shared concerns that they were caught when the bus's yellow lights were flashing, only to have it switch to red too quickly.

I asked Villegas about this concern.

"I just really focus on explaining to the motorists. When you see the school bus and those lights turn yellow, that's an indicator that you should start slowing down because that bus is trying to signal to you it will come to a stop."

If you receive a ticket and believe it was issued in error, Villegas said you can contest it when you get the letter in the mail.

"Also, on the bottom, we have a section to fill out if you want to contest your matter," he said.

But the bottom line is, that he hopes the program can help prevent people from driving past a stopped school bus.

"I feel we could just stop and wait an extra 30 seconds. It really would not take away from your day. It will help keep students safe coming up and off the bus," Villegas said.

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Many don't think of the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres as rivals, but rest assured, the two teams do not like each other. Now, following a surprise schedule change, more people will get to see them face off in a few weeks.

On Thursday, the NHL announced that the game between the Rangers and Sabres at KeyBank Center on Dec. 11 has been moved to 7 p.m. ET, up from its previous 7:30 start time. The game will air nationally on TNT, truTV and Max.

No reason was given for the change, but allow us to speculate. The NHL only has one other game scheduled for that night, with the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators set to face off at 7:30 p.m. ET. With just two games on the schedule, the league likely wanted to stagger the start times a bit to get more eyes on both of them, and the Rangers' national fanbase likely made the decision a bit easier.

After winning the Presidents' Trophy last year, the Rangers are off to another strong start, currently boasting a 12-4-1 record. They rank eighth in the league standings, but just fourth in a stacked Metropolitan division that has the Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils ahead of them. Artemi Panarin is playing very well with 24 points (10 goals, 14 assists) in 17 games, while Igor Shesterkin continues to be an excellent backstop.

Meanwhile, the Sabres are desperately trying to end their 13-year playoff drought, the longest in NHL history. A 9-9-1 start has them at fifth in the Atlantic division, but the important part is they haven't placed themselves in too deep of an early hole. Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson are tied for the team lead with 18 points, though the latter has played three fewer games.

This will be the second meeting of the season between these two teams, following the Sabres' 6-1 victory at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 7. They'll meet for the third and final time on Feb. 22 in Buffalo.

Make sure you bookmark Breakaway OnSI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

Through witness testimony prosecutors are beginning to shift their focus from sex trafficking to other charges faced by the Pharaoh's strip club owner.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Prosecutors on Wednesday began to shift their focus from the sex trafficking charges faced by Pharaoh's Gentleman's Club owner Peter Gerace at his federal court trial, to other counts he also faces including drug trafficking, bribery, and witness tampering.

For several days jurors have heard from a string of former dancers at the club who told similar stories of choosing to work at Pharaoh's in order to earn a lot of money quickly in order to feed their drug addictions.

RELATED: Witnesses testify to drug use, sex acts at Pharaoh's Gentlemen's Club

Gerace is accused of operating Pharaoh's as a drug-involved-premises and preying on the addictions of dancers there to coerce them into performing sex acts for friends and high paying customers.

Jurors heard testimony Wednesday from another former dancer about her addiction and how it controlled her decisions.

"The addiction is definitely taking the lead and is in control," is how she put it.

However, under cross examination by Gerace Attorney Eric M. Soehnlein, she also testified that she used drugs prior to working at Pharaoh's and continued to so so after she left.

She admitted on the stand that she was hesitant to testify because she was concerned that her memory is at times cloudy, while also admitting that despite being pregnant she used heroin less than two weeks ago including the day she met with federal prosecutors to prepare for her testimony.

Another former dancer had an entirely different story.

There are no allegations, as part of this case, that Alicia Guastaferro, who lists herself as an actress and singer on IMDB, was involved in sex trafficking at Pharaoh's.

On the contrary, she said her employment at the club only lasted two days.

Now 33, she testified that she went to work at Pharaoh's when she was 19 and that she made thousands of dollars in her first two nights work at the club.

This was a few years after she and her family were featured on the once-popular ABC Television show "Wife Swap."

On her second night at the club she said she met Peter Gerace who she thought was "just another customer."

She said Gerace offered to buy her a drink but she quickly stated to him that she was under 21.

"He told me it was OK because he owned the club. I told him thanks, but I'm good," she testified.

Guastaferro said Gerace later appeared with a woman under each arm and invited her to join them upstairs in a private area of the club to "party" with them.

"In my mind that meant sex and drugs," she testified.

Indicating that she had no interest in either at the time, she said she again politely declined Gerace's invitation and turned her attention to other customers.

Guastaferro testified that when she showed up for her third night of work she was fired.

Whether prosecutors called her to the stand to demonstrate that she was fired because Gerace had no interest in someone who might not be manipulated as they allege others had been we may never know.

Attempts by prosecutors to get her to testify as to what she was told regarding the reasons for her termination were thwarted at every turn by the judge who ruled it would be hearsay.

Nor was any mention made of Guastaferro's subsequent legal troubles.

Jurors also heard testimony from Kevin Myszka who is currently awaiting sentencing for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute.

Now a cooperating witness, Myszka testified about a time at Pharaoh's when he asked Gerace if he could score some cocaine there. He testified that Gerace didn't say anything, but that moment later a dancer approached him with some cocaine for sale.

Jurors also heard testimony from Anthony Cassulo, a retired DEA agent who also appeared as a key government witness in the trial of Gerace's co-defendant, former DEA Agent Joseph Bongiovanni.