Axios PM

June 19, 2025
Good Thursday afternoon. Today's newsletter, edited by Sam Baker, is 510 words, a 2-min. read. Thanks to Sheryl Miller for copy editing.
1 big thing: Europe digs in against tourism
Residents of European travel hotspots are rallying against the effects of over-tourism for the second consecutive summer, Axios' April Rubin reports.
- Americans' summer travel to Europe is projected to increase for the fourth year in a row, per a report from travel insurance company Allianz Partners.
💦 State of play: Locals have taken to spraying tourists with water guns as a form of protest in Lisbon, Barcelona, Venice and other popular European destinations.
- Staff at the Louvre spontaneously went on strike this past Monday to protest unmanageable crowds and chronic understaffing. The work stoppage — which happened without a vote by union membership — shuttered the world's most visited museum for hours.
🏘️ Between the lines: Locals blame Airbnb for contributing to the problem, reducing housing supply and increasing prices in residential neighborhoods.
2. 🗓️ Leavitt: Iran decision "within two weeks"

President Trump will decide "within two weeks" whether to join Israel's war against Iran, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters today.
⚡️ Where it stands: Trump is seriously considering joining the war, but wants to ensure three things are true, U.S. officials tell Axios' Barak Ravid:
- That a military strike is truly necessary.
- That the operation wouldn't drag the U.S. into a prolonged war in the Middle East.
- And most of all, that it would achieve the goal of destroying Iran's nuclear program.
3. Catch me up

- 🚀 A SpaceX rocket exploded last night during testing. No one was injured. Go deeper.
- 🇮🇱 Iranian missiles hit a hospital in southern Israel, injuring 71 people, per the BBC. Patients at the hospital had recently been moved to an underground shelter.
- 🇫🇷 A member of the French Parliament said he was denied a visa to enter the U.S. Pouria Amirshahi, a leftist lawmaker, had planned to meet with progressive U.S. officials to discuss life under President Trump, The New York Times reports (gift link).
4. 🦈 1 film thing

It's been 50 years since "Jaws" turned Hollywood on its head.
- "Jaws" became the definitional summer blockbuster — essentially creating the genre that has now fully consumed many major studios.
🍿 What we're watching: Director Steven Spielberg participated in a new documentary, "Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story," which premieres July 10 on National Geographic.
- NBC will air a three-hour, prime-time telecast of the movie tomorrow night, with an introduction by Spielberg.
🎥 The intrigue: Mechanical problems with the shark in "Jaws" meant that Spielberg couldn't use it in nearly as many shots as he intended, AP film writer Jake Coyle notes.
- The director had to imply the shark's existence as a workaround — which, combined with John Williams' score — built the suspense that made "Jaws" the classic it is.
📬 Thanks for reading! Please invite your friends to join PM.
Sign up for Axios PM


