NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-15-2025 2AM EST

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News, I'm Dale Wilman. Hollywood is mourning the death of filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. However, police have not yet confirmed the identities of two people found dead in the Reiner's Los Angeles home on Sunday afternoon. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is calling the deaths a devastating loss for the city in the country. The Los Angeles police were investigating the deaths as an apparent homicide. Police in Providence say the person they detained in connection with the fatal shooting at Brown University on Saturday is being released, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Nerona says the man is no longer a suspect. Certainly there was some degree of evidence that pointed to this individual, but that evidence

needed to be corroborated and confirmed. And over the last 24 hours leading into a, just very, very recently, that evidence now points in a different direction. Two students were killed and nine others injured when a man walked into a school building and opened fire during final exams. Police say the investigation is complex. At least 15 people were killed and dozens of others injured in a mass shooting Sunday at a Hanukkah celebration on a beach in Sydney, Australia. Police say the two gunmen were a father and his son. One of them was killed.

As N. Pierce Tamara Keith reports, President Trump praised a man who disarmed one of the gunmen. President Trump said the attack in Australia, non-Jewish families celebrating the first night of Hanukkah was terrible. And that was an anti-Semitic attack, obviously. and that I just want to pay my respects to everybody. Trump said the man who was seen on video grabbing a gun from one of the shooters at great risk to himself was a very, very brave person. Trump said he saved a lot of lives.

The president was speaking at a holiday reception at the White House and offered an addendum to his usual Merry Christmas. Today we can very say loudly we celebrate Hanukkah because that was such a horrible attack. That was a purely anti-Semitic attack. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the White House. The first winter storm of the season has hit the New York metropolitan area. Bruce Conweiser reports from New Jersey. As the snow started falling, forecasters were predicting two to three inches across much of New Jersey. By mid-morning, a large swath of the state was buried under six inches of snow.

Travel disruptions were relatively limited as the storm hit early Sunday, but more than 80 flights were canceled at the three New York City area airports. The snowstorm will clear out, but will be followed by strong winds and a blast of Arctic air. Temperatures will struggle to break through the freezing point over the next two days. For NPR news, I'm Bruce Confeiser in Greenbrook, New Jersey. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky says he would consider dropping his country's bid to join NATO in exchange for Western security guarantees. But he again rejected U.S. proposals for Ukraine to give territory to Russia to end the war there.

Zelensky held talks in Berlin on Sunday with U.S. officials. This is NPR News. A major protest took place in Rio de Janeiro Sunday. Tens of thousands of people were protesting legislation that would reduce the prison sentence of former President Jair Bolsonaro. He received a

27-year sentence after being found guilty of attempting a coup. The measure has been passed by the country's lower chamber and is now with the Senate. The protests reflect growing discontent with Congress and fears that Brazil's democracy is being undermined. President Trump recently announced a $12 billion plan to help farmers across the country.

The Farmer Bridge Assistant Program is a one-time payment meant to help farmers make it to the next growing season. As the Gulf State's newsrooms, Drew Hawkins reports, farmers have been hit hard this year. James Davis, a row crop farmer in North Louisiana, says tariffs have made it hard for farmers to export their commodities, making it harder to pay their bills, including health insurance. He and his wife are able to pay for their health insurance because of enhanced premium tax credit through the Affordable Care Act. Without subsidies, you can't afford it. Bottom line. After a Democratic proposal to extend those subsidies failed last week,

they're set to expire at the end of the month. For NPR News, I'm Drew Hawkins in New Orleans. Disney has another hit on its hands. Zootopia 2 was number one at North American box offices again this weekend, bringing in $26.3 million in ticket sales. Disney says its worldwide sales have now passed $1 billion, thanks to enormous success. in China. Five nights at Freddy's two, meanwhile, was in second, collecting

$15.4 million and Wicked for Good held on to third with $8.6 million in sales. I'm Dale Willman, NPR News.