Lesotho Declares State of Disaster After U.S. Tariffs. Rescissions Impact U.N.

Good morning. You're reading the Up First newsletter. Subscribe here to get it delivered to your inbox, and listen to the Up First podcast for all the news you need to start your day. Today's top stories Fighting in Ukraine escalated in recent days as President Trump prepares to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Alaska tomorrow. This

Hideo Shimizu L visits the Exhibition Hall of Evidences of Crime Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Aug. 13, 2024. After a 79-year hiatus, Hideo Shimizu, a former member of Unit 731, the notorious Japanese germ-warfare detachment during World War II, returned to China to acknowledge

A Matryoshka, the traditional Russian wooden dolls, depicting U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is displayed for sale at a souvenir shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025. Dmitri Lovetsky/AP hide caption toggle caption Dmitri Lovetsky/AP MOSCOW —  The Kremlin says Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump will meet one-on-one

President Trump is exerting an unprecedented amount of control over the shape and future of U.S. business. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images Corporate America doesn't want to fight with President Trump in public. But as a result, it's ceding him an unprecedented amount of control over

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in front of Chancellery ahead of a virtual meeting between European leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. President Donald Trump on August 13, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. Filip Singer/Getty Images Europe hide caption toggle caption Filip Singer/Getty Images Europe INKOO, Finland — Ukraine's President