Brown University Shooting; Australia Eyes Tougher Gun Laws After Hanukkah Attack

On today's podcast: 1) Brown University, mourning two students killed during a shooting rampage Saturday, sent students home and called off final exams, classes and assignments for the fall semester. A blanket of snow covered the campus and downtown Providence, Rhode Island, on Sunday morning as the Ivy League school reeled from its first encounter with mass violence. Students recounted barricading themselves in their homes, waiting out the shelter-in-place orders by huddling together in the dark for hours as a manhunt ensued for the suspect who opened fire as the undergrads were preparing for exams. The shooting interrupted the second day of finals on Brown’s campus, shattering the calm in a study session in the Barus & Holley engineering building. 2) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state leaders pledged to strengthen gun laws a day after a father and son killed 15 people in the nation’s deadliest terror attack. The National Cabinet has tasked police ministers and attorneys-general to explore options including caps on the number of firearms an individual can hold, limits on open-ended licenses, stricter rules on the allowed types of guns and modifications, and a requirement that license holders be Australian citizens. Albanese also said in a statement following an emergency National Cabinet meeting that ministers pledged to eradicate antisemitism, hate, violence and terrorism. 3) Hollywood director and actor Rob Reiner, who helmed 1980s classics like The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap, died Sunday in murky circumstances that triggered a police investigation. He was 78. Reiner was discovered in his Los Angeles home alongside wife Michele Singer Reiner, both of whom appeared to have died from stab wounds, NBC News and other US outlets reported, citing sources close to the family. Representatives for Reiner didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.