Israel-Hamas deal: Israel and Hamas have agreed to a deal that will stop the fighting for four days and result in the release of 50 hostages held by Hamas. The hostages to be released are women and children. The deal provides for from 200 to 300 trucks of aid to be allowed into Gaza each day during the pause in the fighting. The Israelis have agreed to release 150 Palestinian female operatives who stood trial and were convicted of crimes and have been serving prison terms. The pause in the fighting could be extended by one day for each 10 additional hostages Hamas agrees to release. The pause in the fighting is expected to go into effect at 3 a.m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow.
Altman rehired: Sam Altman has been rehired as CEO of OpenAI, the artificial intelligence firm best know for its product ChatGTP. Altman was fired by the company’s board of directors, resulting in an uprising by company employees and Altman being offered a job by Microsoft. OpenAI also will have a new board of directors that includes former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers. Altman put out a statement saying he welcomes being back at OpenAI.
Unemployment claims down: The U.S. Department of Labor reported this morning that there was a notable drop in the number of new claims for unemployment benefits in the week ending Nov. 18, with 209,000 people filing claims. That was 24,000 fewer than applied in the week before. For the week ending Nov. 11, about 1.8 million people were receiving unemployment benefits.
Kennedy assassination: Today marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Clint Hill, the Secret Service agent who climbed up on the back of the limousine carrying President and Mrs. Kennedy and Gov. and Mrs. John Connally of Texas after the shots were fired has told NPR in an interview that when he first saw the wounds President Kennedy had suffered he didn’t believe Kennedy could survive. In a statement today, President Biden said that Kennedy “called us to take history into our own hands, and to never quit striving to build an America that lives up to its highest ideals.”
Sony lawsuit: A court ruling in London has given the go-ahead for a lawsuit to proceed against Sony. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of buyers of Sony’s PlayStation devices who then bought games and other products through PlayStation stores. It alleges that Sony used its position in the marketplace to unfairly fix high prices for the products. The lawsuit is seeking $6.3 billion dollars plus interest.
Buffett’s donations: Billionaire Warren Buffett, in a letter to shareholders of his company Berkshire Hathaway, says that he is donating about $870 million worth of his company stock to four foundations variously run by his wife and children as part of his Thanksgiving philanthropy. That’s about the same amount he donated last year. Buffett, who is 93 years old, is worth an estimated $120 billion.
Cover photo via National Postal Museum
