Axios

A holy site home to a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ is in the crosshairs of President Trump's border wall construction plans.

Why it matters: The Trump administration is now suing a Catholic diocese to seize church land at the base of the holy site at Mount Cristo Rey, New Mexico, making it the latest hot spot of local resistance to border wall construction.

As the U.S. and China barrel ahead in their quest for AI supremacy, their race could come at the expense of global cybersecurity.

Why it matters: The U.S. and China both have an interest in preventing each other from weaponizing AI tools against them or letting rogue systems into the wild.

For the first time in three years, American workers' paychecks are lagging behind inflation, a casualty of the Iran war energy shock.

Why it matters: The war's fallout has helped remove the financial cushion that insulated consumers. It comes as a tepid hiring environment has limited workers' ability to switch jobs and earn more pay.

• Workers are now earning less in real terms, a threat to spending that has kept the economy humming.

Consumer prices continued to surge in April, led by higher energy prices, the government said on Tuesday.

Why it matters: The April report shows that inflationary pressures tied to the Iran war are seeping into consumer prices, making it difficult for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates just as President Trump's pick is set to take the helm of the central bank.

President Trump's endorsement of suspending federal gas taxes pushes the idea higher on the political radar, but it still faces long odds.

Why it matters: Some Republicans rushed to introduce bills, and a few Democrats have already endorsed the idea — but there are still serious obstacles that could keep Trump's comments from becoming reality.

The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for 10 weeks now — a once unthinkable shock to the world economy — yet global oil prices aren't nearly as high as many people had expected.

Why it matters: The relatively restrained price movement helps explain why the global economy is holding up so far.

President Trump is meeting with his national security team Monday to discuss the way forward in the Iran war, including possibly resuming military action, after negotiations with the country deadlocked Sunday, three U.S. officials said.

Why it matters: U.S. officials say Trump wants a deal to end the war, but Iran's rejection of many of his demands and refusal to make meaningful concessions on its nuclear program puts the military option back on the table.

President Trump is increasing pressure on Cuba's government, elevating concerns that his continued threats to invade the Caribbean island could become reality.

Why it matters: A U.S. invasion of Cuba would mark the most dramatic confrontation between Washington and Havana since the 1962 missile crisis — and the boldest test yet of Trump's campaign to expand America's influence in the Western Hemisphere under his version of the Monroe Doctrine.

Five years ago, inflation was taking off, and Federal Reserve leaders wrongly believed that it would be transitory. Now, leaders of the central bank are focused on how to avoid repeating that mistake.

The big picture: The U.S. is facing an eerily familiar backdrop of price shocks, and the Fed is trying to avoid a repeat of its biggest forecasting error of recent years.