Videos emerge of brave men reportedly rescuing others caught in Hurricane Ian



Amid videos of powerful winds, torrential rain, and disastrous flooding caused by Hurricane Ian, several videos have also emerged showing brave men who risked their own safety to rescue others caught in the storm.

For example, Fox News reported on a group of "Good Samaritans" who aided an elderly man trapped in his vehicle in Bonita Springs, Florida.

"We saw an elderly man struggling in his car," said one man identified only as Benny, "and we knew he needed help."

When Benny and others, possibly affiliated with the group the Collier County Cowboys, reached the man's car, however, the realized that the door was wedged shut and the driver himself was too much "in shock," Benny said, to help himself escape.

"The guys all maintained to grab the door and pry it open," Benny continued. "[The man] was a bit in shock, so he didn’t want to let go. So we assured him we were there to help him."

Several men then carried the man through waist-high water to safety, while another man appeared to collect some of the man's personal effects from the car.

The Instagram account @colliercountycowboys_ shared a video of the daring rescue:


The name of the man whom they rescued is not known.

Another woman in nearby Bonita Beach allegedly filmed a video of her boyfriend, whose name appears to be Michael, rescuing a cat which was either a stray or had been abandoned by or otherwise separated from its owner.

"My boyfriend saving a cat from flood waters near Bonita Beach. #HurricaneIan #Naples #Bonita #FortMyers," tweeted user Megan Cruz Scavo.


\u201cMy boyfriend saving a cat from flood waters near Bonita Beach. #HurricaneIan #Naples #Bonita #FortMyers\u201d
— Megan Cruz Scavo (@Megan Cruz Scavo) 1664381514

The tweet has nearly 200,000 likes, while the video itself has racked up over 3.5 million views.

There are also several videos of first responders helping others caught in Hurricane Ian. In one video, a member of the Naples Fire-Rescue Department used an axe to pull an unidentified woman out of her car, which was trapped in the flood.


"Please let this be a lesson to stay off the roads when flooding is possible," a Facebook message accompanying the video reads in part.

Members of the National Guard have likewise performed "dozens" of rescues since Hurricane Ian hit, according to Fox News.

Pro-LGBT group to host conference for kids at a church in Florida, drag show included



A pro-LGBT organization is slated to host a conference for kids ages 12 to 18 at the Naples United Church of Christ in Florida on Saturday.

"GLSEN Collier is hosting the inaugural Youth Pride Conference in Naples, FL for all local LGBTQ youth ages 12-18," a post about the event states. "This one-day conference, created by and for LGBTQ youth, will provide students with the opportunity to engage in LGBTQ-related issues facing them today while empowering them to be confident in all their identities."

The event will include a drag show.

"It's no different than what you'd find at a local Naples Pride or Fort Myers Pride or Cape Coral Pride event that families are at all the time. I take my 3- and 4-year-old sons to these because they're fun and entertaining," Daniel Selvey Shaw said, according to the Naples Daily News. "They're making it sound like a drag show that is this big taboo show."

Shaw — who is the conference director and belongs to the GLSEN Collier board, according to the event description posted on Eventbrite — said that the conference was planned with students, the outlet noted.

One of the breakout sessions available for attendees will include, "Inclusive Sex Education," featuring a presenter from Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, according to the conference description.

A registration form states that "this is an event hosted by GLSEN Collier and is not affiliated with Naples United Church of a Christ or Collier County Public Schools. GLSEN Collier is a nonprofit organization that works to provide a safe and inclusive environment for our marginalized students, particularly those who identify as LGBTQ."

The form also notes that there will be transportation available. "Free Shuttle Transportation is available to/from Immokalee and Golden Gate areas," the form says.

"We lease the space. We paid for the personnel. While the church absolutely supports the mission of our organization, they are simply facilitators by reason of the rental agreement we've entered into," Shaw said, according to the Naples Daily News.

City mayor bans New Year's Eve fireworks citing COVID, climate. But residents rebel with stunning displays.



Residents in a major Italian city went viral over the weekend after violating an ordinance that barred them from using fireworks in New Year's Eve celebrations.

What is the background?

Naples Mayor Gaetano Manfredi issued an ordinance ahead of New Year's celebrations that enacted "the absolute ban on the use and detonation of fireworks, firecrackers, barrels, rockets and similar pyrotechnic devices, even if freely sold, throughout the city from 16:00 on 31 December 2021 to 24:00 on 1 January 2022."

The reasons behind the ban? The COVID-19 pandemic and the environment.

A translation of Gaetano's order explained:

  • "[I]n the current health emergency situation, the increase in hospitalizations, resulting from accidents caused by barrels, would represent a particular vulnerability for health professionals, already tried so much by months of pandemic. ... therefore, is dutiful implement all possible actions to avoid further congesting the emergency rooms."
  • "[T]hat, more and more, civil society is gaining awareness of limit disturbing noises as much as possible, as well as the increase in emissions of pollutants into the environment..."

"Taking into account that with the Prime Ministerial Decree of 14 December 2021 the state of epidemiological emergency from COVID-19 has been extended until March 31st 2022; that with subsequent ordinances the President of the Campania Region has ordered further health prevention measures with the aim, among other things, of preventing crowding or crowding phenomena," the order continued, "it is therefore necessary to regulate the use of the aforementioned fireworks considering prevailing the need to guarantee safety and health."

So how did residents respond?

Video taken of Naples' skyline on New Year's Eve showed that residents in Italy's third-largest city rebelled against their mayor's order, resulting in stunning displays of fireworks across the city.

By ignoring the mayor's orders, residents faced incurring a fine of 500 Euros.

A\u00f1o nuevo en N\u00e1poles. En teor\u00eda multan con 500\u20ac a quien tire petardos.pic.twitter.com/926Zy2w9vc
— NIPORWIFI \u00a9 (@NIPORWIFI \u00a9) 1640995262

According to Naples newspaper Il Mattino, multiple people incurred injuries during New Year's celebrations across Naples and the surrounding province.

The newspaper explained that "fireworks...greeted the arrival of the new year in Naples despite the order that prohibited them issued by the mayor, Gaetano Manfredi."