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Good evening. Here’s the latest at the end of Tuesday.
1. Fourteen children and a teacher were killed in a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas said that the gunman was an 18-year-old man who had abandoned his vehicle and entered Robb Elementary School in Uvalde — a city of around 16,000 people about 84 miles west of San Antonio — with a handgun and possibly a rifle.
“He shot and killed, horrifically, incomprehensibly, 14 students and killed a teacher,” Abbott said. Police are believed to have killed the gunman.
A nearby hospital said it was treating a 66-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl, both in critical condition. Follow our live coverage of the events here.
In New York City, the suspect in a fatal subway shooting surrendered to the police.
2. The European Commission’s president accused Moscow of deliberately provoking a global food crisis.
Ursula von der Leyen condemned Russia for seizing and destroying grain stocks and enforcing a blockade of Ukrainian seaports. Ukraine, a major wheat exporter, has 20 million tons of grain that it can’t ship. Tens of millions of people could face a famine that would be “hell on Earth,” according to the head of the World Food Program. The E.U., von der Leyen said, was working to open alternative routes for shipments overland.
On the ground, Russian troops continued a days-long push toward one of the last Ukrainian-controlled cities in Luhansk Province, in the east. If the city of Sievierodonetsk fell, it would give a major boost to Russian forces.
In other news from the war, a Russian diplomat resigned from his U.N. post in Geneva, saying, “Never have I been so ashamed of my country.”
Russian ambitions in Ukraine appear to have shrunk, as our map vividly shows.
3. Voters cast ballots in Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas and Texas primaries today.
The most-watched races are in Georgia, where voting appeared to be going smoothly despite a history of long lines and fraud claims. Gov. Brian Kemp, the incumbent who stood up against Donald Trump’s demands to overturn the 2020 election results, is expected to defeat David Perdue, a Trump-backed candidate who yesterday accused Stacey Abrams, Kemp’s likely Democratic opponent this fall, of “demeaning her own race.”
Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democratic senator, will most likely cruise to a primary win and confront Herschel Walker, the former football star, in the fall.
In Alabama, three Republican Senate primary candidates have traded leads in an expensive, negative campaign, and incumbent Gov. Kay Ivey may face a runoff in the Republican primary for governor. In Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders is set to be the G.O.P. nominee for governor.
In other election news, questions remain about the health of John Fetterman, the Democratic Senate nominee from Pennsylvania, who recently had a stroke.
4. The U.S. saw a greater increase in its death rate during the pandemic than most other wealthy countries.
According to recent World Health Organization data, American deaths were 15 percent above normal during 2020 and 2021 — a figure that shows the difference between the number of deaths in that time and the number of expected deaths without Covid. That includes deaths from the virus among those who weren’t tested, plus deaths from preventable illnesses when hospitals were overwhelmed.
Though poorer or developing countries overall fared worse than rich ones, America’s toll topped countries with far fewer resources, like Kenya, Thailand and the Philippines. It was reported earlier this month that the global excess death toll topped 15 million people.
In China, young people are deeply disillusioned and unable to tolerate the country’s zero-Covid lockdown policies, our New New World columnist writes.
6. Can being denied an abortion harm your mental health?
Anti-abortion groups have long argued that abortion harms a woman’s mental health. But the most comprehensive study available found that women who were denied an abortion had more psychological problems in the short term than those who received one, and experienced more long-term physical and financial problems.
Women who were denied an abortion and gave birth reported more chronic headaches or migraines and joint pain compared with those who had an abortion. They also reported higher exposure to domestic violence and increased poverty.
7. The U.S. birthrate increased for the first time since 2014.
Data from the federal government showed that there were 3,659,289 births in 2021, an increase of about 46,000, or 1 percent, from the year before. That follows a steep drop in 2020 of about 4 percent. Since 2007, the birthrate in the U.S. had declined every year except 2014, when there was a modest increase before continuing the descent in 2015.
The increase further muddled the question of how the pandemic has affected the birthrate. The large drop in 2020 suggested women might have been delaying pregnancy. The new data showed that birthrates declined among women 15 to 24, including a 6 percent drop to record lows among women ages 15 to 19, and an increase among women ages 25 to 49.
8. Amid a housing crunch, former golf courses are being reconsidered for housing.
With courses buffeted by rising costs — including the high cost of water for irrigation — and declining interest from golfers, developers are eyeing the large green expanses sewn into the fabric of prosperous communities. But they face challenges like strict zoning regulations and community resistance.
9. Hugh Jackman is up for his third Tony, this time for his role in “The Music Man.” The kids in the play still see him as Wolverine from “X-Men.”
Jackman admitted in a Times interview that his “X-Men” stint was lonely at first, as he adjusted to the differences between film and theater. Now, six months into his first Broadway musical since 2003, in which he plays the con man Harold Hill, he’s basking in the vibes: “There’s something about this show that buoys me up with an energy that I didn’t think I had,” Jackman said.
10. And finally, a workout designed to lift your mood.
Our new exercise video was created by Kelly McGonigal, a health psychologist who lectures at Stanford University and teaches group fitness classes. It draws on research that shows moves used to express joy — reaching your arms up, bouncing to a beat, spinning like a dancer with arms outstretched — can also elicit it.
The workout leads you through six “joy moves,” meant to suit people of all ages and abilities. It can be done standing or sitting.
Have an animated evening.
Eve Edelheit compiled photos for this briefing.
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