theSIGNAL NEWS
9 November 2026
"Trust, but verify."
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World

Nvidia Probes Whether Its CEO Was Targeted by Spies

Nvidia's board opened an investigation on Sunday after Jensen Huang admitted an affair with an executive US intelligence reportedly links to Beijing.

Nvidia's board opened an investigation on Sunday. The question: was CEO Jensen Huang the "target of a foreign intelligence effort"? The move followed a stunning admission. Huang told the board he had been intimate with a business executive whom US intelligence had determined was gathering information for Beijing, The New York Times reported.

He then apologized to staff. "I was unfaithful to my wife," he wrote. The board says it has "no reason to believe" that national security or Nvidia secrets were compromised. Even so, it says the inquiry will examine all available information.

Huang, 63, will stay on as CEO. He "fully supports the review," the board said. The stakes reach far beyond one marriage. Nvidia's chips power many of the data centers used to train and run AI models.

Photo: Anne Nygård / Unsplash
Nvidia's board has opened an inquiry into reports that its chief executive was targeted by foreign intelligence.
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$4.8bn
Nvidia chips reportedly bought by Megaspeed in two years
Discuss
  • Should a company's board investigate its CEO's private relationships when national security might be involved? Where should that line be drawn?
  • Why might AI chips be treated as a strategic asset, like oil or weapons, rather than ordinary products?
World

Trump: New Iran Strikes "Highly Unlikely"

Three aircraft carriers. Thirty-eight bridges. One hour. Donald Trump listed his military options on CNN on Sunday, then said renewed war with Iran is "highly unlikely" if Tehran signs a "very strong" deal. Iran disputes his account of collapse. It still partly blocks the Strait of Hormuz, and Houthi allies are hitting Saudi Arabia.…
  • Can a leader threaten war and promise peace in one breath credibly?
❝
My actions hurt her and our children.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia
World

Pope Leo Challenges Milei's Austerity in Buenos Aires

Pope Leo XIV landed in Buenos Aires on Sunday and went straight at Javier Milei's austerity. "The economy must be at the service of the people," he said, to roaring applause. He urged care for the disabled, widely read as a jab at Milei's cuts, and asked the combative president for "careful use of words." Leo, 71, is touring Latin America three weeks after lung cancer surgery.…
  • Can a religious leader fairly criticise a government's economic policy, or should he stay silent?
ASIA · World
Taiwan stocks in steepest-ever fall, South Korea halts trading amid AI rout
EUROPE · World
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo announces his international retirement
AMERICAS · World
Leo XIV begins his tour in Uruguay, praising Mercosur and peace and questioning abortion and euthanasia
AMERICAS · World
US offers $20m reward for information about Iran's nuclear programme
theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
IVOCABULARY
stunning admissioncompromised
inquiryexport restrictionscutting-edge
austeritycombative
IIGRAMMAR FOCUS
Cleft sentences — It was X that / What I need is
Cleft sentences split one idea into two clauses to add emphasis. Use 'It is/was ... that/who' to highlight one element, and 'What ...…
It · What · that · who · was · is · where
  1. shocked Nvidia's board was Huang's admission that he had been intimate with a business executive.
  2. It was Huang himself told the board about the relationship before apologizing to staff.
  3. It the New York Times that first reported the claim that she was passing information to Beijing.
  4. the board wants to establish is whether Huang was the target of a foreign intelligence effort.
  5. It is Nvidia's most advanced processors are the focus of US export restrictions on China.
  6. It was Pope Leo XIV criticized Milei's austerity, telling cheering crowds that the economy must serve the people.
IIIPHRASAL VERBS
Match the phrasal verb to its definition. All six appear in today’s articles.
  1. stay on
  2. power (something) up
  3. go straight at
  4. step aside
  5. leave (a problem) unresolved
IVCRITICAL THINKING
Each of today's stories involves someone who must keep working while under scrutiny or pressure: a CEO in an inquiry, a president in negotiations, a pope recovering from surgery. Does visible vulnerability weaken a leader's authority, or can it sometimes strengthen it? Use examples from the articles to support your view.
VCREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the top story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
VIWRITING
Imagine you are Nvidia's head of communications. Write a short, careful internal message (100-120 words) to employees about the board's review, using passive constructions where you want to avoid assigning blame. What do you say, and what do you deliberately leave out?
VIIDEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong.
  • a surprising admission→→
  • a worrying situation→→
  • mildly critical of austerity→→
  • unlikely→→
  • a tense standoff→→
  • a fairly important customer→→
VIIISPEAKING
  1. Have you ever kept a secret that grew bigger than expected?
  2. Which is harder to forgive: dishonesty in private life or at work?
  3. Why do public apologies sometimes sound sincere and sometimes completely hollow?
  4. Would you trust a country that sells you technology but also spies on you?