BUXTON, N.C. (AP) -- Hurricane Earl blew toward the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday as a major storm with winds of around 145 mph as forecasters tried to pinpoint exactly how close the strongest gales and heaviest surge would get to North Carolina's fragile chain of barrier islands.

They also were trying to figure out whether the storm would stay offshore as it tracks up the Northeast coast or bring hurricane-force winds to Long Island, the Boston metropolitan area and Cape Cod. More>>