Axios

Efforts to set up the greenest Olympics yet are being foiled by the stars of the show — athletes who plan to show up in Paris next month with their own air conditioners.

Why it matters: Some see expanding the Games' carbon footprint as a necessity in the face of summer temperatures if athletes are expected to maintain peak performance.

One of the first former DACA recipients to receive a White House presidential appointment won the Democratic primary on Tuesday for a New Mexico state senate seat.

The big picture: Cindy Nava was one of many Latinas to win legislative primaries in New Mexico, where the statehouse is set to become majority women.

Who gets to say they're first-generation in the U.S. — immigrants who have settled here, or their U.S.-born children — is an issue that is hotly debated by Latinos, whose positions often contradict historians and social scientists.

Why it matters: The disagreement shows how a new generation of U.S. Latinos, while standing firm that they are not foreigners, are showing pride in their immigrant roots.

The Biden administration has cautioned Israel in recent weeks against the notion of "a limited war" in Lebanon and warned it could push Iran to intervene, two U.S. officials and one Israeli official told Axios.

Why it matters: The exchange of fire between Israel and Hezbollah that has been ongoing since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas dramatically escalated in the last two weeks, prompting some people inside the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Cabinet to call for significantly expanding the fighting against Hezbollah.

The European Central Bank on Thursday lowered interest rates for the first time in nearly five years, taking the rare step of front-running the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Why it matters: Some of the world's most significant central banks are starting to dial back aggressive interest rate hikes put in place to choke global inflation — ending a global era of ultra-tight money.

A meeting between Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a group of Arab officials about a month ago flew off the rails after an unusual shouting match between the UAE foreign minister and a senior adviser to the Palestinian president, according to five sources with knowledge of the incident.

Why it matters: The heated spat reflects skepticism over the Palestinian Authority's planned reforms and disputes among Arab leaders, both of which could challenge the Biden administration's efforts to forge a post-war strategy for Gaza.

BERLIN — Across the continent, parties in power are bracing for a drubbing in this week's elections for the European Parliament — in many cases, at the hands of far-right populists.

Why it matters: Four years of successive crises — a global pandemic, large-scale war in Europe for the first time in decades, and debilitating inflation — are fueling anti-incumbent backlash in the biggest election year in human history.

The hottest temperatures to hit the U.S. this year were sweeping across California and the Southwest into Thursday — and the "dangerous" heat's expected to bring record temperatures to much of the region before expanding eastwards this week.

The big picture: Excessive heat warnings and watches extended from the central valley down through southern California's deserts, southern Nevada and southern and western Arizona and into Utah, affecting over 29 million early Monday after the heat began building a day earlier.

At least 27 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a school run by a UN agency in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza government press office.

The big picture: The air strike took place as the Biden administration is pressing for a hostage and ceasefire deal that could end eight months war in Gaza.

As the first-ever former or sitting U.S. president to be a convicted felon, former President Trump faces many unprecedented questions — including whether he is barred from traveling.

The big picture: Trump is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11, and the result may determine if he's allowed to leave the U.S. and enter other countries as a convicted felon.

May was the 12th consecutive month to set a monthly global average temperature record, and exceed a key Paris Agreement temperature target.

Why it matters: The new data comes amid a slew of findings from climate monitoring groups released Wednesday, timed to coincide with a speech in New York by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

Qatar's prime minister and Egypt's director of intelligence met in Doha on Wednesday with senior Hamas officials to discuss the Israeli proposal for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, according to two sources with knowledge of the meeting.

Why it matters: The meeting, less than a week after Hamas received the proposal and President Biden presented it to the world, comes amid concerns Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's public statements could undermine the negotiations.

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are demanding answers from the Biden administration about the illegal flow of firearms to Haiti.

Why it matters: Armed gangs killed thousands of people in Haiti earlier this year and compounded the country's severe humanitarian crises. Lawmakers said in a new letter sent Wednesday that the flow of weapons to the nation is "fueling catastrophic gang violence."

A gunman who opened fire on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut on Wednesday was arrested after exchanging fire with Lebanese soldiers.

Why it matters: The attack comes as regional tensions in the Middle East have soared amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, which has encompassed fighting between Israel and Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border.