Fifteen-foot waves have been crashing down on the fragile Outer Banks. Major highways are covered with sand and water as residents are being forced to hunker down and wait out the storm. Governor Beverly Perdue says emergency teams are ready to move out. 

 

 

 

“I want people of North Carolina to listen up if they were those who’re affected by the storm, please stay inside. We’ve had reports of folks who are beginning to venture out. You endanger your safety and the safety of the first responders who might come to try to rescue you.”

 

 

 

Forecasters say high winds extended to central North Carolina. Police say a man walking outside his home was killed by a falling tree limp, 150 miles inland. For NPR News, I’m Will Michaels in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

 

 

 

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says this storm is so massive that it would be felt in Canada.

 

 

 

“The storm almost stayed right on the center of the state, right on our coast through the evening tonight. Then tomorrow morning it will go up the coastline in New Jersey shore and then make a landfall in extreme western Long Island and move inland over the New England and eventually off in Canada.”

 

 

 

Bill Read, National Hurricane Center director. 

 

 

 

Government hurricane hunters have taken to the skies to gather data about Irene. Bobbie O'Brien, WUSF has more from Tampa.

 

 

 

Every 12 hours a NOAA turbo prop plane crisscross the eye on hurricane Irene measuring wind speed and air pressure. The plane also drops sensors that transmit back the ocean's temperature. NOAA deputy administrator Kathryn Sullivan says flying into the storm is necessary because data from land-based radar and satellites is limited when the hurricane is over the water.

 

 

 

“So let’s get inside, take the hurricane at the temperature of the storm while it’s cooking. So we can make sure that the models have that richness of the information, and can rely on the outcomes.”

 

 

 

NOAA has other aircraft ready to fly after the storm to gather data to help assess the damage. For NPR News, I’m Bobbie O'Brien in Tampa.

 

 

 

New York Mayor Bloomberg has ordered more than a quarter of million people to evacuate low-lying areas including Battery Park and Rockaway in Coney Island. But like Maxine Wills, many aren’t sure they'll go.

 

 

 

“We might be better off here. People are running to the Bronx, they are running to the Queens. Those places might not be the safest place.”

 

 

 

At the same time, the subways are shutting down. This is NPR.

 

 

 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is telling 6,500 active duty troops to be ready to help with hurricane Irene relief work. The Pentagon says Panetta issued to prepare to deploy order for troops from all branches as the storm moves up the East Coast. 

 

 

 

And initial green light has been given for a US-Canada oil pipeline. As Dan Karpenchuk reports, U.S. officials say there’s no evidence so far the pipeline would have a significant impact on the 6 states it will cross.

 

 

 

The pipeline would carry Canadian crude oil from northern Alberta to refineries along the Texas Gulf Coast according to the U.S. State Department that there would be no major risks to the environment. But activists feared the pipeline could increase demand for oil for Alberta’s oil sands described as the dirtiest oil in the world because of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with its extraction. They also claimed the U.S. officials have not fully assessed the risks and failed to study pipeline safety measures and look at alternate routes that would avoid a crucial source of water in Nebraska. Activist from both sides of the borders said the project is a disaster waiting to happen. Supporters said the pipeline would create thousands of jobs and help end U.S. reliance on oil for the Mideast. For NPR News, I’m Dan Karpenchuk in Toronto.

 

 

 

In his weekly address, the President is calling on the nation to come together in the spirit of unity. Mr. Obama appealed for cooperation in the period of serious financial stress. He asked Americans to rekindle the spirit of unity that characterized the days after the 9/11 attacks. Senator Dean Heller from Nevada delivered the GOP address, their message: it’s time for a balanced budget constitutional amendment and less government.