The Hurricane: Irma glanced off Cuba last night as a Category 3 then turned north, stepping up once again to a Category 4 and beginning to batter the Florida coast. The leading edge of the storm knocked out power to 430,000 customers.

At least six million Floridians were told to leave. Florida Gov. Rick Scott, warning of a predicted storm surge said, “Fifteen feet is devastating and will cover your house.” He said, “Do not think the storm is over when the wind slows down. The storm surge will rush in and it could kill you.”

Irma is on a line to skim the west coast of Florida and plow into Tallahassee. The storm is more than 350 miles wide.

As the state faces potential disaster in a storm probably made more powerful by climate warming, Scott is a confirmed climate change denier who forbids the use of the term in state documents and communications. Florida is the state most threatened by rising sea levels caused by climate change.

At least 24 deaths have been reported among devastated Caribbean islands. Heavy damage was reported in Caibarién, Cuba, where the roofs were blown off and waves rolled through the city streets. On St. Martin, utility poles are down and there’s no public water supply. The destruction on Barbuda is near total.

Nation: On Friday, the same day that Fox News announced it had dumped Eric Bolling after sexting allegations, the former news host’s son, Eric Chase Bolling, was found dead in Boulder, Co. The younger Bolling, 19, was a sophomore at the University of Colorado, Boulder. No cause for his death has yet been given.

When Tragedy Strikes: Columnist Jennifer Rubin writes for The Washington Post that natural disasters reveal the true colors of the anti-government crowd, who are among the first to demand help from big government.

She writes, “The anti-government crowd, however, seems indifferent to actual abuse of power, one key reason to keep government limited and transparent. These same anti-government figures couldn’t care less about President Trump’s conflicts of interest and money-making off the federal government, ludicrous nepotism that invests huge power in unqualified and ignorant presidential family members, abusive Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids that tear apart families, or ex-sheriff Joe Arpaio’s vicious racism and violation of civil liberties. In sum, they hate the functioning, responsible and professional part of government while they embrace the authoritarian, abusive, erratic Trumpism we now see.”

She says, “When the tragedy is in deep-red Texas, not deep-blue New Jersey or New Orleans, suddenly the wonders of government become clear to them … The crew that cheered Trump’s proposed 11 percent cut to FEMA (government is bad!) will support billions of dollars in Harvey relief (my people are suffering!).”

Center Court: American Sloane Stephens, an unseeded 24-year-old, yesterday beat No. 15-seeded Madison Keys, 6-3, 6-0 to win the US Open.

It was the first time since 2002 that it was not one of the Williams sisters who won a Grand Slam singles title.

Not only was Stephens a long shot to win the open, let alone any major tournament, but she came back from 11 months on the sidelines with a stress fracture in her left foot.

“I should just retire now,” Stephens said during the trophy ceremony.

Social Notes: Leonardo DiCaprio,42, has been seen dating a 23-year-old model. The names change but never the age. — Married Actress Scarlett Johansson, who’s been seen canoodling with Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost, is now sporting a large floral back tattoo to go with her various other tats. — Kim Kardashian and Kanye West … oh, nevermind.

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