Trump Mail-In Request Rejected; Obama Weighs In on AI

SPEAKER_1 (0:02)

Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

Nathan Hager (0:09)

Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager.

Karen Moskow (0:11)

And I'm Karen Moskow. Here are the stories we're following today.

Nathan Hager (0:15)

Karen, we'll have the latest on the artificial intelligence controversy around the world, as well as new developments in the war in the Middle East. But we begin this morning with a legal setback for President Donald Trump.

The Supreme Court has rejected the president's bid to restrict mail ballots ahead of the midterm elections. The decision allows states to continue sending ballots under existing processes used by nearly one-third of voters. We get more from Bloomberg Supreme Court reporter Greg Storr.

Greg Storr (0:41)

If you recall, about three weeks ago, the Supreme Court issued a preliminary order that basically said an earlier lawsuit challenging these rules had been filed too soon.

And that set us off on this three weeks of uncertainty about whether states were going to have to make major changes to their mail ballot procedures in order to have those votes counted. And the Supreme Court today said, no, they don't have to make those changes.

Nathan Hager (1:05)

This Bloomberg Supreme Court reporter Greg Storr says the justice's decision comes after North Carolina and Alabama have already begun mailing thousands of ballots to voters. And many more states are prepared to do the same in the coming days.

Karen Moskow (1:19)

Now to the latest from the Middle East, Nathan. Saudi Arabia is looking to boost oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz. After recent attacks, force it to shut down its key east-west pipeline. We get more from Bloomberg Middle East editor Patrick Sykes.

Patrick Sykes (1:33)

This is Saudi Arabia's main plan B as and when the Strait of Hormuz gets shut. And since the war started and that that vital waterway has been disrupted, it's been the main sort of outlet along with a similar pipeline running to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.

Karen Moskow (1:53)

And Bloomberg's Patrick Sykes reports the pipeline will be out of service for several weeks according to the Associated Press. Though Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Bloomberg he expects it to be up and running very soon. Meantime, the Pentagon's internal watchdog is acknowledging the war has strained the military's weapons supplies. An inspector general's report says the US fired so many munitions in the first month that it's led to strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial resupply bottlenecks.

Nathan Hager (2:20)

Now Karen, to the issue that has caught the markets and Washington's attention, reigning in artificial intelligence. President Trump spent much of yesterday blasting Anthropic and OpenAI for calling for a slowdown to their cutting-edge systems. The president even made a call about it to Nvidia CEO Jensen Wong while he was on stage at a tech conference in Los Angeles.

Donald Trump (2:40)

They're just playing right into the hands of a lot of people that don't want to see it happen and that could be political people, it could also be China.

And we're not going to let that happen. It's a hoax.

Nathan Hager (2:52)

And Bloomberg's Anthony Stevens reports the president's hands-off approach could put him at odds with voters.

Anthony Stevens (2:58)

You have the Trump administration by and large sticking to their guns saying that this is a problem that can be solved in the words of Kevin Hassett, but you do have the US speaker asking for a consultative approach because there is this worry that this concern is reflected in the wider population. Bear in mind, we had those surveys showing that Americans are more worried about AI, for example, than their Chinese counterparts.

Nathan Hager (3:22)

And Bloomberg's Anthony Stevens reports lawmakers are floating a range of proposals to address AI safety concerns, but Congress is unlikely to act soon. The House is leaving Washington on Thursday and won't return until after the midterm elections.

Karen Moskow (3:35)

Well, Nathan, President Trump's hands-off approach to AI is also getting pushback from former President Barack Obama. The former president released a statement saying the technology could unleash potential catastrophe if not properly managed, and AI policy should be at the center of our public debate. Obama's statement did not mention President Trump by name, but he did say that voluntary standards made by a handful of companies won't be enough.

Nathan Hager (4:00)

Certain markets now, Karen, yields on 10-year Treasury bonds are trading near 20-year highs ahead of tomorrow's rate decision from the Federal Reserve. Right now, the yield on the benchmark is at 5.02%.

The Fed is widely expected to raise short-term borrowing costs for the first time since July 2023 Lori Calvicina is head of US Equity Strategy at RBC Capital Markets.