The Daily Briefing

YOUR MORNING NEWS ROUNDUP

Mon Dec 15 2025

Nicole Fallert
Reporter & Newsletter Writer

Morning! Welcome to the Daily Briefing. Here's what's breaking this morning:

•	A Bondi Beach attack stokes fear of anti-Jewish hate.
•	You still have time before Obamacare bills officially spike.
•	A Heisman Trophy runner-up blasted voters.

Nicole Fallert here, bringing you the news to know on Monday. We discuss a Hollywood legend's sudden passing and authorities' search for the person behind a deadly Brown University shooting. Then, meet a family of ICE agents.

Rob Reiner, 78, found dead alongside his wife, Michele Singer

Rob Reiner, the celebrated actor, director and producer whose work shaped American television and cinema for decades, has died at 78, according to Variety and TMZ. His death, alongside that of his wife, Michele Singer, 68, is under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department after the couple was found in their home in Brentwood.

In a news conference Sunday night, the LAPD said the robbery-homicide division is expected to release more information Monday morning. Follow this developing story live with USA TODAY.

Coffee break

•	Bondi beach shooting: At least 16 people died in an Australia shooting targeting a Jewish Hanukkah party on the beach. In a news conference, New South Wales police said two suspects had been taken into custody, a father and son duo, one of whom later died. At least 42 people, including a child, were hospitalized.
•	Most states have cut pollution control budgets, a new report says. This could mean fewer inspectors at a nearby power plant to protect the air you breathe, longer response times to chemical spills, weaker enforcement of drinking water permits in your city and a patchwork of protection, in which some live under strong environmental safeguards while others are left vulnerable.
•	Exclusive: Is America ready for a woman president? "I always thought that a woman would be president of the United States long before a woman would be speaker of the House," Pelosi told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview after announcing her retirement, the end of nearly 40 years in Congress.

Take a look

Deadly Brown University shooting

A makeshift memorial outside the Barus and Holley Hall at Brown University on Sunday.

Marc Vasconcellos, The Enterprise via USA TODAY NETWORK

Authorities late Sunday announced they will release the person of interest who had been in custody after a shooting at Brown University that killed two people and wounded nine others. USA TODAY continues to follow the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile, several hundred people gathered Sunday on the newly fallen snow in a Providence park to share the light of togetherness in the wake of the deadly shooting at Brown University. For some students, the response to an active shooter on their campus was all too familiar.

Something to talk about

Exclusive: A father and his three kids work for ICE

In November, USA TODAY went behind the scenes of the Trump administration's deportation campaign. We spent three days with ICE in Kansas City, part of the Chicago field office tasked with immigration enforcement in a sprawling, six-state region of the Midwest.

We spoke with John , who asked to withhold his full name for fear of being targeted for his work, and his family, who agreed to talk to USA TODAY — with permission from their superiors — to counter what they see as false impressions of their work as ICE agents. John and his family have long considered themselves public servants charged with enforcing the law Congress enacted. But this view is increasingly at odds with the shocking headlines and viral videos of detentions many Americans see as unjust or overly violent.

ICE officer John monitors a scene where ICE detained a Venezuelan migrant who had been under surveillance for days prior to the arrest in Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 18, 2025.

Omar Ornelas/USA Today Network