Burn ban in effect for Collier CountyFGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
Planning and Zoning Board approves proposed West County area development Homebuilder Maronda Homes received approval Feb. 10 from the Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board to amend a previously approved development on 1,174 acres in the area of South Gulf Cove.
LEHIGH ACRES 3 charged for major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles Three men, one from Lehigh Acres, has been charged for their role in a major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles.
port charlotte Man arrested for DUI after slamming into Port Charlotte home’s garage The North Port Police Department has arrested a man accused of DUI and crashing into a Port Charlotte home’s garage.
CAPE CORAL New information on nurse accused of starving premature baby New information has been released about what happened behind closed doors when a nurse allegedly starved a premature baby.
BONITA SPRINGS World’s largest bounce castle to spring into Bonita Springs The Big Bounce America, the world’s largest inflatable bounce castle is set to appear in Bonita Springs.
palmdale Gatorama owner bitten during alligator feeding show Gatorama owner Allen Register was sent to hospital after being bitten by an alligator during a feeding show.
CAPE CORAL Man accused of Cape Coral DUI accident with serious injuries A man has been arrested after allegedly causing an accident with injuries while driving under the influence in Cape Coral.
wink news Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
Burn ban in effect for Collier County The Board of County Commissioners has authorized a burn ban in Collier County.
FGCU FGCU’s Zavian McLean shares student athlete experience with podcast FGCU men’s basketball guard Zavian McLean shares what its like to be a Division I student athlete in his podcast “Truey Talks.”
Locals react to egg price increase Egg prices continue to soar. In fact, prices have gone up about 37% from where they were just one year ago, and the pricing and supply issues have started to impact Southwest Florida.
FORT MYERS BEACH Trump’s executive order on straws stirs debate in Fort Myers Beach President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order to bring back plastic straws, reversing a previous plan to reduce plastic reliance in the federal government.
Charlotte County official’s usage of racial slur prompts calls for resignation Charlotte County Commissioner Stephen Deutsch is under scrutiny after a complaint surfaced last week alleging he used the N-word during a work meeting.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral woman finds hope with new ALS drug A breakthrough discovery of a drug offers new hope for patients with a genetic form of the disease.
Elevate Florida program to help homeowners strengthen properties against storms The Florida Dept. of Emergency Management announced the launch of its new “Elevate Florida” residential mitigation program.
Planning and Zoning Board approves proposed West County area development Homebuilder Maronda Homes received approval Feb. 10 from the Charlotte County Planning and Zoning Board to amend a previously approved development on 1,174 acres in the area of South Gulf Cove.
LEHIGH ACRES 3 charged for major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles Three men, one from Lehigh Acres, has been charged for their role in a major theft organization targeting luxury vehicles.
port charlotte Man arrested for DUI after slamming into Port Charlotte home’s garage The North Port Police Department has arrested a man accused of DUI and crashing into a Port Charlotte home’s garage.
CAPE CORAL New information on nurse accused of starving premature baby New information has been released about what happened behind closed doors when a nurse allegedly starved a premature baby.
BONITA SPRINGS World’s largest bounce castle to spring into Bonita Springs The Big Bounce America, the world’s largest inflatable bounce castle is set to appear in Bonita Springs.
palmdale Gatorama owner bitten during alligator feeding show Gatorama owner Allen Register was sent to hospital after being bitten by an alligator during a feeding show.
CAPE CORAL Man accused of Cape Coral DUI accident with serious injuries A man has been arrested after allegedly causing an accident with injuries while driving under the influence in Cape Coral.
wink news Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
PARIS (AP) – The bomb maker for attacks on Paris and Brussels had a previous career as a jailor for the Islamic State group, a lawyer for one of his hostages said Friday. Belgian authorities say Najim Laachraoui, a 24-year-old Belgian, built the explosive belts used in the assaults on both European capitals and blew himself up at Brussels Airport on March 22. He was also one of several jihadis who held some hostages captured in Syria, according to Marie-Laure Ingouf, who represents former French captives Pierre Torres and Nicolas Henin, both journalists. “Laachraoui was one of the jailors of the French ex-hostages, and of other decapitated hostages, as they all shared the same cell,” she said in a statement. Her statement, which also referred to beheaded American captives James Foley and Steven Sotloff, said Laachraoui was known at the time as Abou Idriss and worked alongside Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman who is accused of a 2014 attack on the Brussels Jewish Museum. Didier Francois, a third French journalist also taken hostage, confirmed on Europe 1 radio that Laachraoui was among those responsible for handling the captives. “He was one of the senior officials in Islamic State, he wasn’t a basic guard,” he said. “He was responsible for the interrogations. He was extremely subtle. He never used violence like the others.” Nemmouche had already been previously identified as a jihadi jailor. A message left with Nemmouche’s lawyer, Sebastien Courtoy, was not immediately returned. Ingouf’s statement partially confirmed a report in the British media identifying Laachraoui as the man who first imprisoned Foley and British photojournalist John Cantlie while Francois’ interview corroborated a French report that Laachraoui played a key role during negotiations over the fate of the Frenchman, as well as his compatriots Henin, Torres, and a fourth journalist, Edouard Elias. All four were eventually released. Foley was beheaded in one of the Islamic State group’s first gruesome videos, while Cantlie last appeared in a March IS propaganda video. Cantlie’s current whereabouts are not known. It isn’t clear why the Islamic State group had Laachraoui and Nemmouche dealing with hostages. Pieter Van Ostaeyen, who studies the Belgian jihadi networks in Syria and Iraq, said it may simply have come down to language. “In 2013-2014, it was clearly noticeable that all the French-speaking foreign fighters they grouped together,” he said. Laachraoui, a young mechanical engineering graduate, would have been among the group’s earliest recruits, leaving Belgium in February 2013. He returned to Belgium under the alias “Soufiane Kayal.” A central player in the dual attacks that killed a total of 162 people in Brussels and Paris, Laachraoui’s job was to make the TATP explosives and the suicide vests used in the assaults. His DNA was found on one of the vests that detonated inside Paris’ Bataclan concert hall as well as one that blew up outside France’s national stadium on Nov. 13. The last publicly distributed photograph of Laachraoui shows him pushing a cart full of explosives at Brussels’ Airport moments before setting them off. Francois told Europe 1 that Laachraoui was “very intelligent and with a strong belief – which made him even more dangerous.”