news in brief

Irene bears down on East Coast

HATTERAS, N.C. — Tourists began evacuating from Ocracoke Island, a tiny island off North Carolina, Wednesday as Hurricane Irene strengthened to a Category 3 storm over the Bahamas with the East Coast in its sights. Irene is expected to get stronger over warm ocean waters and could become a Category 4 storm with winds of at least 131 mph by Thursday.

Budget deficit shrinks, but we're still in the red

WASHINGTON — After months of unrelieved gloom and discord, Congress and President Barack Obama are starting to make a dent in the federal budget deficit. It's projected to shrink slightly to $1.28 trillion this year, and bigger savings …