Photo

A parade in Beijing today celebrating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.Credit Wang Zhao/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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Good morning.

Here’s what you need to know:

• China’s show of force.

The Chinese president said today he would cut the country’s military personnel by 300,000, to two million, as a gesture of peace at a time China’s neighbors are worried about its territorial claims.

The announcement came before the start of a colossal military parade in Beijing to honor the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

At the same time, the U.S. government reported that five Chinese Navy ships were sailing in international waters off Alaska for the first time.

• What desperation looks like.

Photographs of the body of Aylan, 3, a Syrian who drowned off Turkey while trying to reach Greece, are circulating on social networks, and activists say it shows the need for an end to the civil war in Syria.

The U.N. says that upheaval across the Mideast has driven more than 13 million children from school — 40 percent of the affected area’s school-age population.

And see our special report on how 733 migrants, crammed onto two fishing boats, made a harrowing journey across the Mediterranean.

• Objecting to same-sex marriage.

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who is denying gay couples marriage licenses on religious grounds, faces a contempt hearing today and possible fines.

• White House victory.

A day after the Obama administration secured congressional support to overcome opposition to the Iran nuclear deal, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. speaks about the agreement in Florida, where much of the talk is about his political future.

Iran’s Parliament is expected to approve the agreement today.

• Guatemala in transition.

The president of Guatemala, ordered to appear before a judge in a fraud case, resigned today, the first leader to do so in the country.

The vice president will take over for the remainder of Otto Pérez Molina’s term, which ends in January. A general election is in three days.

• Tom Brady’s suspension is overturned.

A federal judge today nullified the N.F.L.’s four-game suspension of the New England Patriots quarterback, saying the league’s commissioner did not have the authority to carry out the punishment.

The judge did not rule on whether Brady had known that members of the team’s staff had deflated footballs before a championship game against the Indianapolis Colts last year.

• Benghazi committee returns.

A longtime lawyer and adviser to Hillary Rodham Clinton, Cheryl Mills, is answering questions today in a closed-door session of the Republican-controlled House committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

MARKETS

• Wall Streetstocksare rising. European shares are up more than 1 percent. China’s markets are closed until Monday for a holiday.

• The European Central Bank lowered its economic growth projections today and indicated that it could increase its stimulus program if necessary.

NOTEWORTHY

• Falling SAT scores.

The College Board said today that scores on the SAT college entrance exam fell again in the latest period, continuing a decline since 2010.

The mean score in reading was 495, down from 497 the previous year; math was 511, down from 513; and writing was 484, from 487.

A combined score of 1550 or higher indicates readiness for college-level work or career-training programs, a score that 42 percent of test-takers met. A record 1.7 million students took the exam.

• H.I.V. meets its match?

A health insurer says that none of its San Francisco clients who received Truvada, a daily drug used to prevent H.I.V. transmission, have been infected with H.I.V. in the last two years.

That result contradicts critics’ predictions, who said it would lead to more infections because those taking the drugs would stop using condoms.

• Expanding pot use.

Marijuana advocates in Colorado are seeking to allow legal pot use in establishments like bars or clubs that cater to over-21 crowds, calling it “limited social cannabis use.”

Pot smoking is now allowed only in private homes and on front porches in the state.

Separately, a study shows that marijuana has toppled tobacco as the smokable substance of choice among U.S. college students.

• On the hardcourts.

Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka and John Isner would advance to the third round with wins at the U.S. Open today. Simona Halep, Caroline Wozniacki, Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka are also in action (1-5 p.m. Eastern on ESPN; 5-11 p.m. on ESPN2; and on our live blog).

Wednesday’s winners included Serena and Venus Williams, and Novak Djokovic. The Americans Mardy Fish and the Bryan brothers bowed out.

• That’s a lot of chopping.

Before there were humans, Earth had about 5.6 trillion trees. A new report says there are now about half as many.

Fifteen billion trees are cut down each year, and five billion are planted. At that rate, all of Earth’s trees will be gone in about 300 years.

• In memoriam.

Ruth Newman, the oldest remaining survivor of the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, died at age 113, leaving only one other known survivor: William Del Monte, 109, who was 3 months old when the earthquake hit.

BACK STORY

The ubiquitous giant foam finger proclaiming “We’re No. 1!” comes out of storage tonight, when more than a dozen games kick off the college football season.

The first known sighting of an abnormally large hand featuring a skyward-pointing forefinger was in 1971, at the state high school basketball championships in Iowa.

A creative high school senior named Steve Chmelar used metal mesh and papier-mâché in this early version. A wire-service photographer noticed it and snapped a photo, preserving the debut for posterity.

Seven years later, an industrial arts teacher in Texas, Geral Fauss, wanted to draw on students’ enthusiasm as their team advanced to the state football championships.

He designed a hand, and students then made replicas out of wood with “#1” painted in the school’s colors.

Later, he quit his teaching job to pursue the venture full time. After testing many versions, he decided that polyurethane foam was the most suitable.

We can’t say for sure if he had seen the Iowa finger. But the idea was out there, and the Texan was the one who ran with it.

And the foam finger has been part of the sporting scene ever since.

Victoria Shannon contributed reporting.

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