Axios

1. New data revealed by Panamanian authorities shows an increase in the number of people crossing the Darién Gap last month.

• The increase is being attributed to more Venezuelans leaving the country after the results of the July 28 elections.
• President Nicolás Maduro says he won a third term, which international observers dispute, and has cracked down against protests demanding he show the vote count.

2. Former Bolivian President Evo Morales is threatening to call for street blockades and a massive strike in response to an arrest warrant against him.

• Morales is accused of statutory rape in a case stemming from 2020, charges he says are politically motivated to stop him from trying to run in next year's presidential election.
• Another march called for by Morales last month ended in skirmishes between his supporters and police in the capital, La Paz.

Children help with a tree plantation drive in Masca, northern Honduras. Source: via Noticias Telemundo

Fisherwomen and men in Honduras are taking it upon themselves to help repopulate a critical swamp area affected by erosion.

State of play: The loss of mangroves, or coastal tree areas, is happening at a faster rate than general forest loss, according to studies.

• That affects biodiversity and these tropical forests' capacity to help mitigate global warming.
• In response, a community dedicated to fishing in Masca, northern Honduras, has been planting new trees and shrubs in the area.

What they're saying: "We are just really hoping to help recover some of what's been lost, including fish and crab species," fisherman Mario Martínez tells Noticias Telemundo.

Former President Trump is saying that to carry out mass deportations he'd employ a 226-year-old law that was previously used to detain "enemy aliens" in times of war.

Why it matters: The use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in the 21st century could result in the unfair detention of lawful immigrants and their U.S.-born children, especially at a time when the outcome of a legal challenge is uncertain under the conservative-majority Supreme Court.

The Biden administration sent a letter to Israeli leaders on Monday demanding Israel take steps within 30 days to improve the dire humanitarian conditions in Gaza or risk the supply of U.S. weapons to Israel being affected, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Axios.

The big picture: Israel is highly dependent on U.S. military aid as it fights a war on several fronts and has been under intense scrutiny as warnings emerge again about the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny predicted that he would die in prison — almost two years before his death in a remote Arctic penal colony, according to excerpts of his posthumous memoir published by The New Yorker.

Why it matters: The book — called "Patriot" and out next Tuesday — acts as Navalny's "final letter to the world," publisher Penguin Random House said.

The Salt Typhoon cyberattack that reportedly targeted U.S. wiretap systems could be one of the most damaging China-backed cyber espionage campaigns ever, per The Wall Street Journal.

Why it matters: The hack may have given the Chinese government unprecedented access to U.S. foreign-intelligence surveillance systems and electronic communications that major internet service providers like Verizon and AT&T collect based on U.S. court orders.

Canada and India expelled top diplomats from each other's countries as a standoff between the two governments over the murder of a prominent Sikh community leader intensified on Monday.

The big picture: Officials in Canada say there's credible evidence linking Indian government officials to the shooting death on Canadian soil of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in June last year. Indian officials deny any wrongdoing.

It's finally happening: Giant pandas are coming back to D.C.

Why it matters: Washington was collectively unwell after the National Zoo's pandas Tian Tian, Mei Xiang and their cub, Xiao Qi Ji, returned to China last November. But now we are getting our cuddly mascots back.

Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant told U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Sunday that the Israel Defense Forces is not carrying out a plan proposed by former Israeli generals to seal off aid to northern Gaza, Israeli officials said.

The big picture: Israel closed the main crossings into northern Gaza in the first week of October as it renewed its military offensive. No food and other supplies have been entering the area where there are currently more than 400,000 Palestinians.

Biden press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has been blocking national security spokesperson John Kirby from joining her at the podium at White House press briefings, people familiar with the matter tell Axios.

Why it matters: It's the latest twist in the years-long tense relationship between the White House's two senior spokespeople.

Former President Trump said Sunday he'd hire 10,000 more border patrol agents and give them a $10,000 retention and signing bonus if he's re-elected in November.

Why it matters: Trump has made the U.S.-Mexico border a key focus of his 2024 campaign and both he and Vice President Kamala Harris have pledged to impose some of the most restrictive immigration, asylum and border policies in decades, per Axios' Alex Thompson and Stef Kight.