NPR News Now - NPR News: 12-15-2025 3PM EST

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. The son of legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner has been arrested and booked on suspicion of murder. Steve Futterman reports Reiner and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home yesterday, sending shockwaves through Hollywood. The day after Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle, were found dead in their home, authorities announced the arrest of the couple's 32-year-old son Nick, L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell. We have our robbery homicide division handling the investigation. They work throughout the night on this case and were able to take into custody. Nick Reiner, he was subsequently booked for murder and is being held on $4 million bail. Nick Reiner has spoken openly about his struggles with substance abuse for a period he lived on the street.

The case will now be presented to the L.A. County District Attorney who's then expected to bring formal murder charges. For NPR News, I'm Steve Futterman in Los Angeles. The Justice Department says it's foiled a plot to bomb sites in the Los Angeles area on New Year's Eve. NPR's Ryan Lucas reports authorities have arrested four people in connection with the alleged plot. The defendants, Audrey Carroll, Zachary Page, Dante Gaffield, and Tina Lay faced charges of conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. The charges were announced by the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Ossaly. The defendants are all radical anti-government members of the Turtle Island Liberation Front. An FBI affidavit says the group is dedicated to liberation through decolonization and tribal sovereignty.

It says the four defendants were plotting to plant pipe bombs and businesses in the L.A. area to explode on New Year's Eve and had bought materials, including precursor chemicals, to build the bombs. Officials say the alleged plotters were arrested while trying to test an explosive device out in the desert. Ryan Lucas NPR News, Washington. With time running out to sign up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Congress has yet to act on expiring tax credits that help millions afford coverage. The House is expected to vote this week on a plan that does not extend those credits which expire at the end of the year. Republican Congressman Kevin Kiley of California, who supports a temporary extension, told NPR that Speaker Johnson's proposal was hastily thrown to.

together. It doesn't address the immediate crisis in front of us. So what we really need to do is pass some temporary extension of these tax credits. More than 20 million Americans currently rely on Affordable Care Act tax credits. Stocks are trading lower on Wall Street at this hour. The Dow Jones Industrial leverage is down 30 points. The NASDA composite also trading lower, down 113. You're listening to NPR News from Washington. voters in Chile have elected an ultra-conservative for president rejecting the current far-left government's candidate. Chilean president-elect Jose Antonio Kast is promising a hard line against rising crime and illegal immigration. NPR's Kerry Kahn reports. Fifty-nine-year-old Jose Antonio Kass's ultra-conservative stances, especially on women's issues and his support of the Pinochet dictatorship, were too hard line in his two-hardt,

previous presidential bids. This time, he focused more on concerns over crime and rising migration, especially from Venezuela. In a meandering hour-long acceptance speech, he told a huge crowd in Santiago that change was coming, but said it would take time. Like other recently elected conservatives in Latin America, cast pledged a crackdown on crime with more police and prisons. He says the more than 300,000 migrants estimated to live in Chile without legal status have until his inauguration in March to self-deport, or he'll send police to find them. Kerry Kahn, NPR News. Jimmy Lai, a prominent Hong Kong media tycoon and outspoken critic of Beijing, has been

convicted under the city's national security law. A panel of government-approved judges found the 78-year-old guilty of conspiring with foreign forces and publishing seditious material. Lai had pleaded not guilty to all charges. He now faces a possible life sentence with sentencing expected after a mitigation hearing in January. This family said they are saddened, but not surprised by the verdict. This is NPR News.