State of Florida sues FEMA for ‘conspiracy to interfere with civil rights’Game of the Week: Cape Coral Seahawks vs. Immokalee Indians
State of Florida sues FEMA for ‘conspiracy to interfere with civil rights’ The State of Florida is suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency for “conspiring to interfere with civil rights,” according to an official complaint filed by Florida Attorney General Ashely Moody.
WINK NEWS Game of the Week: Cape Coral Seahawks vs. Immokalee Indians The Seahawks are undefeated on the road and the Indians have never lost on home turf. Friday night only one will advance to round two.
Disaster assistance available for Charlotte County residents Charlotte County residents affected by hurricanes Ian, Helene or Milton can now apply for disaster assistance from local resources through Community Organizations Active in a Disaster (COAD).
Great Wolf Lodge celebrates grand opening with Rob Gronkowski Pack your trunks. We’re taking you to the grand opening of the Great Wolf Lodge resort in Collier County.
BOCA GRANDE Lee County issues red tide alert near Boca Grande Pass The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Boca Grande Pass.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres parent arrested after allegedly assaulting school bus driver A Lehigh Acres parent is facing charges accused of assaulting a school bus driver. Neighbors told WINK News it began with a screaming match Friday afternoon.
CAPE CORAL Cape police believe retail burglaries are linked Detectives believe a man is linked to multiple burglaries in Southwest Florida.
ESTERO Driver charged with DUI after crashing SUV into restaurant in Gulf Coast Town Center The driver of an SUV that crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero has been charged with DUI.
Tesla issues sixth Cybertruck recall in a year, over 2,400 vehicles affected Tesla stock might be up, but their Cybertrucks have another recall for their drivers to deal with.
Great Wolf Lodge celebrates grand opening, economic impact in Collier County With pomp, circumstance and an appearance from retired NFL player Rob Gronkowski, Great Wolf Lodge celebrated both its grand opening and its economic impact for Collier County.
CAPE CORAL Orientation for new Cape Coral City Council members Five fresh new faces are on the Cape Coral City Council.
the weather authority Tropical Storm Sara forms in the Caribbean The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Storm Sara in the Caribbean.
Local builder Paul Beattie gives up license, agrees to pay fine Beattie Development has been accused of taking customers’ money and not completing work promised, and now the company’s owner is surrendering his license.
NAPLES Naples Botanical Garden performs prescribed burn in garden area The Naples Botanical Garden is conducting a prescribed fire as part of its maintenance of the nature preserve.
NEAR FORT MYERS Jerry Seinfeld to perform at Barbara B. Mann in SWFL Comedian and co-creator of a popular sitcom of the same name, Jerry Seinfeld, is set to perform near Fort Myers.
State of Florida sues FEMA for ‘conspiracy to interfere with civil rights’ The State of Florida is suing the Federal Emergency Management Agency for “conspiring to interfere with civil rights,” according to an official complaint filed by Florida Attorney General Ashely Moody.
WINK NEWS Game of the Week: Cape Coral Seahawks vs. Immokalee Indians The Seahawks are undefeated on the road and the Indians have never lost on home turf. Friday night only one will advance to round two.
Disaster assistance available for Charlotte County residents Charlotte County residents affected by hurricanes Ian, Helene or Milton can now apply for disaster assistance from local resources through Community Organizations Active in a Disaster (COAD).
Great Wolf Lodge celebrates grand opening with Rob Gronkowski Pack your trunks. We’re taking you to the grand opening of the Great Wolf Lodge resort in Collier County.
BOCA GRANDE Lee County issues red tide alert near Boca Grande Pass The Florida Department of Health in Lee County has issued a health alert for the presence of red tide near Boca Grande Pass.
LEHIGH ACRES Lehigh Acres parent arrested after allegedly assaulting school bus driver A Lehigh Acres parent is facing charges accused of assaulting a school bus driver. Neighbors told WINK News it began with a screaming match Friday afternoon.
CAPE CORAL Cape police believe retail burglaries are linked Detectives believe a man is linked to multiple burglaries in Southwest Florida.
ESTERO Driver charged with DUI after crashing SUV into restaurant in Gulf Coast Town Center The driver of an SUV that crashed into a restaurant at the Gulf Coast Town Center in Estero has been charged with DUI.
Tesla issues sixth Cybertruck recall in a year, over 2,400 vehicles affected Tesla stock might be up, but their Cybertrucks have another recall for their drivers to deal with.
Great Wolf Lodge celebrates grand opening, economic impact in Collier County With pomp, circumstance and an appearance from retired NFL player Rob Gronkowski, Great Wolf Lodge celebrated both its grand opening and its economic impact for Collier County.
CAPE CORAL Orientation for new Cape Coral City Council members Five fresh new faces are on the Cape Coral City Council.
the weather authority Tropical Storm Sara forms in the Caribbean The Weather Authority is tracking Tropical Storm Sara in the Caribbean.
Local builder Paul Beattie gives up license, agrees to pay fine Beattie Development has been accused of taking customers’ money and not completing work promised, and now the company’s owner is surrendering his license.
NAPLES Naples Botanical Garden performs prescribed burn in garden area The Naples Botanical Garden is conducting a prescribed fire as part of its maintenance of the nature preserve.
NEAR FORT MYERS Jerry Seinfeld to perform at Barbara B. Mann in SWFL Comedian and co-creator of a popular sitcom of the same name, Jerry Seinfeld, is set to perform near Fort Myers.
Police direct traffic outside an entrance to former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022, in Palm Beach, Fla. Trump said in a lengthy statement that the FBI was conducting a search of his Mar-a-Lago estate and asserted that agents had broken open a safe. (AP Photo/Terry Renna) The FBI searched Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into whether he took classified records from the White House to his Florida residence, people familiar with the matter said, a dramatic and unprecedented escalation of law enforcement scrutiny of the former president. Trump, disclosing the search in a lengthy statement, asserted that agents had opened a safe at his home and described their work as an “unannounced raid” that he likened to “prosecutorial misconduct.” He planned to meet later Tuesday at his Bedminster, New Jersey, club with members of the Republican Study Committee, a group headed by Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana that says it is committed to putting forth his priorities in Congress. Monday’s search intensified the months-long probe into how classified documents ended up in boxes of White House records located at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year. A separate grand jury is investigating efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, and it all adds to potential legal peril for Trump as he lays the groundwork for another run. Familiar battle lines, forged during a four-year presidency shadowed by investigations, quickly took shape again Monday night. Trump and his allies sought to cast the search as a weaponization of the criminal justice system and a Democratic-driven effort to keep him from winning another term in 2024 — though the Biden White House said it had no prior knowledge of it, and the current FBI director, Christopher Wray, was appointed by Trump five years ago. “These are dark times for our Nation, as my beautiful home, Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, is currently under siege, raided, and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump wrote. “Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before.” “After working and cooperating with the relevant Government agencies, this unannounced raid on my home was not necessary or appropriate,” Trump said. Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson declined to comment on the search, including whether Attorney General Merrick Garland had personally authorized it. The FBI reached out to the Secret Service shortly before serving a warrant, a third person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Secret Service agents contacted the Justice Department and were able to validate the warrant before facilitating access to the estate, the person said. The Justice Department has been investigating the potential mishandling of classified information since the National Archives and Records Administration said it had received from Mar-a-Lago 15 boxes of White House records, including documents containing classified information, earlier this year. The National Archives said Trump should have turned over that material upon leaving office, and it asked the Justice Department to investigate. There are multiple federal laws governing the handling of classified records and sensitive government documents, including statutes that make it a crime to remove such material and retain it at an unauthorized location. Though a search warrant does not necessarily mean criminal charges are near or even expected, federal officials looking to obtain one must first demonstrate to a judge that they have probable cause that a crime occurred. Two people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation, said the search on Monday was related to the records probe. Agents were also looking to see if Trump had additional presidential records or any classified documents at the estate. Trump has previously maintained that presidential records were turned over “in an ordinary and routine process.” His son Eric said on Fox News on Monday night that he had spent the day with his father and that the search happened because “the National Archives wanted to corroborate whether or not Donald Trump had any documents in his possession.” Asked how the documents ended up at Mar-a-Lago, Eric Trump said the boxes were among items that got moved out of the White House during “six hours” on Inauguration Day, as the Bidens prepared to move into the building. “My father always kept press clippings,” Eric Trump said. “He had boxes, when he moved out of the White House.” Trump emerged from Trump Tower in New York City shortly before 8 p.m. and waved to bystanders before being driven away in an SUV. In his first public remarks since news of the search surfaced, Trump made no mention of it during a tele-town hall on behalf of Leora Levy, the Connecticut Republican he has endorsed in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate primary. But in a social media post on Monday night, he called it a “weaponization of the Justice System, and an attack by Radical Left Democrats who desperately don’t want me to run for President in 2024.” Other Republicans echoed that message. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who is considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate, said on Twitter that it was “an escalation in the weaponization” of U.S. government agencies. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, said in a tweet that if Republicans win control of the U.S. House, they will investigate the Justice Department. Trump took a different stance during the 2016 presidential campaign, frequently pointing to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information via a private email server she used as secretary of state. Then-FBI Director James Comey concluded that Clinton had sent and received classified information, but the FBI did not recommend criminal charges. Trump lambasted that decision and then stepped up his criticism of the FBI as agents began investigating whether his campaign had colluded with Russia to tip the 2016 election. He fired Comey during that probe, and though he appointed Wray months later, he repeatedly criticized him, too, as president. Thomas Schwartz, a Vanderbilt University history professor who studies and writes about the presidency, said there is no precedent for a former president facing an FBI raid — even going back to Watergate. President Richard Nixon wasn’t allowed to take tapes or other materials from the White House when he resigned in 1974, Schwartz noted, and many of his papers remained in Washington for years before being transferred to his presidential library in California. The probe is hardly the only legal headache confronting Trump. A separate investigation related to efforts by him and his allies to undo the results of the 2020 presidential election — which led to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol — has also been intensifying in Washington. Several former White House officials have received grand jury subpoenas. And a district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, is investigating whether Trump and his close associates sought to interfere in that state’s election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden. ___ Associated Press writers Zeke Miller, Meg Kinnard, Michelle L. Price, Meg Kinnard and Will Weissert contributed to this report.