12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidaysFort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
NAPLES 12-year-old collecting donations for the needy during the holidays A 12-year-old Naples boy isn’t worried about what he’s getting for Christmas. Instead, he’s working on his 6th annual “Holiday Sock Drive.”
Fort Myers man facing homelessness before the holidays A 75-year-old man is on the brink of homelessness despite working over 80 hours a week.
NAPLES Adoptee uses non-profit to provide suitcases for foster children This holiday season, a Naples woman is on a mission to bring foster children something many take for granted: a suitcase filled with dignity.
MARCO ISLAND City of Marco Island discusses lead awareness during city council meeting The city of Marco Island sent out 4900 letters to residents warning them that their pipes could contain plastic or lead.
NAPLES The future of electric planes in Southwest Florida Features of living near an airport include persistent headache-inducing engine rumbles and foul-smelling jet fuel, but electric planes could play a part in the solution.
PORT CHARLOTTE Neighbors awaiting answers on Port Charlotte Beach Park repairs Neighbors said a contractor hired by the Florida Division of Emergency Management mishandled the boats at Port Charlotte Beach Park.
FGCU introduces new technology for cognitive health screenings Ten minutes. That’s all it takes for doctors to assess how well you remember, how quickly you learn things, and how your brain is working overall.
WINK Investigates: Disgraced contractor faces new lawsuits and allegations Paul Beattie, a disgraced home builder is back doing business but legal challenges continue as another one of his businesses gets sued. Former employees of Beattie speak out, only to WINK.
SWFL reacts to UNC hiring Bill Belichick Southwest Florida reacts to North Carolina hiring Bill Belichick as its new head football coach and how that could impact the decisions of local recruits.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Some Floridians want more alone time during the holidays The holidays are all about spending time with family and friends, but nearly half of Americans say they really want more alone time during the holiday.
LABELLE Hendry County rolls out cameras for school speed zones The Hendry County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a new way of enforcing school zone speed limits by using cameras that will target drivers traveling over a certain speed in a school zone.
Aggressive driving concerns on the rise in Southwest Florida The arrest of a man who, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said, killed a motorcyclist after crashing into him on purpose is raising concerns over aggressive driving in Southwest Florida.
SANIBEL Sanibel School students prepare for community Christmas performance The school that has had to claw and fight its way back more than once to reopen is getting the chance to celebrate.
FORT MYERS Rock For Equality: SWFL music scene to hold benefit concert for Palestine A two-venue, eight-band benefit concert is coming to Southwest Florida.
NAPLES Naples man sentenced in deadly bar shooting A man has been sentenced for a deadly shooting that took place at a Naples bar in March 2021.
Stock traders wear New Year’s 2020 party glasses at the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2019. Stocks slipped globally in quiet New Year’s Eve trading Tuesday with many markets closed. Wall Street could close 2019 with back-to-back daily losses in a year that the U.S. posted the largest market gains since 2013. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) Stocks are closing out their best year since 2013 led by huge gains in technology stocks. The benchmark S&P 500 index soared 28.9% for the year. Major indexes ended slightly higher Tuesday after spending most of the day wavering between small gains and losses. Technology and health care stocks led the gainers. The S&P 500 rose 9 points, or 0.3%, to 3,230. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 76 points, or 9.3%, to 28,538. The Nasdaq rose 26 points, or 0.3%, to 8,972. Bond prices fell, sending yields higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.92%.indexes THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Major U.S. stock indexes edged mostly lower Tuesday afternoon in light trading ahead of the New Year’s Day holiday. Wall Street was closing the books on a blockbuster 2019, with the broader market on track for its best performance in six years. Industrial companies, household goods makers and health care stocks led the selling, outweighing gains in real estate, materials and energy companies. Bond prices fell, sending yields higher. Gold rose and crude oil fell. The S&P 500 is on pace to finish the year up 28.5%, its biggest annual gain since 2013. The benchmark index has risen for five straight weeks, hitting a number of all-time highs along the way. It’s on track to close out December with its fourth consecutive monthly gain. The market’s trajectory to a strong finish for the year began in October as stocks emerged from a late-summer slump caused by fears that the U.S. economy could be headed for a recession. Those concerns eased as investors drew encouragement from surprisingly good third-quarter corporate earnings, a third interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and other data showing the economy was not slowing as much as economists had feared. A truce in the 17-month U.S.-China trade war helped keep investors in a buying mood through the end of the year. Washington and Beijing announced in December they reached an agreement over a “Phase 1” trade deal that calls for the U.S. to reduce tariffs and China to buy larger quantities of U.S. farm products. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump tweeted that he will sign the initial trade deal with China at the White House next month. He also said he plans to travel to Beijing at a later date to open talks on other sticking points in the U.S.-China trade relationship that remain to be worked out, including Chinese practices the U.S. complains unfairly favor its own companies. KEEPING SCORE: The S&P 500 was down less than 0.1% as of 2:38 p.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 32 points, or 0.1%, to 28,429. The index is up 21.9% this year. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%. The index, which is heavily weighted with technology stocks, is on pace for a full-year gain of 35%. Smaller company stocks fared better than the rest of the market, sending the Russell 2000 index 0.5% higher. The Russell is on pace to end the year with a 24% gain. U.S. markets are open for a full trading day before the New Year’s Day holiday on Wednesday. They re-open Thursday. GOING TO COURT? Shares in McDermott International slumped 12.2% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the engineering company is considering filing for bankruptcy. CALL THE DOCTOR: Health care sector stocks accounted for a big slice of the selling Tuesday, with shares in several health insurers moving lower. Anthem slid 1.5% Humana dropped 0.6%. BOND YIELDS: Bond prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.92% from 1.89% late Thursday. MILESTONES APLENTY: The S&P 500 has set record highs 35 times this year, up from 19 last year. The benchmark index closed above 3,000 points for the first time in September. The Dow, which climbed above the 28,000 mark for the first time in November, has set 22 record highs this year, eclipsing the 15 it set in 2018. The Nasdaq, which closed above 9,000 for the first time in late December, has marked 31 new highs this year, beating last year’s 16 times. TECH’S BIG YEAR: Technology stocks have helped power the broader market’s gains this year. Tech is on track to finish 2019 with a gain of about 47.5%, well ahead of the other 10 sectors in the S&P 500. BANKING ON BANKS: Financial sector stocks, especially big banks, posted strong gains in 2019, despite a sharp pullback in interest rates. The sector is up 28.8% for the year, while JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup are each up over 40%. COMMODITIES: Benchmark U.S. crude oil lost 57 cents to $61.11 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, gave up 65 cents to $66.02 per barrel. The price of gold rose $4.70 to $1,523.30 per ounce. MARKETS OVERSEAS: Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.6%, while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.1%. Germany’s markets were closed. In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index lost 0.5%, while in Australia the S&P ASX 200 declined 1.7%. Many markets, including those in Tokyo and Seoul, have already ended trading for 2019.