The gunman in the Buffalo supermarket shooting was sentenced yesterday.

Plus we have an update on the nation's finances.

That's some of what we'll get to on the seven from the Washington Post.

I'm Jeff Pierre. It's Thursday, February 16th. Let's get you

caught up with today's seven stories. First up, the U.S. got a grim warning yesterday about the nation's budget.

Congress's nonpartisan budget office found that the deficit, that's a difference between what the government spends and what it brings in. That deficit is growing faster than expected. This is because of recent new

spending, inflation, and rising interest rates. The most immediate challenge here will be the debt ceiling.

That limits how much the U.S. can borrow to pay its bills. If Congress doesn't raise

or suspend that

the government could risk a default between July and September.

Number two, the gunman in the buffalo shooting

was sentenced to life in prison.

The 19-year-old shooter killed 10 black people in a supermarket last May.

The rampage was fueled by white supremacist ideology.

At yesterday's hearing, families of the victims gave emotional

statements. Barbara Maps's sister, Catherine Massey, was killed in the

shooting. Maps spoke right before a man rushed at the shooter in the courtroom.

You're going to crowd down a city and decide you don't like black people.

You don't know a damn thing about black people.

We're human.

We like our kids to go to good schools. We love our kids. We never go in those

neighborhoods to take people out.

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