Axios

Most U.S. emergency call centers are understaffed, new data found, leaving 911 calls to go unanswered.

Why it matters: The worker shortage can have significant implications for people seeking help during a crisis.

Half of U.S. adults say China is the greatest threat to the country, nearly three times the share who named Russia, according to a new Pew Research Center survey released on Thursday.

The big picture: Pew also looked at how China is seen in 24 countries, finding negative views of the superpower across much of the West are at or near historic highs, and such views are growing in some developing countries that typically receive the superpower warmly.

Amid the 175th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which vastly expanded the United States' territory, Hispanic ranchers and farmers say the treaty's legacy, along with encroaching developments, climate change and a lack of interest in farming, is taking a toll.

Details: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the U.S.-Mexico War, promised that former Mexican citizens in newly acquired U.S. territory would immediately become American citizens with full rights.

War, land theft, court fights and water battles haven't deterred some northern New Mexico Hispanic ranchers from staying in their lands after 400 years.

Through the lens: Axios Latino spent time with ranchers and farmers in this part of the state as they talked about old conflicts over land rights — including the June 5, 1967, courthouse raid led by Reies López Tijerina — and climate change. They vowed to die on their families' land.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is insisting that President Biden invited him to the White House during their phone call last week. "I think it's in September," he told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos on Thursday.

Why it matters: The Biden administration has yet to confirm the U.S. president specifically invited the Israeli prime minister to the White House, saying only that the two leaders agreed to meet in the U.S. later this year.

The European Central Bank (ECB) raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point on Thursday, continuing an historic stretch of interest rate hikes meant to conquer high inflation.

Why it matters: The ECB is the latest central bank, following the Federal Reserve, to raise borrowing costs to multi-decade highs — an attempt to cool off the economy in the hopes that inflation will follow.

For the next decade, U.S.-China rivalry will likely be characterized not by military struggle but by economic statecraft — using economic means to achieve geopolitical outcomes, Axios China reporter Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian writes in her new book Beijing Rules.

Why it matters: That could create an economic arms race, with both sides struggling to create ever sharper and more innovative economic tools, and to rally ever more allies into their respective economic spheres of influence.

While the U.S. is leading the global AI innovation race, some executives and experts say America risks losing that economic and strategic advantage by not deploying the technology fast enough.

Why it matters: If the U.S. is too slow to integrate and adopt AI across its economy, they say, China may leverage it more effectively.

The Department of Justice asked a federal judge Wednesday evening to order Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to have a floating barrier removed at the southern border that's designed to prevent migrants crossing the Rio Grande River.

Driving the news: The string of buoys along the river have "caused significant and ongoing harm to the United States' foreign relations with Mexico," the DOJ argued in a court filing that asked for the removal of the barrier and supporting infrastructure within 10 days.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a gift on Wednesday from the Chinese ambassador to Israel: four autographed copies of President Xi Jinping's book.

Why it matters: It's unusual that Netanyahu's office issued a statement about the meeting and a photo of the Israeli leader skimming the book.

Former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed, who was freed in a Russian prisoner swap last year, is expected to make a full recovery after being injured while fighting in Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter told Axios on Wednesday.

Driving the news: "Mr. Reed has been transported to Germany, and he is receiving medical care," State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing Tuesday.

Deadly wildfires burning across Europe, North America and North Africa have forced hundreds of people to evacuate as historic heat grips much of the Northern Hemisphere.

The big picture: New research shows this month's extreme weather would've been "virtually impossible" without human-driven climate change. Wildfires and climate change are intricately linked as warmer temperatures lead to more extreme fire weather days and drier vegetation that's more likely to burn.

Joe Lewis, the British billionaire owner of the Tottenham Hotspur soccer team, has been indicted in the U.S. for allegedly "orchestrating a brazen insider trading scheme," prosecutors announced Tuesday evening.

Driving the news: Prosecutors accuse Lewis of engaging in "multiple schemes to violate the securities laws through insider trading and submitting false and misleading filings" with the SEC from 2013 to 2021, per an indictment. He denies any wrongdoing.