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Lula joins UN climate talks as Turkey–Australia land COP31; Social Security drops benefit-cut plan; report says Trump okayed covert CIA op in Venezuela

Brazilian President Lula joins UN climate negotiations

Brazilian President Lula joins UN climate negotiations by sweeping into Belém to rally COP30 delegates toward consensus—though as the summit enters its final days, the big stuff remains gloriously unresolved. Efforts to strengthen national climate plans are stuck in the usual climate catch-22: developing countries want more finance to do more, while wealthy nations want stronger plans before loosening the purse strings. Over 80 countries now back a detailed roadmap to transition the global economy away from fossil fuels, but China and Gulf oil producers are applying the brakes. Delegates have also veered into a fight over gender identity, with the Vatican, Iran, and others pushing to narrow the draft Gender Action Plan intended to address the disproportionate impacts on women and girls. And the only clear agreement so far? Logistics: Turkey hosts next year with Australia mediating, and likely Ethiopia in 2027—progress, if you define it as securing the conference rooms before deciding what to do inside them.

Turkey to Host COP31 in Partnership with Australia

Turkey to Host COP31 in Partnership with Australia, a diplomatic marriage of convenience that gives Ankara the venue and Canberra the gavel. After months of awkward silence, the UN can finally unclench: next year’s climate summit will land in Turkey, while an Australian—breaking with tradition—will preside over the 2026 talks. It’s a relief for a system that was starting to look like it couldn’t book a conference room, never mind save the planet. Now comes the sprint: Turkey has about a year to prep for thousands of delegates and somehow herd them toward consensus without setting off a fire alarm. Meanwhile, COP32 is slated for Ethiopia, the first sub-Saharan African host since 2011, with cautious optimism that it will put Africa’s climate realities squarely in the spotlight—imagine that, attention where it’s actually needed.

Report: Social Security scraps plan that could have reduced benefits

Report: Social Security scraps plan that could have reduced benefits, backing away from a Trump-era-flavored push to “tighten the safety net” by, you know, removing key strands. According to the Washington Post, senior officials told advocates the agency will not proceed with a rule that would have eliminated—or sharply reduced—age as a factor in disability decisions, a change that could have hit hundreds of thousands of older Americans. Currently, applicants over 50 get credit for being less able to pivot into new work; the draft floated removing age entirely or bumping the threshold to 60. After public outcry since October, advocates say Commissioner Frank Bisignano personally pulled the plug. Also on pause: a $350 million overhaul of the agency’s job-matching database, amid fears it could ironically make more younger claimants with cognitive and mental impairments eligible. Advocacy groups, including AARP, applauded the retreat—while noting it clashed rather awkwardly with repeated promises not to cut Social Security.

Trump reportedly approved a covert CIA operation in Venezuela

Trump reportedly approved a covert CIA operation in Venezuela, a move the White House frames as a counternarcotics push while experts say the real target is ousting Nicolás Maduro. Maduro allegedly offered to step down in two to three years—a proposal the White House rejected. Washington’s muscle-flexing, including deploying the world’s biggest aircraft carrier, has even juiced defaulted Venezuelan bonds as investors scent a windfall; opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate María Corina Machado pegs a transition’s economic payoff at up to $2 trillion. Nothing like a rally in distressed debt to remind us that regime change is always more palatable when it comes with a price target.

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