Photo: Science Photo Library RF
1 Hurricane Ian Approaching Cuba
Hurricane Ian neared western Cuba as a strong Category 2 storm – and strengthened to a Cat 3 overnight. In the early morning hours, Ian’s wrath was clocked as having sustained winds of 115-miles per hour. In Florida, officials and residents are preparing for the worst, with the storm expected to intensify as it approached Florida's west coast tomorrow into Thursday. As such, mandatory evacuations are being issued in multiple counties for hundreds of thousands of people. While officials have begun their evacuations, some hospitals already started over the weekend. Meanwhile, residents are preparing for the worst – especially around Tampa, which is expected to see its first direct hit from a hurricane in more than a century. “This is something that we haven’t seen in our lifetime,” said Meteorologist Rick Davis of the National Weather Service’s Tampa office. “So we definitely need to take it seriously.”
2 NASA Crashed Spacecraft Into Asteroid
Back in 1998, “Deep Impact” and “Armageddon” were two fictional Hollywood films about people on earth taking steps to prevent an asteroid from slamming into earth. Now? It’s actually happened – as NASA successfully crashed a spacecraft into the asteroid they dubbed Dimorphos. Now, the earth wasn’t actually in dangers – this was a test of our so-called "interplanetary defense system." Launching a spacecraft six-point-five-million miles and getting it to hit an object 530-feetin diameter? A success by any measure. Still, NASA won’t be able to call the mission a complete success until they determine if Dimorphos was actually knocked off course. It orbits a larger, 2,560-foot asteroid called Didymos. The technology may be needed in the future if an asteroid is ever on track to hit Earth. Officials say it could be weeks before they’re able to tell if the asteroid was moved from its orbit in any direction.
3 Chinese, Russian Warships Spotted Off Alaskan Island
The United States Coast Guard has apparently spotted a combined Chinese and Russian naval convoy, close to Alaska’s Kiska Island, on September 19th. The seven-vessel convoy sighted in the Bering Sea 86-miles off Kiska included a destroyer and a guided missile cruiser. The Coast Guard cutter Kimball monitored the ships before they broke formation and sailed away. This incident happened a month after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned about China's interest in the Arctic and Russia's growing military buildup at near the top of the world. Kiska Island is one of the farthest-west islands in the Aleutians. On a related note, the White House is again slamming Russia's threat to use nuclear weapons to help win its war against Ukraine. At a briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the threat “reckless,” “irresponsible” and said a nuclear strike would have disastrous consequences for Russia, Ukraine and the world.