Gustav Now a Cat 3 Hurricane

Gustav swelled to a fearsome Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 mph as it neared Cuba early today, the AP reports. The storm, which killed 71 people in the Caribbean, rolled over the Cayman Islands last night, with fierce winds that tore down trees and power lines, but there was little flooding. Gustav could strike the Gulf Coast anywhere from the Florida Panhandle to Texas, but forecasters said there is a better-than-even chance that New Orleans will get slammed.

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said an evacuation order was likely as Gustav heads toward the Gulf Coast, and FEMA said it expects a "huge number" of Gulf Coast residents will be told to leave the region this weekend.   (More Hurricane Gustav stories.)