Tuesday morning news: November 21, 2023

Biden on hostages » President Biden says at least some of the hostages that Hamas is still holding captive in Gaza may soon be set free.

REPORTER: Mr. President is a hostage deal near?
BIDEN: I believe so.
REPORTER: You believe so?
BIDEN: Yes.

That exchange captured between the president and a reporter during a Thanksgiving ceremony at the White House.

That echoes remarks earlier this week from Deputy national security adviser Jon Finer, who told CNN:

FINER: We think that we are closer than we have been perhaps at any point since these negotiations began weeks ago.

Reuters has reported that a deal was potentially in the works to release 50 of the more than 200 hostages … in exchange for a three-day ceasefire.

The government of Qatar has been acting as a middle man for negotiations to release the hostages.

Finer said a “significant number” of those hostages are Americans.

Secretary Austin in Kyiv » Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says the United States will continue to back Ukraine “for the long haul.”

Austin paid an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday where he met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other leaders.

AUSTIN: I announced today another $100 million dollar drawdown using presidential drawdown authority. It’ll provide additional artillery munitions, additional interceptors for air defense.

Combined, over the last 20 months, the U.S. and its allies have provided about $80 billion dollars in military aid, everything from bullets to air defense systems, to tanks and pledges for F-16 fighter jets.

But Ukrainian forces still need more, and after almost 20 months of shipping arms to Ukraine, cracks are beginning to show. Some European countries have scaled back support, noting their need to maintain their own military stockpiles.

South Korea satellite warning to North Korea » South Korea is warning North Korea not to go forward with plans to launch a new spy satellite. WORLD’s Josh Schumacher has more.

JOSH SCHUMACHER: South Korean officials have suggested that if Pyongyang launches the satellite, the South may suspend the 2018 Inter-Korean Military Agreement. That was a pact aimed at tamping down tensions between the two Koreas.

It included creating buffer zones and reducing the military presence along their shared border.

The south could also resume aerial surveillance and ramp up military drills.

But Pyongyang has already informed Japan that it still plans to launch the satellite by the end of the month. =

The North has already tried to launch a spy satellite into orbit twice this year, but failed. However, officials fear that Russia may be providing the technical help to make the next attempt successful.

For WORLD, I’m Josh Schumacher.

Trump gag order » A District court in Washington DC heard arguments Monday on whether to lift the gag order placed on former President Trump. That’s in a case accusing him of trying to overturn the 2020 election.

Trump Lawyer John Sauer called it a clear First Amendment issue.

SAUER: A gag order in this case installs a single federal district judge as a filter for core political speech. The order is unprecedented, and it sets a terrible precedent for future restrictions on core political speech.

Under the October gag order, Trump may not disparage witnesses or prosecutors in his election interference case.

The three-judge panel has not yet issued a ruling.

Altman/OpenAI » Employees are revolting at the company that makes the popular artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT. WORLD’s Kristen Flavin has more.

KRISTEN FLAVIN: Open AI employees nearly 800 people at the moment. The vast majority of them are threatening to quit after the company’s board fired CEO and co-founder Sam Altman.

The move shocked the tech industry.

Most of Open AI’s staff have signed a letter demanding that Altman be restored to his post and for the board to re-sign.

But Altman already has a new job. Microsoft quickly scooped him up, along with Open A-I’s former president, Greg Brockman who quit in protest when Altman was fired. The pair will lead a new advanced AI research team at Microsoft.

For WORLD, I’m Kristen Flavin.

Holiday travel » Millions of Americans are hitting the highways and airports ahead of Thanksgiving.

In fact, the Dept. of Transportation expects this Thanksgiving travel season to be one of the busiest ever despite the threat of a cross-country storm.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg:

BUTTIGIEG: There is some bad weather expected that could affect Thanksgiving travel so the FAA is the command center as usual is working closely with airlines to plan for and plan around any disruptive weather.

More than 30 million Americans are expected to pass through airports over the holiday season.

And more than 55 million people are expected to travel at least 50 miles from home for Thanksgiving.

I'm Kent Covington.

Straight ahead: mining for the minerals used to build electric vehicles. Plus, making apple butter from scratch.

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