Hurricane Irma Has Made Landfall in Florida [Updating]Hurricane Irma regained power and its Category 4 status on Sunday morning before making landfall in the Florida Keys, with storm surges in the islands potentially reaching up to 1. Maximum sustained winds are near 1. National Hurricane Center wrote in an update. Irma is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir- Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. While weakening is forecast, Irma is expected to remain a powerful hurricane while it moves near or along the west coast of Florida.”“Hurricane- force winds extend outward up to 8.

The National Weather Service’s Key West office tweeted water was three feet above normal as of 9: 3. ET, adding the storm had continued to move northwest on its trajectory toward the Tampa area. According to the NHC, Tampa Bay could see surges of five to eight feet. According to the Associated Press, some 3.

Keys but “an untold number refused to leave, in part because to many storm- hardened residents, staying behind in the face of danger is a point of pride.” Approximately one million people were without power, and an estimated 1. Though the Miami- Ft. Lauderdale- West Palm Beach corridor on the east coast avoided a direct hit, footage posted by CNN showed the area experienced extreme winds and damage downtown. At least one construction crane, one of many in the area put at risk by high winds, partially collapsed in downtown Miami.

How to watch the total solar eclipse online and on TV It's the first total solar eclipse in the US for 99 years. Hurricane Irma regained power and its Category 4 status on Sunday morning before making landfall in the Florida Keys, with storm surges in the islands potentially. This is opulence. Suddenly, there is extra light blasting from behind my TV screen, making a day-glow title sequence positively atomic. The DreamScreen, a. The Star Labs team will be shocked as Harrison Wells from Earth 2 arrives. Watch Every Secret Thing Tube Free.

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Irma was projected to retain much of its strength as it headed up the west coast; since it will remain on or close to the coast, it will be able to recharge power from unusually warm waters in the Gulf. Update 5: 0. 3pm ET: Later in the day, Irma was downgraded to a Category 3 for the second time but continued to plow northwest. It made landfall for the second time on Marco Island in southwest Florida, with winds reaching 1.

The Marco Island Emergency Operations Center warned citizens not to go outside as Irma’s eyewall approached, and recommended “vertical evacuation into second or higher floor if possible.” Video showed the storm battering the island as it passed. Irma is headed on a direct course for the nearby mainland city of Naples on the southwest side of the peninsula, where conditions are very bad. At Naples municipal airport, NWS Miami reported it had recorded a 1.

The NWS also put much of the region under flash flood warnings. In the Cape Sable to Captiva region of southwest Florida, where Naples is in the middle of, the NHC predicted storm surge could reach 1. As the storm moved northwest, it left behind destruction in the Florida Keys. Throughout the islands, people hunkered down in reinforced sections of buildings, roofs ripped off buildings and winds blew out the interiors of homes and businesses. Miami avoided a direct hit, but there was still considerable flooding throughout downtown and other neighborhoods, with feet- high storm surge turning parts of the city into a veritable river.

The NWS Miami office warned mid- afternoon that a tornado had touched down near the airport in Fort Lauderdale, just north of Miami. Update 7: 1. 8pm ET: Late Saturday, Hurricane Irma was downgraded to a Category 2 storm, but remains extremely dangerous. According to the NHC, Irma is still throwing 1. Initial indications were that Irma had dealt serious damage to Naples and Fort Myers, where the storm dealt a direct hit. Photos showed the storm had reduced visibility to near nothing as it threw trees and debris and surged water up streets. While Naples is currently dealing with storm surge in the storm’s wake, Fort Myers will soon face the worst of Irma’s eyewall. The water was sucked out of Tampa Bay as the storm, which is rotating at high speed, drew water out to sea; that water plus up to eight feet of storm surge is expected to return later when the storm hits the city directly.

Numerous social media posts as well as live coverage on cable news showed curious locals walking out into the now- dry seabed, which experts cautioned is a bad idea.“It is within the realm of possibility that (the water) comes back more dramatically than if it were just a surge blowing up on land without the water being removed from the shore areas by the winds ahead of the eye of the storm,” Louisiana State University Center for Coastal Resiliency director Scott Hagen told CNN. This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut are unrivaled in hot dog-eating, but they no longer compete together. Here's why.

Takeru Kobayashi, Joey Chestnut And The Rift In Competitive Hot Dog- Eating. UPDATE: Joey Chestnut devoured 6. Coney Island hot dog- eating contest, while Takeru Kobayashi ate just 6. Takeru Kobayashi was, by all accounts, the competitive eating world's first superstar, winning the 4th of July Nathan's International Hot Dog- Eating Contest title from 2. In his first year of competition, he ate twice as many hot dogs as his closest competitor. Indeed, when competitive eating went mainstream, thanks to ESPN, in 2.

Japanese wonder who captured the world's imagination. How could such a small man eat so many hot dogs, everyone wondered. The 3. 5- year- old Nagano, Japan- native was catapulted into a career of binge eating after winning a Japanese TV show.

He became an overnight sensation in his home country and soon brought his talents to U. S. shores where he is widely credited with popularizing the sport by turning the annual Nathan’s hot dog- eating contest into a must- watch 4th of July event.

Yet, a contract dispute has kept him away from the Coney Island Boardwalk for the past three years. Essentially, the winner of five Guinness records - - hot dogs, pasta, meatballs, Twinkies, hamburgers - - refused to go along with what he called overly restrictive limits on endorsements and remuneration imposed by Major League Eating, the international federation that runs the Nathan’s 4th of July Contest and other annual events. Kobayashi has decided to instead navigate the niche industry alone. George Shea, spokesperson for Major League Eating, reiterated in an email to International Business Times, Wednesday, that Kobayashi was never actually banned from the competition.“Kobayashi is not part of our league and so he is not eligible to compete in our events, but we have always welcomed him into our league. In fact, we have asked him each year if he would like to be part of the league and he has repeatedly declined.“After losing three straight hot dog contests to Joey Chestnut, he left the league, which freed him to go out on his own and exploit his fame in events such as the upcoming Uncle Bob's Self- Storage Cupcake- Eating Contest, which has captivated the attention of nearly all competitive eating fans in the Upper Saddle River, N. J., area,” Shea continued. It’s true. Kobayashi did lose to San Jose- native Joey “Jaws” Chestnut three years in a row.

His star power was fading to the point where he ceremoniously stormed the Nathan’s stage in 2. It was a low moment for Kobayashi, but the Japanese champion eater has made somewhat of a comeback over the past two years. In 2. 01. 1, Chestnut scarfed down 6. Coney Island while his mortal enemy, Kobayashi, ate 6. Fifth in midtown Manhattan. In 2. 01. 2, Chestnut ate 6.

Coney Island while Kobayashi ate 6. Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn. Nathan’s officials dismissed both records. This year, Kobayashi is at it again with a 4th of July tournament at Eventi, a Kimpton Hotel, in Chelsea. You can expect to see a stage full of exceptional eaters and me coming in with a new world record,” he said when IBTimes caught up with him two days before the spectacle. So how do you prepare your body to ingest dozens of hot dogs?

I’m preparing by training my stomach to expand to the fullest it can possibly go,” the pro explained. I begin this a couple months prior to the event by drinking water and adjusting the amounts as the days get closer.”Kobayashi has never been shy about marketing himself. He has starred in commercials for Sports Center, Eight O’Clock Coffee and Master.

Card, and appeared on MTV’s True Life, Saturday Night Live and numerous late night shows. Now, he’s getting into the hot dog business.“After the event, I will unveil my brand new hot dog, the Kobi Dog, which is very exciting for me this year,” he said. The Kobi Dog is made with all beef Midwestern grain- fed cattle and perfected to a great snap, bite and taste.” Anyone can buy the snappy new product online from Rastelli Foods Group, beginning Thursday afternoon. When all is said and done this 4th of July, Chestnut will almost certainly take the mustard yellow belt at the Nathan’s International Hot Dog- Eating Contest in Coney Island. And, Kobayashi will undoubtedly win the title at his own match at the Eventi. There’s really nobody else who comes close to competing against these two at shoving hot dogs down their throats, which is why it’s such a shame that they won’t compete against each other.***This article was updated on July 8 to reflect the location of Uncle Bob’s Self- Storage Cupcake- Eating Contest and the sarcastic tone intended by Major League Eating spokesperson George Shea.