I-75 NB traffic clear after crash in Charlotte County

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. A crash caused traffic delays Tuesday on Interstate 75 at Exit 167 and Harborview Road, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The crash happened at around 4 p.m. and blocked the northbound left and center lanes, the FHP said. Traffic was backed up at least a mile. The roadblock was expected to remain for […]

Future of former Cape golf course in limbo

CAPE CORAL, Fla. It’s up to the owners of the property that was once The Golf Club on Palm Tree Boulevard to make the next move after a plan to build hundreds of homes there ran aground Monday.  

Florida bill would block use of food stamps for soda

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) A House Republican filed a proposal Friday that seeks to prevent people from using food-assistance benefits to buy soft drinks. The bill (HB 47) by Rep. Ralph Massullo, a dermatologist from Lecanto, is filed for the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January. The proposal would direct the […]

Officers wish daughter of slain sergeant happy birthday

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) Law enforcement officers surprised the daughter of a slain Florida police officer by wishing her a happy birthday. Unique Howard turned 17 two days after the death of her father Kissimmee Police Sgt. Richard “Sam” Howard. Howard and Officer Matthew Baxter were shot Friday night while patrolling a neighborhood known for drug […]

Florida mother jailed after leaving kids in car while in bar

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) A Florida mother has been charged with leaving two children alone in a hot car while she went drinking at a bar. Local news outlets report that Larissa Rivera was arrested by Orlando police Sunday morning after she left a 5-year-old and a 4-year-old by themselves in a car while she sat […]

Officials say Trump’s Afghan plan involves 3,900 more troops

WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump’s plan to end America’s longest war and eliminate Afghanistan’s rising extremist threat involves sending up to 3,900 additional U.S. troops, senior officials said Tuesday. The first deployments could take place within days. In a national address Monday night, Trump reversed his past calls for a speedy exit and recommitted the […]

Powerball

Powerball announces numbers for $700M drawing

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) The estimated jackpot for Wednesday night’s Powerball lottery game climbed to $700 million, making it the second-largest in U.S. history. 11:00 p.m.  Here are the winning numbers from Wednesday night’s jackpot: 7-26-16-23-06 and the powerball number is 04 Some details about the game and how the prize has grown so large: […]

Golden Gate sexual battery suspect in custody on unrelated charges

NAPLES, Fla. A suspect in three separate sexual batteries in Golden Gate is in custody facing unrelated charges, the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. The suspect, whom the sheriff’s office declined to identify, is being held at the Naples Jail Center, and deputies are searching for evidence necessary for sexual battery charges to be […]

Lee County NAACP formally proposes changing Robert E. Lee portrait

FORT MYERS, Fla. The Lee County chapter of the NAACP has formally offered county commissioners a deal on the portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee hanging in the county courthouse. The organization pledges not to seek the removal of Lee’s likeness in the courthouse as long as the existing portrait, which shows him in a Confederate […]