Strongest storm on the planet so far this year spins toward the Philippines

(CNN) -- Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest tropical cyclones ever observed, made landfall Friday morning in the Philippines, the country's weather service reported.

Thousands of people in vulnerable areas of the central Philippines were evacuated as the monster storm spun toward the country.

With sustained winds of 315 kph (195 mph) and gusts as strong as 380 kph (235 mph), Haiyan churned across the Western Pacific into the Philippines.

Its wind strength makes it equivalent to an exceptionally strong Category 5 hurricane.

Haiyan will move over the many islands of the central Philippines over the next 18 hours before exiting into the South China Sea overnight Friday into Saturday. Haiyan will weaken slightly as the storm crosses land, but forecasters with the Philippine weather agency, Pagasa, predict that it will maintain super typhoon intensity throughout its passage of the islands.

The storm, known as Yolanda in the Philippines, is so large in diameter that clouds from it are affecting two-thirds of the country, which extends over 1,850 kilometers (1,150 miles).

Authorities in the region had moved more than 3,800 people to evacuation centers by late Thursday, Maj. Reynaldo Balido of the Philippine Office of Civil Defense said.

Most of those relocated live in Tacloban City, which sits on the coast of the island of Leyte and has a population of more than 200,000.

In a speech Thursday, President Benigno S. Aquino III warned residents of the "calamity our countrymen will face in these coming days."

"Let me repeat myself: This is a very real danger, and we can mitigate and lessen its effects if we use the information available to prepare," he said.

The government has three C-130 cargo aircraft ready to respond, as well as 32 planes and helicopters from the air force, the president said.

Officials have placed relief supplies in the areas that are expected to get hit, Aquino said.

"The effects of this storm can be eased through solidarity," he said.

As it moves across heavily populated areas of the central Philippines, Haiyan's high winds and torrential rain are expected to affect more than 25 million people. The storm system had a diameter of about 800 kilometers (500 miles) as of Friday.

Pagasa warned more than 30 provinces across the country Thursday to be prepared for possible flash floods and landslides.

Schools in many areas canceled classes, emergency services were put on high alert, and airlines canceled flights.

Some of the most vulnerable people are those living in makeshift shelters on the central Philippine island of Bohol.

Last month, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit the island, which lies close to the typhoon's predicted path. The quake killed at least 222 people, injured nearly 1,000 and displaced about 350,000, according to authorities.

Another island in the storm's likely trajectory is the popular beach resort of Boracay. Some tourists there were cutting their vacations short to get away from the possible danger.

Ross Evans, an aviation professional from Florida, said there was "a definite urgency and panic" among the long lines of holidaymakers waiting for boats to get off Boracay on Thursday.

Speaking by phone before his flight to Manila took off, he said he felt "horrible" for those who may end up stuck in the storm's path.

Evans said he and his travel companions, who are leaving the Philippines two days earlier than planned, "feel very fortunate to have the ability to make arrangements to be safe."

Situated near an area of the Pacific Ocean where tropical cyclones form, the Philippines regularly suffers severe storm damage.

An average of 20 typhoons hit the archipelagic nation every year, and several of those cause serious damage.

In December, Typhoon Bopha wreaked widespread devastation on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. The storm, the most powerful to hit the country that year, is estimated to have killed as many as 1,900 people.

Facebook 'likes': The thumb is gone

(CNN) -- Pop quiz: What buttons are seen more than 22 billion times every day, embedded on 7.5 million websites?

Answer: the Facebook Like and Share buttons, according to new numbers released by the social network.

 And now these most widespread of online icons are both getting their first ever redesign.

The biggest difference you'll notice straight away: the thumb is gone from the Like button. Instead, it will appear in the dialogue box above the button that shows you how many Likes your post or page has.

The new button features the Facebook "f" logo instead. It is white on blue, rather than blue on white, as is the new share button. The Share button will replace Facebook's Send button — deemed too confusing.

The reason for the redesign? The new version is optimized for high-resolution screens, according to Peter Yang, a product manager at Facebook, in the comments section of the Facebook blog post announcing the change.

Users should start to see the change on those 7.5 million websites as it rolls out over the coming weeks.

10 Things Women Can Do That Men Wish They Could

Men and women need one another to ensure the survival of humankind, but that doesn’t mean that the battle of sexes doesn’t heat up from time to time. Indeed, they are consistently at odds, fighting over jobs in the workplace, positions in government, caretaker duties, and much more. But there are many (many) areas where women sail ahead, and while some may be perceived as more frivolous than others, they definitely deserve a mention.

*This article is in no way meant to enforce gender stereotypes or heteronormativitiy. It is written in jest and is meant to be taken as such.

Carry a purse
Do you know how useful a purse is? Not only can it hold your phone, wallet, keys, etc., but it’s also good for sneaking snacks into the movies or those tiny bottles of liquor into the bar (hey – we all have to save money somehow). While it can get pricey if you’re into designers, grab a $20 knock-off on the street and call it a day. Also, the “murse,” or man purse, will never catch on. Sorry.

Get pedicures
This can really go for the entire “manscaping” category, as all filing, shaping, waxing, and painting rituals are usually reserved for the females. But pedicures are seriously luxury – how often can you pay somebody else $15 to rub your feet for half an hour and paint them pretty colors? Guys usually only get them when “dragged” there by a girlfriend, and have to pretend to be unhappy the whole time.

Go to the bathroom with friends
Bathrooms are the best places to gossip about other people you’re hanging out with, plot strategy, and take selfies in the mirror. So guys are seriously missing out since it’s still weird for them to head to the loo together. And if the rules are really strict, do you have to wait for somebody to come back before you can head there yourself? What if you really have to go?

Wear dresses when it’s hot out
This is a big one – have you ever waited in a New York City subway station in the middle of July in a suit? You can bet that your female counterparts are wearing breezy dresses and skirts that are still totally office appropriate, but much more comfortable to wear on the muggy streets. Plus, women’s fashion just has more options in general, and is way more fun to play around with.

Cover up a breakout
Guys get zits too, folks, but they don’t necessarily have a handy tube of concealer lying around. Ladies can cover up anything from an unsightly zit to those tell-tale bags under the eyes that would let your coworkers know about your late night out (or even to hide a poorly placed hickey…). But unless a dude has a female roomie or is comfortable buying his own make up, he’ll just have to suffer this one out.

Order a cocktail
There’s more to life than beer or a Jack and Coke (though that’s a big part of it), and those fancy cocktails on the bar menu are pretty tasty. Plus they come with cute umbrellas or toothpicks of fruit, meaning you get a little snack to accompany your drink. But when something is bright pink and served in a Cosmo glass, it’s difficult to stomach for dudes (important note: exceptions can be made when on tropical vacations). -


Dance together
Going to the club is a lot more fun if you dance, and it’s a bit weird to head to the dance floor alone – unless you’re one of those guys just looking to grind up on girls and skeeze everybody out. And since guys are usually weird about dancing with one another (although you really only think you look weird, it looks fine to everybody else!), they’re forever stuck at the bar.

Multitask
Researchers have actually found that women are better at multitasking than men. In an experiment, they gave 50 males and 50 females eight minutes to perform three tasks at the same time: doing simple math, finding something on a map, and designing a strategy for how they would search for keys in a field. They also received a phone call in the middle of the test to see if they would answer. On average, the women performed all of the tasks to a higher degree than the men, demonstrating once again that there is nothing weak about the fairer sex.

Become taller
Though high heels are horribly uncomfortable, how many five-foot, six-inch-tall guys do you know that wouldn’t mind tacking on a few extra inches? High heels are pretty exclusively reserved for the ladies, and they can range anywhere from a little height boost to a serious five-inch surge. Plus, they make our butts look fabulous.

Live longer
On average, women live four years longer than men. That’s four more years for going skydiving, traveling to exotic locations, or just pinching butts in the retirement home of the hunky 80-year-olds (everybody looks hunky when you’re 95). Take that, fellas!

PHOTOS: Pope embraces disfigured man

(CNN) -- It was the embrace that melted hearts worldwide.

Pope Francis, pausing for a moment to pray and lay his hands on a man with a disfiguring disease. The man gently burying his head in the Pope's chest, his many facial tumors visible.

His encounter with the ailing man occurred in Vatican City on Wednesday at the end of the general audience, which had about 50,000 attendees.

Images of the Pope's embrace in St. Peter's Square went viral on social media.

"I'm an atheist, but the more I hear about Pope Francis, the more I like him," Donna Hosie tweeted.

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Some say Pope Francis is living up to the ideals of his namesake, Francis of Assisi, a preeminent figure who considered himself a servant to the poor and destitute.

Since taking over as the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, the Pope has highlighted the need to reach out to the poor and afflicted.

"Lord, teach us to step outside ourselves," he tweeted in August. "Teach us to go out into the streets and manifest your love."

A month later, he echoed the same sentiment.

"True charity requires courage: let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need," he tweeted.

The Pope has called for open interaction with people from all walks of life, especially the poor, weak and vulnerable.

And he is practicing what he preaches.

The man the Pope comforted suffers from neurofibromatosis, according to the Catholic News Agency. The genetic disorder causes pain and thousands of tumors throughout the body. It leads to hearing and vision loss, heart and blood vessel complications, and severe disability from nerve compression by tumors.

The moment marked the latest in a series of memorable encounters for the Pope.

Last month, a pint-sized papal pal joined him on stage -- and refused to let go.