IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Hot, hot, hot Heat advisory in place for Saturday until 8 p.m.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers teen finds dead body in bed of his truck A 16-year-old in Fort Myers drove to school, drove home, drove to the barbershop and back home again. Then, he noticed a swarm of flies in the back of his truck.
Scottie Scheffler facing felony charges; local attorney reacts The attorney we spoke with told us that, at a minimum, we’d spend the night in jail before having our first appearance and getting bail.
IMMOKALEE ROAD 3 injured in deadly crash on Immokalee road The Florida Highway Patrol is currently investigating a deadly crash on Immokalee road.
NAPLES Collier deputies investigating car submerged in water The Collier County Sheriffs Office is investigating the scene of a submerged vehicle in Naples.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball reflects on season and team’s legacy FGCU softball reflects on the historic season following their elimination doubleheader Saturday as well as what made this team special.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Scattered storms in the forecast for your Sunday Expect sun and clouds throughout the day, along with scattered rain. Some of the storms have the potential to become severe.
CAPE CORAL Do we need a federal gun database for mental illness? One family says yes One family is on a mission to create a new national gun database. It would require medical professionals to enter mental health information.
ALVA Three dead in triple drowning near the Franklin Lock in Olga The Lee County Sheriff’s Office is responding to a scene of a water rescue where three people were recovered.
PUNTA GORDA The Weather Authority helps you prepare for the hurricane season at the 2024 Charlotte County Hurricane Expo With hurricane season less than two weeks away, it’s important to start preparing.
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball senior balances EMT training and Regional play Ahead of NCAA Regional play, FGCU senior outfielder Riley Oakes started EMT training as she works toward being a trauma surgeon.
PUNTA GORDA Homes For Our Troops grants veteran new home Through all the cheers and a community-wide escort, it’s a ‘welcome to your forever home for army sergeant veteran Brandon Rethmel and his family.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Beat the Heat: Stay safe during extreme weather The Weather Authority has issued a heat advisory for portions of South, Southeast, and Southwest Florida from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
FORT MYERS Leaders discuss possibility of shutting down Caloosahatchee Bridge Should residents endure two years of partial lane closures, or fully shut the Caloosahatchee bridge down for 10 weeks?
GAINESVILLE FGCU softball parents cherish NCAA Tournament experience The parents of the FGCU softball team are relishing seeing their daughters play in the NCAA Tournament.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA The Weather Authority: Hot, hot, hot Heat advisory in place for Saturday until 8 p.m.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers teen finds dead body in bed of his truck A 16-year-old in Fort Myers drove to school, drove home, drove to the barbershop and back home again. Then, he noticed a swarm of flies in the back of his truck.
Scottie Scheffler facing felony charges; local attorney reacts The attorney we spoke with told us that, at a minimum, we’d spend the night in jail before having our first appearance and getting bail.
MGN Online DETROIT (AP) – Emails showing that General Motors ordered a half-million replacement ignition switches nearly two months before telling the government of a safety recall will be heavily scrutinized by federal prosecutors, who are investigating GM’s conduct, according to legal experts. The email chain, released Monday by an attorney suing GM, again raises questions about how forthcoming GM has been with safety regulators and lawmakers, as well as a GM-funded investigation into the defective switches by former U.S. Attorney Anton Valukas. The chain of emails from December through February shows that a contract employee for GM inquired about the parts on Dec. 18, 2013, and ordered them from Delphi the following day, in preparation to replace parts on 500,000 to over 700,000 vehicles. The cost was estimated at nearly $3 million. Yet GM did not report a safety defect to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration until 51 days later, on Feb. 7, 2014. Federal law requires automakers to tell the agency about defects within five business days of discovering them. The U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan is investigating potential criminal actions by GM in its handling of the recall of 2.6 million older-model small cars nationwide. The faulty switches are responsible for at least 32 deaths and hundreds of injuries. The switches can slip out of the run position, causing engines to stall unexpectedly and disabling air bags. GM has admitted knowing about the problem for more than a decade. The emails muddy the timeline GM has given regarding the recall. The part order came just after a Dec. 17 meeting of a three-executive GM panel that decides if cars should be recalled. But the Valukas report said that although the committee heard a presentation from GM investigators seeking to recall the ignition switches, no decision was made that day. GM says it didn’t determine that the cars should be recalled until Jan 31. Also, the parts order was not mentioned when CEO Mary Barra subsequently testified before Congress. Barra has said she first found out about the switch problem in late December and the decision to issue a recall on Jan. 31. GM says it is standing by Barra’s previous statements. The emails also could lead to further congressional hearings on the matter with Barra being called to Washington again. “Not only was the company taking concrete actions without telling NHTSA, but in subsequent congressional hearings and investigations, GM has failed to disclose these activities,” said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo. “Once again, the leadership and integrity of GM’s senior managers deserve the strictest scrutiny.” Federal prosecutors are looking into whether GM misled safety regulators. Criminal charges against the company and employees are possible. GM has already admitted violating the law, paying a $35 million fine and agreeing to strict federal oversight. The Justice Department will have a “field day” with the emails, matching up dates against the timeline from Valukas’ report and documents filed with NHTSA, looking for conflicts, said Peter Henning, a former federal prosecutor who now is a law professor at Wayne State University in Detroit. Someone higher up in GM, he said, would have had to authorize the parts order, and investigators will want to know who that was. “That’s not coming out of petty cash. Even for a company like GM,” Henning said. Also, Henning said the company wouldn’t order that many parts unless it knew a recall was coming. The documents also raise questions about Valukas’ report, because GM said he was given unfettered access to company documents, Henning said. Texas attorney Robert Hilliard, who released the emails, said GM should have told the government and warned its customers as soon as it knew about the problem. For his clients alone, a warning at the time of the parts order could have prevented one death and 85 injuries, Hilliard said. He contends that Barra, who was head of product development and purchasing before becoming CEO, should have known about an unbudgeted order of 500,000 replacement switches. Jere Beasley, another lawyer who also received the emails, said Delphi produced them after Beasley and associated lawyers agreed to drop the company as a defendant in the ignition switch cases. Delphi and the Justice Department would not comment. Valukas issued a statement standing by his report and saying that to his knowledge GM gave him access to all the information it had on repair options. But it didn’t directly address whether or not he received the parts-ordering emails. GM said in a statement the emails are “further confirmation” that its system needed to be reformed, which it has done. The company also said it is standard practice to start ordering parts before a recall determination is made.