COLUMBIA -- Every gallon of gasoline you pump would cost you 5.5 cents more. You'd pay 19 cents more each month to run the water from your tap. The medicines you take to treat your illnesses would cost an additional 88 cents a month.

BUXTON, N.C. -- The last ferry left for the mainland and coastal residents hunkered down at home as Hurricane Earl closed in with 105 mph winds Thursday on North Carolina's dangerously exposed Outer Banks, the first and perhaps most destructive stop on the storm's projected journey up the Eastern Seaboard.

Opponents of a proposed construction waste landfill in Adams Run were declaring victory Thursday, after developer Tre Sheppard withdrew the long-contested plan prior to a scheduled vote by a County Council committee.