WGCU Staff

With frigid temperatures in the forecast, Manatee County, in partnership with community organizations, will open cold weather shelters on Monday, February 23, and Tuesday, February 24.

Ajinomoto Foods North America, Inc. recalls chicken fried rice products due to possible glass contamination. Product was shipped nationwide in the U.S.

Motorists who use the Wilson Pigott Bridge over the Caloosahatchee River (Route 31) should prepare for a temporary full closure beginning March 19, weather permitting and contingent upon timely delivery of construction materials.

A North Captiva Island homeowner recently captured a true "Circle Of Life" moment in the front yard of her house in Safety Harbor.

The death of 86-year-old former State Attorney Joseph P. D’Alessandro was announced Tuesday by 20th Judicial Circuit State Attorney Amira D. Fox.

In 2016 the nonpartisan global policy think tank RAND Corporation published a piece called "The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It" that outlined ways Russia was flooding the internet and social media with false claims, and why this technique — which featured a lack of consistency or relationship to truth — was effective in both creating confusion and getting people to tune out because there was just too much information swirling around. We talk with one of the researchers behind the 2016 perspective to learn how it came about, how they did their research, and what it means through the lens of today, far beyond Russian propaganda.

The Fort Myers Beach Town Council has appointed John McLean to fill the vacated council seat formerly held by Jim Atterholt, following a 3–1 vote in favor of McLean at the town council meeting. After the motions for his appointment passed, McLean was sworn in during the same meeting.

Income-eligible homeowners seeking assistance to repair, replace or reconstruct property that was damaged by Hurricane Helene and/or Milton have until March 31 to file applications to LeeCares before the application portal closes.

The southbound lane of a busy Lee County drawbridge on State Road 31 will be shut down Monday, Feb. 16, starting at 7 p.m.

Dr. Stephen Knott has spent his career learning about, teaching about, and writing about Presidents of the United States of America. He is a Professor of American History & Government at Ashland University in Ohio, and Emeritus Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of eleven books dealing with the American Presidency, the early republic, and American foreign policy. His latest, which is due out in May, is “Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency” which details through extensive research and citations the ways, according to his telling, eight United States Commanders in Chief used conspiracy theories to advance their causes. They were examples, Dr. Knott would say, of the kinds of demagogues the country’s founders were concerned could someday take on the role.