Pete Hegseth, Jensen Huang, Ukraine Talks & College Football Playoff — Nov. 11, 2026

Transcript

This is Artificially Intelligent News for Wednesday, November eleventh. I’m Mark Ellison. This program is created with AI and independently fact-checked before broadcast.

On this Veterans Day, we begin with a brief note of gratitude to Americans who have served in uniform, and to the families who have carried that service alongside them.

In Washington, House Republicans turned aside an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The resolution had been brought by Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie and backed by Democrats. It focused on Hegseth’s conduct in office and his handling of the war in Iran.

The House action does not settle the broader political argument over the war or its costs. But it blocks the immediate effort to remove Hegseth from his post. President Trump had signaled strong support for the defense secretary before the vote. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Hegseth had been carrying out the president’s orders, including on Iran and strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in Latin American waters.

The vote arrives after a midterm election that left Republicans reassessing their position with voters. Some Republicans have connected the party’s losses to the Iran war and high gasoline prices. Supporters of Hegseth say the administration has acted to protect American interests. Critics argue Congress has not received sufficient accountability for the military campaign. The result Tuesday was a procedural and political reprieve for Hegseth, not an end to that debate.

The Republican Party also chose new leadership for the next Congress. Ohio Representative Jim Jordan defeated Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise in a secret-ballot vote to become House Republican leader. The final vote was 106 to 73.

Jordan will lead a much smaller Republican conference when Democrats take control of the House in January. He is a co-founder and former chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and currently chairs the Judiciary Committee. His victory signals that House Republicans are choosing a combative figure as they prepare to work from the minority.

Jordan said Republicans will fight for American families in committees, on the House floor, and on the campaign trail. The practical test will be whether he can keep a reduced conference unified while Democrats pursue oversight of the White House and administration officials. The election also ends another chapter in the long-running rivalry between Jordan and Scalise. Both unsuccessfully sought the speakership after Kevin McCarthy was removed in 2023.

Across the Capitol, Senate Republicans kept John Thune as their leader despite calls from some members to delay the election after the party’s losses. Thune replaced Mitch McConnell early last year and has spent much of his tenure navigating differences between Senate Republicans and President Trump.

The Senate result matters because at least two races in Alaska and Mississippi remain uncalled, and Republican losses have sharply changed the balance of power. Missouri Senator Josh Hawley argued that the party needed a new direction after losing at least seven Senate seats. Other Republicans said the leadership was not responsible for the losses and backed Thune’s collaborative approach.

Thune has supported much of the administration’s agenda while resisting pressure to eliminate the filibuster for legislation requiring proof of citizenship from all voters. With Republicans moving into the minority, he will have to manage both policy disagreements and the party’s relationship with a president who remains highly influential within its ranks.

Immigration enforcement remains another major domestic issue after the election. The Associated Press reports that arrests have continued around the country despite President Trump’s public comments suggesting possible adjustments at the margins of his immigration policy.

Advocates described arrests in California, Michigan, Massachusetts, Alabama, Florida, and elsewhere. In Los Angeles, immigration officers in body armor were seen near an emergency-room driveway at Adventist Health White Memorial Medical Center. The Department of Homeland Security said ICE does not target hospitals, schools, or churches. A federal prosecutor said officers were bringing a detainee for medical treatment, and the hospital said it was not involved in immigration enforcement.

The broader policy has not changed. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said deportations would continue. The administration has also elevated Stephen Miller, a central architect of its hard-line immigration agenda, to White House chief of staff. For immigrants, employers, local governments, and advocates, the immediate message is that enforcement activity is continuing while the political consequences of the midterm results are still being sorted out.

A separate story at the intersection of technology, national security, and corporate governance is drawing intense attention. Nvidia says it is investigating whether its chief executive, Jensen Huang, was the target of a foreign intelligence effort. President Trump has said the FBI is looking into Huang’s relationship with a woman described in reporting as an alleged Chinese government agent.

Those are allegations and an ongoing investigation, not findings of wrongdoing by Huang. Nvidia’s board has said it has no reason to believe national security or company secrets were compromised. Huang remains in charge while cooperating with the review. Beijing has called the espionage allegation unsubstantiated.

The stakes are unusually high because Nvidia is one of the world’s most valuable companies and its chips sit at the center of the artificial-intelligence boom. The company is valued at more than four trillion dollars. Its shares fell more than four percent on Monday and continued lower early Tuesday as investors weighed the uncertainty.

The episode is also testing the company’s dependence on its founder. Huang has led Nvidia for more than three decades and is closely identified with its strategy and public image. Law enforcement, lawmakers, shareholders, and Nvidia’s board are asking different questions: whether export-control rules were breached, whether sensitive information was exposed, and how the company would handle any leadership disruption. Those questions remain unresolved this morning.

In a more symbolic Washington dispute, nine members of the Kennedy family have asked a judge to block President Trump’s proposed memorial arch at Arlington National Cemetery. The relatives filed a motion to intervene in two existing lawsuits challenging the project.

Their filing says the planned 250-foot arch would cast a shadow over Kennedy gravesites and fundamentally change the experience of visiting them. The case is about more than a design disagreement. It raises questions about the limits of executive authority over a national military cemetery and the stewardship of a site that serves both as a burial ground and a public place of remembrance.

The court has not ruled on the Kennedy family’s request. For now, the proposed arch remains tied up in litigation, alongside other disputes over the administration’s plans for prominent Washington landmarks.

And President Trump has nominated Justice Department official Matt Zandi to an open seat on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission enforces federal laws against workplace discrimination, and the vacancy exists after the president fired a Democratic commissioner.

The nomination will require Senate confirmation. It comes as the administration pursues a broad rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that it says can unlawfully discriminate against white workers and others. Supporters of those efforts say employment practices should be strictly individual and race-neutral. Critics say the changes could weaken tools meant to address longstanding workplace barriers. The confirmation process will offer the next formal forum for that argument.

Overseas, violence and uncertainty continue across the Middle East. In Gaza, Israeli strikes and gunfire killed five people Tuesday, according to hospital authorities. Four people were killed in separate strikes in Gaza City, and a person was shot and killed in Khan Younis after crossing the area known as the Yellow Line.

Israel’s military said it struck militants in Gaza City and did not immediately comment on the shooting in Khan Younis. The deaths occurred despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect in October of last year. The gap between a ceasefire on paper and continuing violence on the ground remains one of the defining realities for civilians there.

The wider regional conflict is also affecting shipping and energy. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said three vessels hit naval mines and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz. Those claims have not been independently verified. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations separately reported that a tanker was hit by an unknown projectile northeast of Lima, Oman, and said the crew was safe. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said one of its vessels was attacked in United Arab Emirates territorial waters, without identifying who was responsible.

Meanwhile, American and Iranian officials traded sharply different claims about the effects of their war. Secretary Rubio said Iran is bleeding economically. Iran’s security leadership said the conflict has damaged the United States. Those statements reflect competing narratives, not independently verified measures of the war’s full impact. What is clear is that the conflict continues to carry risks for civilians, shipping, oil markets, and American forces in the region.

There is a cautious diplomatic development in the Russia-Ukraine war. Delegations from Russia, Ukraine, and the United States met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for nearly four hours. The two-day session is the first three-way meeting of this kind since February.

The White House said the talks are focused on future security guarantees. That is central to any possible settlement. Russia views NATO as a threat, while Ukraine wants credible protection against another Russian invasion. The war began with Moscow’s full-scale invasion nearly five years ago.

The first day ended without an announced agreement, and the talks are expected to resume Wednesday. Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff are involved in the American mediation effort. Kushner said there were some good ideas for bridging differences. That is a modest signal rather than a breakthrough. The significance is that officials from all three governments are again in the same process, with security guarantees and the future of the war still at the center of the discussion.

Now to the economy and markets. These are final closing figures from Tuesday, the most recent completed U.S. trading session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 157.86 points, or three-tenths of a percent, to close at 52,231.89. The S and P 500 lost 29.01 points, or four-tenths of a percent, closing at 7,520.93. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 187.26 points, or seven-tenths of a percent, to 25,065.87.

Stocks fell after a hotter-than-expected October inflation report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the Consumer Price Index rose four-tenths of one percent from September to October after a six-tenths increase the month before. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, also rose three-tenths of one percent. Both readings were one-tenth above economists’ forecasts.

The report does not include a year-over-year October comparison because the government shutdown last year meant no October 2025 data was collected. Still, the monthly figures matter. Shelter rose three-tenths of a percent and accounted for more than thirty percent of the all-items increase. Food rose five-tenths of a percent. Energy rose seven-tenths of a percent.

The market reaction centered on the Federal Reserve. Higher and broader price pressure can make it harder for the Fed to cut interest rates, and it can strengthen the case for another increase. Fed Governor Christopher Waller said a half-point hike next month was possible if the data warrant it. That would be twice the usual quarter-point move.

At the same time, not every indicator is weak. The economy grew at a 3.4 percent annual rate in the July-through-September quarter, and the unemployment rate stands at 4.1 percent. But inflation is still well above the Fed’s two percent objective, and households feel price changes most directly in rent, groceries, utility bills, and fuel. Gasoline prices rose one percent from September to October, although oil and retail gasoline have declined more recently. The next Fed decisions will depend on whether October’s figures prove temporary or signal more persistent inflation.

In sports, college football is preparing for an even larger postseason. The College Football Playoff announced that the field will expand from 12 teams to 24 beginning next season. ESPN will pay an additional 1.7 billion dollars over five years on top of the existing 7.8 billion dollar agreement through 2031.

Under the new format, champions from the Power Four conferences will receive automatic places, along with the top Group of Six team. The other 19 spots will be chosen by the selection committee. The top eight seeds will get first-round byes. The opening two rounds will be played on campuses, and conference championship games will disappear from the schedule.

The change is substantial. Roughly 30 percent of the 68 power-conference schools could have a path to the title. Supporters say more teams will remain relevant deep into the season and more meaningful games will be played on campus. Critics worry that expanding the field will dilute a regular season long prized for its scarcity and high stakes.

The current committee rankings show how much movement can happen even under the present system. Georgia moved to number one, followed by unbeaten Utah, Alabama, unbeaten UCLA, and Notre Dame. Miami fell from first to seventh after its loss. The final ranking of this season will still determine a 12-team field. The 24-team era starts next year.

College basketball delivered two marquee results at the Champions Classic in Chicago. Fifth-ranked Michigan State defeated second-ranked Duke 79 to 73. The Spartans led by nine at halftime, built their advantage to 14 in the second half, and held off Duke’s late rally. Michigan State improved to 3 and 0. Duke is now 2 and 1.

In the other game, fifteenth-ranked Kansas beat twenty-fourth-ranked Kentucky 89 to 69. Tre White scored 30 points for Kansas. Freshman Tyran Stokes added 23 points and 10 rebounds, while Trey Kaufman-Renn had 12 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Kansas is 3 and 0, and Kentucky is 2 and 1.

Those results are early-season statements rather than postseason verdicts. But they give Michigan State and Kansas valuable wins against established national programs, and they offer the first real measuring point for Duke and Kentucky.

A quick results roundup from Tuesday night. Michigan State beat Duke 79 to 73, and Kansas defeated Kentucky 89 to 69 in the Champions Classic. In the NBA, the New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks 117 to 85. The Boston Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 123 to 101. And the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 123 to 103.

Finally, in entertainment, Godzilla Minus Zero opened with a record-setting 31.6 million dollars in North American ticket sales over the weekend. The Japanese-language sequel is directed by Takashi Yamazaki and follows his Oscar-winning 2023 film Godzilla Minus One.

The opening is the biggest ever for a live-action foreign-language movie in North America, excluding the unusually large 2004 launch of The Passion of the Christ. It surpassed the previous live-action record held by Hero, which opened with 17.9 million dollars.

Godzilla Minus Zero was produced by Toho and distributed in North America by GKids. It also took in about 17 million dollars in Japan. The result is notable not only for a long-running franchise but for the broader market: films made outside Hollywood and in languages other than English are increasingly proving they can command large theatrical audiences in the United States and Canada.

The Cat in the Hat, featuring Bill Hader’s voice, opened second with 20.5 million dollars domestically. The weekend’s overall ticket sales rose sharply from the prior Halloween weekend.

That’s the briefing for this Wednesday, November eleventh. Follow Artificially Intelligent News and share this calm morning summary with one person who would value it. I’m Mark Ellison. Thanks for listening.