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By Steve Gorman and Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) – A second California doctor was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months of home confinement for illegally supplying "Friends" star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor's fatal drug overdose in a hot tub in 2023. Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October to a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute the prescription anesthetic and surrendered his medical license in November. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service. As part of his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to another physician Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who in turn supplied the drug to Perry, though not the dose that ultimately killed the performer. Plasencia, who pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful drug distribution, was sentenced earlier this month to 2 1/2 years behind bars. He and Chavez were the first two of five people convicted in connection with Perry's ketamine-induced death to be sent off to prison. The three others scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks – Jasveen Sangha, 42, a drug dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen;" a go-between dealer Erik Fleming, 56; and Perry's former personal assistant, Iwamasa, 60.  Sangha admitted to supplying the ketamine dose that killed Perry, and Iwamasa acknowledged injecting Perry with it. It was Iwamasa who later found Perry, aged 54, face down and lifeless, in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine," which combined with other factors in causing him to lose consciousness and drown. Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series "Friends." According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug. When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere willing to exploit Perry's drug dependency as a way to make quick money, authorities said.   Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug.   (Reporting by Steve Gorman and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

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By Jane Ross and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Prosecutors said they planned to file murder charges on Tuesday against the younger son of Hollywood filmmaker and political activist Rob Reiner, accusing him of using a knife to kill his parents in their Los Angeles home over the weekend. Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested several hours after the bodies of his father, actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and mother, photographer-producer Michele Reiner, 70, were discovered in the couple's house on Sunday afternoon. Prosecutors said evidence gathered by the Los Angeles Police Department led homicide detectives to Reiner, who was taken into custody without incident. Police investigators turned over the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday, and DA Nathan Hochman said at a news conference that two counts of first-degree murder would be formally filed in court against Nick Reiner later in the day. Hochman said the charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or capital punishment, but prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty in the case. The district attorney said a knife was used in the killings, but gave few other details about the investigation and or the circumstances of the slayings. Various news media outlets have reported that Nick Reiner had been seen quarreling with his parents on Saturday night at a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O'Brien.  Nick Reiner, the younger of the Reiners' two sons and their middle child, had spoken publicly about his years-long struggle with substance abuse and homelessness. He has remained held without bail at a Los Angeles County lockup since he was booked on suspicion of murder on Sunday night. Prominent Los Angeles defense attorney Alan Jackson, representing Reiner, said his client had yet to be medically cleared for his initial court appearance on Tuesday, but would possibly be arraigned on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jane Ross and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Andrew Hay and Brad Brooks; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Nick Zieminski)

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By Milana Vinn and Dawn Chmielewski Dec 16 (Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery's board could announce a decision as early as Wednesday on Paramount Skydance's $108.4 billion takeover bid, with the board likely to advise shareholders to vote against the offer, according to sources familiar with the matter.  The decision to recommit to Netflix's buyout offer would mark the latest twist in the race for assets that include Warner Bros' storied film and TV studio, and its extensive film and television library, whose portfolio includes classics ranging from "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane" to contemporary favorites like "Harry Potter" and "Friends," HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.  A Warner Bros Discovery spokesman declined to comment. The winner will gain a big advantage in the streaming wars by locking up a deep content library that has long been an acquisition target.  Netflix earlier this month emerged victorious with a $27 cash-and-stock bid for Warner Bros' non-cable assets. Paramount CEO David Ellison then went directly to Warner Bros shareholders with a $30-a-share, all-cash bid for the whole company.  In regulatory filings, Paramount has said its bid is superior to Netflix's offer and would enjoy a clearer path to regulatory approval. Its offer is financed by $41 billion in new equity, which is backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, and $54 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo. (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los AngelesEditing by Ken Li, Dawn Kopecki and Nick Zieminski)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Milana Vinn and Dawn Chmielewski Dec 16 (Reuters) – Warner Bros Discovery's board could announce a decision as early as Wednesday on Paramount Skydance's $108.4 billion takeover bid, with the board likely to advise shareholders to vote against the offer, according to sources familiar with the matter.  The decision to recommit to Netflix's buyout offer would mark the latest twist in the race for assets that include Warner Bros' storied film and TV studio, and its extensive film and television library, whose portfolio includes classics ranging from "Casablanca" and "Citizen Kane" to contemporary favorites like "Harry Potter" and "Friends," HBO and the HBO Max streaming service.  A Warner Bros Discovery spokesman declined to comment. The winner will gain a big advantage in the streaming wars by locking up a deep content library that has long been an acquisition target.  Netflix earlier this month emerged victorious with a $27 cash-and-stock bid for Warner Bros' non-cable assets. Paramount CEO David Ellison then went directly to Warner Bros' shareholders with a $30-a-share, all-cash bid for the whole company.  In regulatory filings, Paramount has said its bid is superior to Netflix's offer and would enjoy a clearer path to regulatory approval. Its offer is financed by $41 billion in new equity, which is backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, and $54 billion of debt commitments from Bank of America, Citi and Apollo. Jared Kushner's Affinity Partners, which was one of Paramount's financing partners, is exiting the battle, according to Bloomberg. Paramount and Affinity Partners did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York and Dawn Chmielewski in Los AngelesEditing by Ken Li, Dawn Kopecki and Nick Zieminski)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Jane Ross and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Prosecutors said they planned to file murder charges on Tuesday against the younger son of Hollywood filmmaker and political activist Rob Reiner, accusing him of using a knife to kill his parents in their Los Angeles home over the weekend. Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested several hours after the bodies of his father, actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and mother, photographer-producer Michele Reiner, 70, were discovered in the couple's house on Sunday afternoon. Prosecutors said evidence gathered by the Los Angeles Police Department led homicide detectives to Reiner, who was taken into custody without incident. Police investigators turned over the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office on Tuesday, and DA Nathan Hochman said at a news conference that two counts of first-degree murder would be formally filed in court against Nick Reiner later in the day. Hochman said the charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison without the possibility of parole, or capital punishment, but prosecutors have yet to decide whether to seek the death penalty in the case. The district attorney said a knife was used in the killings, but gave few other details about the investigation and or the circumstances of the slayings. Various news media outlets have reported that Nick Reiner had been seen quarreling with his parents on Saturday night at a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O'Brien.  Nick Reiner, the younger of the Reiners' two sons and their middle child, had spoken publicly about his years-long struggle with substance abuse and homelessness. He has remained held without bail at a Los Angeles County lockup since he was booked on suspicion of murder on Sunday night. Prominent Los Angeles defense attorney Alan Jackson, representing Reiner, said his client had yet to be medically cleared for his initial court appearance on Tuesday, but would possibly be arraigned on Wednesday. (Reporting by Jane Ross and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Andrew Hay and Brad Brooks; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Nick Zieminski)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Steve Gorman and Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) – A second California doctor was sentenced on Tuesday to eight months of home confinement for illegally supplying "Friends" star Matthew Perry with ketamine, the powerful sedative that caused the actor's fatal drug overdose in a hot tub in 2023. Dr. Mark Chavez, 55, a onetime San Diego-based physician, pleaded guilty in federal court in October to a single felony count of conspiracy to distribute the prescription anesthetic and surrendered his medical license in November. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett also sentenced Chavez to 300 hours of community service. As part of his plea agreement, Chavez admitted to selling ketamine to another physician Dr. Salvador Plasencia, 44, who in turn supplied the drug to Perry, though not the dose that ultimately killed the performer. Plasencia, who pleaded guilty to four counts of unlawful drug distribution, was sentenced earlier this month to 2 1/2 years behind bars. He and Chavez were the first two of five people convicted in connection with Perry's ketamine-induced death to be sent off to prison. The three others scheduled to be sentenced in the coming weeks – Jasveen Sangha, 42, a drug dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen;" a go-between dealer Erik Fleming, 56; and Perry's former personal assistant, Iwamasa, 60.  Sangha admitted to supplying the ketamine dose that killed Perry, and Iwamasa acknowledged injecting Perry with it. It was Iwamasa who later found Perry, aged 54, face down and lifeless, in the jacuzzi of his Los Angeles home on October 28, 2023. An autopsy report concluded the actor died from the acute effects of ketamine," which combined with other factors in causing him to lose consciousness and drown. Perry had publicly acknowledged decades of substance abuse, including the years he starred as Chandler Bing on the hit 1990s NBC television series "Friends." According to federal law enforcement officials, Perry had been receiving ketamine infusions for treatment of depression and anxiety at a clinic where he became addicted to the drug. When doctors there refused to increase his dosage, he turned to unscrupulous providers elsewhere willing to exploit Perry's drug dependency as a way to make quick money, authorities said.   Ketamine is a short-acting anesthetic with hallucinogenic properties that is sometimes prescribed to treat depression and other psychiatric disorders. It also has seen widespread abuse as an illicit party drug.   (Reporting by Steve Gorman and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Jane Ross and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Prosecutors in Los Angeles were weighing possible criminal charges on Tuesday for the son of Hollywood actor-director and political activist Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, who were found slain in their home over the weekend. Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested and jailed on Sunday night as a suspect in his parents' murders. Prominent Los Angeles defense attorney Alan Jackson, representing Reiner, said his client would not make a court appearance on Tuesday as he had not yet been medically cleared to do so.  "He will be here hopefully tomorrow," Jackson said outside of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, where suspects typically are arraigned.  The Los Angeles County District Attorney planned to hold a news briefing at 1 p.m. PT (2100 GMT) to provide details about the case. The Los Angeles Police Department's homicide investigators presented their findings to prosecutors on Tuesday, and they were under review, the DA's office said. Police and prosecutors have revealed few details about the circumstances of the killings, and autopsy results have yet to be released. But various news outlets, citing unnamed sources, have said that Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 70, appeared to have been stabbed or slashed. Local media reported that Nick Reiner had been seen quarreling with his parents on Saturday night at a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O'Brien.  Nick Reiner has publicly acknowledged battles with drug addiction and periods of homelessness that occurred when he refused to seek treatment for substance abuse, saying he entered rehab for the first of many instances at age 15. Those experiences inspired the movie "Being Charlie," co-written by Reiner and his father. "It was the most personal thing I've ever been involved in," Rob Reiner told podcaster Marc Maron in 2016. FROM MEATHEAD TO ACCLAIMED FILMMAKER As an actor, Rob Reiner was best remembered for his role on the TV comedy "All in the Family" as Mike "Meathead" Stivic, the son-in-law and liberal foil of the lead character, working-class bigot Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O'Connor. Reiner went on to a prolific Hollywood career as a filmmaker, directing such popular movies as "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally…," "Stand by Me," "A Few Good Men," "Misery" and "The American President."   A sequel to the mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" was released this year, 41 years after the original. His wife, Michele, was at one time a photographer who captured the image of Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book "Trump: The Art of the Deal." Rob Reiner, a native of New York City and son of the late comedy writer and actor Carl Reiner, also was well known for his political activism and as a supporter of the Democratic Party.         (Reporting by Jane Ross and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Andrew Hay and Brad Brooks; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Jane Ross and Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES, Dec 16 (Reuters) – Prosecutors in Los Angeles were weighing possible criminal charges on Tuesday for the son of Hollywood actor-director and political activist Rob Reiner and his wife Michele, who were found slain in their home over the weekend. Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested and jailed on Sunday night as a suspect in his parents' murders. Prominent Los Angeles defense attorney Alan Jackson, representing Reiner, said his client would not make a court appearance on Tuesday as he had not yet been medically cleared to do so.  "He will be here hopefully tomorrow," Jackson said outside of the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles, where suspects typically are arraigned.  The Los Angeles County District Attorney planned to hold a news briefing at 1 p.m. PT (2100 GMT) to provide details about the case. The Los Angeles Police Department's homicide investigators presented their findings to prosecutors on Tuesday, and they were under review, the DA's office said. Police and prosecutors have revealed few details about the circumstances of the killings, and autopsy results have yet to be released. But various news outlets, citing unnamed sources, have said that Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele, 70, appeared to have been stabbed or slashed. Local media reported that Nick Reiner had been seen quarreling with his parents on Saturday night at a holiday party hosted by comedian Conan O'Brien.  Nick Reiner has publicly acknowledged battles with drug addiction and periods of homelessness that occurred when he refused to seek treatment for substance abuse, saying he entered rehab for the first of many instances at age 15. Those experiences inspired the movie "Being Charlie," co-written by Reiner and his father. "It was the most personal thing I've ever been involved in," Rob Reiner told podcaster Marc Maron in 2016. FROM MEATHEAD TO ACCLAIMED FILMMAKER As an actor, Rob Reiner was best remembered for his role on the TV comedy "All in the Family" as Mike "Meathead" Stivic, the son-in-law and liberal foil of the lead character, working-class bigot Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O'Connor. Reiner went on to a prolific Hollywood career as a filmmaker, directing such popular movies as "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally…," "Stand by Me," "A Few Good Men," "Misery" and "The American President."   A sequel to the mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" was released this year, 41 years after the original. His wife, Michele, was at one time a photographer who captured the image of Donald Trump that appears on the cover of his book "Trump: The Art of the Deal." Rob Reiner, a native of New York City and son of the late comedy writer and actor Carl Reiner, also was well known for his political activism and as a supporter of the Democratic Party.         (Reporting by Jane Ross and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Andrew Hay and Brad Brooks; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

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By Hanna Rantala LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) – A decade after making his feature film debut with acclaimed drama "Masaan", Indian director Neeraj Ghaywan returns with a second movie that seeks to give a voice to people who feel invisible. Based on true events, "Homebound" tells the story of two childhood friends from a northern Indian village whose sights are set on police officer jobs they believe will improve their standing in the world.  Shoaib, a Muslim, and Chandan, a Dalit, once called "untouchables", are among the 2.5 million applicants competing for 3,500 jobs in the police. Their bond gets tested during the wait for the entrance exam results, as each weighs his prospects, under pressure to support their families.      Inspired by Basharat Peer's 2020 New York Times article "Taking Amrit home", the film also looks at the plight of the country's large migrant population and the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.     "I saw big potential in speaking about a lot of things that contemporary India is shying away from showing in mainstream spaces, especially the marginalised community people, who are often looked at only in statistics," Ghaywan said.     Depicting the social issues and the discrimination the two friends face made the project personal for Ghaywan, who included his own experiences of growing up as a Dalit in the film.     "I masqueraded myself as an upper caste member for a very long time and it created a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety inside me. I worked through that shame for a very long time and then put it behind me when I publicly came out with my identity," Ghaywan, 45, said.     Ahead of filming, actors Ishaan Khatter (Shoaib) and Vishal Jethwa (Chandan) spent time in northern India's Barabanki, with locals inviting them into their homes and sharing their meals.     "This film, in many ways, is the story of millions of Shoaibs and millions of Chandans and that is what we try to stay true to," Khatter said. It was selected as India's contender for best international feature film at the 98th Academy Awards – a country by country list that gets whittled down to the five Oscar nominees.     "Homebound", which is executive produced by Martin Scorsese, is streaming on Netflix. (Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Alison Williams)

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Dec 16 (Reuters) – Radio host Howard Stern has renewed his contract with SiriusXM Holdings for three more years, the satellite radio company said on Tuesday, extending a partnership that has been central to its identity and subscriber growth for nearly two decades. The renewal keeps Stern, 71, one of the most popular "shock jocks" in radio history and one of the company's most prominent and costly on-air talents, as a flagship SiriusXM personality. Executives often cite him as a cornerstone of the company's premium subscription offering as SiriusXM seeks to retain subscribers and attract new ones amid intensifying competition. He joined SiriusXM in 2006 after the U.S. Federal Communications Commission repeatedly fined his former employers millions of dollars over his controversial on-air content. The financial terms of the new deal were not disclosed. Stern, who has frequently appeared on Forbes' lists of the highest-paid entertainers, last renewed his contract with the company in 2020 in an agreement reportedly worth up to $600 million. (Reporting by Arnav Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

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