'Life Under Threat' Warning As Hurricane Hermine Hits Florida Coast

Hurricane Hermine has hit the Florida Gulf coast with winds of up to 80mph and heavy rains causing flooding and leaving tens of thousands of homes in the dark.

The US National Hurricane Center said Hermine made landfall over northwest Florida, east of St Marks, at 1,30am (EDT).

Within an hour, 70,000 homes in the state capital Tallahassee and thousands more along the coast were without power, with areas also reporting five inches of rainfall.

"It is a mess... we have high water in numerous places," Virgil Sandlin, the police chief in Cedar Key, Florida, told the Weather Channel.

"I was here in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and I don't recall anything this bad." 

It is the first hurricane to directly hit the Sunshine State in more than a decade.

It is feared the hurricane, the fourth of the 2016 Atlantic season, could eventually pack wind speeds of up to 95mph. 

Storm surges of up to 12ft are threatening the coastline with up to 20 inches of rainfall predicted with the danger of flooding, the forecasters said.

Hurricane warnings play on the TV as shoppers stock up in Saint Marks, Florida

Florida's governor Rick Scott has warned the hurricane is potentially 'life-threatening' and is urging Gulf Coast residents to take precautions immediately.

The warning covers an area from Marineland in Florida to South Santee River in South Carolina.

A hurricane warning was already in effect for a section of Florida's Gulf coast from the Suwanne River to Mexico Beach, and tropical storm warnings in effect for other sections of the coastline.

Tornado warnings for communities throughout northern Florida have also been issued and a tropical storm watch extended to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

North Carolina's governor Pat McCrory has also declared a state of emergency in the eastern part of the state.

Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm before pushing into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast - but still carrying with it the threat of heavy rain and flooding.

'Life Under Threat' Warning As Hurricane Hermine Hits Florida Coast

Hurricane Hermine has hit the Florida Gulf coast with winds of up to 80mph and heavy rains causing flooding and leaving tens of thousands of homes in the dark.

The US National Hurricane Center said Hermine made landfall over northwest Florida, east of St Marks, at 1,30am (EDT).

Within an hour, 70,000 homes in the state capital Tallahassee and thousands more along the coast were without power, with areas also reporting five inches of rainfall.

"It is a mess... we have high water in numerous places," Virgil Sandlin, the police chief in Cedar Key, Florida, told the Weather Channel.

"I was here in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and I don't recall anything this bad." 

It is the first hurricane to directly hit the Sunshine State in more than a decade.

It is feared the hurricane, the fourth of the 2016 Atlantic season, could eventually pack wind speeds of up to 95mph. 

Storm surges of up to 12ft are threatening the coastline with up to 20 inches of rainfall predicted with the danger of flooding, the forecasters said.

Hurricane warnings play on the TV as shoppers stock up in Saint Marks, Florida

Florida's governor Rick Scott has warned the hurricane is potentially 'life-threatening' and is urging Gulf Coast residents to take precautions immediately.

The warning covers an area from Marineland in Florida to South Santee River in South Carolina.

A hurricane warning was already in effect for a section of Florida's Gulf coast from the Suwanne River to Mexico Beach, and tropical storm warnings in effect for other sections of the coastline.

Tornado warnings for communities throughout northern Florida have also been issued and a tropical storm watch extended to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

North Carolina's governor Pat McCrory has also declared a state of emergency in the eastern part of the state.

Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm before pushing into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast - but still carrying with it the threat of heavy rain and flooding.

'Life Under Threat' Warning As Hurricane Hermine Hits Florida Coast

Hurricane Hermine has hit the Florida Gulf coast with winds of up to 80mph and heavy rains causing flooding and leaving tens of thousands of homes in the dark.

The US National Hurricane Center said Hermine made landfall over northwest Florida, east of St Marks, at 1,30am (EDT).

Within an hour, 70,000 homes in the state capital Tallahassee and thousands more along the coast were without power, with areas also reporting five inches of rainfall.

"It is a mess... we have high water in numerous places," Virgil Sandlin, the police chief in Cedar Key, Florida, told the Weather Channel.

"I was here in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and I don't recall anything this bad." 

It is the first hurricane to directly hit the Sunshine State in more than a decade.

It is feared the hurricane, the fourth of the 2016 Atlantic season, could eventually pack wind speeds of up to 95mph. 

Storm surges of up to 12ft are threatening the coastline with up to 20 inches of rainfall predicted with the danger of flooding, the forecasters said.

Hurricane warnings play on the TV as shoppers stock up in Saint Marks, Florida

Florida's governor Rick Scott has warned the hurricane is potentially 'life-threatening' and is urging Gulf Coast residents to take precautions immediately.

The warning covers an area from Marineland in Florida to South Santee River in South Carolina.

A hurricane warning was already in effect for a section of Florida's Gulf coast from the Suwanne River to Mexico Beach, and tropical storm warnings in effect for other sections of the coastline.

Tornado warnings for communities throughout northern Florida have also been issued and a tropical storm watch extended to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

North Carolina's governor Pat McCrory has also declared a state of emergency in the eastern part of the state.

Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm before pushing into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast - but still carrying with it the threat of heavy rain and flooding.

'Life Under Threat' Warning As Hurricane Hermine Hits Florida Coast

Hurricane Hermine has hit the Florida Gulf coast with winds of up to 80mph and heavy rains causing flooding and leaving tens of thousands of homes in the dark.

The US National Hurricane Center said Hermine made landfall over northwest Florida, east of St Marks, at 1,30am (EDT).

Within an hour, 70,000 homes in the state capital Tallahassee and thousands more along the coast were without power, with areas also reporting five inches of rainfall.

"It is a mess... we have high water in numerous places," Virgil Sandlin, the police chief in Cedar Key, Florida, told the Weather Channel.

"I was here in 1985 for Hurricane Elena and I don't recall anything this bad." 

It is the first hurricane to directly hit the Sunshine State in more than a decade.

It is feared the hurricane, the fourth of the 2016 Atlantic season, could eventually pack wind speeds of up to 95mph. 

Storm surges of up to 12ft are threatening the coastline with up to 20 inches of rainfall predicted with the danger of flooding, the forecasters said.

Hurricane warnings play on the TV as shoppers stock up in Saint Marks, Florida

Florida's governor Rick Scott has warned the hurricane is potentially 'life-threatening' and is urging Gulf Coast residents to take precautions immediately.

The warning covers an area from Marineland in Florida to South Santee River in South Carolina.

A hurricane warning was already in effect for a section of Florida's Gulf coast from the Suwanne River to Mexico Beach, and tropical storm warnings in effect for other sections of the coastline.

Tornado warnings for communities throughout northern Florida have also been issued and a tropical storm watch extended to Sandy Hook, New Jersey.

North Carolina's governor Pat McCrory has also declared a state of emergency in the eastern part of the state.

Hermine is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm before pushing into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast - but still carrying with it the threat of heavy rain and flooding.

Radioactive Prostate Cancer Drug Set For NHS Go-Ahead

A radioactive drug - which behaves in the same way as the substance used to kill Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko - could be used by the NHS to treat prostate cancer patients.

A decision by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) means Radium-223 dichloride could be made available by December.

The drug targets tumours that have spread to the bones and blasts them with alpha particles.

Marketed as Xofigo, the drug emits the same type of radiation as polonium-210, which was used in the assassination of former KGB agent Mr Litvinenko on British soil in 2006.

Alexander Litvinenko died in 2006

In high doses, alpha particles destroy the body's tissues and organs, but, when used in a carefully targeted and controlled way, they can also wipe out cancer.It is estimated that the average cost of a course of treatment is £24,240 and final guidance is expected to be published at the end of September.

Professor Carole Longson, director of the centre for health technology evaluation at Nice, said: "Patients with prostate cancer will surely benefit from this drug being available for routine NHS use."

Heather Blake, director of support and influencing at Prostate Cancer UK said: "Today's announcement is an important victory for men whose prostate cancer has spread to the bone and are unable to have chemotherapy."

Professor Paul Workman, chief executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: "This is an exciting and innovative example of a smarter, kinder treatment - specifically targeting bone metastasis and prolonging survival, while reducing the pain and discomfort brought about by bone tumours and improving quality of life."

Jackie Chan awarded honorary Oscar

Action movie star, writer, director and martial artist Jackie Chan is to be given an honorary Oscar for his "extraordinary achievements" in film.

The US film academy also voted to give the awards to editor Anne Coates, casting director Lynn Stalmaster and documentary maker Frederick Wiseman.

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs described the four as "true pioneers and legends in their crafts".

Chan, 62, starred in dozens of martial arts films in his native Hong Kong.

He went on to huge international success with hits like Rumble in the Bronx, the Rush Hour franchise, and the animation film Kung Fu Panda.

The other three honorary winners have all had long careers in film. 

Anne Coates spent more than 60 years in movie editing, winning an Oscar for her work on Lawrence of Arabia; Lynn Stalmaster was involved with more than 200 feature films, including The Graduate and Deliverance; and Frederick Wiseman has made almost a film a year since 1967.

Their statuettes will be presented at the Governors Awards ceremony in November.

Melania Trump Sues Daily Mail And Blogger Over 'Escort' Claim

Donald Trump's wife has filed a libel suit against a blogger and the Daily Mail over reports alleging she worked as an "escort" in the 1990s.

Melania Trump's attorney, Charles Harder, said the reports contained several statements "that are 100% false and tremendously damaging to her personal and professional reputation".

The lawsuit was filed against Mail Media, Inc., the publisher of the Daily Mail Online, and against Webster G. Tarpley, which publishes a weblog in Montgomery County.