Hurricane Alert Grips East Coast

Hurricane alerts extended up the East Coast Friday, affecting some 65 million people, as Irene moved past the Bahamas and headed north toward North Carolina, where it is expected to hit Saturday. The National Hurricane Center issued warnings to Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and the coast of Massachusetts. Though winds at the center of the hurricane have died down slightly from 115 mph to 105 mph, making Irene a Category 2 storm, officials warned it was still "extremely dangerous" and could regain strength. The storm is estimated to cost tens of billions of dollars in damage. President Obama said the hurricane is expected to be "historic."