LCSO searching for family of wandering non-verbal teen in Lehigh AcresProposal to rename Seahawk Park in Cape Coral
LEHIGH ACRES LCSO searching for family of wandering non-verbal teen in Lehigh Acres Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies are seeking the family members of a young boy found between the ages of 13 and 16 years old.
FORT MYERS Southwest Florida Ag Expo brings agriculture and fun to Fort Myers Fort Myers is holding the Southwest Florida Ag Expo, which promises a mix of agriculture, entertainment, and education this year.
CAPE CORAL Proposal to rename Seahawk Park in Cape Coral The City of Cape Coral Parks and Recreation Department has proposed renaming Seahawk Park to Seahawk Airfield at Festival Park.
Lee County student accused of making school threat A student from Cypress Lake High School is facing charges for making school threats.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm and breezy this Wednesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a warm and breezy Wednesday with increased cloud coverage.
miami beach Gov. DeSantis annouces Freedom Boater Initative Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced several marine incentives boaters may take advantage of ahead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 2025 Miami Beach International Boat Show.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Drivers react to newly opened intersection on Colonial Blvd. The dreaded drive through one of our busiest intersections has been the focus of several construction projects.
Dinosaur from Shell Factory finds new home in Saint James City marina A dinosaur has found a new home at the soon-to-be Nauti-Dolphin Marina in Saint James City, Florida. This prehistoric attraction is already drawing attention even though it’s the only thing currently on the property. Dean Zoner, owner of the Nauti-Dolphin Marina, acquired the dinosaur from the Shell Factory, a local business that was going out […]
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Community raises concerns about Clewiston Animal Services The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office to work with ICE to catch SWFL suspects State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
LEHIGH ACRES LCSO searching for family of wandering non-verbal teen in Lehigh Acres Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies are seeking the family members of a young boy found between the ages of 13 and 16 years old.
FORT MYERS Southwest Florida Ag Expo brings agriculture and fun to Fort Myers Fort Myers is holding the Southwest Florida Ag Expo, which promises a mix of agriculture, entertainment, and education this year.
CAPE CORAL Proposal to rename Seahawk Park in Cape Coral The City of Cape Coral Parks and Recreation Department has proposed renaming Seahawk Park to Seahawk Airfield at Festival Park.
Lee County student accused of making school threat A student from Cypress Lake High School is facing charges for making school threats.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warm and breezy this Wednesday afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a warm and breezy Wednesday with increased cloud coverage.
miami beach Gov. DeSantis annouces Freedom Boater Initative Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced several marine incentives boaters may take advantage of ahead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the 2025 Miami Beach International Boat Show.
WINK NEWS Web Exclusive: Rachel Cox-Rosen’s Construction Heads Up As construction may dampen your commute, WINK News traffic anchor Rachel Cox Rosen knows the best way to traverse the roadways in this web-exclusive feature.
FORT MYERS Drivers react to newly opened intersection on Colonial Blvd. The dreaded drive through one of our busiest intersections has been the focus of several construction projects.
Dinosaur from Shell Factory finds new home in Saint James City marina A dinosaur has found a new home at the soon-to-be Nauti-Dolphin Marina in Saint James City, Florida. This prehistoric attraction is already drawing attention even though it’s the only thing currently on the property. Dean Zoner, owner of the Nauti-Dolphin Marina, acquired the dinosaur from the Shell Factory, a local business that was going out […]
Florida lawmakers to vote on revamped Governor backed immigration bill on Thursday The House and Senate are set to vote on a new immigration bill on Thursday. The bill aims to address illegal immigration and support federal mass deportation efforts.
CLEWISTON Community raises concerns about Clewiston Animal Services The Clewiston Animal Shelter has made significant improvements, but there is still work to be done to bring conditions to a more humane level.
Collier County beachgoers react to Gulf of America name change The Gulf of Mexico has been officially renamed the “Gulf of America” following an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood Beach’s closure impacts local economy; businesses seek answers Business owners on Englewood Beach are growing increasingly anxious as they await the reopening of the beach, which has been closed since hurricanes Helene and Milton.
FORT MYERS BEACH Food truck park proposal on Estero Blvd divides Fort Myers Beach locals The Fort Myers Beach Local Planning Agency recently voted on whether to transform a vacant lot on Estero Boulevard into a food truck park.
Collier County Sheriff’s Office to work with ICE to catch SWFL suspects State lawmakers are working on a new immigration bill. Here in Southwest Florida, one county has been following strict guidelines on illegal immigration for quite some time.
FILE – Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks with Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, right, before Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Munich Security Conference, on Feb. 19, 2022, in Munich. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool, File) As Russia intensified its aggression toward neighboring Ukraine earlier this week, Republican Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio blasted President Vladimir Putin’s provocations as a “clear violation of international law.” The co-chair of the Senate’s Ukraine Caucus urged the Biden administration to work with allies to “ensure a coordinated response to this unwarranted continued incursion on sovereign territory of Ukraine.” But one of the Republicans running to replace the retiring Portman had a very different message. “I gotta be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another,” J.D. Vance said in a podcast interview. “I’m sick of Joe Biden focusing on the border of a country I don’t care about while he lets the border of his own country become a total war zone.” The divergent responses to Europe’s most significant foreign policy crisis in generations reflects a divided — and rapidly changing — Republican Party. An old guard, largely centered in Washington, that has long warned of Russian aggression is confronting an ascendant generation of conservatives who openly question why the U.S. should care about Russia’s moves at all. “All of these people came up in a party where standing up tough against Russia was a prime directive,” Doug Heye, a longtime GOP strategist, said of the divide. “It shows how our politics have gotten wayward over the last few years.” The GOP’s approach to foreign policy took on new urgency after Putin on Thursday launched a military operation in Ukraine. In the runup to that action, the party’s division was a reminder of Donald Trump’s enduring impact on the GOP long after his departure from the White House. The former president remains the most popular figure among the GOP base and is already wielding his influence in the midterm primaries that begin next week as he teases another presidential run. Those races could yield similarly minded Republicans who will head into the fall campaign positioned to succeed foreign policy traditionalists like Portman. The annual Conservative Political Action Conference that got underway in Florida on Thursday offered a preview of what’s to come as leaders focused their ire on both President Joe Biden’s handling of foreign policy and Putin’s norm-breaking aggression. “We have a national leadership that I think at a certain point is probably criminally incompetent,” said K.T. McFarland, the former deputy national security adviser under Trump. “They are unable to stop what Vladimir Putin is doing.” While slapping at the American president, she raised more serious concerns about Russia’s leader. “My concern is it doesn’t just stop with Ukraine. It goes on,” McFarland said. “Will he next threaten NATO? His lifelong objective has been to dismantle NATO, to separate the United States from Europe and to recreate the Soviet Union.” For now, those questioning why the U.S. should care about Ukrainian security remain a small, if highly influential, and vocal segment of the conservative movement. Congressional Republicans, especially those in the Senate, have been largely united in speaking out against Russian aggression, with some like Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas advocating a more aggressive posture and calling Biden’s response “timid” and “wholly unequal to this moment.” Almost all have become increasingly critical of Biden as tensions ramp up during a crucial midterm election year. But those dismissing American involvement have powerful platforms. Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the network’s biggest star, who reaches several million viewers each night, has repeatedly questioned why defending Ukraine is important and even asked why the U.S. should side with them and not Putin. Candace Owens, a prominent conservative commentator, has gone even further, openly parroting Putin’s talking points. “I suggest every American who wants to know what’s (asterisk)actually(asterisk) going on in Russia and Ukraine, read this transcript of Putin’s address. As I’ve said for month — NATO (under direction from the United States) is violating previous agreements and expanding eastward. WE are at fault,” she tweeted Tuesday. On Wednesday night, as the sound of explosions rang out through Kyiv, Kharkiv and other areas of Ukraine, Trump called the scene a “terrible situation” and insisted Putin never would have moved on his watch. “He sees the weakness and the incompetence and the stupidity of this administration. And as an American I’m angry about it and I’m saddened by it,” he said, calling into Laura Ingraham’s Fox News show. “It’s a very sad thing for the world, for the country, and it’s certainly very sad for a lot of people that are going to be needlessly killed.” It was a departure from his initial public response to Putin’s escalation, in which he offered no clear condemnation and repeatedly praised the Russian leader’s savvy in an interview on “The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show.” Critics see that mindset as symptomatic of the party’s larger drift toward authoritarianism and embrace of anti-democratic action after Trump’s repeated efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election to remain in power. “They’re basically declaring their support for authoritarians and dictators and they don’t seem to have a problem with that type of ruling coming to America,” said Olivia Troye, a national security expert who advised Vice President Mike Pence in the Trump White House. “I think Americans can disagree about how best to proceed. But we should be a united front in support of freedom and democracy.” “What happened to Republicans being anti-Russia?” she added. “That used to be the thing.” From the early days of his first presidential campaign, Trump has overseen a dramatic overhaul of the GOP’s traditional foreign policy stance. He won in 2016, in part, by running against the “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan, arguing the country had gained little from the interventionism and nation-building of the neoconservative George W. Bush era. He adopted an inward-looking “America First” doctrine that sought to use a combination of tough talk and unpredictability to scare off would-be aggressors. At the same time, Trump embraced Putin, complimenting him and denigrating NATO, the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy since it was founded to counter Russia. In 2016, his allies worked to strip language from the GOP platform that supported giving weapons to Ukraine. He repeatedly sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies’ conclusions about Russia’s meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The embrace was so baffling to Russia watchers that some grew convinced the only plausible explanation was that Putin had some kind of dirt on him, speculation that has never been verified. Trump was impeached the first time for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Biden ahead of the 2020 election while withholding military aid. His tenure overlapped with a corresponding change in public opinion. Gallup found the percentage of Republicans who called Russia a friend or ally rose sharply during Trump’s presidency, increasing from 22% in 2014 to 40% in 2018. Democrats’ views of the relationship remained largely the same. Today, there is little support among Americans for a major U.S. role in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and even less among Republicans. A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found only 22% of Republicans think the U.S. should play a major role in the conflict, compared with 32% of Democrats. Republicans were also somewhat less likely than Democrats to say they’re very or extremely concerned that Russia’s influence around the world poses a direct threat to the U.S. Adam Geller, a Republican political strategist and pollster, warned that while domestic issues have generally played a more decisive role than foreign policy in recent elections, that could change. “If there’s going to be a major war in Europe, it’s going to quickly rise up in the issue matrix in the minds of voters,” he said. That would spell bad news for Biden, he said, energizing both Republicans as well as independents who voted for Biden because he’d promised a return to pre-Trump normalcy. But Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University, said there were larger issues at play, calling it unprecedented for Republicans to be questioning the need to stand with Ukraine and, ultimately, NATO. “It goes against generations of foreign policymaking,” he said. “NATO is the heart and soul of all American foreign policy.” “You undermine NATO, there is no American presence in the world,” he added. “This isn’t a squabble about foreign policy.”