“Interests from the Carolinas northward to New England should monitor the progress of Earl,” the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. In particular, Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks could see a “close approach” from Earl, the center said. A hurricane watch could be posted by Tuesday night for the mid-Atlantic coast, alerting residents to expect storm conditions within 72 hours, the center said. No evacuations were announced, but that could change if Earl deviates a bit farther west, Federal Emergency Management Agency chief Craig Fugate said Tuesday. Fugate said the primary risk from Earl if it suddenly changed course westwards would be from storm surge on the shoreline.  “It’s still staying off the coast at this point for the whole eastern U.S.,” Baxter said.

He declined to predict how close the hurricane would come to New York when it churned offshore east of the city at the weekend. “We just don’t know,” Baxter said. “It’s too early at this point. We’re just telling everybody to keep their eyes on the track and just keep checking back.” He said the NHC expected the hurricane to stop just short of becoming a maximum Category 5 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale. Nevertheless, Earl is expected to bring drenching rain, dangerous seas and surf and gusting wind to the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to New England and Canada.

Hansen is described as a white female, age 26, 5′8″ tall, weighing 200 lbs., with brown eyes and brown hair last seen wearing a lavender t shirt, blue jeans, and carrying a yellow cloth purse. Hansen was driving a black 1998 Dodge Avenger bearing a North Carolina license plate, STW4298.

Numerous friends and associates have been interviewed, as well as the route that Hansen would have used from Wal Mart back to Andrews has been checked. The North Carolina Highway Patrol furnished a helicopter to overfly the route as well.

Anyone with information on Hansen’s whereabouts is asked to immediately contact 911 and report the information.

Contact the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office at 828-837-2589 or Cherokee County Communications at 828-835-3144.

Health officials said Wednesday that hundreds of people have been sickened in a salmonella outbreak linked to eggs in three states and possibly more. A recall first announced last week was expanded from 228 million to 380 million eggs — the equivalent of nearly 32 million dozen-egg cartons.  Eggs affected by the expanded recall were distributed to food wholesalers, distribution centers and food service companies in Georgia, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Arkansas, Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Oklahoma, Oregon, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.   Eggs from Wright County Egg in Galt, Iowa, were linked to several illnesses in the three states. Thoroughly cooking eggs can kill the bacteria. But health officials are recommending people throw away or return the recalled eggs.

Eggs are packaged under the following brand names: Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and Pacific Coast. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942. Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton or printed on the case label. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1720 223.

Eggs under the August 13, 2010 recall are packaged under the following brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg cartons, dozen egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946.

There have been confirmed Salmonella enteritidis illnesses relating to the shell eggs and traceback investigations are ongoing.

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