TheWeek The Week US Edition US UK SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Less than $3 per week × Search Sign in View Profile Sign out Daily Briefing Talking Points The Week Recommends Newsletters Cartoons From the Magazine The Week Junior More Politics World News Business Health Science Food & Drink Travel Culture History Personal Finance Puzzles Photos All Categories Newsletter sign up Newsletter Digest Round Up 10 things you need to know today: November 22, 2023 Israel and Hamas reach deal to free 50 hostages, House panel subpoenas prosecutor in Hunter Biden investigation, and more Newsletter sign up Newsletter A man holds a sign with pictures of captured Israeli hostages in Tel Aviv (Image credit: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP via Getty Images) By Harold Maass, The Week US published 22 November 2023 1. Israel, Hamas reach deal to free 50 hostages Israel and Hamas announced Wednesday they would observe a four-day cease-fire in Gaza to permit a prisoner swap. Under the deal, the Palestinian militant group will release 50 hostages — all women and children — out of the 240 people it seized during its deadly Oct. 7 surprise attack in Israel. In exchange, Israel agreed to release 150 Palestinian women and teenagers from its jails. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his war Cabinet that after the brief truce the fighting would resume and continue “until we achieve our goals,” which include ousting Hamas from Gaza. Hamas said it would keep its “hands on the trigger.” The Guardian, The Jerusalem Post 2. House panel subpoenas federal prosecutor in Biden inquiry House Republicans issued a subpoena Tuesday to a federal prosecutor demanding he answer questions about the Justice Department’s investigation into Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son. House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote in a letter to senior federal prosecutor Lesley Wolf that “it is clear that you possess specialized and unique information” the committee needs. Wolf is the latest in a series of people House Republicans have subpoenaed in their sprawling impeachment investigation into the president. Wolf is deputy to David Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware who is in charge of the Hunter Biden case. Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers have accused prosecutors of giving Hunter Biden special treatment. The Associated Press 3. Tearful Trump executive says he left over legal troubles Jeffrey McConney, the former controller of the Trump Organization, gave emotional testimony Tuesday in former President Donald Trump’s civil fraud trial, saying he left the company he “loved” because of its seemingly relentless legal troubles. McConney is a co-defendant in the state’s $250 million civil suit accusing him, Trump, two of Trump’s sons and the company itself of a fraud scheme that inflated the value of key properties to secure favorable loans. “I just wanted to relax, and stop being accused of misrepresenting assets for the company that I loved working for,” he said in response to his attorney’s questions about his retirement. CBS News Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives. SUBSCRIBE & SAVE Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. Sign up 4. Sam Altman to return to OpenAI Sam Altman has agreed to return to ChatGPT-maker OpenAI after his firing last week by the company’s board triggered a revolt by employees and investors, who demanded his return as CEO. Former Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor will lead a board replacing the one that fired Altman. The drama exposed a power struggle between Altman, who has been the face of the rapid commercialization of generative artificial intelligence, and board members concerned about AI’s safety risks. After his firing, Altman had agreed to lead a team at OpenAI backer Microsoft. He now says he will return to OpenAI and work on “building on our strong partnership” with the software giant. The Washington Post, The Associated Press 5. Storm expected to disrupt Thanksgiving travel A storm is expected to hammer the Northeast with heavy rain, snow, ice, and powerful wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour on Wednesday, disrupting Thanksgiving travel. The Interstate 95 corridor from Virginia to Massachusetts could get hit especially hard. Slowdowns are expected as the storm pushes in from the central United States and gets supercharged when moisture from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico collide in the Northeast, according to data from Accuweather. The winds could be powerful enough to break tree limbs and down power lines. Accuweather 6. Binance founder Changpeng Zhao pleads guilty, resigns Changpeng Zhao, founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, pleaded guilty to money laundering charges on Tuesday. He will pay a $50 million fine and resign as CEO as part of a deal with the U.S. Justice Department. Prosecutors are seeking an 18-month prison sentence. Binance itself, which is the world’s largest crypto exchange, also pleaded guilty in the case and agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines and restitution. The company also agreed to let the government appoint a monitor to oversee its operations. Zhao won’t be able to have any involvement in the company until the monitor has been on the job for three years. The New York Times, Bloomberg 7. Georgia judge declines to revoke Trump co-defendant’s bond Fulton County, Georgia, Superior Judge Scott McAfee refused Tuesday to revoke the bond of a co-defendant of former President Donald Trump in his election racketeering case. Prosecutors had argued that the co-defendant, Harrison Floyd, should be jailed for making what they described as threatening and intimidating social media posts about witnesses. McAfee said posts mentioning election worker Ruby Freeman didn’t amount to outright threats, and comments regarding a state official and former co-defendant Jenna Ellis were no more than minor violations against communicating witnesses. “I read these as seeing more that someone is wanting to defend his case in a very public way,” McAfee said. USA Today 8. North Korea says it launched spy satellite North Korea claimed Wednesday that it put a spy satellite into orbit in its third attempt after two failed launches earlier this year. The success of the mission was not immediately independently confirmed, but international observers have questioned whether the satellite is advanced enough to provide valuable military information. Still, the United States joined other nations in condemning North Korea’s launch of the rocket that carried the satellite, which National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said “raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation.” The United Nations has banned North Korea from launching satellites, arguing that Pyongyang uses the missions as cover for advancing its missile technology. NPR 9. Deadly landslide hits outside Alaska fishing town A landslide tore through a dense mountainside forest in southeast Alaska, killing a girl and two adults and leaving three other people missing. Search and rescue crews scoured the area for the missing people using heat-sensing drones and a cadaver-sniffing dog, although the ground remained too unstable for a large rescue mission, authorities said Tuesday. The landslide stretched about 140 yards wide near Wrangell, a fishing community with about 2,000 inhabitants. It cut access and power to about 75 homes, three of which were directly in its path, according to a preliminary survey. CNN, The Associated Press 10. Louisville bank shooter sought to provoke tighter gun laws A man who fatally shot five people at a Louisville bank in April indicated in personal writings that he was driven partly by anger over what he considered lax gun laws, according to a police report made public Tuesday. The man, who was shot and killed by police at the scene, wrote about his struggles with depression and how easy it was for him to buy an AR-15 rifle and ammunition in Kentucky, which has no “red-flag” laws. “These people did not deserve to die, but because I was depressed and able to buy [guns], they are gone,” the man, Connor Sturgeon, wrote six days before the shooting at the Old National Bank where he worked. Louisville Courier Journal, The Washington Post Explore More Breaking News Daily Briefing Continue reading for free We hope you’re enjoying The Week’s refreshingly open-minded journalism. sign up to continue reading Already have an account ? Sign in here Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription. Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from our website Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. Harold Maass, The Week US Social Links Navigation Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance. Latest Top Gear off air: how safe are UK film sets? Talking Point Three-quarters of film and TV crew felt safety had been compromised at work in industry survey By Julia O’Driscoll, The Week UK Published 22 November 23 Are you better off with a product transfer or remortgage for your home loan? The Explainer Product transfers are becoming more popular when a mortgage deal ends but they may not work for everyone By Marc Shoffman, The Week UK Published 22 November 23 Niseko Village, Hokkaido: world-class skiing and service in Japan The Week Recommends The Green Leaf and Higashiyama Ritz-Carlton Reserve hotels offer ski-in/ski-out access to Japan’s premier resort By Jo Davey Published 22 November 23 You might also like 10 things you need to know today: November 21, 2023 Daily Briefing Hamas chief says hostage deal near, appeals court ruling could weaken Voting Rights Act, and more By Harold Maass, The Week US Published 21 November 23 10 things you need to know today: November 20, 2023 Daily Briefing Former first lady Rosalynn Carter dies at 96, Gaza fighting spreads as push continues for temporary cease-fire, and more By Harold Maass, The Week US Published 20 November 23 10 things you need to know today: November 19, 2023 Daily Briefing US reportedly brokering Israel-Hamas deal to pause fighting and free hostages, Argentina heads to the polls in key presidential election, and more By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published 19 November 23 Ten Things You Need to Know Today: 22 November 2023 The Week’s daily digest of the news agenda, published at 8am By The Week UK Last updated 22 November 23 10 things you need to know today: November 18, 2023 Daily Briefing At least 32 dead following Israeli airstrikes in southern Gaza, Colorado judge rules Trump engaged in insurrection but can remain on ballot, and more By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published 18 November 23 10 things you need to know today: November 17, 2023 Daily Briefing Santos won’t run for a second term, Israel finds tunnel as Gaza hospital search continues, and more By Harold Maass, The Week US Published 17 November 23 10 things you need to know today: November 16, 2023 Daily Briefing Israel says it found weapons during Gaza hospital raid, Biden and Xi agree to improve US-China communication, and more By Harold Maass, The Week US Published 16 November 23 10 things you need to know today: November 15, 2023 Daily Briefing The House passes plan to avert a government shutdown, Israeli forces storm Gaza hospital to root out Hamas, and more By Harold Maass, The Week US Published 15 November 23 View More ▸ TheWeek About Us Contact Future’s experts Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Advertise With Us The Week is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.Visit our corporate site. © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.
10 things you need to know today: November 22, 2023
