Top 5 US news stories

Trump Pledges US Role in Ukraine Security Guarantees, Hailed as "Breakthrough" by NATO Chief

Tariff Income Offsets Tax Cuts, Bolstering US Credit Rating, S&P Says

Trump Administration Pulls 6000 Foreign Student Visas in Widening Crackdown

White House Considers Taking 10% Stake in Chipmaker Intel

New Cold War: US and Allies Confront Russia in a Remilitarized Arctic

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1. Trump Pledges US Role in Ukraine Security Guarantees, Hailed as "Breakthrough" by NATO Chief

President Trump has pleased Ukrainian and European leaders by promising American involvement in providing security guarantees for Ukraine if a peace settlement with Russia ever comes together. Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, pronounced himself “excited” over Mr. Trump’s public commitment on Monday at a summit at the White House to some sort of security guarantee, a pledge that the Europeans have been eagerly seeking. He called it “a breakthrough.” But exactly what those guarantees would involve remains ambiguous. Officials promised more clarity in the weeks to come as defense ministry planners come to grips with the considerable complications of turning a broad promise into realistic options. Mr. Trump said that European countries would be the “first line of defense” in providing security guarantees for Ukraine, but Washington will “help them out, we’ll be involved.” He added later: “European nations are going to take a lot of the burden. We’re going to help them and we’re going to make it very secure,” he said. Some involved, like Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, spoke of an “Article 5-like” guarantee outside of NATO itself, though based on the commitment in the alliance’s charter that an attack on one member is considered an attack on all of them. Nor is it a given that Russia would change its stance and agree that troops from NATO countries could be stationed in Ukraine under a form of a de facto NATO-backed guarantee. Many analysts, like John Mearsheimer of the University of Chicago, believe that Russia’s effort to control Ukraine is based on its stated desire to stop NATO enlargement for countries Moscow considers part of its sphere, especially those that were part of the Soviet Union. In that view, Moscow invaded Ukraine to block NATO and ensure the country does not become a member. So the idea that Russia would agree to let NATO country troops station themselves in Ukraine after fighting a long war to prevent them from being there in the first place is complicated at best. Russian officials rejected the idea even before Monday’s meeting. A Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said Russia “categorically rejects any scenario that envisages the appearance in Ukraine of a military contingent with the participation of NATO countries.”

NYT

2. Tariff Income Offsets Tax Cuts, Bolstering US Credit Rating, S&P Says

S&P Global has held its rating on US government debt, saying the revenues from President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff policies will offset the impact of the administration’s signature tax and spending bill. The influential agency said late on Monday that it would keep its sovereign credit rating at ‘AA+/A-1+’, between its second and third highest rating, also owing to the resilience of the US economy and “credible, effective” monetary policy. Analysts at the agency forecast that “broad revenue buoyancy, including robust tariff income, will offset any fiscal slippage from tax cuts and spending increases” planned in the US in coming years.

FT

3. Trump Administration Pulls 6000 Foreign Student Visas in Widening Crackdown

The Trump administration has revoked thousands of international student visas for breaking the law, overstaying and “support for terrorism,” the State Department said Monday, as its immigration crackdown continues. A department spokesperson said in an email that it has revoked more than 6,000 student visas, of which about 4,000 were for crimes including assault, driving under the influence and burglary. The story was first reported by Fox News. Between 200 and 300 student visas were revoked because of “support for terrorism,” the official said, without elaborating. Trump administration officials have accused students of supporting terrorism by participating in pro-Palestinian activism in several high-profile cases this year.

Washington Post

4. White House Considers Taking 10% Stake in Chipmaker Intel

The Trump administration is considering taking a roughly 10% stake in Intel, a move that could make the US government the troubled chipmaker’s largest shareholder, Bloomberg reported Monday. A 10% stake would be worth about $10.5 billion at Intel’s current market value. The potential deal could involve converting up to $10.9 billion grants that Intel would receive in the Chips and Science Act grants into equity. The money was slated for both commercial and military chip production.

The Information

5. New Cold War: US and Allies Confront Russia in a Remilitarized Arctic

U.S. and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization troops are flocking to the European Arctic, where international tensions are simmering. Militaries haven’t clashed in the high north in generations, and defense planners are puzzling through what war there would look like. A receding ice cap has made the icy expanses and northern water passages more navigable than ever. Paired with technological innovation, new routes are opening up for global shipping and resource extraction, but also for geopolitical confrontation. Russia has been upgrading its Arctic capabilities for decades. Its Northern Fleet, with nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines and cruise missiles that constitute much of Russia’s second-strike capability, is the region’s largest military force, based on the Kola Peninsula. China has an “unprecedented” footprint in the Arctic, operating bombers and dual-use ships under scientific pretenses, U.S. Northern Command chief Gen. Gregory Guillot said earlier this year. The war in Ukraine has given the world a glimpse of future armed conflict. The Arctic is different. In Ukraine, killer drones swarm the skies and dominate the front line. In the Arctic, fuels freeze and batteries die suddenly. Drones in the high north run on jet fuel or diesel, and are equipped with deicing systems and robust propulsion to withstand Arctic winds. As a result, they are usually so large they need a trailer or a runway to launch. Ships and aircraft require special lubricants and hardened exteriors. The ice provides cover for submarines but also poses operational challenges for navigation and communication. It is an area where Russia, with stealthy, ice-breaking submarines with long-range missile capabilities, has an advantage. The northern lights—a stunning natural phenomenon and Instagrammable tourist attraction—interfere with radio signals, as charged particles from the sun interact with Earth’s magnetic field and atmosphere. Defending the high north relies largely on old-school methods: infantry in white uniforms, on skis and snowmobiles.

WSJ

August 19 1909: First race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

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Sources

1. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/world/europe/ukraine-security-guarantees-trump.html
2. https://www.ft.com/content/a0579c9d-50da-48a8-986b-45f9bdc14bbb
3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/08/19/student-visas-revoked-6000-trump/
4. https://www.theinformation.com/briefings/trump-administration-talks-take-10-stake-intel?utm_campaign=%5BREBRAND%5D+%5BTI-AM%5D+Th&utm_content=1095&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cio&utm_term=124&rc=cgfkcg
5. https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/very-cold-war-brutal-arctic-conditions-are-testing-u-s-and-allied-forces-efed4e20?mod=hp_lead_pos10

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