Mega Millions jackpot surges over $1B; next drawing set for FridayWarmer temperatures and isolated showers for your Thursday plans
wink news Mega Millions jackpot surges over $1B; next drawing set for Friday The elusive Mega Millions jackpot has evaded players this holiday season as the prize money has ballooned to $1.15 billion.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warmer temperatures and isolated showers for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking warmer temperatures along with isolated showers expected throughout this Thursday afternoon.
PORT CHARLOTTE Families visit Santa’s Village in Port Charlotte for Christmas The holiday magic is in full swing at Santa’s Village. There are holiday lights, food, and plenty of families making some holiday memories
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter volunteers distribute gifts to cats and dogs Christmas is meant to be merry, but for dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes it can be anything but.
NAPLES Dozens volunteer to feed over 500 people at St. Matthew’s House The St. Matthews House fed nearly 500 people hot and traditional holiday meals at their Naples shelter on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL Project Siren; Cape Coral chaplain praying for first responders The sound of sirens, life and death hang in the balance. A cape coral chaplain bows his head and says a prayer.
FORT MYERS Residents celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day Hanukkah begins Wednesday with the lighting of the first candle. Each night, another candle will be lit until all eight shine bright.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood residents still recovering from hurricanes on Christmas Neighbors on Lemon Bay Drive in Englewood said their homes had never seen a drop of a water from a hurricane until 2024.
FORT MYERS Dr. Piper Center hosts annual Christmas Celebration Dozens of children are enjoying new bicycles on Christmas day thanks to the generosity of the Dr. Piper Center.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 25, 2024 This weekly Most Wanted Wednesday WINK News segment features fugitives from justice in Southwest Florida.
Spending the holidays with first responders For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with family, but one group is making sure our families are staying safe.
More clouds and a few showers for your Christmas Day plans The Weather Authority is tracking more clouds on Christmas day than we saw on Christmas Eve and the chance for a few showers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Adoptive family spends first Christmas together Family come in all shapes and sizes but all share one common thing, their love for each other. One southwest Florida woman couldn’t have kids, so she built her family through adoption and fostering.
PUNTA GORDA Man accused of shooting man at Punta Gorda motel A man has been arrested after allegedly shooting another man during a physical dispute at a Punta Gorda motel.
What’s open and closed on Christmas Day in SWFL On Christmas Day, many businesses and services are closed, including most retail stores, offices, and government buildings.
wink news Mega Millions jackpot surges over $1B; next drawing set for Friday The elusive Mega Millions jackpot has evaded players this holiday season as the prize money has ballooned to $1.15 billion.
THE WEATHER AUTHORITY Warmer temperatures and isolated showers for your Thursday plans The Weather Authority is tracking warmer temperatures along with isolated showers expected throughout this Thursday afternoon.
PORT CHARLOTTE Families visit Santa’s Village in Port Charlotte for Christmas The holiday magic is in full swing at Santa’s Village. There are holiday lights, food, and plenty of families making some holiday memories
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral Animal Shelter volunteers distribute gifts to cats and dogs Christmas is meant to be merry, but for dogs and cats waiting for their forever homes it can be anything but.
NAPLES Dozens volunteer to feed over 500 people at St. Matthew’s House The St. Matthews House fed nearly 500 people hot and traditional holiday meals at their Naples shelter on Wednesday.
CAPE CORAL Project Siren; Cape Coral chaplain praying for first responders The sound of sirens, life and death hang in the balance. A cape coral chaplain bows his head and says a prayer.
FORT MYERS Residents celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas on the same day Hanukkah begins Wednesday with the lighting of the first candle. Each night, another candle will be lit until all eight shine bright.
ENGLEWOOD Englewood residents still recovering from hurricanes on Christmas Neighbors on Lemon Bay Drive in Englewood said their homes had never seen a drop of a water from a hurricane until 2024.
FORT MYERS Dr. Piper Center hosts annual Christmas Celebration Dozens of children are enjoying new bicycles on Christmas day thanks to the generosity of the Dr. Piper Center.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Most Wanted Wednesday: Southwest Florida’s most wanted suspects for December 25, 2024 This weekly Most Wanted Wednesday WINK News segment features fugitives from justice in Southwest Florida.
Spending the holidays with first responders For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with family, but one group is making sure our families are staying safe.
More clouds and a few showers for your Christmas Day plans The Weather Authority is tracking more clouds on Christmas day than we saw on Christmas Eve and the chance for a few showers.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Adoptive family spends first Christmas together Family come in all shapes and sizes but all share one common thing, their love for each other. One southwest Florida woman couldn’t have kids, so she built her family through adoption and fostering.
PUNTA GORDA Man accused of shooting man at Punta Gorda motel A man has been arrested after allegedly shooting another man during a physical dispute at a Punta Gorda motel.
What’s open and closed on Christmas Day in SWFL On Christmas Day, many businesses and services are closed, including most retail stores, offices, and government buildings.
Darren Harrison landed a plane at Palm Beach International Airport after the pilot collapsed at the controls. WPEC-TV A Florida man with no flying experience who kept his cool while landing a small plane last week says “the hand of God” was with him after the pilot collapsed at the controls. Meanwhile, a doctor told NBC’s “Today” show that the pilot has been released from the hospital, calling his recovery a “miracle.” Darren Harrison told “Today” that he was relaxing with his feet up in the back of the single-engine Cessna after a fishing trip in the Bahamas when the pilot told him and another passenger: “Guys, I gotta tell you I don’t feel good.” “He said, ‘I’ve got a headache and I’m fuzzy and I just don’t feel right,” the 39-year-old flooring salesman said. “And I said, ‘What do we need to do?’ and at that point, he didn’t respond at all.” Harrison climbed into the cockpit and saw that the plane was diving, and fast. “All I saw when I came up to the front was water out the right window and I knew it was coming quick,” he said. “At that point, I knew if I didn’t react that we would die.” Harrison said he reached over the unconscious pilot and grabbed the controls, slowly pulling back the stick to level the plane. It was a common-sense move, he said. “I knew if I went up and yanked that, the airplane would stall,” he said. “And I also knew that at the rate we were going, we were going way too fast, and it would probably rip the wings off of the airplane.” That, he said, was “the scariest part of the whole story.” The pilot who suddenly became unconscious mid-flight due to a catastrophic cardiac event is now out of the hospital and resting, all thanks to the heroic landing by passenger Darren Harrison. @SavannahGuthrie has more from her exclusive interview with Harrison. pic.twitter.com/aHTDY8znUr — TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 17, 2022 With help from the other passenger — a friend of the pilot, he said — they moved him out of the pilot’s seat. Harrison jumped in and put on the headset, only to realize that the wires were frayed and the plug was gone. So he got the headset from the other passenger. He reached an air traffic controller in Florida. In air traffic audio obtained by CBS News, Harrison can be heard saying: “I’ve got a serious situation here. My pilot has gone incoherent. I have no idea how to fly the airplane.” Asked if he knew the plane’s position, Harrison said the GPS was out so he had no idea. According to Flight Aware, the plane had taken off earlier Tuesday from Marsh Harbour International Airport in the Bahamas. The air traffic controller then asked what he could see. “I see the state of Florida and I see a small airport,” Harrison told him. At this point, he refused to let fear set in. “When I was flying and saw the state of Florida, at that second I knew I’m going to land there,” he said. “I don’t know what the outcome’s going to be, I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but I knew I’m going to have to land this airplane because there’s no other option.” Harrison said he had to get home to his wife Britney, who is seven months pregnant with their first child. “People said what if you had crashed and died? You could have at least called her, you could have reached out to her, you had time,” Harrison said. “In my mind, I knew I wasn’t going to die, and the thought never crossed my mind to call and tell my wife ‘bye.'” Air Traffic Controller Robert Morgan, who coached Harrison into a safe landing at Palm Beach International Airport, told him the runway would appear bigger and bigger as he approached. At around 200 feet, Harrison said Morgan told him he needed to slow down. “At that point, I told the other guy, ‘Hey, take the throttle and dump it on the floor. Just dump it on the floor as far as it will go,'” Harrison said. The plane touched down safely. “I said thank you for everything and I threw the headset on the dash and I said the biggest prayer I’ve ever said in my life,” Harrison recalled. “That’s when all the emotion set in,” he added. He said he offered up a “thankful prayer for the safety and everything that had happened. But the last part of the prayer and the strongest part was for the guy in the back because I knew it was not a good situation.” Harrison then called his wife, who wasn’t expecting to hear from him so early. She said that last year, her sister was six months pregnant when her husband died, “so honestly I took a deep breath and prepared myself for it not to be him on the other line.” “I told myself, ‘God we can’t do this again. I don’t think I could do it again.’ And thankfully we didn’t have to.” The pilot, who has not been identified, underwent surgery for aortic dissection and is resting at home, a doctor at Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center told “Today.” “50% of patients won’t make it to the hospital, and then 50% of patients that do make it to the hospital will pass away within 24 hours without prompt diagnosis and treatment,” Patel told the show Tuesday.