carter, the former first lady who spent a lifetime in service to the country and at the side of jimmy carter. the passionate humanitarian passed away at the age of 96 surrounded by family

her lasting impact and the tributes pouring in this morning. the race for a deal to release dozens of hostages held by hamas, the new hope for a diplomatic breakthrough this morning plus new efforts to save dozens of babies from gaza's main hospital. taylor swift returns to the stage after the tragic death of a 23-year-old at a concert in rio. how the singer honored the fallen fan. a silicon valley showdown over the future of artificial intelligence we're live with an inside look at the chaotic battle over ceo at the company behind chatgpt. nothing like dancing to keep you on your toes, the group of seniors proving you are never too old to have fun. it's monday, november 20th "early today" starts right now good morning, i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm frances rivera. the nation is mourning the loss of a former first lady who dedicated her life to serving others rosalynn carter's devotion to public service continued for decades beyond her time at the white house. nbc's lester holt has more on

her legacy >> it's now my pleasure to introduce someone whom i love and respect and cherish. my wife, rosalynn. >> reporter: she was jimmy carter's partner, best friend and closest adviser in and out of the white house for more than three quarters of a century. soft-spoken, politically savvy, and fiercely determined, rosalynn carter was known as the steel magnolia and she made the role of first lady her own born rosalynn smith in plains, georgia, she was a neighbor to jimmy carter, three years her senior. >> i was shy and found out that he was so easy to talk to and we just kind of hit it off really well i think i was already in love with him. >> reporter: they married in 1946 when she was 18. >> rosalynn and i have been equally and totally dedicated partners, even when i was still earning a living as a peanut farmer. >> reporter: jimmy ran the family farm, rosalynn helped

manage the business. they raised a family, three sons and later daughter amy jimmy got into politics, elected georgia governor in 1970, then running for president with rosalynn's enthusiastic support. >> people got to know him and when they know him they vote for him. >> thank you. >> and she's completely objective and unbiased. >> i love politics. >> reporter: the small-town girl with a poor family who never finished college thrived on the national stage. >> every day i see things that i think i could help with, things that i want to learn more about. >> reporter: jimmy carter won the election with rosalynn playing a key role. >> i was involved with the selection of the vice president. >> reporter: she was front and center from the start, attending cabinet meetings, leading on policy issues, including mental health, becoming the first first lady since eleanor roosevelt to testify before congress.

>> i am here as a concerned citizen. >> there's so many opportunities and if i don't use the influence i have to help those people who need help, i think that's a terrible waste. >> reporter: she served as president carter's emissary, taking high profile strips to latin america and asia. >> i think i am the person clothes he is to the president of the united states and if i can help him in understanding the countries of the world then that's what i intend to do. >> reporter: often more popular than the president himself, she was his advocate in chief. >> i'm proud of jimmy carter and the job he's doing and he is, without a doubt, the best person in our country to see us through these times. >> reporter: but failsed with a troubled economy and a painful hostage crisis, carter lost to ronald reagan in 1980 and the carters returned to plains they founded the carter center and together began a remarkable decades' long post-presidency devoted to human rights, international diplomacy,

eradicating disease and year after year building low-income housing with habitat for humanity in 1999 they were awarded the presidential medal of freedom. >> i think that's one of the happiest time of my life there is life after the white house. >> reporter: through it all she remained her husband's greatest champion. >> it irritates me when people say he's a good former president. he was a good president. i don't worry about his place in history. >> reporter: as for her own place in history, rosalynn carter was characteristically modest >> i just hope people think i did the best i could >> former president jimmy carter says rosalynn was his equal partner in everything he accomplished in a statement he said his wife gave him wise guidance and encouragement and as long as she was in the world he knew somebody loved and supported him. nbc's brie jackson joins us now from d.c. with more on how rosalynn is being remembered this morning

good morning, brie the carters have touched so many lives over the last eight decades. >> reporter: good morning, phillip. many people knows rosalynn as jimmy parter's devoted partner, but in 1987 she also founded the rosalynn carter institute for caregivers, becoming a champion for anyone taking on the role of sievelessly caring for family or friends. she was an advocate for advancing human rights and for mental health awareness. in a statement the carter center says ms. carter was a caring person every time we see a butterfly, we will be reminded of her legacy of tenderness and resilience president biden says first lady rosalynn carter walked her own path, inspiring a nation and the world along the way. and first lady jill biden shared this tribute at an event in virginia >> she was well-known for her efforts on mental health and care giving and women's rights so i hope that during the

holidays you will consider including the carter family in your prayers. >> reporter: meanwhile, bill and hillary clinton says ms. carter will forever be remembered as the embodiment of a life lived with purpose a funeral for former first lady rosalynn carter is planned for next wednesday in plains, georgia. phillip? >> so many more fond memories to come thank you. now to our other big story, the war in gaza where 240 hostages are currently being held by hamas and palestinian islamic jihad. this morning there is hope for them as sources confirm to nbc news that negotiators are closing in on a deal with hamas to release some of them. our erin mclaughlin reports. >> reporter: new hope for a deal to release potentially dozens of hostages. >> i believe we are closer than we have been in quite some time. >> reporter: deputy national security adviser telling "meet the press" moderator kristen welker that negotiations include

a multiday stop in the fighting. >> executing the deal would involve moving around what is a dangerous battlefield in gaza but it would have the important benefit of making it easier to distribute humanitarian assistance tlourt gaza. >> reporter: that news comes as the israeli military released this footage, claiming to show the desperate moments terrorists took two hostages into al shifa hospital, one by stretcher, the other dragged in on the morning of the october 7th attacks. what happened next we don't know but the israelis a length this footage shows a tunnel stretching more than 30 feet beneath the hospital complex leading to this blast door which the israeli military says it has yet to open. nbc news has been unable to verify the claims that are part of the growing evidence the israelis allege hamas has been exploiting the al shifa hospital for cover. the world health organization says that same hospital is now a death zone, having been surrounded and cut off by israeli forces for nearly two

weeks. they evacuated 31 premature babies, once given days to live in al shifa now being treated down south, though some of the babies didn't survive the trip >> as soon as we arrived there unfortunately two newborn babies were declared dead. >> reporter: this weekend the w.h.o. and other aid groups visited the embattled hospital noting the desperate conditions inside and the mass grave out front. the u.n. with this message for the hospital staff who risked everything. >> that you continue to deliver the best possible care for your patients and their families is nothing short of heroic. >> reporter: this as thousands of gazans flee the continued violence in the north any way they can but with the israeli military increasing the pace of its assault on hamas to the south, in gaza there's growing fear there's nowhere left to go >> and our thanks to erin for that report. former president trump

scoring a major endorsement this morning. texas governor greg abbott announced his support for trump in the 2024 race during a campaign event in south texas. and a new nbc news poll shows donald trump leading president biden 46% to 44% that's the first time our polling has shown former president trump leading, but the two-point lead is within within the poll's margin of error. a heat wave turns deadly in brazil when a fan for the era's tour died. swift shared her condolences on social media and honored the fan during an acoustic set sunday night. ♪ good-bye, good-bye, good-bye ♪ ♪ you were more than just a short time ♪ >> swift postponed her saturday show to monday night due to the unsafe heat. temperatures reportedly felt like nearly 140 degrees and there was also concern over the star's health after this video showing her struggling to breathe on stage

thanksgiving travel plans might hit turbulence because storms are on the way across the country. michelle grossman is tracking how it could impact you. good morning. >> good morning. we're looking at snow on the cold side of this system, also heavy rain, locally heavy rain, could see strong storms later on today into the nighttime hours we're anticipating impacts, major delays likely in st. louis, new orleans, also houston. we're looking at moderate delays in salt lake city, denver, chicago throughout the next couple of days, even in charlotte as we go throughout tomorrow we could see some problems, not today, though. as we look at radar looking at heavy rain falling early in morning where you see brighter colors, seeing lightning as well this storm system has the energy and we do have the anticipation of some strong storms later on today. so this is the setup, there is that area of low pressure, it's a big system that's bringing that mountain snow on the cold side, that's going to be in the higher elevations of the rockies into the high plains as well locally heavy rain, severe storms into portions of the lower mississippi valley and where you see the orange here we

could see a tornado outbreak we could see winds gustingp to the south in parts of the lower mississippi valley where we could see winds gusting. and that's your monday forecast. >> michelle, thank you. still to come, proof that fans are hungry for more hunger games. >> first, we're back in 60 seconds with the battle over the future of artificial intelligence and the tug of war at the top for the creators of chatgpt. pantene's pro-vitamin formula repairs hair. as well as the leading luxury bonding treatment. for softness and resilience, without the price tag. if you know... you know it's pantene. have fun, sis! ♪♪ can't stop adding stuff to your cart?

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accused jews of hating white people and expressed indifference to anti-semitism. he wrote, you have said the actual truth the white house has also condemned his post the tech mogul responded to the backlash sunday writing that there were hundreds of bogus media stories that he is anti-semitic and that nothing could be further from the truth. a major shakeup in silicon valley sparked in part by concerns about the future of artificial intelligence. the company behind chatgpt ousted its ceo on friday but appeared to try to walk back that decision over the weekend cnbc's arabile gumede is here to break it all down for us air what is going on where do things stand this morning? >> what a whirlwind of a weekend. if you had left the openai offices on friday morning and only got back this morning you certainly would have come back to different news and a different leadership three different leaders ultimately have held the helm of openai over the last weekend or so sam altman being ousted on

friday with the president of openai, greg brockman also resigning on the back of the news that altman had been taken out of his position as ceo the board said that that reason was because he was no longer as consistently candid with them about everything from the speed to what it is the projects they were going into. the weekend then happened with microsoft led to try to get a few more investors into making sure that that decision was u turned, but no u-turn coming sam altman had asked for a restructuring and changing of the board. that didn't happen it seems he was never going to come back to openai, but instead the ceo of microsoft has now announced that sam altman will now head up the research ai team for microsoft. so he as well as greg brockman have now joined microsoft to head up their ai research team

interesting developments in this space. >> a lot of reshuffle and very consequential space. thank you. still to come, mariah carey, she does a lot for christmas but might make an exception this year the latest member of the barbie family right after this. dryness and frizz that keeps coming back, could be damaged hair that can't retain moisture. you need pantene's miracle rescue deep conditioner. it's filled with pro-vitamins to help hair lock in moisture, visibly repairing six months of damage in just one use, with no weigh-down. guaranteed, or your money back. for hair that looks healthy and stays healthy. if you know, you know it's pantene. lately, my skin seems dry and sensitive. head up their ai research team family right after this. it's free of dyes and perfumes, for a clean that's gentle on skin. if it touches my skin, i clean it with all free clear the number one brand recommended by dermatologists. feeling sluggish or weighed down?

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♪ let me ask you one final time, what are the hunger games for? this weekend the odds were ever in the favor of the hunger games, the ballad of song birds and snakes, it topped the box office with a $44 million debut. universal and dream works "trolls band together" debuted at number two. hunger games is kind of low

based on the past ones that had $100 million with their debut. still, the fan base they will take it. >> same with trolls. i have a feeling that's going to have staying power in thetop five. it was wallen versus swift for dominance at sundays billboard music awards while taylor swift unsurprisingly entered the show with the most nominations she did not walk out with the most trophies, that was country superstar morgan wallen who took home 11 awards to swift's ten including top male artist and top 100 artist swift walked away with top female artist and the biggest prize of the night which is top artist we all know at this point taylor swift is just -- she's owning this first -- first quarter -- this first quarter of the century. >> i was trying to see if i could watch this so it wasn't on traditional, you could find it on a station, it was on social channels when it comes to billboard social channels, that's the only place that you were able to see it. mattel is making our wishes come true. the toy company is introducing a new barbie modeled after mariah

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senior center -- >> they take it very seriously >> reporter: -- it's show time for this great group >> we are called the fancy senior follies. >> reporter: who are the definition of the classic quote age is nothing but a number. >> you know the term elderly, it's not a word in our vocabulary, it's a dirty word for us. >> reporter: dressed to impress with moves equally as eye opening. >> if you don't lose it you're going to lose it. >> reporter: the average age for these dancers is 74 years old. >> i never imagined i would be doing this at this age. >> reporter: 15 years ago fran started the 55 and older dance group. >> if you can walk, you can dance. >> reporter: the senior center offered her an opportunity to use their facility and ever since she's been volunteering her time teaching tap and just about every other move imaginable anyone from anywhere is welcome with open arms.

>> last year i retired and sure enough i joined the group. >> mine was a christmas gift to my wife. >> reporter: practice makes perfect for this bunch and currently they're practicing for a performance. >> it gives us confidence in ourself. >> reporter: fran runs a tight ship and even performed on one >> it's almost like a dream come true of what it would be like to be in show business. >> reporter: in the past the group has danced on a cruise line and always make it their mission to show off their skills as much as possible including quick costume changes and routines. >> if you bring a costume in they all of a sudden know how to dance. they just love it. >> reporter: dancing is a head to toe workout literally. >> it keeps me young. >> reporter: the steps they're putting in now have worked wonders. >> my body is a lot better because of the dancing i think also my mind because you have to do a lot of thinking. >> reporter: besides the physical effects relationships here go deeper >> we are still full of life, vibrant and we can learn and do

things. >> reporter: because at their age they have all experienced love and loss but here this is family. >> they are all very much there for each other. >> reporter: the fancy senior follies. >> it does my heart good that's what makes it all worth it for me. >> and our thanks to sam reed for that report. that's the best way to do it, dancing in those golden years. i don't know if i would be doing that at 70 or 08. >> i mean, i don't do it now. >> exactly. >> but it does -- it does have so many health benefits, the social connection, getting up and moving, 's all greatit

this morning, the world remembers rosalynn carter, the former first lady passing away at the age of 96 we look back on her legacy of public service and the life-long love she shared with president jimmy carter a deal to releas