How to support small businesses on Small Business Saturday in Southwest FloridaMoney saving apps that should be on your phone this holiday season
WINK NEWS How to support small businesses on Small Business Saturday in Southwest Florida After hitting the big Black Friday sales at major retailers, BBB encourages consumers to check out small businesses participating SBS.
Money saving apps that should be on your phone this holiday season Black Friday has begun, and an estimated 74% of people are expected to turn out for holiday deals; however, inflation may dampen plans this season.
Making Melodies: How a SWFL teen is putting her musical talents to charitable use The moment Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas music begins, as WINK News speaks with a talented teenager about how she’s putting her musical talents to good use.
the weather authority Cold front brings a few showers this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a cold front accompanied by showers throughout this Friday afternoon and evening.
Black Friday store hours for 2024 Stores will offer some of the best deals of the year on Black Friday. Here are some of the store hours for Black Friday.
FORT MYERS Southwest Florida shoppers shopping last minute for Thanksgiving Last-minute Thanksgiving shoppers, we’ve all been there. Someone forgot the egg nog, the cranberry sauce or wine to deal with the in-laws.
FORT MYERS South Carolina women’s basketball team in town The defending champs are in Southwest Florida.
AVE MARIA Ave Maria man thankful to be alive after taking bullet for a family An Ave Maria man said he’s thankful to be alive this Thanksgiving after taking a bullet to save a mother and her four children from a violent attacker.
CAPE CORAL At least 2 injured in Cape Coral crash At least two people were injured during a crash on Burnt Store Road and Caloosa Parkway in Cape Coral on Thursday evening.
WINK News meteorologist lives out her dream at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade It’s like a game of Where’s Waldo, but this time, all our eyes here at WINK were looking for a certain little leaf.
FORT MYERS A community Thanksgiving in Fort Myers Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what we have and what we have to give.
NAPLES Collier County Disaster Recovery Center to close The disaster recovery center opened for those affected by Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene, and Hurricane Debby.
CAPE CORAL K-9 officer, who served Cape Coral Police Department for 15 years, passes away The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the passing of retired K-9 Officer Todd Salmon.
Bishop Verot cheerleaders march in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Cheerleaders from Bishop Verot High School graced television screens across the nation as they marched through the streets of New York City in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
WINK NEWS Driving safely during Thanksgiving holiday in Southwest Florida Most people drive to their Thanksgiving destination on Thanksgiving Day, and nearly 72 million people are expected to get behind the wheel.
WINK NEWS How to support small businesses on Small Business Saturday in Southwest Florida After hitting the big Black Friday sales at major retailers, BBB encourages consumers to check out small businesses participating SBS.
Money saving apps that should be on your phone this holiday season Black Friday has begun, and an estimated 74% of people are expected to turn out for holiday deals; however, inflation may dampen plans this season.
Making Melodies: How a SWFL teen is putting her musical talents to charitable use The moment Thanksgiving is over, the Christmas music begins, as WINK News speaks with a talented teenager about how she’s putting her musical talents to good use.
the weather authority Cold front brings a few showers this Friday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a cold front accompanied by showers throughout this Friday afternoon and evening.
Black Friday store hours for 2024 Stores will offer some of the best deals of the year on Black Friday. Here are some of the store hours for Black Friday.
FORT MYERS Southwest Florida shoppers shopping last minute for Thanksgiving Last-minute Thanksgiving shoppers, we’ve all been there. Someone forgot the egg nog, the cranberry sauce or wine to deal with the in-laws.
FORT MYERS South Carolina women’s basketball team in town The defending champs are in Southwest Florida.
AVE MARIA Ave Maria man thankful to be alive after taking bullet for a family An Ave Maria man said he’s thankful to be alive this Thanksgiving after taking a bullet to save a mother and her four children from a violent attacker.
CAPE CORAL At least 2 injured in Cape Coral crash At least two people were injured during a crash on Burnt Store Road and Caloosa Parkway in Cape Coral on Thursday evening.
WINK News meteorologist lives out her dream at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade It’s like a game of Where’s Waldo, but this time, all our eyes here at WINK were looking for a certain little leaf.
FORT MYERS A community Thanksgiving in Fort Myers Thanksgiving is about being grateful for what we have and what we have to give.
NAPLES Collier County Disaster Recovery Center to close The disaster recovery center opened for those affected by Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene, and Hurricane Debby.
CAPE CORAL K-9 officer, who served Cape Coral Police Department for 15 years, passes away The Cape Coral Police Department has announced the passing of retired K-9 Officer Todd Salmon.
Bishop Verot cheerleaders march in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Cheerleaders from Bishop Verot High School graced television screens across the nation as they marched through the streets of New York City in the 2024 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
WINK NEWS Driving safely during Thanksgiving holiday in Southwest Florida Most people drive to their Thanksgiving destination on Thanksgiving Day, and nearly 72 million people are expected to get behind the wheel.
A Blue origin vessel launching. Credit: CBS Riding his own rocket, Amazon and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos streaked into space Tuesday on a thrilling 10-minute up-and-down flight, a high-tech joyride that sets the stage for the start of commercial passenger service later this year. Competing head to head with fellow billionaire Richard Branson, who flew into space aboard his Virgin Galactic rocketplane July 11, Bezos blasted off with his brother Mark and two history-making passengers: 82-year-old aviation pioneer Wally Funk, the oldest person to fly in space, and Oliver Daemen, an 18-year-old Dutch student who is the youngest ever to fly in space. Funk, who was barred from NASA’s initially all-male astronaut corps in the 1960s, finally got her chance to prove the naysayers wrong, realizing a lifelong dream. The crew lifted off from the company’s West Texas launch site at 9:12 a.m. EDT. Climbing straight up atop 110,000 pounds of push, the rocket rapidly accelerated as it consumed its load of supercold liquid oxygen and hydrogen propellants, pushing the passengers back in their recliner-style seats with about three times the normal force of gravity. Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket launches on July 20, 2021, carrying passengers Jeff Bezos, founder of Blue Origin and Amazon, his brother Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk. Credit: Tony Gutierrez / AP In a little more than two minutes, the spacecraft was shooting skyward at three times the speed of sound, dwindling to a blur more than 30 miles up. A few seconds later, at an altitude of about 45 miles, the booster’s company-designed BE-3 main engine shut down and the crew capsule was released to fly on its own. Coasting upward along an unpowered ballistic trajectory, Bezos and his crewmates enjoyed about three minutes of weightlessness, free to unstrap and float about the cabin as it reached a high point of just above 62 miles. That’s the internationally recognized “boundary” between the aerodynamically discernible atmosphere and space, a distinction recognized by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, a Switzerland-based organization that sanctions aerospace records. Branson’s Virgin Galactic spaceplane flies slightly lower but well above the 50-mile altitude recognized as the boundary of space by NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration. In any case, Bezos and his crewmates would have time to turn somersaults and briefly cavort in weightlessness while marveling at spectacular views of Earth’s curved horizon and the blackness of space through the capsule’s six windows, the largest ever built into a spacecraft. “There’s actually a light that the astronauts see on their panels,” said capsule designer Gary Lai. “And one second after we separate (from the booster), that fasten seatbelt light basically goes off and they’re free to move about the cabin.” The reusable New Shepard booster, meanwhile, headed back to Earth on its own, plunging tail first toward a landing pad two miles from the launch site. The rocket relied on deployable air brakes and steering fins to maintain its orientation before re-igniting its BE-3 engine, unfolding four hinged legs and settling to a picture-perfect landing. Meanwhile, aboard the crew capsule, Bezos and company strapped back in while weightlessness gave way to atmospheric braking that pressed the crew back into their seats with about four times the normal force of gravity. Lai said the transition from weightlessness to re-entry deceleration was not a sudden change and that the crew had have plenty of time to get back in their seats. “It’s about three minutes before the astronauts get a warning to get back into their seats,” he explained in an interview prior to launch. “And at that point, they have about 30 seconds.” He described it as a “very leisurely process.” “All they have to do is be sitting in the seat and then as the G forces come on it will naturally push them back in the seat so there is plenty of time to buckle back in,” he said. Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule parachutes safely down to landing with passengers Jeff Bezos, Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk onboard, near Van Horn, Texas, on July 20, 2021. Credit: Tony Gutierrez / AP All of that apparently went well and the capsule soon was falling freely back towards Earth. At a predicted altitude of about 3,000 feet, three large parachutes unfurled and inflated, slowing the New Shepard’s descent to about 16 mph. Then, just six feet or so off the ground, nitrogen-powered thrusters fired, slowing the capsule to just 1 mph and kicking up a roiling cloud of dust as the spacecraft gently touched down at 9:22 a.m. EDT. Jeff Bezos gives a thumbs-up inside the crew capsule moments after landing. Credit: Blue Origin via AP Blue Origin recovery crews converged on the capsule within minutes of touchdown to open the hatch and help the returning astronauts exit. All four emerged in obvious high spirits, smiling and hugging support personnel before heading back to prepare for a news conference and interviews. It was the 16th successful test flight of a New Shepard spacecraft, the third for this booster and capsule, and Blue Origin’s first with passengers on board. And it all appeared to go off without a hitch. Jeff Bezos exits Blue Origin’s New Shepard capsule after it parachuted safely down to landing near Van Horn, Texas, after its first passenger spaceflight on July 20, 2021. Credit: Blue Origin via AP “Safety is definitely priority one,” Lai said. “We set out to create the safest human spaceflight vehicle ever designed or built or operated, and we think we have succeeded.” Blue Origin plans to launch two more passenger flights before the end of the year, but ticket prices have not been revealed. The cost of a flight aboard Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane is believed to be around $250,000 but both companies hope the market will support economies of scale and lower prices down the road. Blue Origin has two New Shepard rockets and capsules available for flights, one dedicated to passenger service and the other to scientific research payloads. “We’re not done once we fly this vehicle, it’s really just the beginning,” Lai said. “We are going to ramp up operations. We’re going to have dozens and eventually hundreds and thousands of astronauts we hope fly on New Shepard. So it is just the beginning. But it is a monumental moment nevertheless.” Watch below or click here.