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Rob Reiner, Foiled Terror Plot, & Golden Retriever Paradise
News without the noise
Good Morning! Today’s edition is 890 words, a 4-minute read.
What’s on tap:
Chile’s presidential election
Fentanyl classified as a weapon of mass destruction
Pennies sell for $16M
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Big Stories
Filmmaker Rob Reiner & Wife Found Dead
Filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead with stab wounds in their Los Angeles home on Sunday. Their son Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder in connection with the deaths, according to law enforcement sources.
Rob Reiner, 78, was an acclaimed director known for "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally," and "A Few Good Men," which was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture. Michele Singer Reiner, 65, was a photographer. The couple shared three children.
Nick Reiner has struggled with drug addiction since his teens, spending periods homeless and in and out of rehab starting at age 15. His experiences inspired the 2016 film "Being Charlie," which Rob Reiner directed and Nick co-wrote about a young man battling addiction.
FBI Foils Terror Plot
The FBI disrupted a coordinated bombing plot targeting multiple locations in Orange County and Los Angeles, AG Pam Bondi announced Monday. Four members of the anti-government group "Turtle Island Liberation Front" were arrested Friday while assembling improvised explosive devices in the desert. The bombs were set to detonate at midnight on New Year's Eve.
The suspects, ages 24 to 41, were each charged with conspiracy and possession of an unregistered destructive device. Officials said the group planned to plant backpacks containing IEDs at at least five "logistics centers" targeting US companies, as well as ICE agents and vehicles.
Bondi described the group as "far-left, pro-Palestine, anti-government and anti-capitalist." FBI Director Kash Patel announced a fifth person linked to the group was arrested in New Orleans for allegedly planning a separate attack.
Chile Goes Ultraconservative
Ultra-conservative José Antonio Kast won Chile's presidential election on Sunday with 58% of the vote, defeating communist candidate Jeannette Jara and ushering in the country's most right-wing government since democracy returned in 1990.
Kast's brother served in the Pinochet dictatorship, and supporters displayed Pinochet photos at his victory speech. Kast models his policies on El Salvador's Nayib Bukele, including building maximum-security prisons and expanding police powers. He has pledged to crack down on crime, deport hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants, and build a border barrier.
The victory continues Latin America's rightward shift. However, Kast lacks a congressional majority and will need to compromise with other parties to advance his agenda.
Quick Stories
US News
President Trump classified fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction on Monday, citing over 80,000 US deaths in 2024. (More)
Authorities released new videos and are offering a $50,000 reward for information on the masked gunman who killed two students at Brown University on Saturday. (More)
The FDA proposed approving bemotrizinol, a sunscreen ingredient widely used abroad that doesn't break down in sunlight or enter the bloodstream. It would be the first new UV filter allowed in the US in over 25 years. (More)
World
Investigators found South Korea’s ex-president Yoon plotted martial law for over a year to seize power, provoke North Korea, crush rivals, and control government branches before his brief 2024 decree collapsed. (More)
Toxic smog made New Delhi "a gas chamber," doctors said, as air pollution hit nine times the safe limit, grounding flights, delaying trains, and overwhelming hospitals with breathing emergencies. (More)
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, one of China's most vocal critics, was convicted of sedition and collusion under Beijing's national security law imposed after the 2019 pro-democracy protests. (More)
Business & Economy
US stock markets closed lower on Monday (S&P -0.16%, Nasdaq -0.59%, Dow -0.09%). Continued sell-off in AI stocks bogged the market down. (More)
Spain fined Airbnb $75 million for advertising rentals without required license numbers. The government blames short-term rental platforms for worsening its housing crisis. (More)
Roomba maker iRobot filed for bankruptcy and will be bought by its Chinese manufacturer after Amazon's $1.7 billion deal collapsed due to EU regulators blocking it last year. (More)
Sports & Entertainment
The Dodgers signed closer Edwin Díaz to a $69 million deal with payments stretching to 2047, raising their deferred obligations to nine players past $1.06 billion—baseball's most extreme payment structure. (More)
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tore his left ACL in Sunday's loss to the Chargers. The loss ends Kansas City's 10-year playoff streak. (More)
Zootopia 2 reclaimed the top box office spot with $26.3 million in its third weekend and crossed $1 billion worldwide. (More)
Science, Health, & Tech
Fossils found in China were identified as baby ankylosaurs, not miniature dinosaurs. The discovery includes the youngest armored dinosaur ever found. (More)
Colorado scientists created a transparent insulator that blocks heat as well as walls while letting through nearly all light, which could stop windows from being buildings' biggest energy waste. (More)
Scientists discovered over 1,500 giant tunnels under Brazil and Argentina that weren't made by geology or humans but by extinct Ice Age ground sloths with massive claws. (More)
Extra Credit
Watch: Creepy realistic robot gaze.
The last pennies ever minted sold for over $16M at auction.
Eight animals that recently went extinct.
Thousands of golden retrievers meet up in Argentina park.
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