Weekend Papers Summary
FINANCIAL TIMES
-OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman has resigned following a board review, which found he was not consistently candid in his communications, affecting the company's ability to exercise its responsibilities. Altman expressed his love for his time at OpenAI and expressed his desire to discuss his future plans.
-Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden held their second meeting at Filoli estate in the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco, resulting in constructive discussions. They agreed to reopen communication channels between the two nations, which were shut down in 2022 due to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taipei. Additionally, Washington and Beijing agreed to create a counter-narcotics working group, focusing on cracking down on Chinese groups that supply Mexican cartels with fentanyl ingredients, a synthetic opioid responsible for 70,000 US overdose deaths last year.
-Elon Musk has faced criticism for endorsing an antisemitic post on X, the former Twitter, which he bought for $44B last year. Media Matters found advertisements for top brands, including Apple, IBM, Oracle, Comcast's Xfinity, and Bravo, next to posts promoting "pro-Nazi" views. IBM recently announced it was pulling global advertising from X.
-As oil prices hit a year low of $77/barrel this week, Saudi Arabia is expected to extend its 1 million barrel-a-day oil production cut into next year, as OPEC+ considers further reductions in response to falling prices and growing anger over the Israel - Hamas war. The voluntary measure, which expires at the end of this year, was introduced as a temporary step on top of wider cuts by the cartel. OPEC+ is considering further cuts, which could inflame tensions with the us, as it prepares to meet in Vienna on November 26. While the drop has prompted action to revive prices, anger over Israel’s war on Hamas and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza are also playing an important role.
-Ukrainian forces claim to have established several fortified bridgeheads on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River after their “most significant” territorial advance in weeks as part of the so-called counteroffensive. The Ukrainian military did not name where these advances took place.
-Berlin rejected a €100B EU common budget top-up request by Brussels, citing a German constitutional court ruling that made it impossible to find additional funding. The European Commission requested a €100B increase, half of which would be for Ukraine over four years, while the remaining €50B would be used to repay common debt, increase migration spending, and increase EU officials' salaries. Berlin stated it was committed to providing more funding to Ukraine, but the court ruling's strict spending limits left Berlin with no spare funds.
-Carles Puigdemont, former Catalan president, sought to regain Catalonia from Spain but was crushed in his independence bid in 2017. He fled to Belgium, where allies envision him as a separatist hero. Puigdemont was the lead Catalan negotiator of the political accord that allowed Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to return to power. He is now the most high-profile beneficiary of the price he extracted in return: an amnesty for all those facing criminal charges over the failed secession bid. His return to Catalonia would also stoke national political fury in Spain.
NEW YORK TIMES
-Meet Mira Murati, the engineer now leading OpenAI. The company’s interim C.E.O. has been managing the development and distribution of ChatGPT and DALL-E for years.
-Advertisers flee X as outcry grows over Elon Musk’s endorsement of anti-Semitic post. Disney, Apple, Paramount and Lionsgate halted marketing on X, formerly Twitter, as Elon Musk faced a furor over antisemitic abuse on his social media platform.
-New York Times journalists traveled with an Israeli military convoy to catch a rare glimpse of conditions inside wartime Gaza.
-Israeli military signals intent to move into southern Gaza. The chief military spokesman said forces were prepared to expand their offensive in Gaza “in every place that Hamas is, and it is in the south of the strip.”
-The discovery of a tunnel shaft at Al-Shifa Hospital didn’t seem to resolve whether Hamas hid command centers there.
Judge says trump ‘engaged in insurrection’ but keeps him on Colorado ballot. A district court judge said the disqualification clause of the 14th Amendment did not apply to former President Trump.
-Thousands gather in pro-palestinian protests across New York City
In Brooklyn and in Manhattan, multiple rallies drew large crowds calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
-Students for Justice in Palestine, which was founded at Berkeley, has fueled campus activism. Critics say it has also stoked intimidation and antisemitism.
-President Xi Jinping is one of the most self-contained Chinese leaders in decades. He reveals next to nothing about his personal life.
-Former President Donald Trump went unmentioned during the memorial service for Maryanne Trump Barry, seemingly in accordance with her wishes.
-Rosalynn Carter, 96, has entered hospice care at a home in Georgia
The former first lady, who has dementia, joined her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, who has been in hospice care since February.
-Montauketts’ bid for NY State recognition is vetoed for the 5th time.
The tribe on Eastern Long Island, which lost state recognition more than a century ago, has won over the State Legislature, but not the governor.
-Liberia’s president concedes election defeat in a knife-edge vote. President George Weah announced that he had lost his bid for re-election to Joseph Boakai, a 78-year-old former vice president.
NY POST
-The FBI has conducted a federal corruption investigation into NYC Mayor Eric Adams' 2021 campaign, including the raid of a City Hall staffer's home and the home of a former Turkish Airlines executive. The investigation is focusing on whether Adams' team conspired with the Turkish government to fuel his campaign with foreign donations and whether he urged FDNY to fast track permits for a new high-rise Turkish consulate despite failing an earlier safety inspection. The New Jersey home of Rana Abbasova was also searched as part of the investigation. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
-Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Susan Collins has said that while evidence suggests inflation is easing, she is not ready to rule out more rate hikes if needed. Collins said that to get back down to 2% inflation in a reasonable amount of time, patience and resoluteness are needed. She remains focused on assessing the full complement of information and making real-time assessments about the right course of action.