ISIS ‘Ideology’ Is Linked to Australia Killings, and Trump Files New $10 Billion Lawsuit

0:02From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis, in for Tracy Mumford. Today's Tuesday, December 16th. Here's what we're covering.

0:13It would appear that there is evidence that this was inspired by a terrorist organization, by ISIS. In Australia today, officials said that the gunman who opened fire on a Jewish celebration this weekend seemed to have been radicalized by beliefs associated with the Islamic State. They said they'd found homemade ISIS flags when they searched the suspect's car after the attack, along with improvised explosive devices. ISIS is created by an evil ideology that has been called out, not just by the Australian government, but globally as well. Officials also said that the suspects, a father and his 24-year-old son, had traveled to the Philippines last month.

0:57and Filipino authorities said the two visited the south of the country, which has been a center of ISIS activity for years. Australian officials have said the men had previously been on law enforcement's radar. According to Australian news media, they were interviewed back in 2019 about a possible connection to a self-proclaimed ISIS commander based in Sydney who was convicted of plotting a terrorist attack. Meanwhile, in the wake of Sunday's shooting, which killed 15 people and wounded dozens more, Australia's prime minister has vowed to strengthen the country's already strict gun laws. Potential measures could include a limit on the number of firearms a person can own.

1:36The prime minister also said the government should review existing gun licenses to ensure that people with them have not been, quote, radicalized.

1:49Also, in Providence, Rhode Island. Tonight, we are renewing our call for the public's assistance in seeking any and all information about the shooter. No amount of information is too small or irrelevant. Authorities have announced a$50 ,000 reward for any leads about the gunman who opened fire in a crowded auditorium at Brown University, killing two students. They said the suspect should be considered armed and dangerous. Nearly three days after the shooting, officials have shared few details about the gunman. In photos and videos they've released, his face is covered. But officials said they hope someone might recognize him by his gait or dark clothing.

2:35Now, three quick updates on the Trump administration. In a little while, you'll be saying I'm suing the BBC for putting words in my mouth, literally to put words in my mouth. A month after first threatening to sue the BBC, President Trump filed a$10 billion lawsuit against the British broadcaster last night, accusing it of defamation. The controversy traces back to a BBC documentary released last year that spliced together two parts of a speech Trump made on January 6, before thousands of his supporters stormed the Capitol. The edit left the impression that Trump was explicitly urging people to participate in the riot.

3:10The network's chairman later apologized to Trump and admitted the film's editing was an error in judgment, but the BBC rejected claims of bias in its reporting. It's the latest legal action Trump has taken against a news organization. He's settled lawsuits over coverage on CBS and ABC and has another defamation suit pending against The Times. Also, this investigation was initiated in part due to the September 2025 executive order signed by President Trump to root out left-wing domestic terror organizations in our country. Federal officials in California announced that they've arrested people they described as left-wing activists who they said were plotting to set off homemade bombs on New Year's Eve.

3:56They described the suspects as anti-capitalist and anti-government and said they intended to detonate the explosives at several businesses when no one was around. Authorities didn't name the companies the group was targeting. The FBI said it foiled the plot after carrying out an undercover operation last week that caught the group trying to assemble and test pipe bombs in the Mojave Desert. According to officials, two of those charged had also discussed plans to attack ICE agents and vehicles in the next few months. And the Times has found that as part of the White House's push to slash diversity initiatives, the Trump administration has cut off funding for programs that help children with disabilities.

4:37A school for the blind has seen its funding cut, and programs for deafblind kids in seven states have seen their federal money dry up too. Those services set kids up with interpreters and specialists who can help them communicate. The coordinator of one program in Wisconsin told the Times that for the kids, quote, these dollars meant the world. In explaining its cuts, the The administration has cited language in the group's applications for federal funding related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said many of the programs use racial preferences and perpetuate divisive stereotypes.

5:12She said the funding was being reinvested to, quote, better serve special needs students.

5:24In Los Angeles yesterday, police announced an arrest in the murder of Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michelle. The suspect is their son, Nick Reiner. Police say the 32-year-old is being held without bail. One source close to the investigation told The Times that following the killings, authorities almost immediately focused in on Nick. According to other sources, the night before the couple was killed, Nick and his father had gotten into a shouting match at a holiday party, and that Nick's behavior had alarmed some guests. The son has long struggled with drug abuse, a topic he's spoken about openly.

6:00I kind of linked up with this old dealer. He was like, oh, I also have some heroin. And that turned into me hanging out with him for like three weeks, In interviews and podcasts over the years, he talked about going in and out of rehab since he was 15 and said he'd become violent at times, punching things and even throwing a rock through the window of a treatment center. He said he and his parents had had a fractured relationship, and that became the seed of a movie called Being Charlie that Nick wrote based loosely on his life. It told the story of the tensions between a father and his son who struggled with addiction.

6:36Rob Reiner ended up directing it.

6:43Across the U.S., more than 100 ,000 people are in need of an organ transplant, and each year, thousands of people die waiting for one. The system is designed to distribute organs based on factors like how sick a patient is and how long they've been waiting. But a new investigation from the Times has found that some American hospitals have been aggressively courting international transplant patients who are getting fast-tracked for surgeries. A Times analysis of every transplant performed in the U.S. since 2013 shows that over 1 ,400 people from abroad came for the procedure, most of them from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the UAE, and Qatar.

7:23International patients pay hospitals as much as$2 million for a transplant. A handful of hospitals have hosted conferences in the Middle East, advertised in Arabic-language magazines, and promoted services like airport pickups for potential patients. They've also competed to win over Middle Eastern governments, which often pay to send citizens abroad for care. In text messages the Times got access to between employees at one hospital, one person messaged, quote, We will do him. He is international. Followed by the emoji with dollar signs for eyes. The former chair of the Transplant Systems Ethics Committee said the findings were troubling, especially because overseas patients don't contribute to the pool of donated organs.

8:06He told the Times, quote, The unfortunate reality is that we don't have enough organs. When people jet in, get an organ, and jet home, it's a problem. It's not fair. You can find the full investigation at nytimes.com.

8:29And finally, about two decades ago, a little black and brown sparrow called the Dark-Eyed Junko began to colonize Los Angeles. The birds usually live in the forest, but they quickly adapted to city life and made themselves at home on the UCLA campus. As they settled into their new environment, the campus juncos began to diverge from their wild cousins, including by developing shorter, stubbier beaks, possibly because they started eating college leftovers like cookies and pizza instead of bugs and seeds. Now, a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has documented a remarkable and rapid set of evolutionary changes.

9:08When the campus shut down during the pandemic, the beaks of newly born birds reverted to their wildland shape. And when the campus opened up again, their urban beak shape returned. The scientists behind the study say they can't say for certain what caused those shifts in beak shape, but they think it was tied to changes in the bird's diet when humans stayed home. It's one of a number of surprising changes scientists observed during the pandemic in what became known as the Anthropause. Mountain lions crept closer to cities, sea turtles ventured closer to shore, and some birds, who didn't have to compete with traffic and other human noise, lowered the volume of their songs.

9:49Those are the headlines. I'm Will Jarvis. We'll be back tomorrow.