October 4, 2026: Brazil Election Headed For Runoff, Pentagon Redeploys Bombers, More

0:02 News when you want it with Bloomberg News Now. I'm Doug Krisner. We begin in Brazil where Senator Flavio Bolsonaro and President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva will now face off on October 25th. Neither candidate reached the 50 percent or more of the total vote necessary for a first round win. Bolsonaro touted his proximity to the White House and he's promised to crack down on Brazilian gang groups, and he's insisted that Brazil needs to strike better deals with the Trump administration. The Pentagon has removed bombers based at a Royal Air Force base in the UK. RAF Fairford was at the center of a suspected attempted terrorist attack last week. Now, American warplanes had used Fairford in the military campaign against Iran. The New York Times reports

0:50 the withdrawal had been carried out with unusual swiftness and urgency, after new threats of a plot linked to Iran had emerged. A Defense Department official said all American bombers had now returned to their home bases in the U.S. The internationally recognized government of Yemen has launched a full-scale military attempt to recapture all areas under Houthi control. For weeks, there have been escalating attacks between this Iran-backed group and Saudi Arabia.

1:19 And today, Yemen's president announced all branches of its army We're told to begin operations and fight until the country is liberated. President Trump's chief economic advisor is calling on former Fed Chair Jay Powell to leave the Board of Governors. These remarks come after an internal report released last week cited management failures in the renovation of the Fed's headquarters.

1:41 Here he is, Kevin Hassett, head of the National Economic Council, speaking to Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures.

1:48 I think that it's time for him to move on and to respect the independence of Fed and this sort of partisan divide that's very visible at the Fed. And let's move on to the way the Fed used to be in the past.

1:58 That is Kevin Hassett, NEC director, speaking earlier to Fox News. Now, the Fed's internal watchdog found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing connected to the renovation project, although it did cite management deficiencies that almost doubled the project's original cost. OPEC Plus has agreed to keep oil production quotas unchanged in November.

2:20 This decision comes as security risks in the Middle East remain elevated, even though regional crude exports are back around pre-war levels. Last week, diesel fuel prices hit records, prompting the G7 nations to release emergency reserves. The first batch of 100 million barrels of crude oil and diesel is set to be released in the coming week. Bloomberg's Anthony DiPaola says the move is likely to have a temporary impact.

2:46 This is a market, so we do see prices go down when we have announcements of new releases. And then as soon as we get those releases, the traders and the investors will start looking at what else is in the stockpiles and how much is there that can be released in case of an emergency. So once we start getting people nervous about the risk of an emergency, and they look at stockpiles that have been depleted, then that starts to edge the prices back up.

3:11 That is Anthony DiPaola on Bloomberg This Weekend. Meantime, Energy Secretary Chris Wright was more optimistic about price relief. Here is Wright on CBS Face the Nation.

3:22 This is just common sense. This lowers diesel prices, not just in the United States, but it lowers them in Europe and around the world. But it will drive diesel prices down as those releases come. It'll drive diesel down through the winter in the United States and around the world. And by then, we'll be in another place. We'll have more refining capacity online. I suspect we'll continue to see diesel decline as we go into next spring as well.

3:44 That is U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaking to CBS Face the Nation. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson says people are being too cautious when it comes to artificial intelligence. Bloomberg's Dan Schwartzman has more.

3:58 U.S.

3:58 Treasury Secretary Scott Besson criticized those who have been warning about existential risks posed by artificial intelligence technology as alarmist and unhelpful, calling on the industry to police itself and produce solutions. Besson spoke to Axios.

4:11 I believe that we have to be prepared for every occasion. But on the other side, I think that kind of this alarmism without solutions by some of the AI community, that's not leadership.

4:28 Treasury Secretary Besson speaking to Axios, courtesy of YouTube. Besson went on to say the U.S. needed to maintain AI leadership over China. Dan Schwartzman, Bloomberg Radio.

4:37 Meantime, a new White House task force is set to report soon on the risk posed by artificial intelligence or superintelligence. And what responsibility the government should have over the technology? Bloomberg Opinion columnist Gwata Mukunda weighs in.

4:53 I don't care what we call it. I care a lot about the fact that these companies are doing things where they don't seem to have control over their own instruments. And we have not chosen to make any meaningful reforms to try and stop that from happening. That seems like the issue that the president should be spending his time on.

5:11 Meantime, President Trump officially named Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and FTC Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson to lead this effort. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said a Cornell University student was denied justice in an alleged rape at a fraternity house on campus. Hochul said she was deeply disturbed by Cornell University's police and how they handled this. Meantime, University President Michael Kotlikoff is promising to improve campus safety. He says his heart aches for the accuser in this gang rape case.

5:44 What happened to Jane Doe in 2024 is deeply disturbing and will weigh heavily on our community for years to come.

5:53 A spokesperson for Cornell said the university supports the appointment of a special prosecutor, as well as efforts to change New York state rape laws. Russia is vowing to intensify its attacks on Ukraine's military industrial facilities That's after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky doubled down on strikes against Russian oil refineries.

6:13 The Kremlin has also warned diplomats to avoid Kiev after a surprise visit from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz today. Merz brought Ukraine another weapons package worth some $ 1. 5 billion. A bill aimed at overhauling federal standards for college sports is now facing an uncertain future once lawmakers return from the midterms.

6:36 More from Bloomberg's Nathan Hager.

6:37 This week, the Senate approved the Protect College Sports Act in a bipartisan vote. It would set up federal guidelines for name, image, and likeness deals with college athletes, cap agent fees, and create uniform eligibility and transfer rules. But senators who voted against the bill cited concerns about how much it will allow schools to spend, as well as an antitrust exemption for the NCAA. One of the bill's co-sponsors says it's not clear if the House will push for more changes to the legislation when it comes back after Election Day. Nathan Hager, Bloomberg Radio.

7:07 In sports, the Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 4-3 in Game 2 of the NLDS. The Brewers now have a two games to none lead in the series. Game 3 is scheduled for Tuesday night in San Diego. Meantime, the Atlanta Braves beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 to even their NLDS series at a game apiece. That series now goes to Atlanta for Game 3 Tuesday evening. And that is news when you want it. With Bloomberg News Now, I'm Doug Kriziner and this is Bloomberg.