Video shows new person of interest in Brown case; Fresh clues in Reiner killings
A new video has emerged showing a person of interest in the Brown University shooting case, including a distinctive walking pattern.
Plus, new details are emerging in the Reiner murder case as the investigation becomes more entangled in national politics.
And President Donald Trump is suing the BBC for $10 billion, accusing the network of deceptively editing his Jan. 6 speech.
These stories and more highlight your Unbiased Updates for Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
New images released in Brown University shooting manhunt
The manhunt in the deadly shooting at Brown University has intensified. Investigators released new images of a different person of interest and are offering a $50,000 reward for information.
Police and the FBI said they’re now focused on a masked individual seen on surveillance video about two hours before the shooting, walking near campus.
Authorities described the person as approximately 5 ft 8 in, of a stocky build and dressed in dark clothing. The person of interest walked with a distinctive gait that investigators believe may be recognized by someone close to them.
Authorities released the images after clearing a previous person of interest. It was a move that rattled the Brown community and raised questions about how close police really are to identifying the shooter.
The shooting on Saturday killed two students and injured nine others inside Brown’s Barus and Holley engineering building.
Eighteen-year-old Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, a freshman from Virginia, and 19-year-old Ella Cook of Alabama were both killed. Cook was the vice president of Brown’s College Republican Club and was remembered by her church as a “bright light.”
Investigators said the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.
The FBI stated that its Quantico lab is reconstructing bullet trajectories, while police continue to canvass neighborhoods door-to-door for video footage.
Brown University has canceled classes for the rest of the semester and doubled security staffing, as officials report a spike in swatting calls and false threats. None of them have been deemed credible so far.
Police have stressed this is still a fast-moving investigation and said even small tips could help break it open.
Investigation into Rob Reiner’s death continues as Trump makes new comments
The investigation into the killings of Hollywood icon Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, continues after police took their son into custody. He now faces possible murder charges.
Los Angeles police confirm 32-year-old Nick Reiner was arrested Sunday night and is being held without bail. Detectives stated that the case will be handed over to prosecutors on Tuesday.
Police responded to the Reiner’s Brentwood home Sunday afternoon, where Rob, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead.
Law enforcement sources tell the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times that the couple suffered stab wounds. Investigators said there were no signs of forced entry.
The Times also reported that Rob and Nick Reiner were seen arguing the night before at a holiday party at comedian Conan O’Brien’s house. One attendee recalled Rob Reiner saying, “You can’t come here and behave this way.”
Police have not disclosed a motive.
Family friends told the Los Angeles Times that Nick Reiner had struggled for years with addiction and mental health issues and had been living in a guest house on the property.
Rob Reiner was best known for classic films including “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “This Is Spinal Tap” and “A Few Good Men.” He was also a long-time progressive political activist.
The murders have now entered the realm of politics. President Donald Trump shared a message on Truth Social on Monday implying that Reiner’s death was linked to his criticism of the president.
He wrote in part that Reiner, “was known to have driven people crazy by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights.”
When asked about that post at the White House, Trump expressed his dislike of Reiner.
“I wasn’t a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned. He said, he like, he knew it was false. In fact, it’s the exact opposite, that I was a friend of Russia, controlled by Russia. You know, it was the Russia hoax. He was one of the people behind it,” Trump said. “He became like a deranged person, Trump derangement syndrome. So I was not a fan of Rob Reiner at all, in any way, shape, or form. I thought he was very bad for our country.“
The president’s remarks triggered swift backlash from members of both parties and followers on his Truth Social platform.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the post “sick.”
Even some Republicans said the president should have said nothing, calling the moment a family tragedy, not a political fight.
Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. wrote on X, “A father and mother were murdered at the hands of their troubled son. We should be lifting the family up in prayer, not making this about politics.”
Meanwhile, police say the investigation into the deaths is continuing, and emphasize there is no evidence linking the killings to politics in any way.
US military kills 8 in three new strikes on alleged drug boats
The U.S. military said it has carried out three new strikes against what the Trump administration described as drug trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific, killing eight suspected narcoterrorists.
U.S. Southern Command said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strikes and targeted vessels traveling along known narcotics smuggling routes. In a statement posted to social media, SOUTCOM said those killed were “male narco-terrorists” actively engaged in trafficking.
According to the command, three people were killed aboard the first vessel, two on the second and three on the third.
The latest strikes come as Hegseth faces scrutiny in a separate incident earlier this year. The questions revolved around a so-called “double tape” strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack in September.
With Monday’s operation, the U.S. has now struck 25 suspected dug-smuggling boats since the campaign began, leaving at least 95 people dead, according to U.S. officials.
The expanded military action has fueled rising tension between Washington and Caracas.
The Trump administration has accused Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro of working with drug cartels, an allegation Maduro denies, insisting Trump is attempting to destabilize and remove his government.
Trump designates fentanyl a ‘weapon of mass destruction’
Trump has escalated his fight against fentanyl, signing an executive order that formally designates the drug as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
The order directs the Justice Department and the Pentagon to use additional tools to target fentanyl traffickers, framing the drug not just as a narcotic, but as a national security threat.
“No bomb does what this has done. 200,000 to 300,000 people die every year, that we know of. So we’re formally classifying fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction,” Trump said at the White House on Monday.
The designation could enable the military to assist law enforcement efforts and lead to harsher penalties for traffickers and their financial supporters.
It also comes as the administration expands its aggressive campaign against drug networks, including more than 20 recent U.S. boat strikes targeting suspected trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The White House claimed most fentanyl entering the U.S. is made in Mexico using chemicals from China and India. It warned the drug could be weaponized for mass-casualty attacks.
Legal medical uses of fentanyl are not affected by the order.
Trump sues BBC for $10B over editing of Jan. 6 speech
Trump has sued the BBC for $10 billion over a documentary that edited his Jan. 6, 2021, speech at the Capitol Ellipse. The lawsuit alleges the broadcast removed portions of his remarks in which he urged supporters to protest the 2020 election results peacefully.
The suit, filed in Miami, accuses the BBC of defamation and violations of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and seeks $5 billion in damages for each claim.
“The formerly respected and now disgraced BBC defamed President Trump by intentionally, maliciously and deceptively doctoring his speech in a brazen attempt to interfere in the 2024 presidential election,” Trump’s legal team said in a statement.
Speaking Monday, Trump said, “I’m suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally. They put words in my mouth. They had me saying things that I never said, coming out. I guess they used AI or something.”
Last month, Trump’s attorneys sent the BBC a demand letter calling for the network to retract what they described as “false, defamatory, disparaging and inflammatory statements” or face a lawsuit seeking $1 billion in damages. The letter also demanded a personal apology to the president.
BBC chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to the White House apologizing for what he described as improper editing of the clip and said the network had “no plans” to rebroadcast it. The BBC, however, refused to pay the requested compensation, saying it “strongly disagree[s]” that the documentary meets the legal standard for defamation.
In response to the lawsuit, a BBC attorney said the network had “no intention of misleading anyone” and argued it cannot be proven the BBC acted with “actual malice,” a key requirement in defamation cases involving public figures in the U.S.
The lawyer also said Trump cannot sue the BBC in Florida because the documentary was not aired in the United States or made available on the BBC’s American website.
Who says a penny is only worth one cent?
Some of the United States’ last pennies just sold for, well, a pretty penny, as the saying goes. Pennies from the final minted set of the coin sold for more than $16.76 million at auction Thursday.
California-based auction house Stack’s Bowers Galleries sold 232 sets of three coins each featuring a 2025 penny from the Philadelphia Mint, a 24-karat gold penny from the Philadelphia Mint and a 2025-D penny from the Denver Mint. Each of the coins was embossed with the omega symbol “Ω,” marking the final run of the coin first minted in 1793.
Each trio sold for an average lot value of over $72,000, and the final set, No. 232, sold for $800,000. That set included the last circulating pennies from Philadelphia and Denver, as well as the final gold omega penny.
The federal government halted production of pennies in November, citing the cost of producing them. Each one-cent coin costs more than two cents to make.
The Mint reported losing $85.3 million on making pennies in the fiscal year of 2024, according to its annual report that year.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
