AP News Summary at 11:36 a.m. EST

Hegseth slams his potential impeachment as a 'political spectacle’ that undermines US troops WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is contending that a rogue lawmaker is undermining American troops in war zones by targeting him with an impeachment effort over mere “policy disagreements.” On Tuesday, Hegseth gave a defiant and politicized defense of his stewardship of the U.S. military in his first news conference at the Pentagon in six months. It comes just a day after Republican Rep. Thomas Massie launched an effort to impeach him over his handling of the unpopular war against Iran and other actions. Hegseth framed the impeachment effort as an indictment against the nation’s service members and their successes while undermining American forces “in real time.” A House vote on whether to move forward with the impeachment is expected later Tuesday. Russia and Ukraine hold nearly 4 hours of US-mediated talks in Abu Dhabi ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Russia, Ukraine, and the United States held three-way talks in the United Arab Emirates to address the ongoing war. Tuesday's discussions marked the first meeting since February. The U.S. is pushing for a resolution to the war which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. The discussions aim to focus on security guarantees. Russian President Vladimir Putin demands Ukraine pull back troops and abandon its NATO bid. But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejects these terms. Both sides remain far apart on key issues. Russia and Ukraine have intensified aerial attacks meanwhile including the escalation of long-range strikes with drones and missiles. Inflation runs hotter than expected as higher prices extend beyond the gas station WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. inflation was higher than expected last month in a sign that the rising prices that powered sweeping Democratic victories in last week’s midterm elections will continue to pose challenges for the White House and Federal Reserve. The data shows that inflation remains noticeably above the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%, and Americans’ struggles with high prices were evident as they ousted Republican majorities from the House and Senate last week. Republicans leave closed-door meeting without a decision on whether to reelect John Thune as leader WASHINGTON (AP) — An initial meeting of Senate Republicans over whether to keep Sen. John Thune as their leader has broken up without any resolution. They’re expected to reconvene Tuesday afternoon. The morning meeting came just a week after steep losses in the midterm elections that cost them their majority. Thune is expected to be reelected, given that he remains popular with his GOP colleagues and is so far running unopposed. But senators left the meeting after two hours of discussions with no resolution on a way forward. Here are some of the House seats that Democrats didn't expect to win this year WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, who led the National Republican Congressional Committee, lost his seat this year. Republicans struggled in the state after pulling support from their U.S. Senate candidate, Michael Whatley. Hudson lost to Richard Ojeda, a former Army major and liberal social media figure. Ojeda is one of several Democrats who pulled off upset victories as the party retook control of Congress. Other wins took place in Colorado, Texas, Nevada, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana and New Jersey. More from this section COP31: Governments are failing to rein in emissions from their own power plants America’s 2-party system seems weird, but adding a 3rd party could make voter representation worse US national debt keeps rising after years of tax cuts – and this will make policymaking all the more difficult Democrats have gained control in more states. That could change the way the US elects its president WASHINGTON (AP) — Last week's big Democratic wins could change the way the U.S. elects its president. That's because Democrats picked up unified control of six more states. Eighteen states run by Democrats have already joined an interstate compact to award their Electoral College votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the national popular vote. Just a few more states would push that number above the 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency. There will likely be legal challenges that could only be settled by the Supreme Court, and it's unclear whether the governors in all the states newly under Democratic control are on board with the compact. Nvidia and Jensen Huang face shareholder lawsuit alleging investors were misled about spy affair A shareholder has sued Nvidia and CEO Jensen Huang, accusing them of deceiving investors about Huang's affair with a purported Chinese spy. The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims the affair threatens national security. President Donald Trump said the FBI is investigating the matter, which Huang has admitted to and apologized for. Concerns have arisen that Beijing may be using the affair to access Nvidia microchips, crucial for AI development but restricted from export to China. The complaint, filed in California, alleges Nvidia misled investors about the affair's impact. Nvidia did not immediately comment. Shares fell 4.3% on Monday. US Air Force relocates aircraft from a base in England because of a threat, US official says LONDON (AP) — An American official says the U.S. Air Force has relocated aircraft from a base in eastern England because of a threat. The Military Air Tracking Alliance said that it spotted 13 U.S. aircraft stationed at RAF Mildenhall departing for bases in Scotland, Spain and Germany. The Wall Street Journal first reported the evacuation on Tuesday and said that the threat related to Iran. The report cited “people familiar with the matter.” The relocation of the aircraft came less than two months after the U.S. Air Force withdrew its bombers from the U.S.-run RAF Fairford base in England as police investigated a suspected terror plot linked to Iran. Bombers flying out of RAF Fairford had been used to strike Iran during the Middle East conflict. US stocks fall after a discouraging update on inflation NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling after a report showed inflation was worse across the country last month than economists expected. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 333 points, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.8%. The discouraging report on inflation caused traders to up their forecasts for coming hikes to interest rates by the Federal Reserve. One top Fed official even suggested that it could raise its main interest rate by twice the typical amount at its meeting next month. Treasury yields jumped in the bond market even though oil prices continued to ease. Bob Boone, World Series champion and part of 3-generation baseball family, dies at 78 PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bob Boone, the catcher on the Philadelphia Phillies’ first World Series championship team who won seven Gold Gloves and was part of baseball’s first three-generation family, has died. He was 78. Boone’s son, Bret, announced his father’s death Tuesday on social media. The Phillies said in a statement Boone died Monday. No cause of death was announced. Boone spent his first 10 seasons with the Phillies, played seven with the California Angels and two with the Kansas City Royals. He also managed the Royals and Cincinnati Reds. His father, Ray, played in the major leagues, and two of his sons, Bret and Aaron, enjoyed long major league careers.