Evelyn Reynolds

A Russian strike has hit a crowded market in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, killing at least 17 people, as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, was in Kyiv for an unannounced visit, his first for a year to the Ukrainian capital.Ukrainian officials said a further 32 people were wounded in the attack, one of Russia’s deadliest attacks in months, 12 miles (20km) from the frontlines in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.Video of the aftermath showed fires raging in destroyed buildings and soldiers carrying body bags away from the scene. The Ukrainian prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, said a child was among those killed.“A regular market. Shops. A pharmacy. People who did nothing wrong. Many wounded,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, wrote in a post on Telegram.He called the strike “a terrorist attack” and said in a later press conference that it reflected the situation on the battlefield. “Whenever there are any positive advances by Ukrainian defence forces in that direction, Russians always target civilian people and civilian objects.”Russia also targeted Kyiv with ballistic missiles in the hours prior to Blinken’s arrival, with loud booms audible in the Ukrainian capital shortly before 6am, as his train was approaching.“It was clearly meant as a greeting to Blinken,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a key adviser to Zelenskiy, told the Guardian. “Russia is constantly showing that it will not abide by any rules,” Podolyak added.He said Russia had used Iskander missiles in the Kyiv attack, which was thwarted by Ukrainian air defences. Falling debris damaged building but there were no casualties, officials said.Blinken met his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in Kyiv and held discussions with Zelenskiy. The two-day visit will include an overnight stay in the Ukrainian capital.While Blinken was in Kyiv, the US announced a new package of military assistance, including $100m (£80m) in financing for Ukraine’s long-term requirements and $175m in arms and ammunition drawn from US stockpiles, which included depleted uranium shells for the US M1 Abrams tanks that are due to be delivered by the end of this year.Depleted uranium shells are effective in piercing armour, but concerns have been raised over the incidence of cancer and birth defects in areas where they have been used. Because they have not definitively been identified as the cause, they are not banned under international law.The arms package also included components for air defence systems, guided multiple launch rocket systems, 155mm artillery and 105mm artillery ammunition.“I’m here in large part at the behest of President Biden to reaffirm our commitment to stand with you – to stand with you to help ensure that you succeed militarily in dealing with the aggression, but also to stand with you to make sure that your efforts to build a strong economy and a strong democracy succeed,” Blinken said, in remarks before a meeting with Shmyhal.The visit comes shortly after Zelenskiy fired his defence minister, and as Ukraine’s military counteroffensive grinds on in the south-east of the country. On Wednesday Ukraine’s parliament approved the appointment of Rustem Umerov as the new defence minister. He replaces Oleksii Reznikov, who was sacked after a number of corruption scandals linked to the defence ministry. Reznikov is tipped to become ambassador to Britain.Umerov was tasked with negotiations with Russia in the early stages of the war, before heading the state property fund, Ukraine’s main privatisation agency. “He has an impeccable reputation, and all political circles respect him,” said Podolyak. “He’s a consensus candidate, which is important.”In a statement posted to Facebook, Umerov promised to do “everything possible and impossible” to bring about Ukraine’s victory, saying: “42 million Ukrainians stand behind every solider. Behind every soldier is a ministry that will do everything to protect and provide for all our people.”Unnamed western officials have criticised the speed and tactics of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which has irritated Ukrainian officials. The offensive has proceeded more slowly than expected, partly due to the extensive fortifications and minefields that Russian forces have built to defend their lines.“I understand that the further away you are from the war, sitting in your office, the better you understand the war, and if you’re 10,000km away then it’s the best place to understand what is happening,” said Podolyak, in a sarcastic aside.He criticised western officials who saw the war as “arrows on a map” rather than in terms of human lives, but said in recent months there had been an increased understanding of the task Ukraine faced in pushing through Russian lines.One senior western official said in a briefing to journalists on Wednesday that Ukraine was making “incremental but methodical progress” on parts of the southern and eastern fronts but accepted it was “slower than expected a couple of months ago”.This was due to the heavier than expected minefield belt laid by the Russians on the frontline, at times forcing Ukrainian soldiers to dismount and “crawl on their bellies to get through”, meaning that the pace of advance has been at best a few hundred metres a day.An unnamed US official told Reuters that Blinken wanted to get a first-hand assessment of the counteroffensive during the trip.“What’s most important is that we get a real assessment from the Ukrainians themselves,” the official said. “We want to see, hear how they intend to push forward in the coming weeks.” More

Mitch McConnell rejected speculation about his future as Republican leader in the US Senate, telling reporters: “I’m going to finish my term as leader and I’m going to finish my Senate term.”The remarks on Wednesday came amid intense speculation about the 81-year-old Kentucky senator’s health, after two recent freezes in front of reporters, one on Capitol Hill in July and another in McConnell’s home state last week.“I think Dr [Brian P] Monahan covered [the question of my health] fully,” McConnell said, regarding two public letters in which the congressional physician has discussed possible causes of the freezes and cleared his patient to continue working.The first letter said McConnell might be suffering the after-effects of a concussion, sustained in a fall in March, or from dehydration. The second letter said McConnell was not suffering from a “seizure disorder”, a stroke or a “movement disorder such as Parkinson’s disease”. That letter also called McConnell’s freeze in Kentucky last week a “brief episode”.“I have no announcement to make on that subject,” McConnell said.McConnell is the longest-serving party leader in Senate history, in place since 2007. His power over his caucus has rarely been questioned but health scares including the freezes and a series of falls have stoked speculation about whether he will finish his seventh six-year term, which ends in January 2027.Earlier, in a sign of growing uncertainty in Senate Republican ranks, McConnell’s fellow Kentuckian, Rand Paul, cast doubt on the assurances from congressional physician.Paul, once a practising opthalmologist, told reporters: “When you get dehydrated you don’t have moments when your eyes look in the distance with a vacant look and you’re sort of basically unconscious with your eyes open. That’s not a symptom of dehydration.”Monahan has also said “several medical evaluations” of McConnell included “brain MRI imaging, EEG [electroencephalogram] study and consultations with several neurologists for a comprehensive neurology assessment”.Paul said: “It is a medical mistake to say someone doesn’t have a seizure disorder because they have a normal EEG.“My point is that I’m just trying to counter the misinformation from the Senate doctor. It is basically not believable to come up and say that what’s going on is dehydration. It makes it worse.”Paul also said his remarks had “nothing to do with [McConnell’s] fitness to serve and whether he’s doing a good job or a bad job”.According to Fox News, McConnell used a closed-door party luncheon to reassure senators he was up to the job. Rick Scott of Florida, who challenged McConnell last year, told Fox McConnell did well.But press attention to McConnell’s health has been constant since he fell in Washington in March, sustaining injuries that kept him away from Capitol Hill, and since he froze in front of congressional reporters in July. Other falls were reported then, including a “face plant” at an airport.Polling shows most Americans think many politicians stay in their roles too long. More than 75% think that at 80, Joe Biden is too old for a second term as president.McConnell is a member of the oldest Senate on record. He is however nine years younger than the oldest senator, 90-year-old Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and eight years younger than the oldest Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa. More

Federal prosecutors are seeking to bring a new indictment against Joe Biden’s son Hunter by the end of September, according to court documents filed on Wednesday.The exact charges the president’s son would face were not immediately clear, but he has been under investigation in Delaware on gun and tax charges.US attorney for Delaware David Weiss, newly named a special counsel in the case, referred to the new indictment in a status report required by Judge Maryellen Noreika.Defense attorneys have argued that an agreement sparing Hunter Biden from prosecution on a felony gun charge remains in place. It was part of a plea deal on misdemeanor tax offenses that fell apart during a court appearance in July. More

A watchdog group is suing to remove Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot, saying he violated the constitution and is disqualified from holding future office.The lawsuit is so far one of the strongest challenges to Trump’s eligibility to seek re-election.According to the lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the former president violated section 3 of the 14th amendment, also known as the Disqualification Clause, with his involvement in the January 6 US Capitol attack. The section bars any federal or state official that has “previously taken an oath” from holding office after they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion”.Two prominent conservative legal scholars recently authored a lengthy law review article arguing that Trump is disqualified from holding office under the 14th amendment.“The bottom line is that Donald Trump ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion’ and gave ‘aid or comfort’ to others engaging in such conduct, within the original meaning of those terms as employed in section 3 of the 14th amendment,” William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St Thomas wrote in their 126-page article, which traces the history and original understanding of the amendment. “If the public record is accurate, the case is not even close.”Trump has dismissed attempts to remove him from the ballot as “election interference”, his umbrella cry against the long list of felony charges he faces in Georgia and in federal court for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.“Almost all legal scholars have voiced opinions that the 14th Amendment has no legal basis or standing relative to the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election,” Trump claimed in a post to his social media platform Truth Social on Monday, calling arguments based on the amendment a “trick” being used by leftists to “steal” an election.The DC-based group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), is representing six Colorado voters – who are either Republican or unaffiliated with a political party – seeking to remove Trump from their state’s ballot in next year’s general election.In addition to Colorado, other states are bracing for similar lawsuits challenging Trump’s eligibility including Arizona, Michigan and New Hampshire.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionIt’s unclear what the exact procedure will be for challenging Trump’s eligibility, and it could vary by state. Either way, the US supreme court is expected to weigh in soon on whether Trump is eligible.“If the very fabric of our democracy is to hold, we must ensure that the Constitution is enforced and the same people who attacked our democratic system not be put in charge of it,” said Crew’s president, Noah Bookbinder, in a statement on Wednesday.Last year, Crew represented New Mexico residents who successfully sued to remove their county commissioner, Couy Griffin, who participated in the January 6 riot. A federal judge ruled that the attack was indeed an insurrection, and that Griffin’s participation disqualified him from holding office. More

The week after Labor Day weekend usually signals the start of a return to serious business – summer vacations over and kids back to school, fiscal years ending and new ones beginning, cleaning up and battening down for winter.This particular week after Labor Day also marks the start of a terrifyingly high-stakes ride for America – five months until the beginning of the primaries, eight until Donald Trump’s trial for seeking to overturn the 2020 election, 10 until the Republican convention in which Trump is almost certain to be nominated, 14 until the presidential election of 2024.All the while, Trump and House Republicans will be throwing up every conceivable distraction and roadblock – threatening to or actually closing the government, impeaching Joe Biden, and holding more hearings on “woke” capitalism, Hunter Biden, the alleged “weaponization” of the justice department and the FBI.At this point, the polls are too close for comfort. Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal poll shows Biden tied with Trump in a hypothetical general election (not factoring a third-party candidacy from No Labels or Cornel West), and bogged down with an anemic 39% approval rating.Some of this is tied to Biden’s age, but some also seems to be the result of a remarkable unawareness of his policies.By a slim margin, more Americans disapprove than approve of Biden’s efforts to improve the nation’s infrastructure, and more believe that Trump “has a vision for the future” than they believe Biden does.There is time, but Biden and his administration must get across a clear message of Biden’s vision and accomplishments.What can the rest of us do between now and the election to help save American democracy? Let me try out a few answers:
Do everything within your power to ensure that Donald Trump is not re-elected president. For some of us, this will mean taking time out of our normal lives to become more directly politically involved – up to and including getting out the votes in critical swing states.
Do not succumb to the tempting anesthesia of complacency or cynicism. The stakes are too high. Even if you cannot take much time out of your normal life for direct politics, you will need to organize, mobilize and energize your friends, colleagues and neighbors.
Counter lies with truth. When you hear someone repeating a Trump Republican lie, correct it. This will require that you prepare yourself with facts, logic, analysis and sources.
Do not tolerate bigotry and hate. Call it out. Stand up to it. Denounce it. Demand that others denounce it, too.
Do not resort to violence, name-calling, bullying or any of the other tactics that Trump followers may be using.
Be compassionate toward hardcore followers of Trump, but be firm in your opposition. Understand why someone may decide to support Trump, but don’t waste your time and energy trying to convert them. Use your time and energy on those who still have open minds.
Don’t waste your time and energy commiserating with people who already agree with you. Don’t gripe, whine, wring your hands and kvetch with other progressives about how awful Trump and his Republican enablers are. Don’t snivel over or criticize Biden and the Democrats for failing to communicate more effectively. None of this will get you anything except an upset stomach or worse.
Demonstrate, but don’t mistake demonstrating for political action. You may find it gratifying to stand on a corner in Berkeley with a sign asking drivers to “honk if you hate fascism” and elicit lots of honks, but that’s as politically effectual as taking a warm shower. Organize people who don’t normally vote to vote for Biden. Mobilize get-out-the-vote efforts in your community. Get young people involved.
Don’t get deflected by the latest sensationalist post or story by or about Trump. Don’t let the media’s short-term attention span divert your eyes from the prize – the survival of American democracy during one of the greatest stress tests it has had to endure, organized by one of the worst demagogues in American history.
I cannot overstate how critical the outcome of the next 14 months will be to everything we believe in. And the importance of your participation.
Robert Reich, a former US secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few and The Common Good. His newest book, The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It, is out now. He is a Guardian US columnist. His newsletter is at robertreich.substack.com More

Democrats worried about Joe Biden’s re-election prospects are “fucking bedwetters” and should not worry so much, the former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina said.“Historically, we’re fucking bedwetters,” Messina told Politico. “We grew up in the 80s and 90s when Republicans won elections all the time. Democrats had their hearts deeply broken when Hillary [Clinton] lost [to Donald Trump in 2016] and people didn’t see that coming. And so, you know, we continually believe every bad thing people say.”Polling shows Trump is the clear leader in the Republican race to face Biden next year. Polling also shows Trump and Biden in a close race, and many more Americans are concerned about Biden, 80, being too old to be president, than about Trump, who is 77.Biden’s approval ratings remain stubbornly low, even regarding an economy most observers consider to be in good shape.Discussing “a new 22-slide presentation” that he shared with Politico, Messina said: “I thought it was important to say to my friends and clients and other people, ‘Let’s just take a step back and try to be really number-specific and really sort of who has what cards in their poker hand.“And you would just rather be Joe Biden than Donald Trump.’”Outlining Biden’s strengths, Messina cited the strong economy, the success of messaging about rightwing threats to abortion rights and the stark contrast between Biden, a centrist Democrat, and Trump, the leader of an extremist Republican party.“It’s a choice between two parties, two ideologies, between two people,” Messina said. “And that choice matters … People didn’t see the Democratic turnout in 2022 coming.”For Democrats, the 2022 midterms turned out better than expected, with Republicans in control of the House – setting up what is now a looming Biden impeachment – but only by a slim majority and with Democrats holding the Senate.Now 53, Messina worked in congressional politics before becoming chief of staff to Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign in 2008, defeating John McCain. Four years later, he managed Obama’s re-election victory over Mitt Romney.Messina has worked in other countries, including as a consultant to the Conservative party in the UK, helping David Cameron win an outright majority in the general election of 2015. He was less successful in 2017, when Theresa May was returned as prime minister but without a parliamentary majority.Speaking to Politico, Messina identified one major threat to Biden in a second presidential election against Trump: third-party candidates.“I don’t care what they do,” Messina said of efforts such as that mounted by No Labels, a big-money group threatening to run a centrist third-party pick, names in the frame including the Democratic West Virginia senator Joe Manchin and Larry Hogan, a former Republican Maryland governor.“I don’t care how much money they spend. I don’t care who their nominee is. They’re going to get zero electoral votes. The question is who do they take the votes from?“You just can’t split away votes if you want to beat Donald Trump. And I just cannot overstate how crucial it is to make sure that we don’t create a vehicle that takes enough votes up to elect Donald Trump.” More

Millions of Americans over the last three years experienced what it was like to live without student debt. For many, that meant hundreds of dollars a month that went toward life’s other expenses – rent, buying or maintaining a home, supporting family. The relief was also coupled with hope: Joe Biden announced in August 2022 a plan to cancel $10,000 in loans for low- and middle-income borrowers.But now, the reprieve for borrowers is coming to an end. Republicans forced an end to the pause in student debt repayments during the debt ceiling debate and student loans payments will begin again in October. In a second blow, the supreme court struck down Biden’s forgiveness plan earlier this summer.The impact is broad. About 12% of the US population has student loans, over 43 million Americans hold a collective $1.7tn in debt. The youngest borrowers have just graduated from college and some of the oldest have retired with student loans. Many parents who took out loans to pay for their children’s education are also still burdened by debt.The Guardian asked US student loan borrowers what forbearance meant for them. Their answers give a glimpse into the impact that student debt has beyond the numbers.‘We were able to afford our first home’Homeownership is the primary way Americans build their wealth. For many with student debt, buying a home can feel impossible. A poll from the National Association of Realtors from 2021 found that 60% of millennials who don’t own a home pointed to student debt as the main reason.But the payment pause, tied with low interest rates, allowed some student borrowers to put down a mortgage for their first home.Lauren Segarra, 41, a speech-language pathologist in Atlanta, Georgia, said the payment pause enabled her family to buy a home.“That extra cash put us over the threshold of being able to afford our first home,” Segarra said, adding that the pause – along with being in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program – allowed her and her husband to save about $12,000 in cash. “We were able to responsibly put a down payment on a home without wiping out our savings.”The real estate company Zillow estimated that those with student loans in 29 out of the 50 largest housing markets in the US saved the equivalent of a 5% down payment on an entry-level home in their market, allowing people like Segarra to become homeowners.But the narrow window for affordable homeownership seems to have passed: Zillow reported that the principal and interest on a new home have now doubled since March 2020 because of record-high interest rates and soaring home prices. Now that payments are set to restart, homeownership for many will continue to be out of reach.‘I paid off $7,000 in medical debt’One out of 13 student loan borrowers are currently behind on other debt, a higher proportion than before the pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reported in June.Credit card debt has soared during the pandemic, especially over the last year as inflation reached record highs. The total amount of credit card debt in the US hit $1tn, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported in August, a record high. In a recent survey, 46% of those with credit card debt say they are still trying to pay off an emergency expense, including car or home repairs or medical bills. About a quarter said that everyday expenses, including groceries and childcare, have caused their bills to rack up.And this credit card debt is on top of other medical debt, which totaled $195bn in 2019. According to Kaiser Family Foundation Health News, one in 10 American adults owe more than $10,000 in medical debt.Lydia Gay, 36, a costume maker and tailor based in New York, said the student loan payment pause helped her pay off her medical debt.“It allowed me to save and pay off over $7,000 in debt from medical expenses, mostly from a couple of years of monthly insurance premiums,” she said. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (Sag) strikes in Hollywood have meant she can only find part-time work, but “I have still been able to pay for rent and basics because I don’t have $400 a month coming out for student loans.”Gay said she is concerned about what the end of the pause will mean for her finances now, especially as there continues to be less work in her industry.“I’m extremely worried about being able to pay rent, bills and basics, along with student loans,” Gay said. “The stress and worry have even been affecting my sleep and mental health.”‘It allowed me to save money’A majority of Americans – as many as 61%, according to a recent survey – live paycheck to paycheck. More than one in five Americans don’t have emergency savings.For some student loan borrowers, forbearance empowered them to build up savings for the first time.“The pause has been a massive relief and allowed me to save more money,” said Brooke McGeorge, 26, a non-profit program assistant based in San Diego. “Knowing that loan repayment is kicking in again with no follow-through on promises for debt relief feels like a punch to the gut.”With forbearance ending, borrowers say they are worried about the strain that it will have on their finances once again.Ben Birkinbine, 41, an assistant professor based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, had a daughter in late 2019, right before the pandemic began. During forbearance, his family moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family. While the pause allowed him and his family to buy a home, he took a pay cut and has less job security.“Our budget is very tight and will be for at least another two years,” Birkinbine said, noting that childcare costs, in particular, have been rising. “Saving will be very difficult, and we will likely need to cut into existing savings to meet payments.”As much as the payment pause was a welcomed respite, the return to payments for many borrowers feels a bit like betrayal, especially when $10,000 in forgiveness seemed to be a reality just a year ago.McGeorge, echoing the frustration of fellow borrowers, said she is frustrated that the supreme court blocked Biden’s forgiveness plan, which many had hoped would help ease repayments starting.“It’s totally devastating,” she said. “Americans should have a chance to be optimistic about the future, but things that used to be so basic like affording good food and buying a home, are feeling more and more like a pipe dream.” More

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s explosive entrance on to the US political scene at the age of 29, as the youngest woman ever to be elected to the House of Representatives, was a beacon of hope for the progressive left during the dark days of the Trump presidency.Five years on, AOC is established as an influential figure in the Democratic party, known for her advocacy of green policies and efforts to engage marginalised groups. In a wide-ranging interview, she talks to Washington bureau chief David Smith about the climate crisis, misogyny in US politics and the potential – one day – for a presidential run of her own.For many school and college students, this time of year marks a new term. But in England, a major political row has been threatening to engulf the government as safety fears over a form of aerated concrete used in many public buildings have forced more than 100 schools to remain closed, as Peter Walker and Sally Weale report.For those with an eye farther afield, on the graduate jobs market, Hibaq Farah and Tom Ambrose consider the future careers most likely to withstand the coming onslaught of artificial intelligence.In Features, Matthew Bremner’s investigation into the massacre of migrants in the north African Spanish enclave of Melilla is a sobering but important read. Jay Owens changes the pace somewhat with an exploration of dust, and what it reveals about the world around us.Olivia Rodrigo is one of pop’s hottest properties – but much of the simple joys of her teenage years were lost in a previous life as a child TV actor. She opens up to Laura Snapes about her second album and trying to make sense of her life.To round off, our lifestyle pages have a Middle Eastern flavour this week, with a delicious recipe from Meera Sodha for herbed saffron rice with pistachios, and tips on how to make the perfect hummus.Get the magazine delivered to your home address More