Larger than the state of California, Hurricane Earl prepared to take a swipe at the Eastern Seaboard on Thursday as residents scrambled to ready themselves ahead of its arrival.

Hurricane warnings and watches stretched from North Carolina to Delaware and into Massachusetts, where a hurricane warning was issued for Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and the surrounding area. A hurricane watch was also issued for the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. Tropical storm watches and warnings were in effect for most other coastal areas between North Carolina and Nova Scotia.

You need four things to get ready for body painting: “A shave, clean underwear, wine and nipple coverings,” says model Veronica Guerra.

The National Hurricane Center expects the storm, which is larger than California, to pass close to North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Thursday night. It is expected to take aim at southeastern New England on Friday night. The storm’s track shifted slightly to the west, closer to North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras. The hurricane center has posted storm watches and warnings for areas as far north as Maine.

Police arrested rapper T.I. and his wife in California after they were allegedly found in possession of a controlled substance. The couple was arrested late Wednesday during a traffic stop in Los Angeles, according to a police report. During the stop, police said, they smelled an odor of marijuana coming from their car.

Marking the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, President Obama said Tuesday night that America would continue supporting Iraq’s government while also looking to refocus its energies on the U.S. economy and the war in Afghanistan.

“The United States has paid a huge price to put the future of Iraq in the hands of its people,” Obama said in an address from the Oval Office. “… Through this remarkable chapter in the history of the United States and Iraq, we have met our responsibility. Now, it is time to turn the page.”

One in three first-time moms are now delivering their babies by Caesarean section, according to a new study.

We’ve all heard the expression, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” And for years, we’ve known that at least in spirit, it’s somewhat true. Fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins and nutritionists say they contain ingredients that can fight off certain illnesses.

Mitt Romney’s lending of a helping hand to Republicans in Oregon brings to nearly 40 the number of states where the possible 2012 GOP presidential hopeful has assisted candidates.

The former Massachusetts governor’s political action committee, Free and Strong America PAC, Tuesday announced the endorsement of four GOP candidates in Oregon, including former pro-basketball player Chris Dudley, who is the party’s nominee for governor.

When Chrysler and GM filed for bankruptcy in 2009 they planned to shutter thousands of dealerships across the country. Fewer then one third of the dealers who hoped to stay in business are in the running for a comeback.

What if students attended school all year? One Wisconsin teacher thinks that could be a way to improve student grades and fix the nation’s public school system.

Everyone on the “Showbiz Tonight” staff is just exhausted after Sunday night’s Emmys. What a show!

We all think Jimmy Fallon was a hit as the host, and we loved the fact that so many first-timers took home an award. That’s the good news from the weekend, but there’s also some bad news, and it involves Paris Hilton. Apparently she was arrested on suspicion of cocaine possession in Las Vegas on Friday night.

Jennifer Konjoian was 10 years old when she put a plastic bag over her head. She remembers doing it impulsively, for no other reason than to get attention.

A veteran House representative from Texas is under fire for awarding charitable scholarships associated with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to her family members and relatives of an aide.

When President Obama steps into the Oval Office to deliver his prime-time address on Tuesday, he won’t be taking a victory lap and won’t utter the words “mission accomplished, a top aide says. Instead, the president will have a “change of mission” moment, where he explains the way forward in Iraq and thanks U.S. troops for their sacrifice.

The National Association of Business Economists said Monday that three-quarters of its members believe that promoting economic growth should be a higher priority than reducing the national deficit, according to an August survey of the nation’s economic policy.

A filing on behalf of basketball superstar LeBron James dismisses as “rank speculation” claims by a Washington lawyer that he is the athlete’s biological father, saying the man has “delusions” about alleged family ties.

Rodents, leaking manure, uncaged birds and flies too numerous to count were found by investigators at Iowa farms at the heart of the recall of more than half a billion eggs, the Food and Drug Administration reported Monday.

The CNN Wire staff reports, “Fresh eggs being produced by farms at the heart of a massive recall are making their way to consumers via facilities that pasteurize the eggs, process them and rid them of any possible salmonella.”

Jones, a computer programmer in Allen Park, Michigan, quickly realized the messages weren’t from his boss — they were from his boss’ children who were hanging out at the office with their father for the day. As a joke, they’d gone into their dad’s AOL account and sent silly, innocent instant messages to everyone in the office, and none of the adults could understand the shortcuts and slang.

SCVNGR, for example, announced its integration with Facebook Places on Friday. That means people can use that free Android and iPhone app to complete challenges similar to Priebatsch’s origami experiment and share that information easily with friends on Facebook. People on SCVNGR (pronounced “scavenger”) also will be able to see the locations of their friends who use Facebook Places.