Hurricane Erin was bringing tropical storm conditions at or near portions of North Carolina's coast on Wednesday night — as the "large" storm's outer bands brushed the N.C. Outer Banks, forcing officials to close a section of highway.

The big picture: The National Hurricane Center warned U.S. East Coast beachgoers on Wednesday against swimming at most beaches due to "life-threatening surf and currents," while the Outer Banks region was also under threat from "life-threatening" surge flooding and tropical conditions. • Many East Coast beaches have already closed in preparation for the storm and North Carolina is under a state of emergency. Evacuation orders were in effect for Dare and Hyde counties. • Some 7.7 million people were under coastal flood warnings and nearly 32 million other

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