The Latest on Hurricane Irma (all times local):9:50 p.m. Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says the state has gotten more than 1,500 calls on a price-gouging hotline in the last two days. Bondi said Wednesday that many of the calls dealt with complaints about the prices being charged on water, food and gas, although she said people have also called to complain that stores are running out of supplies. The attorney general also said she had been talking directly to retailers such as Amazon. Bondi says the state has received complaints about excessive delivery fees for items such as water. She says the company has told her it suspended 12 third-party vendors because of gouging complaints. Bondi, who noted she has no authority over airlines, said she talked to two airlines about ticket prices and that both told her they were putting caps on some tickets. ___7:40 p.m. Florida Gov. Rick Scott isn't apologizing for trying to get people to be concerned about Hurricane Irma. Scott said Wednesday he had not seen comments by radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who suggested that the "panic" caused by Hurricane Irma benefits retailers, the media and politicians seeking action on climate change. The Republican governor, however, said, "I'm not downplaying it, I believe this is a risk." During several media appearances during the day Scott emphasized that Hurricane Irma was bigger and stronger than Hurricane Andrew, which caused massive destruction in South Florida in 1992. He strongly urged people to evacuate if asked to do so by local officials. In the past, Scott has dodged questions on whether climate change is caused by humans, saying that he's "not a scientist." ___ 7:20 p.m. Florida Gov. Rick Scott says he expects the state's gas stations to have fuel within a day. Scott said Wednesday he is aware that there have been shortages and long lines, but that after talking with fuel retailers his goal is to see the stations restocked with gas by Thursday morning. Still, the governor urged people to only "take what they need" when they return to gas stations especially if they are not leaving the county that they are living with. There has been a run on gas and water and other supplies as Floridians await the likely arrival of Hurricane Irma. Scott has been urging people to evacuate when ordered to do so by local officials. He's also advised residents to have at least three days of food and water once the storm hits. ___ 7:05 p.m. The Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Escape, which was supposed to return to Miami on Saturday, is hustling to get back ahead of schedule because of the incoming Hurricane Irma. The 4,248-passenger, Miami-based vessel is now expected to dock Thursday afternoon. The ship left Miami on Sept. 2 for what was supposed to be a seven-day trip. Passengers can choose to either disembark in Miami on Thursday or stay on the ship, as the Norwegian Escape will then sail somewhere out of harm's way. It will return to port possibly Tuesday or Wednesday. Norwegian says all passengers will get a partial refund and a 25 percent future cruise credit. Guests who have to pay fees to change their flights will also receive a reimbursement of up to $300 per person. ___6:20 p.m. Officials say the many construction cranes up at sites around South Florida pose a serious threat if they are toppled in a powerful hurricane. Maurice Pons, the deputy director of Miami's building department, says there about two dozen such cranes - which have heavy counterbalances on their arms - in the city of Miami alone. He says the cranes were built to withstand winds up to 145 miles per hour, but not a Category 5 storm, which Hurricane Irma currently is. Pons said in a news release that he would "not advise staying in a building next to a construction crane during a major hurricane like Irma." ___ 5:50 p.m. The Florida Legislature has cancelled a week of committee meetings scheduled to begin Monday because of Hurricane Irma. All House and Senate offices will also be shut down across the state on Friday. Senate President Joe Negron says the storm's specific trajectory "is still uncertain and impacts could vary drastically across the state." He says every person in the state must "be ready." Heavy rain and 185-mph winds lashed the islands Wednesday as Irma roared through the Caribbean en route to a possible hit on South Florida. ___ 5:25 p.m. President Donald Trump has spoken with the governors of Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all in the path of Hurricane Irma. The White House says Trump spoke to the officials Wednesday. Trump said earlier in the day that Irma "looks like it could be something that will be not good. Believe me, not good." Spokeswoman Lindsay Walters says the White House is closely monitoring Irma and encouraging all residents and tourists in the three areas to listen to local authorities. Walters says the White House, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other partners are ready to assist. Heavy rain and 185-mph winds lashed the islands Wednesday as Irma roared through the Caribbean en route to a possible hit on South Florida. ___4:40 p.m. Here's a scientific fact for anyone thinking Hurricane Irma is being hyped: This is only the second time on Earth, since satellites began tracking them about 40 years ago, that a storm has maintained 185 mph winds for more than 24 hours. The other one, according to Colorado State University meteorology professor Phil Klotzbach, hit the Phillippines in 2013. It was the massive typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people. Klotzbach says "this thing is a buzzsaw," and he's "glad Floridians are taking it very seriously. ___ 4:15 p.m. University of Miami hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy says Irma "could easily be the most costly storm in U.S. history, which is saying a lot considering what just happened two weeks ago" in Texas. And former hurricane hunter Jeff Masters says both high winds and large storm surges will damage expensive properties from Miami all the way up the Florida peninsula and beyond. That includes President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Masters says that if Irma "goes right up the Gold Coast like the current models are saying, then the Gold Coast is going to become the Mud Coast." The National Hurricane Center's latest long-term forecast moved Irma's northward track slightly eastward from the center of the peninsula, but that doesn't mean much. Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen says people should "stop paying attention to the skinny black line," because the margin-of-error for the storm four days out is wider than the entire state of Florida, so things can change. Bottom line, Feltgen says, is that nobody in Florida is off the hook. ___ 4:10 p.m. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says it is preparing to shut down two Florida nuclear plants that could be in the path of Hurricane Irma. Additional inspectors are on-site at the Turkey Point plant south of Miami, and the St. Lucie plant along the state's eastern coast. NRC spokesman Roger Hannah says both nuclear plants are preparing for the storm, checking to ensure any outside equipment is tied down or moved and emergency generators are working and secure. Hannah said both plants were operating as usual Wednesday, with plans to shut down if necessary ahead of the hurricane's expected landfall in Florida late Saturday or early Sunday. Current projections place Turkey Point, above the Florida Keys near Homestead, Florida, directly in the hurricane's path. ___ 4 p.m. If Hurricane Irma churns northward over the Florida peninsula, the water in Lake Okeechobee could impact flooding downstream. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking precautions by drawing down water levels ahead of the storm, and they'll be watching closely once it passes. Engineers are inspecting the Herbert Hoover Dike, and will inspect again once the water levels approach 17 feet. The lake level is currently less than 14 feet. The South Florida Water Management District also has begun lowering water levels in canals, trying to move as much water as possible through flood control structures in preparation for the storm. ___ 3:45 p.m. Florida's senators are calling on Congress to include relief money for Hurricane Irma in the disaster aid package the House passed earlier Wednesday for Hurricane Harvey. That package includes $7.85 billion to help Texas and Louisiana recover. Senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson say with Irma could cause catastrophic destruction throughout the state, and they're concerned that the Federal Emergency Management Agency won't have the resources it needs to respond if Congress doesn't act soon. Their joint, bipartisan letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell notes that FEMA is currently scheduled to run out of money by Friday. ___ 3:40 p.m. Here's the latest on evacuation orders from Gov. Rick Scott's office: Visitors must leave the Florida Keys now under a mandatory evacuation order. Residents must evacuate starting Wednesday evening under Monroe County's mandatory order. Broward County has issued voluntary evacuations of mobile homes and low-lying areas. Collier County has issued voluntary evacuations of Marco Island. In Miami-Dade County, individuals with special needs began evacuating Wednesday morning. Additional evacuations are expected throughout the state. All Floridians should pay close attention to local alerts and follow the directions of local officials. To find available shelters by county, visit floridadisaster.org/shelters. ___ 3:30 p.m. People with active warrants in one Florida county might want to think twice about heading to a shelter for Hurricane Irma. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd posted on his official Twitter account Wednesday that deputies will be checking identification at the county's shelters, and anyone with a warrant will be arrested and taken to "the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County Jail." Judd also posted that sex offenders and sex predators would not be admitted to the shelters. Sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Horstman says they're trying to educate the public before the storm hits this weekend. She says they're hoping people with warrants will turn themselves and use the next few days to deal with their legal issues. ___ 3:15 p.m. Gov. Rick Scott says his administration "is looking at all possible avenues to get as many people out as possible" ahead of Hurricane Irma. He estimates that 25,000 people have already evacuated from the Florida Keys. He says that if local officials tell people to evacuate, that means it is not safe to stay. He says "I cannot stress this enough. Do not ignore evacuation orders. Remember: You can rebuild your home. You cannot rebuild your life." He says Irma is extremely dangerous and deadly, and everyone should pay close attention to the hurricane's progress. ___ 3:05 p.m. People evacuating the Miami area now, days ahead of Hurricane Irma, may be driven by memories of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Andrew 25 years ago. Researcher Jennifer Collins at the University of South Florida's School of Geosciences says it's not an exaggeration to say that people who remember Andrew are picturing total devastation that could come from Irma. Meanwhile in Tampa, which wasn't affected by Andrew, she says "people are preparing like crazy, and all the stores are out of everything." Collins says her research shows that people with strong support networks can be the least likely to evacuate, even to stay with friends and family far inland, because they felt more comfortable hunkering down with their neighbors. Her surveys found that people without neighbors to depend on were more likely to flee. And she says those who did stay ended up regretting it because the damage was worse than they expected. ___ 2:35 p.m. Florida law prohibits extreme price hikes for commodities such as food, water, hotels and lumber in the event of a potentially catastrophic storm like Hurricane Irma. But Florida law doesn't cover airlines tickets - that's up to federal regulators. And some people are shocked at what they call sky-high price-gouging. Steve MacQueen was shocked to learn he had to pay $1,725 to fly his 87-year-old mother from Fort Myers to Charlotte, North Carolina on Thursday. He says he understands "the price is always ghastly" when you buy at the last minute, but not this bad. He paid anyway to make sure his mother could stay with his sister in North Carolina. He now lives in Vermont, but as a former Floridian, he says the looming storm terrifies him. ___ 2:15 p.m. A Georgia speedway is opening its vast campgrounds to people evacuating from Hurricane Irma. Atlanta Motor Speedway officials said in a statement Wednesday that its tent and RV campgrounds will host evacuees free of charge beginning on Thursday. The speedway is about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Atlanta, and typically handles thousands of race fans who camp on the grounds during its annual NASCAR race weekend. ___ 2 p.m. There are long lines and crowds at gas stations in Key Largo, but traffic is moving northbound as people evacuate the Florida Keys. Bill Duclo says Hurricane Irma "is going to be pretty bad," so he wants "to get going while the going is good." He's taking his whole family to Georgia. Michelle Reynolds says she's got half a tank of gas, and will keep looking since the station she stopped at ran empty. She says she's never experienced a Category 5 storm and just wants to get to higher ground. Ian Craig says that gasoline seems to be running out everywhere in the Keys, but he's not going to stay with his 7-year-old boy, even if he has to take a long expensive ride on Uber. ___ 1:45 p.m. People in Florida are getting mixed messages on whether and when to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Irma. Broward County has just ordered coastal evacuations, mandatory but with no enforcement, as is typical in Florida. Miami Beach has advised evacuating, but not made it mandatory. Miami-Dade County says it may start ordering evacuations today, but has not done so yet. And Florida Gov. Rick Scott says anyone who intends to evacuate should "get out now." However, with a storm track forecast up the middle of the state, it is unclear to many people where they should go. ___ 12:50 p.m. Help is already on its way to wherever Hurricane Irma does the most damage in Florida. About 80 members of an elite search and rescue team from Virginia have been deployed to jump into the aftermath. Fairfax County's Urban Search and Rescue Team, also known as Virginia Task Force 1, left Wednesday for Mobile, Alabama, where they will stage until they know where they're needed. The team was activated by the Federal Emergency Management Administration and includes swift-water rescue specialists, canine units and other search-and-rescue resources. Also preparing to respond are more than 100 Florida Forest Service personnel, using aircraft, off-road vehicles and mobile command posts to assist in any search and rescue missions, debris clearing, distribution of supplies and other aid. State Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam says help is ready but meanwhile, all Floridians should "complete their preparations and finalize their plans before it's too late." ___ 12:40 p.m. Florida Gov. Rick Scott says the state is working to get gasoline to areas experiencing shortages in advance of Hurricane Irma. Scott announced in Miami that he's asked the governors of Alabama and Georgia to waive trucking regulations so tankers can get fuel into He told residents of the Florida Keys that "we're doing everything to get fuel to you as quickly as possible." Tourists are under a mandatory evacuation order, which began Wednesday morning. Residents will then be ordered to evacuate, but many gas stations across southern Florida are experiencing shortages. Scott said, "we will get you out." But he's urging people to move quickly if they plan on evacuating, calling Irma a "life-threatening storm." "Do not sit and wait for this storm to come," Scott said. "Get out now." ___ 12:30 p.m. Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Brock Long says housing built after 2001 in Florida should by law have been built to withstand the winds of a Category 3 Hurricane. Irma is currently Category 5, much stronger than that, but Long says those building codes may at least help mitigate structural damage. Long told "CBS This Morning" that is main concern right now is that people may have too much faith in the five-day forecast. He says he never puts a lot of confidence in these longer-term forecasts, because a hurricane can turn. He says "everybody needs to be monitoring this in the Gulf and up the East Coast and watching this very carefully." ___12 p.m. National Weather Service Director Louis Uccellini says Hurricane Irma is so record-breaking strong it's impossible to hype. Uccellini told The Associated Press on Wednesday he's concerned about Florida up the east coast to North Carolina, starting with the Florida Keys. He warns that "all the hazards associated with this storm" are going to be dangerous. Hurricane expert Kerry Emanuel of MIT calculates that Irma holds about 7 trillion watts - about twice the energy of all bombs used in World War II. ___ 11:50 a.m. A Dutch navy spokeswoman says that marines who flew to three islands hammered by Hurricane Irma have seen a lot of damage, but have no immediate reports of casualties. The Category 5 storm made a direct hit Wednesday on the island where the Dutch territory of St. Maarten is located, though the scope of damage isn't yet clear. Some 100 Dutch marines flew to the islands on Monday to prepare for the hurricane. Navy spokeswoman Karen Loos says that some troops were able to send images of destruction from St. Maarten and another island, St. Eustatius. Loos says, "You do see there is a lot of damage. Trees, houses, roofs that are blown out. A lot of water, high water." She says the extent of the damage elsewhere on the island is not yet clear. The first of two Dutch naval vessels heading for the islands is expected to arrive at 8 p.m. local time in St. Maarten. ___ 11:30 a.m. President Donald Trump says Hurricane Irma looks like "something that could be not good." Ahead of a meeting with Congressional leaders Wednesday, Trump said the group had a lot to discuss, including what "seems to be record-breaking hurricane heading right toward Florida and Puerto Rico and other places." Trump says "we'll see what happens." He adds: "it looks like it could be something that could be not good, believe me not good." Hurricane Irma is the most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history. It made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean early Wednesday. Trump has declared emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ___ 9:55 a.m. President Donald Trump's homeland security adviser says the government can handle Hurricane Irma relief because the life-saving phase for Hurricane Harvey is over and has entered a longer term phase focused on individuals. Tom Bossert tells The Associated Press that the victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas are not being forgotten as Irma hits the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and possibly Florida later this week. He says those in the path of the newest storm should heed evacuation orders. For Harvey, he says the government is working on longer-term assistance, such as Small Business Administration loans, unemployment wages and reconstruction. ___ 9:40 a.m. The U.S. State Department is warning U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Cuba, Haiti or the Dominican Republic due to the expected impact of Hurricane Irma. It notes that the Category 5 storm could bring life-threatening flooding, flash flooding, mudslides, and storm surge, while travel and other services will likely be disrupted. The department says it has authorized the voluntary departure of U.S. government employees and their family members from the three countries due to the hurricane. ___ 8:55 a.m. Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne says the twin-island nation appears to have weathered its brush with Hurricane Irma. Browne says in a statement that there were no deaths in Antigua. He says that preliminary reports also indicate there are no deaths in Barbuda despite widespread reports of damaged buildings and downed trees. He plans to visit as soon as possible. The prime minister says the airport will reopen at 2 p.m. ___ 8:45 a.m. Hurricane Irma has caused torn off rooftops and knocked out all electricity on the French islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy and France has requisitioned planes and sent in emergency food and water rations. The regional authority for Guadeloupe and neighboring islands said in a statement Wednesday that the fire station in Saint Barthelemy is under 1 meter (more than 3 feet) of water and no rescue vehicles can move. It said the government headquarters Saint Martin is partially destroyed and the island is in a total blackout. Electricity is also partially down on the larger island of Guadeloupe, where the threat receded despite danger of heavy flooding. French minister for overseas territories Annick Girardin expressed fear "for a certain number of our compatriots who unfortunately didn't want to listen to the protection measures and go to more secure sites." She added: "We're preparing for the worst." ___ 7:20 a.m. President Donald Trump says his administration is closely watching Hurricane Irma. On Twitter Wednesday, Trump says his "team, which has done, and is doing, such a good job in Texas, is already in Florida." He adds: "No rest for the weary!" In a subsequent statement on Twitter, Trump says "Hurricane looks like largest ever recorded in the Atlantic!" Hurricane Irma made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean early Wednesday. It's on a path toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba before possibly heading for Florida over the weekend. Trump has declared emergencies in Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. ___ 5:55 a.m. The plane flying Pope Francis to Colombia is flying a changed flight path to avoid Hurricane Irma, which is slamming the Caribbean. The special Alitalia jetliner, which departed late Wednesday morning from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport, had been originally scheduled to fly over Puerto Rico and Venezuela before entering Colombia airspace. Instead, the revised route takes it south of the U.S. territory and includes flying over Barbados, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago. The Vatican traditionally issues telegrams of papal greetings to nations he flies over while on pilgrimages. So the updated flight plan meant the Vatican had to draft new telegrams. Francis' pilgrimage to Colombia is aimed at helping to solidify the South American nation's peace process. He returns to Rome on Sept. 11. ___ 5 a.m. As Hurricane Irma continues to roar across the Caribbean on a path toward Florida, a new tropical storm has formed in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical Storm Katia formed early Wednesday off the coast of Mexico. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Katia's maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 kph) with some strengthening forecast over the next two days. But the hurricane center says Katia is expected to stay offshore through Friday morning. The storm is centered about 105 miles (165 kilometers) east of Tampico, Mexico, and is moving east-southeast near 2 mph (4 kph). ___ 4 a.m. French authorities have ordered inhabitants to remain confined to their house and not go out under any circumstances in the French Caribbean islands of Saint Martin and Saint Barthelemy because of Hurricane Irma. The French ministry of Interior has issued the highest possible alert for both islands of French overseas because they appear to be in the middle of the path of the dangerous Category 5 storm. Schools, public services and ports have been closed. Authorities recommend the population stay in the safest room of the house and get prepared for power cuts and disruption in the supply of water. Two other French Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique have been placed under a more moderate alert. ___ 3:20 a.m. Officials in the island chain south of the Florida mainland are expected to announce evacuations as Hurricane Irma moves west through the Caribbean toward the state. Officials in the Florida Keys say they expect to announce a mandatory evacuation for visitors starting Wednesday and for residents starting Thursday. The Category 5 hurricane is expected to reach Florida by the weekend. On Wednesday morning it was about 40 miles (65 kilometers) north of Antigua. People in South Florida raided store shelves, buying up water and other hurricane supplies. Long lines formed at gas stations and people pulled shutters out of storage and put up plywood to protect their homes and businesses. ___ 2 a.m. The most powerful Atlantic Ocean hurricane in recorded history has made its first landfall in the islands of the northeast Caribbean. The National Weather Service said the eye of Hurricane Irma passed over Barbuda around 1:47 a.m. Residents said over local radio that phone lines went down as the eye passed. The National Hurricane Center said Irma was maintaining Category 5 strength with sustained winds near 185 mph (295 kph) and heading west-northwest on a path toward Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba before possibly heading for Florida over the weekend.