ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
FILE – In this Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019, file photo, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer, reacts as he finishes a day of testimony to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington. While Cohen’s testimony Wednesday is an unusual case, psychologists say people tend to believe informants because we have a “truth bias.” Psychologists say we don’t like to think people lie and we like remorse. Research shows that jurors sometimes even disregard their own biases when presented with the testimony of an informant. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) We tend to believe informants like Michael Cohen, studies show and psychologists say. It doesn’t matter if the person is behind bars or has confessed to lying, as Cohen has: Juries usually believe an informant, said Jeffrey Neuschatz, a University of Alabama psychologist who has studied jailhouse informants’ testimony for a decade. Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, pleaded guilty last year to lying to Congress. On Wednesday, he gave harsh testimony about Trump to a U.S. House committee, where he found a receptive audience from Democrats and drew the ire of Republicans who labeled him a felon and a liar. Trump, who had earlier called Cohen a “Rat” on Twitter, slammed the testimony as “fake.” Neuschatz said Cohen fits in with the informants he has studied. And “people almost reflexively believe confessions. In the case of Cohen, he’s given a sort of confession here,” Neuschatz said. “I think he came across as very credible, whether he is or not,” he added. The theory is that people tend to believe others — called “a truth bias” — unless they are given a reason not to, he said. “People tend to take what other people say at face value,” said Saul Kassin, a psychology professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Jurors sometimes even disregard their own biases, Neuschatz said. He did studies with mock jurors who said they wouldn’t trust informants who repeatedly testify against defendants. The jurors were told the informants had testified as many as 20 times, and the panelists usually believed their testimony. Another of his mock jury tests showed convictions jumped from 30 percent to 62 percent with the addition of a jailhouse informant. Informants “acknowledge that they have done misdeeds and say ‘now you should believe me.’ That seems to me what Cohen did,” Neuschatz said. And then people think “no one would be admitting to doing something they didn’t do, so they must be telling the truth,” Neuschatz said. In court, when jurors think an informant has little to gain or even is hurt by coming forward, they are more likely to believe the person, the experts said. That’s why University of Massachusetts psychology professor Robert Feldman, who has studied everyday lying for 30 years, said he believes Cohen: “He doesn’t have much to gain by lying,” he said. He said when he evaluates people, his key question is: “What would the lie get you?” Cohen has already been sentenced to three years in prison, though he could have it reduced later at the request of prosecutors because of cooperation. There is one added confusing factor in the Cohen case: politics. With politics, Kassin said, “people see what they expect to see,” so Democrats will tend to believe Cohen and Republicans won’t. ___ Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter at @borenbears ___ This Associated Press series was produced in partnership with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.