President Joe Biden’s White House recently delivered to Congress its “Mid-Session Review” of the federal budget. The bottom line in this late July document was bad: The deficit for 2024 is projected to be $1.87 trillion and the nation likely will be $37 trillion in debt by the end of the year. This news arrived just one week after the 50th birthday of the law that created the congressional budget process. President Richard M. Nixon hailed the Control Budget and Impoundment Act’s passage in his July 12, 1974 signing statement....

OKLAHOMA CITY — The “MVP! MVP!” chants began in the second quarter, every time Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went to the free-throw line, which on this Tuesday night in Paycom Center became a rather lengthy parade. The Mavericks and this second-round playoff series’ other MVP finalist, Luka Doncic, couldn’t muster a rebuttal to those chants. Gilgeous-Alexander’s 29 points, nine rebounds and nine assists led OKC to a surprisingly easy 117-95 victory in Game 1 of this best-of-seven series while the Thunder limited Doncic to 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting. Thus continued a...

A shooting at a Kansas City home just north of Grandview left one man dead and two others in critical condition Tuesday night, police said. Kansas City police officers were dispatched to the 11700 block of Corrington Avenue around 7:30 p.m., where onlookers directed them toward a home, said KCPD officer Alayna Gonzalez, a spokesperson. Officers found an adult woman unresponsive outside the house with gunshot wounds. Once she was transported to an area hospital, neighbors and eyewitnesses told police someone else still inside the home had also been shot,...

SALISBURY — Quilters of all ages and skill levels visited the biennial Central Carolina Quilt Fair, which was presented by the Salisbury-Rowan Quilters Guild. Visitors, both locally and from surrounding counties, came to the fair, with proceeds going to support the guild’s community service work. The two-day event was May 3 and 4 at the West End Plaza and featured more than 100 quilted creations on display, vendors, door prizes, food and more. While the rainy weather may have hindered the display of the quilted car and World War II...

Troy Finner retires as HPD chief, mayor's email to police staffers says HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Troy Finner, the city of Houston's chief of police for the last three years, has retired amid questions about whether he was aware of a code that suspended more than 260,000 cases years sooner than the timeline he gave to the public. Eyewitness News obtained an email by Mayor John Whitmire sent late Tuesday night to Houston Police Department employees, informing them of the change at the top. Executive Assistant Chief Larry Satterwhite will...

Sierra Meadows residents are looking for answers after years of mold-infested units. Some have been living in a hotel for months awaiting repairs. Sierra Meadows residents are looking for answers after years of mold-infested units. Some have been living in a hotel for months awaiting repairs. Sierra Meadows residents are looking for answers after years of mold-infested units. Some have been living in a hotel for months awaiting repairs. Sierra Meadows residents are looking for answers after years of mold-infested units. Some have been living in a hotel for months...

Unrest continued to ripple through UC San Diego on Tuesday with some in the campus community condemning the chancellor and of the university administration, a day after law enforcement tore down an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters and made arrests that prompted skirmishes. With the tent city gone, campus was back to business as usual, although the evening brought a rally sponsored by the union representing student workers, which drew about 300 people. The loud but peaceful gathering was a reversal of Monday morning’s confrontations after the chancellor declared the encampment...