International
Walmart employee kills six in US mass shooting
| By AFP | Michael Mathes |
A Walmart employee shot dead six people at a store bustling with Thanksgiving holiday shoppers, before turning the pistol on himself, police said Wednesday, in America’s second mass shooting in four days.
Four other people remained hospitalized in unknown condition following the Tuesday night rampage in Chesapeake, Virginia, police chief Mark Solesky said.
Solesky told a news conference the gunman was believed to have died of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” and that the motive behind the country’s latest deadly outburst of gun violence was not immediately known.
President Joe Biden condemned “yet another horrific and senseless” attack, mourning the fact “there are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving.”
He added: “There are now more families who know the worst kind of loss and pain imaginable.”
The assault two days before the quintessential American family holiday, marked this year on November 24, followed a weekend gun attack at an LGBTQ club in Colorado that killed five people.
It was also the second mass shooting in the state of Virginia this month: three students at the University of Virginia who played on its football team were killed November 13 by a classmate after a field trip.
Emergency calls were first made just after 10:00 pm Tuesday (0300 GMT Wednesday) while the store was still open.
Officers arrived in a matter of two minutes and entered the Walmart two minutes later, Solesky said.
US media reported that the gunman opened fire in a room where employees take meal breaks but the police chief said he could not confirm this.
In the hours afterwards, news footage showed a major police presence around the Walmart, which is located about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of the US capital Washington.
‘Senseless violence’
Gun attacks in grocery stores in America have become increasingly common in recent years. A teenage gunman killed 10 people, most of them Black, at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in May.
Last year a shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado also left 10 dead. And in a particularly gruesome attack in 2019, a young gunman killed 23 and wounded 26 as he stalked shoppers at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
An advocacy group called Guns Down America has reported that from January 1, 2020 to May 14 of this year there were 448 “gun incidents” and 137 deaths at 12 large national retailers.
In Chesapeake, local resident Edna Dunham told CBS news after the shooting, “That could have been me.”
“It could’ve been any of us because we go there so much. It could’ve been any of us,” Dunham said.
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, issued a statement early Wednesday saying: “We are shocked at this tragic event.”
The company added that it was “praying for those impacted, the community and our associates. We’re working closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates.”
Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas, who represents the Chesapeake region, said she was “heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place… in my district.”
“I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country that has taken so many lives,” she wrote on Twitter.
Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia tweeted: “Tragically, our community is suffering from yet another incident of senseless gun violence just as families are gathering for Thanksgiving.”
The incident occurred three nights after a gunman opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring at least 18, in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Authorities said that suspect, identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, had used a long rifle at the club, where partygoers were marking the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which pays tribute to trans people targeted in violent attacks.
So far in 2022, the Gun Violence Archive website has tracked more than 600 mass shootings in the United States — defined as an incident with four or more people shot or killed, not including the shooter.
International
Justice Department Misses Deadline as Millions of Epstein Files Remain Under Review
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Monday that it is continuing to review more than two million documentspotentially linked to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, the department began releasing records from its decades-long investigation into Epstein, a wealthy financier who died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking of minors.
However, the Justice Department failed to meet the legal deadline established by the so-called Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required all related documents to be made public no later than December 19.
In a letter sent Monday to a federal judge, the department stated that more than two million documents remain “at various stages of review.”
According to the filing, authorities have so far released approximately 12,285 documents totaling more than 125,000 pages, in compliance with the law. Those materials, however, represent less than 1 percent of the total volume currently under review.
International
Beijing Says International Support Strengthens Its Position on Taiwan Sovereignty Issue
A spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, stated at a regular press briefing that several dozen countries have expressed support for China’s actions following recent countermeasures and military drills concerning the Taiwan region. These comments were made as Beijing continues to defend its stance on Taiwan after large-scale military exercises by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) near the island
According to the official statement, countries including Russia, Cuba, Serbia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and others publicly reaffirmed their commitment to the one-China principle, reiterated their opposition to external interference in China’s internal affairs, and voiced support for China’s efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Lin emphasized that these countries specifically noted that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory” and that “the Taiwan question is China’s internal affair,” adding that any form of Taiwanese independence must be rejected. He also praised these nations for their firm diplomatic support.
The spokesperson reiterated China’s position that it will remain steadfast in defending its national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, and warned that any provocations concerning the Taiwan question would be met with a firm response.
International
Maduro, Delcy Rodríguez sued in Florida over alleged kidnapping, torture and terrorism
U.S. citizens have revived a lawsuit in Miami against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro following his capture, as well as against Vice President and now acting leader Delcy Rodríguez and other senior Chavista officials, whom they accuse of kidnapping, torture, and terrorism.
The plaintiffs — including U.S. citizens who were kidnapped in Venezuela and two minors — filed a motion over the weekend before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida asking the court to declare the defendants in default for failing to respond to the lawsuit initially filed on August 14, 2025, according to court documents made public on Monday.
The case, assigned to Judge Darrin P. Gayles, accuses the Venezuelan leaders of violating the U.S. Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), the Florida Anti-Terrorism Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
In addition to Maduro and Rodríguez, the lawsuit names Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López; Attorney General Tarek William Saab; Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello; former Supreme Court Chief Justice Maikel Moreno; and National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez.
The complaint also lists the state-owned oil company Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) and former Electricity Minister Néstor Reverol as defendants.
According to the filing, Maduro “committed flagrant acts of terrorism against U.S. citizens,” citing the criminal case in New York in which Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, appeared in court for the first time on Monday following their arrest on Saturday.
The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs “were held captive by Maduro” with “illegal material support” from the other defendants, whom it identifies as members of the Cartel of the Suns, a group designated by the United States as a terrorist organization last year.
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