| Pro-life agenda | Republicans are on the cusp of fulfilling a decades-long campaign to install a Supreme Court majority that might overturn abortion rights. But as Steven T. Dennis and Greg Stohr report, their battle cry also risks motivating the wide swath of voters who back abortion rights in a year where the party is struggling to keep its Senate majority. Campaign 2020 There are 26 days until the election. Here's the latest on the race for control of the White House and Congress. Facebook is tightening its rules on election-related content, instituting a temporary ban on political ads when voting ends, as it braces for a contentious night that may not provide a definitive winner. Other developments Sign up to receive daily election updates as a direct mobile notification on Twitter. Simply click on this link and like the tweet. Dangerous game | China's Communist Party has threatened to invade Taiwan for more than seven decades without following through. But as Samson Ellis explains, while Beijing and Taipei have many reasons to avoid a war that could kill tens of thousands, devastate their economies and potentially draw in America, several forces could yet push them toward action in the next few years.  Targeting Tehran | The Trump administration plans to impose sanctions as soon as today on Iran's financial sector to further choke off its economy from the outside world, sources say. The move could make Iran more dependent on informal or illicit trade after earlier rounds of U.S. sanctions crushed its economy. Fraying alliances | A $7.6 billion fine imposed by Poland over a Baltic Sea pipeline has exposed the cost of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's support for the Russian-backed project. The gas link is a key flashpoint between the West and Moscow and raises the prospect of the European Union's biggest state siding with the Kremlin in a dispute with a fellow member, Patrick Donahue and Marek Strzelecki report. All clean | President Jair Bolsonaro said he's ended Brazil's long-running Carwash probe, which has sent hundreds of political and business power brokers to jail, because "there is no more corruption in the government." While the operation is ongoing — police commenced the bribery probe's 76th phase yesterday — Bolsonaro's administration has been dismantling the structure behind Carwash for months, with many of its members resigning or moving to other positions. Tell us how we're doing or what we're missing at balancepower@bloomberg.net. What to Watch - While the U.K.'s trade talks with the EU look like they're heading off a cliff, officials are more upbeat in private, suggesting a choreography is being worked out for negotiations to continue past U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Oct. 15 deadline.
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With virus infections surging in Europe, there's growing alarm at governments' ability to control the pandemic as national politicians lean on local authorities to take the lead in limiting late-night activity in towns and cities. -
Azerbaijan's foreign minister meets French, Russian and U.S. mediators in Geneva today, while his Armenian counterpart will hold talks in Moscow on Monday, amid mounting pressure for a halt to fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh. -
Global extreme poverty is expected to increase this year for the first time since the Asian financial crisis more than two decades ago as the pandemic builds on the impact of conflict and climate change, the World Bank said. And finally ... Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's ability to relate to others has served her well as she led New Zealand through some of its darkest moments, including a mass murder by a white supremacist and the pandemic, which the nation has largely kept at bay. While she's failed to deliver on promises such as tackling child poverty, she's won support for her empathetic style and capable crisis management. Now she's on the brink of steering her left-leaning Labour Party to a hefty election victory on Oct. 17.  Ardern bumps elbows with a supporter. Photographer: Sara Orme for Bloomberg Businessweek | 
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