Hurricane Hermine gained strength as it roared towards Florida's Gulf Coast, as residents were warned to flee inland if necessary amid a "life-threatening situation".

Friends of the teenager arrested over the murder of a US tourist in the Russell Square stabbing attack have spoken of their shock.

A late withdrawal from the National Indoor Championships, Ciarán Ó Lionaird reflects instead on the dunes of Owenahincha — and Tallahassee in Florida. 

A suspected gunman was killed by police after a shooting at a US university that wounded three people today.

Four Irish citizens have been injured in a plane crash in Florida.

The signs are up around Times Square again: the NFL Draft is upon us and, tomorrow night, New York City will be invaded by football players whose suits are as sharp as their eyes are dull.

Every player worked hard for the Irish on Tuesday night and no team will ever have an easy task when Spain are hogging possession.

An 84-year-old widow who bought a Powerball ticket after another customer let her go ahead in the queue has claimed the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in history: 590 million dollars (€451m).

All across the vast and colourful spectrum of American sporting life, there are thought to be around 900 team nicknames which offer varying degrees of offence to certain sections of the population.

If Frank Sinatra was correct and luck be a lady, then she failed to glance in the direction of Stephen Frears’s ham-fisted comic caper.

CIARÁN Ó LIONAIRD has been like a breath of fresh air since he arrived at Ireland’s training camp in Daegu to put the finishing touches to his preparations for the World Championships, which get under way today.

ROBERT HEFFERNAN made a dramatic return to competition at the Woodies DIY National Senior Championships at Morton Stadium yesterday and retained his men’s 10,000m walk title in an impressive 40:1.64.

AFTER big runs over 1,500m (3:41.02) at the weekend and 10,000m (28:32.30) two weeks ago, Ciaran Ó Lionáird is all set for a return to Stanford on May 1 to tackle 5,000m.

Two people have been killed in a gun battle inside a US prison when a guard opened fire on FBI agents who had come to arrest him on suspicion of demanding sex from female inmates.

AN attempt to arrest US federal prison guards in a sex-for-contraband probe erupted in gunfire that killed a Justice Department agent and one of the guards yesterday.

Two federal employees were shot dead today at a detention centre in Florida and another was injured after a guard allegedly opened fire on FBI agents serving arrest warrants, the FBI said.

FLORIDA and the Caribbean islands were last night braced for the first hurricane of the season, although scientists believe that there will be no repeat of last year’s record-breaking devastation.

Residents in low-lying areas along more than 100 miles of Florida’s Gulf Coast have been told to get out as the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season unexpectedly gained strength.

Authorities in Panama City, Florida, today released a video tape showing guards restraining a boy at a juvenile detention boot camp just hours before he died.

A Florida legislator wants the state to close its military-style boot camps for juvenile delinquents after a 14-year-old boy died just hours after entering one of the facilities.

With many Floridians still struggling to find food, water, ice and fuel after Hurricane Wilma, Governor Jeb Bush took responsibility for frustrating relief delays in a state all too familiar with powerful storms.

Residents began fleeing the Florida Keys and parts of the United States mainland today as Hurricane Wilma headed towards Florida.

FOR the second time in less than a day, a federal appeals court yesterday rejected a bid by Terri Schiavo’s parents to have her feeding tube re-inserted.

FLORIDA Governor Jeb Bush ignored advice to throw out a flawed felon voter list before it went out to county election offices despite warnings from state officials, according to a published report this weekend.

US VICE-PRESIDENT Dick Cheney and vice-presidential candidate John Edwards slugged it out over jobs, judgment and Iraq in a hard-hitting debate that set the stage for US President George W Bush’s speech yesterday denouncing his Democratic rival’s record on national security.

HURRICANE Ivan extended its deadly march across the Southern United States yesterday, destroying homes, swamping streets and leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power from the Gulf Coast to the Carolinas.

APPREHENSIVE coastal residents from Florida’s Panhandle to Louisiana started boarding up windows, packing and hitting the road as powerful Hurricane Ivan headed for the Gulf Coast after ploughing across Cuba.

Apprehensive coastal residents from Florida’s Panhandle to Louisiana started boarding up windows, packing and hitting the road today as powerful Hurricane Ivan headed for the Gulf Coast after ploughing across Cuba.

Hurricane Frances swept across Florida today submerging entire roads, tearing off rooftops and leaving more than four million people without power.

Two hurricanes could strike Florida on the same day – something meteorologists say they have never seen.

The Bush Administration told senior politicians before the Iraq war that Saddam Hussein had developed drones which could strike the east coast of the US with weapons of mass destruction, a Senator has claimed.

A WET and slow-moving tropical storm Henri pushed heavy rain into Florida’s Gulf Coast yesterday, threatening to flood rivers and streams already full after one of the wettest summers in recent years.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s only daughter, Noelle, was released from jail today, 10 days after a judge ordered her locked up for violating terms of her court-ordered drug treatment programme.

Two of reggae great Bob Marley’s sons have been arrested in Florida after officers found marijuana in their car.

The FBI is investigating a possible plot to assassinate Florida Governor Jeb Bush, the US President’s brother, with a truck bomb in the state capital Tallahassee.

Tropical Storm Barry raked parts of the US coast early today, bringing drenching rainfall and the possibility of flooding to northwestern Florida and parts of Alabama and Georgia.

Tornadoes and rain from Tropical Storm Allison have lashed north Florida, causing at least four deaths.

Severe storms, including at least one tornado, have killed at least one man and injured dozens more in Florida and Georgia.

Civil rights groups are to meet in Washington to discuss the alleged denial of blacks' voting rights during the US presidential election.