Axios

Israeli minister Benny Gantz is expected to announce in a speech on Saturday his party's withdrawal from the emergency government formed after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on Israel, according to political sources close to Gantz.

Why it matters: Gantz's move wouldn't bring down Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition, which still holds a 64-member majority in the Knesset. But it would likely destabilize the government and exacerbate the political crisis in Israel as the war in Gaza continues and as hostage and ceasefire negotiations are ongoing.

President Biden on Friday publicly apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the months-long holdup in sending additional U.S. military aid to the country.

Why it matters: The apology — which came one day after the leaders took part in D-Day commemorations — is Biden's first to Ukraine over the deadly delay.

The growth of space and cyber technologies worldwide is raising the likelihood that war — or at least its ripple effects — will crash onto America's doorstep.

Why it matters: Centuries of national security strategy, relying on protection provided by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, are being rattled by these weapons that conquer vast distances.

U.S., Egyptian and Israeli officials failed to make progress in a meeting last Sunday about reopening the Rafah crossing after the Israeli side refused to allow any role for the Palestinian Authority in operating the strategic site, according to four U.S. and Israeli officials.

Why it matters: Reopening the crossing on the border of Egypt and Gaza, preventing Hamas from smuggling weapons into the Strip from Egypt and maintaining a tenuous peace between Israel and Egypt are top priorities for the Biden administration.

A group of over 100 former federal prosecutors and federal agents on Thursday sent a letter to Secretary of State Tony Blinken, asking that the U.S. government "step up its efforts" to secure the release of crypto executive Tigran Gambaryan from a Nigerian prison, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: This increases pressure on the State Department, one day after it received a similar letter from 16 members of Congress.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that the new U.S. policy allowing Ukraine to use long-ranged weapons to strike deeper into Russia is "going to prove to be very, very helpful."

Why it matters: There's growing concern that if Russia defeats Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin will begin threatening other countries.

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.