Where to drop off your mail-in ballots on Election Day Those who still have their mail-in ballots in Southwest Florida have two options on Election Day: vote in person or drop them off at a specified location.
WINK NEWS Lee County race for Sheriff It is now Election Day, and two candidates for the Lee County Sheriff are vying for the position.
WINK NEWS Floridians to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana With Election Day in full swing, WINK News is monitoring the results of the most controversial amendments on the ballot, including Florida’s Amendment 3.
Know where your voting precinct is in Southwest Florida Election Day is only one day away, so it is important to know where to go and if you qualify to vote in Southwest Florida.
WINK NEWS How Floridians are voting on Consitutional right to abortions As Election Day ramps up, WINK News is monitoring the results of the most controversial amendments on the ballot, including Florida’s Amendment 4.
Collier County commission race As the 2024 general election gets underway, WINK News is monitoring the election results in several local races, including the Collier County Commission race.
Cape Coral 5 seats in Cape Coral City Council to eb decided on Election Day The Cape Coral City Council election will be decided on Tuesday. Five seats are up for grabs.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council race for 2 wards The 2024 elections are looking to be a tense battle that will have every American on the edge of their seats. In Southwest Florida, the feeling is no different.
Lee County Superintendent election; School Board District 7 Voters in Lee County are going to the polls to fill some crucial seats in the school district.
PUNTA GORDA The race for Punta Gorda City Council November 5 is election day, as politicians across the country compete for office, with Southwest Florida being no different.
Lee County commission race for districts 3 and 5 The 2024 elections include several local Southwest Florida races, among them are races for two districts on the Lee County Board of County Commissioners.
Election Day crowds expected despite record early voting Election Day is nearly upon us. At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, the polls will be closed, and our team will bring you the results.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Voters in Downtown Fort Myers ready for 2024 Election A lot can change in four years. During the 2020 election, many voters masked up as they cast their ballots, and the pandemic was at the top of many voters’ minds.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents frustrated by hurricane debris delays Many people in parts of southwest Florida feel like they’ve dealt with more than their fair share of storm damage lately.
Miracle Moment: A rosy outlook following surprise diagnosis It’s time for Miracle Moment. Today, we meet a toddler diagnosed with a disease without known prevention or cure.
Where to drop off your mail-in ballots on Election Day Those who still have their mail-in ballots in Southwest Florida have two options on Election Day: vote in person or drop them off at a specified location.
WINK NEWS Lee County race for Sheriff It is now Election Day, and two candidates for the Lee County Sheriff are vying for the position.
WINK NEWS Floridians to vote on legalizing recreational marijuana With Election Day in full swing, WINK News is monitoring the results of the most controversial amendments on the ballot, including Florida’s Amendment 3.
Know where your voting precinct is in Southwest Florida Election Day is only one day away, so it is important to know where to go and if you qualify to vote in Southwest Florida.
WINK NEWS How Floridians are voting on Consitutional right to abortions As Election Day ramps up, WINK News is monitoring the results of the most controversial amendments on the ballot, including Florida’s Amendment 4.
Collier County commission race As the 2024 general election gets underway, WINK News is monitoring the election results in several local races, including the Collier County Commission race.
Cape Coral 5 seats in Cape Coral City Council to eb decided on Election Day The Cape Coral City Council election will be decided on Tuesday. Five seats are up for grabs.
FORT MYERS Fort Myers City Council race for 2 wards The 2024 elections are looking to be a tense battle that will have every American on the edge of their seats. In Southwest Florida, the feeling is no different.
Lee County Superintendent election; School Board District 7 Voters in Lee County are going to the polls to fill some crucial seats in the school district.
PUNTA GORDA The race for Punta Gorda City Council November 5 is election day, as politicians across the country compete for office, with Southwest Florida being no different.
Lee County commission race for districts 3 and 5 The 2024 elections include several local Southwest Florida races, among them are races for two districts on the Lee County Board of County Commissioners.
Election Day crowds expected despite record early voting Election Day is nearly upon us. At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, the polls will be closed, and our team will bring you the results.
DOWNTOWN FORT MYERS Voters in Downtown Fort Myers ready for 2024 Election A lot can change in four years. During the 2020 election, many voters masked up as they cast their ballots, and the pandemic was at the top of many voters’ minds.
PUNTA GORDA Punta Gorda residents frustrated by hurricane debris delays Many people in parts of southwest Florida feel like they’ve dealt with more than their fair share of storm damage lately.
Miracle Moment: A rosy outlook following surprise diagnosis It’s time for Miracle Moment. Today, we meet a toddler diagnosed with a disease without known prevention or cure.
Former President Donald Trump speaks outside the courtroom after testifying at New York Supreme Court, Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) Donald Trump’s lawyers were thwarted Thursday in their longshot bid to immediately end the New York civil fraud trial that threatens the former president’s real estate empire.Judge Arthur Engoron didn’t rule on the request, but indicated the trial will go on as scheduled Monday with Donald Trump Jr. returning to the stand as the first defense witness.Trump’s lawyers had asked Engoron to cut the trial short and issue a verdict clearing Trump, his company and top executives including Trump Jr. of wrongdoing. They made the request halfway through the trial of New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, arguing the state had failed to prove its case. James alleges Trump and other defendants duped banks, insurers and others by inflating his wealth on financial statements. Engoron said the defense’s arguments seeking what’s known as a directed verdict were “taken under advisement.” He did not address them further when he returned to court Thursday afternoon to rule on another matter. In that ruling, Engoron gave Trump’s lawyers a victory, allowing them to call several expert witnesses in an attempt to refute testimony that Trump’s financial statements afforded him better loan terms, insurance premiums and were a factor in dealmaking. The judge, who’s had a history of ruling against Trump, has signaled interest in seeing the trial through to its conclusion, asking defense lawyers for witness schedules and pegging closing arguments close to Christmas. In seeking to short-circuit the case, Trump lawyer Christopher Kise argued state lawyers had failed to meet “any legal standard” to prove allegations of conspiracy, insurance fraud and falsifying business records. “There’s no victim. There’s no complainant. There’s no injury. All of that is established now by the evidence,” Kise argued. State lawyer Kevin Wallace responded that there was no reason to end the trial, saying the evidence is “more than sufficient to continue to final verdict.” Trump, on the stand Monday between barbs for his adversaries, denied wrongdoing and said lenders were “extremely happy” doing business with him. If anything, he testified, his financial statements lowballed his wealth and the value of assets such as his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Kise implored Engoron to give special weight to Trump’s testimony, citing the ex-president’s decades of experience as a real estate developer. When talking real estate, “if my choices were Donald Trump or Attorney General James, respectfully, I would go with Donald Trump,” Kise said. He argued that the Democratic attorney general, in pursuit of a political opponent, was trying to “substitute her judgment for that of the banks and, frankly, for that of someone who has been involved in the real estate industry for 50 years.” Defense lawyer Clifford Robert pressed the judge to dismiss claims against Trump’s elder sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr. The attorney argued that state lawyers had failed to prove that the sons, whom Trump appointed to run his company when he went to the White House in 2017, worked on the ex-president’s financial statements. The sons, who signed off on some documents attesting to their father’s wherewithal, testified that they trusted accountants and lawyers for assurance the papers were accurate. Robert said they “acted appropriately” in doing so. “My clients have been dragged into what is essentially a fight between the attorney general and their father, but here we are,” Robert said. “The time has come that we need to put an end to it.” Wallace countered that Trump and his sons each signed documents saying that they were responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements, which Engoron has already ruled were false and misleading. Thursday’s arguments came a day after Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump testified as the state’s last witness. She had unsuccessfully fought a subpoena. Directed verdict requests are common in civil trials, though they’re somewhat infrequently granted. In Trump’s trial, Engoron is deciding the outcome, rather than a jury. Before the trial, Engoron ruled that Trump, his company and other defendants committed fraud by exaggerating his net worth and the value of assets on his financial statements, which were used to obtain loans and make deals. Engoron’s pretrial fraud ruling came with provisions that could strip the ex-president of such marquee properties as Trump Tower, though an appeals court is allowing him to remain in control of his holdings for now. Also Thursday, Trump’s lawyers renewed their call to halt the trial at least until the appeals court makes a final decision on Engoron’s fraud finding. In court papers, they wrote that the judge had shown a “gross and open disregard for the integrity of the process” and was causing “mounting irreparable harm” for the defendants. The state rested its case Wednesday after six weeks of testimony from more than two dozen witnesses. James is seeking what she says is more than $300 million in ill-gotten gains and a ban on the defendants from doing business in New York. Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump testified last week. When Trump Jr. returns to the stand on Monday, he’ll be questioned by defense lawyers including his own. Trump company executives, outside accountants who worked on Trump’s financial statements and bank executives who worked on his loans also have testified as state witnesses. Kise emphasized that lender Deutsche Bank made its own adjustments to the asset values listed on Trump’s financial statements, giving “haircuts” to the estimates for Trump Tower and other properties, and decided to lend him hundreds of millions of dollars anyway. Adjustments amounted to $2 billion in some years, documents showed. Kise also attacked Trump lawyer-turned-foe Michael Cohen’s credibility. He said Cohen’s “pathetic performance” undermined the state’s case when he backtracked from his initial testimony that Trump had directed him to boost the value of assets to “whatever number Trump told us to.” Pressed on cross-examination during his Oct. 25 testimony, Cohen conceded that Trump never told him to inflate the numbers on his personal statement — though Cohen later said Trump signaled it indirectly, and “we understood what he wanted.” Robert asked at that point for an immediate directed verdict, which Engoron denied.