Most recently, state regulators missed a crucial deadline to complete tasks necessary for a negotiated settlement.
Also simultaneously, a crucial deadline passes and the nuclear bomb does not explode.
The county Legislature faces a crucial deadline for dealing with Nassau's deepening fiscal crisis.
A crucial deadline is looming for professionals and small businesses that operate on a fiscal-year tax basis.
Embarrassed administration officials were forced to admit that state regulators had missed a crucial deadline.
The federal investigation into Congressional corruption is approaching a crucial deadline and potential dead end.
That debate has made the peace process miss a crucial deadline.
He knew he was letting people down, that his absence might mean missing a crucial deadline.
It has already cost the European Union 1.2 billion euros, even though none of the crucial deadlines for managing the project have been met.
With a crucial July 1 deadline approaching, it may be happening again.