Axios

President Biden in a statement to Axios called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to move forward with the planned Israeli Knesset vote on a bill that is part of the government's judicial overhaul, saying he is highly concerned about the legislation and its potential implications.

The big picture: Thousands of Israeli reservists, including fighter pilots and members of the intelligence, cyber and special operations units in the IDF, have said in recent days they will not report to duty if the bill, which would limit the ability of the country's Supreme Court to review government actions, passes in the Knesset. The vote is scheduled for Monday.

One of the defining skills of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's (R-Calif.) tenure is his ability to identify issues that divide moderate Democrats from their more progressive counterparts.

Why it matters: On issues ranging from crime, immigration, energy policy, COVID-19 mandates and, most recently, Israel, McCarthy has brought bills to the floor that win bipartisan support from Republicans and a sizable number of Democrats — while both marginalizing and raising the profile of polarizing progressives.

A manufacturing boom has swept across the country in President Biden's 2½ years in office, with the South and Mountain West — including several red states — having especially strong growth, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Why it matters: The U.S. economy has added some 800,000 manufacturing jobs nationwide, a figure Biden hopes will boost his claim to have delivered on his promise to be a president — and create jobs — for all Americans.

Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the two GOP presidential frontrunners, have both promised a crackdown on colleges should they occupy the White House — a stark reflection of the right's growing skepticism of higher education.

Between the lines: Some Republican complaints about colleges are related to broader concern about "wokeness" and free speech. But others hint at deeper questions about the value of college, and how to ensure a degree comes with an appropriate economic return.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called Vice President Kamala Harris' criticism of controversial Black history standards — recently adopted by the state Board of Education — "absolutely ridiculous" during a Friday campaign stop in Utah.

Driving the news: The standards, approved this week, include instruction for public school students in Florida that enslaved people "developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit."

Republicans are hammering “Joe Biden’s America” as a land of rising violent crime, surging immigration and out of control inflation, but there’s just one problem: the numbers are starting to move in the opposite direction.

The big picture: With 2024 around the corner, the U.S. is making measurable progress in the areas where Biden has been most vulnerable to GOP attacks.

Congressional staffers are scrambling to save family vacations, destination weddings, mission trips and more as desperate constituents flood Capitol Hill with pleas for help in dealing with unprecedented passport delays.

Why it matters: Many U.S. Senate and House offices that typically help a couple dozen Americans expedite passports each year have juggled hundreds to thousands of cases this year — and appeals for help have soared in the summer travel season.