homes and businesses are being boardered up in preparation. joe biden says getting out is a matter of �*life and death'. hurricane milton is considered a category 5 storm, the highest possible classification, and is due to hit the gulf coast later on wednesday. a quarter of lebanese territory is under "israeli military across the border israel continues its... tiktok faces lawsuits across the us. hello i'm rajini vaidyanathan

with just hours to go until hurricane milton makes landfall in florida, millions of people are rushing to leave their homes. it's currently a category five hurricane , the highest possible classification — with ferocious winds of up to 270 kilometres an hour. forecasters say hurricane milton is expected to make landfall within the coming hours, and has the potential to be one of the most destructive recorded in the region. president biden says president biden says getting out was a matter getting out was a matter of life and death. of life and death. millions of people have been millions of people have been told to leave there homes. told to leave there homes. it's less than two weeks it's less than two weeks since another powerful since another powerful hurricane hit the state. hurricane hit the state. these are live pictures these are live pictures from florida which as you can from florida which as you can see if already being battered see if already being battered by strong winds and heavy rain. by strong winds and heavy rain.

we can show you another part of florida here... you can see they're behind the lens rainfall, but i believe that is a highway there. much less traffic of

you may not survive. we can rebuild homes, we can rebuild businesses, we can get people back on theirfeet, but only if they're safe and they survive the storm. we're not going to be able to bring people back who stay behind in 10 or 15 feet of storm surge. hurricane milton is intensifying — now a category five — with speeds around 165mph. this crew from the national oceanic and atmospheric association — dubbed hurricane hunters — flew through it yesterday and felt its power. damn! on the ground, residents are doing what they can to protect their properties before they leave. but there's real fear here. apprehensive, really anxious. we have two young kids. it's scary. over 50 counties are now under

a state of emergency, but not everyone is deciding to flee. we got four, five gallon cans. tommy hall and his family live near venice beach, and they've chosen to weather the incoming storm. we got gas, food, two generators, portable air conditioners to push around to room to room, so i think we might do ok. but weather forecasters are now warning of the severity and danger of this storm. voice breaking: it has dropped 50 millibars in ten hours. - tracking hurricane milton, forecasterjohn morales broke down on air because of fears of what's to come. everything that's going on really does affect you emotionally. and, yeah, my delivery of, um, trying to carry an audience through these type of emergencies, i think it's become... certainly not the same non—alarmist style it was before. i am alarmed.

milton's strength has already brought flooding along the mexican coast and downed power lines and trees. but the us is bracing itself for much worse, with officials saying that milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record when it makes landfall later today. steve knibbs, bbc news. this is the live hurricane this is the live hurricane tracker from the national tracker from the national oceanic and atmospheric oceanic and atmospheric administration. administration. you can see the eye you can see the eye of the storm moving of the storm moving (pres)steve paris lives in (pres)steve paris lives in tampa, which is expected to be tampa, which is expected to be our weather presenter tomasz our weather presenter tomasz schafernaker saying it could be schafernaker saying it could be particularly destructive as particularly destructive as it's likely to hit tampa bay on it's likely to hit tampa bay on the west side the west side of the sunshine

state. it the west side of the sunshine state. . , �* ., _ state. it wasn't easy. there was a lot — state. it wasn't easy. there was a lot of — state. it wasn't easy. there was a lot of different - was a lot of different variables... one of those decisions was financial. we really don't know if we can come back if the storm hits really bad. our area come back if the storm hits really bad. ourarea might come back if the storm hits really bad. our area might be fine but the pathway back might not be. to risk not having that cheque every week that we depend on would just be a major issue down the line. some people will think that maybe that's the wrong way to think but it's really hard to leave everything behind, pack everything behind, pack everything up, take everything, yourfamily orfriends everything up, take everything, your family or friends your animals and go somewhere there

safe. on top of that if we had left we would need to have gone to a three days ago according to a three days ago according to many of the people reporting the storm. i know the governor has said different things and other officials have said you're still safe to go but, there is also reports recently saying that people were running out of gas and there wasn't enough gas stations with fuel to stop and fill up. and putting ourselves at risk to being on the highway, not sure if we get a get out in time, and then being in the storm, it doesn't make really much sense to us. for me, and my girlfriend we figured it would be safer to stay instead of going out into the unknown. earlier i spoke to cbs correponesdent nicole valdes who is in the city of fort myers on the florida coast where hurricane milton is due to make landfall in the coming hours. so many people taking the storm very seriously. in fact many

people have already evacuated. we are just a few hours south of tampa where your corresponding was speaking to you and, for some context, there are some areas here that are very close to the water. if not by the river by the coast. or potentially barrier islands. all of those at the mandatory evacuation. several of them with curfews as of last night. downtown fort myers where we are standing right now where we have seen catastrophic storm surge, severalfeet have seen catastrophic storm surge, several feet of water covering the street behind me. businesses like this one not wanting to take a

who own businesses here to try and protect as much as they can knowing what could happen in just a matter of hours. it's closing in on florida, that's for sure. it's just passing to the northwest of the western end of cuba. and we're talking about a landfall in a matter of hours now. so all the computer models have been very consistent in where this storm is going to strike. and the ominous thing is that it is heading forfor the bay area of tampa. so saint petersburg, tampa and some of the surrounding areas, it's a very populated part of florida. the core of the storm itself isn't huge, but the impacts will cover most of florida and beyond. and we're talking about a couple of days, a couple of days of of awful weather across that part of the world. but the crucial thing will be where exactly the the core of milton hits, and that will have a very big bearing on how bad this storm surge is going to be in in tampa.

the storm surge that's being forecast currently is expected to be historic around 10 to isft. that's what the hurricane centre in florida is predicting. their computer models generate these results, but it will only take a little shift, a wobble of that storm's core, maybe to the north or to the south to change the height of that surge. but the point is, the storm is heading for the coast. it'll probably impact the coast pretty much at a 90 degree angle, almost, which is the worst case scenario when it does come to pushing a mound of seawater inland. and 90% of the time the deaths come from these storm surges, which are which the national hurricane centre often describes as unsurvivable. you talk about storm surges. a lot of this sounds familiar. nearly 20 years ago now, hurricane katrina, of course, that was a category five storm. but actually, crucially, when it made landfall,

it did weaken. is that possible with milton then? yes, that's that's exactly what's predicted with milton. so over the next few hours, milton is going to be moving into a somewhat different part of the gulf of mexico. we're not talking huge differences distances here, butjust enough. and itjust so happens that ahead of milton's landfall, very close to florida through the depth of the atmosphere, if you like. there is something called wind shear. wind shear is basically wind, as the word suggests, but it's varying wind in direction and height through the atmosphere. now, hurricanes don't like that. even though hurricanes are very powerful and destructive systems, they thrive in what we would describe as a very calm and still atmosphere, very unstable in terms of the storms forming. but they don't like any wind to disrupt them. it's like blowing out a flame on a candle. so this is what's going to happen with this wind shear. it's going to slowly

start to disrupt this intense circulation. and when that happens, the thinking is that milton will weaken somewhat. but here's another point to make. even using the word weaken is probably not the best term. the storm will be maybe less intense. it'll still be very powerful. so yes, it won't be a five, but it will probably be still a major hurricane, a three, maybe a four. and that is still catastrophic for coastal areas. tomasz schafernaker the bbc weather presenter there. let's take you live to to weather presenter there. let's take you live to— take you live to to the tracker. _ take you live to to the tracker. you - take you live to to the tracker. you can - take you live to to the tracker. you can see i take you live to to the i tracker. you can see the take you live to to the - tracker. you can see the eye of the storm there... let's take you to the scene live in tampa

bay. that's where milton which is a category five storm is expected to hit. packing strong winds... here in hillsborough county... this is a highway, as you can see there, the rain falling on the camera. let's take you to fort myers... and this is the scene there. people are bracing themselves for hurricane milton, expected to land in the next few hours as a category five storm. unclear whether it will weaken as it makes landfall. we will have more on the bbc website, or the app. around the world and

across the uk, this is bbc news.

there's been fresh fighting on the border between lebanon and israel. attacks, too, on haifa and beirut. and the israel defence forces have just issued new warnings for people in southern lebanon. a quarter of the country is now under evacuation orders. our chief internerational correspondent, lyse doucet is in the city of haifa in northern israel. you join us here in haifa... at least a dozen interceptions

with rockets, there have been rockets fired by hezbollah several times this week. we think they were targeting a suburb of haifa. the air ride sirens didn't sound... but they did sound earlier... haifa, israel's's third largest city. these salvos against heart haifa are the first time it's been happening since 2006. it's a measure of how hezbollah is trying to set up its attacks into northern israel even as it comes under unprecedented pressure from the israeli military. there was also a salvo of rockets into the north which landed around these rear where president... prime minister netanyahu has a

residents. so, a lot of frenetic activity here in the north at the moment. meanwhile as we've been reporting, israel has extended its operation in southern lord lebanon across the border. along the mediterranean coast... israel continues to assist it is a limited operation. earlier today i spoke to the founder of the israeli civilian defence forum and i asked him about the campaign. forum and i asked him about the cam aiun. ~ forum and i asked him about the camaiun. ~ , ., forum and i asked him about the cam-iain, . , ., ., campaign. when israeltalks about this — campaign. when israeltalks about this it _ campaign. when israeltalks about this it talks _ campaign. when israeltalks about this it talks about - campaign. when israeltalks

about this it talks about the | about this it talks about the ground operation... its operating very close to the border... in order to launch a massacre as hamas did on the 7th of october they needed ammunition... israeli forces are dismantling this network. israel is hitting the huge terrorist organisation all over lebanon, including beirut, it's never targeted to civilians. but we know that like hamas, hezbollah put their

headquarters in civilian populations. his rail is trying to pinpoint the attack on hezbollah, while hezbollah are shooting deliberately at civilians on purpose... in haifa. luckily, their defence is managing to cope with that. and also the citizens are going into shelters. and this is how we minimise israeli casualties. you know very well the the history of israeli military operations in lebanon... the israeli military is now discussing the risks of the ground invasion continuing to expand, and with it all of the risks of confronting hezbollah on its own terrain. do you see these risks? i

on its own terrain. do you see these risks?— these risks? i don't see the round these risks? i don't see the ground incursion _ these risks? i don't see the ground incursion expandingj these risks? i don't see the - ground incursion expanding much more than what it is already. israel from my assessment doesn't have a plan to go into the area of south lebanon and beyond. the ground operation is really concentrated on the few kilometres along the border where hezbollah built this infrastructure so it can be dismantled. israel will try to create a buffer zone that will be able to reach the goal of war. the goal of war is to return 60,000 israeli citizens who have been displaced for ii who have been displaced for 11 month while hezbollah was shocking their town... this is what is israel is doing.

shocking their town. .. this is what is israel is doing.- what is israel is doing. israel emphasising _ what is israel is doing. israel emphasising that _ what is israel is doing. israel emphasising that there - emphasising that there operations are limited. we are also hearing that those targeted operations are also hitting civilians. yesterday we spoke to a spokesman for peacekeepers who maintain what is called the blue line between israel and lebanon and they say that israel is pushing on that line and asking some of the peacekeepers to leave, which some of —— which they are refusing to do. later there is a phone call between netanyahu and joe biden. biden clear that

any targeted strikes should not target nuclear installations. will keep an eye on all the developments but back to you. tiktok is being sued by more than a dozen us states, which allege the app has knowingly contributed to a mental health crisis among children and teenagers. the company denies this. michael malone is a veteran silicon valley journalist and gave us more information about this case. i think the conversation has briefly shifted to the states. what we have is a number of states who have bought a suit against tiktok claiming that it is causing mental health problems because of its addictive features. among these health problems they list...

these are the attorney general�*s of the states who are saying this... they said impact includes disrupted sleep, depression, loss of analytical skills, conversational depth, empathy and increase anxiety. which i think is a pretty accurate description of this generation as a whole. it seems as if they are litigating tiktok as a source of all the problems of the young generation. every social media platform in most video games, they are all designed to be addictive. they actually use the techniques of tech casinos. they use that site to get kids involved and now we look at our children and they are looking at their phones for 15 hours a day. i don't think this is going to work. i do think that

the states that are putting a spearin the states that are putting a spear in the sand for individual lawsuits in those states, based upon injuries to kids, changing behaviour, that sort of thing. an 18—year—old mountaineer from nepal has become the youngest person to climb the world's fourteen highest pea ks. nima rinji sherpa achieved the record by reaching the top of mount shishapangma in tibet early on wednesday. he started his challenge to climb all the world's peaks over eight thousand metres when he was sixteen. nima rinji has dedicated the world record to his project to support young sherpa climbers. now let's end with some beautiful photos from the wildlife photographer of the year award.... taking away the top prize — marine conservation photojournalist shane gross captured this shot of a swarm of toad tadpoles after snorkelling for hours through lily pads in cedar lake

on canada's vancouver island. this image of a leopard seal below sea ice was the winner in the underwater category. it was taken by matthew smith. while filming a wildlife documentary in india's western ghats, robin darius conz saw a tiger on a hillside overlooking a town. he used a drone to track the tiger, to highlight the contrast between protected areas and those affected by human development. and this was the winner of the young photographer competition — 17—year—old alexis tinker—tsavalas, from germany, took this close—up of fruiting slime mould and a tiny springtail. he used a technique called focus—stacking and combined 36 images into one. hello again. it's been a cloudy

start to the day— start to the day what's been happening _ start to the day what's been happening is _ start to the day what's been happening is low _ start to the day what's been happening is low pressure l start to the day what's been l happening is low pressure has been driving a red our weather. establishing a weight to the north sea but we still have some remnants of rain. we have more of a northerly component of the rain, so feeling cold across the north of scotland. through the afternoon we hang onto the rain across the north and the east but it will brighten across southern england and south wales and... some of those showers in scotland could fall as snow. temperature is 89 in scotland but generally we're looking at 12 to 17. 17 will but generally we're looking at 12to17. 17 will feel quite pleasant if in sunshine. that band of rain continues to sink southwards clear skies follow one behind. you can see where

we got the blue charts temperatures could fall to —3 or “4. as we head through tomorrow the cold weather sink southwards is represented by the blue. eventually chasing away the yellow through the day. we are all going to be in for this northerly wind. we start with a cloud and some showery outbreaks of rain in the far south—west. then a lot of dry weather, fewer showers around. a lot of this will be on windward coast. temperatures low for the time of year anyway, add on the wind chill and it will feel much colder than that. it's going to be a frosty start on friday. a widespread frost. but a lot of dry weather england and wales and northern ireland. we got some outbreaks of rain. we got more of a westerly wind but the cold air is still in place so it film will still feel like a cold day. then as we had from friday into the weekend there

is a ridge of high pressure and a weatherfront crossing is a ridge of high pressure and a weather front crossing us. but essentially, on sunday the high pressure will keep weather fronts at bay. during the course of saturday there will be some rain in the north. dry in the south. is looking like a decent day for most as we into sunday.

renewable energy is surging — capacity is forecast to triple

by the end of the decade, but can our grids keep up? we'll speak to the head of the international energy agency. elon musk backs down — his x service is back online in brazil after paying hefty fines and abiding by a court order to block accounts that spread misinformation. and nordic wine — how climate change has uncorked a growing business in scandinavia. welcome to business today. we start with climate change, and some good news about the world's renewable energy capacity. a major new report by the international energy agency says that renewable energy — from sources such as wind and solar — is on course to meet almost half of global electricity demand by 2030. the iea expects

5,500 additional gigawatts of renewable capacity to come