Axios

Argentines next month will vote in a runoff election between an establishment candidate currently in charge of the nation's crumbling economy and a right-wing member of Congress who promises to ditch the peso for the U.S. dollar.

Catch up quick: Economy Minister Sergio Massa on Sunday received the highest share of votes — 36% — defying polls that put his far-right challenger Javier Milei, a libertarian congress member from party La Libertad Avanza, ahead of all the candidates.

The number of federally-backed loans to Latino-owned small businesses has nearly doubled in two years, hitting a record $3 billion, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Why it matters: Latino-owned firms are among the nation's fastest-growing small businesses, but a lack of access to capital, credit and loans has prevented some of these businesses from scaling and growing.

Russian aluminum maker Rusal said it's agreed to buy a 30% stake in a Chinese alumina plant owned by Hebei Wenfeng for around $261 million.

Why it matters: This is the first major foreign acquisition by a Russian company since the early 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In a 7,000-word tour of the globe's future, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan writes that amid Middle East peril, America needs a long-term "sustained sense of confidence in our capacity to outcompete any country."

Driving the news: "In the decade ahead, U.S. officials will spend more time than they did the past 30 years talking with countries that they disagree with, often on fundamental issues," Sullivan writes in the cover story of the forthcoming issue of Foreign Affairs, shared first with Axios.

Palestinians in Gaza tell Axios they are not certain they will survive this war as Israel intensifies its air raids and prepares for a ground invasion.

The big picture: More than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israel-Hamas war began, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health of the Hamas-run government. The besieged enclave has been under heavy bombardment in the two weeks since Hamas militants killed 1,400 Israelis in the worst attack against Israel in decades.

A recently completed clinical trial to study psoriasis solely in people of color can serve as a stepping stone to study how other conditions impact nonwhite people, researchers say.

Why it matters: Psoriasis is one of the most common dermatological issues in the U.S., but research has mostly focused on how it impacts white people — a common criticism of medical trials in the U.S.

Israel is willing to delay a ground invasion of Gaza for a few days to allow talks on releasing a large number of the hostages Hamas is holding there, two Israeli officials tell Axios.

• "Both Israel and the Biden administration want to exhaust every effort to try and get hostages out of Gaza. If Hamas proposes a big package, of course we will be ready to do things in return," a senior Israeli official said.

U.S. border officials have removed or returned more individual migrant family members in the last four months than in any previous full fiscal year amid a global humanitarian crisis.

The big picture: While new U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows this to be the largest number of southern border crossings, that's only when you count people crossing at legal ports of entry through the CBP One app or via legal parole programs, Axios' Stef Kight notes.

A former National Security Agency employee admitted trying to sell classified national security information to Russia, according to a plea deal Monday.

Driving the news: Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 31, of Colorado Springs, pleaded guilty to six counts of attempting to transmit classified National Defense Information to a person he believed to be a Russian agent, but who was actually an undercover FBI employee.

92NY announced Monday that it's pausing its prestigious literary reading series after pushback for canceling an event with a Pulitzer Prize-winning author who has made comments critical of Israel.

The big picture: It's the latest example of those critical of Israel reporting that their events have been canceled or postponed, or their voices silenced in the media.

Hamas on Monday released two elderly Israeli hostages for what it said were humanitarian reasons.

The big picture: The release of Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and Nurit Cooper, 79, comes just days after Hamas released an American mother and her teenage daughter from captivity. The group is still holding more than 200 people, including Americans, hostage, according to Israeli officials.

Former President Obama warned Monday that a possible Israeli ground operation in the Gaza Strip in response to Hamas' surprise attack could "backfire" if Palestinian civilians aren't protected.

Why it matters: Israel has said it intends to eliminate Hamas' military capabilities in a future operation, but depending on the military tactics employed, doing so in a dense urban environment like Gaza could endanger thousands of people.

President Biden, when asked about whether the U.S. would support a potential Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal in exchange for the release of hostages, Biden said: "We should have those hostages released and then we can talk."

The big picture: Hamas on Monday released two elderly Israeli hostages for what it said were humanitarian reasons. The group is still holding more than 200 people, including Americans, hostage, according to Israeli officials.

Tens of thousands of women across Iceland, including Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir, are expected to go on a one-day strike Tuesday in support of greater gender equality.

Driving the news: All women and non-binary people in the country who can are encouraged to stop both paid and unpaid work for the day in order to demonstrate the importance of their contributions to society and as a collective action to fight for equality, organizers said on the event website.

A Russian court on Monday extended Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva's detention by another six weeks, her employer announced.

Why it matters: Kurmasheva has dual U.S.-Russian citizenship. Her arrest last week, on charges of allegedly failing to register as a foreign agent, made her the second American journalist to be detained by Russia this year.

The Biden administration recently sent a Marine three-star general and several other U.S. military officers to Israel to help advise the Israeli military's leadership in its operation in Gaza, according to two U.S. officials and two Israeli officials briefed on the issue.

Why it matters: The move reflects the Biden administration's deep involvement in the war in Gaza and how much visibility it has in Israel's military planning.

Foxconn, the Taiwan-based maker of Apple products including iPhones, is facing tax and land-use investigations in China, Chinese state media reported Sunday.

State of play: The world's largest contract electronics maker, which is formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., said in a statement to media later Sunday that it will "actively cooperate with the relevant units on the related work and operations."

Former President Trump allegedly shared sensitive information with Mar-a-Lago member Anthony Pratt on calls he had with the leaders of Iraq and Ukraine, according to audio leaked to Australian media.

Why it matters: Australian billionaire Pratt is one of 84 potential witnesses whom federal prosecutors have identified in Trump's classified documents trial, which is scheduled to begin in Florida in May. Trump denied the reports late Sunday.