Monday, December 15, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to RedState's "Morning Minute" — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
TOP O' THE MORNIN'
Red-Hot at RedState
Hollywood Director Rob Reiner and Wife Found Dead at Home With Injuries Consistent With Knife Wounds
Instead, we might remember that despite those views, he made some of the greatest entertainment in Hollywood over recent decades, with many people able to quote The Princess Bride at will.
Just Another Day in LA: Viral Video Shows Woman Discovering Creepy Surprise in Trunk of Her Waymo
Seeing those cars with no drivers at the stoplight continues to throw me. If I ever do call for one, I am definitely checking the trunk.
Not One but Two High School Championship Football Games End in Insane, Last-Second Fashion
Incredible plays, young men. There’s something special about high school football, and to both winners and losers alike, I say: well played, gents.
Trending Across Townhall Media
When Seconds Counted, St. Louis Police Were Hours Away
I'm sure that police prioritized the 911 call the best they could given the information they had and the circumstances of the other calls for service at the time. But that doesn't change the fact that when seconds counted police were hours away, and this incident is a reminder that we are our own first responders, and our personal safety is ultimately our own responsibility.
They Are Globalizing the Intifada
At least as important, we need to push back on the "globalize the intifada" left here at home. They are telegraphing to us all that they have chosen the side of people determined to kill us.
Kristi Noem Fired by 17 Insiders and Counting
What's funny is the part that comes next. Even if Trump fires Noem tomorrow, the prediction still counts as a win for rumor merchants. If she stays, the story simply fades, never corrected or revisited.
Heads, they win; tails, the audience forgets.
The LAPD Presser on the Deaths of Rob Reiner and Wife Michele Singer Was a Total Disaster
The kicker was the police not confirming who was found inside the home. We know—the Reiner family confirmed it. Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed it. What the hell is going on? What a total disaster.
Ms. Rachel's Crocodile Tears: Shocked by Antisemitism After Years of Fueling It
Lots of folks who stoked the fire trying to play firefighter now.
WHAT'S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill...
The critters are still at it in the Swamp this week. They've got a couple of meetings/hearings set for Monday:
- House Veterans' Affairs — Ready, Set, Go-Live: Assessing VA’s EHR Modernization Deployment Readiness
- House Rules — H.R. 4776 – SPEED Act; H.R. 1366 – Mining Regulatory Clarity Act; H.R. 3616 – Reliable Power Act; H.R. 3632 – Power Plant Reliability Act of 2025; H.R. 4371 – Kayla Hamilton Act; H.R. 845 – Pet and Livestock Protection Act
The Senate will be voting on the NDAA on Monday evening.
Vote scheduled: At 5:30pm, on Monday, December 15th, the Senate will proceed to a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to concur in the House amendment to S.1071, FY2026 NDAA.
— Senate Cloakroom (@SenateCloakroom) December 11, 2025
White House What's Up
On Monday, President Trump will participate in a Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office. Then he's attending two different Christmas receptions at the White House, one at 4:15 and one at 8:15 PM Eastern.
Vice President JD Vance wished a Happy Hanukkah on Sunday evening to those celebrating while asking for prayers for the victims in the Bondi Beach attack.
Wishing all of my Jewish friends in America a very Happy Hanukkah as they begin their celebration this evening.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 15, 2025
Please say a prayer for all of the victims of the terrible terrorist attack in Australia. May their memory be a blessing.
Keeping Up With the Cabinet
Dir. Office of Management and Budget - Russ Vought — Vought recently spoke at the Reagan National Defense Forum, where he noted the administration's scarcest resource — time:
“Political capital is not the scarcest resource. You can always build it. Time is our scarcest resource,” Vought, the Office of Management and Budget director, said last week at the Reagan National Defense Forum. “That’s why we’re going at it with everything we’ve got and trying to bulldoze the bureaucracy where it exists.”
Vought also recently highlighted the strides the Trump administration has made in those efforts to "bulldoze the bureaucracy":
.@WHOMB Director @russvought announces the Trump Administration has eliminated *48 government regulations* for every new regulation issued since taking office in January. pic.twitter.com/Ks3o74Dm6R
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 2, 2025
Full Court Press...
We got a bevy of notable court decisions on Friday, including:
- ✅ Castanon Nava v. DHS (immigration enforcement (settlement agreement)) — 7th Circuit Court of Appeals grants in part, denies in part admin's request for stay pending appeal.
- ❌ Abrego Garcia v. Noem II (habeas) — Judge Paula Xinis (Maryland) GRANTS petitioner's motion for TRO.
- ❌ J.G.G. v. Trump (TdA removals under AEA) — Judge James Boasberg (D.C.) DENIES admin's motion for reconsideration of order compelling witness testimony in contempt proceedings (and motion to stay).
- ✅ Planned Parenthood of America v. Kennedy (defunding Planned Parenthood) — 1st Circuit Court of Appeals vacates district court's orders granting preliminary injunctions and remands.
- ✅ In Re: Donald J. Trump et al. (writ taken from J.G.G. v. Trump) — D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals GRANTS admin's motion for administrative stay.
READ MORE: About That Planned Parenthood Funding...1st Circuit Smacks Down Crazy District Court Ruling
MORNING MUSING
I was in the midst of trying to collect stories for the Tell Me Something Good segment we do on Mondays on the morning show, which wasn't as easy a task Sunday evening as I might have hoped. We've been bombarded with bad news over the past couple of days. And then came the news that Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, had been found dead in their Brentwood, California, home, victims of what appears to be a heinous murder.
No doubt, we'll be continuing to follow and cover the investigation in the hours and days to come — there are already a lot of questions being raised. But I wanted to take a moment here to simply reflect on Rob Reiner's body of work, which has brought me — along with millions of others — so much joy, laughter, and even laughter through tears over the years. Bob Hoge shared this in his initial reporting on the matter, but here was my initial reaction:
My Top 3 Favorite Movies Are:
— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) December 15, 2025
1. It's a Wonderful Life
2. The Princess Bride
3. When Harry Met Sally
To think that Reiner - whatever differences I may have had with him politically - is suddenly gone and in this way...well, it simply does not compute. https://t.co/bFD16PQaJs
My Top 3 Favorite Movies Are:
- It's a Wonderful Life
- The Princess Bride
- When Harry Met Sally
To think that Reiner - whatever differences I may have had with him politically - is suddenly gone and in this way...well, it simply does not compute.
This morning, I woke with these words in my head:
Boy the way Glenn Miller played
— Mark Halperin (@MarkHalperin) December 15, 2025
Songs that made the hit parade.
Guys like us we had it made,
Those were the days.
And you knew who you were then,
Girls were girls and men were men,
Mister we could use a man
Like Herbert Hoover again.
Didn't need no welfare state,
Everybody…
Boy the way Glenn Miller played
Songs that made the hit parade.
Guys like us we had it made,
Those were the days.
And you knew who you were then,
Girls were girls and men were men,
Mister we could use a man
Like Herbert Hoover again.
Didn't need no welfare state,
Everybody pulled his weight.
Gee our old LaSalle ran great.
Those were the days.
In the 70s, we watched a show that evinced nostalgia for the late 20s/early 30s. In 2025, we're feeling nostalgia for the 70s and 80s.
In the 2060s, will we be reflecting fondly on the 2020s?
LIGHTER FARE
The content we all need in our timelines.
Nothing will bless your weekend quite like this dogs at an adventure daycare, dressed in their Christmas outfits and living their best lives. Merry Christmas 🎄
— Puppies 🐶 (@Puppieslover) December 13, 2025
Credit: Mind of Dogs pic.twitter.com/ie7OyMtodb
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