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The Jensen Huang Honeypot Scandal & A Bipartisan Bill Full Of Pitfalls

NASA Calls For Astronauts & The Hegseth Impeachment Push

Author

Marcus Gee-Lim
November 10, 2026

Hi readers, happy Tuesday! Today we’re covering Jensen Huang scandal, a concerning bill in the Senate, the COP31 climate summit, Israel’s quest for a new government, Hegseth’s impeachment articles, Stephen Miller’s ascent to the White House, and NASA’s call for new astronauts.

“History is not the soil of happiness. The periods of happiness are blank pages in it.” – Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel

Does She Only Want Me For My Computer Chips?

Alice Huang (left) and Jensen Huang (no relation) (right). via social media.

You’ve probably seen the news. On Sunday, chipmaker Nvidia announced that it would be conducting an investigation into CEO Jensen Huang over his involvement in an extramarital affair with an alleged Chinese government agent, and on Monday the FBI said it would be conducting its own investigation into the affair. The entanglement has stirred up controversy because Nvidia supplies all of the chips that the most cutting-edge AI models are trained on, making this essentially a matter of national security given how invested the U.S. is in the technology.

“I was unfaithful to my wife. My actions hurt her and our children. There is no excuse for what I did,” Huang wrote in a memo shared across Nvidia. According to the New York Times, that affair involved the CEO and a woman named Alice Huang, a Chinese citizen and former CEO of a Singapore-based AI computing company named Megaspeed. U.S. intelligence officials have apparently determined that she has been working as an intelligence asset of the Chinese government, and their reports allege that she essentially used her company and close relationship with Nvidia’s CEO to funnel the newest Nvidia chips into the hands of Beijing. That’s a problem because the U.S. government has tried its best to restrict China from accessing the most cutting-edge AI technology. 

Now, Huang will have to deal with a hurricane of internet memes about his infidelity, the U.S. security establishment breathing down his neck, and an Nvidia-funded outside investigator digging through his personal affairs. Hopefully that black leather jacket will protect him.

BAAJA Leaves The Environment Out To Pasture

Yesterday, the Senate advanced (but didn’t fully pass) bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing federal regulations that affect energy infrastructure projects. According to Congress, the bill will make it easier to build out the nation’s energy infrastructure at a critical junction in the AI race, while also encouraging job growth across the country. According to environmental groups, the bill’s deregulatory slant will hamstring federal environmental protections, giving energy corporations the opportunity to run roughshod over the country’s environmental resources and local communities.

The bill, a 417-page monstrosity named the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), has been in the works for years. Yesterday’s vote – called a cloture vote – passed 73-25, and essentially moved the bill past the point where it can be filibustered. While that’s a sign that the bill could be passed soon, there’s a growing bloc of Democrats calling for it to be shelved until January, when the party will hold strong majorities in both chambers of Congress and can win more favorable amendments to the legislation.

One of the more public issues with the bill is that it would reduce the federal government’s obligations to consult with indigenous groups when projects are built on their land, but the bill’s sponsors say that some tribal protections could be added to the bill before a vote. The problem is that there is a laundry list of other questionable sections of the bill – for example, Section 1401 gives the White House sweeping powers to fast-track possibly harmful energy projects, while also stating that federal permits cannot be revoked or altered by future administrations except under a very strict set of circumstances. BAAJA also slashes a wide variety of environmental protections laid out in the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act, which you can read about here.

Breaking The Wrong Kind Of Record

  • 2026 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record. According to Berkeley Earth, a U.S.-based independent climate research group, 2026 has a 96% chance of becoming the hottest year since records began in 1850 thanks to the continuing El Niño weather event. The U.N. World Meteorological Organization also recently published a report on global temperatures, though that analysis projects that 2026 will “just” be the fourth-hottest year on record.

  • Either way, the reports come at a critical time for climate policy, as the COP31 global climate conference kicked off on Monday. The summit is taking place in Antalya, a Turkish city on the country’s Mediterranean coast, and will go on for the next two weeks. Turkey, which currently has the power to set the conference agenda, has asked attending countries to focus on an agreement to electrify over a third of the global economy by 2035 (a jump from the roughly 20% electrified economy we have today). The shift, in theory, would push us to pivot away from fossil fuels, lowering the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere and slowing down the process of global warming. Of course, it’s not clear if the conference will actually be able to induce that kind of change, or even if the gathered politicians will even agree to that goal.

The Center Takes Control

  • On Saturday, the race to establish a new government in Israel took a slightly unexpected turn. In the wake of elections which left no coalition or party with a majority in the country’s legislature, Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot the opportunity to attempt to establish a new government. In order to do that, Eisenkot will need to amass 13 more seats in the Knesset – his current coalition holds 48 seats in the legislature, and 61 are required to establish a majority government.

  • The opposition leader was officially given the mandate at 5 p.m. local time on Sunday, and will have 28 days (plus a possible 14-day extension) to work out a ruling coalition. That means Eisenkot will have until December 20 to find the 13 seats he needs. At the moment, it’s unclear how the centrist politician is going to construct his coalition. According to the Washington Post, one of Eisenkot’s allies has been holding coalition talks with ultra-Orthodox parties, while Eisenkot himself has stated that he might work with Israel’s Arab-led parties if they condemn Hamas as a terrorist group that needs to be destroyed.

Additional World News

Coming For Hegseth’s Head

“Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine” by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt Eugene Oliver. 

  • It seems like the blue wave is already sparking some changes in Washington. Yesterday, Thomas Massie, the Republican Representative for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district, introduced eight articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. “By engaging in hostilities in Iran for more than 90 days without congressional authorization, Secretary Hegseth is breaking the law and must be held accountable,” Massie said. Three of the eight impeachment articles pertain to Hegseth’s role in the Iran war, while the rest accuse the secretary of authorizing various illegal military actions and otherwise abusing his power.

  • The impeachment attempt is Massie’s parting shot at the Trump administration, as the libertarian lost his seat to a Trump-backed candidate whose funding made the contest the most expensive U.S. House primary in history. Realistically, the effort is unlikely to succeed given the fact that Republicans still control both houses of Congress for now, but Massie might eventually get the outcome he wants. Post-midterms, rumors have swirled that Hegseth could be on the way out due to Americans’ disapproval of the Iran war, but it seems like the White House plans to keep him around. At least for now.

Bald And In Charge

  • On Monday, right-wing political architect Stephen Miller took over as Trump’s chief of staff. He’s replacing Susie Wiles, a traditional Republican fixer who’s been a mainstay of the Trump political machine since 2021, working as his head of fundraising, co-campaign manager, and eventually chief of staff. Trump offered no specific reason for firing Wiles, only telling the press that “I wanted to make a change. I think Susie’s done a very good job … Stephen’s been great and we’ve got to make moves.”

  • Interestingly, Wiles isn’t the only woman to be booted from Trump’s White House in recent months – former homeland security secretary Kristi Noem, former attorney general Pam Bondi, and former national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard have all been fired or pressured to resign recently, and all have been replaced by men.

  • Back to the topic at hand – Miller is a more modern, alt-right MAGA Republican who’s dictated much of Trump’s immigration policy over the years, working as a policy advisor and speechwriter since 2017. Some “highlights” include the recent ICE crackdowns and the Muslim travel ban from Trump’s first term. According to sources close to him, the new chief of staff will be focused on ending the Iran war, lowering prices for Americans, and rebuilding the MAGA coalition that failed to show up during the midterms.

Additional USA News

 

The Moon Base Beckons

  • Calling all astronauts! On Saturday, NASA announced that it’s opening the recruitment process for its next generation of astronauts, an opportunity that was last available in 2024. This series of applicants, according to the agency, could eventually end up living on a Moon base or taking part in a manned trip to Mars. 

  • The last class of astronauts was whittled down from a pool of over 8,000 applicants to an elite group of 10. Currently, there are 32 active NASA astronauts licensed to participate in missions, and the agency apparently wants more. Applicants must be U.S. citizens, have three years of “related professional experience,” and also hold some sort of official qualification. That qualification could be: having a master’s degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics; certain medical qualifications; a boatload of pilot training; or two years of work in a “relevant” doctoral program. They should also probably have a strong stomach, as I’m sure zero-gravity is ridiculously nausea-inducing.

Additional Reads

Peanut For Your Thoughts

Sorry for adding to the pile of already-played-out Jensen Huang jokes, just couldn’t resist.

Editor + Writer: Marcus Gee-Lim

Designer: Joe Stella