Cuba announces it will launch broadband home internet

HAVANA (AP) – Cuba says it is launching its first broadband home Internet service, a potentially major step forward in bringing the island online. State telecommunications company ETECSA announced Sunday night that it would allow Cubans to order home service through fiber optic connections operated with Chinese telecom operator Huawei. There are important caveats: ETECSA […]

US pledges $97M to combat Ethiopia’s drought

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) – The U.S. has boosted its emergency food aid to Ethiopia by nearly $100 million to combat one of the worst droughts in decades, the U.S. Agency for International Development announced Sunday. The aid is urgently needed to head off a humanitarian disaster brought on by the El Nino climate phenomenon […]

Chinese manufacturing index at weakest since 2012

HONG KONG (AP) – Chinese manufacturing ebbed in January to its lowest in more than three years, a possible sign of further weakness in the world’s No. 2 economy after posting its slowest annual growth in a quarter century. An index based on an official survey of factory purchasing managers fell to 49.4 last month […]

Less than 7 percent of Florida’s workforce is in a union

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – A little less than 7 percent of Florida’s workforce is in a labor union. That’s about 546,000 wage-earners who were union members in the Sunshine State last year. The numbers were released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau also says that almost 8.5 percent of Florida’s workforce […]

Police lights crime

Virginia Tech student charged in death of 13-year-old girl

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – Two Virginia Tech engineering students have been arrested in connection with the death of a 13-year-old girl whose disappearance last week from her Virginia home set off a frantic, four-day search. Blacksburg Police say David Eisenhauer, 18, was arrested Saturday and charged with first-degree murder and abduction in the death of […]

Sunday night deadline for 2016 health insurance enrollment

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sunday night is the sign-up deadline for subsidized private health insurance under President Barack Obama’s health care law. Administration officials say the deadline is 11:59 p.m. PST, or 2:59 a.m. EST Monday. That’s for the 38 states using the HealthCare.gov website. People also can enroll on the phone by calling 1-800-318-2596. And […]

Vigil held for family killed in Fort Myers apartment

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A community gathered Sunday for a vigil in memory of a family killed inside their Iona Lakes Apartments home. Patrick Sean Carlopoli is in jail after his girlfriend, 37-year-old Tammy Modlin, her 16-year-old daughter Montana, the couple’s 3-year-old Jeanne Carlopoli and dog were found dead Jan. 24. Neighbors said they still […]

Fecal matter left from flooding in Lee County RV park

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Puddles of fecal matter have gathered at Shady Acres RV Park after waters from flooding last week receded, residents say. Residents have placed chemical lime over the most noticeable spots of feces in an attempt to mask the stench but say the mess has not been cleaned. “Toilet paper, feces everywhere,” said […]

Pine Island community placed under boil water notice

BOOKEELIA, Fla. – The Greater Pine Island Water Association has issued a boil water notice  for residents of Alden Pines Country Club in Bookeelia after a water main broke Sunday. The water should be safe for drinking by Tuesday, authorities said. The Pine Island community is asked not to consume water without first boiling it for one […]