Category Archives: Idaho

Idaho student killings: suspect’s family vow to ‘promote his presumption of innocence’

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In their first public statement, the family of Bryan Christopher Kohberger offered condolences to the victims’ families


The family of Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the suspect arrested in the brutal slayings of four University of Idaho students, have said they are cooperating with law enforcement to “promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and make erroneous assumptions”.

Michael and Marianne Kohberger, and his sister, Amanda, spoke out on Sunday in their first public statement since the 28-year-old criminal psychology graduate was arrested early on Friday. They said they wanted to “let the legal process unfold and as a family we will love and support our son and brother”.

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Man charged in Idaho student murders to waive Pennsylvania court appearance

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Suspect, 28, accused of killing four students will waive his extradition hearing and will be brought to Idaho to face charges

Bryan Kohberger, the 28-year-old criminology graduate student charged with first-degree murder in the macabre killings of four University of Idaho students, plans to waive an appearance in court in Pennsylvania on Tuesday where Idaho prosecutors will request his extradition, his lawyer indicated on Saturday.

Pennsylvania’s Monroe county chief public defender, Jason LaBar, said on Saturday that he plans to tell a judge there on Tuesday that Kohberger will waive his extradition hearing there so that he can be quickly brought to Idaho to face the charges and is eager to be exonerated.

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Man arrested and charged with murder over Idaho student murders

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Suspect, 28, reportedly apprehended in Monroe county in relation to stabbing deaths of four young people at University of Idaho

A criminology graduate student has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the killings of four University of Idaho students who were found stabbed to death in their beds more than a month ago, police said on Friday.

Bryan Christopher Kohberger, 28, was arrested early on Friday morning by the Pennsylvania state police at a home in Chestnuthill Township, authorities said. The Latah county prosecutor, Bill Thompson, said investigators believe Kohberger broke into the students’ home “with the intent to commit murder”.

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Professor sues TikTok accuser for linking her to Idaho students’ murders

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Rebecca Scofield said a TikTok user spread baseless and false claims linking her to the November slayings of four students

A University of Idaho professor has filed a defamation lawsuit against a self-proclaimed psychic on TikTok after the tarot card reader accused her of killing four of the school’s students, whose murders shocked the US last month.

The federal lawsuit filed by the university’s history department chair Rebecca Scofield on Wednesday alleges that TikTok user Ashley Guillard spread baseless claims which falsely linked the professor to the 13 November slayings of Xana Kernodle, 20; Ethan Chapin, 20; Maddie Mogen, 21; and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, in Moscow, Idaho.

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Idaho student killings: father of victim feels ‘defeated’ over lack of arrests

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‘I have to hope this is all part of their plan,’ says Steve Goncalves, whose daughter, Kaylee, was one of four victims stabbed to death

The lack of any arrests in the killings of four University of Idaho students and relatively infrequent updates from police have left the father of one of the victims feeling “a little defeated”.

In an interview with ABC News on Tuesday, Steve Goncalves also said his family had held off burying his daughter, Kaylee Goncalves, who was stabbed to death with three schoolmates in an off-campus home in a crime that horrified the nation, because they fear the unidentified killer or killers might show up as false mourners.

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University of Idaho killings: police receive over 260 digital submissions

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Idaho governor also directs up to $1m in state emergency funds for investigation after four students killed

Police hunting who is behind the shocking killings of four University of Idaho students have now received hundreds of digital media submissions via an FBI internet link as they continue to seek clues for the unsolved crime.

In a statement released on Friday, the Moscow police department said that more than 260 digital media submissions have been sent in by community members since authorities launched an investigation into the quadruple homicide that happened on 13 November.

The Associated Press contributed reporting

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Lack of clues about University of Idaho killings fuels fear and rumors

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The baffling murders of four students at an off-campus home last week have sown frustration and alarm in the small city of Moscow

Col Kedrick Wills, director of the Idaho state police in the small northern Idaho city of Moscow, had a simple message. “We know that people want answers. We want answers, too,” he said a recent press conference.

A manhunt has now been underway for more than a week in this remote college town where a still-unidentified suspect stabbed four University of Idaho students to death in the early morning hours of 13 November.

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Idaho man dies while fighting as volunteer soldier in Ukraine

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Dane Partridge, 34, died from injuries sustained during a Russian attack in Luhansk

Dane Partridge, a 34-year-old man from Idaho who fought as a volunteer soldier in Ukraine, died on Tuesday from injuries sustained during a Russian attack in Luhansk.

The Ukrainian government has recruited people with military experience to join the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine. At least four other US citizens have been killed fighting in Ukraine, based on reports from families and the state department.

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Brutal heatwave headed for US west, raising health fears

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Parts of California could see 115F heat as several states face potentially record-breaking weather

A brutal, potentially record-breaking heatwave is setting over the US west, the latest in a string of extreme temperature events that’s putting communities on high alert for heat-related illness and death.

Temperatures are expected to hit 115F (46C) in the coming days across parts of southern California, Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valley, according to the National Weather Service. In Death Valley, temperatures were forecast to reach more than 120F (49C).

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FTC sues company for selling data that could be used to track consumers

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The lawsuit against data broker Kochava seeks to halt the sale of sensitive geolocation data and delete what was collected

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Monday sued Idaho-based data broker Kochava for selling geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that could be used to track consumers.

The FTC said consumer data could be used to trace people’s movements to and from sensitive locations including “reproductive health clinics, places of worship, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and addiction recovery facilities”.

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Homes destroyed as Washington state wildfire forces evacuation of town

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Fourteen structures burnt in Lind, in east of state, as forecasters in California warn ‘sleeping giant’ McKinney fire could grow further

A small town in Washington state was evacuated due to a fast-moving fire that burned a half-dozen homes, as crews in California made progress against the state’s deadliest and largest wildfire of the year.

In Washington, the Adams county sheriff’s office warned residents of Lind on Thursday afternoon to flee due to the encroaching flames.

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Justice department sues Idaho over state’s near-total abortion ban

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Lawsuit is DoJ’s first piece of litigation aimed at protecting abortion access since the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade

The Biden administration’s Department of Justice is suing Idaho over the state’s near-total abortion ban, set to take effect on 25 August.

The lawsuit is the justice department’s first piece of litigation aimed at protecting abortion access since the US supreme court in June overturned the landmark Roe v Wade decision that established federal abortion rights nearly 50 years earlier.

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Record flooding and mudslides force closure of Yellowstone national park

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The entire park, spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, will remain closed to visitors as officials assess damage to roads and bridges

Record flooding and rockslides following a burst of heavy rains prompted the rare closure on Monday of all five entrances to Yellowstone national park at the start of the summer tourist season, the park superintendent said.

The entire park, spanning parts of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, will remain closed to visitors, including those with lodging and camping reservations, at least through Wednesday, as officials assess damage to roads, bridges and other facilities.

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US primary elections: Dr Oz tied with McCormick in test of Trump’s influence on Republicans – live

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Joe Biden will welcome the prime minister of Sweden, Magdalena Andersson, and the president of Finland Sauli Niinistö to Washington tomorrow.

It will be a very visual symbol of US support for those two European, Russia-adjacent nations joining the US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato).

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Idaho bill that criminalizes medical trans youth treatments passes house

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Bill aims to make gender-affirming care a felony and punishable by life in prison for anyone who helps a child travel out of state

Idaho’s house of representatives has passed a bill that would criminalize gender-affirming medical procedures for transgender youth and make it a felony punishable by life imprisonment for anyone who helps a child travel across state lines to gender-affirming healthcare.

The bill, approved on Tuesday, targets medical measures that include vasectomy, hysterectomy, mastectomy, puberty-blocking medication and supraphysiological doses of testosterone or estrogen.

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‘The testing ground’: how Republican state parties grow Trumpism 2.0

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In Oklahoma, Idaho, Wyoming and California, the next generation of GOP extremists are passing laws, picking their own voters … and preparing for power

The website of the Oklahoma Republican party has a running countdown to the 2024 presidential election measured in “Maga days”, “Maga hours”, “Maga minutes” and “Maga seconds” – Maga being shorthand for Donald Trump’s timeworn slogan, “Make America great again”.

The state party chairman, John Bennett, a veteran of three combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, has described Islam as a “cancer in our nation that needs to be cut out” and posted a yellow Star of David on Facebook to liken coronavirus vaccine mandates to the persecution of Jewish people in Nazi Germany.

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Influential rightwing Christians lead opposition to Idaho Covid measures

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Christ Church leaders and aligned companies received millions of dollars in coronavirus bailouts amid campaign against mandates

The controversial rightwing Christ Church – and its pastor, Douglas Wilson – have led an uncompromising campaign of opposition to coronavirus public health measures in Idaho, revealing the church’s powerful influence in its home city of Moscow and beyond.

The campaign has included in-person protests, misinformation and encouragement of civil disobedience across media channels owned by the church, which, as the Guardian has reported, is seeking to increase its power and influence in the town as part of an aim of creating a theocracy in America.

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Suspect held after two killed in shooting at Idaho shopping mall

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Four injured in shooting at Boise’s largest mall, where police say officers exchanged gunfire with suspect

A suspect is in custody after two people were killed and four injured, including a police officer, during a shooting at a shopping mall on Monday in Boise, Idaho.

At a news conference, authorities said officers had exchanged gunfire with the suspect. The majority of the mall has been cleared but police were still looking for any additional victims.

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Surging wildfire tears through northern California town and threatens others

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Caldor fire explodes in size as Pacific Gas & Electric begins shutting off power to 51,000 customers

Critically dangerous fire weather was forecast across northern California from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday evening, threatening to intensify several large blazes and increasing the risk of new ones, as a small rural town in the Sierra Nevada was ravaged by a fire that grew with devastating speed.

The Caldor fire, which erupted over the weekend, exploded in size on Tuesday and ran through the town of Grizzly Flats, destroying many buildings and forcing residents to leave. Two were injured. Officials estimated that the blaze had blown through 30,000 acres – up from 6,500 acres reported by the California department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire) earlier that day.

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Sixty wildfires rage across 10 US states – including blaze bigger than Portland

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Thousands have been forced to evacuate from Alaska to Wyoming amid soaring temperatures and a drought

Nearly 60 wildfires were burning across 10 states in the parched American west on Tuesday, with the largest, in Oregon, consuming an area nearly twice the size of Portland.

The fires have torched homes and forced thousands to evacuate from Alaska to Wyoming, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Arizona, Idaho and Montana accounted for more than half of the large active fires.

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