NAPLES Veterans hit the water in Naples Every September, a local group of captains and anglers hosts an event to take soldiers on the water. More than 130 troops and 65 captains were at the Naples Take a Soldier Fishing event.
Collier County teachers reach contract agreement Collier County teachers have come to an agreement with the school district in their contract negotiations.
NORTH PORT North Port Police searching for man who struck officer with car The North Port Police Department is on the search for a man who committed battery on an officer, among other charges.
FORT MYERS Victim of childhood sexual abuse speaks out after abuser receives 3 life sentences A survivor of childhood sexual abuse finally feels free after her abuser receives three life sentences.
No bond for Tice man accused of kidnaping and sexual assault A man accused of kidnapping and sexual assault will be held without bond.
CAPE CORAL 13th annual 239 Fest to showcase 16 local punk, ska and reggae bands The 13th edition of 239 Fest is coming next month and will feature 16 local punk, ska and reggae bands.
FORT MYERS BEACH Witnesses react to boat getting stuck under Matanzas Pass Bridge While the boat has since gotten out from underneath the bridge, it’s raised some questions about safety for onlookers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Splash the otter, the unlikely hero bringing families closure Mike Hadsell has trained many animals in his lifetime, but the newest member of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue dive team, Splash the Asian small-clawed otter, is a first, even for him.
FORT MYERS Scrolling on your cell phone may be bad for your health; FGCU professor weighs in Scrolling through your phone might seem like a fun way to pass the time, but new research shows it can actually make you feel even more bored and unhappy.
WEST PALM BEACH DeSantis launches investigation into 2nd assassination attempt on Trump Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will personally oversee the investigation into the second assassination attempt on former President Trump.
FHP reveals details behind crash that killed 4 young people A mangled car is all that remains from a crash that took the lives of four young people.
FORT MYERS 2 fires in 24 hours displace families in Fort Myers Two vicious fires left families’ homes and lives in ruins. Now, we are learning what help they are getting until their lives can be put back together.
Trump assassination attempt suspect removed serial number from gun Law enforcement is holding a press conference on the attempt of former President Donald Trump’s life at his West Palm Beach golf course.
FORT MYERS BEACH Matanzas Pass Bridge reopens after boat crashes into it, closing it for hours The Matanzas Pass Bridge has reopened to traffic after it was shut down for hours when a boat crashed into it.
MATLACHA Little Pine Island Bridge in Matlacha to temporarily close The Florida Department of Transportation has announced the temporary closure of the Little Pine Island Bridge.
NAPLES Veterans hit the water in Naples Every September, a local group of captains and anglers hosts an event to take soldiers on the water. More than 130 troops and 65 captains were at the Naples Take a Soldier Fishing event.
Collier County teachers reach contract agreement Collier County teachers have come to an agreement with the school district in their contract negotiations.
NORTH PORT North Port Police searching for man who struck officer with car The North Port Police Department is on the search for a man who committed battery on an officer, among other charges.
FORT MYERS Victim of childhood sexual abuse speaks out after abuser receives 3 life sentences A survivor of childhood sexual abuse finally feels free after her abuser receives three life sentences.
No bond for Tice man accused of kidnaping and sexual assault A man accused of kidnapping and sexual assault will be held without bond.
CAPE CORAL 13th annual 239 Fest to showcase 16 local punk, ska and reggae bands The 13th edition of 239 Fest is coming next month and will feature 16 local punk, ska and reggae bands.
FORT MYERS BEACH Witnesses react to boat getting stuck under Matanzas Pass Bridge While the boat has since gotten out from underneath the bridge, it’s raised some questions about safety for onlookers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Splash the otter, the unlikely hero bringing families closure Mike Hadsell has trained many animals in his lifetime, but the newest member of Peace River K9 Search and Rescue dive team, Splash the Asian small-clawed otter, is a first, even for him.
FORT MYERS Scrolling on your cell phone may be bad for your health; FGCU professor weighs in Scrolling through your phone might seem like a fun way to pass the time, but new research shows it can actually make you feel even more bored and unhappy.
WEST PALM BEACH DeSantis launches investigation into 2nd assassination attempt on Trump Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will personally oversee the investigation into the second assassination attempt on former President Trump.
FHP reveals details behind crash that killed 4 young people A mangled car is all that remains from a crash that took the lives of four young people.
FORT MYERS 2 fires in 24 hours displace families in Fort Myers Two vicious fires left families’ homes and lives in ruins. Now, we are learning what help they are getting until their lives can be put back together.
Trump assassination attempt suspect removed serial number from gun Law enforcement is holding a press conference on the attempt of former President Donald Trump’s life at his West Palm Beach golf course.
FORT MYERS BEACH Matanzas Pass Bridge reopens after boat crashes into it, closing it for hours The Matanzas Pass Bridge has reopened to traffic after it was shut down for hours when a boat crashed into it.
MATLACHA Little Pine Island Bridge in Matlacha to temporarily close The Florida Department of Transportation has announced the temporary closure of the Little Pine Island Bridge.
MGN Online CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) – The courtroom where the Colorado theater shooting trial is unfolding is awash with emotion as survivors recount the horrors of dodging gunfire and stumbling over loved ones’ bodies as they fled. But the man tethered to the floor at the defense table seems impervious to it all, hardly moving as witnesses share details of his carnage. Interpretations of James Holmes’ stone-faced, nearly catatonic demeanor cuts to the heart of the case. His attorneys say he seems aloof because of anti-psychotic medications he has taken since he killed 12 people and injured 70 more in the packed movie theater. But prosecutors hint of something dark and calculating below that emotionless exterior. Holmes has remained unaffected in the opening days of his death penalty trial, stoic even as attorneys revealed the most intimate details of his personal life, from his failures in romance to his family’s history of mental illness. He stares blankly ahead, rarely turning his head to glance at jurors or the crowded gallery. He doesn’t speak to the attorneys by his side. Not even the sight of his parents seated two rows behind him gives him any noticeable rise. He’s so impassive that, even before his trial began, defense attorney Tamara Brady asked prospective jurors if they would read anything into his appearance, searching for those who wouldn’t study him too hard. “When you look at Mr. Holmes, what do you think?” she asked. “Can you tell if he’s mentally ill? Does he look guilty? Does he look not guilty? If he talks to his lawyers, or doesn’t talk to his lawyers, does that mean he’s mentally ill?” His appearance has been the subject of speculation since his original booking photo showed him with fiery orange-red hair, which he later told police he dyed in order to be remembered. At an early court hearing shortly after the July 20, 2012, attack, Holmes looked dazed, sullen and disoriented. “The way he appeared was the way he was,” defense attorney Daniel King said “His appearance speaks for itself.” When jurors decide whether Holmes was legally insane at the time of the shooting, the judge will order them to rely on evidence and testimony, not his expressionless face. Still, it has been the subject of quiet courtroom chatter. King said 20 doctors who treated Holmes since his arrest agree he suffers from a serious psychotic illness. It flared up behind bars, where surveillance footage and guards caught Holmes licking his cell walls, rearranging blankets, eating lunch meat between flattened paper cups and sucking his thumb and crying in November 2012. He told a jail psychiatrist he thought he was Peter Pan. Doctors at a hospital where he was taken after repeatedly ramming his head into walls prescribed him the prescription drug Haldol, and King said he has been taking anti-psychotic medicine ever since that episode. “And it’s been having a positive effect on him,” King said during opening statements. “If he appears distracted or aloof or unconnected, that’s in part due to the medications he is on.” But the dramatic testimony isn’t lost on Holmes, King said. “He now regrets what took place in the theater,” he said. Holmes has always had a crippling awkwardness that made it hard for him to socialize and be successful in his study of neuroscience, District Attorney George Brauchler said. He excelled at bookwork, for example, but struggled with labs that required human interaction, the prosecutor said. Officials at one graduate school that rejected him said they found him aloof, quiet and disinterested, Brauchler said. “He had a lifetime worth of social anxiety,” he said, noting his “flat” demeanor. Brauchler said he was much more “sharp and witty” in writing, which helped him conceal his plans for mass murder when sending benign emails about life to his parents. “He is smart,” Brauchler said in noting that two court-appointed psychiatrists who examined him found him sane. In videotapes of one of those interviews, Holmes’ voice sounds thick and mechanical, even as he talks about his victims. “I only count fatalities,” he told psychiatrist William Reid in a video snippet shown in court. “The dead can’t be repaired or come back to life or be normal again. It’s irreversible.” When Reid asked about the wounded, Holmes replied, “They’re collateral damage, I guess.”