Driver charged with DUI after crashing SUV into restaurant in Gulf Coast Town CenterGreat Wolf Lodge celebrates grand opening, economic impact in Collier County
ESTERO Driver charged with DUI after crashing SUV into restaurant in Gulf Coast Town Center The driver of an SUV that crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero has been charged with DUI.
Tesla issues sixth Cybertruck recall in a year, over 2,400 vehicles affected Tesla stock might be up, but their Cybertrucks have another recall for their drivers to deal with.
Great Wolf Lodge celebrates grand opening, economic impact in Collier County With pomp, circumstance and an appearance from retired NFL player Rob Gronkowski, Great Wolf Lodge celebrated both its grand opening and its economic impact for Collier County.
CAPE CORAL Orientation for new Cape Coral City Council members Five fresh new faces are on the Cape Coral City Council.
the weather authority Tropical Storm Sara forms in the Caribbean The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Storm Sara in the Caribbean.
Local builder Paul Beattie gives up license, agrees to pay fine Beattie Development has been accused of taking customers’ money and not completing work promised, and now the company’s owner is surrendering his license.
NAPLES Naples Botanical Garden performs prescribed burn in garden area The Naples Botanical Garden is conducting a prescribed fire as part of its maintenance of the nature preserve.
NEAR FORT MYERS Jerry Seinfeld to perform at Barbara B. Mann in SWFL Comedian and co-creator of a popular sitcom of the same name, Jerry Seinfeld, is set to perform near Fort Myers.
COLLIER COUNTY DOH-Collier cautions of blue-green algae at Lake Avalon The Florida Department of Health in Collier County (DOH-Collier) wants to caution the public of the presence of blue-green algae in Lake Avalon.
City, Naples Beach Club to preserve green space in perpetuity More than 104 acres of recreation and open space at the former Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club’s golf course will be forever preserved.
FORT MYERS The 52nd annual Fort Myers Boat Show begins An annual Fort Myers tradition has returned as the region’s premier display of boats and boating products, which will be on full display for enthusiasts to enjoy.
the weather authority Gorgeous Thursday afternoon with highs in the mid 80s The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant afternoon conditions with temperatures in the mid-80s this Thursday.
SANIBEL Failed air quality tests push back reopening date for The Sanibel School The tentative reopening of The Sanibel School has been pushed back once again after being closed since Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a rollover, single-vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
ESTERO Driver charged with DUI after crashing SUV into restaurant in Gulf Coast Town Center The driver of an SUV that crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero has been charged with DUI.
Tesla issues sixth Cybertruck recall in a year, over 2,400 vehicles affected Tesla stock might be up, but their Cybertrucks have another recall for their drivers to deal with.
Great Wolf Lodge celebrates grand opening, economic impact in Collier County With pomp, circumstance and an appearance from retired NFL player Rob Gronkowski, Great Wolf Lodge celebrated both its grand opening and its economic impact for Collier County.
CAPE CORAL Orientation for new Cape Coral City Council members Five fresh new faces are on the Cape Coral City Council.
the weather authority Tropical Storm Sara forms in the Caribbean The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Storm Sara in the Caribbean.
Local builder Paul Beattie gives up license, agrees to pay fine Beattie Development has been accused of taking customers’ money and not completing work promised, and now the company’s owner is surrendering his license.
NAPLES Naples Botanical Garden performs prescribed burn in garden area The Naples Botanical Garden is conducting a prescribed fire as part of its maintenance of the nature preserve.
NEAR FORT MYERS Jerry Seinfeld to perform at Barbara B. Mann in SWFL Comedian and co-creator of a popular sitcom of the same name, Jerry Seinfeld, is set to perform near Fort Myers.
COLLIER COUNTY DOH-Collier cautions of blue-green algae at Lake Avalon The Florida Department of Health in Collier County (DOH-Collier) wants to caution the public of the presence of blue-green algae in Lake Avalon.
City, Naples Beach Club to preserve green space in perpetuity More than 104 acres of recreation and open space at the former Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club’s golf course will be forever preserved.
FORT MYERS The 52nd annual Fort Myers Boat Show begins An annual Fort Myers tradition has returned as the region’s premier display of boats and boating products, which will be on full display for enthusiasts to enjoy.
the weather authority Gorgeous Thursday afternoon with highs in the mid 80s The Weather Authority is tracking pleasant afternoon conditions with temperatures in the mid-80s this Thursday.
SANIBEL Failed air quality tests push back reopening date for The Sanibel School The tentative reopening of The Sanibel School has been pushed back once again after being closed since Hurricane Milton.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers Police respond to rollover crash; driver flees scene The Fort Myers Police Department responded to a rollover, single-vehicle on Colonial Gardens Circle and Colonial Boulevard.
FORT MYERS West End residents frustrated by security failures, lack of response A nearly $64 million luxury apartment complex that close to 500 people call home, but somehow, security seems to fall through the cracks.
Photo via Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0 MIAMI (AP) – Donald Trump repeatedly accused President Barack Obama of founding the Islamic State group on Thursday, refusing to take back a patently false allegation, despite the urging of some of his allies to do so. A day after lobbing the attack against the president during a rowdy rally, Trump pressed ahead during a round of interviews. He brushed off conservative radio commentator Hugh Hewitt’s attempt to reframe Trump’s observation as one that said Obama’s foreign policy created the conditions in Iraq and Syria that allowed IS to thrive. “No, I meant he’s the founder of ISIS. I do,” Trump said, using another acronym for the extremist group that has wreaked havoc from the Middle East to European cities. Hewitt asked Trump if he would acknowledge that Obama hates the Islamic State, noting that the president is “trying to kill them.” Over the past two years Obama has organized a broad coalition of countries and launched more than 10,000 U.S. airstrikes to defeat IS. “I don’t care,” Trump replied. “He was the founder. The way he got out of Iraq – that was the founding of ISIS, OK?” In a later speech to homebuilders in Miami on Thursday, he said Clinton would be given “the most valuable player award” by IS. “Her only competition is Barack Obama,” he said. He later added of Clinton, “Oh boy, is ISIS hoping for her.” Clinton’s campaign accused Trump of “trash-talking” the U.S. while failing to present any serious counter-terrorism plans of his own. Jake Sullivan, Clinton’s top policy aide, called Trump’s accusation a “false claim” and drew a connection to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Once again, he’s echoing the talking points of Putin and our adversaries to attack American leaders and American interests,” Sullivan said. In the interview with Hewitt, Trump did acknowledge the root of his argument was that if Obama “had done things property, you wouldn’t have had ISIS.” But he then added, “Therefore, he was the founder if ISIS.” Trump had previously said Clinton founded the militant group, but shifted the blame to Obama on Wednesday during a rally in Florida. “In many respects, you know, they honor President Obama,” Trump said Wednesday during a raucous campaign rally outside Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “He is the founder of ISIS,” he said, repeating the allegation three more times for emphasis. Trump also pointedly referred to the president by his full legal name: Barack Hussein Obama. The accusation – and his use of the president’s middle name, Hussein – echoed previous instances where he’s questioned Obama’s religious faith? and loyalties to the country. In June, when a shooter who claimed allegiance to IS killed 49 people in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, Trump seemed to suggest Obama was sympathetic to the group when he said Obama “doesn’t get it, or he gets it better than anybody understands.” In the past, Trump has also falsely suggested Obama is a Muslim or was born in Kenya, where Obama’s father was from. The president, a Christian, was born in Hawaii. As he works to keep his campaign message on track, Trump in recent days has sometimes tried to clarify controversial statements by arguing he was being misinterpreted. But given the opportunity Thursday morning by Hewitt and others to take back the claim that Obama founded the terror group, Trump did the opposite. “He was the founder, absolutely the founder,” Trump said on CNBC. “In fact he gets the – in sports, they have awards. He gets the most valuable player award.” Trump has long blamed Obama and his former secretary of state – Clinton – for their Mideast policy. Republicans believe that the U.S. decision to leave Iraq in 2011 created a power vacuum that allowed al-Qaida in Iraq, a subsidiary of the larger terror group al-Qaida, to morph into the 30,000-strong Islamic State group that in 2014 seized a third of Syria and Iraq. The U.S. has led a coalition of a dozen Western and Arab countries in a sustained airstrike campaign – backed by Iraqi ground forces – that have cut the group in half and cost it 45 percent of its territory. Yet, the group still inspires or backs terror attacks around the world. The White House declined to comment on Trump’s accusation. The Islamic State group began as Iraq’s local affiliate of al-Qaida, the group that attacked the U.S. on Sept. 11, 2001. But the group carried out massive attacks against Iraq’s Shiite Muslim majority, fueling tensions with al-Qaida’s central leadership, which blames its grievances on the West. The local group’s then-leader, Jordanian-born Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in 2006 in a U.S. airstrike but is still seen as the Islamic State group’s founder.