Tim Tebow speaks at the annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer BreakfastFort Myers City Council to provide update on Fowler Street construction project
FORT MYERS Tim Tebow speaks at the annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow took the stage at Hammond Stadium for the annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council to provide update on Fowler Street construction project The Fort Myers City Council is set to provide an update on the progress of the Fowler Street intersection project.
the weather authority Hot and humid Thursday before evening isolated storms impact coastal communities The Weather Authority is tracking a humid Thursday morning with high afternoon temperatures and evening coastal isolated storms.
Jacksonville Gov. DeSantis to hold a news conference in Jacksonville Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Jacksonville.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sea turtle nesting season begins in Fort Myers Beach Sea turtle nesting season has officially begun, and the FWC wants to remind visitors about the fragility of the young reptiles.
BAREFOOT LAKE Neighbors react to chaos at Barefoot Lake Imagine being scared to leave your home on the weekends. Ana and Anrik understand the feeling all too well.
CAPE CORAL The story of Ollie’s Pub and what kept it open through years of hardships Before Ollie’s housed weekly events, packed to the brim with artwork and home to many, it was a simple dream and an empty space.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024.
FORT MYERS BEACH Remembering Fort Myers Beach ‘Mayor’ Brad Benson To know Brad Benson was to know a legend. He recently passed away at the age of 71 after battling health issues.
CAPE CORAL Proposed Cape Coral City Council meeting time change fails In a 4 to 4 vote, the motion to move Cape Coral meeting times from 4:30 to 9 a.m. failed.
Greater Dunbar initiative begins A duplex that has been around since the 1960s and is filled with generations of memories is being demolished.
Caught on camera: funnel clouds, hail and more during thunderstorm Wednesday’s thunderstorms storms have produced hail and funnel clouds.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New mammography guidelines Breast cancer is much easier to treat when it’s caught early.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral church picking up the pieces after massive fire Calvary Connection ministries is unrecognizable after a massive fire swept through a Cape Coral Complex on Monday.
CAPE CORAL Day Two of FEMA code compliance hearings in Cape Coral Another 50 people were summoned Wednesday for the second day of code compliance hearings before the special magistrate.
FORT MYERS Tim Tebow speaks at the annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast Former Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow took the stage at Hammond Stadium for the annual Southwest Florida Community Prayer Breakfast.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council to provide update on Fowler Street construction project The Fort Myers City Council is set to provide an update on the progress of the Fowler Street intersection project.
the weather authority Hot and humid Thursday before evening isolated storms impact coastal communities The Weather Authority is tracking a humid Thursday morning with high afternoon temperatures and evening coastal isolated storms.
Jacksonville Gov. DeSantis to hold a news conference in Jacksonville Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to hold a news conference in Jacksonville.
FORT MYERS BEACH Sea turtle nesting season begins in Fort Myers Beach Sea turtle nesting season has officially begun, and the FWC wants to remind visitors about the fragility of the young reptiles.
BAREFOOT LAKE Neighbors react to chaos at Barefoot Lake Imagine being scared to leave your home on the weekends. Ana and Anrik understand the feeling all too well.
CAPE CORAL The story of Ollie’s Pub and what kept it open through years of hardships Before Ollie’s housed weekly events, packed to the brim with artwork and home to many, it was a simple dream and an empty space.
Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024 Here are some of Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for May 1, 2024.
FORT MYERS BEACH Remembering Fort Myers Beach ‘Mayor’ Brad Benson To know Brad Benson was to know a legend. He recently passed away at the age of 71 after battling health issues.
CAPE CORAL Proposed Cape Coral City Council meeting time change fails In a 4 to 4 vote, the motion to move Cape Coral meeting times from 4:30 to 9 a.m. failed.
Greater Dunbar initiative begins A duplex that has been around since the 1960s and is filled with generations of memories is being demolished.
Caught on camera: funnel clouds, hail and more during thunderstorm Wednesday’s thunderstorms storms have produced hail and funnel clouds.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA New mammography guidelines Breast cancer is much easier to treat when it’s caught early.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral church picking up the pieces after massive fire Calvary Connection ministries is unrecognizable after a massive fire swept through a Cape Coral Complex on Monday.
CAPE CORAL Day Two of FEMA code compliance hearings in Cape Coral Another 50 people were summoned Wednesday for the second day of code compliance hearings before the special magistrate.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) – Jordan on Thursday demanded proof from Islamic State militants that a Jordanian pilot they are holding is still alive, despite purported threats by the group to kill the airman at sunset unless an al-Qaida prisoner is freed from death row in Jordan. The militants’ deadline passed without word on the fate of the pilot, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh, and a fellow hostage, Japanese journalist Kenji Goto. Goto’s wife Rinko, who had kept silent up to now, made a desperate plea for her husband’s life Thursday and revealed that she has exchanged emails with his captors. “In the past 20 hours the kidnappers have sent me what appears to be their latest and final demand,” she said in a statement. She said that if the al-Qaida prisoner, Sajida al-Rishawi, was not released by sunset, “the Jordanian pilot will be executed immediately.” “I beg the Jordanian and Japanese government to understand that the fates of both men are in their hands,” she wrote. Jordan has offered, in principle, to swap al-Rishawi for the pilot, but has made no mention of Goto. On Thursday afternoon, Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed al-Momani suggested any possible swap was on hold and said al-Rishawi was still in Jordan. “We want to see a proof of life of the Jordanian pilot and then we can talk about the exchange between Sajida al-Rishawi and the Jordanian pilot,” he said. Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally in the region, faces difficult choices in the hostage crisis. Any swap with the Islamic State group would run counter to its tough approach toward Islamic extremists, but it also faces domestic pressure to bring the pilot home. The purported threat to kill the pilot came in an audio message posted online late Wednesday. The message was read in English by a voice the Japanese government said was likely that of Goto. It warned that the pilot would be executed unless al-Rishawi is delivered to the Turkish border at sunset, Iraq time. It was not clear what Goto’s fate would be if the woman is not released. The Associated Press could not independently verify the contents of the recording, which was distributed on Twitter by Islamic State-affiliated accounts. Al-Rishawi has close family ties to the al-Qaida branch in Iraq, a forerunner of the Islamic State group, and was involved in deadly Amman hotel bombings by al-Qaida a decade ago. Her explosives belt failed to detonate. She was arrested shortly after fleeing the scene and was sentenced to death by hanging. The hostage drama began last week with the release of a video by the Islamic State group showing Goto and another Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa. They were kneeling in orange jumpsuits between a masked man who threatened to kill them within 72 hours unless Japan paid a $200 million ransom. That demand has since shifted to one for the release of al-Rishawi. The militants have reportedly killed Yukawa, 42, although that has not been confirmed. Goto’s wife wrote that her husband’s captors contacted her for the first time by email on Dec. 2. “Since then, there have been several emails between the group and me as I have fought to save his life,'” she wrote. “My husband and I have two very young daughters,” she said in the statement. “Our baby girl was only three weeks old when Kenji left,” she added. “I hope our oldest daughter, who is just two, will get to see her father again. I want them both to grow up knowing their father. My husband is a good and honest man who went to Syria to show the plight of those who suffer.” Both Japan and Jordan have scrambled to deal with the crisis. Any swap with the Islamic State group would set a precedent for dealing with the hostage-takers. The group has not publicly demanded prisoner releases before. Previous captives may have been freed in exchange for ransom, although the governments involved have refused to confirm any payments were made. Jordan’s main ally, the United States, opposes negotiations with extremists. Jordan is part of a U.S.-led military alliance that has carried out airstrikes against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq in recent months. At the same time, Jordan’s King Abdullah II faces growing domestic pressure to bring the pilot home. The pilot’s family has staged protests, complaining the government is not doing enough to win his release. The pilot’s capture has hardened popular opposition among Jordanians to the air strikes, analysts said. Al-Kaseasbeh was seized after his Jordanian F-16 crashed in December near the Islamic State group’s de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria. He is the first foreign military pilot the militants have captured since the U.S. and allies began striking the Islamic State more than four months ago.