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Florida braces for a potential Category 4 hurricane expected to make impact tomorrow, and NASA successfully slams a spacecraft into an asteroid 6.5 million miles from Earth in a first-of-its-kind test of our planetary defense. Plus, are your sleep habits healthy? Take our quiz to find out. 

Hurricane Ian will become a major storm, forcing Florida to prepare for a severe blow.

Hurricane Ian made landfall in western Cuba this morning with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. A statewide emergency has been declared in Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis said the storm could hit the state with winds over 130 mph. The hurricane is expected to directly strike the Tampa Bay area tomorrow. (The last time Tampa Bay was struck by a major storm was just over 100 years ago, in October 1921.) Hundreds of thousands of people are under evacuation orders, while others are filling sandbags (above) and boarding up windows in preparation. You can track the storm's path here. 

☄️ NASA successfully slammed a spacecraft into an asteroid in a historic test of planetary defense.

Well, if an asteroid ever threatens to annihilate Earth, we appear to have a solution covered. A NASA spacecraft intentionally crashed into an asteroid more than 6.5 million miles away last night in a test of our space program's ability to alter the trajectory of a space rock if one threatens to smash into Earth one day. A spacecraft the size of a vending machine crashed into a 525-foot wide asteroid known as Dimorphos at 14,000 miles per hour in a test to see whether "nudging" an asteroid can alter its path. It may take up to several weeks for NASA to confirm if the space rock's orbit was changed by the impact. 

On the first day of school, a college student survived being hit by lightning that melted her clothes.

For Emma Eggler, surviving the first day as a freshman at the University of West Florida in Pensacola involved a lot more than figuring out how to get to the right classroom building. The 18-year-old from Alabama was struck by a bolt of lightning that melted her clothes, burned her skin and blew up her Apple Watch. She was treated for second-degree burns, and it took two hours for the movement to return to her legs. But she's on the mend and is now back in class. “The EMS people told me I should buy a lottery ticket because I was very lucky,” she told us. Around 30 Americans a year die in lightning storms. To stay safe, here are 4 safety tips for avoiding a lightning strike. 

Here are 15 fall essentials on Amazon, starting at just $15.

Now that the fall is here, it's time to swap out your summer wardrobe for the flannels and cardigans that will keep you cozy this season. We have deals on 15 items found on Amazon, including shirts, sweaters, scarves and a shacket (a shirt that's also a jacket) starting at just $15. 

Achieve your life goals with easy tipzzzz.

Are your sleep habits healthy? If you aren't sure, take our quiz to see how your sleep stacks up — or whether you're one of the 7 out of 10 Americans who don't regularly get restorative sleep. There are plenty of obstacles toward getting quality shuteye these days, from distracting screens to waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. Try these 7 strategies to get more quality zzzz's. We also have deals on plenty of sleep essentials to help you say goodbye to restless nights. 

Allow us to do the meal-planning for you.

Why wait until the weekend to enjoy some tailgate deliciousness when you can enjoy these beef burgers with jalapeno-bacon jam as a weeknight dinner? Former pro football player turned chef Tobias Dorzon shared his recipe for sweet, savory and spicy burgers along with an easy-to-make appetizer, garlic shrimp crostini with avocado. The crostini, or Italian "little toasts," make for a creamy and crunchy treat, and they work just as well with steak instead of shrimp.  

A little pick-me-up before you go.

A North Carolina woman is hoping that landing her dream job at Nike will be a piece of cake. Karly Pavlinac Blackburn, 27, showed some initiative by printing her resume on a cake and having it sent to Nike's Oregon headquarters. She placed an order through Instacart, and her delivery driver, Denise Baldwin, made her way through Nike's 300-acre property to guarantee that it reached its proper destination. It looks like Blackburn's inside-the-cake-box thinking is paying off. “I have a few meetings next week, so that’s exciting,” she told us. We hope she ices the interview! 

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Written by Scott Stump | Edited by Philip Caulfield

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