Cape Coral caretaker accused of stealing debit card of person under her careGulf Coast Humane Society dangerous low on pet food
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral caretaker accused of stealing debit card of person under her care A caretaker has been arrested after allegedly stealing and using the debit card of a person under her care.
FORT MYERS Gulf Coast Humane Society dangerous low on pet food The Gulf Coast Humane Society needs help from the community, as food supplies for the pet pantry are dangerously low.
The Weather Authority Hot and breezy with a few showers this afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a hot and breezy Tuesday, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s this afternoon.
WINK NEWS How to be aware of Fin-fluencers and their money-saving tips Instead of stepping into a financial office, many are logging onto social media for money-saving tips.
WINK NEWS How the social media warning may affect your children Just like how alcohol and tobacco are presented with warning labels, so too may social media as the US Surgeon General calls for tighter restrictions.
Mosquito invasion after multi-day downpour in Southwest Florida There is a spike in the mosquito population in Southwest Florida, especially after the recent multiple-day downpour.
PUNTA GORDA Fire destroys Punta Gorda home A large fire tore through a house in Punta Gorda on Monday afternoon, sending huge clouds of dark smoke into the sky.
SEBRING Sebring killer’s mother takes stand in murder trial Zephen Xaver’s defense presented opening statements in the courtroom Monday. One of the key people to take the stand was Xaver’s mother.
NAPLES Not lovin’ it; McDonald’s employee allegedly pulls gun on customer Imagine this: It’s 3 a.m. on a Sunday, and you go to a 24-hour McDonald’s for your go-to order.
Massive Wall of Wind machine mimics real hurricanes to better protect the community To those of us living in Southwest Florida, talking about a “wall of wind” might bring up memories of Hurricane Irma or Ian– or even a bad rain storm.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers businesses struggling Many are focused on the declining foot traffic in downtown Fort Myers because of the bridge closure, but this collection of businesses said they are struggling just as much.
FORT MYERS $700K original estimate more than triples for Edison Restaurant repairs All eyes were on the Edison Restaurant Monday night as the city council decided to spend $2.62 million on repairs.
BUCKINGHAM Buckingham community works to stop flooding The community is telling us that this could have all been prevented, and they are going to get something done.
SANIBEL Sanibel Historical Museum and Village bell to be reinstalled The bell at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village is scheduled to be reinstalled after its destruction by Hurricane Ian in 2022.
AVE MARIA Neighbors want answers after child drowns in Ave Maria Dozens watched as six-year-old Abigail Pineda was pulled from the water here at the Ave Maria water park two weeks ago. Many called 911 or tried to help, but the girl did not make it.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral caretaker accused of stealing debit card of person under her care A caretaker has been arrested after allegedly stealing and using the debit card of a person under her care.
FORT MYERS Gulf Coast Humane Society dangerous low on pet food The Gulf Coast Humane Society needs help from the community, as food supplies for the pet pantry are dangerously low.
The Weather Authority Hot and breezy with a few showers this afternoon The Weather Authority is tracking a hot and breezy Tuesday, with temperatures climbing into the mid-90s this afternoon.
WINK NEWS How to be aware of Fin-fluencers and their money-saving tips Instead of stepping into a financial office, many are logging onto social media for money-saving tips.
WINK NEWS How the social media warning may affect your children Just like how alcohol and tobacco are presented with warning labels, so too may social media as the US Surgeon General calls for tighter restrictions.
Mosquito invasion after multi-day downpour in Southwest Florida There is a spike in the mosquito population in Southwest Florida, especially after the recent multiple-day downpour.
PUNTA GORDA Fire destroys Punta Gorda home A large fire tore through a house in Punta Gorda on Monday afternoon, sending huge clouds of dark smoke into the sky.
SEBRING Sebring killer’s mother takes stand in murder trial Zephen Xaver’s defense presented opening statements in the courtroom Monday. One of the key people to take the stand was Xaver’s mother.
NAPLES Not lovin’ it; McDonald’s employee allegedly pulls gun on customer Imagine this: It’s 3 a.m. on a Sunday, and you go to a 24-hour McDonald’s for your go-to order.
Massive Wall of Wind machine mimics real hurricanes to better protect the community To those of us living in Southwest Florida, talking about a “wall of wind” might bring up memories of Hurricane Irma or Ian– or even a bad rain storm.
NORTH FORT MYERS North Fort Myers businesses struggling Many are focused on the declining foot traffic in downtown Fort Myers because of the bridge closure, but this collection of businesses said they are struggling just as much.
FORT MYERS $700K original estimate more than triples for Edison Restaurant repairs All eyes were on the Edison Restaurant Monday night as the city council decided to spend $2.62 million on repairs.
BUCKINGHAM Buckingham community works to stop flooding The community is telling us that this could have all been prevented, and they are going to get something done.
SANIBEL Sanibel Historical Museum and Village bell to be reinstalled The bell at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village is scheduled to be reinstalled after its destruction by Hurricane Ian in 2022.
AVE MARIA Neighbors want answers after child drowns in Ave Maria Dozens watched as six-year-old Abigail Pineda was pulled from the water here at the Ave Maria water park two weeks ago. Many called 911 or tried to help, but the girl did not make it.
Former President Donald Trump appears at Manhattan criminal court as jurors are expected to begin deliberations in his criminal hush money trial in New York, Wednesday, May 29, 2024. (Yuki Iwamura/Pool Photo via AP) The jury in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial resumed deliberations Thursday after revisiting portions of the judge’s instructions and rehearing testimony from multiple key witnesses about the alleged scheme at the heart of the history-making case. The judge responded to a jury request by rereading 30 pages of jury instructions related to how inferences may be drawn from evidence. The 12-person jury, which deliberated for about 4 1/2 hours Wednesday without reaching a verdict, also reheard testimony Thursday morning from a tabloid publisher and Trump’s former lawyer and personal fixer. It’s unclear how long the deliberations will last. A guilty verdict would deliver a stunning legal reckoning for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as he seeks to reclaim the White House while an acquittal would represent a major win for him and embolden him on the campaign trail. Since verdicts must be unanimous, it’s also possible the case ends in a mistrial if the jury can’t reach a consensus. In a memo Wednesday evening, Trump campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles blasted the proceedings as a “kangaroo court” and argued the case would not matter in November. “The bottom line is this case doesn’t have an impact on voters,” they wrote. Trump, who on Wednesday appeared to be priming supporters for the possibility of a guilty verdict by saying that “Mother Teresa couldn’t bear these charges,” struck a pessimistic tone again Thursday. “It’s all rigged. The whole thing, the whole system is rigged,” he said. It’s the same language he used to try to inoculate himself against losses in the 2020 presidential election and Iowa’s 2016 GOP primary. Trump is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records at his company in connection with an alleged scheme to hide potentially embarrassing stories about him during his 2016 presidential election campaign. The charge, a felony, arises from reimbursements paid to then-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen after he made a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels to silence her claims that she and Trump had sex in 2006. Trump is accused of misrepresenting Cohen’s reimbursements as legal expenses to hide that they were tied to a hush money payment. Trump has pleaded not guilty and contends the Cohen payments were for legitimate legal services. He has also denied the alleged extramarital sexual encounter with Daniels. To convict Trump, the jury would have to find unanimously that he created a fraudulent entry in his company’s records or caused someone else to do so and that he acted with the intent of committing or concealing another crime. The crime prosecutors say Trump committed or hid is a violation of a New York election law making it illegal for two or more conspirators “to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means.” While the jurors must unanimously agree that something unlawful was done to promote Trump’s election campaign, they don’t have to be unanimous on what that unlawful thing was. The jurors — a diverse cross section of Manhattan residents and professional backgrounds — often appeared riveted by testimony in the trial, including from Cohen and Daniels. Many took notes and watched intently as witnesses answered questions from prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers. Jurors started deliberating after a marathon day of closing arguments in which a prosecutor spoke for more than five hours, underscoring the burden the district attorney’s office faces in needing to establish Trump’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Trump team need not establish his innocence to avoid a conviction but must instead bank on at least one juror finding that prosecutors have not sufficiently proved their case. In their first burst of communication with the court, jurors asked to rehear testimony from Cohen and former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker about an August 2015 meeting with Trump at Trump Tower, where the tabloid boss agreed to be the “eyes and ears” of his fledgling presidential campaign. Pecker testified that the plan included identifying potentially damaging stories about Trump so they could be squashed before being published. That, prosecutors say, was the beginning of the catch-and-kill scheme at the heart of the case. Jurors also want to hear Pecker’s account of a phone call he said he received from Trump in which they discussed a rumor that another outlet had offered to buy former Playboy model Karen McDougal’s story that she had a yearlong affair with Trump in the mid-2000s. Trump has denied the affair. Pecker testified that Trump told him, “Karen is a nice girl,” and asked, “What do you think I should do?” Pecker said he replied: “I think you should buy the story and take it off the market.” He added that Trump told him that he doesn’t buy stories because they always get out and that Cohen would be in touch. The publisher said he came away from the conversation thinking Trump was aware of the specifics of McDougal’s claims. Pecker said he believed the story was true and would have been embarrassing to Trump and his campaign if it were made public. The National Enquirer’s parent company, American Media Inc., eventually paid McDougal $150,000 for the rights to her story in an agreement that also included writing and other opportunities with its fitness magazine and other publications. The fourth item jurors requested is Pecker’s testimony about his decision in October 2016 to back out of an agreement to sell the rights to McDougal’s story to Trump through a company Cohen had established for the transaction, known as an “assignment of rights.” “I called Michael Cohen, and I said to him that the agreement, the assignment deal, is off. I am not going forward. It is a bad idea, and I want you to rip up the agreement,” Pecker testified. “He was very, very, angry. Very upset. Screaming, basically, at me.” Pecker testified that he reiterated to Cohen that he wasn’t going forward with the agreement. He said that Cohen told him: “The boss is going to be very angry at you.”