Axios

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is launching an AI-fueled "Catch and Revoke" effort to cancel the visas of foreign nationals who appear to support Hamas or other designated terror groups, senior State Department officials tell Axios.

Why it matters: The effort — which includes AI-assisted reviews of tens of thousands of student visa holders' social media accounts — marks a dramatic escalation in the U.S. government's policing of foreign nationals' conduct and speech.

Senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in the war with Russia, two sources with knowledge of the meeting said.

Why it matters: It will be the first high-level meeting between the countries since the public spat between President Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.

Republicans overwhelmingly support President Trump's tariffs in spite of the higher costs they're likely to face as a result of them, according to a new Economist/YouGov poll out this week.

Why it matters: After promising to lower prices if elected, Trump's tariffs targeting the U.S.'s biggest trade partners will cost the average American household at least $830 per year, economists have warned.

A Russian disinformation effort that flooded the web with false claims and propaganda continues to impact the output of major AI chatbots, according to a new report from NewsGuard, shared first with Axios.

Why it matters: The study, which expands on initial findings from last year, comes amid reports that the U.S. is pausing some of its efforts to counter Russian cyber activities.

History is set to be made on the Moon again this week, with Intuitive Machines' IM-2 mission Nova-C class lunar lander Athena scheduled to land there at 12:32pm ET on Thursday.

The big picture: Intuitive Machines has partnered with Lunar Outpost to roll out the first commercial rover on the Moon and with Finnish multinational tech firm Nokia to deliver the first cellular network on Earth's only natural satellite.

A detention center will resume operations as a controversial immigrant family housing facility under a new agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, private prison company CoreCivic has announced.

Why it matters: The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, was a target of civic rights advocates during the first Trump administration amid family separations and mistreatment allegations, but ICE needs more detention space for President Trump's mass deportation plans.

President Trump told Hamas he will greenlight additional Israeli military strikes on Gaza unless the group releases its remaining hostages.

Why it matters: Trump's ultimatum comes during direct negotiations in Doha between his envoy for hostages affairs Adam Boehler and Hamas officials in an effort to reach a new Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal.

The White House on Wednesday doubled down on taking credit for the BlackRock deal to place Panama Canal ports under U.S. control.

The big picture: Panama President José Raúl Mulino on Wednesday accused President Trump of lying about his claim a day earlier that the U.S. is "reclaiming" the Panama Canal.

Federal authorities have charged 10 individuals and two Chinese government officials on Wednesday in connection to several high-profile Beijing-backed intrusions.

Why it matters: The U.S. alleges that these individuals helped carry out a wide-reaching Chinese espionage campaign that targeted U.S. government agencies, state governments, news services, universities, defense contractors, law firms, and critical infrastructure.

China vowed Tuesday that it is prepared for "any other type of war" with the U.S. after hitting back at the Trump administration's latest tariffs.

Why it matters: The tit-for-tat levies have put the world's two largest economies on track for a trade war while ratcheting up tensions between the superpowers.

Europe's far-right leaders are divided over President Trump's approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine war.

Why it matters: Trump's embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin and coinciding about-face on U.S. assistance to Ukraine has caught even some of his reliable allies on the continent off guard.

Greenland's Prime Minister Múte Egede is not entertaining President Trump's mission to take the island "one way or the other."

The big picture: Trump for years expressed a desire to control Greenland, arguing it's necessary for national security purposes, and in January refused to rule out military force to seize the world's largest island.

The Trump administration has been holding direct talks with Hamas over the release of U.S. hostages held in Gaza and the possibility of a broader deal to end the war, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions tell Axios.

Why it matters: The talks — held by U.S. presidential envoy for hostage affairs Adam Boehler — are unprecedented. The U.S. had never before engaged directly with Hamas, which it designated a terrorist organization in 1997.

The U.S. will continue to suspend weapon supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine until a date for peace talks with Russia is set, White House national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Wednesday.

Why it matters: The U.S. decision to pause military aid is increasing pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to agree to move toward negotiations with Russia to end the war.

There are few words as beloved in the defense-tech zeitgeist as "scale" and "mass." And it makes sense: War is a numbers game.

• But today's defense industrial base is hurting, and not just by a single metric.

Why it matters: It's go big or go home for production lines, as a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan haunts Beltway thinkers and a protracted war in Ukraine proves just how quickly stockpiles evaporate.

President Trump's taunting and tariffs have turned Canadians against the U.S., Prime Minister Justin Trudeau into a fire-breathing nationalist, and his Liberal Party — once on track for an electoral wipeout — back into a force to be reckoned with.

Why it matters: Trump has imposed big tariffs on the U.S.' closest ally and wants to make Canada the 51st State. Canada's response: a big middle finger to the USA.

Pakistan recently acted on CIA intelligence and detained a senior ISIS commander who the U.S. claims plotted the deadly Abbey Gate bombing during the U.S. evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the issue. President Trump revealed the arrest in his address to Congress on Tuesday night.

Why it matters: Mohammad Sharifullah, one of the leaders of an ISIS branch in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is believed to have devised and coordinated the attack that killed 13 U.S. service members and about 170 Afghan citizens, one official said.

There's a holy shift moment happening in the country.

Why it matters: U.S. adults are moving away from organized religion, while simultaneously embracing spirituality, new Pew Research Center data shows.

The H5N1 bird flu strain has infected humans and other animals in every continent except Australia, and scientists say it could serve as a model for other countries.

The big picture: The continent has seen small outbreaks of other strains of avian influenza in recent months and managed to "close those down," said professor Catherine Bennett, an Australian infectious diseases' epidemiologist, in an email Monday.