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A woman died after she and another person were "train hopping". The woman fell and got dragged under the train and was announced dead at the scene.

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PITTSBURGH -- A woman has died after she and another person were "train hopping" in Pennsylvania, CBS Pittsburgh reports.

Authorities were dispatched to the Norfolk Southern train tracks near South Eighth Street and East Carson Street around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday after a report that two people were injured by a train.

First responders arrived at the scene to see a man had fallen and suffered an ankle injury. The woman also fell but was dragged under the train. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office identified the woman as 21-year-old Lindsey Marie Michaels, of Pittsburgh.

Michaels was a junior at Carlow University. The school released a statement extending its "deepest sympathy" to her family and friends. They said information about a memorial service will be forthcoming.

The Carlow University community extends its deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Carlow junior Lindsey...
Posted by Carlow University on Sunday, September 3, 2017

Norfolk Southern said in a statement that the train was transporting coal and traveling about 3 to 4 mph through the area and then began to pick up speed.

They said members of the train crew didn't see anyone attempting to jump onto the train, and they were unaware that someone had been struck.

Just before 3 a.m. Sunday, the train was stopped in Etna when Pittsburgh authorities told them about a possible pedestrian fatality.

"Norfolk Southern could not determine conclusively that the coal train was involved. No other Norfolk Southern trains were moving through that area at the time the incident was reported," the company said, adding that walking on railroad tracks is illegal and dangerous.

Twenty-six people were killed and 19 others were injured after being struck by trains while trespassing on tracks or railroad property in Pennsylvania last year. The state ranked fifth in the country for trespassing incidents in 2016.

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21-year-old woman dies in 'train hopping' incident

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PITTSBURGH -- A woman has died after she and another person were "train hopping" in Pennsylvania, CBS Pittsburgh reports. Authorities were dispatched to the Norfolk Southern train tracks near South Eighth Street and East Carson Street around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday after a report that two people were injured by a train.

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CHICAGO - A woman was killed in an apparent homicide-suicide, and eight other people, including a 15-year-old boy, were wounded in shootings Monday in Chicago, police said, bringing to at least 42 the number of people shot this Labor Day weekend in the city, five of them fatally.

The Chicago Tribune does not count suicides in its shooting data.

On Monday evening, a man shot a woman multiple times and then turned the gun on himself in an apparent homicide-suicide in the Austin neighborhood, according to a police media notification. The woman, 26, was shot several times and the man, 34, was believed to have shot himself in the head. They were both taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Police released no information about the circumstances of the shooting, except to say that it was believed to be a domestic attack.

The 15-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to the back in the Lawndale neighborhood Monday night, according to a police media notification. Information on his condition and the circumstances of the attack wasn't immediately released.

In other shootings Monday:

_A 24-year-old man was shot Monday afternoon in the Marquette Park neighborhood, police said in a media notification. The man was shot in the right thigh and taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized. He was not cooperating with investigators, according to police.

_Not long before, a 19-year-old in Chicago Lawn on the Southwest Side was shot in the leg and buttocks, police said. He was walking on West 61st Street when a vehicle approached and an occupant of the vehicle began firing at him. The 19-year-old checked himself in at Holy Cross Hospital, where he was listed in serious condition before he was transferred to Mount Sinai Hospital, officers said.

_Just before 3:05 p.m., a woman suffered a gunshot wound to the leg in the Gage Park neighborhood, according to police. She was taken for treatment to Holy Cross Hospital, where her condition was stabilized.

_Two men, including a 39-year-old, were fighting in an alley in South Chicago about 10:45 a.m. A third man suddenly got out of a nearby vehicle and shot at them, hitting the 39-year-old in a foot. The man later went to Mercy Hospital, where he was listed in good condition.

About 15 minutes before that, two people were shot in Grand Crossing, also on the South Side, about 10:30 a.m., police said. A man, 24, and a second man, 30, both were shot in the buttocks while standing on East 68th Street. Both of the men were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where their conditions were stabilized. The men were shot by a man in a black or gray shirt who came up to them, started shooting, then took off on foot.

About 9 a.m. a 24-year-old man was walking on South Merrill Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood when a man wearing a red hoodie ran up to him and started firing at him. The man was hit multiple times, police said, and was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. The shooter took off running in an unknown direction. Additional details weren't released.

Visit the Chicago Tribune at www.chicagotribune.com

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At least 42 shot over Labor Day weekend in Chicago

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A woman was killed in an apparent homicide-suicide, and eight other people, including a 15-year-old boy, were wounded in shootings Monday in Chicago, police said, bringing to at least 42 the number of people shot this Labor Day weekend in the city, five of them fatally.

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Alex Wubbels was arrested When police ordered her to take blood from an unconscious patient. When she refused officer Jeff Payne forced her outside, and put her in the back of the police car.

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But Alex Wubbels -- whose July 26 arrest caught on body camera video prompted apologies from Salt Lake City's mayor and police -- says she is now focused on forging better working ties between police and health care workers. The nurse and her attorney Karra Porter appeared on CNN's "New Day" on Monday and discussed the confrontation and their options.

"Right now, I'm trying to reeducate. As officers and health care workers, we have to work together on behalf of our citizens, our friends, the people we live with," Wubbels said. "If we're going to have that dialogue and teamwork and camaraderie, we have to come to the table and have appropriate dialogue."

Porter said there is a possibility of filing a lawsuit "if that becomes necessary" and she cited several parties who could be involved -- "the city, the officers, the university police, you know, there are quite a few."

But, she said, "I think we're going to give everyone involved an opportunity to do the right thing without having to be dragged into court to do it."

What happened?

Citing hospital policy, Wubbels refused to let officers draw blood from an unconscious crash victim who had been admitted to the University of Utah Hospital burn unit in a coma. Though the man was not a suspect in the wreck, which killed another driver, police asked for his blood to be drawn.

Wubbels, the charge nurse in the burn unit, presented the officers with a printout of hospital policy on drawing blood and said their request did not meet the criteria. Hospital policy specified that before obtaining a blood sammple police needed either a judge's order or the patient's consent, or the patient needed to be under arrest.

Porter noted Friday the university and Salt Lake City police had agreed to the policy more than a year ago and "the officers here appeared to be unaware of" it.

After Wubbels refusal, the video shows police Detective Jeff Payne walk quickly over to Wubbels, who backs away as he says, "Oh, please. We're done here. We're done. We're done."

Wubbels shrieks as Payne forces her out the door toward a police car. She screams for him to stop, saying, "I've done nothing wrong! I've done nothing wrong! Why is this happening? This is crazy!" She also asks why the officer is "so angry."

Payne handcuffed Wubbels and placed her in the police car, where she sat for about 20 minutes, according to CNN affiliate KSL. She was later released without being charged. Payne and another officer have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation.

Body camera video

Wubbels was able to get her hands on the body cam video and was asked why it had been released weeks after the incident. She said she waited until she felt she was composed enough to talk about what happened.

"I feel pretty strongly in just having sort of a good strong ability to stand up without emotion. And I need to afford myself some time to feel OK and and to be able to talk pragmatically about the situation without the emotion," she said.

Wubbels said she had no idea how the situation escalated.

"What I can say is that I stood my ground. I stood for what was right, which was to protect the patient. As a nurse, any nurse, I think, would have done exactly what I did," she said.

Did Wubbels get an explanation of why she was being arrested?

"Not to my knowledge," she said. "I know that I was doing what ... was right, what was offered to me by a policy that I trusted and I believed to be lawful."

Wubbels said she was "scared to death" during the incident.

"Obviously I was very frightened and I think that since this has happened I've been able to sort of surmise that I feel betrayed. I feel betrayed by the police officers. I feel betrayed by my university police and security."

She said she asked hospital security for help "to have someone protect me because I felt unsafe from officer Payne from the beginning," she said. How did the university police and security respond?

"By just standing there, looking at their phones, telling me that they couldn't protect me."

A tough month

Wubbels said she explained to Payne "that unless the patient was under arrest, I needed to have an electronic warrant and there was no family and the patient could not consent for himself. And I said, 'I'm sorry,' and he said 'you're not sorry' and got very upset."

She said Payne "was aggressive from the beginning."

"My assessment skills led me to believe that officer Payne was already agitated. he had already stormed off in disapproval that he couldn't do this on the unit itself."

Porter said there were no legal grounds for the arrest.

"He kept saying the patient has given implied consent essentially just by driving in Utah, but the law that the officer purported to be relying on clearly didn't apply because the officer admitted that there was no probable cause. Utah's implied consent law specifically requires probably cause," she said.

The last month has been tough for Wubbels.

"One of the reasons we went forward is we made sure that the body cam was available. We wanted to see what it was that was on there. We spoke with the Salt Lake City Police Department," Wubbels said.

She got an apology frompolice but not from university security officials -- the University of Utah Police and the Department of Public Safety, which provides security for the hospital. Last week, Wubbels said the lack of "forward progress" in meetings with university security spurred her to come forward this week with the body camera footage.

Police told her this should never have happened, Wubbels said.

"I agreed with that. We started making conservation about how to prevent this from ever happening again," she said, referring to the Salt Lake City police.

"Unlike a conversation we had a week later with the university police and university security, who, after about a 45-minute conversation still had not apologized. When I bought it up, continued to defend their officers.

"And I just didn't feel like that was appropriate."

CNN's Melissa Gray contributed to this report

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'scared to death' nurse in utah video: 'i stood my ground' - cnn

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'Scared to death' nurse in Utah video: 'I stood my ground'

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But Alex Wubbels -- whose July 26 arrest caught on body camera video prompted apologies from Salt Lake City's mayor and police -- says she is now focused on forging better working ties between police and health care workers. The nurse and her attorney Karra Porter appeared on CNN's "New Day" on Monday and discussed the confrontation and their options.

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The Florida Governor sends a state emergency saying that Hurricane Irma can get up to a category 5, and that it should hit sometime on Friday.

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in the state as rapidly growing Hurricane Irma, now a Category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall later this week.

The state of emergency has been issued for all of Florida's 67 counties, Fox 35 Orlando reported. Scott said that the state would "prepare for the worst and hope for the best" as Irma is expected to hit the state around Friday.

"Hurricane Irma poses a severe threat to the entire State of Florida and requires that timely precautions are taken to protect the communities, critical infrastructure, and general welfare of this State," the executive order stated.

Scott tweeted on Monday that state residents should use their Labor Day to prepare for Irma's arrival.

The announcement came after Puerto Rico's governor issued a state of emergency Monday. Irma is expected to hit the northwest Caribbean Tuesday, where government workers are preparing for the storm to make landfall.

Emergency officials have warned that the storm could dump up to 10 inches of rain, unleash landslides and dangerous flash floods and generate waves of up to 23 feet as the storm draws closer.
HURRICANE IRMA: PUERTO RICO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY AHEAD OF CATEGORY 4 STORM
A hurricane watch was in effect for Puerto Rico, Vieques, Culebra, the British and U.S. Virgin islands and Guadeloupe. A tropical storm watch was issued for Dominica.

The Category 4 storm was moving west-southwest at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds up to 130 mph, according to the U.S. Hurricane Center. The storm was centered about 490 miles east of the Leeward Islands.

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott declares state of emergency ahead of Category 4 Hurricane Irma

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Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency in the state as rapidly growing Hurricane Irma, now a Category 4 storm, is expected to make landfall later this week. The state of emergency has been issued for all of Florida's 67 counties, Fox 35 Orlando reported.

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North Korea has been spotted moving a ballistic missile towards the west coast

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North Korea has been spotted at night moving a possible intercontinental ballistic missile towards its west coast, Reuters reported, citing a South Korean paper.

The Asia Business Daily, citing an unnamed source, reported Tuesday that the rocket began its move on Monday. The report said that the rocket was being moved at night to avoid detection.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said a day earlier that Pyongyang appeared to be planning a future launch.

An official with South Korea's Defense Ministry, told lawmakers that Seoul was seeing preparations in the North for an ICBM test but didn't provide details about how officials had reached that assessment.

The South Korean military and Fox News could not immediately confirm the report.

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Monday asked the body's Security Council to impose the strongest possible sanctions against North Korea in response to the rogue nation's most recent nuclear test, saying "the time for half measures ... is over."

North Korea is "begging for war," Haley also said Sunday. "The time for half measures by the Security Council is over."

Her statements follow President Trump a day earlier condemned the test in the strongest terms.

"North Korea is a rogue nation which has become a great threat and embarrassment to China, which is trying to help but with little success," Trump said in one of several tweets Sunday.

The precise strength of the North's underground nuclear explosion has yet to be determined. South Korea's weather agency said the artificial earthquake caused by the explosion was five times to six times stronger than tremors generated by the North's previous five tests.

Sunday's detonation builds on recent North Korean advances that include test launches in July of two ICBMs. The North says its missile development is part of a defensive effort to build a viable nuclear deterrent that can target U.S. cities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report

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North Korea reportedly moves rocket-that may be ICBM-- amid tensions

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North Korea has been spotted at night moving a possible intercontinental ballistic missile towards its west coast, Reuters reported, citing a South Korean paper. The Asia Business Daily, citing an unnamed source, reported Tuesday that the rocket began its move on Monday. The report said that the rocket was being moved at night to avoid detection.

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Bibihal Uzbeki is 106 year old and has severe disabilities. Her son and grandson carried her to Sweden away from Afghanistan in 2015. She is facing deportation as well as the other 11 people in her family.

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A 106-year-old Afghan woman who made a perilous journey to Europe, carried by her son and grandson through mountains, deserts and forests, is facing deportation from Sweden after her asylum application was rejected.

Bibihal Uzbeki is severely disabled and can barely speak. Her family has appealed the rejection, and she is allowed up to three appeals, a process that could take a long time. The applications of other family members are in various stages of appeal.

Their journey made headlines in 2015, when they were part of a huge influx of people who came to Europe from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries. They traveled by foot and on trains through the Balkans before finally reaching Sweden.

The Swedish Migration Agency confirms they've made a decision on the case and says age doesn't by itself provide grounds for asylum

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106-year-old Afghan woman faces deportation from Sweden

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A 106-year-old Afghan woman who made a perilous journey to Europe, carried by her son and grandson through mountains, deserts and forests, is facing deportation from Sweden after her asylum application was rejected. Bibihal Uzbeki is severely disabled and can barely speak. Her family has...

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yesterday a girl named Tyler Frank was caught in the middle of the rising waters from hurricane Harvey. After two days in the middle of the storm siri is the reason his family and Tyler are still alive, and it happen just in time as soon as the storm hit Tyler formed a disease called sickle cell crisis of which her stiff and weirdly shaped red blood cells clogged up and prevented oxygen to get to parts of the body and the pain from it can be as worse as child birth

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Calling 911 didn't work. Begging for help on Facebook and Instagram failed, too.

"I was like, 'Siri's smart enough! Let me ask her!' " Tyler said.

And indeed, Siri was smart enough. With one inquiry to the Apple personal assistant -- "Siri, call the Coast Guard" -- Tyler got her whole family rescued after two days out in the storm.

Sickle cell crisis

It happened in the nick of time. Tyler has a genetic disorder called sickle cell anemia. When Harvey hit, she suffered a sickle cell crisis, as her stiff and oddly shaped red blood cells clogged up her blood vessels and prevented oxygen from reaching parts of her body.

The pain of a sickle cell crisis can be worse than the pain of childbirth, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Trauma or exposure to cold can trigger a crisis, according to Dr. Titilope Fasipe, Tyler's hematologist at Texas Children's Hospital. Tyler suffered both.

In the early morning hours of August 27, Tyler, her mother and three of her brothers awoke to water in their home up to Tyler's chest. Soon, the water was nearly over her head.

Tyler's oldest brother, Joseph, 18, carried her on his back to the roof. Her next oldest brother, Brayland, 16, carried their youngest brother, Jaquarus, 8, on his back.

Shivering in the cold, Tyler had only a towel to protect her. Then the towel got wet.

Connecting to the Coast Guard

That's when she thought of asking Siri to connect her to the Coast Guard.

She gave the man on the other end of the line her family's location and explained that she was sick and scared for her life.

The man told Tyler she was a brave "guy."

"I was like, 'I'm a girl!' And he was like, 'oh, you're one brave girl.' And I was like, 'thank you!' " she said.

A Coast Guard helicopter arrived the followingafternoon. Tyler's mother, Tameko Frank, recorded the scene on Facebook Live.

One of the rescuers descended from the helicopter and spoke with her. She said he asked whether anyone was sick. By this time, Tyler had a 103-degree fever.

"I told him yes, I have a child with sickle cell, and she's very sick, and I need you all to take her," Frank said.

She said the rescuer told her he was taking only elderly people, and he would come back for others.

"She was standing right there in front of him. And he turned around and got on the helicopter and left," Frank said.

As she watched the helicopter take off, Tyler said, she felt abandoned.

"Why did they leave when we really need them?" she said. "It made me cry."

In a statement, the Coast Guard told CNN, "Coast Guard first responders were faced with an overwhelming request for assistance due to Hurricane Harvey. On-scene rescue crews made determinations based upon emergent factors (i.e. immediate, life-threatening situations) and the conditions faced on the scene."

Rescue by helicopter

Tyler, a straight-A ninth-grader at Forest Brook High School, was undeterred. She again called the Coast Guard number Siri had given her.

The next morning, a helicopter landed, and this time it took her to safety. Again, her mother posted it on Facebook Live.

Tyler was first seen by doctors in Pasadena, Texas, and then sent on to Memorial Hermann hospital in Houston. From there, she went by ambulance to Texas Children's Hospital, where Tyler has been treated since she was a baby.

Fasipe marvels at Tyler's resilience. On top of withstanding two days in the rain and two helicopter trips while sick and feverish, the teen has been in and out of the hospital all her life. At age 3, she had her spleen removed, and she's had six blood transfusions, the first when she was just 6 months old.

"She's got this great sense of humor. She just made us laugh," Fasipe said. "It's so impressive what she and her family dealt with. I don't think most of us can even imagine."

Tyler's challenges haven't ended.

Discharged from the hospital on Friday, she and her mother and four brothers -- 15-year-old Brayveon wasn't at home when the storm hit -- are sharing one room at a Super 8 hotel off a Houston highway.

They have no place to live and no clothes except what's been donated to them.

"Our car is gone; our house is gone; everything's gone," Frank said. "We have to start over."

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siri saves sick girl from harvey floodwaters  - cnn

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Siri saves sick girl from Harvey floodwaters

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Calling 911 didn't work. Begging for help on Facebook and Instagram failed, too. "I was like, 'Siri's smart enough! Let me ask her!' " Tyler said. And indeed, Siri was smart enough. With one inquiry to the Apple personal assistant -- "Siri, call the Coast Guard" -- Tyler got her whole family rescued after two days out in the storm.

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during the solar eclipse meny camera equipment were damaged by the etence light from the sun. Most of the damage was to the sensers, merrors and the irse.

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While plenty of photographers managed to score some pretty stunning shots of the solar eclipse last month, there were a few that declined to fully research how to go about taking a picture of a partially (and totally) obscured, intensely bright light source. The result? A piece of ruined kit.

Some of those underprepared photographers had been to Tennessee-based Lensrentals to borrow top-end cameras and lenses, presumably making things a little awkward when they went to return it.

Lensrentals decided to post some details of the kind of damage some of its camera equipment suffered at the hands of those who failed to attach a solar filter or take similar precautions to protect the kit from damage, though Zach Sutton, who wrote the post, was keen to point out that the piece wasnt intended as a criticism of its fantastic customer base.

Sutton said the most common eclipse-related calamity involved sensors destroyed by heat, adding that he was surprised by just how visible the damage was to the naked eye.

The store also had DSLR cameras returned with ruined mirrors, with one of the posted images clearly showing damage to the mirror box, caused by the sun.

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Another common problem weve had sent back is the lens iris [aperture mechanism] being destroyed from the heat and brightness of the solar eclipse, Sutton wrote. As an example, Lensrentals posted a photo of a Canon 600mm f/4L IS II USM unit worth around $10,000 with its aperture system totally destroyed.

Warnings, warnings

Sutton pointed out that in the weeks and months before the eclipse, thered been plenty of warnings going around advising photographers to take care of themselves and their kit.

Warnings that this event can easily damage your camera, your lens, and your eyes if you do not have the proper protection, Sutton wrote. With all of our rentals leading up to this event, we warned everyone to view the event with appropriate eyewear and to attach a solar filter to the end of their lenses to protect the lens elements and camera sensor.

But overall, Sutton said they were really impressed with just howfew pieces of gear came back wrecked. And, as he pointed out, Lensrentals hopes that by posting images of damaged kit now, itll serve as a warning to those who are already prepping for the next eclipse in 2024.

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Check out this camera gear wrecked by the August solar eclipse

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While plenty of photographers managed to score some pretty stunning shots of the solar eclipse last month, there were a few that declined to fully research how to go about taking a picture of a partially (and totally) obscured, intensely bright light source. The result? A piece of ruined kit.

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Police say one man has been shot and another stabbed near New York's Caribbean Carnival parade as one of the nation's largest celebrations of West Indian culture was held amid ramped-up security.

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A new hurricane is arising in hurricane Irma. It has just been upgraded to a category 5 with tremendously strong winds.

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is an "increasing chance" that Florida and the Florida Keys will see "some impacts from" Irma later this week and weekend, though it's still too early to determine what direct effects it may have.

Irma is packing 175 mph winds as of 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, and hurricane watches have been upgraded to hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the NHC said.

Irma is expected to continue churning with deadly hurricane-force winds and a dangerous storm surge across a wide swath of the Caribbean before moving toward southern Florida later this week.

The current NHC storm track puts Irma near the Leeward Islands, including Antigua and Barbuda, on Tuesday. Irma is on track to hit Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic before passing over Cuba and the Bahamas and possibly approaching Florida early Sunday.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday declared a state of emergency for every county to ensure that local governments have enough "time, resources and flexibility to get prepared for this dangerous storm," according to a statement from his office.

Scott said in the statement that Irma is a "life-threatening" storm and Florida "must be prepared."

"In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Scott said, "and while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared."

Tuesday afternoon and evening rain and winds are expected to move into the northern Leeward Islands, including Antigua and Saint Martin, with the worst conditions occurring Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

Hurricane warnings -- which are usually issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds -- are in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are forecast to see deteriorating conditions throughout the day on Wednesday with the worst of the rain and wind arriving Wednesday night.

ABC News

ABC News

Some Caribbean islands were making preparations as the storm approached.

In Puerto Rico, a state of emergency has been declared that activates the National Guard.

At a news conference today, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricard Rossello warned of flooding and power outages.

He canceled classes for Tuesday and declared a half-day of work for the U.S. territory, and said the government was preparing 456 shelters on the island, which can house 62,000 people.

ABC News' Ginger Zee, Max Golembo, Dan Peck, Armando Garcia and Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 5 with 175 mph winds

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is an "increasing chance" that Florida and the Florida Keys will see "some impacts from" Irma later this week and weekend, though it's still too early to determine what direct effects it may have.

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President Donald Trump plans to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration (DACA) policy, according to two administration officials.DACA allows individuals who entered the U.S. prior to their 16th birthday to register to remain in the country, provided they pay a fee and meet certain requirements related to their education and criminal record.

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President Donald Trump is expected to officially announce his decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy, a decision that could put nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children at risk of deportation.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions will hold a briefing today at the Department of Justice to make the announcement on the DACA program.

Politico reported Sunday night that Trump has decided to end DACA with a six-month delay for Congress to act. Two senior-level sources told ABC News the president has not yet made up his mind but terminating the program is an option he's heavily favoring. The sources stressed it's not a done deal.

DACA allows individuals who entered the U.S. prior to their 16th birthday to register to remain in the country, provided they pay a fee and meet certain requirements related to their education and criminal record. Those accepted under the policy -- known as "Dreamers" -- may stay for renewable periods and are eligible for work permits.

The White House has said repeatedly that the decision was one Trump was not taking lightly.

"The president's priorities on immigration are to create a system that encourages legal immigration and benefits our economy and American workers," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Friday. "The president's been very clear he loves people and he wants to make sure that this decision is done correctly."

The president has further expressed that he believes it would be a difficult choice to end the policy.

"We love the Dreamers," said Trump from the Oval Office on Friday. "We love everybody."

Trump told ABC News' David Muir in January that those covered by the program "shouldn't be very worried" and that they're "going to take care of everybody."

"I do have a big heart," said Trump at the time on the matter.

In an interview with The Associated Press back in April, Trump said his administration is "not after the Dreamers, we are after the criminals."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said earlier this summer, however, that everyone in the United States illegally is subject to deportation, but criminals would be prioritized.

"Under the laws of the United States, you should only enter this country properly. You don't get to come into the country illegally. If you do, you're subject to being deported," Sessions said in a June interview with Fox News. "You are really subject to being deported if you come into the country illegally and murder somebody or commit another serious crime."

The administration chose Sept. 5 to make its announcement on DACA, the same day Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and nine other attorneys general have said they plan on expanding a lawsuit to include a challenge to the DACA program if it's not ended.

President Barack Obama, who implemented DACA on June 15, 2012, using an executive order, intended for the program to be temporary and for Congress to pass a more comprehensive immigration reform bill.

Congress has been struggling for years to pass legislation that would overhaul the country's immigration system, with the most recent attempt in 2013. The immigration bill drafted by eight Republican and Democratic senators -- known as the "Gang of Eight" -- that would have given millions of undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship passed the Senate but failed in the House.

ABC News' John Santucci contributed to this report.

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Trump expected to announce DACA decision today

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President Donald Trump is expected to officially announce his decision on the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy, a decision that could put nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children at risk of deportation.

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Dad of HS Football Player Convicted of Rape and Shooting of a Judge.

On Monday an Ohio judge was shot outside his court house and the suspect is the father of a Steubenville High School football player who was convicted of rape in 2013. The judge was immediately brought to the hospital after the attack, and he is in stable condition following surgery.

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Hurricane Irma is now classified as a category 5. They also are saying that these winds will reach 150 mph. This is a big threat to Florida and the islands.

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Extremely dangerous Hurricane irma strengthens to category 5 with 175 mph winds.

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is an "increasing chance" that Florida and the Florida Keys will see "some impacts from" Irma later this week and weekend, though it's still too early to determine what direct effects it may have.

Irma is packing 175 mph winds as of 8 a.m. ET Tuesday, and hurricane watches have been upgraded to hurricane warnings for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, the NHC said.

Irma is expected to continue churning with deadly hurricane-force winds and a dangerous storm surge across a wide swath of the Caribbean before moving toward southern Florida later this week.

The current NHC storm track puts Irma near the Leeward Islands, including Antigua and Barbuda, on Tuesday. Irma is on track to hit Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic before passing over Cuba and the Bahamas and possibly approaching Florida early Sunday.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday declared a state of emergency for every county to ensure that local governments have enough "time, resources and flexibility to get prepared for this dangerous storm," according to a statement from his office.

Scott said in the statement that Irma is a "life-threatening" storm and Florida "must be prepared."

"In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Scott said, "and while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared."

Tuesday afternoon and evening rain and winds are expected to move into the northern Leeward Islands, including Antigua and Saint Martin, with the worst conditions occurring Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning.

Hurricane warnings -- which are usually issued 36 hours before the anticipated first occurrence of tropical-storm-force winds -- are in effect for Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Saba, St. Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are forecast to see deteriorating conditions throughout the day on Wednesday with the worst of the rain and wind arriving Wednesday night.

ABC News

ABC News

Some Caribbean islands were making preparations as the storm approached.

In Puerto Rico, a state of emergency has been declared that activates the National Guard.

At a news conference today, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricard Rossello warned of flooding and power outages.

He canceled classes for Tuesday and declared a half-day of work for the U.S. territory, and said the government was preparing 456 shelters on the island, which can house 62,000 people.

ABC News' Ginger Zee, Max Golembo, Dan Peck, Armando Garcia and Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 5 with 175 mph winds

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is an "increasing chance" that Florida and the Florida Keys will see "some impacts from" Irma later this week and weekend, though it's still too early to determine what direct effects it may have.

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A convicted drug kingpin in the Italian mafia has been arrested in Uruguay after being on the run for over 20 years.

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, data from a hurricane-hunter aircraft show.It is still too early to tell the exact impact Irma will have on the United States.

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The NFL has filed a motion to dismiss the temporary restraining order filed by the NFLPA on behalf of Ezekiel Elliott against the Dallas Cowboys running back's six-game suspension for breaching the league's personal conduct policy.

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NFL files motion to dismiss Elliott's temporary restraining order

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The NFL has filed a motion to dismiss the temporary restraining order filed by the NFLPA on behalf of Ezekiel Elliott against the Dallas Cowboys running back's six-game suspension for breaching the league's personal conduct policy.

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'S. korea seaks a bigger warheads, N korean ICBM reportedly on the move.'

South korea made an agreement on tuesday with america that there would be a weight limit on warheads to delt with north korea's nuclear and missel threat.

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SEOUL - South Korea said on Tuesday an agreement with the United States to scrap a weight limit on its warheads would help it respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threat after it conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test two days ago.

South Korean officials believe more weapons tests by the reclusive state are possible, despite international outrage over Sunday's nuclear test and calls for more sanctions against it. South Korea's Asia Business Daily, citing an unidentified source, reported that North Korea had been observed moving a rocket that appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards its west coast. The rocket started moving on Monday and was spotted moving only at night to avoid surveillance, the newspaper said.

South Korea's defense ministry, which warned on Monday that North Korea was ready to launch an ICBM at any time, said it was not able to confirm the report.

Analysts and South Korean policymakers believe North Korea may test another weapon on or around Sept. 9, when it celebrates its founding day. North Korea's fifth nuclear test fell on that date last year, reflecting its tendency to conduct weapons tests on significant dates.

North Korea says it needs to develop its weapons to defend itself against what it sees as U.S. aggression. South Korea, after weeks of rising tension, is talking to the United States about deploying aircraft carriers and strategic bombers to the Korean peninsula, and has been ramping up its own defenses. U.S. President Donald Trump and his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-in, agreed on Monday to scrap a warhead weight limit on South Korea's missiles, South Korea's presidential office said, enabling it to strike North Korea with greater force in the event of war.

The White House said Trump gave "in-principle approval" to the move. The United States and South Korea signed a pact in 1979, a year after the South successfully tested a ballistic missile, with Washington expressing the need for limits on ballistic missile capability over concern that tests could undermine regional security. South Korea and the United States are technically still at war with North Korea after the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended with a truce, not a peace treaty. Both sides have thousands of rockets and artillery pieces aimed at each other across the world's most heavily armed border, but the North's rapid development of nuclear weapons and missiles has altered the balance, requiring a stronger response from South Korea, officials say.

"We believe the unlimited warhead payload will be useful in responding to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats," South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun told a briefing.

Under current guidelines, last changed in 2012, South Korea can develop missiles up to a range of 800 km (500 miles) with a maximum payload of 500 kg (1,102 lb). Most of North Korea's missiles are designed to carry payloads of 100-1,000 kg (220-2,205 lb), according to Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a U.S.-based think tank.

'BEGGING FOR WAR'
South Korea's navy held more exercises on Tuesday, a naval officer told a defense ministry briefing.

"Today's training is being held to prepare for maritime North Korean provocations, inspect our navy's readiness and to reaffirm our will to punish the enemy," the official said.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said on Monday North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was "begging for war" and urged the 15-member Security Council to impose the "strongest possible" sanctions to deter him and shut down his trading partners. Haley said the United States would circulate a new Security Council resolution on North Korea this week and wanted a vote on it on Monday. Trump has repeatedly warned that "all options were on the table" regarding North Korea, including military options.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said threats of military action were counterproductive.

"Russia condemns North Korea's exercises, we consider that they are a provocation," Putin told reporters after a summit of the BRICS countries in China. "(But) ramping up military hysteria will lead to nothing good. It could lead to a global catastrophe."

While referring to more sanctions as a "road to nowhere," Putin said Russia was prepared to discuss "some details" around the issue. He did not elaborate.

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said she believed her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, was open to more sanctions.

"I cannot tell you exact details as the minister asked me not to disclose the content of our discussion, but I could sense that China could be open to more sanctions," Kang told lawmakers in parliament, referring to a phone call with Wang on Monday.

China's foreign ministry said it would take part in security council discussions in "a responsible and constructive manner."

Diplomats have said the Security Council could consider banning North Korean textile exports, banishing its national airline and stopping supplies of oil to the government and military. Other measures could include preventing North Koreans from working abroad and adding top officials to a blacklist aiming at imposing asset freezes and travel bans. Sanctions imposed after missile tests in July were aimed at slashing North Korea's $3 billion annual export revenue by a third by banning exports of coal, iron, lead and seafood. China accounted for 92 percent of North Korea's trade in 2016, according to South Korea's government trade promotion agency.
Reporting by Christine Kim; Additional reporting by Dennis Pinchuk in XIAMEN, China, Christian Shepherd in BEIJING, Michelle Nichols at the UNITED NATIONS and Tim Ahmann and David Shepardson in WASHINGTON; Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel

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S. Korea seeks bigger warheads; N. Korean ICBM reportedly on the move

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SEOUL - South Korea said on Tuesday an agreement with the United States to scrap a weight limit on its warheads would help it respond to North Korea's nuclear and missile threat after it conducted its sixth and largest nuclear test two days ago.

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In some of the states in America the highways, bridges, roads and dams are falling apart. About 15,500 of Americas dams are in high hazard and could break very soon. Some highways are collapsing and 11% of the roads are in really bad condition.

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An economic powerhouse as massive and diversified as the United States depends on a network of highways, bridges, airports, and dams to thrive. And while the economy has grown every year since the recession officially ended in 2009, Our nation's infrastructure is not fairing as well.

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'Extremely dangerous' Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 5, 'increasing chance' could affect Florida: NHC

Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is an "increasing chance" that Florida and the Florida Keys will see "some impacts from" Irma later this week and weekend, though it's still too early to determine what direct effects it may have.

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, and catastrophic damage is possible in the Florida Keys and southern Florida this weekend as a second storm has formed behind it.

Irma was packing 185 mph winds and gusts of more than 200 mph as of 2 a.m. ET Wednesday, and is expected to continue churning with deadly hurricane-force winds and a dangerous storm surge across a wide swath of the Caribbean this week before moving toward southern Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The dangerous storm made landfall in Barbuda around 2 a.m. on Wednesday and is moving west-northwest at 15 mph. Hurricane watches and warnings have been issued across Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Turks and Caicos, Cuba and the Leeward Islands.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Jose has formed over the open Atlantic, following closely behind Irma, the NHC said Tuesday. Jose could become a Category 2 hurricane as it brushes the northeastern-most Caribbean islands at the end of the week. However, Jose poses no threat to the U.S. or Puerto Rico as of Tuesday.

The NHC warned that residents in the Leeward Islands, already expected to face Irma, "should monitor the track" of Jose.

The NHC on Tuesday called Irma the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in NHC records.

By Sunday around 8 a.m., outer bands from Hurricane Irma are expected to reach the Florida Keys with winds of 145 mph as a Category 4 hurricane. Irma's center is forecast to move over Key West on Sunday afternoon.

It is still unclear whether the storm will track up the east or west coast of Florida. If Irma travels up Florida's west coast, it would present worst-case scenarios for Gulf cities from Naples to Tampa. If the storm travels up Florida's east coast, the "bad" side of the storm would remain off-shore, but it could later make landfall somewhere between Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday declared a state of emergency for every county to ensure that local governments have enough "time, resources and flexibility to get prepared for this dangerous storm," according to a statement from his office.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been ordered for Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, beginning on Wednesday, but cars were already streaming out of the region on Tuesday evening. Officials also anticipate evacuation orders for low-lying portions of Miami-Dade County, including Miami Beach, by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

President Donald Trump approved Scott's declaration for a pre-landfall emergency for the entire state of Florida, the governor said in a press conference Tuesday evening.

Scott said Tuesday that it is important that Floridians keep a close eye on the storm and "do not sit and wait to prepare."

Scott has deployed 100 members of the Florida National Guard, and nearly 7,000 troops will be reporting for duty in the coming days, the governor said.

The American Red Cross is sending 1,000 volunteers to Florida, Scott said.

"In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Scott said, "and while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared."

The Monroe County School District is shuttering schools Wednesday, the county added. Schools in several other Florida counties, including Miami-Dade and Broward, will be closed Thursday and Friday, Scott said.

The University of Miami has canceled classes for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the school announced Tuesday.

Scott said at this time there are no reported issues with availability for fuel and supplies, but he urged residents to only "take what you need." There were long lines for gas in many areas of south Florida on Tuesday.

All 67 state offices will be closed Friday in preparation for the hurricane, Scott said, encouraging state employees to volunteer at local shelters.

The Florida Keys experienced massive flooding from Hurricane Wilma in 2005, which was a Category 3 storm. The last Category 5 storm to make landfall in the Florida Keys was the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.

"If ever there was a storm to take seriously in the Keys, this is it," Monroe County Emergency Management Director Martin Senterfitt said in a statement released by the county. "The sooner people leave, the better."

A spokesperson for the Naval Air Station at Key West said a separate evacuation order has been issued for the base's 5,500 personnel and their families, effective Tuesday at 8 p.m.

The last time the base was evacuated was in September 2008 for Hurricane Ike.

Broward County, Florida Mayor Barbara Sharief said Tuesday that Broward County will feel tropical storm-level winds by Friday. The mayor said those who live in an evacuation zone should plan to evacuate, adding that extra shelters will be available. Schools in Broward County will be closed Thursday and Friday.

Category 5 is the strongest hurricane category on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane strength scale. In a Category 5 storm, winds reach more than 157 mph and damage is expected to be catastrophic, with buildings and roofs destroyed.

The Carnival Cruise Line has diverted four ships carrying more than 13,000 passengers to maintain a "safe distance" from Irma, a spokesperson said.

"The safety of our guests and team members is our first priority," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to make adjustments as necessary."

The current NHC storm track puts Irma near the Leeward Islands, including Antigua and Barbuda, on Tuesday.

On the nearby island of Anguilla, which Irma is forecast to move over Wednesday morning, the Department of Disaster Management on Tuesday warned of flash floods and mudslides. Four shelters were scheduled to be opened as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are forecast to see deteriorating conditions throughout the day on Wednesday with the worst of the rain and wind arriving Wednesday night.

The storm is expected to pass north of Puerto Rico Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

In Puerto Rico, a state of emergency has been declared, activating the National Guard as the U.S. territory prepares the storm, which the governor on Tuesday called unprecedented.

"This is the time to take action," the governor said Tuesday.

Héctor Pesquera, the superintendent of the Puerto Rico police, said at least 14 hours of wind and rain is expected, calling the storm more dangerous than Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas Aug. 25 as a Category 4 storm.

Rossello warned that emergency services will stop when winds reach 50 mph.

Shelters are being opened in preparation for the storm, and the governor said all those who have vulnerable homes or flood prone areas need to start evacuation plans and head to shelters.

The governor has canceled classes for Tuesday and declared a half-day of work.

ABC News' Ginger Zee, Gio Benitez, Max Golembo, Dan Peck, Erin Dooley and Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.

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Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 5 as 2nd storm forms behind it

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, and catastrophic damage is possible in the Florida Keys and southern Florida this weekend as a second storm has formed behind it. Irma was packing 185 mph winds and gusts of more than 200 mph as of 2 a.m.

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following the Houston flooding most churches that were accessible by land were opened for shelters but joel osteen didn't help saying that it flooded every entrance accessible to the church. it got backlash as there was no water seen in pictures around the church. osteen finally decided to open the church up to the needy and said he was taking "precautions"

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"There's been so much misinformation about the church this week, I wanted to clarify some things," Pastor Joel Osteen told the congregation of Lakewood Church Sunday morning.

On most Sundays, the non-denominational megachurch draws some 16,000 worshippers - a crowd appropriate to its building, formerly the Compaq Center arena for the Houston Rockets.

But that wasn't the case this week.

That morning, during "Hope for Houston," special services held in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, the garage, checkpoints and aisles were relatively empty.

In the days immediately following the hurricane, the church was criticized for not opening its doors as an emergency shelter.

Then the controversy shifted into a higher gear.

According to KRTK-13, on Sunday, Aug. 27, Lakewood associate pastor John Gray explained, on Facebook and Instagram, that "flooded highways had made the church inaccessible." Those posts have since been deleted.

The internet fired back. The next day, widely-circulated videos and photographs showed the church's entrance and parking lot without any sign of flooding.

Tuesday, amid a nationwide backlash, Lakewood Church welcomed several hundred evacuees and issued the following statement: "We have never closed our doors. We will continue to be a distribution center for those in need."

© Ourlandofthefree.com

The final, conflicting blow landed Wednesday, when Osteen appeared on NBC's "TODAY" show.

"We were just being precautious," he said live, "but the main thing is the city didn't ask us to become a shelter then."

This Sunday, Lakewood's two services each drew between 1,000 and 1,200 worshippers - a much smaller attendance than usual.

Lakewood regulars report that Osteen typically preaches 20 to 30 minutes Sundays. During the first "Hope for Houston" service, his message ran just six minutes.

At the 8:30 service, the crowd cheered after Osteen offered to clarify the church's position.

"I know y'all love me," he said. "You need to get on social media."

"This building flooded in 2001, when the Rockets were still playing basketball here," Osteen explained. "It was over five feet of water in this lower bowl. Knowing that, when we took possession, we installed large flood gates around the building."

The water, he said, came within a foot or two of reaching the new gates and flooding the building again. "So (it) receded late Sunday, maybe early Monday; we felt it was safe to start taking people in on Tuesday. I don't mind taking the heat for being precautious, but I don't want to take the heat for being foolish."

He repeated, "We're not victims in Houston: We are victors" at least three times during the service.

His signature "prosperity" style of preaching attracts a devoted following.

"He preaches hope, and sometimes you need to hear that message," said one member of the congregation - a young woman who, like other churchgoers approached for comment, declined to be named.

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Controversy at Lakewood? Osteen's six-minute response

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"There's been so much misinformation about the church this week, I wanted to clarify some things," Pastor Joel Osteen told the congregation of Lakewood Church Sunday morning. On most Sundays, the non-denominational megachurch draws some 16,000 worshippers - a crowd appropriate to its building, formerly the Compaq Center arena for the Houston Rockets.

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The war game that the government and utilities hold every other year to simulate attacks on the power grid is being expanded this year to include big banks, Wall Street, and the telecommunications industry.

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The war game that the government and utilities hold every other year to simulate attacks on the power grid is being expanded this year to include big banks, Wall Street, and the telecommunications industry.

The expansion of the GridEx IV security exercise in November comes as presidential advisers are scrambling to draft recommendations to protect infrastructure, noting that the electric sector has been a step ahead on public-private partnerships to address cybersecurity.

Calling the nation's utilities "the top of the risk matrix," Mike Wallace, a former utility executive and member of the presidential National Infrastructure Advisory Council, said the exercise "offers the perfect opportunity to test precisely how federal authorities will be exercised during a severe cyber event." He made the comments at the panel's quarterly meeting last month to discuss its latest draft recommendations for protecting the grid.

"The NIAC has repeatedly found that cross-sector exercises is the best way to test decision making, protocols, procedures, and to identify gaps," Wallace said.

But even before adding the telecom and financial sectors to the exercise was included in a formal list of recommendations, Trump was already on board, according to a senior White House official.
Click for more from the Washington Examiner.

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White House expands power grid war to include banks, Wall Street and telecom companies

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The war game that the government and utilities hold every other year to simulate attacks on the power grid is being expanded this year to include big banks, Wall Street, and the telecommunications industry.

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Matilda Jones a seven-year-old girl was swimming with her family at Dozmary pool, the same place where King Arthur returned his Excalibur sword, after being wounded at the Battle of Camlann. What Matilda's father thought to be debris, or fencing, might actually turn out to be the legendary sword.

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A young British girl swimming at a lake in the United Kingdom believed to hold the legendary King Arthur's famous sword happened upon a shiny sword herself.

Matilda Jones, 7, was swimming with family at Dozmary Pool while on vacation last Tuesday, when she discovered a shiny sword beneath the water, The Sheffield Star reported.

Dozmary Pool, a lake in Cornwall, is said to be the spot where King Arthur, the mythical medieval leader, returned his Excalibur sword after being gravely wounded in the Battle of Camlann.

"It was a blistering hot day and Matilda asked if we could go for a paddle," Matilda's father, Paul, said. "She was only waist deep when she said she could see a sword."
CHICK-FIL-A GETS CAUGHT IN HILARIOUS FEUD WITH ALABAMA BARBECUE RESTAURANT
Paul told his daughter the shiny metal underwater was probably just debris.

"I told her not to be silly and it was probably a bit of fencing, but when I looked down I realised it was a sword. It was just there laying flat on the bottom of the lake," Paul said.

Paul said the sword is 4 feet long, which he said is "exactly Matilda's height."

He also believes the sword is just a film prop, and can't be more than 20 or 30 years old.

Legend says that King Arthur received Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake in the Dozmary Pool, and later brought it back when he was dying.

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British girl finds her own 'Excalibur' in legendary pool

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A young British girl swimming at a lake in the United Kingdom believed to hold the legendary King Arthur's famous sword happened upon a shiny sword herself. Matilda Jones, 7, was swimming with family at Dozmary Pool while on vacation last Tuesday, when she discovered a shiny sword beneath the water, The Sheffield Star reported.

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Hurricane Irma is getting stronger. Irma is now a category 5 with 175 mph winds.

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, and catastrophic damage is possible in the Florida Keys and southern Florida this weekend as a second storm has formed behind it.

Irma was packing 185 mph winds and gusts of more than 200 mph as of 2 a.m. ET Wednesday, and is expected to continue churning with deadly hurricane-force winds and a dangerous storm surge across a wide swath of the Caribbean this week before moving toward southern Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The dangerous storm made landfall in Barbuda around 2 a.m. on Wednesday and is moving west-northwest at 15 mph. Hurricane watches and warnings have been issued across Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Turks and Caicos, Cuba and the Leeward Islands.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Jose has formed over the open Atlantic, following closely behind Irma, the NHC said Tuesday. Jose could become a Category 2 hurricane as it brushes the northeastern-most Caribbean islands at the end of the week. However, Jose poses no threat to the U.S. or Puerto Rico as of Tuesday.

The NHC warned that residents in the Leeward Islands, already expected to face Irma, "should monitor the track" of Jose.

The NHC on Tuesday called Irma the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic basin outside of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in NHC records.

By Sunday around 8 a.m., outer bands from Hurricane Irma are expected to reach the Florida Keys with winds of 145 mph as a Category 4 hurricane. Irma's center is forecast to move over Key West on Sunday afternoon.

It is still unclear whether the storm will track up the east or west coast of Florida. If Irma travels up Florida's west coast, it would present worst-case scenarios for Gulf cities from Naples to Tampa. If the storm travels up Florida's east coast, the "bad" side of the storm would remain off-shore, but it could later make landfall somewhere between Savannah, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Monday declared a state of emergency for every county to ensure that local governments have enough "time, resources and flexibility to get prepared for this dangerous storm," according to a statement from his office.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been ordered for Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, beginning on Wednesday, but cars were already streaming out of the region on Tuesday evening. Officials also anticipate evacuation orders for low-lying portions of Miami-Dade County, including Miami Beach, by late Wednesday or early Thursday.

President Donald Trump approved Scott's declaration for a pre-landfall emergency for the entire state of Florida, the governor said in a press conference Tuesday evening.

Scott said Tuesday that it is important that Floridians keep a close eye on the storm and "do not sit and wait to prepare."

Scott has deployed 100 members of the Florida National Guard, and nearly 7,000 troops will be reporting for duty in the coming days, the governor said.

The American Red Cross is sending 1,000 volunteers to Florida, Scott said.

"In Florida, we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Scott said, "and while the exact path of Irma is not absolutely known at this time, we cannot afford to not be prepared."

The Monroe County School District is shuttering schools Wednesday, the county added. Schools in several other Florida counties, including Miami-Dade and Broward, will be closed Thursday and Friday, Scott said.

The University of Miami has canceled classes for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the school announced Tuesday.

Scott said at this time there are no reported issues with availability for fuel and supplies, but he urged residents to only "take what you need." There were long lines for gas in many areas of south Florida on Tuesday.

All 67 state offices will be closed Friday in preparation for the hurricane, Scott said, encouraging state employees to volunteer at local shelters.

The Florida Keys experienced massive flooding from Hurricane Wilma in 2005, which was a Category 3 storm. The last Category 5 storm to make landfall in the Florida Keys was the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.

"If ever there was a storm to take seriously in the Keys, this is it," Monroe County Emergency Management Director Martin Senterfitt said in a statement released by the county. "The sooner people leave, the better."

A spokesperson for the Naval Air Station at Key West said a separate evacuation order has been issued for the base's 5,500 personnel and their families, effective Tuesday at 8 p.m.

The last time the base was evacuated was in September 2008 for Hurricane Ike.

Broward County, Florida Mayor Barbara Sharief said Tuesday that Broward County will feel tropical storm-level winds by Friday. The mayor said those who live in an evacuation zone should plan to evacuate, adding that extra shelters will be available. Schools in Broward County will be closed Thursday and Friday.

Category 5 is the strongest hurricane category on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane strength scale. In a Category 5 storm, winds reach more than 157 mph and damage is expected to be catastrophic, with buildings and roofs destroyed.

The Carnival Cruise Line has diverted four ships carrying more than 13,000 passengers to maintain a "safe distance" from Irma, a spokesperson said.

"The safety of our guests and team members is our first priority," the company said in a statement. "We will continue to make adjustments as necessary."

The current NHC storm track puts Irma near the Leeward Islands, including Antigua and Barbuda, on Tuesday.

On the nearby island of Anguilla, which Irma is forecast to move over Wednesday morning, the Department of Disaster Management on Tuesday warned of flash floods and mudslides. Four shelters were scheduled to be opened as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are forecast to see deteriorating conditions throughout the day on Wednesday with the worst of the rain and wind arriving Wednesday night.

The storm is expected to pass north of Puerto Rico Wednesday night into early Thursday morning.

In Puerto Rico, a state of emergency has been declared, activating the National Guard as the U.S. territory prepares the storm, which the governor on Tuesday called unprecedented.

"This is the time to take action," the governor said Tuesday.

Héctor Pesquera, the superintendent of the Puerto Rico police, said at least 14 hours of wind and rain is expected, calling the storm more dangerous than Hurricane Harvey, which made landfall in Texas Aug. 25 as a Category 4 storm.

Rossello warned that emergency services will stop when winds reach 50 mph.

Shelters are being opened in preparation for the storm, and the governor said all those who have vulnerable homes or flood prone areas need to start evacuation plans and head to shelters.

The governor has canceled classes for Tuesday and declared a half-day of work.

ABC News' Ginger Zee, Gio Benitez, Max Golembo, Dan Peck, Erin Dooley and Josh Hoyos contributed to this report.

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Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 5 as 2nd storm forms behind it

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Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, and catastrophic damage is possible in the Florida Keys and southern Florida this weekend as a second storm has formed behind it. Irma was packing 185 mph winds and gusts of more than 200 mph as of 2 a.m.

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Hurricane Irma strengthens to Category 5. Hurricane Irma has strengthened to a Category 5 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph.