October 16, 2026: Trump Waives Russia Energy Tariffs, Anthropic Pitches AI Safety Bill, More

0:01 News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Ed Kalecki. President Trump has waived massive tariffs linked to Russian energy exports mandated in a law that he signed last month as the measures complicated his push to lower diesel prices ahead of the midterms. Trump invoked a waiver clause under the law, which was championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham as a way to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The law also codified and expanded sanctions targeting Moscow. The directive does formally impose the tariffs while suspending their implementation, meaning that Trump could apply them at another time if he so chooses. Anthropic has presented its own draft bill to U.S. lawmakers with a plan

0:43 for regulating artificial intelligence safety and security. It happens in a moment of heightened concern about the potential risks of the rapidly advancing technology. The proposal suggests the government could block the release of an AI model If it's determined to imminently risk killing or injuring more than 50 people, or causing more than a billion dollars in damages. This according to Politico, which first reported on the bill. The threat must be a result of the model creating or releasing a biological weapon, the AI going beyond human control, or a cyber attack. Another burst of selling and technology companies rattled Wall Street Friday, driving stocks to their worst week since June. as investors questioned the outlook for the

1:25 artificial intelligence trade. Chipmakers fell for an eighth straight day, the longest slide since 2008. Worries over whether the AI infrastructure build-out has outrun the ability of firms to get a return on their investments have jolted the sector. CoreWeave, a cloud computing services provider whose bonds recently hit levels that typically signal distress, sank 12%. The Nasdaq 100 fell over 2%. Brent oil hit $ 110 a barrel for the first time since May as prospects for imminent supply relief dwindled, prompting traders to ramp up bets on higher prices ahead of the weekend. The global benchmark rose 3.7 percent, notching a second straight weekly gain as bullish sentiment crystallized in the course of a session punctuated by reports of ongoing

2:12 conflict in major export centers. NVIDIA Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang took an optimistic view toward the latest AI stock market route, saying the benefits of the technology will soon outweigh the concerns of investors. Wang spoke with Bloomberg's Emily Chang during an event in Berlin.

2:30 With respect to some of the news, it's choppy news. News, as you know, happens all the time, but it won't change the fundamentals. Stay focused on first principles. Stay focused on the fundamentals.

2:45 NVIDIA Chief Executive Officer Jensen Wang. The Trump administration is escalating its fight with California ahead of next month's midterms, warning that local officials who process and tabulate ballots submitted by suspected non-citizen voters are putting themselves at risk of criminal investigation and potential prosecution. The letter Friday from a senior Justice Department official and obtained first by the Associated Press is the latest salvo in an ongoing tussle with heavily Democratic California coming just a day after the Trump administration sued the state to prevent it From counting mail ballots from people, the federal government has identified as likely non-citizens until their immigration status can be confirmed. Katie Zakaria

3:27 will no longer serve as President Trump's press secretary after spending less than a week on the job, thrusting the White House's communications operation back into a state of chaos. A White House official said Zakaria is transitioning out of the job. It's unclear if she would take another position in the White House or in Trump's orbit. Earlier in the day, the president said that he told Zakaria she should reconsider the position.

3:51 I said to her, honestly, if I were you, I'd reconsider.

3:55 You think about it, but I would reconsider. You've got a beautiful husband and family. I met the family yesterday.

4:00 Beautiful kids. It's like from a picture postcard.

4:04 And I said, you should reconsider because you don't want to go through this. Zakaria's tenure was rocky from the start. Her first and only press briefing was widely panned as she spoke slowly and haltingly from prepared remarks and took questions. from only three reporters. On Friday night, she took to social media and posted that President Trump is kind, wonderful, gracious, thoughtful, and enthusiastic, and said it was an honor to work for him. Game four of the American League Championship Series in Cleveland was rained out Friday night. It was rescheduled for Saturday at 8 p.m., with the Guardians leading the Tampa Bay Rays two games to one. The Friday numbers on Wall Street, the Dow lost 175, NASDAQ dropped 572,

4:47 That's over 2% and its worst week since June. The S & P 500 fell 84. The 10-year Treasury yield at 5.08%. The two-year, 4.71%. Oil, West Texas Intermediate at 101.55. Brent Crude, 109.93. That's news when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Ed Kalecki. This is Bloomberg.