Prosecutors charge Rob Reiner’s son Nick with 2 counts of murder in killing of his parents
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rob Reiner’s son Nick Reiner was charged Tuesday with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents, which stunned their communities in Hollywood and Democratic politics, where both were widely beloved.
Nick Reiner, 32, is charged with killing the 78-year-old actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced at a news conference with LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
“Their loss is beyond tragic and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice," Hochman said.
Along with the two counts of first degree murder, prosecutors added special circumstances of multiple murders and a special allegation that the defendant used a dangerous weapon, a knife. The additions could mean a greater sentence.
Hochman said his office has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty in the case.
Trump expands travel ban and restrictions to include an additional 20 countries
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday it was expanding travel restrictions to an additional 20 countries and the Palestinian Authority, doubling the number of nations affected by sweeping limits announced earlier this year on who can travel and emigrate to the U.S.
The Trump administration included five more countries as well as people traveling on documents issued by the Palestinian Authority to the list of countries facing a full ban on travel to the U.S. and imposed new limits on 15 other countries.
The move is part of ongoing efforts by the administration to tighten U.S. entry standards for travel and immigration, in what critics say unfairly prevents travel for people from a broad range of countries. The administration suggested it would expand the restrictions after the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the shooting of two National Guard troops over Thanksgiving weekend.
People who already have visas, are lawful permanent residents of the U.S. or have certain visa categories such as diplomats or athletes, or whose entry into the country is believed to serve the U.S. interest, are all exempt from the restrictions. The proclamation said the changes go into effect on Jan. 1.
In June, President Donald Trump announced that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from coming to the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions. The decision resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term.
Investigators release video timeline of the Brown campus shooting suspect's movements
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Authorities on Tuesday released a new video timeline and a slightly clearer image of the man suspected in the Brown University shooting, though investigators provided no indication that they were any closer to zeroing in on his identity.
Investigators have been canvassing around Providence in search of clues that might help them figure out who was behind Saturday's campus shooting, which killed two students and wounded nine others.
In all the videos made public, the suspect's face was masked or turned away, and authorities have only been able to give a vague description of him as being stocky and about 5 feet, 8 inches (173 centimeters) tall.
Surveillance video the FBI posted online before it was removed showed a person in dark clothing walking along multiple sidewalks for about an hour starting shortly after 2 p.m. Saturday. The streets were all within a few blocks of the Brown University engineering building where the shooting occurred.
Some clips show the person walking in front of some properties several times. In one, the person abruptly turns around and runs in the other direction when someone approaches.
Trump orders blockade of 'sanctioned oil tankers' into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on Maduro
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Tuesday he is ordering a blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela, ramping up pressure on the country’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro in a move that seemed designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country's economy.
Trump's escalation comes after U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region. In a post on social media Tuesday night announcing the blockade, Trump alleged Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to continue the military buildup until the country gave the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was not clear why he felt the U.S. had a claim.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”
Pentagon officials referred all questions about the post to the White House.
Venezuela’s government released a statement Tuesday accusing Trump of “violating international law, free trade, and the principle of free navigation” with “a reckless and grave threat” against the South American country.
Australia to hold funerals for the 15 victims of an antisemitic mass shooting at Bondi Beach
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia prepared for the funerals on Wednesday for some of the 15 victims of an antisemitic mass shooting during a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, an attack that police said was inspired by the Islamic State group.
The victims were between 10 and 87 years old. Twenty-two people who were injured in the attack remained in Sydney hospitals Wednesday, six of them in a critical condition.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday that the IS link assessment was based on evidence obtained, including “the presence of Islamic State flags in the vehicle that has been seized.”
Among the injured in the hospital is Ahmed al Ahmed, hailed as a hero after he was captured on video tackling and disarming one of the assailants, before pointing the man’s weapon at him and then setting it on the ground. Three other people who tried to stop the gunmen were shot and killed.
The gunshots rang out as members of Australia's Jewish community attended festivities at Australia’s most famous beach Sunday.
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House Speaker Johnson rebuffs efforts to extend health care subsidies, pushing ahead with GOP plan
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a GOP health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums millions of Americans will soon endure as pandemic-era tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year's end.
Speaker Mike Johnson had discussed the prospect of allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on their amendment that would temporarily extend pandemic-era subsidies for ACA coverage. But after days of private talks, leadership sided with the more conservative wing of the conference, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up a failed ACA marketplace.
“We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve,” Johnson said Tuesday at the Capitol. “In the end, it was not — an agreement wasn’t made.”
The maneuvering surrounding the health care vote all but guarantees that many Americans will see substantially higher insurance costs in 2026. In the Senate, a bipartisan group was still trying to come up with a compromise to extend the subsidies, which fueled this year's government shutdown. But senators made clear that any potential legislation would likely wait until January, after the holiday break.
Instead, House Republicans will pursue their 100-plus-page health care package that focuses on long-sought GOP proposals designed to expand insurance coverage options for small businesses and the self-employed. A test vote is expected Wednesday.
Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks and other close friends of Rob and Michele Reiner pay tribute
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Some of Rob and Michele Reiner's closest friends, including actors Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks, Martin Short and Larry David, have released a statement mourning the couple and praising their love of film and country.
“Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller. There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films," the group said in a statement released first to The Associated Press.
“His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant,” it said of Rob Reiner, whose films included “A Few Good Men,” “When Harry Met Sally..." and “The Princess Bride."
The statement was released two days after Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Their son, Nick Reiner, was charged Tuesday with two counts of murder and is suspected of stabbing his parents to death.
The joint statement came from some of Reiner's longtime collaborators and contemporaries, including Crystal, Brooks, Short, David and their spouses. The signatories included writer Alan Zweibel, composer and lyricist Marc Shaiman, director Barry Levinson and former U.S. Ambassador to Spain James Costos.
Border Patrol official who is the face of Trump's crackdown back in Chicago amid immigration raids
CHICAGO (AP) — Senior Border Patrol official Greg Bovino returned to the Chicago area on Tuesday, about a month after leaving to lead immigration enforcements in other cities, immigration advocates say.
Bovino, the face of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, was photographed Tuesday in the predominantly Mexican American neighborhood of Little Village by the Chicago Sun-Times as neighbors and activists blew whistles and shouted.
Videos obtained by The Associated Press showed several unmarked cars and Border Patrol agents deploying pepper balls and detaining a man in the neighborhood's business corridor.
Bovino arrived in the Chicago area in September amid Operation Midway Blitz, which has yielded thousands of arrests and fueled fear among immigrant communities. The operation has become known for its aggressive tactics, including the use of chemical munitions and car chases. Since the operation began, federal agents deployed tear gas in neighborhood streets, hit protesters and journalists with pepper balls and shot at least two people, killing one.
Bovino left Chicago in November to lead immigration operations in New Orleans and North Carolina. While immigration operations had continued in Chicago, they were noticeably subdued with fewer tense confrontations, and Tuesday's enforcements were among the most visible since Bovino left town.
The US gained 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October; unemployment rate at 4.6%
WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States gained a decent 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October as federal workers departed after cutbacks by the Trump administration, the government said in delayed reports.
The unemployment rate rose to 4.6% last month, highest since 2021.
The November job gains were higher than the 40,000 economists had forecast. The October job losses were caused by a 162,000 drop in federal workers, many of whom resigned at the end of fiscal year 2025 on Sept. 30 under pressure from billionaire Elon Musk's purge of U.S. government payrolls.
Labor Department revisions also knocked 33,000 jobs off August and September payrolls.
Hiring has clearly lost momentum, hobbled by uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the lingering effects of the high interest rates the Fed engineered in 2022 and 2023 to rein in an outburst of inflation. Since March, job creation has fallen to an average 35,000 a month, compared to 71,000 in the year ended in March.
Doctor who helped sell ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before his overdose death avoids prison time
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A doctor who pleaded guilty in a scheme to supply ketamine to actor Matthew Perry before his overdose death was sentenced Tuesday to 8 months of home confinement.
Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence that included 3 years of supervised release to 55-year-old Dr. Mark Chavez in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles.
Before the sentence was delivered, Chavez addressed the judge and said he had lost a loved one recently and understood the grief that Perry's death has caused.
“I just want to say my heart goes out to the Perry family,” he said.
Chavez acquired ketamine and gave it to Dr. Salvador Plasencia, who was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison earlier this month for selling ketamine to Perry in the months leading up to his death.

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