Overnight Briefing & General Reality Check - Sep 6, 2017

Hurricane Irmastrengthened to a Category 5 storm overnight, becoming one of the most powerful storms ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean.As of last night, winds of up to 185 miles per hour were recorded as the storm approached the Leeward Islands of the northeast Caribbean. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said only four other storms have had winds that strong in the overall Atlantic region, but they have been in the Caribbean Sea or the Gulf of Mexico, where the usually warmer waters fuel tropical cyclones:Hurricane Allen hit with 190 mile-per-hour winds in 1980, while 2005's Wilma, 1988's Gilbert and a 1935 great Florida Key storm (from the pre-named hurricane days) all had 185 mile-per-hour winds. Experts say Irma's strength is a result of unusually warm water for that part of the Atlantic. If it stays on the forecast track and reaches the Florida Straits, the water there is warm enough that the already "intense" storm could become much worse with wind speeds potentially reaching an off-the-charts 225 miles-per-hour! (Bartha)

Broadcast, cable and video news:

Look for a giant, one-hour telethon to benefit the people who've been trashed by Hurricane Harvey.
Varietyreports the show, "Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief," will air live next Tuesday, Sep 12, at 8 pm (Eastern) on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and CMT.
So far, BEYONCE, GEORGE CLOONEY, JULIA ROBERTS, BARBRA STREISAND, REESE WITHERSPOON and OPRAH WINFREY will appear along with live or taped segments include JAMIE FOXX, TORI KELLY, KARLIE KLOSS, ROB LOWE, MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY, DENNIS QUAID, KELLY ROWLAND, ADAM SANDLER, RYAN SEACREST, MICHAEL STRAHAN and BLAKE SHELTON as well.
Country superstar GEORGE STRAIT will also appear in concert from the Majestic Theater in San Antonio, TX.
The proceeds from the show will go to various charities, including the United Way of Greater Houston, Habitat for Humanity, Save the Children, Feeding Texas and the Mayor's Fund for Hurricane Harvey Relief.

On, off and way-off-Broadway:

After BETTE MIDLER leaves the current Broadway revival of "Hello Dolly," she'll be replaced by BERNADETTE PETERS. TheHollywood Reporter says Bette's final performance is January 14th, with Bernadette taking over January 20th and a new opening night set for February 22nd at the Shubert Theater. VICTOR GARBER is also joining the cast as Horace Vandergelder, replacing DAVID HYDE PIERCE. (Marino)

Taking everything much too seriously:

A soccer team in England baked the world's biggest soccer ball-shaped cake.
The Sheffield Owls created a 628-pound cake in the shape of a ball to celebrate the team's 150th anniversary. The giant confection earned them the official Guinness World Record for "world's largest cake ball." Head Chef ROB COX used 610 pounds of butter, 610 pounds of sugar, 612 pounds of flour, and over four thousand eggs to make the cake, which included icing in the shape of the team's logo.
According to the Guinness rules, the cake had to be eaten on the same day it was baked. So, thousands of fans lined up to sample the dessert. (Still)