NTD News Today

Hollywood actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife were confirmed dead after an apparent double homicide at their home in Los Angeles on Dec. 14. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a statement that two people were found dead at Reiner’s home in the Brentwood neighborhood and that homicide detectives are involved in the investigation.

Jimmy Lai, a former newspaper publisher and one of Hong Kong’s most outspoken critics of the Chinese Communist Party, has been convicted in a national security trial—a case that has drawn international scrutiny amid Hong Kong’s continued erosion of freedoms. Lai, who has pleaded not guilty to all three charges, will be sentenced at a later date. He could face life in prison. Lai was arrested in August 2020 and has been imprisoned for more than 1,800 days since being charged in December 2020.

Police in Providence have released a man who was held as a person of interest in the Brown University shooting. The attack left two students dead and nine others injured. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley says the investigation is moving in a “different direction." The first victim has been identified as sophomore Ella Cook. President Donald Trump paid his respects to the victims and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Authorities are still investigating a shooting that took place at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that killed 15 people during a Hanukkah celebration. Police say two gunmen opened fire on a crowd of about a thousand people. One of the shooters died during the exchange of gunfire and the other is in the hospital. The shooting is being condemned all over the world as an anti-Semitic attack.

An ISIS terrorist ambush in Syria killed two U.S. National Guard troops from Iowa and a U.S. civilian interpreter. An Iowa police chief identified his son, Nate Howard, as one of the two soldiers killed. Names of the other victims are expected to be released later today. The ISIS terrorist was killed, and five people suspected of having a connection to the gunman were arrested. Trump is warning of a "very serious retaliation." Lawmakers are encouraging the continued cooperation to totally dismantle ISIS.

Australia Shooting Declared Terror Attack, A Gunman Killed | NTD News Today Dec. 14

The U.S. Transportation Department on Friday threatened to pull tens of millions of dollars in funding from New York over commercial driver licenses improperly issued to non-U.S. citizens. USDOT said New York must take actions to address concerns about immigrant truck drivers within 30 days or the state could lose federal highway funding.

The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it had filed lawsuits against Colorado, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Nevada after the states failed to provide their voter registration lists to the department. The department's Civil Rights Division also filed a lawsuit against Fulton County, Georgia, for records related to the 2020 election, it said in a statement.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is expected to face fierce questioning from House Democrats on Dec. 11 over the Trump administration's immigration policies.

Noem is testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on “Worldwide Threats to the Homeland,” which is likely to focus heavily on immigration. Also attending Thursday’s hearing are Joseph Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, and Michael Glasheen, operations director of the national security branch of the FBI.

The Senate is poised for a Dec. 11 vote on competing measures to resolve the standoff over extending the expiring Obamacare subsidies. Both are likely to fall along party lines and to fail to reach the 60-vote threshold required to advance legislation in the Senate. The subsidies were created in 2021 as a temporary measure to blunt the economic impact of the COVID-19 national health emergency. Originally offered for two years, the enhanced subsidies were further extended for three years and will expire at the end of this month.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a challenge on Tuesday to a federal law restricting political parties from coordinating spending with candidates. The case pits those who say the First Amendment vigorously protects political speech against those who say the restrictions are needed to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption in the political process.

Miami voters still have to choose their next mayor, and their choice could show how the city’s political leaning has evolved ahead of the 2026 midterms. A crowded pool of 13 candidates was on the Nov. 4 ballot, but none gained the majority needed to win. A runoff between the two highest-polling picks is taking place today.

President Donald Trump plans to announce on Monday a $12 billion economic assistance package for farmers, according to a White House official.

Conservative U.S. Supreme Court justices signaled on Monday they will uphold the legality of President Trump's firing of a Federal Trade Commission member.

President Donald Trump's newly released national security strategy states, "The Era of Mass Migration Is Over."

War Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is increasing its focus on defending its own interests. He accuses previous administrations after the Cold War of not putting America first in their policies.

Our guest provides analysis on this and on what the strategy says about China.

Japan has lodged a strong protest after a Chinese jet locked radar on Japanese fighters.

Japan and Australia are calling for calm and both nations say they will keep a close eye on Chinese military activity.

A major, magnitude 7 earthquake rocked Alaska on Saturday. It was felt as far away as Canada.

A panel of experts selected by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday voted to recommend federal officials stop directing parents to get their infants quickly vaccinated against hepatitis B, unless the babies’ mothers test positive for the virus.

President Donald Trump will bring leaders of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda together in Washington on Thursday to sign new deals aimed at stabilizing a war-scarred region and attracting Western mining investment. Rwandan President Paul Kagame and Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi are expected to pledge their commitment to an economic integration compact already agreed to last month, as well as a U.S.-brokered peace deal reached in June but still not implemented.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill will receive a classified briefing today from Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, the Navy commander who reportedly ordered a follow-up strike that killed survivors of an attack on an alleged drug-smuggling boat near Venezuela. Admiral Bradley now leads U.S. Special Operations Command. He will brief top House and Senate lawmakers as pressure builds on Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.