Lee County Sheriff’s Deputies investigating North Fort Myers shootingBishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County Sheriff’s Deputies investigating North Fort Myers shooting A shooting investigation is underway in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
LEE COUNTY Two arrested for street racing in Lee County Two people have been arrested for street racing in Lee County according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
CAPE CORAL Boaters with rifles seen in Cape Coral canal On an average day, it’s pretty common to see people fishing or swimming in a canal. One neighbor in Cape Coral saw something unusual in his backyard Friday afternoon.
FORT MYERS Car flips, one sent to hospital after two car crash in Fort Myers A crash involving at least two vehicles sent one person to the hospital.
The Weather Authority: Clouds, sunshine, wind, and the possibility of a brief shower for your Sunday Clouds and occasional sunshine this Sunday. A few brief showers are possible late in the afternoon and this evening.
TALLAHASSEE (CBS) Governor DeSantis signs AI and vape bills Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed 28 bills, including a measure requiring disclaimers on certain political ads created using artificial intelligence and a bill about regulation of vape products.
ESTERO Gold Star Golf Tournament honors fallen veteran Behind each putt and swing of a golf club at the Gold Star Golf Tournament is someone who knew John Wirka Junior.
NEW YORK (AP) How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form?
FORT MYERS Man wanted for armed robbery at Fort Myers convenience store Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help identifying an armed robber who held up a convenience store Saturday morning.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, inappropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
NORTH FORT MYERS Lee County Sheriff’s Deputies investigating North Fort Myers shooting A shooting investigation is underway in North Fort Myers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Bishop of the Diocese of Venice releases statement following sexual abuse allegations by SWFL priest The Bishop of the Diocese of Venice is speaking out after Charlotte County Reverend Leo Riley was arrested on five counts of sexual battery stemming from his past work as a priest in Iowa.
NEW YORK (AP) Biden officials indefinitely postpone ban on menthol cigarettes amid election-year pushback President Joe Biden’s administration is indefinitely delaying a long-awaited menthol cigarette ban, a decision that infuriated anti-smoking advocates but could avoid a political backlash from Black voters in November.
FORT MYERS Gone but not forgotten: Traveling Vietnam Memorial pays tribute to veterans A powerful symbol of honor and remembrance is standing proudly here in Southwest Florida. The Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall is open to the public, a reminder of those we lost who served our country.
LEE COUNTY Two arrested for street racing in Lee County Two people have been arrested for street racing in Lee County according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
CAPE CORAL Boaters with rifles seen in Cape Coral canal On an average day, it’s pretty common to see people fishing or swimming in a canal. One neighbor in Cape Coral saw something unusual in his backyard Friday afternoon.
FORT MYERS Car flips, one sent to hospital after two car crash in Fort Myers A crash involving at least two vehicles sent one person to the hospital.
The Weather Authority: Clouds, sunshine, wind, and the possibility of a brief shower for your Sunday Clouds and occasional sunshine this Sunday. A few brief showers are possible late in the afternoon and this evening.
TALLAHASSEE (CBS) Governor DeSantis signs AI and vape bills Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday signed 28 bills, including a measure requiring disclaimers on certain political ads created using artificial intelligence and a bill about regulation of vape products.
ESTERO Gold Star Golf Tournament honors fallen veteran Behind each putt and swing of a golf club at the Gold Star Golf Tournament is someone who knew John Wirka Junior.
NEW YORK (AP) How TikTok grew from a fun app for teens into a potential national security threat If it feels like TikTok has been around forever, that’s probably because it has, at least if you’re measuring via internet time. What’s now in question is whether it will be around much longer and, if so, in what form?
FORT MYERS Man wanted for armed robbery at Fort Myers convenience store Crime Stoppers is asking the public for help identifying an armed robber who held up a convenience store Saturday morning.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WINK Neighborhood Watch: Rifles, inappropriate texts and Donut shop debacle This week’s segment of WINK Neighborhood Watch features a scary mall trip, an inappropriate coach, and a Dunkin Donuts assault.
The Weather Authority: Sunny Saturday with a nice breeze; fire danger increases Warm temperatures for your Saturday with a nice breeze into the afternoon.
NORTH NAPLES Senior Airman surprises cousin on Aubrey Rogers softball senior night Aubrey Rogers senior pitcher and infielder McKenzie Vargas was surprised by her Air Force cousin for Senior Night.
Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 BETTENDORF, Iowa (AP) – Under pressure to emerge as the Republican mainstream’s presidential contender, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio is increasingly relying on a national strategy as he lowers expectations for February’s primary contests. He’s betting big that Republican voters across the political spectrum will ultimately coalesce behind his candidacy in the state-by-state slog for delegates his team envisions for the months ahead. It’s a strategy fraught with risk for Rubio, who’s still fighting to break out among the pack of candidates looking up at New York billionaire Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. The outsider favorites are dominating in Iowa less than two weeks before the state’s leadoff caucuses. For now at least, Rubio, a first-term senator, is embracing a patient approach that goes well beyond the four states with contests in February: Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Rubio in recent days has cast himself as a passionate evangelical conservative, a national security hawk, an empathizer of immigrants in the country illegally, and someone who can bring new voters to the Republican Party. This, as he jabs at Trump, Cruz and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, yet works to capture the anger and frustration that fuel their candidacies. “I won’t be able to appeal to everybody on everything,” Rubio told The Associated Press on Monday. “I want to get enough delegates to be the nominee.” But that’s exactly the theme he projected as he campaigned through Iowa this week before a trip to New Hampshire, where he hopes to rise from a cluster of so-called establishment alternatives to Trump and Cruz. “Too often, I think, as Republicans we have a bad choice,” said Iowa state Sen. Jack Whitver, Rubio’s state campaign chairman, introducing him at one of his many Iowa stops this week. The choice, he said, is often between “the establishment, moderate person that everyone says can win the election, or we have a true consistent conservative that everyone says can’t win the election.” “This year we don’t have to make that choice,” he said. “This year, we can have it all.” Given Jeb Bush’s continued struggles, some major Republican donors and elected officials see Rubio as their party’s best candidate to defeat the leading Democrat, Hillary Clinton, in this fall’s general election. But in a year when voters appear to be rejecting insiders, Rubio has struggled to tap the anti-establishment anger, putting him behind Cruz and Trump with time running out before the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses. Facing that reality, Rubio’s team has conceded he’s unlikely to win any of the first three contests: Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. No Republican in the modern political era has won the presidential nomination without winning one of the first three states. Rubio’s team sees a path around that history: finishing in the top three in those states and surviving until March. That’s when party insiders expect the race to become a long haul because of new rules that award delegates proportionally. The strategy also assumes some of Rubio’s mainstream challengers will drop out out, leaving Rubio’s mix of messages – his tea party rise, national security background and abiding conservative social positions – to allow him to unify the GOP. “Any preconceived notions you have from previous cycles are out the window,” said California-based donor John Jordan, who is running a pro-Rubio super PAC. “Given that, I don’t think it’s necessary to win one of the early states.” He calls this “a rolling national election.” Rubio’s team describes his message not as scattered, but as based on Ronald Reagan’s “three-legged stool” with conservative approaches to economic, social and national security policy. Rubio emphasized his religious faith in Iowa, where he’s running an ad highlighting his opposition to abortion rights and where he told voters in the more socially conservative northern part of the state that his Christianity is “the single greatest influence in my life.” In more moderate eastern Iowa, Rubio asserted his credentials on military and foreign policy as unmatched in the field. “It’s not even close,” he said. And the 44-year-old son of Cuban immigrants pressed the point in Ottumwa that he can bring people into the party who normally don’t vote for it. “We have some differences,” Rubio said of the candidates in the field. “But it’s a big tent.” Yet when asked why he was more electable than Trump, he nodded to the raucous throngs that have flocked to Trump’s rallies. “What he’s tapped into is a real frustration that needs to be addressed,” Rubio said. Ottumwa physician Michael Shaeffer, who asked Rubio what set him apart, wanted more, but still plans to support him. “We’re not going to vote necessarily for the best person,” Shaeffer said. “We’re going to vote for the one with the best chance of winning.”