Greetings! Happy National Apple Day to those celebrating.

Let’s get into today’s top stories.

🇨🇴 Court overturns conviction of former Colombian president Álvaro Uribe. Appellate judges vacated findings tied to bribery and witness tampering, resetting a landmark case that had become a referendum on prosecutorial reach and political immunity. The ruling sends prosecutors back to the strategy table on evidentiary chains and cooperating testimony. Anti-corruption advocates warn that reversals can chill future whistleblowers if protections look provisional. Defense attorneys call the decision a victory for due process in a trial-by-media era. Markets will watch whether the outcome cools legislative appetite for tougher ethics statutes. Colombia’s political class now rehearses a familiar line: accountability is essential and also, somehow, pending.

🇭🇺 Planned Trump–Putin summit in Budapest is on hold after diplomatic calls. An American official said Senator Marco Rubio spoke with Russia’s Sergei Lavrov before the pause, signaling that choreography outran substance. European capitals greeted the delay with relief, preferring a lull to an undercooked meeting with maximal optics and minimal guardrails. Security analysts say meaningful progress would require verifiable steps on ceasefire modalities and prisoner exchanges, which are not close. Hungary’s bid to host now reads as brand management rather than mediation. Kremlin watchers note that postponements often calcify as agendas drift. A summit frozen in scheduling amber usually tells you what the communiqués would have said anyway.

🏙️ Chicago sees dramatic show of force as the White House escalates ICE raids. Tactical teams, buses, and mobile command posts fanned across multiple police districts, with civil-rights observers documenting arrests and detentions in real time. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said operations target fugitives and recent arrivals with final orders, while advocates describe wide nets that sweep up families. Legal-aid groups launched pop-up clinics near courthouses and transit hubs to file emergency motions and verify custody. City officials coordinated hotlines and shelter capacity, balancing municipal services with federal demands. Faith leaders opened sanctuaries, reviving a playbook from earlier crackdowns. The politics are loud, but the day-to-day looks like logistics, affidavits, and a lot of people waiting for names.

🩺 Missouri abortion providers say state AG is seeking patient records. Clinics argue the requests risk violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and chilling access to lawful care. The attorney general’s office frames the demand as oversight tied to statutory compliance and alleged trafficking of minors. Health systems warn that bulk disclosures can expose survivors of violence and minors to retaliation. Judges may impose special masters or redaction protocols to balance subpoenas with privacy. Medical associations urged narrow, patient-consented requests rather than dragnet data pulls. The fight will write new footnotes in a post-Dobbs landscape where privacy is the battleground and the precedent.

🧬 States entertain anti-science bills that peel back public health protections. Proposals range from limiting vaccination requirements to scrapping fluoride programs and curbing local health orders in outbreaks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warns that prevention cuts compound later costs when disease rebounds. Public-health directors say rulemaking has become an endurance sport of hearings, litigation, and emergency waivers. Insurers quietly price the risk of higher hospitalization rates when mandates weaken. Civil-liberties groups split, defending speech while urging evidence-based standards for communal risk. The through line is simple: epidemics love vacuums, especially the legal kind.

📈 Wall Street inches to cusp of new records as earnings land better than feared. The S&P 500’s drift higher rides resilient margins in tech megacaps like Apple ($AAPL) and Microsoft ($MSFT) alongside a thaw in rate-cut odds. Bond yields eased at the long end, lowering equity risk premiums just enough to matter at the margin. Consumer spending looks uneven yet durable, with travel and dining still outpacing goods. Traders say breadth needs to improve for gains to stick through year-end. A shutdown overhang and tariff chatter could widen ranges without changing the bullish-leaning trend.

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That’s all for today!

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See you tomorrow!