Storm Ida strengthens into hurricane as it heads toward US

Mississippi: Storm Ida has strengthened into a hurricane as it barrels through the Caribbean toward the US Gulf Coast and could hit the southern United States as a major hurricane, forecasters said Friday.

"Ida has strengthened to a hurricane" with maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said, adding Cuba was already experiencing tropical storm conditions. The Cuban government had issued hurricane warnings earlier Friday in the Isle of Youth and several western provinces as Ida gathered strength as it bore down on the island.