Axios

Xie Feng, China's new ambassador to Washington, arrived in the U.S. on Tuesday, saying he will "safeguard" Beijing's interests, while also working to enhance "China-U.S. exchanges and cooperation" as the two countries face "serious difficulties and challenges."

The big picture: Xie's arrival comes two days after President Biden told reporters at the G7 summit that he expected a thaw of U.S.-China relations "very shortly."

Four children who survived the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, are getting ready for a Disneyland trip partly paid for with an online fundraiser.

Details: A GoFundMe was set up last month by parents of Kendall Olivarez, Miah Cerrillo, Gilbert Mata and AJ Martínez, all survivors of room 112, one of the two adjoining classrooms in which most of the victims were found. Their parents chartered a bus to drive from Texas to California.

More Uvalde families are in need of mental health support as the trauma of the school shooting intensifies for some people one year after the tragedy.

What's happening: About 2,000 Uvalde residents have sought mental health support from the Ecumenical Center since the shooting, and the organization saw increase of about 20% in the number of people reaching out as the one-year mark approached, CEO Mary Beth Fisk tells Axios.

A Russian court on Tuesday extended Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's detention by another three months, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Driving the news: Gershkovich will remain in pretrial detention until at least Aug. 30 after a judge at Moscow's Lefortovo District Court approved the request by investigators from the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) that Gershkovich remain detained, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

In the year since the Uvalde school shooting, the GOP-controlled Texas Legislature has largely ignored pleas for stricter gun laws from victims' families who have been spurred into activism.

The big picture: Over the summer and fall and during the legislative session, families drove 2 1/2 hours each way to the Capitol for multiple rallies and to meet with lawmakers.

KINMEN, Taiwan — Decommissioned tanks, rusting anti-landing barriers and monuments to fallen soldiers dot the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, just a few miles off the Chinese coast, where the final battle of the Chinese civil war was fought in 1949. The island has long been a stronghold of the Taiwanese political party that is now campaigning on a platform of preserving peace with China.

Why it matters: People in Taiwan view the next presidential election, to be held in January 2024, as a crucial turning point that could determine Taiwan's future as a democracy free from Beijing's grip.

In Uvalde, reminders of the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School — and the town's resolve in the face of tragedy — remain one year later.

Details: Crosses surround the bright blue fountain in a downtown square. Friends and family have left notes for their loved ones in English and Spanish, recalling yearbook signatures. Dried flowers cover the ground.

Brands with ties to the heartland — including John Deere (Illinois), Kohl's (Wisconsin) and USAA (Texas) — are enjoying big reputation gains compared with foreign firms, according to this year's Axios Harris 100 poll.

Why it matters: Companies deeply embedded in American culture ranked higher than most others across attributes such as culture, ethics, citizenship and trust — especially brands associated with China.

The Israeli government told the Biden administration it would not turn the Homesh outpost deep inside the occupied West Bank into a new settlement, despite a recently-signed decree that allows Israelis to enter the area, three U.S. and Israeli officials told me.

Why it matters: The Biden administration is concerned that if Homesh is rebuilt as a formal settlement, it will make it even harder to form an eventual contiguous Palestinian state. Homesh is located in an area between the northern Palestinian cities of Nablus and Jenin where there are no Israeli settlements.

State legislators around the country have passed more laws expanding gun access than they have measures on gun control in the year since the Uvalde, Texas, mass shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead, according to an Axios analysis of data provided by the Giffords Center.

By the numbers: More than 1,700 gun-related bills have been introduced in state legislatures since the Uvalde shooting, and 93 of them were signed into law.

A group of Chinese Florida residents are seeking to stop a new property law that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed from taking effect on July 1 on grounds that it's discriminatory.

Driving the news: The four plaintiffs argue in a lawsuit filed Monday that the legislation restricting people from China and six other countries from buying homes and land in the state is both unconstitutional and in violation of the Fair Housing Act.