Axios

The fertility rate in Texas increased for the first time in eight years in 2022 — the year after the state passed its six-week abortion ban — but the growth is driven mostly by Hispanic women, a new analysis finds.

Why it matters: The report indicates Hispanic women are disproportionately affected by abortion restrictions in the state. It also offers a window into how bans or near-total bans across the country may play out over time.

When U.S. Steel last month agreed to be acquired by Japan's Nippon Steel, many pundits and politicians were aghast that such an iconic American company would even consider foreign ownership.

Driving the news: It turns out that the deciding factor was regulatory arbitrage, not price, according to a preliminary proxy statement filed this week.

CIA director Bill Burns will meet with the head of Israel's Mossad, the Egyptian intelligence chief and the Qatari prime minister in Europe in the coming days to discuss efforts to reach a deal to secure the release of hostages held in Gaza, U.S. officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: A senior Israeli official said the meeting is crucial to the efforts to reach a breakthrough in the talks over a new deal that would include a two-month pause in return for the release of all hostages held by Hamas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an international investigation into a Russian military aircraft crash on Wednesday, which Russian officials claimed had been transporting Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Driving the news: The United Nations Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting on Thursday over the plane crash at the request of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday provided a pathway for Boeing to resume 737 MAX 9 flights.

Why it matters: Following the announcement, both United and Alaska airlines revealed plans to resume flying their grounded 737 Max 9 aircraft after receiving final approval from the agency to complete the process to return the aircrafts to service.

Qatar on Wednesday slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after he was heard in a leaked recording earlier this week criticizing Doha's mediation efforts in the talks to secure the release of hostages being held in Gaza.

Why it matters: The public confrontation comes at a sensitive and delicate point in the mediation efforts Qatar and Egypt are conducting between Israel and Hamas in an attempt to get a new hostage deal.

The number of Holocaust survivors globally has dwindled to less than a quarter of a million, and many are struggling with poverty in their final years, a new demographic study has found.

Why it matters: Child survivors — the last generation of the Holocaust — are aging as advocates race to record their testimonies and as rising antisemitism and misinformation threaten to erase their stories.

China has sent a growing number of high-altitude balloons near Taiwan in recent days as it steps up pressure on the self-governing island after it held elections this month in defiance of China's claims of sovereignty.

Why it matters: It’s part of a larger intimidation effort that Taiwan's defense ministry has called "cognitive warfare" — an attempt to weaken the resolve of Taiwan's residents and leaders and bring their behavior more in line with Beijing's will.

The U.S. launched retaliatory airstrikes against facilities in Iraq used by Iranian-backed militias and later hit two Houthi anti-ship missiles in Yemen, American officials said Tuesday.

Why it matters: A key Biden administration goal since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack that resulted in the ongoing war with Israel was to prevent the fighting in Gaza from spilling over to elsewhere in the region, but Axios' Barak Ravid notes that this is becoming harder to achieve as time passes.