Gov. Wes Moore is running for reelection this year as Maryland continues to face challenges, such as federal funding cuts, immigration enforcement and a looming $1.4 billion budget deficit.

Wednesday marked the start of the final legislative session of Moore’s first term.

The Maryland General Assembly is expected to focus on a number of key issues during its 90-day session, including the state’s debt, actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, public safety initiatives and education.

In an interview with WTOP anchors Anne Kramer and Shawn Anderson, Moore said the budget deficit will impact decisions.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore speaks with WTOP about his last legislative session during his first term as governor

“I’m going to introduce a balanced budget that is actually going to be, the general fund is going to be smaller than the year before, so we are actually going to decrease the size of our spending,” Moore said, noting that it will not include tax or fee increases.

He noted that manufacturing and private sector investments, from corporations such as Samsung Biologics and AstraZeneca, will support jobs and the state economy.

“We’re going to diversify our economy off of Washington, D.C. We are going to make sure we’re spending smartly and wisely, and not spending on things that are either not effective or not sustainable,” he said.

Moore gave WTOP no clues into which programs may see reduced funding when he rolls out the budget next week, but hinted at some “very real investments in public education” and public safety.

“You will see where my priorities are laid out, and you’ll also be able to see the things that we just believe, either because of efficacy or sustainability, did not make the cut,” he said.

In regards to the contract buyouts for hundreds of state employees last year, Moore said those were necessary to have the “most efficient and effective government possible.”

Some Republican members of the General Assembly have said they intend to watch what Moore does with one word in mind — affordability. At a news briefing Tuesday, minority leaders in the House and Senate announced a planned proposal to introduce an oversight panel to investigate findings from audits into state agencies where the mishandling of funds may have occurred.

GOP leaders also pointed to rising utility bills and financial concerns they’ve heard from constituents.

“One of the bills that I’m introducing is actually helping to address the rising costs of energy bills,” Moore told WTOP. “So if they want to have a serious conversation about energy prices, then I’m ready to have a serious conversation about including things like solar, wind, nuclear technologies and nuclear energy, because these are things that are going to, not just effectively, efficiently, but also in a very speedy and affordable way, be able to increase the supply that we have on energy.”

He touted the lowered teacher vacancy rate, investments into local law enforcement and the subsequent drop in violent crimes as examples of these “smart investments.”

“Eighteen of the last 21 budgets in the state of Maryland have required cuts in order to balance. And so, we’ve got to get away from this idea that we invest based on formulas and start investing based on results,” Moore said.

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Can you hear me now? If your Verizon phone stopped working in Mississippi, you’re definitely not alone.

Customers all over the U.S. are reporting technical difficulties making and getting phone calls. Multiple cellphone service providers were hit on Wednesday, but Verizon is reporting the most widespread issues. (It’s the largest wireless provider in the country, with 146.1 million connections.)

Here’s what we know so far about the outage, what Verizon says is happening and when it could be fixed.

Is Verizon down in Mississippi?

According to Downdetector, more than 150,000 people across the nation have reported outages. The map shows swaths of reports from Mississippi are mostly in the northern part of the state and along the Gulf Coast at this time.

Customers in several other major cities have reported outages including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

Downdetector showed other providers had outages on Wednesday, too, with at least 1,600 on T-Mobile and more than 1,700 on AT&T.

What does the Verizon outage look like?

Those affected are saying their phones can’t get a signal, showing no bars of service or “SOS.”

What caused Verizon outage?

Verizon released a statement midday Wednesday saying they are aware of the issue and their engineers are working to solve the issue. They gave no details on the cause of the outage.

How long will Verizon outage last?

A time/day for when the outages will be resolved has not been released yet. Stay tuned for further updates as they are provided.

Contributing: Jonathan Limehouse, Mike Snider

Miguel Legoas is a Deep South Connect Team Reporter for USA Today. Find him on Instagram @miguelegoas and email at mlegoas@gannett.com.

Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with USA TODAY Network. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — Sheriff’s deputies are investigating an alleged break-in and theft last week at the North Carolina home of retired NASCAR driver Greg Biffle, one of seven people who died in a plane crash last month.

The alleged burglary and forcible entry into the Biffle home in Mooresville was reported Jan. 8, according to an incident report from the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Darren Campbell said Wednesday that investigators believe someone entered a safe in the home. In addition to $30,000 in cash and a backpack identified in the incident report as stolen, Campbell said some guns and memorabilia also are gone.

Campbell said no arrests have been made and that no one else was in the home at the time of the alleged crimes. The incident report said the home was last known secure on the afternoon of Jan. 7.

“We’re working the case. We are waiting on some digital evidence,” Campbell said, and he added that interviews also were being conducted.

A business jet carrying Biffle, Biffle’s wife and two children and three others crashed Dec. 18 while trying to return to an airport in Statesville – located about 45 miles north of Charlotte – minutes after taking off from there.

Federal investigators said the Cessna C550 erupted into a large fire when it hit the ground short of the runway. Everyone on board died.

No cause of the crash has been released. Biffle was one of three people on board with a pilot’s license. Investigators said during the crash’s immediate aftermath that they didn’t know who the lead pilot was on the flight.

A public memorial service for Biffle, who won 19 NASCAR Cup Series races during his career, and the six others killed is scheduled for Friday morning at a Charlotte arena.

The Associated Press contributed