where is earl headed next? >> earl is still on a track, headed to the northeast. it will get close to new england. but we're heavily situated. you can see right here, there's a sharp cutoff to the clouds and earl will pick up speed. conditions will strange rapidly in eastern north carolina by this afternoon. it's a category 2. so, it's not the monster that we had yesterday. but still a dangerous system. winds 105 miles per hour. gusts even higher. center circulation about 85 miles southeast of north carolina. it is set to accelerate northeastward. we're looking at increasing wind and rain tonight. big problem here, the trees. get the winds. the tropical storm-force, maybe the hurricane-force here. that's going to knock down trees, tree limbs. there's going to be a lot of problems here with debris over cape cod and power outages. here's the radar. and you see the sharp cutoff for the rain there. rains increasing now in the southeastern parts of virginia, right around virginia beach. it's getting windy and wet. there you see a tropical storm force, in east north car

earl is a category three storm earl is a category two storm right now with sustained winds of more than 111 miles an hour. the eye now less than 200 miles from cape hatteras, north carolina, and it's outer banks which could be the first to feel the effects of the hurricane before it takes an expected turn to the northeast. warnings and watches are up from north carolina, where at least 100,000 people have been ordered to evacuate the coast; all the way up to the canadian border. as this view from space demonstrates, earl is a particularly large hurricane about 400 miles across. we have a team of correspondents stationed along the east coast tonight. we begin with kelly cobiella who is in kill devil hills, north carolina. kelly. >> reporter: erica, good evening. the winds here are getting stronger, and the seas, as you can see, are really starting to build along this coastline. many of these beach towns are deserted, with a menacing storm expected to pass within 75 miles of this coastline, even some who decided to stay admit they're a bit uneasy. along the storm-hardened north carolina c

. >> bracing for earl. millions on the east coast, set to feel nature's wrath over the next 48 hours. we have the latest hurricane track. >>> hostage drama. questions about what caused an armed man to hold people hostage at the discovery channel. >>> and the danger of falling asleep at the wheel. >>> and good morning. i'm mike marusarz in for vinita nair. >> and i'm rob nelson. hurricane earl is spinning closer to the nation's most popular beaches and its most populated areas. >> emergency crews have been declared. and emergencies have been declared in north carolina, virginia and maryland. and social security checks have even been mailed early to recipients in ten states. >> right now, the category 4 storm is 400 miles across. it actually picked up speed overnight. it's expected to reach the north carolina coast later today. and that's where emily schmidt is now tracking the latest conditions. what's it like right now, emily? >> reporter: rob and mike, you look at the skies right they're they're clear. you

here's the forecast eye path with hurricane earl.be approaching the southeast coast throughout the day today. so, expect to see dangerous rip currents, anywhere from coastal of ida to coastal are south carolina. a hurricane watch was issued for those areas north of surf city, north carolina, into the north carolina/virginia border. and it's going to make its closest approach to the outer banks of north carolina, late thursday, into thursday night, perhaps as a cat 3 hurricane. it's going to continue its northeasterly track, set to impact the southern coast of new england by this weekend. rob? mike? >> the forecast changes by the hour, as we know. and sam champion will have an update later on "good morning america." >>> and we do have some big political news this morning out of alaska, where an incumbent senator has conceded defeat. republican senator lisa murkowski conceded last night, while absentee ballots were being counted. she did not endorse the man who defeated her. that's conservative lawyer joe miller. he has strong support

. >> hasta pronto :) ( ♪ música ♪ ) >>> el huracán earl empezará azotar la koshscosta este noche el gobernadortán preparados y otoseste de la nación se prepara. joe arpaio se niega de que e departamento de justicia revise uno papeles sobre dminz ydenuncia iz yy abuso de poder. el presidente calderón admite la violencia en méxico pero dice vale la pena la lucha. definen imágenes del ecuatoriano sobreviviente en tatamaulipas dicen que con él los migrantes eran 76 y no 73. este es su noticiero univisión con jorge ramos y maría elena salinas. ( ♪ música ♪ ) >>> qué tal muy buenas noches en sólo horas se podría comenzar a sentir los fuertes vientos del huracán earl que sea cerca lentamente las costa este de estados unidos. earl que había salalcanzado la caso categoría 4, bajó a nivel 3 pero su vientos y lluvias amenaza con causar serios daños se espera que toda la costa este sea afectada, las lluvias han comenzado en carolina del norte. lourdes del río se encuentra ahí y nos tiene lo último. ( ♪ música ♪ ) >>> >>>miles de vehículos a para ustedust apuran el paso de carolina del norte ibáñez primer

thanks for joining us with the latest on hurricane earl. >> and for more on hurricane earl, we'll be checking back in with bill read and our correspondents. >>> we want to go to bianna golodryga who is at the newsdesk for juju chang. and she has all the morning news headlines. good morning, bianna. >> good morning, everyone. we begin with a story in miami, where much of the airport was shutdown. we're told a scientist was detained at the airport and is being questioned this morning after security screeners found a medal canister in his luggage that looked like a pipe bomb. it's unclear what the canister was for or if the man will face charges. the airport is back up and running. officials shut down four of the airport's concourses and a hotel only as a precaution but again there's no known threat at this hour and the suspect continues to be questioned by authorities in miami. >>> turning to the gulf of mexico, where an investigation is under way on what caused an explosion on an oil platform about 200 miles west of the bp spill. the 13 crew members leapt into the water. there was no

wc >>> eye on earl. 3rd. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> and it's the story we've been talking about all week for several days now and officially on this friday morning, earl is here. >> earl has arrived and it is finally making that slow turn up the northeast. so north carolina getting what it's going to get. and then now the bull's-eye. the northeast bracing for it as well. we'll have to see where it exactly hits. >> absolutely. full coverage this morning, of course. good morning, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm mike marusarz sitting in for vinita nair. >>> hurricane earl has moved over north carolina this morning as the powerful storm now begins its march up the east coast. earl is expected to move north-northeast for much of the day, taking it away from land. >> the north carolina coast is being pounded now with heavy rain, tropical storm-force winds, and some rough surf. t.j. winick has the latest now from atlantic beach. good morning, t.j. >> reporter: rob and mike, good morning. you have to

all eyes are on earl. this is a monster of a storm, one of the strongest to threaten the east coast of the united states. it's been since 1950, a hurricane called helene, that was a category 4 that approached the outer banks, and this one is also a category 4 storm. if this track goes inland, just any little deviation, this could be a very destructive event. as of now, though, it's supposed to remain just barely off the coast. here's the forecast path from the hurricane center, showing it going up along the coast about 70 miles off the north carolina coast, about 100 miles to 150 up the jersey shore, but only 20 miles off of cape cod. like eastern north carolina, cape cod is just kind of out there, and that's also expecting some devastation from about category 2 winds. on the west coast, everything is clear. high pressure is building in. a nice ridge of high pressure. that means warm conditions. so, when the east coast is looking at violent weather, the west coast is looking hot and calm and dry. up to 92

and that's with earl still about 90 miles southeast of here. it's expected to hit this area in about two hours, and bringing with it 70-mile-per-hour winds. so, new england, not quite out of the woods just yet. wind, rain and power outages. earl's been having his way with the east coast for days now. even before the storm made its way to cape cod, sheila's nerves were already rattled. in her arms, she clings to hope that she's found a solution made out of plastic to keep earl from ravages her house. why are you tar ching inside the house? >> it doesn't make sense, but for me, it's peace of mind that if the tree comes down i feel like i've done something. >> reporter: sheila is doing more than most in cape cod. sure, party supplies don't usually consist of duct tape, flashlights and lanterns, but doing this in honor of earl, the only guest who wasn't invited, but bound to show up anyway. >> the group that is here this weekend is planning to camp out in the downstairs bedrooms and the living room. >> reporter: so you guys are having a hurricane p

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they called off the search because of earl.hat's the second drowning in a week and the fourth fatality since last weekend because of rip currents. so they closed the beaches yesterday. >> h the beaches be open today, will it be safe to go in the water with those big waves out there? >> reporter: you can be sure they'll get the beaches open for labor day weekend. the concern is swimming and many communities and lifeguards and city managers will meet this morning to make that decision on how far swimmers can go in because the rip current threat is still up. take a look at the forecast from the outer banks up to new england, as earl departs, it will take a while for these waveses to subside and, thus, they may keep swimmers to their news or ankles. things will get better tomorrow, but one group that has loved this swell, the life guards. they have flocked out in droves to the beaches over the past couple days. and i heard one lifeguard say this is the best surf they've seenfers enjoying the waves. it brings them on the beaches ver

hurricane earl is now tropical storm earl. it moved past long island as a category 1 hurricane about 8:00 p.m. last night. 11:00 p.m., it was downgraded to a tropical storm, with sustained winds of 70 miles per hour. it was that strength it swept by cape cod and nantucket. coming within 80 miles of that island. >> so, the good news is that storm wasn't that bad. no hurricane-force winds. no widespread damage. the bad news is that the storm has created some serious migraines on this labor day weekend, with travel delays, dangerous 15-foot waves in some areas and a ton of rain in new england. in north carolina this morning, they're trying to get those flooded roads open again, so vacationers can get back out to the outer banks. now, we're hearing that there are two more storm systems teed up out in the atlantic. we'll have more on that coming up. >>> we have reporters out across the northeast. we begin with linsey davis, who was up all night, weathering the storm in chatham, massachusetts, on cape cod. good morning, linsey. >> r

here's the latest track on earl. here's what is expected this storm will do over the next two or three days. that is move along the carolina coastline, with hurricane-force winds to be felt here. to continue to curve up the shoreline, with hurricane-force winds to be felt near cape cod. and all the way along, we'll see waves in the 12 to 16-foot category. earl may have been a storm that was difficult to get everyone's attention with. but now, it's a storm that demands attention. >> this eye looks about 25 miles wide. >> reporter: it's an exclusive view of the eye of earl. from the cockpit of a specially-equipped jet, a hurricane hunter. we follow it as earl turns from a category 3, to a category 4. gathering more strength as the cameras roll. >> like a snowmaking machine on a ski slope. >> reporter: below, back on ground, preparations are under way. the governors of north carolina, virginia and maryland declared states of emergency. bob mcdonald activated the national guard, sending 200 troops to the chesapeake bay a

earl picked up steam and it is tracking closer to the outer banks. about 50 miles off cape hatteras. that is where it is expected to pass. in the communities of -- south of here, there are those mandatory evacuation orders for known nonresident and they have until this morning to get out. kevin isn't sticking around for earl, even if it means cutting his labor day weekend short. >> better to be a little disappointed instead of washed away or something. >> reporter: the monster hurricane could reach north carolina late tonight or early friday before rolling up the east coast. watches and warnings stretch all the way to cape cod, massachusetts. while earl is expected to stay offshore, as it makes its way north, a slight shift could put millions in harm's way. >> that's why it's important to take the time now while the skies are clear and weather is great to make sure you have a plan and you're ready just in case. >> reporter: many aren't wasting any time, boarding up -- >> you never know what flying debris you'll get. >> reporter: -- and moving out. we

>> very soaked john berman, proof that earl has arrived. and we want to move north now to cape cod, massachusetts, the calm before the storm there, and linsey davis on the beach there. good evening to you. >> reporter: good evening, david. earl is expected to hit cape cod later on tonight, as a category 1 hurricane. still, david, a very serious storm. eastern massachusetts is bracing itself. >> the threat to the public remains through tonight. >> reporter: the governor says they're prepared. utility crews are at the ready. the state even recruited inmates to fill sandbags. >> we have not gone from 3 to no hurricane, we've gone still from 3 to a category 1 hurricane. >> reporter: this is the strongest hurricane to threaten new england since hurricane bob killed 20 people in 1991. the worst of earl is expected to hit here, cape cod, massachusetts. recently named one of the top ten labor day destinations. the popular resort area has a year-round population of more than 200,000 people. the island normally swells by 50,000 this weekend, but the

earl remains a major concern.we go throughout today, dangerous surf from daytona beach across the eastern carolinas and the outer banks will take the worst of the weather. as we head into the night waves as high as 25 feet. we could see tropical storm force winds across the outer banks. with 60 to 75-mile-per-hour sustained winds through the nighttime hours. by friday, gusty winds across the jersey shore, even into eastern long island. and cape cod, close enough to the storm set to pick up some very heav ra into saturday. the good news is this is the labor day holiday and much of new york will be dry by the weekend. now back to you. mike and rob? >> all right, thanks, ava. >>> here's the rest of thursday's weather. gusty winds, hai chicago all the way to dallas. showers in the twin cities and east texas. thunderstorms in south florida. and the heat wave continues here in the northeast. >> 90s from boston to baltimore. 80s from kansas city to detroit. up to 10 degrees aorma out west. 98 in sacramento. 82 in portlan

hurricane earl is now a category one storm. it's weaker but still dangerous with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles an hour. and it is large. with tropical storm winds stretching for 200 miles. this hurricane is also picking up speed, heading northeast at 22 miles an hour. bringing strong gusts and heavy surf to the coast just in time for the holiday weekend. the eastern end of new york's long island is next in line for a brush with earl. elaine quihano is in montauk tonight. elaine, good evening. >> reporter: good evening to you erica. in just the last hour or so we've seen conditions here really start to deteriorate with the winds, the waves, the rain all starting to pick up now. tonight this area remains under a tropical storm warning as hurricane earl swirls up the eastern seaboard. as hurricane earl skirt it is eastern end of long island, officials warn the storm could bring powerful wind gusts of 65 miles per hour and blinding rain. >> this is dangerous stuff, the potential for major problems and you have to be ready. yo

here's the latest on hurricane earl. currently it is 630 miles south-southe pt of cape hatteras. 135 miles per hour winds.iscaa . the hurricane warnings are up now along the north carolina shoreline. we have also got hurricane watches in effect and tropical storm watches as far north as the marimack river in new england and tropical storm warnings down to cape fear. the path of the storm brings it alongshore along the carolinas by early friday morning as a category four storm. as that happens, we've got to remember, even if it's not a direct hit it is a strong enough storm, the hurricane force winds extend out 90 miles. tropical winds out 200 miles as a category three storm off the r shoreline that could cause major damage. it makes its way friday afternoon into saturday morning along the atlantic seaboard. again, a degree or two either side of the path will make a big dierence, skirting across new england. they haven't had a major hit since hurricane bob, since 1991. so we continue to watch this. we'll have complete det

first, instead of great urgency to folks up and down the east coast, hurricane earl. category three, it's headed north. it's a storm as big as the state of california. ocean waves at the center of this have been 29 feet high. the storm hasn't jogged as much or as soon as forecasters had hoped. it's bad news for the coast of north carolina first off where it will arrive in the next 12-hour window. our team is in place. we begin with the storm -- where it is, where it's headed. veteran hurricane specialist brian norcross at the weather channel with more. brian, what's the last update telling you? >> reporter: we've got the radar, brian. good evening. there's your hurricane and there's the business part of the hurricane. that's the eye, now within view of land-based radar. it looks like it will be in the vicinity of cape hatteras about eight hours from now. the worst part of it, right here on the northwest side. it's a very close call whether they are going to get that on cape hatteras. our concern is actually more for the future. for tomorrow, let's take a look at what

you want to say earl. hurricane earl. it's coming up next. don't go away. [ female announcer ] lunch at red lobster... it's laughs over a coastal soup and grilled shrimp salad. catching up over wood-grilled shrimp and chicken. and with lunches starting at just $6.99... it's an hour you wouldn't trade for anything. you know, the guys who always do a super job. well, it is. just get the superpagesmobile app on your phone. and look for a business with the superguarantee®. you'll get the job done right, or we'll step in and help make it right. so, protect yourself. use your phone to find a business with the superguarantee®. only from superpages.com®. and let the good guys come to the rescue. >> larry: joining us now from kill devil hills, north carolina, is its mayor. mayor ray sturger. rob marciano just told us, mayor, and bill nye confirmed, if anyone is going to get hit hard as it passes, it's going to be your area. how concerned are you? >> we're concerned, particularly about the areas just south of here, on hatteras island where it look like

this morning hurricane earl remains on a path to sideswipe the east coast. the first evacuations have already been ordered. earl is expected to move northeast of the bahamas today packing 135-mile-an-hour winds. it's a large category 4 storm with hurricane-force winds extending outward 90 miles. earl is moving towards the northwest and is expected to glance much of the east coast. north carolina has ordered tourists to evacuate ocracoke island this morning. a hurricane watch is in effect from north of surf city, north carolina, to the virginia border. but it is still too close to tell just how close earl might come to land. don teague reports. >> reporter: whipping angry winds, seen from a window in st. maarten as hurricane earl sideswiped the virgin islands dumping up to 8 inches of rain. >> i've never scene waves like this. >> reporter: in st. croix heavy surf crashed on shore. the waves tore boats from their docks. in st. kitts, heavy surf ran this coast guard boat aground. high winds damaged roofs and knocked down trees and power lines, blocking roads. t

hurricane earl could complicate airline travel nationwide as earl twists its way towards the uppedert coast. many of the larger airlines are allowing travelers to change flights without penalty. the airlines include american, delta, jet blue, united and u.s. airways. most of these airlines warn passengers flying could get a little dicey with hurricane-force winds. you should check with your airline with specific information about rebooking deadlines. you can check abc 7's flight tracker at abc7news.com. hurricane earl can do serious damage to several of the nation's insurers and stronger than expected data on the jobs front encouraging investors. courtney is live at the new york stock exchange to tell us more. good morning, courtney. >> well, good morning. definitely the economy falling back into recession. private companies hiring 57,000. that's better than expected. the nation's unemployment rate ticking higher but that was in line with expectations. supporting ben bernanke's news for a pickup in growth next year. one market analyst saying this was a terrific report. trading stocks

at the start of a holiday weekend, earl forced corey meters to board up his candy shop. now that the storm has passed, he is back open for business. >> i'm glad it is gone. and i am thrilled that the weather is as good as it is. and hopefully people are still around. >> reporter: earl's punch was so gentle that massachusetts officials did not send out a damage assessment team. because there was no major damage to assess. a new definition of a perfect storm. so if you want to swim on these beaches, we've been told that there are still some after- effect, rip currents are a problem, and beaches are being reopened, but maybe not totally reopened until tomorrow. so sunday, swimmers take your time out there. >> a holiday weekend. and this didn't turn out to be as big as some had forecast, is there any thought that maybe people are not going to heed the warnings the next time? >> reporter: i have heard that from some people here on the board walk today in chatham. but i have also heard people say that they would rather have taken the precaution, because you never know what a s

while most tourists are clearing out, residents are stick around to see what earl does. the governor warns residents not to take the storm lightly. >> it's a serious storm and we all need to treat it like a serious storm. >> reporter: the heaviest impact from earl is expected here in the outer banks. rescue teams tell me that these large dunes should hold up. but with a storm surge of three to five feet, there will be flooding in areas that aren't this protected. >> when the ocean does overwash, we don't need people out there driving in it. we need them to stay safe, and i believe that's why they are asking people to leave. >> reporter: forecasters expect earl to travel north just off the east coast. but even the slightest turn could leave long island and cape cod in the crosshairs. >> that's why it's important to take the time now while the skies are still clear and the weather is great to make sure you have a plan and you're ready just in case. >> reporter: if this family heads home to new york, they are in for a double dose of earl. >> basically you're the hurricane m

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when earl hits. now, many tourists, of course, hit the beach today, but they were not allowed to go swimming if they were on the ocean side of the beach. all of the beaches here are expected to be closed tomorrow.r and diane, the fear is that the water will simply be too rough and dangerous. >> okay, linsey, thanks to you. and our entire team will be standing by on the gulf -- on the coast, and we'll let you know at the end of the broadcast, the very latest at that moment. >>> we turn now, though, to the gulf of mexico. and an incredible sense of deja vu. an oil platform exploded today. a blast, a fire. workers thrown into the water. all of this just 200 miles west of that bp explosion last april. and abc's yunji de nies is in louisiana tonight. >> reporter: the fire broke out on the oil and gas platform just after 9:00 this morning, an eerily familiar plume of smoke reaching up into the gulf sky. the 13 crew members plunged into the water to escape the flames, floating together until rescue arrived.

signaling the approach of earl. and it is the direction of the storm that's upper most in everyone's mind here because a slight shift in that course could save the people here a lot of trouble and money. from long island to cape cod, those on the eastern seaboard waited word on earl's direction. if it turns west could it run smack into long island and cape cod. if it heads east and out to sea, a billion dollars in damages might not occur. the red cross was storing up supplies and power company trucks were positioned on long island. while on cape cod, they were hauling boats from the sea. >> over 75 to 100 miles an hour in chatham. not worth the risk. >> reporter: there may be a state of emergency in massachusetts but there is no real sense of urgency yet. tourists strolled ashore and peered into the distance for an early glimpse of the big storm to come. what are you doing to be prepared? >> water, candles, food, ice. >> reporter: and while those along the shore on cape cod are being urged to leave, many are staying

this is the beginning of earl's impact on the east coast. with 26 million people near its potential path, watching nervously. our camera flew into the eye of the storm today, as it began to break apart. >> that's the eye wall. >> this is the eye wall right there? >> reporter: abc's matt gutman was given an exclusive look at this nasa flight. earl is now a some what diminished category 2 storm, but still a powerful storm. >> what we're looking at right now is, all the way down to the sea surface, which is the blue you're seeing, and several levels of clouds stacking vertically and bending outward of an eye wall from that. this is one of the most well documented storms that we've ever had and in fact we actually have seen the storm strengthen and begin to weaken. >> reporter: with gujts like these cap sums, dropped into the storm, to give an exact reading of wind speed, pressure and rain. back on the ground, there are two sane things to do when a storm gets too close. leave -- >> hit the back roads down here, once we get in shore i think we'll

travel as earl twists towards the east coast.ger airlines are allowing travelers to change flights with no penalty. the airlines include american, delta, jet blue, united and u.s. airways. flying could get a little dicey with hurricane force winds. you should check with each airline for specific information about rebooking your deadlines and you can always sch check flt delays at abc7news.com. winds are so powerful, it moved that camera over to where mike stands to give us the weather forecast. time for a look at the forecast. mike, what do we have in store. >> take a look at live doppler 7, show you what's going on over in north carolina where they're getting lashed, the outer banks out towards the northeast corner elizabeth city with the heavy rain. but thankfully as we talked about over the previous couple of days the bulk of the storm system would definitely move away or stay out to shore. so good news for those folks. all right. let's talk about what is going on as far as outside here today. we do have a little fog starting

. >>> and earl tase into the horizon, while -- fades into the horizon. while many coastal communities have more than hurricane damage to recover from. >>> lawrence kern on the cbs 5 weather center. the holiday weekend is upon us. will the weather be nice? we'll talk about that coming up. ,,,, save up to $500 on sealy posturepedic, beauty rest and serta mattresses! even get 3 years interest free financing on tempurpedic, the most recommended bed in america! plus get free same day delivery but this special financing offer ends labor day at sleep train. superior service, best selection, lowest price guaranteed. ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ >>> this could be the key to the worst oil spill in history. the blowout preventor from the deepwater horizon oil rig is back above water tonight. secured on a boat in the gulf of mexico. the 50 feet, 300-ton device was raised from the ocean floor today in a delicate 30 hour operation. it's the failure of the preventor that led to the spill last year. -- last april, excuse me, it's now on its wa

hurricane earl pulls closer to shore. people evacuate, backed up on the roads. >>> the hostage crisis in maryland. discovery channel workers held by a gunman. babies rushed out of the building. we'll tell you how it ended. >>> and, a warning about drinking and cancer. how much is a problem? and what kind? answers, after michael douglas speaks out. >>> and, surprise. what has changed for women? for the first time in american history. >>> good evening. hurricane earl is the real thing. a category 4 and tonight, just 24 hours from the mid-atlantic shore. evacuations are under way in north carolina, where so many people had hoped to spend their last vacation of summer. north carolina, virginia, maryland, all under states of emergency tonight. and our steve osunsami is waiting for earl in hatteras. >> reporter: on hatteras island >> back to jersey. visitors from across the world were told the hurricane is >> pain in the butt. >> reporter: bill and his family were forced to abandon their two-week vacation and drive back to mary

because of hurricane earl. right now, earl a category 3 storm.'t let that fool you, it is going to be a problem. right now we have got three storms out there, we have got earl with 125-mile-per-hour ave fiona,lsho has increased to 60-mile-per-hour windsnd gaston could be next. right now earl 700 miles south/southeast of cape hatteras, moving west at 16 miles an hour. we have hurricane watches up now from surf city all the way up into virginia with these hurricane watches and they made be upgraded later on in the next 24 hours. the path of the storm brings it right along shore sometime late thursday night on into friday morning, now again, cape hatteras is within that cone of uncertainty, it continues on up and you can see those hurricane force winds extend out 90 miles from the center of the storm. tropical storm force winds out 200 miles from the center of the storm. so we don't have to have a direct history t to have any so affect from winds and rain. and the last time new england got hit by a major hurricane was 1991, hurricane bob, so we're g

also tonight, the latest on hurricane earl. as the storm moves closer to the east coast, residents start packing up and moving inland. pressure builds to pull a popular weight loss drug after a new study says it can raise the risk of heart attack. and iraqis new to democracy get some lessons from a country with more than two centuries of experience. captioning sponsored by cbs from cbs news world headquarters in new york, this is the "cbs evening news" with katie couric. >> smith: good evening, katie is off tonight. we're beginning with a real-life drama at the discovery channel. a man who reportedly had a history of issues with the cable network's programming entered its headquarters in suburban washington today waving a gun and taking hostages. hundreds of others fled the building as police negotiated with the gunman, but after several hours of talks, police shot and killed him because, they say, the lives of the hostages were in jeopardy. it all played out in silver spring, maryland. cbs news correspondent wyatt andrews is t

what's in store for those in the path of the weekend hurricane earl? >>> tough job. the unemployment rate is up, but number of jobs lost down. what does this all say about our economy right now? >>> lost for words. arizona's governor talks about what she calls a debate brain freeze. and a big misstatement. >>> and the kids are all right. we know that because their parents, the president and first lady, are talking more about what their kids are like and what it's like growing up there. >>> plus, what's this about men not asking for directions? >>> plus, what's this about men not asking for directions? "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> good evening. last night at this time it was the biggest storm on the planet, but in a fortunate and welcome turn of events, the hurricane named earl, once a raging and grinding category four, is tonight barely a category one. it took its time but now it's making all the right turns. and a lot of people owe a huge debt of thanks to the air that came rushing across the country to shred the storm

see more wet weather making its way up the coast as earl makes its way into new england. look for the hot weather from the gulf coast on into the southeast, mid-atlantic states, the heat and sizzling conditions in the southwest, as well. >>> here's a beautiful view from the mountain looking over san francisco. mainly clear skies. already near 70 outside in san francisco. oakland, san jose, well on our way to temperatures getting close to the 90s by lunchtime. still no sign of a sea breeze just yet, but that will fire up later this afternoon. that means the peninsula and coast will see highs early in the day, late morning to early afternoon. then the inner bay will cool down while 90s to 100 degrees continues inland. the sea breeze will cool us off big time for the weekend. >>> don't forget get your weather any time of day or night. go to weather channel on cable or weather.com online. matt? >> all right, al, great job down there. thank you very much. we'll see you in a little while. coming up a rare medical condition that prevented a teenager from eating anything for more

earl dejaron cientos de damnificados en puerto rico, kally ester toro nos presenta los detalles. >>por hora, las islas de vieques y culebra sufrieron el mayor embate. culebra sufrieron el mayor embate. >> tuvimos a casi 200 mil >> en la isla de culebra una avioneta tuvo problemas y tuvo que ser evacuada de emergencia. >> en el área del muelle tambiñn hubo problemas. >> decenas de carreteras quedaron intransitables, 180 personas tuvieron que ser refugiadas, las labores del gobierno y las clases fueron canceladas hasta el 3 de septiembre. >> aunque salió el sol, las autoridades no bajan la guardia ante la cercanía de la tormenta tropical fiona, que se espera que pase a 100 millas del país. >> en oakland, cientos de alumnos de sexto grado tendrán que pasar más horas en la escuela, con 3 horas más que otras escuelas del distrito de oakland, debido a que se encuentran dentro de los menores estándares de resultados acadñmicos. >> los usuarios de ac transit podrían enfrentar nuevos recortes, al eliminar 4 de las 6 rutas que se ocupan de madrugada, entre otras medidas, según la administraci

earl-induced work is just beginning.ats pulled out of the water to safety. >> hurricane up the coast, we try to be prudent and make sure the boat doesn't get damaged. >> you never know what flying debris you're gonna get. >> we could see watches and warnings continue to move up the east coast. >> fema is already directing food and water north to cape cod hopping to get ahead of a storm that so far shows no signs of retreat. overnight president obama signed a disaster declaration for north carolina. officials know they only have a few more hours to get in place for earl before all they can do is wait to see what earl has in store for them. emily schmidt, abc news, atlantic beach, north carolina. >> good morning. it's just about 5:50. nothing like that going on here but hurricane earl is sparking some concern on the east coast. >> that's right. they're going to feel the effects tonight. 6 inches of rain, outer banks of north carolina and tropical storm warnings in effect to nova scotia. we're looking at a clear start. the

[ cheers and applause ] >>> this morning on "early today," earl arrives. the hurricane brushes north carolina just in time to ruin labor day plans. >>> again a massive fire erupted at another oil platform sending workers into the sea. >>> that's got to hurt. a motorcyclist is sent somersaulting by a pickup truck a motorcyclist is sent somersaulting by a pickup truck in iowa. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >> hello. good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today we begin with storm surge. the carolina coast is riding out the effects of hurricane earl this morning while folks in the northeast are on the watch for hurricane and tropical storm-force winds. early, a category two storm, is threatening to whip up dangerous waves and threatening rip tides all along the east coast all throughout the day. kristin dahlgren is in north carolina outer banks with the latest. kristen, good morning. >>> good morning, lynn. things have really been picking up along the outer banks. take a look. c

and earl heads to canada. >> the search continues. police are conducting an inch-by-inch investigation of a pittsburg landfill, looking for signs of the man they fear is the victim of a bizarre crime spree. >> reporter: the search is taking place up the hill behind me. now, just when the volunteers will be back tomorrow and the search could last a full week. that's because no new evidence has been found. >> there is a lot of debris here. it is very time-consuming. >> reporter: sifting through one acre of land and 3,000 tons of trash is taking days. the landfill is the strongest lead. >> looking for -- >> we're looking for anything. >> reporter: fred lick -- frederick is still missing. his father was found bludgeoned to death in this home. the owner of the home is dead, too. police believe one man attacked the man and his son because he felt one of them might be involved with tran. police are think the man strangled his girlfriend before he was shot to death in a confrontation with police tuesday night. now four days later, investigato

keeping eye on hurricane earl.live with the very latest and job numbers were released today, the economy lost 54,000 of them, leaving many asking where are the jobs? we're going to tell you. >>> then it's been three months since 7-year-old kyron horman disappeared. are police any closer to finding out where he is? we'll let you know. >>> labor day weekend means it's the unofficial end of summer and wearing white. what to do with your summer gear and all those white pants we've been wearing, from your patio furniture to your grill on weekend "today." >>> al joins us from north carolina with the latest on hurricane earl. hey, al. >> how are you doing? earl is making its way up the coast. and, as it does, of course, we are getting on the backside of this system, which is good. all in all, not too bad. i mean, we didn't take a direct hit, thank goodness. if we had, things would have been a lot worse. however, nantucket may still, in fact, before it's all over, get a direct hit. let's take a look and show you what's hap

>>> earl and water. now a tropical storm heading north, carrying winds and rain but less intensity than had been feared. we'll talk about the biggest storm to head up the coast in years. >>> new zealand still reeling from the quake that collapsed buildings and shut off power. we'll talk to a reporter who was there during the scary moments. >>> an epidemic of prescription drug addiction, not among teens or college kids, but baby boomers. we'll tell you the telltale signs someone you love could be in trouble. >>> ad men. we used to try to avoid commercials, now millions of us watch them over and over online just for fun. "early" this saturday, september just for fun. "early" this saturday, september 4th, 2010. captioning funded by cbs >>> hey, good morning, everyone. welcome to ""the early show"" on this saturday morning. i'm chris wragge. >> and i'm erica hill. >> sadly it's the unofficial into summer but not for us. >> yeah, not for us. >> we're having a summer here on the plaza. we have a huge party pla

a quick update as you can see with hurricane earl a powerful hurricane with winds 125. there is a closer inspection and we'll track this hurricane at least over the next 24 to 48 hours and possibly over the next three days as well. back here we have changes, look at that fog bank developing offshore. in fact, here is a closer inspection. mostly clear skies across most of the region but from ma pacificia 22 miles to the west and could be a factor after 3:00 or 4:00 this afternoon. as far as a look outside mostly clear skies over san francisco, currently in the mid 70s. it's 76, a look at the rest of the bay area, we're heating up towards fairfield, liver more 94 and san jose 92 and the big headline is this: heating up today temperatures near 100 inland and 70s coast side and 80s and approaching 90 out toward oakland this afternoon by 3:00 or 4:00 when temperatures peak out there. high pressure responsible for the warm up over the past two days. it's going to weaken. today, though it's still in place and temperatures inland on the hot side around the coast and bay but we'

here's the forecast eye path with hurricane earl.e approaching the southeast coast throughout the day so expect to see dangerous surf and rip currents from coastal florida to coastal areas of south carolina. hurricane watch was issued for those areas north of surf city, north carolina, into the north carolina/virginia border and it's going to make its closest approach to the outer banks of north carolina late thursday into thursdht p s a it's going to continue its northeasterly track set to impact the southern coast of new england by this labor day weekend. rob, mike? >> abc will have continuing coverage of hurricane earl throuhe mon "america this morning" and "good morning america," plus any time at abcnews.com. >>> now to the rest of the nation's weather on this wednesday. severe storms from the dakotas nd atedsin ux from the dakotas cityomahchit showers from texas up to the great lakes. light rain in the northern rockies. and near-record highs in the northeast. >> 97 here in new york. 92 in boston. and 95 in baltimore. 77 in fargo

now tonight's other developing story, hurrican earl. the category four storm may be headed for the east coast. officials are telling coastal residents to be prepared to evacuate. at last report, the storm that has lashed the islands of the northeastern caribbean was about 125 miles off the turks and caicos. a picture taken from the space station from astronaut doug wheeler shows the eye both beautiful and intimidating. hurricane earl is heading northwest with winds of 135 miles an hour and a hurricane watch is up for much of the north carolina coast. that includes kill evil hills where don teague has been monitoring earl's path. >> reporter: whipping, angry winds, scenes from a window in st. marten as hurricane earl sideswiped the virgin islands, dumping up to eight inches of rain. >> i've never seen waves like this! >> reporter: in st. croix, heavy surf crashed on shore, the waves tore boats from their docks, and in st. kit's, heavy surf ran this coast guard ship aground. high winds damaged roofs and knocked down trees and power lines,

last year there were four. >>> earl has come and gone and didn't make any impact. even though the storm lost a lot of its punch it's still kicking up dangerous current as long much of the east coast and it's blamed for two deaths. businesses there are back open for this holiday weekend. >> reporter: earl's long march came to an end. making landfall saturday morning. once a powerful category four hurricane, earl arrived in new england as a tropical storm with high winds and rain but leaving little damage behind. >> i was very thankful. >> reporter: ken is one of hundreds of boaters, happy to see clear blue sky. >> reporter: what are your vacation plans? >> just have some fun. >> reporter: some had hoped earl would drove fun. >> we were disappointed. we thought there would be crazy waves and some action but we just slept through it. >> reporter: the collapse is not a disappointment for business owners. they hope to recover what they lost when some canceled their plans as, arl approached. it's back to business at usual in a candy story in massachusetts. >> i'm glad it

] >>> north carolina is now under a hurricane warning as earl approaches the coast.e storm has weakened to a category 3. forecasters are warning from the carolinas up to maine not to let their guard down. manuel gallegus in north carolina where the surf is off limits. >> reporter: lifeguards put out no swimming signs this morning on north carolina beaches. >> we have swells starting to really develop from hurricane earl and so we are going to red flag our beaches which means we are going to close them to swimmers. >> reporter: with hurricane earl approaching the east coast federal authorities told millions to be prepared to leave but the slaughter family from pennsylvania isn't ready to evacuate. >> this is our vacation for the summer. it's the only week we have. and we're kind of sticking it out here. >> reporter: you want to stay? >> absolutely. >> reporter: how come? >> i worked 100-week to come down here so i want to relax as much as possible. >> reporter: riptides and rough surf are making it too dangerous to go into the water. yesterday alone there were dozens

>>> on the broadcast tonight, tracking earl. it's a big category four hurricane churning up the east coast and officials don't yet know who to warn as a big holiday weekend approaches. >>> end of combat, the president's speech and his warning about what may lie ahead for america in iraq. >>> the plague of bed bugs, they're now spreading all over this country. the question is, why this infestation now? >>> and "making a difference" for kids this summer turns out to be an opportunity right up their alley. "nightly news" begins now. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >>> a special good evening to our viewers in the western u.s. tonight. president obama spoke on iraq a short time ago, we'll talk about that in a moment. first tonight, we have a very big hurricane making its way toward the united states. in this case, toward the east coast. the question is,where? and that's a big problem for a lot of emergency preparedness folks tonight. this storm has a potential 30 million americans in its path. we could see watches and w

hurricane earl, here's your track for thursday and friday on the coastline of the u.s. still staying at category storm strength. more coming up in the 6:00 p.m. show on that. otherwise, tomorrow we'll see temperatures here in the 90s for the south bay. also for the peninsula, inland, close to 100 degrees. in the east bay, with mid-to-upper 90s. as we continue here you'll see 90s all around, all the way into the north bay. more any time on the weather channel on cable. you can get more on the seven-day forecast coming up at 6:00 p.m. which shows cooling as we head into the upcoming weekend. >> jeff, thanks very much. >>> and "the nightly newthe "ni next with more about the president's speech about iraq. >> thanks for joining us at 5:00. more local news at 6:00. see you then.

it's one of the states expected to be most affected by earl. it's the tourists that have been told to get out. some obviously being helps out. the storm already causing problems for beach lifeguards yesterday off the coast of kill devil hills. swimmer had to be rescued after getting sucked out by a rip current. that was one of the things they were afraid earl was going to cause. earl is expected to bring high winds, heavy rains to north carolina's outer banks by late tomorrow or early friday. >>> 5:05. let's go back to elizabeth for another look at traffic. good morning. >> hey, good morning. everything is still nice and quiet and light on the roads out there. caltrans sweeper crews will be out towards the los altos hills later on today between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the northbound and southbound lanes of 280 so delays are possible for much of the day while those caltrans crews are out there. in the meantime through downtown san jose we have a live look at 280 traffic. very hard to see at this time of the morning. so far, no delay and very

but earl slowed down today, too. what that means is, they will connect, but a little too late to save the coastline of north carolina from a very close brush with a very powerful storm. let me show you what's going to happen. over the next 24 hours, the cold front makes a move out of the northern plains and gets to the shoreline. now here's what it does to the track of that storm. notice by friday afternoon, just how close that category 2 hurricane is, within 100 miles to the outer banks of north carolina. that means 60 to 70-mile-an-hour winds right on the shoreline of north carolina and one to three inches of rain. as the storm curves and interacts with that front, it will put. but america curves right there, too. so, 200 miles away f ilee co miles away f and we expect this storm will be a very powerful category 1 storm as it is that close to the cape. so hurricane center very confident about theire-da plan, diane, but as with all hurricanes, we watch by 1 o >> l a word i knompio be publishing all of this online fo