TV News LIES

President Donald Trump drew strong bipartisan condemnation for his criticism of acclaimed director and actor Rob Reiner shortly after his death, with Republican lawmakers calling Trump's response "wrong" and "disrespectful."

Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were killed in their Los Angeles home Dec. 14. Trump responded the next day with a social media post saying Reiner's death was "reportedly due to the anger he caused others through... a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME."

"He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump," the president added.

Trump continued to criticize Reiner during a White House event later in the day, responding to a question about the GOP pushback on his social media post, and whether he stands by it, saying: "I wasn't a fan of his at all. He was a deranged person as far as Trump is concerned."

There has been no indication from officials that Reiner's death had anything to do with his political beliefs. Police took Reiner's son, Nick Reiner, into custody, charged him with murder and are holding him on no bail after his initial bail was set at $4 million, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Records reviewed by USA TODAY.

Trump's reaction to Reiner's death was quickly rejected by many on both the left and right.

"Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered," Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, who has clashed with Trump, said on social media.

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An arrest has been made in the killing of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer.

Their son, Nick Reiner, has been taken into police custody Monday, "booked for murder" and is being held on $4 million bail, according to Los Angeles Sheriff's Department records viewed by USA TODAY. The acclaimed Hollywood director and actor was killed alongside Singer in their California home Sunday night, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said in a press conference Monday, Dec. 15.

Their deaths continue to be under investigation by the LAPD after the couple was found dead in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. In an earlier press conference Sunday, Dec. 14, the LAPD said the robbery-homicide division would investigate through the night.

Authorities confirmed that "many family members" would be interviewed in the course of their work and that they were obtaining a search warrant to conduct a full crime scene investigation. They did not comment on the injuries sustained by Reiner, 78, and Singer, 68.

A representative for Reiner has not yet responded to USA TODAY's requests for comment.

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At least 12 Palestinians have been killed or have gone missing in Gaza over the past 24 hours as torrential rains, high winds, and flooding batter the enclave, according to the Government Media Office.

At least 13 homes have collapsed, and more than 27,000 tents sheltering the displaced have been swept away by flash floods, either submerged by water or torn apart by strong winds. Civil Defense teams are struggling to respond to hundreds of distress calls. The office said more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians in Gaza are at risk.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement that basic tool kits, sandbags, and water pumps have not been allowed into Gaza due to “long-standing access restrictions” by Israel.

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U.S. envoys arrived in Berlin Sunday morning for another round of talks intended to secure a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were spotted in downtown Berlin by a photographer for German news agency dpa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian, U.S. and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days.

"Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war," Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation late Saturday.

Washington has tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia's war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

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A man who disarmed one of the gunmen in the deadly attack at Sydney's Bondi Beach is being praised for his heroic efforts and saving lives.

One clip broadcast on Australian television and shared on social media shows an unarmed man walking up behind one of the suspected gunmen, who was shooting a long gun, and then grabbing him around the neck. The civilian appears to wrestle and disarm the gunman, who falls to the ground before walking away. The man then points the gun at the alleged shooter and then raises his hand in the air.

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns on Sunday praised the man's actions, calling it "the most unbelievable scene" he's ever seen.

"A man walking up to a gunman, who had fired on the community, and single-handedly disarming him, putting his own life at risk to save the lives of countless other people — that man is a genuine hero," Minns said during a press conference. "And I've got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery."

The man being heralded for his bravery has been identified by several news reports as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed, a fruit shop owner. NPR has not independently verified the man's identity. A relative of the man told Australia's 7News that Ahmed was shot twice and is in the hospital.

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With subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance set to expire, Americans who rely on them will probably switch to plans with lower monthly premiums and high deductibles or decide not to purchase any coverage, which will have a serious and damaging impact on the entire sector, according to healthcare policy experts.

The average amount ACA plan enrollees pay annually for premiums is estimated to more than double, from an average of $888 this year to $1,904 in 2026, according to a KFF analysis.

That will then have economic downstream effects, including for rural hospitals and people who have employer-sponsored health insurance, according to the experts.

With “a significant portion of people dropping their marketplace coverage and being uninsured, it doesn’t just impact them, it impacts everyone”, said Emma Wager, a senior policy analyst for KFF’s program on the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

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A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US air force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.

“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path ... They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”

The incident involved JetBlue flight 1112 from Curaçao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela, en route to New York City’s JFK airport. It comes as the US military has launched deadly airstrikes on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean and is also seeking to increase pressure on Venezuela’s government.

“We just had traffic pass directly in front of us within 5 miles of us – maybe 2 or 3 miles – but it was an air-to air-refueler from the United States air force and he was at our altitude,” the pilot said. “We had to stop our climb.” The pilot said the US air force plane then headed into Venezuelan airspace.

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