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Ian strengthens back into a hurricane as it prepares to hit the coast of South Carolina, and Trevor Noah announces he's leaving "The Daily Show" after 7 years. Plus, sign up for our new 31-day walking challenge with Al Roker that starts tomorrow.

Biden warns of 'substantial loss of life' as Ian strengthens back into a hurricane and heads for South Carolina.

The death toll from Hurricane Ian climbed to 12 last night as President Joe Biden said it could be responsible for "substantial loss of life" and could end up being the deadliest storm in Florida's history. More than 2.2 million people were still without power early Friday. The storm has strengthened back into a hurricane from a tropical storm after its winds increased to 85 mph and it moved toward an expected landfall on the coast of South Carolina today. Follow all the latest updates here.

📺 Trevor Noah made the surprising announcement that he's leaving 'The Daily Show' after 7 years.

Trevor Noah announced last night that he is stepping down as the host of "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central, shocking fans and viewers in the audience. "I realized that after seven years, my time is up," he said on the show, as the audience audibly gasped. "But in the most beautiful way." The South African comedian, 38, was the successor to longtime host Jon Stewart in 2015. It hasn't been announced when he plans to leave the show or who will succeed him as the host.

🤧 Is it COVID-19, the flu or just a cold? Here's how to tell the difference.

The flu, allergies, COVID and common colds all can cause symptoms like congestion, fatigue and sneezing, but it can be difficult to figure out which one you have. Dr. John Torres, NBC News senior medical correspondent, gave us tips on how to tell the difference and what to do if you start feeling sick, beginning with an at-home COVID test. "If you start getting sick, you have to assume it's COVID unless proven otherwise," he said. "Make sure you isolate yourself (and) get a test to make sure it's not COVID." Here's what symptoms to look out for, the best home remedies and why it's OK to get vaccinated against COVID and the flu at the same time.  

☕ These are the 10 best coffee makers out of 150 tested by Consumer Reports.

The coffee maker is one of the most important home items if you need that cup of java to get the day going, but the options can be overwhelming. Drip coffee makers, single-serve (pod) machines, cold-brew coffee makers — the list goes on. The good news is Consumer Reports did all the work of testing 150 of them and these are the 10 best it found, including drip, self-serve and latte and cappuccino makers. 

Achieve your life goals with easy tips.

Time to lace up your sneakers: There's only one day left before we kick off our 31-day October walking plan tomorrow! Just join our Start TODAY Walking Club and team up with Al Roker and TODAY fitness contributor Stephanie Mansour for October's walking challenge. Once you sign up, you'll get a quick start guide to all the activities as well as emails right from Al to your inbox to make sure you stay on track for your fitness goals. 

Allow us to do the meal-planning for you.

Take everything you love about chicken Parm and shrink it into a bite-size version with these chicken Parm meatballs, the most popular recipe on the website of chef and food blogger Gaby Dalkin. Toss them with some pasta, pile them into a meatball sandwich or freeze them as tasty leftovers that will last all week. If you're looking for something a little heavier, try Gaby's hamburger helper pasta with chopped tomatoes, pepper and chives for the ultimate meaty, creamy casserole supper. 

A little pick-me-up before you go.

Happy birthday, Rusty! Dylan Dreyer celebrated her youngest son's first birthday with a gelato party yesterday. Dylan's husband, Brian Fichera, shared a sweet Instagram video of Rusty smiling — and then giving Dylan the "Mom, how about we get back to that gelato" look. Rusty's brothers, Calvin, 5, and Oliver, 2, can be heard chanting "Happy birthday, Rusty!" in the background as he savors his sweet treat. Rusty is thriving one year after being born six weeks premature, and he clearly is a man who enjoys his dessert.

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Written by Scott Stump | Edited by Philip Caulfield

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