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A tropical storm strengthened into Hurricane Ian and is barreling toward the west coast of Florida, and Rihanna reveals she will headline this year's Super Bowl halftime show. Plus, Target announced its massive Deals Day event. 

Tropical storm strengthens into Hurricane Ian as Florida braces for possible flooding this week.

Tropical storm Ian strengthened into a hurricane today as it neared western Cuba, on a course for the west coast of Florida. The National Hurricane Center said it currently has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and could cause major flooding in Florida later this week. A hurricane watch has been issued for the west coast of Florida, including the Tampa area. The NHC said the storm is expected to pass west of the Florida Keys tomorrow and then approach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. To view the latest the projections and our NBC storm tracker, go here. 

At least 9 are dead, including children, and 20 wounded in a school shooting in central Russia.

A gunman killed at least nine people and wounded at least 20 others in a shooting at a school in central Russia on Monday morning, local police said. The unidentified shooter killed two guards, two teachers and five students and then shot himself after the attack on the school in Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurtia region, Russian investigators and the region's governor said. The school educates children between grades 1 and 11. No details about the gunman or his motives have been released. For the latest updates, go here. 

🏈 Rihanna will headline this year's Super Bowl halftime show.

This pop megastar and her record label confirmed yesterday that she will perform at this season's Super Bowl in February 2023 at State Farm Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals. This will be Rihanna's first time performing at the event after turning it down in 2019 in solidarity with former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who had made headlines by kneeling during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and racism.

Target announced its massive Deal Days event for next month — here's everything you need to know.

Target announced that its Deal Days sales event will be coming back from Oct. 6-8, with hundreds of thousands of deep discounts on items across all categories from toys to tech to everyday essentials. Here's everything you need to know, as well as deals on 20 products that are already going on right now.

Achieve your life goals with easy tips.

Wait, so scrambling out of bed, taking a half-awake shower and rushing to work isn't a morning routine? The fall is the perfect time to reinvent your mornings, and starting with a sense of accomplishment can have positive effects throughout the day. We're sharing 8 tips from Liz Baker Plosser, author of “Own Your Morning: Reset Your A.M. Routine To Unlock Your Potential,” to get your day kicked off right. Habits like setting a special wake-up time, avoiding the snooze button and getting some early exercise can all set the tone for the hours to come.

Allow us to do the meal-planning for you.

Savor the last bites of summer produce by making this scarpaccia (a zucchini flatbread) from our own Joy Bauer. It's a delicious, veggie-packed blend of a tart, focaccia and cornbread all rolled up into one, perfect with scrambled eggs for breakfast or with a salad for lunch. When it's time for dessert or a snack, try Joy's chocolate-grape bark with bursts of grape sweetness in a sea of chocolate.

A little pick-me-up before you go.

David and Daniel Omirin are 3-year-old twins from Nigeria who often draw attention because of their different skin tones. Their mother, Stacy Omirin, uses her Instagram and YouTube channel to help educate people about albinism, a genetic condition David was born with. Albinism is a lack of pigmentation in the skin, hair and eye that can also cause vision issues. People born with it often struggle with discrimination in Nigeria. "Sometimes there are comments about his albinism,” Omirin told us. “Kids want to know why he’s white. But I am teaching him to be confident. He doesn’t care what other people think. He’s doing his own thing. For now, he has no limitations." 

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Written by Scott Stump | Edited by Philip Caulfield

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