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.
President Donald Trump exits the Marine One helicopter as he returns to the White House, Friday, Dec. 7, 2018, in Washington, after speaking at the 2018 Project Safe Neighborhoods National Conference. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Key pieces of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation appear to be falling into place. In three court filings Friday, prosecutors for the first time connected President Donald Trump to a crime involving hush money payments to a porn actress. They revealed new details about outreach from Russia early in Trump’s presidential campaign. They detailed how they say two central figures, lawyer Michael Cohen and onetime campaign chairman Paul Manafort , were continually tripped up by lies. Some takeaways from the latest round of court documents from Mueller’s investigation: ___ EARLY RUSSIAN OUTREACH Trump announced his presidential candidacy in June 2015. By that November, the Russians were reaching out about “political synergy.” The court papers provide new details about one of the earliest known contacts between Russia and a Trump campaign associate. In fall 2015, Cohen was months into his work on a proposed Trump Tower in Moscow when an unidentified Russian national proposed a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This person, prosecutors say, claimed to be a “trusted person” in Russia who could offer the Trump campaign “political synergy” and “synergy on a government level.” This person sought to connect the Trump business project with the campaign, saying the meeting could have a “phenomenal” impact on the proposed tower in Moscow. There is “no bigger warranty in any project than the consent of” Putin, the person told Cohen. Prosecutors say Cohen didn’t follow up and that the meeting never occurred. The outreach is more evidence that Russia was eager to build relationships with the campaign and tried to use Trump’s business as an opening. ___ TRUMP DIRECTED COHEN’S CRIME Prosecutors didn’t mince words: The campaign finance violations Cohen committed came “in coordination with and at the direction of” Trump, according to the new filings. Those violations stemmed from payments Cohen made to buy the silence of porn actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Both women alleged they had affairs with Trump, which the White House denies. Daniels was paid $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement signed days before the 2016 election. Trump has denied knowing anything about the Daniels payment. But the filing directly contradicts that claim. It also, for the first time, directly ties Trump to a federal crime. Campaign finance law requires candidates to report any payments made to influence the election. The Trump campaign failed to report the payment at the time. Prosecutors don’t say Trump broke the law and the Justice Department has maintained that a sitting president cannot be indicted. ___ PUBLIC STATEMENTS MATTER TO MUELLER At least such statements did matter to Mueller when Cohen lied to Congress, and that could have implications for other episodes under investigation in the Russia investigation. Cohen has admitted lying to Congress about how long he worked on the Trump Tower Moscow project and repeating the falsehoods to the media. But Mueller’s team doesn’t just consider this self-protection. It was a “deliberate effort” to publicly present a “false narrative” in the hopes of limiting the scope of the various Russia investigations, prosecutors say in the court papers. Mueller’s focus on public assertions and their impact on witnesses, lawmakers and ongoing investigations could serve as a warning to Trump. The president also has spread falsehoods about his campaign’s ties to Russia. The special counsel has questioned witnesses about a statement Trump dictated on Air Force One last year that omitted several details about a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting with a Russian attorney. The filing suggests Mueller intends to hold witnesses accountable for the statements made privately and publicly. If the lies are meant to influence the investigation, they may factor into Mueller’s investigation into whether Trump has tried to obstruct the probe. ___ TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CONTACTS Despite their criminal cases, the Trump administration just can’t leave Manafort or Cohen behind, according to prosecutors. In Cohen’s case, Mueller’s team said he has provided “relevant and useful” information about his contacts with people connected to the Trump White House in 2017 and 2018. With Manafort, prosecutors say he also had several recent administration contacts and lied about them. After Manafort pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with the government, prosecutors say he told them he had “no direct or indirect” contact with people in the administration. But that was a lie, they say. Instead, they found evidence, including electronic documents, showing contacts with multiple administration officials. That included communication with a “senior administration official” through February 2018. Manafort also directed a person to speak with an administration official on his “behalf” on May 26. Neither Cohen’s nor Manafort’s filings detail the content of the conversations or identify the officials. Manafort has contended he was truthful with Mueller’s team. ___ NOT JUST COHEN’S WORD Since his guilty plea, Trump has attacked Cohen as a liar who is telling “stories” to get a reduced prison sentence. But prosecutors revealed Friday that they’re not just taking Cohen’s word for it. The information Cohen told prosecutors in seven separate interviews “has been credible and consistent with other evidence obtained” in Mueller’s investigation, they note in the sentencing recommendation. Some of that information from Cohen, prosecutors say, concerns “certain discrete Russia-related matters” at the “core” of Mueller’s investigation, particularly those involving his contact with Trump Organization executives. ___ ‘LUCRATIVE’ MOSCOW DEAL Trump and his lawyers have played down the Trump Tower Moscow proposal. The president has said he never put any money into it and ultimately decided not to do it. But Mueller’s team reveals that if he did, they believe they know the windfall. According to Cohen’s filing, the deal could have yielded “hundreds of millions of dollars from Russian sources in licensing fees and other revenues.” They also note that the project’s success likely hinged on Russian government approval, which Cohen sought. ___ Associated Press writer Michael Balsamo contributed to this report.