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The tourists of North Carolina’s Ocracoke Island are being evacuated as Hurricane Earl threatens to smash into the popular vacation spot. About 5,000 visitors were asked to board ferries starting at 5 a.m.; the island’s 800 locals don’t have to follow the evacuation, though leaving is strongly encouraged. Earl moved through the Caribbean at 125 m.p.h. Tuesday, losing some speed and being downgraded to a Category 3 storm. Still, other areas up the Eastern Seaboard could have to evacuate. The hurricane is likely to run parallel to the East Coast, and may turn north and swipe Cape Cod and Maine by Saturday.