8 die as Florida Keys are ravaged almost beyond recognition by Hurricane Irma

Eight people are known to have died in the Keys during or because of Hurricane Irma, authorities said Wednesday.

Two people died in Key West; the other six in other parts of Monroe County.

“The deaths are both storm-related and due to to natural causes,” said Cammy Clark, the county’s public information officer.

Also, 40 people were injured during the storm.

Irma ripped through Cudjoe and Big Pine with end-of-the-world fury, destroying homes big and small.

Trailers were shredded, ocean waters rushed through the ground floor of beach-side houses and RVs were overturned, leaving much of the area ravaged almost beyond recognition.

“It’s been a nightmare,” said Mark Lum, 57, who rode out the powerful storm on Cudjoe Key, huddled with his dog Cruzan inside a concrete bunker-like bath house in the Venture Out development. “You live here in a resort, everything’s nice and pretty, and the next day it’s all gone.”

Hurricane Irma has destroyed a quarter of the homes in the Florida Keys and badly damaged many more, federal officials said Tuesday.

After reading this, you'll never want to use your mobile phone in the bathroom again

What? A cellphone in the bathroom? Do people really do that? If you're honest, you have probably taken yours with you to read something on Facebook or watch a video while spending some quality time alone in the bathroom. What you probably don't know is that you weren't really alone, and that you were bringing hitchhikers out with you on your phone.

The unfettered use of smartphones is creating a new problem. Bacteria that is normally only found in the restroom is being seen more and more elsewhere. Studies are showing that these bacteria are on both cell phones and hands, raising concerns as to how the bacteria got there. Listed below are the four most commonly found bacteria on cell phones.

Young Louisiana rapper ‘Da Real Gee Money’ shot dead

 22-year-old local rapper was shot to death early Sunday on Dallas Drive, Baton Rouge police said.

Garrett Burton, known as "Gee Money" or "Da Real Gee Money," was found about 1:30 a.m. in a parking lot in the 1900 block of Dallas Drive, police spokesman Sgt. Don Coppola said. Burton, of 3336 Laurel St., died at the scene.

No suspect or motive has been identified, Coppola said.

Baton Rouge activist Arthur "Silky Slim" Reed said he had met Burton a few times, calling him a very dedicated musician. 

8 dead, gunman killed at Dallas football watch party in Texas

8 people were shot dead on Sunday night when a gunman with multiple weapons barged into his ex-wife's home and went on a shooting spree.

A Texas football watch party had been underway at the single-family home off Spring Creek Parkway in Plano, less than 20 minutes from Dallas, around 8 p.m. when the shooter opened fire inside the party. Two people were wounded, and 7 were killed before authorities arrived and shot the gunman dead.

Authorities responded to the home in the 1700 block of West Spring Creek Parkway, near Custer Road, at 8:04 p.m. after multiple gunshots was reported. An officer heard shots upon arrival. He entered the home and confronted the gunman before fatally shooting him.

Images of Heroism Emerge From Hurricane’s Turmoil

The images of destruction and peril during Hurricane Irma have been hard to avoid, and the challenges are just beginning for those who evacuated or sheltered in place.

But there were also scenes of heroism and levity, many of which were shared widely on social media. These were some of the moments that offered people at least a small lift in difficult times.

North Korea sanctions: UN security council unanimously agrees new measures

The UN security council has unanimously ratcheted up sanctions on North Korea, imposing a ban on the country’s textile exports and a ceiling on the country’s imports of crude oil.

The vote for the sanctions, the ninth package of measures imposed by the UN Security Council on Pyongyang since 2006 for its nuclear and missile tests, came as a relief to US diplomats who had feared a Chinese abstention, which would have considerably blunted the impact of the new sanctions.

In late night negotiations on Sunday, the US considerably diluted its initial draft sanctions resolution, which would have imposed a complete oil embargo and a partial naval blockade, in an effort to win support from China and Russia.The final resolution adopted by the security council on Monday imposed a ban on oil condensates exports to the regime, capped refined petroleum exports at 2m barrels a year – cutting existing export levels by half – and maintaining international exports of crude oil to North Korea at existing levels, about 4m barrels a year. China supplies most of North Korea’s crude.

18 of the best photos from around the US military

Below, you can see photos of the missions and duties that have taken those men and women away from home

Aviation Electrician's Mate 2nd Class Lucas Mclean, assigned to the "Black Knights" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 154, displays his patriotic body art aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), June 30, 2017.

US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ian Kinkead/Released