Reuters World News - Kennedy Center, Trump's mail-in voting loss, Bernie and Bannon on AI (Updated)
Episode Date: September 15, 2026Trump criticizes the Supreme Court after it hands him a loss on mail-in voting. The Kennedy Center's board votes to shut down the iconic arts venue. Bernie Sanders and Steve Bannon speak out against t...he dangers of AI, as researchers sound the alarm over AI that can improve itself. The Fed looks set to raise rates, putting new chair Kevin Warsh on a collision course with Trump. Houthi forces push further into Yemen as Saudi Arabia asks for help Washington won't give. Podcasts, breaking news, and video analysis from the source. Download the Reuters app here. Watch the latest On Assignment: Under siege in the West Bank Listen to the Morning Bid podcast here. Sign up for the Reuters Econ World newsletter here. Listen to the Reuters Econ World podcast here. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt out of targeted advertising. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Hi, I'm Kim Vinal in Wanganui, New Zealand.
And I'm Christopher Walgessper in Chicago.
It's Tuesday, September 15th.
Today, Trump lashes out at the Supreme Court after it blocks his mail-in ballot plans.
AI fears are growing over machines which can improve themselves.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besson faces Congress on bond markets and Trump's economic policy.
and the board of the Kennedy Center votes to shut down.
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The board of the Kennedy Center has voted to shut down the iconic performing arts venue for repairs.
The board, which is made up of Trump appointees with President Trump himself as chairman,
says the Center faces a financial crisis and may miss payroll obligations within weeks.
Critics say the Center's troubles began after Trump took control last year
as artists canceled performances in protest and revenue collapsed.
The vote came shortly after a federal judge blocked the Center from adding President Trump's
name to the building for a second time.
President Donald Trump is.
is lashing out at the Supreme Court after it determined his mail-in voting rules could not
be implemented before November's mid-term elections.
The ruling means the U.S. Postal Service must continue to handle ballots as usual, while the
challenges to Trump's plan to tighten voting by mail rules play out in court.
Trump's accusing the justices, including the three he appointed, of being influenced by Democrats
in making rulings against his policies. That includes tariffs and his attempt to restrict
birthright citizenship. The political stakes are high, with Republicans battling to keep control
of Congress and surveys showing Democratic voters are more likely to cast their ballots by mail.
Critics say the rule could have disrupted the delivery of legitimate ballots,
while the administration argues it's needed to prevent voter fraud.
A new Reuters-Ipsos poll shows Democrats opening their widest lead over Republicans in the midterms
since President Trump returned to office.
When asked which party they would vote for, if elections were held today,
44% of respondents picked Democrats, 37% picked Republicans.
Trump's approval rating ticked up two points from his record low of 33%.
but Americans are souring on his agenda, and 63% disapprove of his proposed $5,000 payout to every American,
should Republicans keep control of Congress.
Senator Mitch McConnell is back on Capitol Hill, returning to work in a wheelchair.
He was absent for three months, following a fall at his Washington home that left him briefly unconscious.
He was later hospitalized with pneumonia.
the U.S. bond market, it continues during past month, since President Trump has come in,
it has been the best performing bond market in the developed world.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also on Capitol Hill this morning before the House Financial Services Committee.
He fielded questions about AI, bond markets, the economic war against Iran,
and the impact of Trump's policies on the U.S. economy.
About a week and a half ago, you spent some $10 billion plus or minus to try to lower the yield on the 10-year bond.
This price is American mortgages.
When you started, the 10-year bond was at 4.8%.
Today, it's at a 20-year high of 5.04%.
20 basis point rise.
Was your intervention successful?
And will there be more?
Yes, it was, sir.
Wait, wait.
The 10-year went up by 20 basis points.
How can you say it was successful?
Democrat Jim Himes, questioning Bessent on the Treasury Department's bond buyback strategy.
Besson's comments did little to call markets that have been shaken by Middle East oil disruptions,
climbing bond yields, and concerns over AI.
And speaking of AI, here's a team that you may not have expected.
is that AI has the potential to eliminate tens of millions of jobs.
We need time.
And this is not legislation.
This is going to have to be executive action.
Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders today joining longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon at a rally in Washington, D.C.,
to call for restrictions on AI.
The fact that the issue has brought together two people typically on opposite sides
of the political spectrum says a lot about how widespread concerns are over the risks posed
by artificial intelligence. Beyond warnings by experts that the technology could end humanity,
recent surveys have found a majority of Americans worry that technology could be used to eliminate
jobs and raise costs for families. And those concerns are growing. Some leading AI researchers
say recent breakthroughs have made the risks harder to ignore.
Reuters Technology correspondent Aditya Soney
has more on two of the big changes driving those concerns.
One is recursive self-intelligence,
or the moment at which AI is good enough
to improve on its own without needing humans.
We've had the idea of RSI in science fiction for years and decades,
but a lot of tech executives, experts, and research,
which is now believed that we have that insight.
Timelines range from three to five years,
but we've already seen evidence that AI is now powering its own development.
Anthropics says that a significant chunk of the code
that its engineers are shipping is now written by AI.
AI is also being used to help design studies that actually test its abilities.
The other reason is the big hacks that we've seen by AI agents lately.
These agents that broke out of their testing environment,
in search of solving their goals, have shown what can happen if AI is misaligned with human goals.
Efforts to expand the energy needed to power AI, meanwhile, are ramping up.
The Trump administration has announced its repealing Biden-era limits on carbon emissions from coal and gas power plants
and is blocking future climate regulations on those facilities.
The EPA says the move will help build new generating infrastructure
to meet soaring electricity demand, especially for AI.
Environmental groups are slamming the proposal,
saying it will cause serious damage to public health
at a time when the power sector accounts for nearly a quarter of US greenhouse gas pollution.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates
tomorrow, after inflation came in hotter than expected in August, and oil climbed above $100 a
barrel. For Fed Chair Kevin Walsh, the decision is particularly significant. Raising rates would put him
at odds with President Trump's repeated calls for lower borrowing costs. But failing to act could
raise questions about the Fed's commitment to keeping inflation under control. Royce's Fed correspondent
Howard Schneider has more. Now, this is not what was expected when Kevin Walsh.
George took over his Fed chair. President Trump has said he's clear. He's said many times,
Kevin wants to lower rates. I think we should have a lower rates. Well, here we are hiking rates.
And it's because inflation has been sticky. And it's also because globally, rates are rising
and at the long end of the curve. And for reasons that kind of make a short-term hike
important for him to follow at this point because if he were to go against that market
expectation, people would start to wonder, is he really serious about inflation?
A lot of thinking that would backfire and rates at the long end would go up even faster and
higher.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis have launched a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia and are digging
into positions on the west coast of Yemen.
And in Riyadh, there are urgent talks on how to deal with their lightning advance.
People forced from their homes by the Houthi advance along the coast gather food in their makeshift camps.
Among them, Aisha Mohammed.
She left her five children behind, and now they are unable to leave.
Saudi and Yemeni Air Forces have responded by stepping up aerial attacks on Houthi target.
Despite the Houthi moves strengthening Tehran's hand, sources have told Reuters that Washington
has resisted Saudi requests for direct military help.
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