Greetings! Happy National Nachos Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

🇧🇷 Big emitters skip key climate summit in Belém. On the eve of the United Nations (UN) climate talks, several leaders from top-emitting nations declined to attend, even as host Brazil pressed for concrete pledges on forests, methane, and finance. Organizers are now leaning on ministerial-level negotiations to salvage momentum and translate past promises into measurable cuts. Brazil’s push centers on verifiable targets, from kilometers of restored rainforest to gigawatts of new renewable capacity. Civil society groups argue that without near-term delivery dates and enforcement, the communiqué count will rise while emissions do the same. Mayors from flood-prone cities want adaptation dollars that harden seawalls and heat shelters before the next storm season. The gap between rhetoric and rebar is the summit’s real agenda item. Attendance is optics; implementation is policy.

🇱🇧 Israel escalates strikes on southern Lebanon. Israeli jets struck multiple towns in southern Lebanon as exchanges with Hezbollah intensified, extending a near-daily pattern that has emptied neighborhoods and strained hospitals. Since October 7th, Israel has bombed the following countries and regions in aggressive campaigns: Gaza, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar, the West Bank, and Yemen. Local officials reported fresh evacuations while damage assessments focused on battered residential blocks and power infrastructure. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) urged restraint as rockets, artillery, and airstrikes continued to trade across the Blue Line. Humanitarian groups warned that prolonged disruption will compound winter shortages of fuel and medicine. Shipping insurers are monitoring spillover risk to eastern Mediterranean lanes, a quiet barometer of conflict premiums. Diplomats are exploring de-confliction channels to keep incidents from cascading into a wider war. The line of contact is thin; the margin for error is thinner.

✈️ Flight cuts to roll out at 40 major airports. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will phase in reduced flight volumes across 40 of the busiest American airports as the government shutdown stretches on. Officials say the plan targets peak periods to preserve safety margins amid staffing and training disruptions. Airlines are bracing for schedule sweeps that will ripple into missed connections and tighter rebooking windows. Airports with already-stretched gate capacity could see taxi delays morph into cancellations when weather adds friction. Passengers should expect thinner late-night options as carriers consolidate frequency. The near-term math is simple: fewer controllers, fewer slots. On-time rates will tell the story before the presser does.

💊 White House touts deal to expand and cheapen GLP-1 coverage. The administration announced a framework intended to broaden access and lower out-of-pocket costs for obesity drugs, including Wegovy from Novo Nordisk A/S ($NVO) and Zepbound from Eli Lilly and Company ($LLY). Insurers would pilot expanded formularies tied to outcomes, aiming to bend long-term costs on diabetes and cardiovascular complications. Employers are being courted with value-based designs that trade utilization controls for measurable weight-loss and adherence targets. Critics warn that near-term premium pressure is likely without federal offsets or steep rebates. Health economists say real-world evidence on discontinuation and regain rates will determine whether the bet pays. Pharmacy networks are preparing for demand spikes and prior-authorization flux. The politics will be loud; the actuarial tables will be decisive.

🏛️ Pelosi to retire from the House after a half-century footprint. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi said she will not seek reelection, closing an era that included two stints as Speaker, two presidential impeachments, and stewardship through the financial crisis and a pandemic. Allies praised her vote-counting precision that turned narrow majorities into landmark bills. Detractors cited partisan trench-warfare and long-running culture clashes that made compromise rare. Her exit reshapes San Francisco politics and opens a coveted seat for a crowded field. On Capitol Hill, leadership pipelines will reshuffle as committee gavels look downstream for successors. The generational turnover now extends beyond one caucus as both parties grapple with succession planning. Institutions change slowly, then all at once.

⚖️ Jury awards $10M to teacher shot by 6-year-old. A Virginia jury found an ex-assistant principal liable after a first-grade teacher was wounded by a student who brought a gun to school, awarding $10 million in damages. Trial testimony focused on warnings allegedly ignored before the shooting and on campus safety protocols. The verdict amplifies scrutiny of threat-assessment teams and real-time response when multiple staff raise alarms. School districts nationwide will study the case as a template for administrative accountability. Insurers and risk managers will revisit training, visitor checks, and parental notification standards. Unions say the judgment validates teacher claims about unsafe conditions in early grades. In the final analysis, this much is clear: safety isn’t a sign on the wall; it’s a sequence of decisions.

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That’s all for today!

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See you tomorrow!