Beijing's Message: We're the New Superpower
Lessons from China's largest-ever military parade. Plus: What's up with Trump's health? Epstein survivors urge lawmakers to release files. Big Brother, meet Big Tech. And news of an engagement.
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Today, we cover a growing authoritarian alliance, Trump health rumors, vaccine wars, the Epstein files, and word that your fitness tracker is now working with the Pentagon. Plus a little political romance.
Here Are Your Headlines
New World Order: China threw itself a massive military parade today — its largest-ever – officially, to celebrate the defeat of Japan in WW2 but really to flex its might on the global stage. Among those who showed up: Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, making this the first time all three authoritarian leaders have stood together publicly. Nothing says "we're definitely not conspiring against anyone" like a matching photo op. (A host of other leaders and senior officials from around the world are also in attendance). China’s Xi Jinping and Putin reportedly signed over 20 bilateral cooperation documents during hours of talks, including an agreement to construct a major new gas pipeline that will allow Russia to increase the exports vital to financing its war in Ukraine. Over the weekend, China also hosted a major summit of Eurasian nations, which was attended by Putin, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, India’s Narendra Modi, and several other leaders. Xi warned the world is facing “turbulence and change” and needs “a more just and reasonable global governance system” — thinly veiled jabs at Trump and the US-led world order, respectively. Putin claimed Russia-China relations are at an “unprecedentedly high level,” arguing “we were always together then, and we remain together now.”
Enemy of My Enemy: No matter what Putin claims, the relationship between Russia, China, and India is far from stable. The three major powers have plenty of grievances, both historic and current. India and China have frequently clashed over their shared border in the Himalayas, for example; this was Modi’s first visit to China in seven years. But they have one thing in common: They’re dealing with an unpredictable, quixotic US president — one who seems to have undermined decades of relationship-building with India because it refused to give him credit for a ceasefire with Pakistan earlier this year, for example. Xi is consciously offering the world an alternative to what he sees as American chaos. Trump’s response? “Please give my warmest regards to Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “as you conspire against The United States of America.”
Weekend at Donald’s: The internet decided President Trump was dead over Labor Day weekend. After Trump disappeared from public view for days, hashtags like #trumpisdead and #whereistrump trended across socials, which Trump addressed, in his usual fashion, by posting he “NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.” Fueling the rumors are persistent bruises on the back of his hands, occasionally covered in makeup; his team insisted these are due to frequent handshaking, and his physician said regular use of aspirin to prevent cardiovascular issues contributes. When people started noticing his swollen ankles, too, the White House revealed he’d been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency. This is usually caused by deep vein thrombosis, a serious condition the White House insisted Trump did not have. Usual treatments for chronic venous insufficiency include leg elevation, exercise, and weight management. Trump is the oldest president ever inaugurated.
Taking Out The Trash: On Monday, the rumor mill went into overdrive when a video appeared to show black trash bags being thrown out of a White House window. The White House press office claimed it was “a contractor … doing regular maintenance.” But on Tuesday Trump offered his own explanation: “Probably AI-generated.” Interesting, considering Trump’s apparent awareness of how easy it is to blame things on AI these days. “If something happens,” he said, and “it’s really bad, maybe I’ll have to just blame AI.” Good to know he’s thinking ahead.
Health Dept Chaos: Over 1,000 current and former HHS workers signed a letter this morning urging RFK Jr. to resign as Health and Human Services secretary. They said if he doesn’t resign, it's incumbent on the president and Congress to fire him. They provided specific examples of ways in which they believe “Secretary Kennedy's actions are compromising the health of this nation,” and called on other institutions of science and medicine to join their call. HHS dismissed the claims, saying America’s public health system “has been broken for a long time.”
We’ll Do It Ourselves: California, Oregon, and Washington have formed a West Coast Health Alliance to protect vaccine access and science-based health information. The three states say they will coordinate efforts to safeguard access to vaccines (and to provide reliable, evidence-based information about said vaccines) if and when the federal government rolls back information about vaccines.
Florida Fever: Meanwhile, Florida Gov Ron DeSantis is taking steps to end requirements that kids get childhood vaccines to attend school. This would make Florida the first state to do so. I’d imagine Polio is very excited about its comeback tour.
The three-state vaccine alliance is getting almost no coverage from conservative outlets. Whether that's because their readers don't want to hear about vaccines or blue states coordinating — it creates a significant blindspot on the right. These gaps are features of modern media and help explain why we're talking past each other on everything from vaccines to climate. It's why I use the GroundNews app and website because it shows you not just what happened, but who's choosing to cover it. GroundNews is offering the News Not Noise community 40% off their all-access Vantage subscription plan.
Open The Books: Epstein survivors made an emotional appeal at the Capitol today, some speaking publicly for the first time. They're backing a bipartisan push by Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) to force the Justice Department to release all files related to Epstein. House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to block their discharge petition, claiming it "does not adequately protect victims.” “It is not okay for us to be silenced,” Mirana Lacerda, an accuser speaking publicly about the abuse she faced for the first time, said. “My hope is to stop this abuse for the future.… This is not a hoax, it’s not going away.”
Strange Allies: Trump again called the demand for the Epstein files a “Democrat hoax that never ends,” but three of his supporters — Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), and Nancy Mace (R-SC) — have signed onto Massie’s motion. Greene said she urged Trump to meet the survivors in the Oval Office. They need just two more Republicans for it to pass, assuming all Democratic support it.
No Plot Twist: The House Oversight Committee released 33,295 pages of DOJ files related to Epstein Tuesday, but Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), a ranking member on the Committee, said 97% of them were already publicly available. The document dump appears designed to undercut Massie and Khanna's discharge petition. Rep. Khanna claimed the DOJ has still released less than 1% of its total Epstein files.
Back to Work: Congress is back from a six-week break, with 28 days to reach a deal to avoid a government shutdown October 1. Place your bets now: who thinks they wait ‘til the last minute to do it?
Playing Politics: Missouri Republicans called a special session to debate a new voting map that would let them gerrymander a seat. Meantime a Texas state congressman has sued Gov. Gavin Newsom to stop California’s redistricting plan, which is set to go before voters this November. Democracy, working exactly as the founders intended.
Big Brother Is Watching (And Paying Tech Companies): We promised to flag patterns that expand government power or threaten to erode your privacy. Here’s one. Law enforcement agencies have struck a number of surveillance deals with tech firms that critics say deepen the threat of the American government turning into a techno surveillance state.
Back in Business: ICE reactivated a contract with Paragon Solutions, a controversial spyware company that made headlines for a hacking software that was used to spy on Italian activists and journalists. Biden’s White House halted the contract last year out of concern it violated an executive order against using spyware that’s been deployed irresponsibly in other countries. Now it’s back. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) warned he’s “extremely concerned about how ICE will use Paragon’s spyware to further trample on the rights of … anyone who Donald Trump labels as an enemy.”
New Friends: The US Army has inked a 10-year, up to $10 billion deal with Palantir, Peter Theil’s controversial data-mining company. It’s the latest agency to hand over billions of dollars and access to vast amounts of public data to the firm that’s already embedded with the DoD, ICE, CDC, IRS, and local police departments. The Army hopes to use this deal and subsequent ones to streamline software acquisition and lower costs. Critics say Palantir is “mapping the nation’s data.”
Put a Ring On It: Do you use an Oura Ring? Be warned, the fitness tracker company announced a new Defense Department partnership, calling it part of its “longstanding relationship” with the military. The CEO insists consumer data won’t be involved. Cool, cool.
Infighting: The rightwing media ecosystem seems to be attacking itself. Newsmax sued Fox News today, claiming Fox uses its “market power to coerce distributors into not carrying or into marginalizing other right-leaning news channels, including Newsmax." (I thought they didn’t like complaints about the marginalized?) Newsmax’s founder and CEO argued Fox News and its parent companies “have a pretty strong track record of unethical and improper behavior.” Ironic, because Newsmax last month agreed to pay $67 million to settle a defamation lawsuit with voting machine company Dominion, which accused Newsmax of spreading “verifiably false lies.”
Courting Justice: The courts handed the Trump administration several major defeats:
Not So Fast: A federal judge ruled yesterday that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to LA was illegal. The judge found that it would be “a national police force with the President as its chief.” Constitutional boundaries still exist, at least in some courts. California subsequently filed a request to have the final 300 National Guard troops still in LA removed.
Aliens? Enemies? One of the country’s most conservative federal appeals courts ruled that Trump can’t use the 1789 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged Venezuelan gang members. Two of three judges found “no invasion or predatory incursion,” — requirements for using the centuries old law. The preliminary injunction blocks deportations from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Education: A federal judge ruled today the Trump administration's attempt to freeze over $2 billion in grants to Harvard was unlawful. She accused the administration of using “antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically-motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”
Escalating Tensions:
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