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Putin, Modi, and Xi walk into a bar. Well, it was more of a security summit to challenge American dominance. Over the weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited more than 20 foreign leaders, including India’s and Russia’s, to a regional security forum in a flex of economic cooperation to counter the US-led Western system. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked up his country’s energy relationship with Russia, which had prompted the US to slap punishing 50% tariffs on India. For decades, the US wooed India as an ally to counter Chinese influence in Asia—but after the surprise tariff hit, India has been increasingly embracing Beijing.

Trump says CDC is being “ripped apart” over Covid vaccines. The president waded into the turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urging pharma companies to “justify the success” of their Covid-19 vaccines to quell growing unrest at the agency. Last week, Trump fired CDC Director Susan Monarez following disagreements between her and Health Secretary RFK Jr., resulting in four other top CDC officials to tender their resignations. Then yesterday, nine former CDC directors warned in a NYT essay that RFK Jr.’s meddling was “unlike anything we had ever seen at the agency, and unlike anything our country had ever experienced.”

Congress returns from summer break with a shutdown on the horizon. Lawmakers get back to work today in Washington, DC, following their August recess, and the No. 1 priority on Capitol Hill is keeping the government open for business. The federal government will shut down at the end of September if Congress doesn’t pass a short-term spending measure, but expect plenty of inter-party bickering since Republicans, who have the majority, still need Democratic votes for any funding bill. The Dems are planning to use that leverage to extract concessions from the GOP.

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