Rob Reiner’s embattled son Nick has hired a top lawyer to represent him, after he was arrested for the murder of his mother and father.

Nick Reiner has retained attorney Alan Jackson – whose former clients include Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein.

Jackson also made headlines for representing Karen Read in her Massachusetts murder trial over the death of her Boston cop boyfriend, as well as Malibu rich kid Fraser Bohm, 23, who is accused of killing four sorority sisters in a high-speed crash. 

As of Tuesday afternoon, no charges have been filed against Reiner. 

He was set to appear at the Superior Court of Los Angeles County today, but he was not medically cleared to do so, according to Jackson. 

Jackson told reporters outside the courthouse that he did not know what the medical issue was, but he said Reiner will not appear before Wednesday. 

Reiner, 32, was arrested and booked for the murder of his father, Hollywood legend Rob Reiner, and his mother Michele, who were found dead with their throats split at their home on Sunday. 

He remains in custody at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles. 

Nick Reiner has retained attorney Alan Jackson (pictured today, outside the criminal courthouse in Los Angeles) whose former clients include Kevin Spacey and Harvey Weinstein

Nick Reiner, 32, (pictured in September 2025) was arrested and booked for the murder of his father, Hollywood legend Rob Reiner, and his mother Michele, who were found dead with their throats split at their home on Sunday. No charges have been filed against Reiner yet

Reiner was arrested several hours after his parents were found dead in their home in the upscale Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday.

Investigators believe the couple died from stab wounds, although they have not offered any potential motive for the killings. 

Prosecutors are soon set to decide whether and how to charge the 32-year-old, whose court appearance Tuesday morning was cancelled.

‘He is not medically cleared to be transported to the court,’ Jackson said, adding that it was ‘just a procedural issue.’

His attorney has made a career of representing high-profile clients, including CEOs, celebrities, NBA players and foreign royals.

Among Jackson’s most famous clients was Harvey Weinstein, whom he represented during his sexual assault trial in Los Angeles. A jury convicted Weinstein in 2022.

He represented Kevin Spacey when he was accused of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man in Massachusetts.

Jackson, known for his assertive court-room style, challenged the accusations from the accuser and prosecution. The charges against Spacey were ultimately dropped.

Jackson made headlines for representing Karen Read (pictured together in 2024) in her Massachusetts murder trial over the death of her Boston cop boyfriend

Actor Kevin Spacey (left) attends his arraignment on sexual assault charges with his lawyer Alan Jackson (right) at Nantucket District Court on January 7, 2019 in Massachusetts

Harvey Weinstein (left) sits with his attorneys Mark Werksman (center) and Alan Jackson (right) during a pre-trial hearing in Los Angeles on July 29, 2021

Jackson Malibu rich kid Fraser Bohm, 23, (pictured together in November 2025) who is accused of killing four sorority sisters in a high-speed crash

Jackson most recently represented Karen Read, who this year was acquitted of murdering her boyfriend in Massachusetts after a mistrial and hung jury.

He was a central figure in the HBO documentary on the Read case. 

Before becoming a powerhouse defense attorney, Jackson worked in the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

He was the lead prosecutor in the murder case against music producer Phil Spector, who was convicted in 2009, and in 2006 prosecuted the killer of race car driver Mickey Thompson.

Jackson was named one of California’s Top 100 Lawyers and has earned a reputation for winning the ‘unwinnable’ cases, according to his biography on the Werksman Jackson & Quinn LLP website.

He has tried more than 85 cases to jury verdict, has a 96 percent success rate, and is one of the ‘most sought-after criminal trial lawyers’ in the US, his firm boasted.

The claim is echoed by experts, including legal analyst Lou Shapiro who told the Daily Mail on Tuesday: ‘Alan Jackson has a great reputation in the legal community for being fearless, relentless and efficient. 

‘It showed in his advocacy for Karen Read where he obtained an acquittal in her retrial. This case may call for a different approach, such as not guilty by reason of insanity. No matter what, he will be ready for it.’

Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 70 (pictured together in 2023), were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home on Sunday

Rob Reiner was the Emmy-winning star of the sitcom All in the Family who went on to direct films including When Harry Met Sally… and The Princess Bride. He was an outspoken liberal activist for decades. 

Michele Singer Reiner was a photographer, movie producer and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. They had been married for 36 years.

Three months ago, Nick was photographed with his parents and siblings at the premiere of his father’s film Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues.

He had spoken publicly of his struggles with addiction, cycling in and out of treatment facilities with bouts of homelessness in between through his teen years. 

The father and son explored – and seemed to improve – their relationship through the making of the 2016 film, Being Charlie.

Nick Reiner co-wrote and his father directed the film about the struggles of an addicted son and a famous father. It was not autobiographical but included several elements of their lives.

‘It forced us to understand ourselves better than we had,’ Rob Reiner told the AP in 2016. ‘I told Nick while we were making it, I said, “You know it doesn’t matter, whatever happens to this thing, we won already”.’

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Jessica Picton tested positive for alcohol, cocaine and cannabis after being pulled over by police, less than two hours after leaving work at a school in Swansea

Jessica Picton was stopped by police less than two hours after leaving work at Clase Primary in Swansea(Image: Google Maps)

A teaching assistant drove under the influence of cocaine, cannabis and alcohol – less than two hours after she’d clocked off from work.

Jessica Picton was stopped by police at the roadside at 4.45pm due to a strong smell of cannabis coming from her car, an Education Workforce Council Wales fitness to practise committee heard. She had left work at Clase Primary in Swansea as usual at 3.10pm.

The level two teaching assistant, who worked with vulnerable additional learning needs, was breathalysed and drug tested. Alcohol, cocaine and cannabis were detected.

Picton was arrested, charged and later convicted of driving under the influence of controlled drugs and alcohol after being stopped by police on December 11, 2023, WalesOnline reports.

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Magistrates issued her with a curfew and electronic tag, a 17-month driving ban and a community order when she pleaded guilty on June 14, 2024. She was also required to do rehabilitation activities.

Clase Primary’s then headteacher Sharon Hope, who has since left the school, told the EWC committee, meeting remotely on December 16, that she had been contacted by the local authority telling her about Picton’s arrest. The TA was off work for a couple of days after her arrest, but when she returned Mrs Hope asked her if she had anything she wanted to tell her.

“There was no evidence she was intoxicated in work but there was such a small gap that it was possible she had been in work under the influence of drugs,” Mrs Hope told the committee. “I asked her if she had anything she wanted to tell me. She replied ‘anything in particular?’. I was taken aback.”

The headteacher said that when she advised Picton to be honest with her, the TA claimed her brother had been smoking cannabis in the car, which was why it smelled and why she was pulled over by police.

Mrs Hope felt Picton was not being entirely transparent about what had happened, was worried about whether she had been at work under the influence of drugs and told her to go home and work remotely for a period. She was then suspended on full pay while an investigation was launched.

“I asked Jessica Picton if she had taken cocaine to which she replied ‘not knowingly’,” Mrs Hope told the hearing. “There was a lack of transparency. I reminded her this was her opportunity to give me an honest account.”

Mrs Hope said Picton was liked by colleagues, was hard working and kind to the vulnerable ALN children she worked with. She had started her career at the school in 2012 and trained there. There had been no previous concerns about her.

Finding it proved that Picton was convicted of offences relevant to her registration, the EWC panel also found it proved that she had not notified the school, as she should have, about her arrest on December 11, 2023 until asked about it three days later by the head.

The committee also found the teaching assistant gave misleading and/or false information to Mrs Hope about the circumstances of her arrest and judged that her actions were dishonest, lacked integrity and amounted to unacceptable professional conduct.

As Picton was neither present nor represented at the hearing, and had offered no formal pleas, the allegations were taken as denied. The committee retired to decide on whether to impose any sanction on her registration to work. The hearing continues.

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French football champions Paris Saint-Germain have been ordered to pay former player Kylian Mbappe 60 million euros (£52.6m) by a Paris court.

A Paris labour court found on Tuesday that Mbappe was due three months in unpaid wages, as well as an ethics bonus and a signing bonus, under his employment contract with PSG.

It was noted that the sums were recognised by the French Professional Football League (LFP) in September and October 2024, and that there was no evidence of an agreement showing that Mbappe had waived his entitlement to them.

Judges thus rejected the club’s argument that the 26-year-old French forward should forfeit unpaid wages entirely, but did dismiss his additional claims of concealed work, moral harassment and breach of the employer’s duty of safety.

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Kylian Mbappe was PSG’s record goal scorer and won six league titles with the club. File pic: AP

Speaking to reporters after the verdict, Mbappe’s lawyer Frederique Cassereau said: “We are satisfied with the ruling. This is what you could expect when salaries went unpaid.”

In a statement, his legal team also said: “This judgment confirms that commitments entered into must be honoured. It restores a simple truth: even in the professional football industry, labour law applies to everyone.”

PSG ‘reserving right to appeal’

PSG said in a statement that it “takes note of the ruling handed down by the Paris labour court, which it will comply with, while reserving the right to appeal”.

The statement added: “Paris Saint-Germain has always acted in good faith and with integrity, and will continue to do so.

“The club is now looking to the future, built on unity and collective success, and wishes the player all the best for the remainder of his career.”

Now playing for Real Madrid, Mbappe had taken PSG to court over earnings he said were withheld for April, May and June 2024 – before he left the club for Spain on a free transfer.

Image:
File pic: Reuters

Lawyers for the striker argued he was owed more than 260m euros (£227m), and that his fixed-term contract should be reclassified as a permanent one.

Judges on Tuesday did not view Mbappe’s contract with PSG as a permanent one, which limited the scale of possible compensation.

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PSG argued that Mbappe had acted disloyally by concealing for nearly a year his intention not to renew his contract, and sought 440m euros (£385m) over damages and a “loss of opportunity” after he left on a free transfer.

In the last year of his contract, he was linked with a world record transfer to Saudi Arabian football club Al Hilal, which Sky Sports News reported at the time to be worth £259m.

PSG signed Mbappe on loan with a mandatory purchase option of 180m euros (£165.7m) from AS Monaco in 2017, making him the second-most expensive player and most expensive teenage footballer in history.

While playing for the Parisians, he won six league titles and scored 256 goals in all competitions, making him the club’s all-time top goal scorer.

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The US economy gains jobs in healthcare and construction as other sectors stagnate, shrink.

The United States economy lost 41,000 jobs in October and November, and the unemployment rate has ticked up to its highest level since 2021 as the labour market cools amid ongoing economic uncertainty driven by tariffs and immigration policies.

In November, the US economy added 64,000 jobs after shedding 105,000 in October, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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The unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent, up from 4.4 percent in September. Because of the government shutdown in October and November, the US government was unable to gather key data used to gauge the state of the economy, including the unemployment rate for October.

October’s job losses reflected the 162,000 federal workers who lost their posts, a result of deferred buyouts of their contracts,  which expired at the end of September.

In November, there was a loss of another 6,000 government jobs. Gains were seen in the healthcare, social assistance and construction sectors. Healthcare added 46,000 jobs – higher than the 39,000 jobs gained in the sector on average each month over the past 12 months.

Construction added 28,000, consistent with average gains over the past year. The social assistance sector added 18,000 jobs.

Transportation and warehousing lost 18,000. Manufacturing jobs are also on the decline. The sector shed 5,000 jobs in November after cutting 9,000 jobs in October following a 5,000-job loss in September.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told reporters on Tuesday to expect to see more manufacturing jobs in the next six months.

His assessment was driven by growth in construction jobs and manufacturing investments, which signal job growth is on the way.

People working part time for economic reasons also rose to 5.5 million, which is up 909,000 from September.

“Today’s long-awaited jobs report confirms what we already suspected: [President Donald] Trump’s economy is stalling out and American workers are paying the price,” Alex Jacquez, chief of policy and advocacy at the economic think tank Groundwork Collaborative, said in a statement.

“Far from sparking a manufacturing renaissance, Trump’s reckless trade agenda is bleeding working-class jobs, forcing layoffs, and raising prices for businesses and consumers alike.”

The data was released after the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 3.5-3.75 percent as labour conditions cool.

“The labour market has continued to cool gradually, … a touch more gradually than we thought,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said after the rate cut decision last week.

On Wall Street, markets fell slightly after the jobs report. In midday trading, the Nasdaq was down 0.4 percent, the S&P 500 was down 0.5 percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4 percent below its market open.

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The government has broken its promise to protect nature by weakening planning rules for housing developers, groups have said.

While developers once had to create “biodiversity net gain” (BNG), meaning creating 10% more space for nature on site than there was before the building took place, housing minister Matthew Pennycook announced exemptions to this rule on Tuesday.

Under the new rules developments under 0.2 hectares are exempted from the policy. Analysis from the Wildlife Trusts has found that this means a combined area across England the size of Windsor forest will now not be restored for nature.

The move is part of a bigger package to help the government meet its target to build 1.5m homes by the end of this parliament. This includes a default “yes” to suitable homes being built around rail stations, and a possible exemption from the building safety levy for small and medium sized housebuilders.

Wildlife Trusts CEO, Craig Bennett, accused the housing secretary, Steve Reed, of breaking a promise to him. He said: “In January of this year when he was environment secretary, Steve Reed made a solemn promise that the government was ‘committed to biodiversity net gain’. Now, as housing secretary, he has broken his word.”

Nature groups have also complained the rule change puts private investment in nature at risk. Private firms have already generated £320m into habitat restoration since the BNG rules were put into place in February 2024.

Beccy Speight, the chief executive of the RSPB, said: “The decision to exempt sites under 0.2 hectares from BNG flies in the face of the UK government’s promise to be ‘the most nature-positive government this nation has ever had’. It’s a blow for nature, for local communities and for business confidence in the future of BNG.”

Wildlife and Countryside Link has warned that exempting so many small sites could still “wreck the policy altogether”, particularly when small developments dominate England’s planning system. About 95% of planning applications are for sites under 1 hectare, 88% under 0.5 hectares, and 77% under 0.2 hectares.

Reed said: “Right now we see a planning system that still isn’t working well enough. A system saying ‘no’ more often than it says ‘yes’ and that favours obstructing instead of building.

“It has real-world consequences for those aspiring to own a home of their own and those hoping to escape so-called temporary accommodation – we owe it to the people of this country to do everything within our power to build the homes they deserve.”

The plans could reduce the need for brownfield sites to deliver BNG. Pennycook announced the government would consult on how to ensure the system supports brownfield-first development, while making it easier and cheaper to deliver biodiverse habitats offsite through simplified rules.

The government is currently consulting on whether, and how, nationally significant infrastructure projects such as airports, roads and waste incineration plants, should achieve biodiversity net gain.

Nature campaigners have said ministers should hold these projects to a high standard in order to prevent mass habitat destruction.

Richard Benwell, the CEO of Wildlife and Countryside Link, said: “To meet its electoral promise of halting wildlife decline, government should strengthen green economy rules, not shrink them. Rapidly applying net gain to all major infrastructure and stopping developers dodging their environmental responsibilities should be clear priorities, not more carveouts.

“So far, this has been a parliament of delay and relentless deregulatory threats to nature. The public outcry in support of net gain must be a last-chance wake-up call that environmental promises weren’t a ballot box bonus. Restoring nature and stopping pollution are a key test of the government’s credibility and it’s time for action.”

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A rebel leader in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo says his fighters will withdraw from a key city at the request of the US.

Corneille Nangaa’s statement came days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the capture of Uvira by rebel forces violated a peace deal, and the US would “take action to ensure promises made to the President [Donald Trump] are kept”.

Nangaa said that rebel forces would pull out of the city as a “trust-building measure”.

The US accuses Rwanda of backing the rebels. Rwanda denies the allegation, but its President, Paul Kagame, signed a peace accord on 4 December with his DR Congo counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, at a ceremony in Washington hosted by Trump.

The US president hailed the deal as “historic” and “a great day for Africa”.

The rebels were not signatories to it – and have been taking part in a parallel peace process led by Qatar, a US ally that has strong ties with Rwanda.

Nangaa is the coordinator of the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC), a coalition of rebel groups. It includes the M23, the most powerful force that European countries, along with the US, say is backed by Rwanda.

DR Congo’s army is supported by troops from neighbouring Burundi.

The M23’s capture of Uvira was a major blow to them, as the city is only 27km (17 miles) from Burundi’s economic capital, Bujumbura, on the northern tip of Lake Tanganyika.

“AFC/M23 will unilaterally withdraw its forces from the city of Uvira as requested by the United States mediation,” Nangaa said in a statement, adding that this was being done to give the Qatar-brokered peace process the “maximum chance to succeed”.

He did not indicate when the withdrawal would take place, but called for the deployment of a “neutral force” to monitor a ceasefire and to prevent DR Congo’s army from regaining control of territory it had lost.

About 200,000 people have fled their homes in eastern DR Congo since the latest round of fighting started early this month, the UN says.

At least 74 people, mostly civilians, had been killed, and 83 others had been admitted to hospital with wounds, it added.

Eastern DR Congo has been wracked by conflict for more than 30 years, with numerous peace initiatives aimed at ending the fighting having failed.

The Trump administration hopes that its peace initiative will work and pave the way for US companies to boost their investments in the resource-rich region.

The US State Department said in 2023 that DR Congo had an estimated $25tn (£21.2tn) in mineral reserves.

This included cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese and tantalum – needed to make the electronic components used in computers, electric vehicles, mobile phones, wind turbines and military hardware.

The rebels began a major advance earlier this year when they captured Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, on the border with Rwanda.

At the time, South African troops were deployed to help DR Congo’s army, but they were forced to withdraw after the M23 seized the city in January.

Shortly afterwards the rebels captured the next big city in eastern DR Congo, Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province.

The move on Uvira – the government’s last major foothold in South Kivu – came after the rebels broke the defence lines of the DR Congo army, militias allied with it and Burundian troops.

The offensive started a few days before Kagame and Tshisekedi flew to Washington to ratify the agreement first hammered out in June.

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Rakhine state in western Myanmar plays a key role in determining the outcome of the civil war that has been raging in the Southeast Asian nation since its military seized power in a coup in February 2021.  

That’s because the Arakan Army (AA), an ethnic armed group originating in Rakhine, has posed one of the biggest military challenges for the ruling junta. 

The AA has managed to seize control of almost the entire state and is also active in other parts of Myanmar. However, its advance has slowed down recently.

Meanwhile, the region is also experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe, which is receiving little global attention. Reports on Rakhine are as sketchy as those on the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

“Rakhine stands on the precipice of an unprecedented disaster,” the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) already warned last year.

The situation in Rakhine has also had a significant impact on the fate of the Rohingya, a mainly Muslim ethnic minority in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar.

According to the World Health Organization, around 650,000 Rohingya fled from Myanmar to neighboring Bangladesh due to ethnic cleansing by the Myanmar military, particularly in the years 2016 and 2017.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says there are still some 630,000 Rohingya people living in Rakhine, most of them in northern border areas or in camps around the capital Sittwe.

Border blockades in a multi-front war

The situation in Rakhine is precarious for not just Rohingya but all residents. The state has always been one of Myanmar’s most disadvantaged regions, plagued by poverty, poor infrastructure, and internal tensions.

After the military coup in 2021, a ceasefire between the junta and the AA remained in place. But since fighting resumed in 2023, Rakhine has become one of the main battlegrounds in the civil war.

The parties to the conflict have become embroiled in an ongoing multi-front conflict.

In the region’s south and east, as well as around the areas still held by the junta, the AA has been fighting against the military government.

Most recently, it suffered heavy losses in its unsuccessful attempt to capture the deep-sea port in Kyaukphyu.

In the north, where the military was defeated at the end of 2024, fighting between AA and armed Rohingya militias flares up regularly.

Isolation deepens amid escalating conflict

Rakhine is currently largely cut off from the outside world.

The Myanmar military is blocking all routes connecting the state to the country’s heartland and regularly bombs targets in Rakhine, also killing many civilians.

The route to India is currently blocked because the government in New Delhi has closed the border due to a cholera epidemic. Bangladesh also closed its border in July.

And Rohingya militias are operating in the Bangladesh-Myanmar border area, where they are fighting the AA.

People in the isolated, conflict-ridden region, meanwhile, are struggling to survive.  

In November, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) counted around 460,000 internally displaced persons.

The United League of Arakan (ULA), the political arm of the Arakanese resistance, told DW that the actual figure is about 600,000.

The numbers cannot be independently verified.

If accurate, this would mean that about 20% of the region’s 3.6 million people have been forced to flee their homes.

Aid cuts lead to school closures in Rohingya refugee camp

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Meanwhile, rice production in Rakhine — which was originally also exported to other parts of Myanmar and even Bangladesh — has collapsed.

Prices for rice and cooking oil have experienced wild swings and increased tenfold at times since 2023, according to the UNDP.

“The key challenges for people’s survival remain access to basic commodities, medicines and secondary products such as cooking oil, fuel and gas,” the ULA told DW in a statement. 

War crimes often difficult to attribute

All sides — the military junta, the AA, and Rohingya militias — accuse each other of human rights violations, massacres, war crimes, and terrorism.

On December 10, on International Human Rights Day, the military bombed a hospital in Mrauk-U, killing at least 30 people.

In other cases, however, it is often difficult to reconstruct exactly what happened and who is responsible.

The burning down of villages, for instance, is well documented with the help of satellite images, but it is often impossible to determine beyond doubt who started the fires and when.

Social media also often spreads alleged and actual atrocities indiscriminately, making it very difficult to get a realistic picture of the situation.

And much remains unclear on the ground. The junta is, in a sense, an external enemy in Rakhine, and the lines between it and the AA are relatively clear.

The conflict between the Rohingya militias and the AA, on the other hand, is primarily an internal one with no clear lines.

Bangladesh: Could the UN help the Rohingya return home?

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Breeding ground for unrestrained violence

“The question is always when civilians are affected and in what form,” said Christin Pschichholz, historian and research associate at the German Police University (DHPol) who has long researched military history and the cultural history of violence.

“In civil wars, where fighting often takes place in areas where many people live and where combatants can mingle with the population, the boundaries between combatants and non-combatants become blurred,” he told DW, speaking about the factors that encourage war crimes and unrestrained violence.

This is exacerbated by situational factors such as poor supplies, bad weather, and unclear terrain.

A pronounced threat perception and asymmetries can also contribute to the brutalization of a conflict.

“When combatants feel they are fighting for their very survival, it becomes easier to justify crossing boundaries,” emphasized Pschichholz.

Ideological, religious, and political factors are particularly influential, the expert stressed.

“How is the opponent being perceived? Has dehumanization taken place?” In such cases, the image of the enemy often expands, he said. “The threat is seen not only in the armed opponents, but in the entire group, which becomes the enemy as a whole.”

When listing the factors, it becomes clear that all of them are present in Rakhine state. It is a civil war in which the battle lines are often unclear. There is a shortage of supplies and a pervasive sense of threat, especially among the Rohingya.

There are several asymmetries. The junta is militarily superior to the AA, as it has an air force and navy, for example, and is supplied with weapons and ammunition by China, Russia, and Belarus. The AA, in turn, is superior to the Rohingya militias. There are longstanding ethno-nationalist and religious tensions.

Organizing daily life

Against this difficult backdrop, the ULA is attempting to provide for the population, reduce tensions, and — as far as possible in a war zone — organize daily life.

This often fails because the Rakhine and Rohingya ethnic groups distrust each other and often assume the worst.

After taking control of northern Rakhine, for instance, the ULA decided to reopen schools. It called on Rohingya teachers to return to classes.

However, as the ULA was unable to pay the teachers due to a lack of financial resources, it suggested that the teachers collect the money from the students’ parents.

This prompted resistance from the Rohingya teachers, who felt that the Arakanese were forcing them to exploit their own people, already suffering from severe deprivation. The Rohingya teachers accused them of forced recruitment.

The Arakanese, in turn, perceived this as an affront and a rejection, because teachers from other ethnic groups were also not paid.

Rohingya refugees in India live in fear of deportation

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Both interpretations are plausible, though not necessarily true. Another possible interpretation of events is that the Rohingya are in such dire straits that they are unable to participate in reconstruction without support.

It could also be viewed as the ULA being genuinely interested in improving relations with the Rohingya and involving them in the reconstruction process. This also makes strategic sense, as the AA knows that its chances of keeping Rakhine state in the fight against the Myanmar military will increase if it succeeds in reducing internal tensions.

Escaping the vicious circle

This generous interpretation does not mean justifying the crimes committed by the AA and the Rohingya militias. It is important to differentiate, as this is a prerequisite for resolving the internal conflict in Rakhine.

Pschichholz believes the only way to escape the vicious circle is to have patience and succeed in creating empathy and trust. To do this, it is necessary to see and acknowledge the suffering of the other side, he said. “But many people will have traumatic experiences that make it almost impossible for them to empathize with the traumatic experiences of others.”

In this precarious situation, every act of violence and every rumor can undermine attempts at rapprochement and contribute to prolonging the war, which is being fought not only on the battlefield but also in people’s minds.

This article was originally published in German

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Donald Trump’s “ice maiden” and one of the most politically powerful women in the world has offered a series of candid and often damning assessments of the president’s first year back in office and the people he appointed to shape his presidency.

In interviews with Vanity Fair’s Chris Whipple, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles described the president as having “an alcoholic’s personality,” said Vice President JD Vance has been a “conspiracy theorist for a decade,” labeled Elon Musk an “avowed ketamine” user who lurked in Washington, D.C., like Nosferatu, and described budget director Russell Vought as a “right-wing absolute zealot.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi “completely whiffed” the administration’s handling of investigative files surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, according to Wiles, who also appeared to admit that the president lied when he claimed Bill Clinton visited the sex offender’s private island more than two dozen times.

The appointment of Wiles, whom the president has affectionately named Susie Trump, reflected a major shift from his small group of key advisers in his first term who could restrain his basest and most violent impulses by keeping him within the guardrails of the presidency.

Trump, unmoored from those checks and balances, has this term surrounded himself with loyalists whose jobs are to facilitate Trump’s desires, not restrain them, by eliminating the guardrails altogether.

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White House chief of staff Susie Wiles gave an often-frank assessments of the first 11 months of the Trump administration in a series of interview with Vanity Fair (AP)

Vance appeared to admit as much in his comments to the magazine, stating that Wiles “takes the diametrically opposite viewpoint” of her predecessors, “which is that she’s a facilitator.” Her job is to “actually facilitate his vision and to make his vision come to life,” Vance told the magazine.

Wiles has labeled the two-part story a “disingenuously framed hit piece” against her “and the finest President, White House staff, and Cabinet in history.”

“Significant context was disregarded and much of what I, and others, said about the team and the President was left out of the story,” she wrote Tuesday. “I assume, after reading it, that this was done to paint an overwhelmingly chaotic and negative narrative about the President and our team.”

In a statement to The Independent, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wiles has helped the president “achieve the most successful first 11 months in office of any President in American history.”

“President Trump has no greater or more loyal advisor than Susie. The entire Administration is grateful for her steady leadership and united fully behind her,” she added.

Even when she was outgunned, she eventually “got on board” with the administration’s decision-making, if she objected, she said. “There have been a couple of times where I’ve been outvoted,” she told Vanity Fair. “And if there’s a tie, he wins.”

Trump has an ‘alcoholic’s personality’

Wiles’s later father Pat Summerall, a former NFL player and sportscaster, was an alcoholic who was sober for 21 years before his death in 2013. “High-functioning alcoholics or alcoholics in general, their personalities are exaggerated when they drink. And so I’m a little bit of an expert in big personalities,” Wiles told the magazine.

Trump – while not a drinker himself – has “an alcoholic’s personality,” added Wiles, claiming he “operates [with] a view that there’s nothing he can’t do. Nothing, zero, nothing.”

‘Score settling’ and political prosecutions

Asked whether she ever told Trump that his presidency is not supposed to be a “retribution tour” as he zeroed in on his political enemies, Wiles said she had a “loose agreement that the score settling will end before the first 90 days are over,” according to Whipple.

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Wiles, whom Trump has affectionately named Susie Trump, has called the two-part story from the magazine a ‘disingenuously framed hit piece’ using out-of-context portions of interviews (AP)

But by August, Wiles said Trump’s “governing principle” is “I don’t want what happened to me to happen to somebody else.”

“In some cases, it may look like retribution. And there may be an element of that from time to time. Who would blame him? Not me,” she told the magazine.

Since then, Trump has directed federal prosecutors to prosecute some of his most prominent critics, including former FBI director James Comey, Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, as he eggs on his administration to target judges, lawyers, broadcasters and ideological opponents while pardoning dozens of allies.

Asked whether she ever asked the president to rethink pardoning hundreds of people connected to the January 6 attack, Willies said she “did exactly that.”

“I said, ‘I am on board with the people that were happenstancers or didn’t do anything violent,” she told Whipple. “And we certainly know what everybody did because the FBI has done such an incredible job.’”

‘Avowed ketamine’ user Elon Musk and USAID cuts

Elon Musk, who blitzed through federal agencies with a “wood chipper” to cut billions of dollars in government spending and fire thousand of workers, is a “complete solo actor” and an “avowed ketamine” user who slept in a sleeping bag in a building near the White House during the daytime, Wiles told the magazine.

Whipple wrote that Wiles had described him as something like a “jacked-up Nosferatu.”

Musk is “an odd, odd duck, as I think geniuses are,” according to Wiles. “You know, it’s not helpful, but he is his own person.”

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As one of the most politically powerful women in the world, Wiles has been described as a facilitator for Trump’s agenda, after her predecessors sought to curb the president’s impulses (AFP via Getty Images)

She was “initially aghast” at the Musk-led evisceration of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has cost thousands of lives in Africa and imperiled hundreds of life-saving missions across the globe.

“Elon’s attitude is you have to get it done fast. If you’re an incrementalist, you just won’t get your rocket to the moon,” Wiles told Whipple. “And so with that attitude, you’re going to break some china. But no rational person could think the USAID process was a good one. Nobody.”

Pam Bondi ‘whiffed’ Epstein

Wiles dismissed suggestions that Trump did anything wrong during his yearslong relationship with Epstein while admitting that he is in the so-called Epstein files and on his plane manifests. “They were, you know, sort of young, single, whatever — I know it’s a passé word but sort of young, single playboys together,” she said.

But Bondi, who in February gave a group of far-right influencers binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1” that contained already-publicly available information about the late financier accused of abusing dozens of young women and girls, had “completely whiffed” the administration’s handling of the case.

“First she gave them binders full of nothingness,” Wiles told the magazine “And then she said that the witness list, or the client list, was on her desk. There is no client list, and it sure as hell wasn’t on her desk.”

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In interviews with the magazine, Wiles criticized Pam Bondi’s handling of the Epstein files, said the administration was caught off guard by Ghislaine Maxwell’s prison transfer, and admitted that the president has sought retribution by directing politically charged prosecutions of his enemies (Getty Images)

She also said it was Todd Blanche — Trump’s former criminal defense attorney who is now Bondi’s deputy — who suggested interviewing Ghislaine Maxwell in prison. That interview appeared designed to suppress criticism surrounding a decision from the Department of Justice that “no further disclosure” in the Epstein case “would be appropriate or warranted.”

Neither she nor Trump were consulted about Maxwell’s transfer to a less restrictive facility after Blanche’s visit, according to Wiles. “The president was ticked,” she said. “The president was mighty unhappy. I don’t know why they moved her. Neither does the president.”

‘Mistakes’ in ICE arrests and mass deportations

Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her deputies have been uncompromising in their defense of mass deportations and implementing the president’s anti-immigration agenda.

But in the aftermath of Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly send planeloads of Venezuelan immigrants to a brutal prison in El Salvador, launching a series of high-profile legal battles, Wiles told Vanity Fair that “we’ve got to look harder at our process for deportation.”

“If somebody is a known gang member who has a criminal past, and you’re sure, and you can demonstrate it, it’s probably fine to send them to El Salvador or whatever,” she told the magazine.

“But if there is a question, I think our process has to lean toward a double-check,” she added.

Following a wave of stories of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection Agents hauling away immigrants and lawful residents who show up for their hearings and appointments, Wiles said. “I can’t understand how you make that mistake.”

Trump was ‘thinking out loud’ with chaotic tariff agenda

There was a “huge disagreement” over Trump’s rollout of sweeping tariffs on global trading partners, an idea borne out of “thinking out loud is what I would call it,” according to Wiles.

With Vance’s help, they told Trump “hey, let’s not talk about tariffs today” and “let’s wait until we have the team in complete unity and then we’ll do it” — none of which landed with the president, she told the magazine.

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NEED TO KNOW

• Victoria Beckham has a new title after husband David Beckham was knighted in November
• The fashion designer confirmed the title on Watch What Happens Live on Dec. 15
• Victoria was by David’s side at the Nov. 4 ceremony, which was hosted by King Charles

Before she was best known as Victoria Beckham, she started out as Posh Spice. Now, she’s got a new — and official — moniker.

In early November, David Beckham was knighted, making his full title Sir David Beckham. A month later, Victoria, 51, appeared on Watch What Happens Live on Monday, Dec. 15, where host Andy Cohen asked what everyone was thinking: What name does the fashion designer go by now?

“Clear this up for me, if you will. David Beckham, your husband — smokeshow — is now a knight, which means he is Sir David Beckham,” said Cohen, 57, as Victoria confirmed, “He is.”

The host then asked if that makes the designer “Lady Victoria,” and she replied, “I am Lady Beckham.”

After the title inspired a round of applause — and a “wow” from both Cohen and Victoria’s fellow guest Kerry Washington — the host tested the waters with a reference to her Spice Girls moniker.

“Lady Posh?” Cohen asked, as the designer replied with a grin, “Listen, whatever you want. Whatever you want. … Anything for you.”

Victoria officially got her new title on Nov. 4, when husband David, 50, was knighted for his “services to sport and charity” in an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle. King Charles hosted the event, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to the community.

Along with David’s parents, Ted Beckham and Sandra West, Victoria was by the former Manchester United star’s side at the ceremony in an elegant black dress that she designed. David, meanwhile, wore the first-ever tailored menswear piece from his wife’s eponymous fashion label.

David Beckham with wife Victoria Beckham after being knighted on Nov. 4.

ANDREW MATTHEWS/POOL/AFP via Getty 

When it was confirmed that the soccer legend would be receiving the honor — which he was first nominated for back in 2011, per The Guardian — in June, the fashion designer also shared her pride at the moment, gushing in an Instagram tribute.

“You’ve always been my knight in shining armour, but now it’s official,” she wrote at the time. “Sir David Beckham!! What an honour, I couldn’t be prouder of you.”

After the ceremony, she once again gushed about the former soccer star, writing, “David, from the moment I met you 28 years ago, you’ve always been so proud to represent your country. Whether on or off the pitch, no one loves England or respects our Royal Family more, so to see you honoured by The King today is something I’ll forever cherish.”

“You’ve achieved so much, and yet you’re still the same kind, humble, hardworking man I met nearly 30 years ago, as well as the most amazing husband and father,” she wrote of David. “I’ve never felt prouder than I do today. Sir @davidbeckham, we all love you so much xxx.”

Cruz Beckham, Jackie Apostel, Romeo Beckham, Harper Beckham, Victoria Beckham and David Beckham in October 2025.

 Karwai Tang/WireImage

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David also thanked Victoria — and their four kids, Brooklyn, 26, Romeo, 23, Cruz, 20, Harper, 14 — in a lengthy post after receiving the honor.

“All I have ever wanted to do is to make my family proud,” he wrote. “My parents and grandparents who were always there for me and instilled the right values of hard work and respect. My beautiful wife who has been by my side for the last 28 years, who has been my biggest supporter and my shoulder to cry on in tough times….without her I wouldn’t have had the life I have had.”

“To my beautiful children who I am so proud of and I know this is a proud and inspiring day for them as well, they are our greatest joy in life and my inspiration every single day. I love you all so much…,” he continued. “Finally Mum, Dad, Victoria and to my Kiddies can you believe this…I love you all so much and Thank You ❤️.”

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A Hispanic restaurant owner is claiming that the city of Chicago brazenly refused to renew his license to operate at a city-owned waterfront location because he is not black. 

Robert Gomez, owner of Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk, sued the city after he was denied the permit he had held since 2019 – despite being the most qualified applicant, the federal civil rights lawsuit alleges. 

The filing claims that the city bent its criteria and sneakily reviewed and accepted a ‘deficient’ proposal to favor a black-owned local business, Haire’s Gulf Shrimp, as a result of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s stances on racial equity. 

‘It’s depressing,’ Gomez told the Daily Mail. ‘Like, how could they do this?’

In late 2023, Gomez’s lease on the Chicago Riverwalk, an iconic 1.25-mile stretch along the south bank of the Chicago River, ended after three successful seasons of operation. 

Given the venue’s lively atmosphere and it successfully generating more than $3 million in annual sales, the businessman – who operates five restaurants – did not anticipate any difficulty retaining the coveted license. 

Gomez ‘submitted the only timely, complete, and responsive proposal for a concession contract’ to the city’s Department of Fleet and Facility Management – the Riverwalk’s overseeing agency – in April 2024, as per the lawsuit. 

But to his dismay, his proposal was shot down without explanation.  

Mayor Brandon Johnson has been accused of giving preferential treatment on the basis of race

Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk operated each season from 2021 to 2023, until the lease ended 

Robert Gomez, the owner of Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk, sued the city and Mayor Brandon Johnson after he was denied the permit he had held since 2019

Adding to his confusion, the city allegedly invited Haire’s Gulf Shrimp to apply for the permit after the deadline – and accepted a lackluster proposal. 

Chicago officials not only ‘manipulated’ the criteria but also factored in ‘undisclosed racial considerations’ that Gomez believes worked against him and in favor of the vendor replacing him, according to the filing. 

‘As a minority-owned business, Beat Kitchen supports the City’s stated commitment to equity – equity grounded in transparency, consistent rules, and lawful process – that is, genuine equity,’ the lawsuit states.   

‘What Beat Kitchen cannot support – and what federal and state law forbid but took place – is the substitution of race-influenced directives and considerations for the rule-based evaluation required by law.’ 

Gomez is demanding answers about how and why these alleged breaches occurred. 

‘They broke all of these rules to benefit one person. Why?’ he said.

The lawsuit claims the discrimination that Gomez has faced is the result of Johnson’s race-based initiatives that ‘disproportionately benefit black Chicagoans.’

In turn, the Riverwalk committee allegedly awarded the new vendor based on race – a violation of state and federal law – instead of strictly on qualifications. 

This bias was allegedly apparent in the score sheet for Haire’s Gulf Shrimp proposal. 

One committee member allegedly wrote: ‘Would be great to get a black woman-owned business and can promote her other locations.’ 

‘Every score that they did was mind-boggling,’ Gomez claimed.

Pictured: the interior of Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk. The restaurant was allegedly generating $3 million of annual sales

Pictured: A drink served at Beat Kitchen on the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk is a city-owned public space filled with seasonal vendors 

Johnson came under federal investigation in May after being accused of prioritizing black candidates for jobs. 

The probe followed a speech he delivered at Woodlawn Church on the city’s south side.

‘What I’m saying is when you hire our people, we always look out for everybody else,’ he told the congregation.

‘We are the most generous people on the planet. I don’t know too many cultures that have play cousins.’ 

Gomez is seeking financial damages from the city and that Haire’s Gulf Shrimp lease be declared void. 

Although Haire’s Gulf Shrimp is named as a defendant – along with the city and six former or current Riverwalk committee members – Gomez is not seeking any relief from the business. 

‘The reality is, I was the only one to submit a proposal by the deadline,’ Gomez told the Daily Mail. 

Gomez, who has been in the industry for 30 years, said he supports bringing more diversity to the Riverwalk. 

‘I’m all for more minorities on the Riverwalk,’ he said. ‘But why did they target the only 100 percent minority-owned business on the Riverwalk? It’s insane.’ 

The owner of Haire’s Gulf Shrimp, Aisha Murff, and a city spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. 

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