The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Ian has rapidly intensified off Florida, gaining top winds of 155 mph, just shy of the most devastating Category 5 hurricane status. Ian is pushing a storm surge that could cause catastrophic damage along the state’s heavily populated Gulf Coast. Forecasters say the Fort Myers area between Naples and Sarasota is at highest risk. Florida's governor says it's too late to flee that area, so people should "hunker down." At least 2.5 million people were ordered to evacuate. Florida has staged 30,000 linemen, urban search and rescue teams and 7,000 National Guard troops ready to help once the weather clears.

Activists say Iran's current wave of protests are different from previous unrest. Unleashing their anger at the compulsory veil for women, protesters are targeting something central to the identity of Iran's Islamic cleric-led rule. The protests are drawing from a long history of resistance among Iranian women. During the 1979 revolution, the hijab was a sign of breaking with the secular monarchy. But when the new Islamic Republic then made wearing it mandatory, thousands of women marched in protests. Woman have been challenging the rule ever since. The death of a woman arrested for wearing too loose a headscarf has sparked an eruption of anger.

U.S. markets were poised to open lower as investors fret over the prospect of a possible recession while another global currency came under pressure. Futures for the Dow Jones industrials slipped 0.4% and futures for the S&P 500 tumbled 0.6%. China’s yuan recovered slightly after falling to a 14-year low against the dollar Wednesday. The Bank of England said it will launch a temporary government bond-buying program to stave off “material risk to U.K. financial stability” after unfunded government tax cuts spooked markets and sent the British pound tumbling. Shares in Europe fell and oil prices gained.