What is Kik? Phone app attractive to teens, criminals

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A free messenger app popular among teens has also been used to commit crimes against minors. Kik was created in 2009, but today about 40 percent of teens use the app, according to the app’s blog. The app connects users to chat room allows them to communicate anonymously via text, photos and […]

NYC officer convicted of manslaughter in stairwell shooting

NEW YORK (AP) – A rookie police officer who shot an unarmed man dead in a darkened public housing stairwell was convicted Thursday of manslaughter in a case closely watched by advocates for police accountability. The courtroom audience gasped and Officer Peter Liang, who had broken into tears as he testified about the 2014 shooting […]

Florida Legislature divided over budget and tax cuts

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Separated by nearly $1 billion in spending and differences over everything from tax cuts to health care spending, the Florida Legislature has less than a month left in its regular session to reach a deal on a new state budget. Although Republican legislators stress they won’t have a repeat of infighting […]

Tourist development to launch $50K marketing campaign

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Lee County Tourist Development Council voted to spend $50,000 for an immediate digital marketing campaign intended to reassure potential visitors the waters and beaches in Southwest Florida are fine, even as a Naples harbormastor insists that murky Lake Okeechobee overflow is now trickling further south into the gulf. The meeting […]

Clinton, Sanders to debate after splitting contests

MILWAUKEE (AP) – After splitting the first two voting contests, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders are taking their increasingly heated fight for the Democratic presidential nomination back to the debate stage Thursday night, jockeying for advantage as the race heads toward delegate-rich states. For Clinton, that means bolstering her appeal with minorities, particularly black and […]

CCPD: Crime rises near Cape Coral bars

CAPE CORAL, Fla. – Crime is on the rise in Southwest Florida’s largest city following experiments with extended bar hours, the Cape Coral Police Department said Thursday. Since the bars in Cape Coral’s southern district began to stay open until 4 a.m., the number of calls made to police between midnight and 6 a.m. has increased […]

Despite on-court reunion, Lehigh HS handed tough loss, 68-66

NAPLES, Fla. – The Lehigh Senior High School basketball team was reunited on the court Thursday in a match-up game against Golden Gate High School in Naples, but lost 66-68. The loss against the Golden Gate Titans meant the Lehigh Lightning would not advance to regional finals and came after the teams were tied with […]