Alaska Senate dispute, Spain mourns, Bolsonaro's declaration (Updated)

Hi, I'm Kim Vannell, in Wanganui, New Zealand. And I'm Christopher Walgesper in Chicago. It's Thursday, October 29th, today. Republicans cry foul in Alaska over allegations Democrats recruited spoiler candidates. Spain is in mourning after its second major train crash this year. And unions way up the cost-verse benefit of AI, as they decide who to endorse in the midterms. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the frontlines in 10 minutes seven days a week. It's very unfair, it's very confusing, and meant to be, it's a fraud. U.S. President Donald Trump condemning Alaska Democrats over allegations that they recruited a spoiler candidate in the state's Senate race. The New York Times is reporting that aides to Democratic nominee Mary Peltola, a worked with campaign lawyers to get extra names on the ballot, including a retired teacher named Dan Sullivan, in order to pull votes from the Republican incumbent, who's also named Dan Sullivan. James Comer, the head of the House Oversight Committee, announced he's launching an investigation into the allegations, and Alaska's Republican governor is also calling for a probe. Peltola's former campaign manager says she knew about the effort, but wasn't directly involved. The party's Senate campaign arm denies any involvement. Last week, the Department of Justice preemptively filed a federal lawsuit to block certification of Alaska's election results if Sullivan narrowly loses his reelection bid. Oil prices dipped on Thursday on hopes of some easing of tensions between the U.S. and Iran. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Vice President J.D. Vance is seeking to revive peace negotiations by sending a letter to Iran's Security Council chief. Cotari mediators have also presented Iran with a new draft peace deal, though a senior Iranian official has dismissed it as unacceptable. But high oil prices haven't slowed down growth in the U.S. The Commerce Department is reporting the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in a year, in the third quarter, as consumers maintain robust spending and businesses double down on AI investment. However, inflation accelerated in September as consumers paid more for gasoline and other goods. Spain is reeling. After a high-speed train slammed into a stationary train south of Madrid, killing almost 70 people and injuring dozens. Rescue crews in order south of Madrid have been combing through the wreckage. Cranes lifted twisted debris and workers could be seen carrying a body wrapped in a blanket from one of the trains. With his reporter David Latona visited the crash site. Yes, there is crash, was the second deadly crash in Spain this year. There was one in January that had at least 45 people who died. Yesterday, we had 68 and it's also the deadliest in Europe since 2013. I arrived at this site about two hours after the accident and what we saw is a huge deployment of police, emergency workers. There were firefighters, funeral home man, I've never seen that scale of a response before. And we saw relatives later on who didn't know if their loved ones were on the trains or not or if they had survived. This comes exactly one month before general election in Spain. So this has obviously impacted the political campaign. The transport minister has faced calls to resign over his handling of this crisis but also in January. Yesterday during a press conference, he said that he wasn't thinking about that. He was focused on the victims and handling the emergency. Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro has declared himself the country's rightful leader. Starting on social media after arriving in Miami, Bolsonaro also accused reelected president Luis Anacio Lula de Silva and Brazil's Supreme Court of an electoral coup. Reporter Gabriel Arrajo in São Paulo says many, including Bolsonaro's own party, have already deemed the election legitimate. Most world leaders have already acknowledged the election and congratulated Lula. So in terms of the election, I believe that's over according to to to analysts in Brazil. But Bolsonaro is pledging to to seek an all man or have Lula's campaign dismissed. Bolsonaro is rejecting the result based on the fact a Supreme Court justice appointed by Lula, extended voting by two hours after the Lula campaign alleged voter suppression in left-leaning states. It's despite Bolsonaro's campaign also seeking an extension, in their case, due to rain in conservative states. Gabriel says the argument is unlikely to land. 35,000 votes were cast in the two hours of extra voting, ordered by the Supreme Court. And Lula won by more than four million votes difference. So analysts are very difficult for Bolsonaro to overturn the election results. Bolsonaro faces the threat of prosecution in Brazil, accused of being involved in money laundering. He denies wrongdoing. And while the Senator thanked the US for granting him and his family entry visas, he also denies fleeing Brazil, saying he left to avoid being the victim of a witch hunt. The US State Department, Lula's office and Brazil's Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment. European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde has resigned, in cutting short a term that wasn't due to end until next October. She'll step down in February. As source says, she wants to weigh in on political matters in France, something she can't do as ECB chief. France is heading into a presidential election with polls indicating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen as the favorite. Turning now to Nevada, and what's become known as the AI economy. I'm like, oh, I'm not going to work for a data set. Somebody else will. A year ago, Chris Williams was struggling to get enough hours as a line cook in California. So the 20-year-old moved to Reno, where he's helping build the giant data centers powering the AI boom. I might not fully agree with being like data centers being built everywhere, but it is helping a lot of people. Williams is part of a surge of construction workers finding opportunity in Northern Nevada, where companies like Google and Switch are expanding massive data center campuses. But 400 miles south in Las Vegas, another AI story is playing out. Larry Goldfinger works as a valet on the strip. He's been in hospitality here for 30 years, and fears AI automation will make jobs like his redundant. Frank Dess is starting to use more. Just go to the, to check in on your phone, go to this thing, it'll give you your keys, go to your room. You don't need a person. But sometimes that person, you know, talks to you and you've mentioned it's your anniversary and they wish you happy for a anniversary and then next thing you know, there's a basket in your room because they remember that you'll lose that and that's that's definitely what makes Vegas Vegas. The debate playing out in Nevada reflects broad attentions across the country. How do unions and politicians embrace the jobs being created by the AI boom while protecting workers whose jobs could be impacted by it? It's become a major issue in the state ahead of the midterms and sent the Nevada teamsters a powerful network of local labor unions on a soul searching mission. After speaking with almost 200 candidates, they endorsed Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford for governor. He knows the line he has to tread. Look, union support is crucial. The fact that matter is we are a union town and getting unions at the table to discuss what they envision as opportunities for AI coexisting with them in their work is a paramount point. Imagine paying almost half a million dollars for your forever home, only to be told you have and told 2pm to pack up and leave. That's the situation facing hundreds of permanent residents of the Villa Vai Odyssey, a cruise ship that had offered passengers the chance to live full-time at sea. Now, the ship is stuck at a port in Cambodia after the ship's operator suspended operations and told everyone to get off, citing fuel costs linked to the Iran War. The company says before the war, monthly fuel expenses averaged around $1,800 per cabin. Now, though, there's jumped to between $6,000 and $8,000 in part. of Asia. The jump it says it could not pass on to residents. So if you are hoping to be a full-time resident of the sea, I'm sorry to say, that ship may have sailed. 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