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

0:00As a listener, you're looking for ways to help teams move faster, make sharper decisions, and turn scattered context into work they can use. ChatGPT for Business can help. ChatGPT for Business gives teams a shared workspace with admin controls, permissions, and access to work and codecs in ChatGPT. This means your business can move from question to answer and code to rollout quicker. Join over 10 million business and enterprise users worldwide already using ChatGPT for Work. Download the ChatGPT desktop app or contact sales to learn more. As industries evolve faster than ever, companies need an environment that accelerates strategic growth, and Michigan delivers on that promise.

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1:17Asana is the operating system for human agent teams. Ready-to-go AI teammates pre-built for marketing, ops, and IT. No prompt engineering. No setup. They show up where the work is happening. Already onboarded in your workflows. Ready to deliver. Asana, where humans and agents workflow together. Try it at asana.com. That's A-S-A-N-A dot com. Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts. Radio. News. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. And I'm Karen Moscow. Here are the stories we're following today. 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.

2:00but 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. 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.

2:40And the Supreme Court today said, no, they don't have to make those changes. This Bloomberg Supreme Court reporter Greg Storr says the justices' 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. 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 forced it to shut down its key east-west pipeline. We get more from Bloomberg Middle East editor Patrick Sykes. This is Saudi Arabia's main plan B as and when the Strait of Hormuz gets shut.

3:18And since the war started and that Vical Waterway has been disrupted, disrupted. It's been the main sort of outlet, along with a similar pipeline running to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. 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 U.S. fired so many munitions in the first months that it's led to strategic inventory shortfalls and revealed industrial resupply bottlenecks.

3:58Now, 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 Wang while he was on stage at a tech conference in Los Angeles. 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. Bloomberg's Anthony Stevens reports the president's hands-off approach could put him at odds with voters.

4:36You 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 U.S. 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. 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.

5:13Well, 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. Let's turn to 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.

5:47Right 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 Calvacina is head of U.S. equity strategy at RBC Capital Markets. A couple of hikes over the next 12 months shouldn't derail the market, but if you get too much more than that, and specifically if the 10-year really breaks out sustainably above 5%, those are some risks to consider that would be more onerous longer term. RBC Capital Markets' Lori Calvacina has a 12-month price target of$81.50 for the S &P 500. That's about 6 % above current levels.

6:25Shares of Bank of America led bank stocks lower Yesterday, Nathan, it fell more than 5%. The drop came after CEO Brian Moynihan said trading revenue will be relatively flat compared with last year's third quarter. And Moynihan spoke to Bloomberg. Last year's third quarter was a recovery quarter from Liberation Day quarter and the tariffs coming in. I know it's hard to remember that far away, but all of us are running around saying, oh, my gosh, the economy is going to stop cold. Third quarter, oh, it got understandable, easier. Everything kicked back in. So now you're comparing that quarter with this year's third quarter.

6:59This year, then the AI trade came in, and you guys report about Korea and the leverage and all that stuff. And a lot of it's come out of the system because people brought the risk down. Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan speaking to Bloomberg's Danny Berger. And Moynihan went on to say that he feels very good about the company's guidance for net interest income. Let's get to the latest now, Karen, on the trade dispute between the U.S. and Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says the collapse in trade talks helped to clarify Ottawa's negotiating red lines. Speaking to Bloomberg, Carney said he's ready to get back to the table for the right deal.

7:32There's not a pride thing from our perspective. We're practical people that know what our bottom lines are, what our red lines are for sovereignty, for culture, not being restricted on our ability to sign other trade deals. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney spoke to Bloomberg ahead of the country's first national investment summit. in Toronto. Well, Nathan, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to appear before the House Financial Services Committee for annual testimony on the international financial system. Bloomberg's Amy Morris reports from Washington. Secretary Bessent has been actively defending his expanded debt buyback program after it failed to stop last week's bond market sell-off.

8:12That, plus the 10-year Treasury yield hovering near 5 percent in his recent remarks daring traders to bet against the yen could make for a contentious hearing. This will be Besant's first major return before that committee since his appearance in February when he clashed with House Democrats over the administration's economic policies and inflation. In Washington, Amy Morris, Bloomberg Radio. Amy, thanks. Now to a Bloomberg tradition. Bloomberg Business Week is out with its annual list of the best business schools for the 2026-27 school year. And for the eighth year in a row, Stanford's Graduate School of Business comes out on top among the 65 MBA programs in our survey.

8:51Stanford ranks number one in entrepreneurship, one of the four indexes in the Business Week survey, along with compensation, networking, and learning. Rounding out the top five this year, the Wharton School at Penn, Harvard Business School, Northwestern's Kellogg, and the Darden School at the University of Virginia. Find the full list at Bloomberg.com or on the Bloomberg Terminal. Time now for a look at some of the other stories making news in New York and around the world. For that, we're joined by Bloomberg's Michael Barr. Michael, good morning. Good morning, Karen. New York prosecutors say a dozen websites that used artificial intelligence to create and sell deep fake porn, most featuring images of celebrities have been seized.

9:33The hyper-realistic images and videos depicted 1 ,200 real people engaging in AI-generated sexual conduct. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called it horrific violations of privacy. The victims here were primarily women and primarily celebrities or other public-facing figures. Each of these websites was accessible right here in Manhattan. So far, no arrests. Mayor Zoran Mamdani said New York City and a coalition of cities filed a lawsuit challenging a new Trump administration rule that would let the federal government more easily deny green cards and visas to immigrants based on their use of public benefits.

10:16Immigrants are New Yorkers, and yet we know that all too often they are not treated as such. The federal government has waged a campaign of violence and terror. Unaccompanied children have been forced to navigate our judicial system alone. Ice has broken into our neighbors' homes, work sites, and schools, And it has targeted those who have come to our country in search of refuge and in search of opportunity. The lawsuit argues that the new rule goes against longstanding legal precedents that had limited the denial of a green card and visas to immigrants who are primarily dependent on government assistance to live.

10:54Apple's new comedy horror series Widow's Bay was the big winner at the Emmy Awards aired on NBC, taking home a total of 14 trophies, including Best Comedy. Showrunner Kitty Dippold accepted the award. This was such a great collaboration of the best, wonderful weirdos and artists. These writers, these producers, these amazing actors, these directors, hero, thank you again. God, the editors, I'm going to name everyone. The Pitt took home the award for Outstanding Drama Series. Global News, 24 hours a day and whenever you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Michael Barr and this is Bloomberg Karen.

11:31Thanks, Michael. Time now for our Bloomberg Sports Update. And for that, we bring in John Stashauer. Thanks, Karen. The first Monday night football game of the season saw two AFC West teams who have quarterbacks coming back from injuries. Bo Nix broke his ankle last January. Pat Mahomes tore his ACL last December. Mahomes looked good, and the Chiefs pulled away. They beat the Broncos 31-10. Minnesota starting quarterback Kyler Murray's in concussion protocol. Carson Wentz replaced him on Sunday through three touchdown passes, and the Vikings come from behind win. The Cleveland Browns say they're sticking with their quarterback, Deshaun Watson.

12:03and he struggled in a loss last Sunday. That's your Bloomberg Sports Update. Stay with us. More from Bloomberg Daybreak coming up after this. Some people treat ChatGPT like some kind of smart search engine and some use it to get work done. ChatGPT Work is a new way of working in ChatGPT that can take action across your apps and files, stay with a project for hours if needed, and turn a goal into finished work. It's designed to help you move from a chaotic starting point to a reviewable first version. So all the source materials, briefs, and scattered information that you have to grind through to turn into something useful can just become something useful.

12:45Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at chatgpt.com by selecting Work Mode, available on Plus and Pro plans. This is Alexis Christophorus for Bloomberg Surveillance. AI is everywhere. Outcomes are not. Not because AI doesn't work, but because AI hasn't reached the workflows yet. The campaigns, the launches, the quarterly planning. Those workflows are still run by humans alone. AI is making individuals faster, but it's not making businesses more productive. That's the gap Asana is built to close. Asana is the operating system for human agent teams, your easy button for AI productivity across every team.

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14:28Coast to coast on Bloomberg Radio. nationwide on Sirius XM and around the world on Bloomberg.com and the Bloomberg Business App. This is Bloomberg Daybreak. Good morning. I'm Nathan Hager. With seven weeks to go until the midterm election, President Trump's bid to use the Postal Service to limit voting by mail has taken another setback at the Supreme Court. The justices have refused to lift a Boston federal judge's order blocking new mail-in rules before the November vote. And for more, we're joined by Bloomberg's Rosalind Matheson. But Roz, can you walk us through exactly what the Supreme Court ruled here and what it will mean for this midterm vote?

15:06Now, just literally around the corner. Good morning. Good morning. Well, as you're saying, this really is down to the wire. North Carolina and Alabama are already mailing out ballots to voters. A bunch more states getting ready to do so in the coming days. So really a last minute effort to try and get states to have to implement these rules through the Postal Service around mail-in ballots and the Supreme Court ruling against that. Essentially, in the ruling from the court, you saw Justice Brett Kavanaugh, for example, saying that he does think there's a fair prospect that the Postal Service will prove it has the legal authority to adopt these rules.

15:47But he also felt it would be unlawfully capricious, he said, for them to rush to implement them into the midterms, because at this point, the state and local election officials have not got time to implement these rules. And they are quite major changes for the Postal Service, the Postal Service Union itself, saying that it felt that this would bring the Postal Service in the US to a grinding halt if it had to be implemented in time. So it's something the court seemingly taking a perspective not on the rules themselves and their merit, but simply that the Justice Department didn't make the case for urgency in getting them done in time for the midterms.

16:27So now we are seeing states continue to roll out the mail out of those ballots and the sense perhaps that this might have been the last attempt from the Trump administration to try and enforce those rules. The last attempt at this election, does this open the door to this issue potentially being revisited for future elections? Well, certainly it is, because Donald Trump, the US president, has repeatedly insisted, and this is without evidence, that US elections are rigged both against him and against the Republican Party. He's railed against some of the structures, and he's really pushed for these revised rules when it comes to mail-in voting.

17:08voting. He's also pressed lawmakers in some states to redraw congressional boundaries to benefit the GOP. He's been trying unsuccessfully for quite a while now to get Congress to pass a new voter ID law. Critics say that law will prevent eligible voters from casting ballots. And I should note that most studies show that there's very little sign of illegal voting that occurs in US elections. But that's not stopping Donald Trump. He certainly has strong views on it, which he's enunciated many a time. And he's ready to try and get this done for further elections. It just seems in this case that trying to rush it through and try and get it implemented, at least for the midterms, has proven a breach too far, and the court agrees on that.

17:55This is Bloomberg Daybreak, your morning podcast on the stories making news from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. Look for us on your podcast feed by 6 a.m. Eastern each morning on Apple, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen. You can also listen live each morning starting at 5 a.m. Wall Street time on Bloomberg 1130 in New York, Bloomberg 99.1 in Washington, Bloomberg 92.9 in Boston, and nationwide on Sirius XM Channel 121. Plus, listen coast-to-coast on the Bloomberg Business app now with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfaces. And don't forget to subscribe to Bloomberg News Now. It's the latest news whenever you want it, in five minutes or less.

18:35Search Bloomberg News Now on your favorite podcast platform to stay informed all day long. I'm Karen Moscow. And I'm Nathan Hager. Join us again tomorrow morning for all the news you need to start your day right here on Bloomberg Daybreak.

18:58From game day crowds to memorable meals, Genius by Global Payments keeps your kitchen and floor perfectly in sync. Real-time menus, seamless updates, big league reliability for any business. That's Genius. Before you sign off, you tuned in for ways to help teams move faster, make sharper decisions, and turn scattered context into work they can use. ChatGPT for Business can help. Chat GPT for Business gives teams a shared workspace with admin controls, permissions, and access to work and codecs in Chat GPT. This means your business can move from question to answer and code to rollout quicker. Join over 10 million business and enterprise users worldwide already using Chat GPT for Work.

19:43Download the Chat GPT desktop app or contact sales to learn more. This is Alexis Christophorus for Bloomberg Surveillance. Most companies have tried AI. Most aren't seeing results. Not because AI doesn't work. It's because AI hasn't reached the workflows yet. That's the gap Asana is built to close. Asana is the operating system for human agent teams. Ready-to-go AI teammates pre-built for marketing, ops, and IT. No prompt engineering. No setup. They show up where the work is happening, already onboarded in your workflows, ready to deliver. Asana, where humans and agents workflow together. Try it at asana.com.

20:18That's A-S-A-N-A dot com.