Charlotte County, Punta Gorda | featured news

SAYLORSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A man who fatally shot a township official and two others during a municipal meeting in northeastern Pennsylvania was about to fire more rounds when he was wrestled to the ground, possibly preventing more bloodshed, authorities sai...

PARIS (AP) — The country that gave us the words restaurant, bistro and cuisine is changing how it eats.
For the first time in France, fast food overtook traditional restaurant receipts as the economic crisis deepened, and the share of people who pack a lu...

DALLAS (AP) — Former President George W. Bush successfully underwent a heart procedure in Dallas on Tuesday after doctors discovered a blockage in an artery during his annual physical, Bush spokesman Freddy Ford said.
“At the recommendation of his doctors...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has filed the first criminal charges in the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, two U.S. officials said Tuesday.
The officials confirmed that a sealed indictment was filed in U.S. Distr...

ORLANDO — More than 1 out of 4 Floridians speak a language other than English in their homes with Spanish being the most common, according to new Census Bureau figures released Tuesday.
More than 27 percent of Floridians spoke a language other than Englis...

TORONTO — A 100-pound python blamed in the strangling deaths of two Canadian boys apparently escaped from its enclosure, slithered through a ventilation system and fell through the ceiling into the room where the young brothers were sleeping, authorities ...

FORT HOOD, Texas — Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan fired the last of 146 bullets in his assault on Fort Hood, then walked outside where he met two civilians who asked about the commotion and the laser-sighted pistol in his hand.
Hasan told one person not to worry....

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen was thrust back into the forefront of the international fight against terrorism Tuesday when the U.S. and Britain evacuated embassy staff due to a threatened attack, a suspected U.S. drone killed four alleged members of al-Qaida, and ...

The smile said it all.
By now, most of Charlotte County has seen it — that boyish, slightly rascally smile that revealed at once a big heart and a playful spirit. Those who knew Sgt. Michael Wilson of Port Charlotte called that smile unforgettable.
“Many ...

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, along with local and regional law enforcement agencies across the state, will wear black “mourning bands” across their badges in honor of CCSO Sgt. Michael Wilson, who was gunned down in the line of duty Monday night...