Today's Top Headlines

Thursday, September 4

Good morning Wypierdalaj,

Our headlines this morning include news from Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft and no Powerball winner last night. We're also tracking rain chances the next few days, and following an unnerving incident at UMass Lowell yesterday. I'm Kaitlin McKinley Becker and these are our top stories.

An hourslong lockdown of the campus of UMass Lowell is over Wednesday afternoon, after a person was reported with what is suspected to be a gun, officials said.

A message sent to the campus community said law enforcement believes the person left the area, though officers were being kept at residence halls overnight amid a large police presence on campus.

“Lockdown and shelter in place orders have been lifted for all UMass Lowell campuses. Based on a search and investigation, law enforcement partners believe the suspect is no longer in the vicinity. A large police presence is being maintained on campus, and officers will be stationed at all residence halls overnight,” the alert said.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Superintendent Mary Skipper are welcoming students back to school at one of the city’s elementary schools Thursday morning.

Today marks the first day of school for Boston Public Schools’ grades 1-12. Pre-K and kindergarten students start next Monday, Sept. 8.

Wu and Skipper will be at Trotter Elementary School on the Humboldt Avenue to greet students, families sand staff on the first day of the new school year in front of the school’s newly-installed playground.

Just days before Boston’s preliminary election, mayoral candidate Josh Kraft confirmed a shakeup to his campaign.

The Boston Globe reported Wednesday that Will Keyser and Eileen O’Connor, a married couple who have served as top advisers to Kraft through their company, Keyser Public Strategies, were no longer on his staff. The Kraft campaign confirmed the departures in a statement to NBC10 Boston.

“Josh is grateful for the professional leadership and support that Will and Eileen have provided to guide the campaign,” a campaign spokesperson wrote. “Earlier this week, a mutual decision was made to part ways based on strategic differences as the campaign narrows to two candidates. Josh looks forward to reaching every Bostonian with his vision for how to bring better housing and more opportunity to the city.”

Warmer weather is rolling in, along with higher humidity and the chance for a few showers — those are the broad details for the next three days.

The finer points of the forecast reveal that we’ll spend a lot of time in the mid-80s, but even with all the humidity around, the showers will be few and far between.

First batch will try and move in predawn tomorrow. Unfortunately, guidance has backed off on the idea of widespread downpours (like it had earlier in the day). It appears that our dry environment will devour these showers as they move into the region (yes, that’s a thing).

A toddler was saved from a hot car by a passerby at a shopping plaza in Hingham, Massachusetts, on Labor Day, police said, announcing charges against the child’s mother.

The 22-month-old child, hot to the touch and profusely sweating, was taken to South Shore Hospital from the Derby Street Shops on Monday, Hingham police said Wednesday. They didn’t have the child’s condition.

The mother, a 44-year-old woman from Brockton whose name wasn’t being released Wednesday, was due to face a charge of reckless endangerment of a child, according to police.

The Powerball jackpot has leaped to $1.7 billion after there were no big grand prize winners in Wednesday’s drawing.

Wednesday’s winning numbers were 3, 16, 29, 61, 69 with a red Powerball of 22 and a PowerPlay multiplier of 2. That resulted in four $2 million winners across Michigan, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming and 11 $1 million winners from Florida, California (2), Colorado, Georgia (two), Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

The $1.7 billion jackpot is for an annuity option, paid over 30 years. Winners almost always opt for the lump-sum cash prize, which for Powerball would be $770.3 million cash.