10 things you need to know today: November 21, 2023

1. Hamas chief says brief truce deal 'close'

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday the Palestinian militant group was "close to reaching a truce agreement" with Israel. AFP, citing two sources familiar with the Qatari-mediated negotiations, reported that a tentative deal would include a five-day truce and the release of 50 to 100 of the roughly 240 hostages Hamas seized during its deadly Oct. 7 surprise attack in Israel. Israel reportedly would release dozens of Palestinians, including women and children, held in Israeli jails. In Gaza, the Israeli military continued its offensive to root out Hamas, battling the Palestinian group's fighters around Indonesian Hospital. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals as cover for its commanders, which Hamas denies. France24, Reuters

2. Appeals court ruling could weaken Voting Rights Act

A federal appeals court on Monday ruled that only the federal government — not private citizens or civil rights groups — can sue under a key part of the Voting Rights Act, potentially gutting the landmark civil rights law. The case is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court, raising the possibility that the high court could sharply limit the reach of the law. The appeals court ruled there is no "private right" to challenge election rules under Section 2 of the law, which bars racially discriminatory voting regulations. The ruling threw out "critical protections that voters have very much fought and died for," said Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, who argued the case. Politico

3. Biden jokes about age as he celebrates 81st birthday

President Joe Biden, who made light of his age during the traditional White House pardoning of two Thanksgiving turkeys, marked his 81st birthday with a quiet family celebration on Monday. The low-key approach underscored the sensitivity surrounding Biden's age, which political strategists have called a liability in his bid for re-election. White House and campaign officials have privately conceded that Biden's age is an issue and recent polling by CNN found it was a concern with voters. Biden's likely Republican challenger, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, has frequently called attention to Biden's age, even though he's just four years younger. CNN, The Associated Press

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4. Appeals court signals possible support for Trump gag order

A federal appeals court on Monday seemingly signaled it would uphold at least a narrowed version of the gag order U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan imposed on former President Donald Trump in his criminal federal election interference case. Chutkan in October ordered Trump not to publicly malign prosecutors, potential witnesses or court employees. Trump appealed, and his lawyers argued the gag order violated his First Amendment right to free speech in the middle of his campaign to win back the presidency. Members of a three-judge appeals court panel said a gag order might be a reasonable "prophylactic" to protect people in the case from threats and harassment. The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times 

5. OpenAI workers revolt over Altman's ouster

Chaos erupted at artificial intelligence pioneer OpenAI on Monday as nearly all of the company's employees threatened to quit after the firing of co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, who was promptly snapped up by OpenAI backer Microsoft to head its new AI unit. Microsoft, like OpenAI's employees, had called for OpenAI to bring back Altman as soon as the firm's board ousted him. Most of the ChatGPT creator's employees said they would leave to join Altman if he wasn't re-hired. More than 700 of the company's 770 employees signed a letter saying they were "unable to work for or with people that lack competence, judgment and care for our mission and employees." The Washington Post

6. Sunak said government should 'let people die,' Covid inquiry hears

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, then serving in Boris Johnson's Cabinet, allegedly said the government should "just let people die" instead of imposing a second national lockdown to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new evidence disclosed in the country's Covid inquiry on Monday. Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, wrote in an Oct. 25, 2020, note that a top Johnson adviser had told him that during a high-level meeting, Sunak said to "just let people die and that's OK. This all feels like a complete lack of leadership." Senior government officials have said during the inquiry that the Johnson government's response was hampered by a "toxic" and "macho" culture. Reuters, Independent

7. Gas prices plunge in time for Thanksgiving travel

Gas prices have fallen by about 25 cents per gallon in less than a month, according to AAA data. The national average dropped to $3.31 per gallon Monday at the start of a busy week of Thanksgiving travel, with 55.4 million people expected to travel between Wednesday and Sunday, including 44.9 million of them by car. A gallon of regular gas is now 36 cents cheaper than a year ago after the national average for a gallon of regular gas dropped for nine straight weeks. The decline, "largely seasonal due to weakening gasoline demand, could extend for another week or two, leading to potentially the lowest gas prices since 2021 by Christmas," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. Axios

8. US households to get another round of free Covid tests

The federal government plans to offer U.S. households four more Covid-19 tests for free ahead of the holiday season. Americans will be able to order the tests at covidtests.gov, one of the few remaining sources of free at-home rapid tests now that the pandemic's public health emergency has ended. Covid cases have surged in each of the last three winters. "We're going to see families gather with older loved ones and younger loved ones and it's important that they are able to protect their loved ones from Covid as we head into the winter months," said Dawn O'Connell, head of the Federal Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response. ABC News

9. Mass shooting at Ohio Walmart

A gunman opened fire at a Walmart in Beavercreek, Ohio, wounding four people and sending panicked shoppers fleeing before fatally shooting himself, police said. One witness described the attacker as a tall, young white male who walked into the store carrying a rifle. The shooting occurred at about 8:35 p.m. "I thought it was glass at first," one worker said. "I heard a couple [of] people running and screaming so I darted out and we got to the Burger King parking lot." Two Wright State University students who had been heading to a nearby restaurant said the Walmart parking lot was "flooded" with police cars. There were "police dogs that were running in, a bunch of cops running in," one of the students said. Dayton Daily News

10. Shakira settles Spain tax case

Colombian pop star Shakira on Monday agreed to pay a $8.2 million fine to settle a tax fraud case in Spain. Spanish prosecutors had called for jailing the singer for eight years and fining her $22.8 million if she was found guilty of paying taxes elsewhere when she was living in Spain between 2012 and 2014. Under Spanish law, anyone spending more than six months per year in the country is considered a resident for tax purposes. Shakira said her main residence was elsewhere at the time. She denied doing anything wrong, but agreed to settle the case "with the best interest of my kids at heart," because they "do not want to see their mom sacrifice her personal well-being in this fight." BBC News