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The NewsWorthy
Deadly Violence, Extreme Winter Weather & Historic Heisman Win - Monday, December 15, 2025
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Today is Monday, December 15th. Unfortunately, we have to tell you about multiple tragedies that happened, from mass shootings to targeted attacks and some stories of heroism that have emerged from the horror. Also, what's in the latest batch of Epstein files that has to do with some of the most prominent men in politics, entertainment and business. Plus, where Cold Snap could break temperature records today, how much it could cost to go to a World cup game in the US and who just made history by winning the most prestigious prize in college football. Those stories and even more news to know coming up. Welcome to the Newsworthy. All the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica. Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this. Well, sadly, there were two mass shootings over the weekend we have to tell you about. But first, a news story has been developing and details are coming in early this morning even as we're publishing. Legendary actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife were found dead in their home, and it's believed they were murdered by their son. Reiner is known for directing movies like When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men, Princess Bride, Stand by Me and many more. He also starred in all in the Family and had acting roles in movies like Sleepless in Seattle. Then yesterday, he and his wife were found dead in their home. Reports say it looks like they were killed in a knife attack, and sources have named their son as the suspect, who is apparently being interviewed now. Detectives are now investigating this as a homicide. Two students were killed in a shooting at Brown University over the weekend. Nine others were hurt. It happened during a final exam review for an economics class on Saturday. A teaching assistant told the New York Times a masked man carrying a rifle came into the classroom, yelled something he couldn't understand and started shooting. Since then, students have told stories about helping each other survive until first responders could get there. A man was taken into custody, but now authorities say they're going to release him without pressing charges. So it's still not clear exactly who was the shooter or where he may be. The FBI is now helping local officials with this investigation. Brown canceled all classes and exams for the rest of the semester and said students can go home. The world is also mourning lives lost in a mass shooting at Australia's famous Bandai Beach. Law enforcement officers say the attack was designed to target Jewish people who were gathered at an event to mark the first day of hanukkah. At least 15 people were killed, including children, a Holocaust survivor and a rabbi who organized the event. 40 more people were rushed to the hospital. Investigators identified the suspects as a father and son. The father was shot at the scene. The son is now in the hospital with injuries being described as critical. Police seized six weapons, all owned by the father. They also say explosive devices were removed from a car. The Australian Jewish association says the attack was entirely foreseeable since there's been an uptick in anti Semitic incidents in Australia recently, including thousands of acts of vandalism and harassment over the last couple of years. But at this point, it's not clear if there were any incidents involving these suspects. Now people around the world are grieving and telling stories of immense bravery. One video appears to show a fruit shop owner disarming a shooter during this attack. He crouches behind a parked car before tackling the gunman from behind, taking the rifle away from him and then pointing it back at him. Local media outlets report the brave bystander is also in the hospital being treated for two gunshot wounds. He's getting messages of support from around the world. This was actually Australia's deadliest shooting since 1996, after which the country introduced some of the world's toughest gun laws. Two U.S. army soldiers and a civilian interpreter were killed in Syria over the weekend. Three other soldiers were hurt, and President Trump has promised retaliation. The military says a suspected ISIS gunman targeted a convoy of American and Syrian forces on a counterterrorism operation before he was also shot and killed. There's been an American military presence in Syria for years now with a stated mission of fighting isis. Other personnel have also come under attack, but this incident was the deadliest in six years. At this point, President Trump hasn't said exactly how he's going to respond. Stay tuned. Democratic lawmakers have released another batch of photos from pedophile Jeffrey Epstein's estate. They include pictures of Epstein with President Trump and former President Bill Clinton, as well as political strategist Steve Bannon, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and the former Prince Andrew. Some photos also show items like various sex toys. The no people are shown in those photos. As always, it's important to mention just because someone is included in the Epstein files doesn't mean there's any evidence of them doing anything wrong. Still, Democrats say the photos raise more questions about Epstein and his relationships with some of the most powerful men in the world, especially since they say some of the photos they didn't release were the most disturbing, depicting sexual acts, among other things. At this point, lawmakers say they're still trying to figure out exactly who was involved. But Republicans point out how there were 95,000 images turned over from the Epstein estate and that Democrats are only releasing the most salacious and headline grabbing images to push a false narrative about President Trump. Later this week is the Justice Department's deadline to release all the files related to Epstein, and most of them are expected to be made public. Yet another cold snap has arrived in the middle of the country, and now it's expected to spread through the east and South. Some people are even seeing temperatures more than 30 degrees below average this morning, and with wind chills, it could feel even colder than that. Things are expected to warm up starting tomorrow. Then there's one more temperature dip in the forecast for the northern US from the Dakotas to the Northeast. Meanwhile, Washington State is dealing with devastating flooding. Thousands of people had to evacuate over the weekend, including many who had to be rescued. There were also thousands of road closures and widespread power outages. Now the water levels are expected to stay high for the next several days. More news still ahead, but first I want to take a moment to talk about our sponsor. I become more aware of how I feel these days. My energy, my sleep, my overall wellness. And I love exploring things that support long term health in a meaningful, science backed way. That's why I'm excited about fatty 15 fatty 15 is built around C15, the first essential fatty acid discovered in over 90 years found which is a breakthrough for aging and longevity. It was Originally identified by Dr. Stephanie Van Watson while working with the US Navy to help aging dolphins stay healthier longer. And now that research is helping humans too. Based on more than 100 studies, C15 strengthens our cells. In fact, when our cells don't have enough C15, they can become fragile and age faster. And when our cells age, our bodies age too. In fact, fatty 15 is said to have three times more cellular benefits than omega 3 or fish oil, all without a fishy aftertaste or any aftertaste at all. And I really appreciate that part. Fatty 15 is on a mission to optimize your C15 levels to help you live healthier longer. You can get an additional 15% off their 90 day subscription starter kit by going to fatty15.comnewsworthy and using the code newsworthy at checkout. Now back to the news. Today is the first full day of Hanukkah. The Festival of Light started at sundown last night and lasts through December 22. The dates are different each year because it's based on the Hebrew calendar, though it usually falls within November or December and it always lasts eight nights. People traditionally spend the holiday by lighting candles on a menorah. Already, members of Congress got a head start with a menorah lighting ceremony at the US Capitol last week. The menorah they used had a special meaning behind it since it was made of shrapnel from rockets shot down by Israel's Iron Dome defense system. House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke about how Jewish people have endured great strife and have still flourished. People also celebrate Hanukkah with prayer, traditional food like latkes, games like dreidel and gift exchanges. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is now a Heisman Trophy winner. That makes him the first Hoosier to ever win college football's most prestigious award since it was first introduced 90 years ago. Already, Mendoza guided Indiana to their first number one ranking and the top seed in the College Football Playoff bracket. At this point, they're the last unbeaten team in major college football. Up next, they'll play in the Rose bowl on New Year's Day. If they win, it's on to the national championship game. Speaking of college football, President Trump went to the Army Navy game in Baltimore over the weekend. He handled the coin toss and met with players before the game. Outside the stadium, he was greeted by a crowd of protesters. It was Trump's sixth Army Navy game. Either as the president or president elect, Trump has been a fixture at major sporting events, including football games, UFC bouts and NASCAR races. The White House is fighting in court to keep sign language interpreters out of press briefings. The Justice Department now says providing the interpretation would intrude on the president's ability to control his image. The national association of the Deaf has been suing the Trump administration, saying it's been denying hundreds of thousands of Americans meaningful access to important information. But the DOJ is appealing it, saying the president has the, quote, prerogative to shape his administration's image and messaging as he sees fit. Government lawyers have also said people who are hard of hearing can get the president's statements in other ways, like closed captioning. For now, the legal battle is ongoing. Arkansas is now becoming the first state to drop pbs. The commission that oversees public television in the state voted to end its contract with the station that provides popular shows like Sesame Street, Antiques Roadshow and Frontline, the commission explained, saying the annual membership dues for PBS are no longer feasible since since it lost federal funding, Congress defunded the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Earlier this year as president, Trump accused public media of spreading left wing, biased political views. Since then, other states have considered similar action but have opted against it in the face of backlash from viewers and donors in Arkansas PBS will be available until next summer. After that, the station will be rebranded as Arkansas TV and it will offer more local content. Zootopia 2 has now done better than any other movie at the American box office this year. The animated Disney sequel brought in another $26.3 million in its third weekend of release, and in total it's made more than $1.1 billion worldwide. That means it's topped a billion dollars faster than any other PG rated movie in history, and it's only the second movie so far this year to reach the milestone. The other one was another Disney movie, Lilo and Stitch. Hollywood is still expecting an end of year windfall, though already this is traditionally the busiest movie going period of the year, and this year movies on tap include the new Avatar movie, a new spongebob movie, and more. Well, that's it for the main news. So now it's time for Money Monday when we talk about one interesting money related news story. But first, a quick thanks to our sponsor. When I think about the gifts I use all year long, one that always comes to mind is my Quince Carry on suitcase. I've taken it on so many trips now. It's sleek, lightweight, rolls so smooth and has convenient compression straps that help to fit everything without feeling bulky. It's the kind of travel upgrade that just makes every trip easier. That's what I love about Quint. Everything feels intentionally designed and you can get it at prices that actually make sense. Whether it's their travel pieces, their Mongolian cashmere, washable silk, tailored denim or outerwear, the quality is great without the luxury markup. And because Quint also has beautiful options for home bedding, accessories and gifts, it really is a one stop shop for holiday shopping. Quince makes it easy to have a gift that's practical, beautiful and built to last. Find gifts so good you'll want to keep them with quince. Go to quince.comnewsworthy for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q U I n c e.com newsworthy to get free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com newsworthy now back to Money Monday. Soccer fans hoping to go to the World cup next year are getting a dose of sticker shock. It turns out a fan will need to pay almost $7,000 for tickets to follow their team from the first group game to the final one. Association that represents fans in Europe says that's nearly five times as much as the last World cup in Qatar. And this comes even though FIFA had said this World cup would be an affordable one. One issue is the pre sales happened before the draw and match schedule, so fans didn't know which games their teams would be playing in. Now that they do, they're more expensive. And for the first time in the history of the World cup, there's no flat price for the group stage matches. Each game is priced according to demand. It's not just the tickets either. Prices at hotels like Marriott and Hilton have spiked more than 300% in host cities. And in some places, it's way more than that. Like at a Marriott resort in Mexico City, a room that would go for $157 in May will go for almost $4,000 a night in June when the game between Mexico and South Africa will be played. Of course, most people will be watching from home anyway, as the games will be broadcast all over the globe. Here in the US they'll mostly be on Fox. The World cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. Thank you so much for joining us today. We'll be back with even more news to know tomorrow. For now, have a great day.