Morning Brief: New Twists In Rob Reiner Murder & FBI Thwarts California Terror Plot

Hollywood reels after the gruesome deaths of iconic director Rob Reiner and his wife, and the arrest of their son. The FBI says it foiled a major left-wing terrorist plot in Southern California, and the manhunt continues for the Brown University shooter.

It’s Tuesday, December 16, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the video version can be seen on The Daily Wire:

Reiner Murders

Hollywood icon Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 70, were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Sunday, and authorities determined that they were “victims of homicide.” Emergency responders were called to the home around 3:30 p.m. for a medical aid request. When firefighters arrived, they discovered the couple’s bodies. It’s been widely reported that their throats were cut. The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office hasn’t officially released its causes of death yet, but the LAPD has classified them as homicides. The Reiners’ son, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, was taken into custody later that night and “booked for murder,” according to police. He has reportedly struggled with substance abuse that create conflicts in the household. The Los Angeles Times reports that Rob and Nick got into an argument on Saturday at a party at Conan O’Brien’s home.

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Police said homicide detectives will present their case to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, when officials will determine which charges to file.

Leftwing Terror Plot Thwarted

On Monday, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that after a thorough investigation, the Department of Justice thwarted a “massive and horrific” left-wing terror plot to bomb a number of locations across Southern California on New Year’s Eve. The plan was allegedly being organized by a faction of the Turtle Island Liberation Front, a leftist group that holds anti-Israel, anti-capitalist, and anti-American views. Bondi simply said this had been a long investigation, but it appears the turning point came when the FBI obtained clear plans for a terror attack. According to a DOJ affidavit obtained by Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan, one of the group’s leaders, Audrey Carroll, 30, of Los Angeles, unknowingly provided an 8-page outline of the plot to a law enforcement source. That document, dubbed Operation Midnight Sun, outlined plans to drop backpacks containing IEDs at five separate locations across Los Angeles and Orange counties on New Year’s Eve. Carroll, along with three other individuals also living in the L.A. area, was charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. The FBI said the targets chosen included large American corporations–they didn’t give any names but said they were “similar to Amazon.”

The Hunt For The Brown University Gunman Continues

Law enforcement continues to investigate a shooting at Brown University that killed two students and injured nine others. The Providence, Rhode Island, community has been deeply unsettled since officials released a person of interest late Sunday night after concluding the man they had detained was not the gunman. Authorities have continued a frenzied manhunt for the suspect, releasing additional images and video of a person of interest on Monday. The FBI offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of the individual