The capability gap between the US’ AI models and China’s is now approximately equal to the distance between your desire for a long weekend and the impending July Fourth holiday.

That’s the vibe after researchers announced over the weekend that China’s AI can, in some scenarios, match Anthropic’s powerful Mythos model, which the US government forced offline earlier this month. Zhipu AI, which matches Mythos on some tasks, is available to the public worldwide.

Doing their level best. China hasn’t leveled up to Anthropic and OpenAI yet, but its rise highlights the social and financial perils of AI being governed differently around the world:

• Some industry watchers say that the US banning AI models while continuing to sell semiconductor chips to China enables it to create competitive models.
• US businesses are turning to Chinese models, like those from Zhipu and DeepSeek, to get powerful tools more cheaply.
• Even Microsoft is reportedly exploring how to offer Chinese models to consumers on its platforms.

Accelerated braking

On Friday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick allowed Anthropic to restore Mythos access to “certain trusted partners,” according to Semafor. The same day, Anthropic rival OpenAI released its newest model, GPT-5.6, to a small number of recipients approved by the government:

• In a blog post, OpenAI wrote that this process should not “become the long-term default. It keeps the best tools from users, developers, enterprises, cyber defenders, and global partners who need them.”

Next up: The Trump administration will soon allow Anthropic to bring its Fable 5 model, the weaker “cousin” of Mythos, back online after also forcing it off, per Axios. Earlier this month, Fable 5 was offered via Claude for three days, during which it was the most powerful AI model available to the public.

An immodest proposal. Austria declared that Anthropic should move to the EU, where it would receive “legal certainty, market access, capital, and a set of values that suits this company.”—HVL

Iran and US agree to stop retaliatory strikes; talks expected to resume. At points this weekend, it looked like the ceasefire deal between the two nations might fall apart over ongoing disputes regarding the Strait of Hormuz. Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country was assuming full authority over the strait due to the wording of the memo of understanding between the two countries, saying it meant “management and full restoration of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz is Iran’s responsibility,” which US officials disagreed with. A second round of negotiations in Switzerland did not materialize as expected this weekend due to fighting over the strait that restarted on Thursday, although anonymous sources told the Wall Street Journal that the US has since offered to hold new talks in Qatar.

Heat wave to engulf much of US until at least Thursday. The National Weather Service said 142 million people in the central and eastern US will experience dangerous high temps this week. New York City’s weather service office issued an extreme heat warning beginning today through Wednesday, and said the “feels like” temperature could reach 108. Heat index readings by Thursday could exceed 100 in Philadelphia and reach 112 in the nation’s capital. The high temperatures may persist through Saturday in some areas.

Summer box office serves up surprises. If you think a cute dog can drive sales, people are sick of movie series, and Oppenheimer is the biggest biopic ever—take our advice and think twice. On that last point, Michael superseded Christopher Nolan’s epic about a theoretical physicist to become the highest-grossing biopic ever, with a global haul of $977 million. Elsewhere in the cinematic universe, Supergirl (and co-star Krypto the Superdog) earned only $38 million at the domestic box office this weekend for its debut. But Toy Story 5 maintained its No. 1 slot for its second weekend in theaters. Looks like the toys are all right.—HVL

For many seniors, the weight is almost over: Starting on Wednesday, Medicare will begin covering obesity drugs for the first time, allowing millions of Americans to obtain popular medications like Wegovy, Zepbound, or Foundayo for a $50 monthly co-pay.

What’s changing? Medicare already covers GLP-1 drugs for the treatment of some health conditions, like cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes, but the new rules apply specifically to weight loss treatments. To be eligible, participants need to be enrolled in the Medicare Part D drug plan and meet certain weight and health requirements.

The program is currently slated to run through 2027, though there are talks to extend it.

Why haven’t I heard about this? Drugmakers have done everything but hire a town crier to advertise weight loss drugs, but there hasn’t been as much buzz about the Medicare change. That’s in part to allow for a kind of soft launch that lets physicians and pharmacies work out the kinks. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has also said it doesn’t want to go the Grand Theft Auto VI route and get everybody hyped about something that’s not available yet.

But make no mistake, drugmakers are jockeying for position, because even though their drugs are being discounted, they expect to make up the difference through volume. According to the federal government, more than 56 million Americans have Medicare Part D, and about 38% of seniors have obesity.—BC

Semiquincentennial-palooza: Markets are closed on Friday, ahead of the US’ 250th birthday on Saturday. You might want to locate the dog’s anxiety meds, because fireworks are going to figure into 44% of US consumers’ holiday plans, according to a National Retail Federation survey conducted by Prosper Insights and Analytics.

June jobs report: Jobs data will be released on Thursday, a day earlier than usual, due to the holiday. Bloomberg forecasts the June report will add about 123,000 jobs.

Playing with matches: It’s do-or-die time for the US men’s national soccer team on Wednesday, as it plays Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first knockout round of the World Cup. For tennis fans, the grass may be greener on the other side of the pond: Wimbledon starts today. Then, on Saturday, the stage is set for the 113th running of the Tour de France.

But wait, there’s more:

• The US–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) renewal deadline is on Wednesday. If it’s renewed, it’ll be extended for 16 years. If it’s not, it will still be in place for at least 10 more years (unless someone actively decides to quit the pact).
• The Legally Blonde prequel series Elle premieres on Tuesday on Amazon Prime Video.

Mondays are bad enough, so the Brew’s own Brendan Cosgrove scoured the internet for a positive news story to help you start the week off right.

Comedy legend Mel Brooks hit the century mark yesterday, proving that if laughter is the best medicine, it’s good to be the king. “Making comedy is a great job. It keeps you sane and happy,” Brooks told People magazine in January.

For his birthday yesterday, the EGOT winner and master of the parody got another feather in his cap: The American Film Institute named his satire Blazing Saddles the funniest film of all time.

Brooks, who also made The Producers, Young Frankenstein, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, never even retired. He’ll reprise his role as Yogurt in the sequel to his sci-fi send-up Spaceballs, which will land in theaters next year.—BC