U.S. and world news for Nov. 20

Artificial intelligence: OpenAI, the company that makes the artificial intelligence program ChatGPT, fired its CEO Sam Altman and over the weekend he was hired by Microsoft, which wants to start a new venture in artificial intelligence. Microsoft did not provide details on what it wants to do. Altman was a co-founder of OpenAI. About 500 employees of OpenAI have threatened to quit unless the company’s board of directors brings back Altman.

Rosalynn Carter: Tributes continue coming from around the world for former First Lady Rosalynn Carter who died yesterday at home in Plains, Georgia, at age 96. The Carter Center said that ceremonies to honor her will be held after the Thanksgiving holiday in Atlanta and Sumter County, Georgia. Next Monday, she will lie in repose at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum. A private funeral and burial is scheduled for Nov. 29.

X/Twitter ads: National advertisers continue to pull their ads from Elon Musk’s site X, formerly known as Twitter. IBM started the exodus after Musk praised an antisemitic post. Other advertisers complained that their ads were showing up next to antisemitic and hate posts. Disney, Paramount, Comcast, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and the European Union are among the advertisers who have either temporarily paused or permanently pulled advertising from X. Elon Musk has been criticized for allowing hate speech to increase since he bought the site.

Israel-Hamas war: The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is controlled by Hamas, said today that an Israeli shell hit the Indonesian Hospital in Northern Gaza, killing 12 people. The Health Ministry also said that the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 11,500 with two-thirds of the victims being women and children. Houti rebels from Yemen have hijacked a cargo ship in the Red Sea and taken its 25 crewmembers hostage. They say the cargo ship is owned by Israelis even though it’s operated by the Japanese shipping company NYK Line.

Argentina election: Voters in Argentina yesterday elected a new president who is described as a right wing would-be dictator in the mold of Donald Trump. He’s 53-year-old Javier Milei, who received about 56% of the votes. He ran on a platform of making Argentina great again. Milei wants to switch Argentina to using the U.S. dollar as its official currency.

Austin’s trip: Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv today on a previously unannounced visit. Austin secretly flew from Washington on a military plane to Poland and then took an 11-hour train ride to Kyiv. This is the second time Austin has visited Ukraine. After his arrival, a Defense Department spokesman said that he would be meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy.