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Manhunt Underway for Gunman in Deadly Brown University Shooting; Rob Reiner and Wife Dead, Police Investigating Apparent Homicide; Death Toll Climes to 15 After Australia's Bondi Beach Shooting; Interview with Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA): Lawmakers Scramble to Avert Skyrocketing Healthcare Costs. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired December 15, 2025 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: In addition to the motivation, hey, you know, she was involved in an affair, he could very well have been jealous and as a result done that. That's the prosecution's theory. We'll see what the jury determines.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yep, the jury will be back out this morning and we will see. Joey will be standing by, as always.

JACKSON: Indeed.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

JACKSON: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news here at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Overnight, investigators released the only person of interest in the deadly shooting here. We've got new reporting on where that leaves the investigation this morning.

Also tracking the shocking breaking news from Los Angeles, beloved actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead inside their home, both the victims of an apparent homicide.

And this morning we are on the ground in Australia with new reporting on the horrifying mass shooting there targeting a Hanukkah celebration carried out, officials now say, by a father and son.

Sara is out this morning. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is a very busy CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BERMAN: And the breaking news, just an extraordinary turn of events here in Providence, Rhode Island. I'm on the campus of Brown University. A man who was called a person of interest who had been in custody since early yesterday morning released after investigators say there isn't enough evidence to hold him and the evidence points in a different direction.

It very much seems that authorities are now having to start over and that the shooter responsible for killing two people and injuring nine others in the building right behind me behind that police tape, that shooter obviously very much still on the run. The killing happened Saturday afternoon inside what is the engineering building. It was a principles of economics review session.

The Brown University students had been in finals. A teaching assistant was finishing that review session when he says he heard gunfire outside. He described what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH ODURO, TEACHING ASSISTANT WHO WITNESSED SHOOTING: I was standing in the front of the auditorium and he came through the back. So we pretty much directly made eye contact and then as soon as that happened, I looked at my students and signaled them to come to the front and then I just ducked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, let's get right to CNN's Brian Todd. He's also here at Brown University in Providence. Brian, I should notice, you know, it's 15 degrees here, but that doesn't even begin to describe, I think, the chill over this university and this city this morning with the news that the killer is still on the run.

What are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, right, an extraordinary turn of events overnight when they're releasing the person of interest and saying, according to Mayor Brett Smiley, that when asked whether they know where the actual suspect may be, he said, quote, we have no way of knowing whether that suspect is in the community or even in the state. So while it appears that they're back to square one, the attorney general of Rhode Island, Peter Neronha, did say he's confident that they will solve this case in the very near future. So the signals are going in slightly different directions here, John, at least as far as what they are projecting publicly.

Another key thing here was that the attorney general, Peter Neronha, was asked what led them to eliminate that person of interest as a possible suspect. He said he would not get into that. So those are questions that are at least publicly not being answered right now.

In addition, in this news conference last night, they talked about the one serious piece of evidence that they've been able to release to the public, and that is the surveillance video showing what they believe is the suspect now walking around a corner here in this neighborhood. It's a short piece of video. You see it's been out there.

You see him walking around this corner and you don't get a very good look at him. Take a listen to what the police chief, Oscar Perez, said about that video and whether that's the person they're looking for. And then what the attorney general, Peter Neronha, said, almost interrupting him at that point in the news conference last night.

Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSCAR PEREZ, PROVIDENCE POLICE CHIEF: What we saw in the video is the person we're looking for, correct?

PETER NERONHA, RHODE ISLAND ATTORNEY GENERAL: I would describe that person as a person of interest. So there are a lot of unknowns in this case, and that's one unknown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So that is one unknown and another kind of extraordinary development. The mayor, Brett Smiley, said that they are searching for additional video evidence that they need the public's help with that and that the videos that they -- the video evidence, the video surveillance that was actually in this building during the shooting has been examined. They have no additional actionable information from that video.

[08:05:00]

He's essentially saying that the video evidence that they've seen from inside the building during the shooting occurred -- I mean, he didn't use the word useless, but they're not getting very much information from whatever video that is, John. So they need the public's help now in finding more video of the suspect and of maybe his movements after the shooting. They are asking for the public's help this morning in finding that.

BERMAN: Does seem like they need whatever help they can get. As you said, they say the video from inside the building at this point, just not helpful. Brian Todd, thank you so much for being with us.

Kate, you know, that video that we do have of the person they still are looking for, that 10 second video is on the street, Hope Street right behind me. But not much to identify from that person walking down this street, all in black there with the hat, no recognizable face. But that's what they had to go on this morning as they continue to follow leads -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: That's the -- that's what they have and that's what they're working with. And they need probably the help of the public to try to -- to try to get another -- get another lead and get some make some headway in this. But sun is rising to another horribly tragic day there in Rhode Island. JB, we'll get right back to you.

We're also following the breaking news out of Hollywood, the entire entertainment industry and beyond, mourning the loss of a man who is a legend, actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife, they were found dead Sunday in their Los Angeles home. Right now, LAPD is investigating, but they aren't saying much.

They call it an apparent homicide. They say they are not currently searching for anyone as a suspect. There just really are so many questions that remain unanswered, none bigger than who did this and what could be a motive behind this tragedy.

Let's get right to CNN's Stephanie Elam. She is the very latest from Los Angeles, near the home where this happened. Stephanie, what is it like there this morning?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's somber. I mean, it's the middle of the night. It's almost morning time here now, but still it's been very somber.

People are keeping their voices quiet. We're in the middle of a tight knit community here. And you can see the investigation continues.

You can still see that there's active police activity here down there where you see those white lights. That's closer to the house of the Reiners. Still so many questions that people want answers to.

And we are not getting them just yet as this investigation continues. We do know that the calls came in in the late afternoon local time about two people in a home being found and that they were dead. That is what we did learn yesterday.

Still trying to find out who would kill them, especially for someone who was so well loved. Both Rob and Michelle Reiner both really had a strong following and lots of love for them in the city of Los Angeles and also in the industry as a whole. But as this investigation continues, take a listen to what the deputy police chief from LAPD had to say about where things stand right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chief, why are you not exactly looking for a suspect? Are you confident you know who did this?

DEPUTY CHIEF ALAN HAMILTON, LOS ANGELES POLICE: We have not identified a suspect at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, then shouldn't you be looking for one? So these neighbors aren't worried about their own lives and their own safety?

HAMILTON: Yes, so at this time, after we determined -- so I need everyone to understand something. In order to comply with the legal process before we do anything here, we have to get a search warrant because there are issues regarding standing at this residence. So as long as those legal requirements are met, we can continue the investigation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: And as that investigation continues, we're starting to hear from people who are just expressing how devastated they are about the loss of Rob and Michelle Reiner. We are hearing from politicians. We do know that the Reiners were big time donors to the Democratic Party to events and fundraising for them. And we're hearing from the governor of California to President and Michelle Obama, who have come out and said things. We've also heard a statement that was sent from Jamie Lee Curtis to Variety saying because Princess Bride, all these movies people have played a part in. She is saying that they are numb and violent -- at this violence and saddened by it as well.

So it's still really breaking in for people right now. Kate, just how massive a loss this is.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely, that's going to be setting in for quite some time. What an absolute shock. Stephanie, thank you so much for being there.

Coming up for us, the death toll in Sydney climbing higher. Fifteen people are now dead after two suspected attackers opened fire at a Hanukkah celebration on the beach.

The new details that we're learning about those men and the heroic bystander who disarmed one of the shooters.

And a JetBlue plane near Venezuela narrowly avoids a U.S. military plane midair. Just wait until you hear what the pilot of that commercial jet says to air traffic control about the whole thing.

Plus, a billion dollar jackpot. The Powerball Prize once again reaching bonkers levels.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: New this morning, we're getting more detail that is coming in from Sydney at the site of the deadly anti-Semitic attack. Fifteen people. That is now the death toll.

Fifteen people killed. Dozens more were injured in what is the worst terror attack in Australian history. Authorities say two gunmen, a father and a son, targeted the Jewish community in there during a Hanukkah celebration on the famed Bondi Beach.

The youngest victim, just 10 years old. The oldest, an 87-year-old Holocaust victim. Amidst amidst the tragedy, though, police are also highlighting at least one hero.

Look at this video, a bystander seen on video single handedly disarming one of the shooters.

CNN's Will Ripley is in Sydney for us this morning. Just look at that memorial growing and growing behind you, Will. What else are you learning?

[08:15:00]

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the beginning of summer here at Bondi Beach, normally a very happy time. And yet today, this cold gray kind of set in, which really is almost symbolic of the mood that so many people are feeling here. This light rain coming down.

There's a lot of sadness about what was supposed to be a day of celebration. The first day of Hanukkah, people were out at a celebration by the beach. This area has one of the largest concentrations of Jewish population in all of Australia.

And many of them, hundreds, if not thousands of them, were out celebrating when this father and son, the father who moved to Australia back in 1988, his son was born here. The son's been studying the Koran and Arabic for the past year. His teacher says they showed up with a stockpile of rifles.

It turns out the father was a licensed gun owner here in a nation that has incredibly strict gun laws for the past 30 years, ever since the last mass shooting basically caused the country to collect most people's guns. But certain people have a license if they're members of gun clubs.

Apparently, this father was a licensed member of a gun club, but he had six rifles. One of those rifles, as you mentioned, was yanked away from him by a Muslim man, a bystander who ran up, apparently not concerned for his own safety, took the gun away, pointed it at the father, but didn't shoot.

The father actually ran away, ran back towards his son onto a nearby bridge just over there. And it was police that fired the shots that killed the father. The son was seriously injured.

He's currently being held at the hospital, guarded by police, has yet to be charged, but is expected to face charges in the murders of 15 people, including two rabbis, including a 10-year-old girl who one of the victim's brother-in-law told me is the daughter of Russian immigrants. A lot of sadness out here, a lot of questions about how the warning signs, the anti-Semitism that's been growing since October 7th, 2023, has gone unchecked some say by the government. And now you're seeing the the the aftermath here.

A lot of suffering and funerals expected to begin possibly as early as as tomorrow.

BOLDUAN: Will, thank you so much for being there. There's so much more to learn here and learn from this horrible tragedy.

Coming up for us, lawmakers are now left racing against the clock to try and fix -- try and find a fix before health care premiums skyrocket for tens of millions of people. Last ditch efforts failed last week. Congress is heading out of town this Friday until next year.

So what now? All eyes on Speaker Johnson.

And slop. That is Merriam-Webster's word of the year for 2025. Why? And what it's actually defined as, it may not be what you are thinking. [08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: So this morning, lawmakers are scrambling, but they're not doing much but staring at the clock right now. Health care premiums are set to skyrocket for tens of millions of Americans.

These are the enhanced tax credits that we've talked so much about that make insurance premiums more affordable for millions of people and are set to expire at the end of the month. Lawmakers have known that for months, have talked about that for months, but they have failed to find a compromise solution of what to do about it.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is, though, now vowing to hold a vote on a Republican led bill that they put out last week. Chances around that appear -- appear slim to survive the Senate as it does not extend the actual subsidies that are expiring.

Joining me right now on where things are going to go here, Democratic congressman from Virginia, James Walkinshaw. Congressman, thank you for coming in. What do you think of the Republican proposal --

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA): Thanks for having me.

BOLDUAN: -- that's going to get a vote this week?

WALKINSHAW: Well, look, Republicans have had all year and they control the White House, the House and the Senate. They've had all year to address this. And what they've done is at the very last minute, cobbled together a plan, a plan that doesn't address the skyrocketing premiums that tens of millions of Americans will face starting January one, a plan that offers junk health insurance coverage that will drive up costs for millions of Americans as well.

So it's too little too late from the Republicans. Democrats have put forward a bill for a clean three year extension of the enhanced premium tax credits that will prevent the most dramatic insurance premium increases.

BOLDUAN: Senator Thune, his position on this, especially after the votes of last week, Senator Thune accused Democrats of the way he puts it, simply pushing a blanket subsidy extension. He calls that unsustainable and said this. These guys are more interested in having a political issue than they are in having a solution.

How do you respond to that?

WALKINSHAW: Well, one, Senator Thune and Republicans call it a subsidy when it's for the middle class and for working people. They call it a tax credit when it's one of their massive giveaways to billionaires and to corporations. So this is the same crowd that passed the biggest health care cut in American history, trillion dollar cut to Medicaid to give tax cuts to their -- to their donors.

Look, Democrats want to solve this issue. That's why we have a bill with a discharge petition to force a vote. We have 214 signatures on that discharge petition.

All we need is four courageous Republicans to join us, and we can get this done. That could happen this week.

BOLDUAN: There are discharge petitions that Republicans are also opposing. Could you just join those? Because they also do include at least one of them, an extension of subsidies.

WALKINSHAW: There are two discharge petitions. There's one -- there's actually one other one from a Democrat, others from Republicans. They have 20 to 30 signatures.

Quite frankly, there's not enough time to get to 218 for those. The discharge petition for a clean three year extension has 214 signatures. We're almost there.

We just need a couple of Republicans to join and we can get that done.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and my point is, is if you've got 20 Republicans on it or where that stands, if Democrats join that as they have joined your clean extension, you guys would have that thing done. The fact of the matter is it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

[08:25:00]

But Senator Bill Cassidy, Republican doctor, head of the Health Committee in the Senate, he offered, though, even though it seems that there is no hope here on the horizon, he offered optimism yesterday, I wanted to ask you about. He says that there is a compromise. There's time for a deal and there's time for a compromise still to be had. Let me play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Republicans have pushed that we would put money in the patient's pocket so that she has something to pay the out-of-pocket. Democrats are saying, let's do something about premiums. I think, Dana, there is a deal that could be made.

Why don't we do both?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Cassidy's own plan, which included a measure to direct payments to HSAs but not extend the subsidies that failed in the Senate last week, just context here. Do you see an opening here in reality?

WALKINSHAW: Well, look, I think Senator Cassidy is moving in the right direction there. I think he would have a hard time selling that plan to Republicans in the House and to Speaker Johnson, because the fundamental issue here is Speaker Johnson is once again kowtowing to the hardest of the hardcore Republicans in the House who will not vote or support any extension of the premium tax credits. And in fact, I think Speaker Johnson is fearful that his speakership will be in peril if he puts such an extension on the floor, even if it were paired with, as Senator Cassidy said, some additional money for health savings accounts.

BOLDUAN: We are tracking very closely, just sadly, just multiple tragedies today that have played out over the weekend. I mean, this has just been a day upon days here. But I noticed, and I was looking back after the deadly tragedy of the National Guardsmen being shot while deployed in D.C., you had said -- I believe it was even on CNN -- you had said that the Trump administration has taken its eye off the ball in a lot of critical public safety areas and shifted resources to their mass deportation efforts.

You sit on the Homeland Security Committee. You said this was going to be one of your focuses. The FBI is involved with the investigating this shooting tragedy at Brown. Do you also see this taking the eye off the ball in public safety as having to do with the shooting tragedy at Brown?

WALKINSHAW: Well, I don't know that that's the case. I mean, look, obviously, the assailant is still on the run and loose with respect to the situation at Brown. And we don't know the circumstances and what happened there.

The motive, we really know very little about that instance of terrible, terrible tragedy. I do have broader concerns that we've seen the Trump administration disinvest and take resources and investigations away from, just to give an example, illegal gun trafficking, which we know does play a role in the epidemic of gun violence we have in this country. So it's too soon to say.

I don't want to make any comments about the situation in Brown. It's at Brown. It's still unfolding.

But broadly, I'm deeply concerned that they've taken resources and investigators away from gun trafficking, child sex trafficking, transnational criminal organizations to focus on rounding people up in Home Depot parking lots. I just don't think that's the right approach from a public safety perspective long term.

BOLDUAN: Congressman James Walkinshaw, thank you so much for coming in.

Let's turn to this another one of the tragedies we are tracking today. It is quite a day, guys.

Breaking overnight, police are investigating -- investigating an apparent double homicide after Rob Reiner and his wife, you see, they're found dead inside their home in Los Angeles. What police are saying now this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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