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Authorities release Person of Interest Behind Brown University's Shooting; Rob and Michelle Reiner Dead in a Los Angeles Home; Australian Prime Minister Pushes for Tougher Gun Controls Following the Deadly Hanukkah Attack in Sydney's Bondi Beach. Aired 3- 4a ET

Aired December 15, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

We are following several major breaking news stories this hour, including the latest from Rhode Island where authorities say the person of interest detained in Saturday's deadly shooting at Brown University has been released from custody. They say they are seeking more video evidence as they search for the shooter. But the mayor of Providence assured the city there's no immediate threat despite the suspect still being at large.

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MAYOR BRETT SMILEY (D), PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND: We know that this is likely to cause fresh anxiety for our community and we want to reiterate what we said earlier which remains true, which is ever since the initial call now a day and a half ago, we have not received any credible or specific threats to the Providence community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And across the country in Los Angeles, the family of famed director Rob Reiner has announced his death and that of his wife Michelle. This comes after a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman were found dead at an address associated with the Hollywood director.

The Los Angeles Police Department has yet to officially identify the victims, they say they're seeking a search warrant to conduct a full crime scene investigation at Rob Reiner's home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN HAMILTON, DEPUTY CHIEF, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT.: Our detectives will be responding along with our Forensic Science Division and our Technical Investigation Division investigators to conduct a full crime scene investigation and determine the appropriateness of the investigation moving forward. At this time, the Los Angeles Police Department is not seeking anyone as a suspect or as a person of interest or in any other manner and we will not be doing that until we conduct our investigation and we move forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We begin our coverage from Providence, Rhode Island where CNN's Leigh Waldman has more on the Brown University shooting investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in the Providence community it feels like we've almost taken one step forward but now two steps back after the person of interest who was detained by authorities has now been released. The mayor of this community, Mayor Brett Smiley, telling people this community is still safe but when we pressed him asking is there any indication that the person who committed this violent act at Brown University is still here or if they've gone, he says that they frankly have no way of knowing so he sympathizes with people who might be going to bed with a little more anxiety.

They renewed this call asking for people to send in their videos, photos from their homes, businesses, anywhere in the area around Brown University that might show the face of the person that they released that ten second clip of video leading down Hope Street turning onto Waterman Street. The Attorney General saying frankly we don't have a picture of this guy's face yet. If we did, we would share it.

Now he spoke a little bit about the change in direction here saying they were following leads, they were following evidence. At the time it pointed to the person of interest that they had detained. Unfortunately that evidence, those interviews led nowhere so they're having to change course but he reassured people saying though we have not solved this thing yet, they will get it solved.

The police chief also weighing in saying they didn't have enough evidence to charge the person that they had detained. All of this kind of leading to a feeling of anxiety here in the community of Providence. We know when people wake up, when the sun rises, the mayor says you will see more law enforcement working on the street, combing the area around Brown University trying to get a conclusion to the tragedy that happened there on Saturday evening.

Leigh Weldman, CNN, Providence, Rhode Island.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore joins me now. I appreciate you being with us as we cover yet another deadly school shooting in America and this time police had what they called a person of interest in custody for many hours but that man has now been released and police are following another lead perhaps. What happened here? [03:04:59]

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, I'm going to disagree with the police chief there and say that this was a mistake. I will agree with him that no investigation is perfect and you're going to go through ups and downs but this was an unfortunate thing that set the case back a little bit time wise and is leading to some uncertainty now in the public, I'm sure.

CHURCH: Yes, I mean, a lot of people would be very uneasy, no doubt. Of course, two people are dead, nine injured as a result of this horrifying school shooting. And once police have a suspect in custody, they will be able to try to establish a motive at least. But for now, they're still trying to find the person behind this deadly shooting.

What would they be doing right now to try to track this person down?

MOORE: Starting over, because whatever led them to this person, whatever investigation they did that they think supported taking this person into custody was obviously an error. So you pretty much have to throw out not the evidence, but the conclusions from the evidence.

And you start basically as if you're seeing the evidence for the first time and say, where should this lead us?

And adding other evidence that it is coming in, evidence is still coming in pretty rapidly. I would suspect cell phone traces, things like that.

These things are all coming together. They will have a lot more information and evidence with which to go forward now.

But I do think that jumping on that one suspect prematurely has set the investigation back about 24 hours.

CHURCH: Yes, and unnerved everyone in the area, of course. And Steve, Brown University students are scared, of course. They're traumatized as a result of this shooting, with many of them saying this keeps happening because lawmakers are not listening and are failing to take the necessary action.

What needs to be done to stop this from happening over and over again?

MOORE: Well, the first thing I mean, in America, there's 450 million guns in circulation. So even if we went to, say, Australia's system tomorrow, we would still be dealing with this for the foreseeable future. So I think we have to start. In the meantime, we have to start hardening schools.

We have to start protecting our kids as well as we protect our money and things like the doors in this hall that were just routinely propped open by students. That's what we call the normalized deviance, something that they do that the rule they break so often it ceases to become a rule.

These kind of things have to be cleaned up and we have to start taking security seriously because unfortunately, with 400 some million guns in circulation, we're not going to get those guns away from people. And we're certainly not going to get those guns out of society within decades if we were to even try.

CHURCH: Steve Moore, we appreciate you joining us and sharing your analysis on this disturbing story. Thank you.

Well, more now on our breaking news out of Los Angeles. Politicians, celebrities and fans alike are expressing shock and offering their heartfelt condolences after the family of director Rob Reiner announced his death and that of his wife, Michelle. This comes after police said two people were found dead at a home associated with the Hollywood director.

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation confirms that the bodies were those of Rob and Michelle Reiner. Police say they are seeking a search warrant to conduct a full crime scene investigation at the home.

An LAPD spokesperson added that they are not searching for anyone as a suspect or in any other manner at this time. CNN's Julia Vargas-Jones brings us the latest from Los Angeles.

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JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Investigators are expected to work through the evening. That's LAPD detectives, forensic scientists to work on this scene, you know, a little bit before that press conference that became quite tumultuous.

We did hear from a press officer here in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles that the scene was exactly as it was when they arrived here, that they hadn't yet processed the scene and they were waiting on a warrant in order to be able to proceed. That just indicates how early this investigation is still, how much we are still in those early stages of the investigation.

[03:10:06]

The chief -- the deputy chief of LAPD, Alan Hamilton, saying that at this point, they're not seeking any suspects or any persons of interest until they find out more. The police detectives, though, have been speaking to a family member this Sunday evening. That's according to sources with knowledge of the investigation that have told CNN.

But the deputy chief did say that they were going to try to speak to every family member that they could in order to get the facts of this investigation.

We also know at this point that the person who reported the crime was at the location, was at the house when they called the police. And CNN also knows that, according to a source close to the investigation as well, that it was a family member who found the bodies of Rob and Michelle in their home here in Brentwood.

Now, my producer, Sarah Moon, also spoke to a neighbor here who said that he was scared when he heard those helicopters flying around the neighborhood, thinking that perhaps they were still looking for a suspect and explaining the location of all of this. You know, this is a very much a residential neighborhood. And there were at least two properties that the family owned very close to one another.

And one of them was from a neighbor that had a kind of a shared backyard situation. We have seen many neighbors come and go. A big part of this has been the police presence here, surely being a part of intimidating and reassuring.

Some neighbors have come and have had to remove their vehicles to make room for police and the media as well. And we've also witnessed some of those neighbors taking a moment to grieve together. And we've witnessed a couple of people on the street holding each other and crying for a moment when we first got here on the scene.

And it just goes to show how beloved this couple was, how important they were and the mark that they have made not only in their neighborhood, but in the world as a whole. There have been an outpouring of condolences coming from everybody from the entertainment industry to former President Barack Obama, Governor of California Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris, the Los Angeles mayor calling the Reiners' death a devastating loss for the city and the country.

But of course, so many questions still to be answered on this horrific incident that took place here in Brentwood. And we are expecting to learn more only in the morning hours of Monday.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: I'm joined now by Rebecca Sun, Los Angeles-based journalist and cultural critic who is a former senior editor of "The Hollywood Reporter." I appreciate you being with us.

REBECCA SUN, JOURNALIST AND CULTURE CRITIC: Of course.

CHURCH: So Hollywood, the country and the world have been shocked by news of the sudden passing of legendary film director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. And as we process this news, how would you describe Rob Reiner's legacy?

SUN: I mean, I think as a Rob Reiner was born into Hollywood greatness. His father, Carl Reiner, was a comedy legend. But he really was someone, you know, we use the phrase nepo baby nowadays, but he transcended that because he became first of all, he as an actor, you know, he was Mike Meathead Stivic in "All in The Family," the progressive son-in-law won two Emmys before then embarking on a remarkable directing career.

I mean, I think so many people you've seen in the tributes tonight, he's considered one of the greatest American filmmakers of all time with just a generational run of hits, especially in the 80s and 90s. These are some of people's favorite films. "This is Spinal Tap," "Stand By Me," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally," "Misery."

I mean, his versatility was also incredible because these are rom- coms, coming of age movies, courtroom dramas, psychological thrillers. He truly could do it all. And his legacy as a filmmaker is one thing.

And then his legacy as an activist is another thing that he really leaves. He was so active in California and national politics for liberal causes.

CHURCH: Yes, I want to talk about that because, I mean, not only is there this long list of remarkable work for Rob Reiner as a legendary filmmaker, he and his wife were very politically active, weren't they? What can you tell us about that part of his life?

SUN: Yes, they remained active even after he sort of, his prolificness as a film director kind of slowed down, he remained very active in politics.

[03:15:05]

They were supporters of Democratic candidates. And I would say that his causes were very significant. Here in California, he was head of a commission for parents and families basically working on early childhood education.

He tried for many years to get various initiatives passed that would have basically taxed tobacco and used that money to fund preschool programs for children statewide. This was a lifelong passion of his.

CHURCH: And Rob Reiner and his wife met and fell in love on the set of "When Harry Met Sally," a personal favorite of mine. What more can you tell us about their life together and, of course, their life with their family and the children?

SUN: I mean, I'm glad you mentioned that story about how they met, because, in fact, it was falling in love with Michelle that inspired Rob Reiner to change the ending of "When Harry Met Sally." Originally, Harry and Sally were not going to end up together. And because he met Michelle over the course of making that movie, he believed in love again.

And that's why that famous, that iconic couple ends up together at the film. They went on to have three children. And, you know, again, in Hollywood, it's very rare to have a long lasting marriage.

They were married since 1989 and produced films together, championed their causes together, and by all accounts were a couple who were really equally beloved by the community.

CHURCH: That is amazing. I didn't know that Michelle had that influence. And to the ending, I'm glad that she walked into his life.

A very sad situation, but what a legacy and what a life they had together. Rebecca Sun, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate it.

SUN: Thank you.

CHURCH: And still to come, the latest on the deadly shooting in Sydney, Australia, which targeted members of the Jewish community who were celebrating the start of Hanukkah. We will hear from the prime minister, who is now pushing for tougher gun laws in the country. Back with more of that in just a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: Australia's Prime Minister is pushing for tougher gun laws after the deadly shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach. At least 15 people were killed and dozens injured in what authorities are calling a terror attack targeting Jewish people celebrating the start of Hanukkah.

Police say the gunmen were a father and son. The father was shot and killed by authorities at the scene, the son is in the hospital in critical but stable condition.

Officials say the younger suspect was previously on the radar of authorities, but he wasn't deemed a threat. He's now expected to face charges.

Here's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese talking about the need for gun reform in Australia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: We'll put on the agenda of the national cabinet, tougher gun laws, including limits on the number of guns that can be used or licensed by individuals, a review of licenses over a period of time. People's circumstances change, people can be radicalized over a period of time. Licenses should not be in perpetuity.

And checks, of course, making sure that those checks and balances are in place as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Angus Watson joins us now live from Sydney. So, Angus, what more are you learning about this horrifying terror attack, the worst gun violence in Australia in nearly three decades?

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Absolutely, Rosemary, and what I want to show you now is the community reaction to that down here at Bondi Beach. I'm at a memorial where there's been a steady stream of people for hours now.

Coming to lay floral tributes, pay respects and think for a moment about the victims of this hideous anti-Semitic terror attack in which 15 people were killed. I'll show you now some of the scenes that we're witnessing here. I'll

point out here a menorah.

You'll notice that there are two lights on the left there. It's meant to be the second night of Hanukkah here. Instead, it's a memorial service for those killed on the first night of Hanukkah.

One of those was a 10-year-old girl, Rosemary. Her name was Matilda, and these photos of her were taken just moments before she was shot last night by one of the gunmen. She later died in hospital.

She was just 10 years old. The eldest victim of this horrific accident was 87 years old. He was a Holocaust survivor who left Ukraine after the Second World War to come to Australia for a more peaceful life.

He, too, killed on Sunday afternoon with members of his community, including two rabbis as well, Rosemary.

Now, we know that one of the shooters was killed at the scene. A second shooter is in hospital in a critical but stable condition.

Of course, authorities are looking at that man to, you know, as the focus of their investigations. They've raided two houses in Sydney, one where the two men, father and son, spent the night before they took on this attack on Sunday afternoon, and another where their family lives, Rosemary.

CHURCH: And Angus, we were just listening to Australia's Prime Minister say that he's vowing to come up with tougher gun laws. Australia already has pretty tough gun laws, certainly compared to America and indeed some other countries. So talk to us about that, because some in the Jewish community feel that that is a distraction.

WATSON: That's right, Rosemary. Australia does have very strict gun laws. The type of semiotic weapons that was used at the Port Arthur Massacre some 30 years ago that you referenced there, those are completely banned. But people are allowed to have, at the moment, the type of gun that was used in yesterday's attack.

[03:25:07]

And the shooter, the 50 year old father among the duo, was allowed to have six long barreled weapons that he used to, he turned on this Hanukkah party on Sunday night. The Prime Minister wants to scale back the number of weapons that each person's licensed to have and do more regular checks on those gun licensees, make them renew their license over shorter periods of time, Rosemary.

But what the community here wants in Bondi, what the Jewish community want particularly, is for a greater focus on stamping out the scourge of anti-Semitism, Rosemary.

As former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who is down here earlier, said today, it's very hard to legislate against one specific terror incident. What it might be more, what the government wants to be able to instead, perhaps, is work to stamp out anti-Semitism as a part of society here, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes, anti-Semitism surging in Australia at this time. Angus Watson joining us live from Sydney with the latest on that tragic story, I appreciate you joining us.

And we have much more to come on the shooting at Brown University and the latest on what authorities are saying about the release of the lone person of interest in this case. Back with that in just a moment.

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[03:30:00]

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Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

The family of director Rob Reiner has announced his death and that of his wife, Michelle. A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation confirms that their bodies were found in their Los Angeles home. Police say they are seeking a search warrant to conduct a full crime scene investigation.

Australia's Prime Minister is vowing to put tougher gun laws on the Cabinet's agenda in the coming hours, it comes just a day after a mass shooting left at least 15 people dead and dozens injured at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney's Bondi Beach. Authorities say the suspected gunmen were a father and son. The father is now dead, the son is in the hospital.

Police in Rhode Island have released a man detained in connection with Saturday's deadly shooting at Brown University. Officials say they didn't have enough evidence to prosecute the person of interest. Law enforcement has asked the public for any information that might help investigators find the person responsible for killing at least two people and injuring nine others.

We heard earlier from state and local officials about the release of that person of interest and what it means for the investigation moving forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSCAR PEREZ, CHIEF, PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT: I want to make sure that we all understand that this was a very complex investigation, and it still is. So in a sense, we followed on a lead, and we followed on this specific lead, but we were able to examine every single evidence that led us to this individual. And at that point, that's how investigations work.

Investigations will tell us whether something is valid or not, whether something needs to be ruled out. It's not a mistake. It's just how investigations work.

And our responsibility is to make sure that we conduct the proper investigations. When I saw you all earlier today, I'm very proud of the detective work that they do. Detectives that work throughout the night, as the General stated, were here last night making sure that we lift every rock, that we investigate everything we need to investigate, because we're not in the business of putting people in jail that don't deserve to be.

And so at this point, we'll continue to follow on every lead that comes our way. Our federal partners are on board. We'll be meeting again tomorrow with them and continue to do the work that we need to do to bring this person who's responsible to justice.

REPORTER: So is it safe to say that you all believe at this point is the suspect behind these shootings, are they still in this community? I know you said there's no danger to this community, but is that person, do you believe they're still here? Have they left the state?

SMILEY: Honestly, we have no way of knowing. And the investigation is ongoing. We continue to follow leads that have been developed over the last day and a half, and we're continuing to ask for help. One of the things that Providence Police will be doing, and we should let our neighbors know, is that we are searching for additional video evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And after that news conference, CNN's senior U.S. national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem, says authorities have some major work to do rebuilding trust with the public. Ultimately, that means catching the person responsible for the deadly shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: From what we can tell, they have no idea of an identity or where this person is. I think this was an impossible press conference. No one's going to do this well.

The community and the nation are watching, are hoping that they have the right guy, not because it's this particular individual, but because you want the threat off the streets. That is not true. And so they need to regroup.

And this is where confidence and trust in the police, in the mayor, becomes very, very important, because obviously many people are leaving this press conference saying, yes, we get that you were always calling him a person of interest, but there was a few moments difference between when you said you had a person of interest and you let go of the shelter in place. So it's rebuilding that confidence and trust.

Honestly, the only way they can do it is catching this person. They will double down.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: More now on the death of legendary actor and director Rob Reiner. CNN's chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, has more on Reiner's Hollywood legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hollywood coming to grips with the sudden loss of a legend. Rob Reiner, one of the giants in L.A., known for acting and for writing, for directing and producing, as well as for his political activism. Ultimately, it was his directing that he is most remembered for.

[03:35:09]

Films like "When Harry Met Sally," films like "A Few Good Men," "The Princess Bride," his directorial debut was "This Is Spinal Tap, a groundbreaking, big rock, big music, big hair, mockumentary. It was the kind of film that came out in theaters, didn't do all that well, but then it became a sleeper hit on home video. People endlessly rewinding and rewatching "This Is Spinal Tap" over and over and over again.

And he actually recently came out with a sequel, just a few months ago, a sequel to "This Is Spinal Tap," because he wanted to get that band back together again.

Rob Reiner, known for acting over the years as well, you know, look, it was him playing Meathead in "All in the Family" that catapulted him to superstardom. It allowed him to write his own ticket and get into the directing business.

He continued to play characters over the decades, supporting roles in films like "Sleepless in Seattle" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" and on the Fox sitcom "New Girl."

But I know he also enjoyed working behind the scenes, nurturing young filmmakers and working on political campaigns. For example, he played an instrumental role in repealing bans of same-sex marriage, first in California and then across the United States.

He was outspoken in the last decade for his opposition to President Trump. He was a very vocal critic of Trump. I remember interviewing Reiner in 2018, both about film and T.V., but also about his political work.

Back then, he really enjoyed sparring with his challengers and critics on Twitter, the site now known as X. Reiner really played almost every part in Hollywood through a career that spanned generations, and his wife Michelle made him better. They worked together in a partnership that spanned nearly 40 years. They met when Reiner was working on "When Harry Met Sally," and he often credited Michelle with giving him a happier ending for the film.

I'm sure many fans now wanting to re-watch, to stream that film now and many of the other films in Reiner's long catalog of memorable hits. A true loss for Hollywood and beyond that now so many people are trying to make sense of. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And we're also following developments from Australia where authorities say the suspects in a deadly shooting at Sydney's Bondi Beach were father and son. At least 15 people were killed in the attack targeting the Jewish community. A bystander is being hailed as a hero after he was able to stop one of the gunmen in Sydney.

A warning to viewers, the video you're about to see may be disturbing to some.

The footage circulated on social media shows the man bravely tackling and disarming one of the gunmen. According to Seven Network News, the man was injured and remains in the hospital.

In the U.S., President Trump spoke about his bravery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: A very brave person actually who went and attacked frontally one of the shooters and saved a lot of lives. So a very brave person who's right now in the hospital pretty seriously wounded. So a great respect to that man that did that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: --joined now by Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Association. I want to thank you so much for joining us at this tragic time for the Jewish community in Australia and our deepest condolences to you.

So how are you and those around you holding up in the wake of this horrifying terror attack and what more are you learning about what happened here?

ROBERT GREGORY, CEO, AUSTRALIAN JEWISH ASSOCIATION: There's a lot of emotions going around in the Jewish community now. Initially, it was a lot of shock.

People were searching for their loved ones. Messages were going around. Missing children, missing parents.

I quickly turned to grief as names started coming through of some of the murdered people, some of the minor personally. It's quite a small community. Everyone knows someone.

And now it's turning to anger that this was allowed to happen, anger at the government, anger that anti-Semitism wasn't taken seriously over the last couple of years despite repeated warnings from the Jewish community. So these are some of the emotions that are swirling around at the moment.

CHURCH: And just after the attack, you said that Australia needs to deal with what's at the source of this surging anti-Semitism in the country. What did you mean by that exactly? GREGORY: So the government appointed a commissioner on anti-Semitism

that's made some recommendations which have not been adopted yet.

[03:39:57]

Different things about targeting anti-Semitism in university campuses, which are a hotspot, in the media, in different places, coming from extreme parts of the Islamic community, radical preachers, some of the radical organizations out there, immigration policies. So there's a whole wide range of things that can be done and that should be looked into rather than just dealing with these incidents when they occur.

CHURCH: And Israel's foreign minister says Australia must take significant action while the Australian prime minister and indeed other leaders say they will do whatever it takes to stamp out anti- Semitism in the country. And the Prime Minister is vowing to put tougher gun laws in place. Of course, there are already very tough gun laws in Australia, certainly compared to America and even other nations.

So how do they do that exactly? What more needs to be done and how does it get done?

GREGORY: Well, the focus by the Prime Minister on gun laws is seen in the Jewish community as a bit of a deflection. As you mentioned, Australia has very tough gun laws. In fact, one of the issues was the event was allegedly, apparently unable to have armed guards, which would have had a major difference.

So this is seen as a deflection. We want the government to focus on fighting the root cause, fighting the incitement, the weekly rallies that have been going on where we've heard these chants in our cities calling to globalize the intifada, and now we're seeing the results. Focusing on the gun laws, we don't think will have a major impact.

We appreciate any support in terms of security for the community, which is bearing a very heavy burden. All our buildings have to be protected, our preschool children. It's a huge cost, but we think that it'll be much more effective for the government to focus on some of the root causes of the problem.

CHURCH: And what role do you think has the war in Gaza played in this surging anti-Semitism across Australia and in other nations too?

GREGORY: Well, the October 7 attacks famously sparked a lot of anti- Semitism in Australia. Just hours after, before Israel had even responded at all, we saw crowds gather at the Sydney Opera House chanting anti-Semitic slogans. So this has certainly sparked some hatred, which was already in the community and made people feel more entitled to express it.

We've seen two years of surging anti-Semitism. Synagogues fire bombs, rabbis assaulted in the street, and now this is the worst terrorist attack in Australian history, which, of course, can be connected to the October 7 attacks, which also occurred on a Jewish holiday and seems to have sparked this wave of anti-Semitism around the world. CHURCH: Robert Gregory, thank you so much for joining us. We

appreciate it at this very difficult time for you and your community.

GREGORY: Thank you.

CHURCH: The verdict is in, in a landmark trial that's been seen as a test of Hong Kong's freedoms under Beijing. Media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty of national security offenses. We will go live to Hong Kong for reaction to a verdict that will be closely watched around the world.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty in a landmark national security trial in Hong Kong. Lai was one of the highest- profile critics of Beijing after a series of pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. He was charged under a sweeping national security law imposed on the semi-autonomous city in 2020.

Lai was found guilty on two national security charges as well as a lesser sedition charge. The two-year trial was widely viewed as a measure of Hong Kong's shrinking freedoms under Beijing.

A Russian drone strike on Ukraine was caught on camera. Police and journalists gathered at the scene of two earlier drone strikes on Sunday when a third hit.

Nobody was hurt in this incident at a parking lot in Zaporizhzhia, although two people were injured in the initial strikes. Police said several cars had already been destroyed when the third drone hit, setting off new fires.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff says progress has been made during talks with Ukrainian officials in Berlin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been meeting with Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner as well as European officials.

On social media, Witkoff said Sunday's meeting lasted over five hours. He also said the delegates discussed the peace plan to end the conflict in Ukraine as well as economic agendas.

So let's get more now from CNN's Clare Sebastian, she joins me live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. So what progress was likely made and what more are you learning about these latest talks?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORESPONDENT: Well, we don't have a lot, Rosemary, because they didn't really say anything after those talks beyond the very short statement we got from Witkoff. In a very brief readout from the Ukrainian Presidency as well, which didn't, by the way, mention the word progress that we heard from Witkoff. But the talks lasted five hours and I think it's important certainly for Ukraine to keep up this level of meetings both with the U.S. side and with their European allies.

And we know that the talks with the U.S. delegation will continue this morning and then European leaders are set to join later this afternoon as this diplomacy continues at fever pitch. So we don't know exactly what was said, but we know there's a very high level of urgency, driven I think in part by President Trump's impatience to get to a deal and by frankly the U.S. posture when it comes to Europe.

The national security strategy that was out last week I think really crystallized in the minds of European leaders that they are now the ally of last resort for Ukraine, both in terms of military support and frankly funding it through next year. I was at Downing Street this time last week when President Zelenskyy was there with some of his European allies and they talked about supporting him not only in the war, but in the negotiations.

I think there's a concern that he is vulnerable not only to sort of Russian military pressure, but pressure from the U.S. side to force through some kind of deal that in the end wouldn't lead to a lasting peace. And I think that's why going into these talks in Berlin, President Zelenskyy, top of mind for him was the issue of security guarantees.

He and the Europeans have made it clear that there won't be any discussion of territorial concessions without those and even though he is now it appears accepted that NATO is not on the table, he is looking for bilateral security guarantees that essentially mirror NATO's Article 5, that collective defense article within NATO and he wants those to be legally binding, which in terms of the U.S. would involve having some agreement with Congress as well.

So look, this is a critical week. These talks are going to lead into more later in the week between the Europeans. They need to talk about funding, they need to talk about these security guarantees.

So really intense moment as this urgency steps up to try to find some kind of resolution. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Yes. Clare Sebastian bringing us the very latest from London. I appreciate it.

[03:50:06]

And do stay with us. We will have more news after a short break.

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CHURCH: We're going to take a look at the annual lighting of the National Menorah on the White House Ellipse Sunday evening, marking the first day of Hanukkah. The ceremony comes less than 24 hours after the deadly terrorist attack at a Jewish celebration in Sydney, Australia, where 15 people were killed on Bondi Beach. The lighting of the Menorah has been a White House tradition since 1979.

On Sunday, President Trump spoke at the White House about the multiple tragedies that have taken place in the past few days. CNN's Julia Benbrook has details.

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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump is offering his condolences, his thoughts and prayers to those impacted by several tragic events that took place this weekend. During a preplanned holiday party here at the White House, he opened remarks by speaking about the shooting at Brown University as well as the deadly attack that took place in Australia. We want to play you what he had to say.

[03:55:06]

TRUMP: I want to just pay my respects to the people, unfortunately, two are no longer with us, Brown University, nine injured, and two are looking down on us right now from heaven. And likewise in Australia, as you know, that was a terrible attack and that was an anti-Semitic attack, obviously. And I just want to pay my respects to everybody.

BENBROOK: He also spoke about a deadly attack that took place in Syria over the weekend. It left two U.S. Army soldiers and one civilian interpreter dead as well as three others wounded.

Trump has referred to this as an ambush attack, he said it was an ISIS attack against the United States and Syria. And he has vowed retaliation. In fact, in these recent remarks, he said, quote, "a lot of damage will be done to the people who did it."

Now, these remarks, like I said, they came during a preplanned holiday party. And after this somber beginning, he did pivot his comments to more campaign-style rhetoric. He was introducing notable attendees, speaking about his golf game; he took at least one dig at his predecessor as he touted his administration's work so far.

At the end of those remarks, First Lady Melania Trump also spoke, though, about those that were impacted by these tragedies, saying that she is thinking of them, adding, quote, "my heart is with them."

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. Stay tuned for more of CNN's breaking news coverage with Brian Abel in Washington.

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