10 things you need to know today: November 23, 2022

(Image credit: Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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1. Several die in shooting at Virginia Walmart
2. SCOTUS denies Trump request to block release of his taxes to Congress
3. Appeals court panel skeptical about special-master review of Mar-a-Lago documents
4. Graham questioned by grand jury about Trump effort to reverse 2020 election result
5. Biden administration extends pause on student-loan repayment
6. Two bombs hit Jerusalem bus stops
7. Twitter reinstates Marjorie Taylor Greene's account
8. Disney shares surge after news Iger is returning as CEO
9. Biden administration says U.S. better prepared for winter COVID surge this year
10. Saudi Arabia beats Argentina in huge World Cup upset

published 23 November 2022

1. Several die in shooting at Virginia Walmart

At least six people died and several others were injured late Tuesday in a mass shooting at a Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart. Police said the suspected shooter appeared to have acted alone, and also was dead. Five patients were reportedly transported to Norfolk General Hospital for treatment, although their conditions were not immediately available. Walmart tweeted that it was "praying for those impacted, the community and our associates." Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) tweeted that he was "sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake." The attack came days after a massacre at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and less than two weeks after three University of Virginia football players were killed in a campus shooting.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday turned down a request by former President Donald Trump's legal team to block the release of Trump's tax returns to the House Ways and Means Committee. The decision came as Republicans are just two months away from taking control of the chamber from Democrats after winning a narrow majority in the November midterm elections. The decision cleared the way for the Treasury Department to hand over the records to the House, which has been trying to get them since 2019. Douglas Letter, chief lawyer for the House, had argued that further delay "would leave the committee and Congress as a whole little or no time to complete their legislative work."

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A panel of appeals court judges in Atlanta on Tuesday questioned the legal reasoning behind former President Donald Trump's request for a special master to review material FBI agents seized from his home in a search seeking secret government documents. The judges from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked questions suggesting they doubted Trump had justified the "extraordinary" judicial intervention in the case, noting that Trump's lawyers hadn't shown that the seizure of the documents from Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida was illegal. Legal analysts said the judges appeared likely to end the review by the special master appointed by a lower court judge, which would make it easier for the Justice Department to investigate Trump's handling of classified material after leaving office.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) submitted Tuesday to questioning by a special grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump's effort to pressure Georgia officials to reverse his 2020 election loss in the state. Graham appeared at the Fulton County courthouse at 8 a.m. and went into the private hearing. A Graham spokesperson, Kevin Bishop, said the senator answered every question posed during just over two hours of testimony, but wouldn't comment on the nature of the questions, "out of respect for the grand jury process." Graham tried for months to get courts to block the questioning, saying he was immune because his election discussions with Georgia officials were part of his job as a legislator.

The Biden administration on Tuesday said it would extend a pause on federal student loan payments until after June, or whenever its plan to forgive some student debt takes effect. The payments, suspended earlier in the coronavirus pandemic, had been scheduled to resume in January. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the extension was necessary "because it would be deeply unfair to ask borrowers to pay a debt that they wouldn't have to pay, were it not for the baseless lawsuits brought by Republican officials and special interests." Court challenges are preventing the administration from moving forward with President Biden's proposal to drop $10,000 in student debt for borrowers making less than $125,000 annually, with another $10,000 excused for Pell Grant recipients.

Two explosions hit bus stops on the outskirts of Jerusalem during rush hour early Wednesday, killing one person and injuring at least 19 others in what police said appeared to be a coordinated terror attack by suspected Palestinian militants. The first blast occurred at the Central Bus Station near the entrance to Jerusalem. It left at least 11 people injured, one of whom later died. The second hit a bus stop east of the city 30 minutes later. The Jerusalem Post said the person killed was 15-year-old Aryeh Shtsupak, a Canadian citizen who lived in Jerusalem and was on his way to a yeshiva in a nearby community. Investigators said the bombs were packed with nails and bolts and detonated remotely.

Twitter on Monday reinstated the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), just days after the social media platform's new owner, Elon Musk, lifted a ban on former President Donald Trump. Greene's account was suspended in January after she defied repeated warnings and continued spreading misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic. Greene continued to tweet from a second account linked to her congressional office. The controversial Republican vowed to hold nothing back as she announced her return. "I'm the only Member of Congress the unelected big tech oligarchs permanently banned," she wrote. "On January 2, 2022, they violated my freedom of speech and ability to campaign & fundraise crying 'covid misinformation.' My account is back."

Walt Disney Co. shares jumped as much as 9.9 percent on Tuesday after the entertainment giant brought back former CEO Bob Iger to replace his successor, Bob Chapek. It was the best day for the stock in two years. The company's shares had fallen 41 percent in 2022 before the announcement, due to a series of disappointing results. Despite Tuesday's surge, the stock is headed for what could be its worst year since the 1970s, unless Iger's return restores confidence enough to spark further gains. Iger served as Disney's CEO for 15 years, capping four decades with the company. Iger, 71, has agreed to stay for two years while Disney searches for a permanent replacement, the company said.

Federal health officials said Tuesday that the United States is better prepared to face a possible winter COVID-19 surge than it was last year. Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden's chief medical adviser, said infections and vaccinations would probably provide "enough community protection that we're not going to see a repeat of what we saw last year," when the then-new Omicron variant spread rapidly. Dr. Ashish K. Jha, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said the key as Americans gather for the holidays is for people to get vaccinated and boosted, which will help keep hospitals from getting overburdened with coronavirus cases. "Nothing I have seen in the subvariants makes me believe that we can't manage our way through it effectively," he said.

Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-1 on Tuesday in the biggest upset so far in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The stunning Saudi victory over the South American powerhouse, which is the No. 3 ranked national soccer team in the world, was touted as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi put his team up 1-0 in the first half with a 10th-minute penalty kick, but two second-half goals by Saudi Arabia's Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al Dawsari turned the game around. "There are no excuses," Messi said. "It's a painful loss but we have to continue to trust ourselves." Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-match winning streak, and would have tied Italy's record unbeaten run by avoiding a loss in this match.

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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.