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A sealed and confidential medical order was signed Friday by the judge overseeing the initial stages of Nick Reiner’s murder prosecution that may have to do with the 32-year-old’s mental health condition and treatment, and could add more delays to the legal proceedings. Three sources with direct knowledge of the case declined to discuss the order’s contents, but confirmed to NBC Los Angeles Investigates that Nick Reiner was being treated for schizophrenia at the time of his parents’ murders. The sources said Reiner was diagnosed years ago with schizophrenia and was being treated with medication. holidays Dec 18 In recorded Hanukkah message, Rob Reiner urges resiliency for Holocaust survivors Crime and Courts Dec 17 Rob Reiner and his wife's cause of death revealed They said Nick Reiner’s medication was changed or adjusted before the killings, but did not provide a more specific time frame. Two of the sources also confirmed that, as of Friday, the murder weapon had not been found, but said it was of limited investigative value given other evidence and statements to authorities. The medical examiner said the deaths were caused by a sharp object. The coroner’s office ruled the couple’s manner of death was homicide, caused by “multiple sharp force injuries.” Nick Reiner was charged Tuesday with first-degree murder in the killings of Rob, 78, and Michele Reiner, 68, whose bodies were found Sunday inside their home. The charges include a special circumstances allegation of multiple murders and an additional allegation that Reiner used a knife in the killings, which took place sometime early Sunday morning. Nick Reiner was arrested hours later in Exposition Park, south of downtown LA and about 15 miles southeast of Brentwood. Special circumstances elevate a murder charge to a more severe level. The charges carry the potential for a possible death sentence, if prosecutors pursue capital punishment. Nick Reiner was the second of the couple’s three children.  The deaths of Rob Reiner, a celebrated director whose long list of successful films included “When Harry Met Sally…,” “A Few Good Men” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” and Michele Reiner, a talent photographer and producer, stunned the Hollywood community and led to an outpouring of tributes from entertainment industry colleagues, political figures and more. The family’s challenges Nick were well-documented, including battles with drug addiction. In 2015, Rob and Nick Reiner worked on a coming-of-age film together called “Being Charlie.” Directed by Rob Reiner and co-written by Nick Reiner, the film explored the relationship between a son and father. In a 2016 interview with the Associated Press, they talked about the film. “It forced us to understand ourselves better than we had,” Rob Reiner told the AP. “I told Nick while we were making it, I said, ‘You know it doesn’t matter, whatever happens to this thing, we won already. This has already been good.’ We’ve worked through a lot of stuff.” In September, the family appeared together at the Los Angeles premiere of “Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues.’ Nick Reiner has spoken publicly over the years about his struggles with drug addiction, which began in his teens. He told People in an interview in 2016 that he cycled in and out of treatment facilities with bouts of homelessness and relapses in between. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun,” Nick Reiner told People, adding that, “If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless.”

The school day ended early for Christmas Break, but choir students at Mary Immaculate Catholic School in Farmers Branch headed to the choir room for one last rehearsal with choir director Jamie Bottomley. “One, two, ready, go,” Bottomly said as she directed her students, stopping to correct them from time to time. After Christmas, 25 students in a select choir will board planes bound for Rome, Italy. The choir plans to sing at the Vatican and outside its walls. “I’ve always wanted to travel with my choir, but I’ve never gotten the chance to,” 6th-grader Mille Grobe said. In the fall, Mary Immaculate Catholic School Pastoral Administrator Alfonse Nazzaro starting working on plans to get his choir to The Vatican to perform during the Jubilee, which comes around every 25 years. “When the Cardinals came together and elected an American pope, well, ok, lets go for it, lets go for Rome,” Nazzaro said. “Let’s see if we can sing for the Holy Father.” “I’m just surprised because I can’t believe Father managed to do this,” 7th-grader Eliana Aguilar said. “He just kept asking, and here we are; we’re going to go to Rome!” The choir will be performing around the Nativity when Pope Leo blesses it, so Nazzaro thinks there are better than 50/50 odds the Pope will hear them, and if their prayers are answered, stop by to see them. “I wanted the children to see that if you have a goal, if you have a dream, then just go for it,” Nazzaro said. “I really hope that he thinks like, wow! There’s some good choirs in America,” Grobe said. ‘You’re gonna probably tell your kids about it, and they’re gonna be like, wow! You went to Rome,” Aguilar said. “It makes me feel like God wanted me to go to this choir and sing.” The Mary Immaculate Catholic School Select Choir leaves after Christmas for Rome. Their trip was paid for by fundraising and generous donations.

The Justice Department on Friday released thousands of documents from its files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but the massive document release was heavily redacted, incomplete and shed little new light on his crimes. It did, however, contain some celebrity cameos. Here’s a look at what is — and what is not — in the “Epstein files” so far. Many of the files had already been released Many of the materials that were released had been made public through various lawsuits and court filings, including the reports from the Palm Beach police that led to the initial state criminal probe in 2005. Some records were also previously released as part of the House Oversight Committee investigation into the Epstein case. Among the documents released were already public filings from the criminal cases against Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, including filings from Maxwell’s appeal for her conviction and 20-year prison sentence on sex trafficking charges. It also includes various civil complaints filed against Epstein over the years. But not all of it was old news. One of the files released was Maria Farmer’s 1996 complaint to the FBI alleging Epstein stole photos she had taken of her 12 and 16-year-old sisters and sold them. She sued the federal government earlier this year in federal court over alleged failures to protect her and other Epstein victims. Farmer said in a statement Friday, “I feel redeemed.” Her legal team said in a news release that the document “proves that if the FBI had simply done its job in 1996, Epstein’s decades-long sex trafficking operation could have been stopped at the outset.” Farmer’s suit is still pending and the government has yet to file a response to her allegations. Lots of records are still missing The Epstein Files Transparency Act gave the attorney general 30 days to “make publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format all unclassified records, documents, communications, and investigative materials in the possession of the Department of Justice” involving Epstein, “including all investigations, prosecutions, or custodial matters.” That clock ran out Friday, and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche acknowledged that the release was several hundred thousand pages short of “all” and that it could take a “couple of weeks” for the rest to come to light. Jeffrey Epstein Dec 17 Imprisoned Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell seeks release, citing ‘new evidence' Jeffrey Epstein Dec 3 New photos and videos of Jeffrey Epstein's island released by House Democrats Jeffrey Epstein Nov 19 Ex-Harvard President Larry Summers steps back from teaching amid Epstein probe He attributed the delay to the need to redact information about the victims. “What we’re doing is we are looking at every single piece of paper that we are going to produce, making sure that every victim — their name, their identity, their story — to the extent it needs to be protected, is completely protected,” he told Fox News. The law’s co-author, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the department needs to give a detailed timeline on when those documents will be released, and also noted that some documents appeared to be overly redacted. “Some of the documents I’ve just been scanning them have very heavy redactions,” Khanna said, and under the law, “they owe the Congress and the American public an explanation for every redaction.” Khanna’s co-author, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., said in a video on X Thursday that he’d been told by victims’ lawyers that “there are at least 20 names of men who are accused of sex crimes in the possession of the FBI,” but no such names were evident in the release. Few mentions of Trump in the DOJ release President Donald Trump’s past friendship with Epstein is well known — and his chief of staff Susie Wiles told Vanity Fair that he appears in the files— but there were only a few passing mentions of him…

With it being under two months until the trade deadline, discussions on a wide variety of players will start to ensue across the league. For the Suns, though, it is relatively quiet to start, as only one name has really been mentioned in trade discussions so far: center Nick Richards. Richards, who was brought in at last year’s trade deadline from the Charlotte Hornets, has had a weird role here in Phoenix in just under a year so far. He went from being the best big in this rotation last year, looking like someone who could be a quality starter, but better suited in a backup role. With the Suns trading for Mark Williams and still developing sophomore big man Oso Ighodaro, he has now fallen out of the rotation already. This leaves the 14-12 Suns in a tough spot going into the deadline. Do they hold onto Richards, as he can be some depth if they run into injuries, or do they move off him for another need? He only makes $5 million, so he does not make much. The Suns, though, do not want to lose him in free agency for nothing. With him becoming a free agent this summer and with a limited role now, it seems unlikely he would return. Well, that is how the rumor mill has started for Richards, dating back to the offseason when his name was already brought up in trade rumors. Now his name still seems to be at the forefront of the Suns’ discussions, as it was recently brought up that the Suns talked to the Toronto Raptors about a deal involving Richards. The Suns and Raptors have discussed a trade that would send Ochai Agbaji and a second-round pick to Phoenix in exchange for Nick Richards, per @MikeAScotto “Meanwhile, rival NBA executives have cited Toronto’s Ochai Agbaji as the likely trade candidate to help the Raptors duck… pic.twitter.com/wvjpvIX3i5— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 18, 2025 We already had a great article talking about that trade here, so check it out! https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/suns-rumors/94773/phoenix-suns-trade-rumors-raptors-nick-richards-ochai-agbaji-draft-picks-nba-deadline-2025 That being said, though, Richards will eventually be moved by this deadline. Unfortunately, he has not played great this year in his limited minutes, but the Suns do not have the money to pay him. They have the contracts of Collin Gillespie and Mark WIllimas to worry about, and with rising young bigs in Oso Ighodaro and Khaman Maluach, it just does not make sense to retain him. So let’s look at some trades I came up with, and let me know your thoughts down below! Trade 1: Cam Whitmore In this first trade, the Suns talk to the Wizards in DC and trade again, this time not for Bradley Beal but for Cam Whitmore and their 2026 second-round pick back. The Wizards would then take on Nick Richards and his expiring deal. The Suns do this to take a flyer on Cam Whitmore. He has not lived up to the hype he had in college, and that could be due to his character, but there is still some offensive spark in Whitmore that can be brought out. If any team can get the best out of an unproven player over the last two years, it’s been the Suns, so that is something I can invest in. Not to mention, he is also a Villanova Wildcat like Collin Gillespie, bringing another Big East player to play with an alum could also spark something out of Whitmore. The Wizards also add a second-round pick to get out of the Whitmore contract. They took a flyer on the wing this offseason, but things have not panned out with him in their rotation. He has fallen behind some of their other wings and could use a restart. This pick also helps the Suns recoup some draft capital, an area in which they are constrained. For the Wizards, they take the expiring of Richards and get off a contract they no longer need. With their front court not as deep, only consisting of Alexander Sarr and Marvin Bagley, another big man could be helpful, even if they are bad. All depending on their other moves too, he could find himself some actual backup minutes, something he…