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Earl skirts across Outer Banks, flooding coastal areas

Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina (CNN) - A weakened Hurricane Earl brushed North Carolina's Outer Banks overnight, flooding coastal highways and sending residents inland.

"In multiple locations, waves have crashed over the tops of the dunes and are now flooding several portions of the main state highway on both the north and south sides through the Outer Banks. This is all happening south of the area called the Oregon Inlet," CNN's David Mattingly reported from the community of Waves. "The water is six to eight inches deep and seems to be getting deeper by the minute."

Ben McNeely from Charlotte, North Carolina, was riding the storm out in the community of Manteo.

"We're in the middle of the island," McNeely said. "Surf's up, waves are up ... We're fully surrounded by water." Read more

President mulls new measures to spark economy

Washington (CNN) - After a week mostly focused on Iraq and Mideast diplomacy, it's back to the economy for President Barack Obama, who will deliver remarks Friday on the August unemployment numbers.

Then, Obama is scheduled to give two big speeches next week to try and frame his administration's response to the recession, less than two months ahead of a midterm election where Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are on the ropes.

Senior aides confirm the president recently asked his economic team to come up with various proposals he could roll out to show that amid high anxiety across the nation, he's still working hard to jump-start the economy, including more federal spending on infrastructure projects and tax cuts popular with the business community such as a permanent extension of the research and development tax credit. Read more

Chicago gang leaders hold press conference

300 people were shot in July in Chicago, 33 died. And Chicago's police chief Jody Weis is trying to do something about it. He brought in gang leaders for a surprise meeting and gave them an ultimatum: stop the killing or they, and their gangs, will be targeted. Some gang leaders and community leaders were less than thrilled and yesterday called a press conference of their own. Saying they can't be held accountable for other's actions.

Sound off: We want to hear from you this morning. Add your comments to the LIVE Blog below and we'll read some of them on the show.

Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.

Discovery Channel HQ given 'all clear'

(CNN) - Authorities gave an "all clear" early Thursday after sweeping the headquarters of the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland, where police shot and killed a man who was holding three hostages.

Montgomery County Police said no active explosive devices were in the building, but authorities didn't say if any bombs had been found there. Earlier, Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said a number of devices in backpacks would have to be rendered safe.

The suspect killed by police was identified by Manger as James Lee. The hostages were unharmed, he said.

Manger said hostage negotiators negotiated for almost four hours by phone with Lee on Wednesday afternoon while police officers watched and listened to Lee on the building's surveillance system.

"At times during the negotiations, he was calm, but I wouldn't call him lucid. The conversation was indicative to me he was dealing with some mental issues," he said.

Manger said the three hostages were lying on the ground, but were not otherwise constrained. He said Lee mainly dealt with the hostage negotiators and did not communicate with the hostages. Read more

Earl strengthens, heads toward East Coast

See local coverage from CNN affiliate WVEC. Is Hurricane Earl affecting you? Share images and information with CNN iReport.

(CNN) - Hurricane Earl took aim on the Outer Banks of North Carolina early Thursday as the powerful storm prepared to take a swipe at the Eastern Seaboard.

Hurricane warnings and watches stretched from North Carolina to Delaware, and covered parts of Massachusetts as Earl strengthened late Wednesday.

President Barack Obama signed a disaster declaration for North Carolina on Wednesday evening.

"The president's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures," a FEMA statement said. Read more

A Soldier's Story Update
As the U.S. military forges ahead in the final wave of the surge CNN's Jason Carroll shows us how one soldier is making the last few preparations before his mission gets underway, in our ongoing series, A Soldier's Story. Follow his updates on twitter, @jasoncarrollcnn

Sound off: We want to hear from you this morning. Add your comments to the LIVE Blog below and we'll read some of them on the show.