Caught on Video: man ignites North Fort Myers house on fireCape Coral says they’ll help neighbors forced to vacate but community still has questions
NORTH FORT MYERS Caught on Video: man ignites North Fort Myers house on fire We spoke with the mother of the family that lives in the home. She said both her husband and her 6-year-old son were in bed when she saw an orange glow coming from the front window; then, she saw flames.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral says they’ll help neighbors forced to vacate but community still has questions We’ve reported on the plans by Cape Coral to acquire 19 acres east of Bimini Basin, and how it will force the families currently living in those properties out.
Collier County commissioners oppose Amendment 3 This comes less than 24 hours after former President Donald Trump told the world he would vote for Amendment 3.
PHILADELPHIA Florida political analyst weighs in ahead of presidential debate Tonight may be the only chance viewers will get to see Kamala Harris and Donald Trump together on the debate stage.
LEHIGH ACRES Renewed call for guardrails following fatal Lehigh Acres canal crash A car flying into a canal, killing a 47-year-old man, has many raising the question of how it can be stopped from happening again.
Charlotte County Schools reflects on Guardian program 1 year later Charlotte County is getting a better idea of how armed people in its schools are doing. Last school year was the first entire year Charlotte County Schools had the guardian program in place.
PUNTA GORDA Public notice of pollution submitted for the Peace River There are reports of chemicals, oils and contaminants polluting the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Garden.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers neighbors work to stop parking lot A city sees a warehouse just south of Palm Beach Boulevard as a spot they can use for a brand new parking lot, but the people who live in the neighborhood are telling the city to think twice.
NAPLES Collier middle school student arrested for carrying knife A Manatee Middle School student has been arrested after a knife was found in his backpack at school.
FORT MYERS Suspect arrested in Papa Johns armed robbery A man has been arrested in connection with a robbery of a Fort Myers pizza shop.
TALLAHASSEE New ruling could ban lab grown meat production in Florida A federal judge will hear arguments next month about whether he should block a new Florida law that bars the production and sale of “cultivated meat” in the state.
Seconds save lives: New trial for diagnosing stroke Now, doctors are testing another drug to help people who suffer a different kind of stroke that floods the brain with blood.
Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 Class of 2024 Whether crafting cakes or kombucha or focusing on a courtroom or cockpit, the individuals who have earned recognition among the Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 all stand out in their respective fields.
Del Taco to open in Port Charlotte A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Southwest Florida’s first Del Taco will take place Sept. 16 in Port Charlotte. It will be the third Del Taco location for Quality Restaurant Group President and operating partner Kenther Ramos.
BONITA SPRINGS Caught on camera: 8-foot alligator wrangled from Bonita Springs home See you later, alligator! Deputies came quick to the rescue to wrangle this slippery reptile.
NORTH FORT MYERS Caught on Video: man ignites North Fort Myers house on fire We spoke with the mother of the family that lives in the home. She said both her husband and her 6-year-old son were in bed when she saw an orange glow coming from the front window; then, she saw flames.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral says they’ll help neighbors forced to vacate but community still has questions We’ve reported on the plans by Cape Coral to acquire 19 acres east of Bimini Basin, and how it will force the families currently living in those properties out.
Collier County commissioners oppose Amendment 3 This comes less than 24 hours after former President Donald Trump told the world he would vote for Amendment 3.
PHILADELPHIA Florida political analyst weighs in ahead of presidential debate Tonight may be the only chance viewers will get to see Kamala Harris and Donald Trump together on the debate stage.
LEHIGH ACRES Renewed call for guardrails following fatal Lehigh Acres canal crash A car flying into a canal, killing a 47-year-old man, has many raising the question of how it can be stopped from happening again.
Charlotte County Schools reflects on Guardian program 1 year later Charlotte County is getting a better idea of how armed people in its schools are doing. Last school year was the first entire year Charlotte County Schools had the guardian program in place.
PUNTA GORDA Public notice of pollution submitted for the Peace River There are reports of chemicals, oils and contaminants polluting the Peace River Botanical & Sculpture Garden.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers neighbors work to stop parking lot A city sees a warehouse just south of Palm Beach Boulevard as a spot they can use for a brand new parking lot, but the people who live in the neighborhood are telling the city to think twice.
NAPLES Collier middle school student arrested for carrying knife A Manatee Middle School student has been arrested after a knife was found in his backpack at school.
FORT MYERS Suspect arrested in Papa Johns armed robbery A man has been arrested in connection with a robbery of a Fort Myers pizza shop.
TALLAHASSEE New ruling could ban lab grown meat production in Florida A federal judge will hear arguments next month about whether he should block a new Florida law that bars the production and sale of “cultivated meat” in the state.
Seconds save lives: New trial for diagnosing stroke Now, doctors are testing another drug to help people who suffer a different kind of stroke that floods the brain with blood.
Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 Class of 2024 Whether crafting cakes or kombucha or focusing on a courtroom or cockpit, the individuals who have earned recognition among the Gulfshore Business 40 Under 40 all stand out in their respective fields.
Del Taco to open in Port Charlotte A ribbon-cutting ceremony for Southwest Florida’s first Del Taco will take place Sept. 16 in Port Charlotte. It will be the third Del Taco location for Quality Restaurant Group President and operating partner Kenther Ramos.
BONITA SPRINGS Caught on camera: 8-foot alligator wrangled from Bonita Springs home See you later, alligator! Deputies came quick to the rescue to wrangle this slippery reptile.
WASHINGTON (AP) – It’s double trouble for the National Zoo after its adult female panda gave birth to twins. The cubs arrived about five hours apart Saturday. Panda mom Mei Xiang gave birth to the first cub at 5:35 p.m. and a second at 10:07 p.m., the zoo said. If the cubs survive, they would be the 17-year-old panda’s third and fourth surviving offspring. Mei Xiang’s first cub, Tai Shan, was born in 2005 and returned to China in 2010. Her second cub, Bao Bao, turns 2-years-old Sunday and still lives at the zoo. The new additions mean that for the first time the zoo has five pandas in residence. In addition to Bao Bao, Mei Xiang and the new cubs, the zoo is also home to an adult male panda named Tian Tian. In the past, the zoo has never had more than three pandas at one time. Zoo director Dennis Kelly said at an evening news conference following the first cub’s birth that he was “so happy, so pleased, so excited.” The zoo’s chief veterinarian Don Neiffer was also asked about the possibility of a second cub. In 2013, when Mei Xiang gave birth to Bao Bao, she also gave birth to a stillborn cub. Asked about the possibility of a second cub this time around, Neiffer said that during an ultrasound earlier this week he did see “two areas that made me excited.” The zoo says after the second cub was born, keepers removed one of the cubs and moved it to an incubator. The zoo says it will alternately swap the cubs, allowing one time to nurse and spend time with Mei Xiang while the other is bottle fed. The zoo said it could not confirm whether the cub that was removed was the first or second born. It says pandas give birth to twins about 50 percent of the time, but this is only the third time a giant panda living in the United States has given birth to twins. Keepers will be watching the newest cubs closely. Pink, hairless and blind, newborn cubs weigh three to five ounces (85 to 142 grams) and are about the size of a stick of butter. Kelly, the zoo director, called it a “very fragile time.” “We’re very excited, but we’re very cautious,” he said before the second cub’s birth, noting that in 2012, Mei Xiang gave birth to a cub that died after just six days. Its lungs hadn’t fully developed. Still, Neiffer, the zoo’s chief veterinarian, said the first cub had shown “all signs of being healthy and happy.” Keepers have heard it squeal and grunt. The zoo said on Twitter that the second cub also appeared healthy. Even if the new cubs are physically fit, panda fans shouldn’t expect to see them in person for a while. After Bao Bao was born in 2013, it was about 5 months before she made her public debut. Fans who want to see the newest pandas will have to try to catch a glimpse of them on the zoo’s online panda cameras. Though the zoo’s camera-viewing site can host about 850 viewers at a time, spokeswoman Pamela Baker-Masson says the site has been overloaded with people trying to watch. Fans can also download a zoo app to view the cameras. The public also won’t learn immediately whether the cubs are male or female or whether the zoo’s male panda, Tian Tian, is the cub’s father. Mei Xiang was artificially inseminated with sperm from Tian Tian and a panda named Hui Hui from Wolong, China, who was determined to be one of the best genetic matches. The zoo will use saliva from the cubs’ mouths to determine gender and paternity, said Laurie Thompson, a giant panda biologist at the zoo. The National Zoo is one of only four zoos in the U.S. to have pandas, which are on loan from China, and its cubs are the only ones born in the United States this year. Pandas also have a history at the Washington zoo that makes them closely watched. The zoo’s first pair of pandas, Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, were a gift from China following President Richard Nixon’s historic 1972 visit to the country. The pair had five cubs while living at the zoo but none survived. The zoo’s current pandas, Mei Xiang and Tian Tian, the parents of both Bao Bao and Tai Shan, arrived in 2000. The pandas belong to China as do any cubs they have. The cubs’ birth isn’t the only event being celebrated at the zoo this weekend. For Bao Bao’s second birthday Sunday she will get a cake made out of ice with the number “2” on top. She will stay at the zoo until she is four years old when she will return to China.