AP - Hurricane Earl's powerful gusts and driving rains are churning over the Outer Banks of North Carolina and starting to be felt in southeastern Virginia.

AP - Federal officials say a passenger has been taken into custody after screeners detected something suspicious in a checked bag at Miami International Airport.

AP - Stark differences exist between the oil platform fire in the Gulf of Mexico and the blast that led to the massive BP spill. Mostly notably, no one was killed and no crude was gushing into the water, but the distinctions don't end there.