BUXTON, N.C. - Hurricane Earl roared past the North Carolina Outer Banks early Friday, flooding some parts of the narrow vacation islands and knocking out electricity before driving north at the start of at least 24 hours of stormy, windy weather along the East Coast.

A Jeep driving down the road had water up to the headlights.

The storm knocked out power to thousands of people along the North Carolina coast but no injuries had been reported, said Mark Van Sciver from the North Carolina Emergency Operations Center.

NEW YORK - They all want to be like Maria.

Maria Sharapova's next match at the U.S. Open will come against yet another teenager who looks up to her - 18-year-old Beatrice Capra, the 371st-ranked American who, with a win in that third-round match, would be one step closer to becoming the 2010 version of Melanie Oudin.

As a 17-year-old underdog last year, Oudin's magical run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals started getting serious when she beat her third-round opponent - none other than Sharapova, she of the killer clothes, the high-pitched shrieks, the oversized serves.