HOSTAGE DEAL: The Israeli parliament overnight approved a deal for a temporary ceasefire and the release of 50 women and children hostages held by Hamas in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and teenagers imprisoned in Israel. 

   Israel would pause its attacks on Gaza for four days. The government announcement said, “The release of every 10 additional abductees will result in an additional day of respite.”

   Israel and Hamas have been negotiating for weeks through intermediaries in Qatar. Efforts to get the 220 or so hostages released have been in conflict with Israel’s ferocious military campaign and goal of eradicating Hamas regardless of the destruction and death in Gaza.

  Israeli officials said nothing can happen until at least Thursday to give the country’s judiciary time to review potential legal challenges to the prisoner release.

  Less publicized than the fighting in Gaza is a flareup of cross border fighting between Israel and Lebanon.  Three people were killed yesterday in an Israeli airstrike, including Farah Omar, a reporter for a pan-Arab television network, and her cameraman, Rabih al-Maamari.

ACTING OUT: Amidst the emotional political uproar over the Israel/Hamas war, saying the wrong thing, or even being perceived to say the wrong thing can be a dangerous career move. It’s dangerous in particular if you say Israel should stop killing Palestinian civilians in pursuit of Hamas.

  Oscar-winning actor Susan Sarandon was dropped by United Talent Agency after she made remarks at a pro-Palestinian rally perceived to be antisemitic by her agents.

  Sarandon called for a cease fire saying, “There are a lot of people that are afraid, afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence.” 

  But she also said, “There’s a terrible thing that’s happened where antisemitism has been confused with speaking up against Israel,” adding, “I am against antisemitism. I am against Islamophobia.”

INTELLIGENCE: The fired Sam Altman was reinstated late yesterday as CEO of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI following a campaign waged by his allies, employees, and investors. Nearly all the 770 employees threatened to leave if he was not brought back.

  Also coming back is Greg Brockman, the company’s president who resigned in solidarity with Altman.

   Altman has been one of the prominent faces of development in artificial intelligence and his firing threw the industry into chaos. The board that fired Altman was not very specific about why they did it, other than to say they were displeased with Altman’s communication skills.  

  As part of the deal OpenAI’s board is being overhauled with the removal of several members who were behind Altman’s ouster.

FUNNY MONEY: In another major meltdown in the fantasy world of crypto currency, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, pleaded guilty to money laundering and agreed to pay $50 million in fines. 

  Binance has at times processed two-thirds of all digital currency trades. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, “Binance was allowing illicit actors to transact freely, supporting activities from child sexual abuse to illegal narcotics to terrorism.”

 The company itself agreed to pay $4.3 billion in fines to the federal government and Zhao faces 18 months in prison or more.

  It’s the second major crypto business criminal conviction just this month. Zhao was hardly humble, admitting on Twitter/X only that he had “made mistakes” and that he looked forward to taking a break from his exhausting schedule, and doing some “passive investing” in crypto projects.

TWEET THAT: Elon Musk and his Twitter/X filed a lawsuit against Media Matters over what it called an “intentionally deceptive report” about antisemitism on the platform. 

  Media Matters last week published a report that included screenshots of mainstream advertisements appearing beside pro-Nazi content on X. Some big advertisers businesses including IBM, Apple and Disney fled the platform. The Twitter/X suit claims interference with contract, business disparagement, and interference with economic advantage. 

  The suit claims that Media Matters manipulated the X algorithm by following 30 accounts of controversial users and large companies, then engaging in “excessive” scrolling and refreshing. “The overall effect on advertisers and users was to create the false, misleading perception that these types of pairings were common, widespread, and alarming,” the filing said. 

  The Twitter/X CEO said not a single regular user of Twitter/X saw what Media Matters published.

THE SPIN RACK: The TSA expects to screen 30 million people passing through airport security this Thanksgiving during a period starting last Friday. The TSA says you can bring cakes and pies on board. — A possible pipeline leak has spilled a million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. Boats crews are working to contain and skim the oil. — Donald Trump’s presidential campaign has been making millions of dollars selling gear emblazoned with his Georgia arrest mugshot. A commercial photography agent says the state should copyright the image and charge licensing fees.

BELOW THE FOLD: The Washington Post published 14 recipe suggestions for your Thanksgiving turkey. They are:

– Garlic and Herb Roasted Turkey with Roasted Garlic Gravy

– No-Fuss Roast Turkey

– Tarragon-Butter Roasted Spatchcocked (Butterflied) Turkey

– Turkey in a Bag with Lemon and Herbs

– Sheet Pan Turkey Breast Roulade with Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans and

   Shallots

– Chile-Rubbed Roast Turkey

– Extremely Slow-Roasted Turkey Breast

– Cider-Braised Turkey Thighs with Potatoes and Apples

– Herb-Slathered Turkey

– Instant Pot Thanksgiving Turkey

– Simply Seasoned Turkey

– Sheet Pan Harissa Turkey Legs with Sumac Sweet Potatoes

– Stovetop Roasted Turkey Breast (Arrosto Morto di Tacchino)

– Tamarind and Honey-Glazed Roast Turkey

  The pilgrims have made progress.

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