15 dead in mass shooting in Sydney. And Rob Reiner and his wife found dead

Today’s top stories

A father and son killed at least 15 people in a mass shooting during Hanukkah celebrations on Sunday. at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, according to officials. At least 42 people have been hospitalized. Police shot and killed the 50-year-old elderly gunman, authorities said. His 24-year-old son was injured and remains in hospital. Authorities have not yet charged him in the case.

• 🎧 It has been a difficult time, not just for Australia’s Jewish community, but for the country as a whole, since the attack took place.says journalist Kristina Kukolja Up first. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the violence, calling it an “act of anti-Semitism” and an “act of terrorism”. Authorities have not yet identified the victims, but police believe their ages range from 10 to 87. Albanians will meet leaders of Australia’s states and territories today. Australia has some of the strictest gun laws in the world, but its prime minister is looking for even harder after the Bondi attack.

Authorities are still searching for the gunman who opened fire inside a Brown University academic building two days agowhich left two students dead and nine others injured. This comes after officials last night determined they had no basis to detain a man in his 20s, who police had briefly detained as a “person of interest” in the case.

• 🎧 While walking through campus yesterday, Paul C. Kelly Campos of network station Ocean State Media said everyone he spoke to was tearyand many were visibly distraught. Anh Nguyen, a medical student at Brown University, said the lockdown order was issued while he was taking his exams. Nguyen told Campos he’s looking forward to it something so unimaginable happens far too often.” This is the second school shooting that Nguyen has experienced; his first occurred while he was in college.

Director Rob Reiner and his wife, producer and photographer Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead yesterday at their home in Los Angeles, according to police. Rob Reiner directed films for decades, including When Harry met Sally And Some good men.

• 🎧 Authorities say they expect to release preliminary autopsies later todaysaid reporter Steve Futterman. Police say by then they will be free to release more specific details in the murder investigation. Authorities are not looking for a suspect or person of interest, which suggests they are may already know or suspect who committed the crime, Futterman says.

Deep dive

Pap smears can be uncomfortable and even very disturbing for people who have experienced sexual or medical trauma. The procedure involves doctors collecting a sample of cells from the cervix and is important for detecting early signs of cervical cancer. Now a new approach is becoming available: you can get tested for HPV, which causes cervical cancer. According to new recommendations from the American Cancer Society, patients can safely swab their own vaginas to collect samples for the test, meaning they can avoid an invasive pelvic exam. However, the new approach is not yet generally available. Here’s what you need to know.

• 🩺The immune system fights HPV in the same way it fights a cold. But if your body can’t do that, your risk of cervical cancer increases. Testing for HPV strains with a high cancer risk identifies people who could develop cancer.
• 🩺 HPV testing detects 90% to 95% of pre-cancer abnormalities, while Pap smears detect only about 70% to 80% of pre-cancers, according to Dr. Rebecca Perkins, an OB/GYN at Tufts University.
• 🩺 In May 2025, the Food and Drug Administration approved the first home HPV test kit. It can only be used through a telehealth company called Teal Health, and your doctor cannot order it for you.

Life advice

Managing an entire December calendar and a long list of to-dos can quickly take you from festive to exhausted as you try to make everything photo-perfect, Instagrammable, and a core memory. ⁠Niro Feliciano, a clinical social worker and author of Everything is calm: Hto feel less hectic and more festive during the holidaysshares advice on reducing stress and increasing joy this season.

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Julia Neroznak/Getty Images

December holiday activities can quickly fill your calendar. When they’re piled on top of your regular daily tasks, you can quickly go from feeling festive to feeling exhausted. ⁠Psychotherapist Niro Feliciano, author of All is Calm: How to Feel Less Hectic and More Festive This Holiday Seasonoffers practical tips to reduce stress and promote deeper connections this time of year. She shared with Life kit that many tips require just a small change in the way you view the holidays.

• 🎁 Shorten your to-do list to the moments that matter most to you. Show as much as possible at those moments.
• 🎁 Instead of naming all the things you have to do, name what you can do. The change in mentality can turn an obligation into a privilege.
• 🎁 If there’s a tradition on your list that doesn’t bring you joy, it’s okay to let it go.

For tips on how to be less panicky during the holidays, listen to this episode of NPR’s Life kit. Subscribe the Life Kit newsletter for expert advice on love, money, relationships and more.

3 things you need to know before you go

People who regularly use tanning beds are at greater risk of DNA damage that can lead to melanoma over almost the entire surface of their skin.

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1. A new study in the journal Scientific progress finds that tanning bed users are at a much higher risk of melanoma and have cancer-related DNA damage across almost their entire skin surface.
2. A United Airlines flight bound for Tokyo returned safely to Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Saturday after the plane’s engine failed during departure, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
3. The annual Abortion Onscreen report shows that the number of characters on television shows has suffered a significant decline in recent years. Storylines around the subject appeared on TV 65 times this year.

This newsletter has been edited by Suzanne Nuijen.