Uvalde students go back to school for 1st time since attack

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Gilbert Mata woke up excited Tuesday for the first day of school since a gunman's bullet tore through his leg three months ago in a fourth grade classroom in Uvalde.

The 10-year-old has healed from his physical wounds, but burning smells still remind him of gunfire and the sight of many police officers recalls the day in May that an assailant killed 19 of his classmates and two teachers.

On a morning that many Uvalde families had dreaded, a new school year began in the small South Texas town with big hugs on sidewalks, patrol cars parked at every corner and mothers wiping away tears while pulling away from the curb in the drop-off line.

Mata was ready to return, this time with his own cellphone. His mother, Corina Comacho, had a tougher time letting her child go back to class.

“There's a certain time he can get his phone out and text us he's OK," she said after walking him into a new school, Flores Elementary, and dropping him off behind doors with new locks. “That's like, ‘OK, that's good. Now I feel better.'"

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Trump-backed Diehl wins Massachusetts GOP governor primary

BOSTON (AP) — Geoff Diehl, a former state representative endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has won the Republican nomination for Massachusetts governor over businessman Chris Doughty, who was considered the more moderate candidate in the race.

The victory for Diehl sets up a general election contest against Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey, who would be the first openly gay person and the first woman elected governor of Massachusetts if she wins in November. The state’s current governor, Republican Charlie Baker, decided against seeking a third term.

Republican voters made Massachusetts the latest blue state this midterm season to nominate a Trump loyalist in a high-profile race, potentially dooming the party’s chances of winning in November. Voters in Connecticut and Maryland, liberal states where centrist Republicans have found some success in previous elections, also selected far-right candidates to go up against a Democrat in the general election.

Healey, whose only rival for the nomination dropped out of the race but remained on the ballot, will be the heavy favorite in November against Diehl in one of the most liberal states in the nation.

At her victory party Tuesday night before the GOP race was called for Diehl, Healey told cheering supporters that regardless of which candidate emerged as her opponent, “We know he’ll be out of touch with the values we stand for.” Speaking of both candidates, she added, “They’ll bring Trumpism to Massachusetts.”

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What's happening with Ukraine's threatened nuclear plant

Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, built during the Soviet era and one of the 10 biggest in the world, has been engulfed by fighting between Russian and Ukrainian troops in recent weeks, fueling concerns of a nuclear catastrophe.

Here is a look at the current situation:

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW

The plant has six reactors, only one of which was operational as of Saturday.

The shelling so far hasn’t damaged the plant’s reactors or spent nuclear fuel storage, but has repeatedly struck some auxiliary equipment.

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Video fills in details on alleged Ga. election system breach

ATLANTA (AP) — Two months after the 2020 presidential election, a team of computer experts traveled to south Georgia to copy software and data from voting equipment in an apparent breach of a county election system. They were greeted outside by the head of the local Republican Party, who was involved in efforts by then-President Donald Trump to overturn his election loss.

A security camera outside the elections office in rural Coffee County captured their arrival. The footage also shows that some local election officials were at the office during what the Georgia secretary of state’s office has described as “alleged unauthorized access” of election equipment.

Security footage from two weeks later raises additional alarms — showing two people who were instrumental in Trump's wider efforts to undermine the election results entering the office and staying for hours.

The security video from the elections office in the county about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Atlanta offers a glimpse of the lengths Trump's allies went in service of his fraudulent election claims. It further shows how access allegedly was facilitated by local officials entrusted with protecting the security of elections while raising concerns about sensitive voting technology being released into the public domain.

Georgia wasn't the only state where voting equipment was accessed after the 2020 presidential election. Important information about voting systems also was compromised in election offices in Pennsylvania,Michigan and Colorado. Election security experts worry the information obtained — including complete copies of hard drives — could be exploited by those who want to interfere with future elections.

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Fears high as Canadian police search for stabbing suspect

JAMES SMITH CREE FIRST NATION, Saskatchewan (AP) — Fears ran high Tuesday on an Indigenous reserve in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan after police warned that the suspect in a deadly stabbing rampage over the weekend might be nearby and officers surrounded a house with guns drawn.

Police later sent out an alert that it was a false alarm and they had determined the suspect was not in the community but people remained nervous with his whereabouts unknown and a province-wide alert still in effect.

People on the James Smith Cree First Nation reserve were earlier told to stay inside. An Associated Press reporter saw people running and screaming as police shut down roads.

The fugitive’s brother and fellow suspect, Damien Sanderson was found dead Monday near the stabbing sites. Police are investigating whether Myles Sanderson killed his brother. The brothers are accused of killing 10 people and wounding 18.

Leaders of the James Smith Cree Nation, where most of the stabbing attacks took place, blamed the killings on drug and alcohol abuse plaguing the community, which they said was a legacy of the colonization of Indigenous people.

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Biden touts legislative record as midterms approach

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ended the summer on a legislative winning streak, chalking up victories that once appeared out of reach in this polarized capital. Now he wants to make sure voters reward him for that when they cast ballots in November's big congressional elections.

It's a tough task with gas and grocery prices still painfully high and the daily political news awash with contentious investigations into his predecessor and with repercussions in the states from the Supreme Court's ruling on abortion.

In an attempt to cut through it all, the White House is escalating its campaign to promote new laws designed to repair the economy and help consumers on a personal level, boosting crucial computer chip manufacturing, lowering prescription drug prices, expanding clean energy and revamping the country's infrastructure.

Biden, in a meeting with his Cabinet on Tuesday, said his administration has passed “extraordinary parts of our economic agenda" and provided “proof that democracy can deliver for the people."

His schedule is filling up with trips to promote his policies — Ohio on Friday, Michigan next week — in battleground states where Democrats are facing tight races with Republicans. And his administration is rolling out plans to distribute hundreds of billions of dollars authorized by legislation he has signed.

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New UK PM Truss vows to tackle energy crisis, ailing economy

LONDON (AP) — Liz Truss became U.K. prime minister on Tuesday and immediately faced up to the enormous tasks ahead of her: curbing soaring prices, boosting the economy, easing labor unrest and fixing a national health care system burdened by long waiting lists and staff shortages.

Truss quickly began appointing senior members of her Cabinet as she tackles an inbox dominated by the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which threatens to push energy bills to unaffordable levels, shuttering businesses and leaving the nation’s poorest people shivering at home this winter.

Truss — Britain's third female prime minister — named a top team diverse in gender and ethnicity, but loyal to her and her free-market politics. Kwasi Kwarteng becomes the first Black U.K. Treasury chief, and Therese Coffey its first female deputy prime minister. Other appointments include James Cleverly as foreign secretary and Suella Braverman as home secretary, responsible for immigration and law and order.

Making her debut speech outside her new Downing Street home in a break between torrential downpours, Truss said she would cut taxes to spur economic growth, bolster the National Health Service and “deal hands on" with the energy crisis, though she offered few details about how she would implement those policies. She is expected to unveil her energy plans on Thursday.

British news media reported that Truss plans to cap energy bills. The cost to taxpayers of that step could reach 100 billion pounds ($116 billion).

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Students return to campus amid water crisis in Jackson

JACKSON, Miss (AP) — While its water crisis continued, students in Mississippi’s capital were able to return to class for the first time in a week Tuesday with assurances that the toilets and sinks in their buildings would finally work.

Jackson remained under a boil water advisory, but the drop in water pressure that had brought the system to near collapse appeared to be resolved, officials said.

Sherwin Johnson, a spokesperson for Jackson Public Schools, confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press on Tuesday that schools had re-opened after a drop in water pressure forced a move to virtual instruction.

A line of cars snaked around the block in front of Spann Elementary in northeast Jackson as parents arrived to pick up their children. Syreeta Tatum waited for her fourth grader to emerge from the building and lamented the uncertainty Jackson's water woes had foisted upon parents and students.

“It was very frustrating," said Tatum. "As a mother, you want to make sure your child is getting the best education possible, especially knowing that my child functions better in person.”

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Rents are starting to come down, but the trend may not hold

NEW YORK (AP) — Rents are starting to come down after spiking to record levels this past summer, but experts are uncertain if the slowdown will continue.

Christopher Mayer, professor of real estate at Columbia Business School, said people looking for an apartment now might have a better experience than they did in May or June.

“We’re not seeing rents go up as quickly, the rental market is softening a little bit,” he said.

The national median asking rent was up 14% in July over July the previous year, the smallest annual increase since November 2021, according to a new report from Redfin. While that percentage is still high, it has decreased from 15% in June and 16% in May.

Experts say the market could slow further toward the end of the year, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty.

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AP Top 25: Georgia moves up to No. 2, passing Ohio State

Georgia moved up to No. 2 in the first Associated Press college football poll of the regular season, passing Ohio State, after the defending national champions dominated their opener.

Alabama remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank released Tuesday, receiving 44 of 63 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,552 points.

The Bulldogs narrowed the gap on the Crimson Tide after beating Oregon 49-3 on Saturday. Georgia received 17 first-place votes.

Ohio State slipped to No. 3 and received two first-place votes. Michigan moved up four spots to No. 4.

Clemson dropped a spot to No. 5.

News from © The Associated Press, 2022