Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner Deaths, New Year’s Eve Terror Plot Stopped in L.A., Teacher Visa Fees Deepen Shortage, Palisades Hanukkah After Fires, Rams Clinch Playoffs, Fire Survivors Denied Mortgage Relief, AI Floods the Podcast Industry

Headlines From The Times

L.A. Times Studios

News, Daily News, Society & Culture, The Times, California

4.1 • 544 Ratings

🗓️ 16 December 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Hollywood is mourning the death of Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner; their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested soon after on suspicion of homicide. Meanwhile, federal authorities say they stopped a New Year's Eve terror attack, targeting Los Angeles area businesses, arresting four people involved in the plot. In California, a growing teacher shortage is being made worse by a new Trump administration policy requiring employers to pay a one-time sponsorship fee for new H-1B work visas for international workers. And on the first night of Hanukkah, the Pacific Palisades community stood together for their 38th menorah lighting. In sports, the Los Angeles Rams rallied to beat the Detroit Lions and clinch a playoff berth. In business, homeowners who lost their houses in January’s LA wildfires say banks are denying or limiting mortgage forbearance, despite a state law promising up to a year of relief, and the podcast industry is being reshaped by a surge of AI-generated shows.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an LA Times Studios podcast.
0:05.0	Hi, I'm Faith Pino and you're listening to Headlines from LA Times Studios.
0:14.0	Here are some of today's top stories from the Los Angeles Times.
0:18.0	Hollywood is mourning the death of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle Singer-Riner, one of
0:24.1	films most influential couples, who touched the lives of millions, both through their work
0:29.5	on screen and off.
0:31.9	The two were found dead Sunday afternoon in their Brentwood home.
0:35.8	Reiner was 78 years old and Singer was 70. Los Angeles
0:40.0	Police Chief Jim McDonald said the couple's son, Nick Reiner, was arrested Sunday night on
0:45.4	suspicion of homicide. The 32-year-old is being held on $4 million bail. According to a family
0:52.3	friend who spoke with the Times, Reiner and his son got into an
0:55.8	argument Saturday night at the home of Conan O'Brien. The source who asked to remain anonymous
1:01.6	said Nick had been living in a guest house on his parents' property and that singer, his mother,
1:07.5	had grown increasingly concerned about his mental health.
1:11.6	Nick has spoken publicly in the past about his struggle with addiction and homelessness,
1:16.6	even working alongside his father on the film being Charlie, loosely based on his own journey
1:21.6	to sobriety.
1:22.6	Reiner said making the film brought up tough memories, but that the process was ultimately therapeutic
1:28.5	and allowed him to work through past trauma. And it wasn't the first time Reiner used his own
1:34.2	life experience for storytelling on the screen. In the 1989 rom-com classic when Harry met Sally,
1:41.2	Reiner nearly ditched The Guy Gets girl ending, but said he was inspired by his
1:46.0	own on-set romance when he met Singer, who was working as a photographer on the film.
	...

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