House set to vote to impeach Hegseth. And, SCOTUS allows border wall work to proceed

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Today's top stories

The House may vote this week on a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, reintroduced articles of impeachment accusing Hegseth of high crimes and misdemeanors. The eight specific charges include three charges for illegally waging war against Iran, one for ignoring laws to minimize civilian casualties, one for overseeing extrajudicial killings of alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, and one for capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without congressional authorization. Hegseth has called the articles a sham.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), seen here on September 16, 2026 at the U.S. Capitol, filed articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday. Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption

Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images/Getty Images North America

• 🎧 Only a few Republicans need to support impeachment in the House for it to be possible, NPR's Sam Gringlas tells Up First. This would lead to a Senate trial. Removing Hegseth from the Pentagon requires 67 senators, which will be challenging even once Democrats take control. But Massie told reporters he believes it will be possible, and opposition to the war in his fellow Republicans' home states could convince them to get on board. Massie says some members of Congress have come around to the idea that the administration must be held accountable for violating congressional war powers
• ➡️ Also on House Republicans' agenda: a closed-door meeting today to pick a minority leader for the next Congress. The decision is down to current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Ohio's Jim Jordan, a co-founder of the far-right House Freedom Caucus.

President Trump has acknowledged that the war he initiated with Iran harmed his party in the midterms. Weeks before the election, the president said he was going to hold off on any strikes in Iran. While campaigning, he hinted at potential actions to proceed with the war and teased a significant move to end it. Now, Trump says there's no need for further strikes if talks are ongoing.

• 🎧 NPR's Deepa Shivaram says it's possible that Trump might resume military action if he doesn't get the deal he wants, because he has shown a pattern of shifting on his rhetoric since the war began. The president has also insisted that the war was necessary and he would do it again. Shivaram says Trump is starting to shift focus to shape his legacy in these last two years of his presidency. He is trying to frame the unpopular war as a success by saying Iran's nuclear stock is eliminated and that was his goal. In the remainder of his time in office, he wants to establish himself as a dealmaker and peacemaker.

Nvidia's stock slipped around 4.25% after CEO Jensen Huang admitted to an extramarital affair with a woman U.S. intelligence suspects of spying for China. This news sent shockwaves from Wall Street to Capitol Hill. AMD, Nvidia's main AI chip competitor, saw its shares jump more than 13%.

• 🎧 Nvidia is central to the U.S.-China competition over AI, which could make Huang's statements and actions of high interest to Beijing, NPR's John Ruwitch says. The woman Huang admitted to having an affair with is an executive at MegaSpeed, a Singapore-based company that Nvidia has collaborated with. The controversy centers around whether MegaSpeed was helping Chinese firms bypass chip export controls. The New York Times reports that the U.S. Commerce Department is investigating MegaSpeed and that the woman was giving information to Beijing. NPR has not independently verified these claims.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday gave the Trump administration the green light to proceed with plans to build hundreds of miles of border barriers and security infrastructure in west Texas. The decision was made despite ongoing court hearings. This plan has faced bipartisan backlash for its involvement of Big Bend National Park, a cherished area known for its stunning canyons and pristine desert landscape. In a five-page decision, the Court asserted that the federal judge who issued an injunction against the construction lacked the authority to intervene.

Deep dive

James Talarico speaks on election night in Austin, Texas. Talarico won his race for U.S. Senate by 12 percentage points overall, but when looking at just Gen Z, he won it by 60 points.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Democrats did really well with Gen Z voters in last week's midterm election, snagging nearly a 50-point lead among voters under 30. This is a major comeback from 2024, when young voters leaned toward Trump. This year's results signal that the youngest generation of voters are issuing a strong rebuke of Republicans, and they're ready to fight for an American dream that feels just out of reach. Here's how Gen Z voters helped fuel a blue wave:

• 🌊 Americans ages 18-29 have historically voted at lower rates than older voters. But this year, Gen Z accounted for 11% of the total vote. In the Texas Senate race, Democrat James Talarico won by 12 percentage points. Among Gen Z voters, he won by 60 points.
• 🌊 Democrats credit their strong slate of candidates for boosting enthusiasm, but strong opposition to Trump also played a key role.
• 🌊 Democrats gained support from some young voters who backed Trump two years ago, including white and Latino men. Both blocs voted blue by double digits this year. The party also narrowed the margins with young rural voters and those without college degrees.
• 🌊 Some gains may have been influenced by young Trump voters who chose not to participate in this election, but it's unclear how many of them there were.

Picture show

A wild horse grazes on whatever food it can find on Cumberland Island, Ga on Oct 8, 2026. The National Park Service, which has managed the island since 1972, recently proposed a land-swap with the descendants of Thomas Carnegie, the wealthy Gilded Age industrialist who built homes on the island. Malcolm Jackson for NPR hide caption

Malcolm Jackson for NPR

Visitors, ecologists, park rangers and residents all cherish Cumberland Island, Ga., but they often disagree on the best ways to protect it. Feral horses, hogs and deer roam freely across the 18-mile island. Since 1972, Congress has mandated the preservation of thousands of wilderness acres under National Park Service protection. The island showcases a rich human history, including Native American artifacts, Spanish missions and grand Gilded Age mansions from the Carnegie era. Today, descendants of industrialist Thomas Carnegie still reside on private property. Now, a park service land-swap proposal with the family could greenlight new construction. The new development could ignite a clash among stakeholders over what true island preservation actually looks like.

3 things to know before you go

Gaby Wood, chief executive of the Booker Prize Foundation, called Harrison a "a genuinely original thinker, a genre-defying writer who takes ideas seriously." Yuki Sugiura/The Booker Prize Foundation hide caption

Yuki Sugiura/The Booker Prize Foundation

1. M. John Harrison's The End of Everything has won the 2026 Booker Prize. It follows Philip, who searches for "artifacts" along the coast of Kent, England, in a post-apocalyptic future.
2. British comedian Russell Brand has been sentenced to more than 10 years in prison after being found guilty on one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault.
3. For his efforts to challenge menstrual stigma, 18-year-old Aadvik Jain is one of this year's recipients of the Diana Award, an international recognition for young changemakers working to improve lives in their communities.

This newsletter was edited by Suzanne Nuyen.