Hurricane Irene is bringing strong winds and rain to the northern coastlines of the Dominican Republic and Haiti as it continues to strengthen and take aim at the eastern United States. Irene's center was passing just north of the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola on Wednesday, with maximum winds of 160 kilometers an hour. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Irene is expected to become a major hurricane as it approaches the British territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Caribbean nation of The Bahamas later today or tomorrow. The center says Irene could intensify further into a storm with winds of at least 210 kilometers per hour by Saturday, when it is expected to be near the coast of Florida. It predicts the storm will make landfall on Sunday over the U.S. states of South and North Carolina, potentially making it the first hurricane to hit the United States in three years.