Good morning! The weekend edition is 669 words, a 3-minute read.

What’s on tap: 

• Heroic crash landing

• Trump leaves China

• “Monster wolf” robots

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Today’s Big Story

Senators to Forfeit Shutdown Pay

• The Senate unanimously approved a resolution to withhold senators' pay during government shutdowns, a bipartisan measure responding to two record-breaking government closures in the past year. The measure takes effect the day after November's election and does not apply to the House — meaning no senator faces consequences for any shutdown before then.

• The vote follows a 43-day full government closure and a 76-day partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, the longest agency funding lapse in history. Federal workers went without paychecks during both while senators, whose annual salary is $174,000, continued to be paid. The Constitution requires lawmakers to be paid during shutdowns. However, the resolution works around that by withholding pay until funding is restored rather than eliminating it outright.

• Sen. Lindsey Graham had pushed a constitutional amendment to require lawmakers to forfeit pay during shutdowns, a more aggressive approach that would have required ratification by three-fourths of states. Kennedy's resolution was faster but less far-reaching. Kennedy acknowledged it doesn't go as far as he'd like but called it a start toward ensuring "shared sacrifice" when Congress fails to fund the government.

Today’s Quick Hits

• Shark season is beginning along the US East Coast, with the first white shark of the year confirmed off Massachusetts on Sunday and a tagged juvenile spotted off New York and New Jersey last week. Experts say warming waters are drawing at least 30 species northward for their seasonal migration. Shark bites remain rare; your odds of being killed by one are 1 in 3.7 million, and rip currents are a far greater danger at the beach. (More)

• A Bahamian pilot crash-landed a small charter plane in the Atlantic Ocean after losing both engines and all navigation and radio equipment about 50 miles off Florida's east coast. All 11 people on board survived and were rescued by a U.S. Air Force search-and-rescue unit after floating on a life raft for hours. Pilot Ian Nixon, 43, said he had no way of knowing whether their emergency beacon had activated. (More)

• Dana Williamson, Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff, pleaded guilty Thursday to campaign finance fraud, lying to the FBI, and filing a false tax return. Prosecutors say she helped siphon $225,000 from Xavier Becerra's campaign account to pad a staffer's salary. Becerra, the Democratic frontrunner in California's gubernatorial race, has not been accused of wrongdoing. Williamson faces roughly three years in prison. (More)

• President Trump left Beijing on Friday after two days of talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping covering trade, Iran, Taiwan, and energy. Trump said China agreed to buy U.S. oil and purchase 200 Boeing planes. Xi said both sides agreed to a "strategic stability" framework for the next three years. Trump invited Xi to visit the White House on September 24, though China has not yet confirmed the visit. (More)

• Cuba's energy minister said the country has completely run out of diesel and fuel oil, leaving Havana with more than 20 hours of blackouts daily. Cuba blames a U.S. oil embargo imposed in January. The two countries are also trading accusations over a reported $100 million American aid offer that Cuban officials say they know nothing about. (More)

• The Supreme Court preserved access to mifepristone Thursday, blocking a lower-court ruling that would have required women to see a doctor in person and banned mail delivery of the abortion pill. Access will likely remain unchanged into next year as the underlying lawsuit continues. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Medication abortions account for nearly two-thirds of all US abortions. (More)

Extra Credit

The Washington Nationals debut team puppy. (More)

Panda’s set for 8,000-mile blind date in Atlanta. (More)

Japan is using “monster wolf” robots to scare off bears. (More)

A list of 250 of the most influential books in US history. (More)