Axios

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) had over 100 asylum seekers flown from his state to Chicago by charter plane this week, officials in the Illinois city and from the governor's office said.

Why it matters: It's a major escalation in Abbott's protest of President Biden's immigration policies that's seen tens of thousands of migrants bused from Texas to mostly Democrat-run cities in a year that's been marked by record numbers of families crossing the border from Mexico to the U.S. amid a global humanitarian crisis.

Gaza's entire population — more than 2.2 million people — is facing crisis or worse levels of hunger, with the risk of famine increasing every day as Israel's ground offensive and bombardment of the enclave continues, a UN-backed body said in a report on Thursday.

The big picture: It is the highest share of people facing such levels of food insecurity that has ever been reported by the multi-partner body known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which monitors global hunger.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is calling on President Biden to take executive action to address securing the southern border, urging him to restart a series of policies embraced by the Trump administration.

Why it matters: Johnson told Biden in a letter, first obtained by Axios, that "significant action" on the border "must start with you."

At least 15 people were killed and dozens were injured in a mass shooting in Prague on Thursday, per Czech officials.

Driving the news: A Charles University arts faculty building was completely evacuated, and people nearby were urged "not to leave home," as police searched the building's balconies for possible explosives, per the AP.

Gen. Charles "CQ" Brown, chair of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke Thursday to his Chinese counterpart, per a statement.

Why it matters: It was the first time in more than a year that the countries' military leaders spoke — and comes more than a month after President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communications.

The Iranian-backed Houthi rebels vowed on Tuesday to defy a U.S.-led naval mission and continue targeting Red Sea shipping off the coast of Yemen in support of Hamas.

By the numbers: There have been 37 incidents involving shipping vessels from Nov. 19 to Dec. 18, most of which were concentrated near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Ambrey Analytics, the digital intelligence arm of the Ambrey maritime risk management group.

The U.S. on Wednesday released a close ally of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in exchange for 10 Americans imprisoned in the country and a former Navy contractor who organized one of the largest bribery scandals in U.S. military history, the White House said.

Driving the news: Leonard Francis, also known as "Fat Leonard," pleaded guilty in 2015 to doling out more than $500,000 in bribes in exchange for the ability to overcharge the Navy by at least $35 million for his services.

President Biden doesn't expect a new hostage deal between Israel and Hamas to come soon, he told reporters on Wednesday, but stressed that the U.S. is "pushing" for one.

Why it matters: Israel said it would pause the fighting in Gaza for at least one week as part of a new deal that would require the release of more than three dozen hostages the terror group is holding, Axios reported on Tuesday.

This story is part of a series supported by the Pulitzer Center.

A prominent pro-independence activist from the Japanese island of Okinawa is also a pro-Beijing influencer who praises China's ethnic minority policies and presents close ties to China as a way for native Okinawans to challenge Japanese rule.

Why it matters: Such messaging underscores Beijing's growing power to sway global narratives. Whether through ideological persuasion or the use of material incentives, such as granting access to China's 1 billion internet users, the party is winning allies across oceans, borders and key strategic fault lines.