A Massacre in Australia, and Rob Reiner Is Found Dead in ‘Apparent Homicide’

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Speaker 2 From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis in for Tracy Mumford.
Today's Monday, December 15th. Here's what we're covering.

Speaker 3 What we saw yesterday was an act of pure evil,

Speaker 3 an act of anti-Semitism, an act of terrorism on our shores.

Speaker 2 In Sydney, Australia, authorities say they've concluded that a father and son were responsible for a massacre this weekend at a Jewish holiday celebration.

Speaker 2 At least 15 people were killed and dozens more were rushed to hospitals after the two men opened fire yesterday at Bondi Beach, a popular tourist spot that was packed with people celebrating the first night of Hanukkah.

Speaker 4 We could just hear the gunshots and they're just so loud. And we didn't know which way that they were shooting, so we were like running on the open road.

Speaker 2 At one point, a bystander, who officials called a genuine hero, snuck up and tackled one of the shooters from behind. The man wrestled a long gun from the attacker, who then retreated.

Speaker 2 Police say they shot and killed one of the men at the scene, the 50-year-old father.

Speaker 2 Authorities expect to bring criminal charges against the son, who's 24, but they haven't released their names or provided details about the men's exact ideology.

Speaker 2 Mass shootings like this are extremely rare in Australia, which put in place strict gun laws after a deadly attack in the 90s.

Speaker 2 The government melted down as as many as a million guns, according to some estimates, and essentially banned many types of rifles.

Speaker 2 Police say one of the suspects in yesterday's shooting was a member of a gun club who had a recreational hunting license that allowed him to have a weapon.

Speaker 2 The shooting comes at a time when many Jewish Australians were already on edge.

Speaker 2 Since the October 7th attacks in Israel and the ensuing war in Gaza, Jewish groups say there's been a wave of anti-Semitic violence in Australia, including arson attacks that have targeted an Israeli restaurant, a daycare center, and a synagogue.

Speaker 2 Meanwhile, in Providence, Rhode Island.

Speaker 5 Is the suspect behind the shooting? Are they still in this community? Have they left the state?

Speaker 6 Honestly, we have no way of knowing.

Speaker 2 And

Speaker 2 the investigation is ongoing. Officials say they're still searching for a gunman who opened fire on campus at Brown University, killing at least two students and injuring nine others.

Speaker 6 Obviously, we have

Speaker 6 a murderer out there, frankly. But the fact of the matter is, is that law enforcement has the tools necessary to solve this case.

Speaker 2 The attack happened shortly after 4 p.m. on Saturday when a masked man burst into a lecture hall where dozens of students were studying for a final econ exam.

Speaker 2 An eyewitness told the Times the gunman started shouting something, then opened fire fire as students scrambled for cover behind seats in the auditorium.

Speaker 2 On Sunday morning, officials said they detained a person of interest, though by late last night, they announced they hadn't found enough evidence to charge that person with any crime.

Speaker 2 Authorities say they're searching for more video footage that could lead them to a suspect. Brown University says it's canceled classes and exams for the rest of the semester.

Speaker 2 In Los Angeles, police say they're investigating an apparent homicide after the Hollywood actor and director Rob Reiner was found dead yesterday, along with his wife Michelle.

Speaker 2 Officers found the bodies at the Reiner's home in Brentwood, a wealthy LA neighborhood.

Speaker 2 As of last night, police said they were trying to get a search warrant for the home and had not identified a suspect. Reiner was 78.

Speaker 2 He was the son of a pioneering TV comedian who created the Dick Van Dyke Show.

Speaker 2 In high school, he was drawn to theater and later became a popular sitcom actor before going on to direct a slate of beloved films.

Speaker 7 Inconceivable. You give us in the horde.
I don't think it means what you think it means.

Speaker 2 He worked across a range of genres. There was the childhood classic The Princess Bride, the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, as well as romantic comedies.

Speaker 8 I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.

Speaker 2 Like when Harry met Sally in the courtroom drama, A Few Good Men.

Speaker 7 I want the truth. You can't handle the truth.

Speaker 2 Reiner also led a prominent political life. He was a champion of liberal causes like gay marriage.

Speaker 2 And in the 90s, he spearheaded a ballot initiative to boost taxes on tobacco to pay for early childhood development programs.

Speaker 2 In a statement, former President Barack Obama mourned the deaths, saying that even beyond his success in Hollywood, Reiner had a, quote, deep belief in the goodness of people and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.

Speaker 2 The Times has learned that in an unprecedented arrangement, the Trump administration has been providing the names of all air travelers in the U.S. to immigration officials.

Speaker 2 Under the program, which was started in March but hadn't been previously reported, the Transportation Security Administration is providing a list multiple times a week to ICE officials.

Speaker 2 The list tells them who will be coming through airports so that agents can arrest anyone with a deportation order. Airline passengers have long been subject to federal scrutiny.

Speaker 2 For example, passenger information is typically compared against terrorist watch lists.

Speaker 2 But one former TSA official said this is the first time the agency has gotten involved in domestic immigration or criminal matters.

Speaker 2 It comes as the White House has been trying to boost cooperation between federal agencies to carry out President Trump's goal of the largest deportation campaign in U.S. history.

Speaker 2 Earlier this year, the IRS agreed to hand over the addresses of migrants to ICE, though that move was blocked in federal court.

Speaker 2 For the moment, it's not clear how many arrests have been made as a result of the TSA's work with ICE.

Speaker 2 Immigration activists have criticized the cooperation, with a director at the group Human Rights First telling the Times: it's an attempt to terrorize and punish communities and will make people terrified to ever leave their homes.

Speaker 2 A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security said, quote, the message to those in the country illegally is clear. The only reason you should be flying is to self-deport home.

Speaker 2 And finally, there's a major shopping spree going on right now in Canada where people are stocking up on American liquor while they can.

Speaker 2 Earlier this year, when President Trump announced stiff new tariffs on Canada and threatened to make it the 51st state, many Canadian provinces protested by pulling U.S. spirits from their shelves.

Speaker 2 In the second quarter of this year, Canadian imports of American liquor plunged by 85%, according to the head of an industry group.

Speaker 2 Now, a number of provinces have decided to temporarily restart sales to get rid of their remaining stock. Some of the proceeds will be donated to charity.

Speaker 2 The brief buying window has led to daily lines at government-run liquor stores in Manitoba, according to the head of the province.

Speaker 2 He said Jack Daniels seemed to be particularly popular, along with Barefoot Wine.

Speaker 2 The owner of a pub and restaurant in Winnipeg said that while there had been what he called a lot of patriotism around the movement to buy Canadian, he's eager to get his order of Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey that's on the way.

Speaker 2 He told the Times,

Speaker 2 I'm anxiously looking forward to being able to serve a proper, old-fashioned.

Speaker 2 Those are the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis.
We'll be back tomorrow.

Speaker 1 This podcast is supported by the Defending Our Neighbors Fund.

Speaker 1 Across the country, immigrants are facing family separation, wrongful detention, and deportation without due process or access to legal support. The Defending Our Neighbors Fund exists to change that.

Speaker 1 Powered by people like you, the Defending Our Neighbors Fund is providing access to life-saving legal aid to families in crisis. But they urgently need your help to meet unprecedented demand.

Speaker 1 Together, we can defend our neighbors and keep families together. Donate now at defendingourneighbors.org/slash donate.