Two men are believed to be missing off the Devon coast after reports of swimmers in difficulty, police have said.
Devon and Cornwall Police were called at 10:25 GMT to the beach at Budleigh Salterton after concern was raised for people in the water, prompting a significant emergency response which was called off at 17:00.
A number of people were safely brought back to shore and were checked either by paramedics at the scene or taken to hospital as a precaution, the force confirmed.
It said the next of kin of one man had been spoken to and attempts to speak to a second man’s family were continuing, with a local friend informed as part of those efforts.
“A significant amount of emergency service personnel were deployed to the incident and we ask that people do not enter the water for public safety reasons,” the force added in a statement.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said Exmouth and Beer Coastguard Rescue Teams, RNLI lifeboats from Exmouth, Teignmouth and Torbay, plus coastguard search and rescue helicopters and fixed wing aircraft were sent to the scene to assist, alongside police and ambulance service.
“Searches have continued throughout the day to find two men believed to still be in the water. After extensive shoreline and offshore searches, the coastguard part of the search was stood down at 5pm,” it added.
Police had urged members of the public not to enter the water along this stretch of coast and asked people not to participate in a Christmas Day swim at Exmouth while emergency services responded to the incident at Budleigh Salterton.
On Wednesday, organisers of some Christmas and Boxing Day swims in Devon and Cornwall postponed or cancelled events due to a yellow weather warning for wind.
Hundreds of people were either on the beach or in the water on Christmas Day morning, BBC journalist Phillip Stoneman said
‘Roughest’ sea
BBC journalist Phillip Stoneman has been a visitor to Budleigh for the swim for the past few years.
He said: “As soon as we arrived you could tell that the sea was the roughest it’s been and that anyone going in would need to be a lot more cautious than usual.”
He added: “The waves swept some people exiting the sea off their feet and other swimmers were helping them out.”
He said the RNLI boat was out in the water at the time and hundreds of people were either on the beach or in the water.
Opener Zak Crawley suggested he was not aware of comments made by Ben Stokes when the England captain said his dressing room is “not a place for weak men”.
Stokes made the statement in multiple interviews following England’s defeat in the second Ashes Test against Australia earlier this month.
In the run-up to the third Test, in which England are set to be beaten to lose the series at the earliest opportunity, Stokes said he had let his message “drift around” his players.
“I’ve done all the talking over the past two days that I needed to have done,” said the all-rounder.
But after Crawley made 85 on the fourth day of the third Test in Adelaide, he said: “I didn’t see that.
“I didn’t see and wasn’t really looking out for it. We take everything that is said in the media with a pinch of salt.”
Stokes made the “weak men” comment after England were beaten in Brisbane to go 2-0 down.
The England squad subsequently went on holiday to Noosa between the second and third Tests.
Before this match in Adelaide, Stokes said his team had held “raw” conversations. The captain also asked his players to “show a bit of dog” in their battle to remain in the series.
But Kent’s Crawley stated the messaging from Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum had remained consistent with their previous three years in charge.
“It’s been very positive, the same as always,” said Crawley. “[It’s] just trying to be optimistic, play our way, with lots of freedom. It felt like we could do something special going into this game.”
A Hanukkah menorah is projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House in memory of the victims of a shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney. On Thursday, police detained seven men believed to be part of a planned “violent attack.” Photo by NSW Premier’s Office/UPI | License Photo
Dec. 18 (UPI) — Sydney police have detained seven men in a suburb Thursday with officers reportedly ramming a car and detaining the men after a tip about a planned “violent attack.”
The arrests came just a few days after 15 people were killed on Bondi Beach in Australia at a Hanukkah gathering.
The seven men were believed to be traveling from Melbourne to Bondi. The intercepted cars had Victoria plates, which is the state that includes Melbourne, 550 miles from Sydney.
“At this point in time, police have not identified any connection to the current police investigation of the Bondi terror attack,” a New South Wales police press release said.
“Police subsequently intercepted two cars as part of the investigation. As investigations continue, seven men are assisting police with their inquiries,” the release said.
Police didn’t release any more details about the men or the attack plans.
The men were stopped in Liverpool, a suburb southwest of Sydney.
Social media images showed a white hatchback with body damage from a collision that was blocked off by police tape at a Liverpool intersection, The Guardian reported.
Other images showed several heavily armed police in camouflage gear, and men with their hands zip-tied behind their backs lined up against a nearby fence.
Though police said there is no link to the Bondi shooting, Thursday morning Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett said to expect more raids in the wake of the Bondi attack.
“In the coming days, the New South Wales Joint Counter Terrorism Team will execute further search warrants to support our investigation. There is a lot of material to be examined, and the AFP continues to work with both domestic and international partners to build a more complete picture of the movements and who the alleged offenders had contact with, both in Australia and offshore,” she said.
Former President Joe Biden presents the Presidential Citizens Medal to Liz Cheney during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, on January 2, 2025. The Presidential Citizens Medal is bestowed to individuals who have performed exemplary deeds or services. Photo by Will Oliver/UPI | License Photo
With three key players out because of injury and USC in desperate need of depth, the Trojans are taking the rare step of adding reinforcements at the midseason mark.
Point guard Kam Woods, who last played at Robert Morris, was added to the Trojans’ roster and cleared to play on Thursday, despite the fact that USC is already a dozen games into the basketball season.
Woods could make an immediate impact for coach Eric Musselman, having averaged 14.9 points, 5.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game last year at Robert Morris, where he played alongside current Trojan, Amarion Dickerson. Woods is expected to step into the rotation right away with USC, after the Trojans lost starting point guard Rodney Rice for the season.
What’s not clear is why Woods was still in the transfer portal two months into the college basketball calendar. USC had shown some interest in Woods during the offseason, according to a person familiar with the program who is not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, but Woods never signed with a team, despite being a second-team All-Horizon League selection.
Since he was still in the transfer portal and because he has already graduated, Woods is the rare case, outside of an international player or junior college player, that qualifies to be a midseason addition.
Woods has played five years of college basketball, bouncing around between five schools in that span. He started at Troy in 2020-21, before taking the junior college route at Northwest Florida State Community College during the 2021-22 season. He then transferred to North Carolina State, where he played sparingly over 13 games.
Woods landed with Robert Morris last season and emerged as the Colonials’ leading scorer as they won the Horizon League and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament.
So, with this being his sixth year, how is Woods eligible to join another team? Eligibility-wise, he actually falls under the same category as the Trojans’ leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, who is playing his sixth season of college basketball in 2025-26.
Due to the recent ruling in the Diego Pavia case, the season that Woods spent playing junior college does not count against his five years of eligibility. Plus, since Woods was a freshman during the 2020-21 season, he has an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
Had Woods played for another team during the first two months of the season, he would not be eligible to join the Trojans in December.
For USC, that fit could be especially fortunate. Without Rice, USC has used a combination of Jerry Easter, Jordan Marsh and Ryan Cornish at point guard. Woods will be the most experienced of the group.
Five-star freshman Alijah Arenas is expected to enter that picture in the coming weeks, too. Arenas was set to rejoin practice this week and will presumably be cleared to play some time in January.
Rob Reiner was born into the lineage of comedy thanks to his father, television pioneer Carl Reiner, and he first gained recognition as an actor, including his Emmy-winning role on “All in the Family.” And while there is certainly a streak of humor through almost all of his films, what marks Reiner’s work as a director is his astonishing versatility, able to switch styles from one project to the next with remarkable ease. The run of films that begins with his feature directing debut, 1984’s “This Is Spinal Tap,” on through 1986’s “Stand by Me,” 1987’s “The Princess Bride,” 1989’s “When Harry Met Sally…,” 1990’s “Misery,” 1992’s “A Few Good Men” and 1995’s “The American President” is simply breathtaking for its mastery across the specrum of popular Hollywood moviemaking.
‘This Is Spinal Tap’ (1984)
Harry Shearer, left, Christopher Guest and Michael McKean in the movie “This Is Spinal Tap.”
(Archive Photos / Getty Images)
Though not strictly the first to explore the form, Reiner’s first feature as director more or less cemented the concept of the “mockumentary,” presenting itself as a documentary on the (fictional) rock band Spinal Tap. Reiner appeared onscreen as Marty DiBergi, director of the faux film-within-the-film, forming a neat transition from his career as an actor to director. And while this year’s sequel “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” was not particularly well received, the legacy of the original, still among the most quotable comedies ever made, remains untouchable. — Mark Olsen
‘The Sure Thing’ (1985)
Made amid the teen sex comedy craze of the 1980s, Reiner’s second film, about two college students sharing a cross-country car trip together, had something special and different about it — namely the performances of John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga, who both brought an openhearted tenderness to a story that might have toppled into cynicism. The emotional earnestness that would often come through in Reiner’s work first emerged here, making what could have been a run-of-the-mill exercise into something more. — M.O.
‘Stand by Me’ (1986)
Wil Wheaton, left, River Phoenix, Jerry O’Connell and Corey Feldman in the movie “Stand by Me.”
(Columbia Pictures)
Based on a novella by Stephen King, “Stand by Me” is about four boys — played by Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell and River Phoenix — who find their friendship tested during a particularly eventful Labor Day weekend of 1959. Approaching the story with a mix of dewy nostalgia and incisive clarity, the film earned Reiner the first of three nominations from the Directors Guild of America. — M.O.
‘The Princess Bride’ (1987)
Robin Wright and Cary Elwes in the movie “The Princess Bride.”
(20th Century Fox / Kobal / REX / Shutterstock)
It would be inconceivable to not include “The Princess Bride” in any consideration of Reiner’s best, as the swashbuckling fantasy romance embodies a sense of playful inventiveness and anything-can-happen ethos. An elderly man reads a story to his grandson as the action comes to life in the tale of a farm boy and a princess who are fated to be together, if only they can overcome all manner of trials and challenges. The movie has now enchanted multiple generations of children and adults alike. — M.O.
‘When Harry Met Sally…’ (1989)
Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in the movie “When Harry Met Sally…”
(Castle Rock Entertainment)
As much as any other movie, “When Harry Met Sally…” (scripted by Nora Ephron) has come to embody the modern romantic comedy with its will they-won’t-they tale of two good friends who come to realize they may also work as something more. Grounded by the charming performances of Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, as well as a strong supporting cast including Carrie Fisher and Bruno Kirby, the film has a rare warmth. It was Reiner’s mother Estelle who delivered the unforgettable punchline, “I’ll have what she’s having.” — M.O.
‘Misery’ (1990)
Kathy Bates and James Caan in “Misery.”
(Archive Photos / Getty Images)
Reiner named his production company Castle Rock Entertainment in honor of his deep love for Stephen King’s fiction and after making a splash with “Stand by Me,” there was no way he wasn’t going do something scarier as a follow up. (You get a hint in “When Harry Met Sally” — look at the hardcover Crystal is skimming.) King’s captive-author nightmare gets classed up by two knockout performances calibrated in perfect harmony: Kathy Bates’ psycho fan, a turn that earned her an Oscar, and James Caan as the bedbound writer. At the time, Caan was an actor in need of a second chance. Reiner was it. — Joshua Rothkopf
‘A Few Good Men’ (1992)
Jack Nicholson, left, and Tom Cruise in the movie “A Few Good Men.”
(Mondadori Portfolio / Mondadori via Getty Images)
Reiner seemingly conquered yet another movie genre with this tightly wound military courtroom thriller and received his only Academy Award nomination, for best picture. Reiner was also recognized with nominations from the Directors Guild, Producers Guild and Golden Globes for the film. Written by Aaron Sorkin and featuring a cast that includes Tom Cruise and Demi Moore, this has Jack Nicholson’s volcanic delivery of the now-legendary line, “You can’t handle the truth!” — M.O.
‘The American President’ (1995)
Michael Douglas and director Rob Reiner on the set of “The American President.”
(Archive Photos / Getty Images)
A president as a romantic lead? Such things actually happened during the Clinton era. Reiner injects warmth and realism to Sorkin’s swaggering original script, loaded with wonky dialogue and walk-and-talks. But it’s the careful steering of Michael Douglas as a widowed U.S. leader and rising star Annette Bening as an extra-persuasive eco-lobbyist that distinguish this gentle comedy, one that seems positively alien to our current climate. Widely known for his vigilant activism in later years, Reiner’s on-screen politics were no less optimistic. — J.R.
‘Rumor Has It’ (2005)
Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner in the movie “Rumor Has It.”
(Melissa Moseley / Warner Bros. Pictures)
Not many would dare to take on a sort-of sequel to a movie as beloved as “The Graduate,” but Reiner brought a casual ease to the tale of a woman, played by Jennifer Aniston, who believes her mother and grandmother were the inspiration for Charles Webb’s original source novel. Though reviews at the time largely savaged the movie, it now seems just the kind of self-assured studio comedy audiences yearn for, buoyed by Shirley MacLaine’s outrageous performance as a woman who may be the real Mrs. Robinson. — M.O.
‘Albert Brooks: Defending My Life’ (2023)
Albert Brooks, left, and Rob Reiner in the documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life.”
(HBO)
Reiner received two Emmy nominations for this documentary tribute to comedian, actor and filmmaker Albert Brooks, a friend of Reiner’s since the two met as teenagers at Beverly Hills High. It’s captured as an expansive conversation with the two sharing a meal in a restaurant. As much as the film is a portrait of Brooks, it also reflects Reiner’s own unique position as someone who knew show business and its ups and downs with a rare intimacy. — M.O.
