Holiday shoppers get a head start on Thanksgiving

NEW YORK (AP) – Black Friday used to kick off the holiday shopping season, but now that day has taken a backseat to Thanksgiving Day. Still, retailers have settled into times that don’t interfere with the turkey feast. After opening earlier and earlier on the holiday, this year, most of the more than a dozen […]

White House undergoes holiday lockdown after man jumps fence

WASHINGTON (AP) – A man draped in an American flag climbed over the fence at the White House on Thursday, prompting a lockdown as the first family celebrated Thanksgiving. The man was immediately apprehended and taken into custody pending criminal charges, the Secret Service said in a statement. The incident took place about 2:45 p.m. […]

CCPD ‘Holiday Heroes’ food drive collects 5,000 pounds of food

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- The Cape Coral Police Department’s “Holiday Heroes” Food Drive collected over 5,000 pounds of canned food to benefit the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida. The food drive began on Nov. 12, with collection sites set up at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market on Pine Island Road and the Wal-Mart on Del Prado Boulevard. “As I […]

100 cloned credit cards seized during I-75 traffic stop

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla.- A Land O’Lakes man in possession of over $1 million worth of cloned credit cards was arrested during a traffic stop on Interstate 75 in Lee County. On Wednesday around 3 a.m., a deputy patrolling I-75 near mile marker 116 pulled over 25-year-old Ruben Rodriguez De Roux for committing several traffic violations, including following […]

One dead in Fort Myers shooting

FORT MYERS, Fla.- One man is dead following a drive-by shooting on the 2100 block of Barden Street, confirmed Fort Myers police. Authorities say just after 12:30 p.m., officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound outside the home. The victim died at the scene. Barden Street was closed for hours from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. […]

Big balloons, heavy security for NYC Thanksgiving parade

NEW YORK (AP) — Americans paused Thursday to celebrate their blessings despite terrorism fears and tensions over fatal police shootings across the country. A record number of police officers patrolled the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, while St. Louis resumed its annual parade, canceled last year amid protests over Michael Brown’s death. At […]

Hollande, on Moscow visit, calls for broad anti-IS coalition

MOSCOW (AP) — French President Francois Hollande called for forming a broad international coalition against the Islamic State group, using his visit to Moscow on Thursday to try to unite France, the U.S. and Russia on a response to the Paris attacks that killed 130 people. IS has claimed responsibility for the Nov. 13 attacks in […]

Pope says ‘catastrophic’ if interests derail climate talks

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Pope Francis warned Thursday that it would be “catastrophic” for world leaders to let special interest groups get in the way of a global agreement to curb fossil fuel emissions as he brought his environmental message to the heart of Africa on the eve of make-or-break climate change talks in Paris. […]

NC troopers on food stamps, taking second jobs amid pay fight

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — State troopers suing North Carolina for millions of dollars in back pay say the state’s broken promises have forced them into tough spots. It’s not unusual for a trooper to have a second job and some are even on food stamps. About 800 troopers — equivalent to half the force — […]