Author: KIFI

Sam Ross

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI)– Two people are in the hospital after being rescued from an early morning house fire in Pocatello on Monday.

At around 12:40 a.m., a woman at 444 Michael Ave. called 911 with difficulty breathing. Dispatchers reported hearing a fire alarm in the background before the woman became unresponsive.

Pocatello Police officers arrived at the home first, where they found an ‘unresponsive elderly female’ in the smoke-filled home. Police got the woman out of the house and started first-aid measures until Pocatello EMTs arrived.

The Pocatello Fire Department arrived on the scene and evacuated an elderly man from the house before locating and extinguishing the source of the fire in the basement.

Firefighters also rescued a dog from the house. The dog was given oxygen and transported to a local animal shelter for a medical evaluation.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but preliminary reports suggest damages are estimated at around $50,000.

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CNN Newsource

By Elizabeth Wagmeister, CNN

(CNN) — Malcolm-Jamal Warner, an actor and artist who rose to fame as a child as Theodore Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” died Sunday in a drowning accident in Costa Rica, according to local police.

He was 54.

Warner was swimming at Playa Grande near the town of Cahuita in the province of Limón on the Caribbean coast around 2:30 p.m. local time, when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean, according to the Associated Press.

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Police told CNN on Monday people who were on the beach tried to help Warner, but he was declared dead by the Red Cross. Another man is in critical condition after being pulled into the current with Warner, authorities said.

On Tuesday, the Judicial Investigation Police said an autopsy of Warner had been completed, with the manner of death classified as accidental, and the cause as “asphyxia by submersion” (or, drowning). Warner’s body will then be released to a funeral service selected by his family.

CNN has reached out to representatives for Warner for further information.

Beginnings on a landmark TV show

A native of New Jersey, Warner started acting at age 9, making appearances in shows like “Fame.” He was a young teen when he was cast as the only son of Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad’s characters, Heathcliff and Claire Huxtable, in “The Cosby Show,” which ran from 1984 to 1992.

In an interview with CNN affiliate WPVI Monday, Cosby recalled his on-screen son’s dedication to his craft.

“You could depend on Malcolm always … to learn his lines, to gather his character, to come out and be ready,” Cosby said.

Cosby told WPVI he was gutted by the “shocking” news of Warner’s death, adding, “Of course, my thoughts went straight to his mother, who worked so hard. She was so wonderful with him.”

Warner often spoke about the legacy of the popular, Emmy-winning sitcom with pride.

“The fact that the Cosby Show for Black America and White America alike finally legitimized the Black middle class, which has always been around since the inception of this country but, as with everything, is not legitimate ‘til it’s on television,” Warner said.

“When the show first came out, there were White people and Black people talking about (how) the Huxtables don’t really exist, Black people don’t really live like that. Meanwhile, we were getting tens of thousands of fan letters from people saying, thank you so much for this show,” he added.

Warner was nominated for a Primetime Emmy in 1986 for his supporting work on “The Cosby Show.”

By the time the series was over, Warner said in a 2013 interview, “we were still on top enough to go out on top, but we were ready to live our own lives.”

“We were all ready to move on and as Mr. Cosby said, by that point, we had pretty much said all that we could say,” Warner added.

Warner’s comments on Cosby’s misconduct allegations

When dozens of sexual misconduct allegations against Cosby came to light years later, Warner acknowledged his sadness, saying he felt the sitcom’s legacy had been “tarnished.”

“My biggest concern is when it comes to images of people of color on television and film, no matter what … negative stereotypes of people of color, we’ve always had ‘The Cosby Show’ to hold up against that,” Warner told The Associated Press in a 2015 interview. “And the fact that we no longer have that, that’s the thing that saddens me the most because in a few generations the Huxtables will have been just a fairy tale.”

Cosby denied all the allegations. A 2018 sexual assault conviction against him was later overturned.

Later career

As much as he honored playing Theo, Warner also worked hard to show how multifaceted he was, including being a Grammy-winning musician.

He won best traditional R&B performance in 2015 for the song “Jesus Children,” a Stevie Wonder cover Warner performed with the Robert Glasper Experiment. He was also nominated for a Grammy in 2023 for best spoken word poetry album.

Warner spoke with CNN in 2017 about his music and becoming a father.

“Being a new parent, I have a lot of new material for the music,” he said at the time. “It’s really awesome and right now, my daughter’s four months so I don’t have to tell her ‘No.’”

Warner continued working steadily in television throughout his career, with credits including “Touched by an Angel,” “Community,” “Key and Peele,” “Suits,” “Sons of Anarchy” and “American Horror Story.”

Tracee Ellis Ross, with whom Warner costarred on the BET series “Reed Between the Lines,” remembered her friend in a tribute shared on social media.

“I love you, Malcolm. First I met you as Theo with the rest of the world then you were my first TV husband,” Ross wrote. “My heart is so so sad. What an actor and friend you were: warm, gentle, present, kind, thoughtful, deep, funny, elegant. You made the world a brighter place. Sending so much love to your family. I’m so sorry for this unimaginable loss.”

Eddie Griffin, who starred opposite of Warner in the series “Malcolm & Eddie” for four seasons between 1996 and 2000, also paid tribute.

“My Heart is heavy today… For what the world lost was a Father a Son a Poet a Musician a Actor a Teacher a Writer a Director a Friend a Warrior that I had the pleasure of going to war with against the Hollywood machine and sometimes with each other because that’s what Brothers do but the Love was and is always there,” Griffin wrote in a statement. “You’ve taught me so much and I thank you 🙏🏾 Rest Well My Big little Brother 🙏🏾❤️🙏🏾.”

Some of Warner’s more recent acting credits include “The Resident,” “The Wonder Years” reboot, “Grownish” and “9-1-1.”

Last year, Warner launched his podcast “Not All Hood” with the goal of continuing to be a voice that explores the diverse experiences of the Black community and touch on themes of representation in media.

“When we talk about the Black community, we tend to speak of it as a monolith when the reality is there are so many different facets of the Black community, and we wanted to have a space where we can really explore, discuss, and acknowledge all of those different aspects,” he told People magazine in an interview last year.

This story has been updated with additional information.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CNN’s Lisa Respers France, Ana Melgar, Alli Rosenbloom, Dan Heching, Hanna Park, Djenane Villanueva and Jose Alvarez contributed to this report.

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Curtis Jackson

JACKSON, Wyo. (KIFI)—Fishermen and rafters can now use a new tool to identify where public and private land is located along the Snake River in Teton County.

Teton County/Jackson Parks and Recreation, in collaboration with the Snake River Fund, and with support from Community Foundation of Jackson Hole and OnWater, created a new Snake River Map Tool. The free digitized map shows real-time river conditions, highlights access and amenity locations, identifies public lands, and, for the first time, delineates recreational easements and allowable uses in the Snake River Corridor between Moose and South Park.

“It hasn’t always been easy to determine where recreational easements exist along the Snake River,” said Snake River Fund Executive Director Orion Hatch. “This tool helps landowners and the recreating public understand allowable uses in the river corridor. We think that river users will be psyched on the other tools the OnWater map has brought to the table, as well.”

In a news release, Teton County Parks and Recreation stated that Wyoming law permits boaters to float on public waters that flow over private land for recreational purposes. Recreational easements are legal encumbrances on private property titles that allow certain uses by the public.

“There are several dozen recreational easements that have been established on private property within the County-managed portion of the Snake River Corridor,” Hatch said.

Recreation uses are limited to boating, rafting, fishing, hiking, picnicking, and other similar activities. Mining, use of firearms, hunting, construction of facilities or structures, overnight camping and fires are prohibited.In 2015, Teton County adopted the Snake River Management Plan, which includes a directive to develop accurate maps that identify private and public land; and and provide information that helps boaters and landowners coexist. The Snake River Management Plan also outlines the Parks and Recreation Department’s role in regulating commercial use on the Moose to Hoback segments of the Snake River in Teton County. To review the Snake River Management Plan, visit: https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/1352/Snake-River-Management.

The new mapping tool was created with funds from Teton County, Snake River Fund, and the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole Competitive Grant. The map is intended to be used on a smartphone, utilizing GPS on the phone to provide accurate, real-time location information along the river. To download the app with fishing and paddling specific information, please visit: https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/1702/Snake-River-Map.

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Curtis Jackson

BLACKFOOT, Idaho – Idaho State Police are investigating a crash that shut down I-15 near Blackfoot Sunday afternoon.

The accident happened near mile marker 94 around 1:05 p.m.

Police said a Toyota 4Runner heading south collided with the rear of an Audi Q7, triggering a chain-reaction crash.

Four vehicles in total were involved.

A 2017 Nissan Rogue, occupied by a 25-year-old female driver and a 48-year-old male passenger, both from Chehalis, Washington, and a 27-year-old male passenger from Great Britain.

A 2024 Ford Expedition, occupied by a 71-year-old male driver and a 38-year-old female passenger, both from Glen, Montana.

The Toyota was occupied by a 24-year-old male driver, a 24-year-old female passenger, and a juvenile, all of whom were from Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Audi was occupied by a 52-year-old female driver, from Huntsville, UT, and a 22-year-old female passenger, from Ogden, Utah.

All occupants were wearing seatbelts.

Traffic in both directions was blocked for about 30 minutes while crews cleared the scene.

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CNN Newsource

By Alisha Ebrahimji, Alaa Elassar, CNN

(CNN) — Idaho’s only maximum security prison could soon be home to Bryan Kohberger, the man who admitted to the 2022 gruesome killings of four University of Idaho students in a remarkable change-of-plea hearing earlier this month.

The Idaho Maximum Security Institution, opened in 1989 to confine the state’s “most disruptive male residents,” has garnered nationwide attention following an aborted execution due to a botched lethal injection and a prisoner-led hunger strike demanding better conditions.

Kohberger, a 30-year-old former PhD student of criminology, admitted guilt for the first time on July 2 to charges of burglary and first-degree murder in the fatal stabbings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen in their off-campus Moscow, Idaho, home.

The case reached a bitter resolution after two and a half years of desperately searching for answers when Kohberger, seated behind a table in an off-white button-up shirt and patterned tie, responded to questions from State District Judge Steven Hippler with a series of simple yeses and a neutral gaze, admitting in one-word answers that he planned and carried out the brutal stabbings.

While the plea will allow Kohberger to avoid the death penalty, he could still be in close proximity to the state’s eight male death row prisoners who are also housed in the Kuna, Idaho, facility. Those prisoners include Chad Daybell, who was convicted in the 2019 killings of his first wife and two of his second wife’s children.

Kohberger is expected to return to court in Boise later this week for his sentencing, and could be transferred just over 10 miles down the road to the state’s maximum security prison right after.

Here’s a look at what life inside the Idaho Maximum Security Institution could be like:

There are delays in medical care, vents clogged with feces and urine, prisoners say

The male-only facility, located just south of Boise, is surrounded by a double perimeter fence reinforced with razor wire and equipped with an electronic detection system, according to its website.

It has the capacity to house 549 people, and has a unit for civilly committed psychiatric patients, which has faced backlash from the National Alliance on Mental Illness for using a prison to house people with mental illnesses in need of mental health treatment. The alliance faulted the facility for allegedly denying patients access to prison programs and services typically available to incarcerated individuals.

The prison has also garnered criticism for its harsh treatment of inmates in solitary confinement and for its poor conditions, driving prisoners to organize a mass six-day hunger strike last year in protest of the facility, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Among the ninety inmates who participated in the strike, some complained about delays in access to medical care, long bouts of isolation and recreational “cages,” the newspaper reported. The “cages” were described as “large chain link-like metal boxes each man is placed into, littered with human urine and feces that have soaked into the concrete.”

Men housed in a lower-security section within the maximum-security prison, who are allowed access to an open outdoor recreation area, told the Statesman the space is often littered with trash and bodily fluids, and others said the facility’s HVAC system hasn’t been cleaned in decades because the vents are clogged with garbage, urine and feces.

The Idaho Department of Correction told CNN the “recreation enclosures” are regularly cleaned, and individuals can request vent cleaning in their cells if needed. After the inmates refused their provided meals, the department said it “developed ways to increase vocational and educational opportunities, religious services, and recreation opportunities.”

“Safety is our number one priority for everyone living and working in our facilities,” the department told CNN.

The prison’s strict solitary confinement policies have also sparked concern.

Kevin Kempf, who served as director of the Idaho Department of Correction in 2016, told CNN affiliate KBOI at the time that inmates were confined alone for up to 23 hours a day with little human interaction, received meals in their cells, and were allowed showers only three times a week.

The Idaho Department of Correction implemented a step-down program that gradually transitions inmates from solitary confinement to a more open environment, KBOI reported. This program includes stages such as placing prisoners in cells where they can talk and interact with others, helping them adjust slowly and safely.

In its statement to CNN, the department said, “Long term restrictive housing is not a disciplinary sanction, it is a housing assignment designed to manage specific behaviors.”

A firing squad chamber is being built in the same building

The prison has recently come under scrutiny because it’s equipped with the state’s execution chamber, which was the site of an aborted execution last year.

After Idaho struggled for years to obtain pentobarbital, a single-drug protocol to execute death row inmates, the state’s first attempt to use the lethal injection in 12 years failed. In February 2024, officials were unable to set an IV line on Thomas Creech, forcing them to abort the execution.

Creech, the longest-serving inmate on Idaho’s death row, was sentenced to death after pleading guilty to the murder of another inmate, David Dale Jensen, in 1981, while Creech was serving four life sentences, according to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office. His second execution was postponed when a federal judge issued a stay in November.

Now, the state is making the firing squad its lead method of execution. Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little signed into law a bill in March, making his state the only one in the country with the firing squad as its primary execution method beginning July 1, 2026.

Idaho lawmakers first passed legislation in 2023 allowing for the firing squad as a means of execution if drugs are unavailable, or lethal injection is found to be unconstitutional.

All executions and execution-related procedures were suspended until the maximum security prison completes the renovation of the F-Block, the execution chamber, to accommodate both methods – lethal injection and firing squad, the Idaho Department of Correction announced in June. The renovations are expected to take about seven months.

However, executions have been rare in Idaho. Only three executions have taken place in the facility since the state revised its death penalty statute in 1977, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Noah Farley

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — One of Local News 8’s former sports anchors and reporters, Peter Young, visited Idaho Falls this weekend for his book tour.

Young worked at Local News 8 from 1995 to 1997. He was on the air alongside one of our current anchors, Doug Long. Young is now an author and did a book signing at the Idaho Falls Barnes & Noble on Saturday.

“As a sports broadcaster, we tell the stories of the coaches, the players and the games,” Young said. “I continued that training and became an author. Now I tell my stories in book form.”

After working at Local News 8, Young went on to travel the world as a sports broadcaster for the Outdoor Life Network, which is now known as NBCSN.

One of Young’s books, Wardrobe of the Wolf, is set right here in southeast Idaho. He plans to have another book in that trilogy published next year, which will be set in Fremont County.

Young has also published a memoir, and has been able to connect with several readers through it. He recommends people write down and share their own experiences too.

“You either have, are going through something really difficult, or will go through something difficult. That’s for every one of us,” Young said. “And if you write that story, if you tell it, then that might be something that’s helpful to somebody else.”

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Max Gershon

JACKSON, Wyoming (KIFI) — Slavya Leykind passed away at the age of 43 days after competing in a 29029 event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Local news contacted 29029 who organized the “everesting” competition.

29029 stated that they have first aid spots across all of their events filled with medical professionals.

They passed along some tips from outside professionals on how to remain safe while hiking no matter the elevation or length.

First, know your limits and try not to overestimate your abilities.

Second balance your electrolytes , having too much electrolytes can have the same effect as having too little.

And third, stay hydrated. Having extra water and a method to purify it is crucial.

Insufficient water intake impairs your muscles and organs, leading to thirst, and increases the risk of hypothermia and altitude sickness.

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Noah Farley

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — Around 50 young entrepreneurs gathered at the Idaho Falls Greenbelt to show off and sell their own handmade products.

Kids sold everything from baked goods, to jewelry, to toys at the Acton Children’s Business Fair. Participants had to make a product or service, develop their brand, and open for business for the day.

The children were responsible for their sales and interacting with customers, and parents were not allowed to sell or promote the products.

The fair helped kids learn business skills like communication and money management. Many of them enjoyed having their hard work pay off. 

“Business has been going really good. This is one of our best experiences that we’ve had,” said fair participant and co-owner of SilverStone, Stone I. “We’ve had Venmo purchases and cash purchases. We were still even setting up and someone bought a t-shirt.”

Along with the profits the young entrepreneurs made, cash prizes will be given out on Monday for the winners of categories like “Most Creative Idea” and “Most Impressive Presentation.”

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Ariel Jensen

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) — A local organization is worried that victims of sex crimes are not reporting the attacks. Police tell Local News 8 a man is in custody after being linked to a number of sex crimes in several Eastern Idaho counties. 

While sex crimes are difficult to prove in court, the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center (DVSAC) in Idaho Falls says this shouldn’t deter people from reporting them.

“It kind of goes along with that whole MeToo movement. If you’re afraid that it’s going to go nowhere, why even report it? Well, there’s a reason to report it. And we have a great example here, where we have three possible victims of the same person,” said Amanda Cook, Forensic Nurse Examiner Program Director for the DVSAC.

Over the past year, the center’s team found a connection between different cases in multiple counties and the same offender. In response, the domestic violence center has advice to avoid being a target of this sort of crime. 

The center says they are seeing dating apps play a role in these types of crimes, especially Snapchat. Most victims are adolescents or young adults meeting their online connection for the first time.

The center warns against bringing people you have just met online to your home. Do not introduce them to children, and meet in a public place for the first couple of dates.

They also say there is one crucial piece of information you should know before meeting someone in person you’ve met online.

“Get their last name. Because what we’re seeing right now is this possible offender, he’s done it multiple times, but we couldn’t connect the dots because the victims did not have all the information on the offender,” said Cook.

If you are a victim of a sex crime or know someone who is and have questions on how to report a sex crime, DVSAC can walk you through your options.

For more information and resources, visit here.

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News Release

The follwing is a news release from Idaho Fish and Game:

REXBURG, Idaho (KIFI) — After a two-year-long investigation completed by Conservation Officers at Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 46-year-old Nathan Archibald of Rexburg was convicted of multiple wildlife crimes.

Conservation Officers began their investigation into Archibald in December of 2023, after receiving information from a member of the community through the Citizens Against Poaching Hotline. Officers quickly responded to the call, discovering a trophy-class mule deer buck that was illegally shot, hidden, and left.  Later that night, officers contacted Archibald when he returned to retrieve the mule deer buck, which he admitted to killing after dark the previous night.  There was no open season, he had no tag, and his hunting license was revoked at the time.  This incident eventually led to the discovery of additional information regarding several other unlawful animals taken by Archibald between 2021 and 2023. On February 5th, 2024, Officers served a search warrant on Archibald’s home, where a significant amount of physical evidence was recovered to solidify their investigation. 

On Oct. 11th, 2024, IDFG Officers filed charges in two cases against Archibald with the Madison County Prosecutors Office, totaling 6 Felonies and 14 Misdemeanors occurring between Dec. 2021 and Dec. 2023. The charges included six counts of unlawfully killing, possessing or wasting wildlife, four counts of hunting/taking an animal without a valid tag, four counts of hunting while revoked, one count of using the tag of another, one count of hunting with an artificial light, one count of trespassing and one count of possessing/transporting game unlawfully taken. In total, seven white-tailed deer and one mule deer were killed and/or possessed unlawfully. Three of the unlawfully taken deer were considered trophy animals and qualified for enhanced civil penalties.

Idaho Fish and Game Conservation Officers arrested Archibald on Oct. 21, 2024, for the previously filed charges.  He was released on bond the following day.  Each Misdemeanor charge carried the possibility of up to 6 months in jail, up to a $1,000 fine, and up to a 3-year hunting license revocation. Each Felony charge carried the possibility of up to 5 years in jail, up to a $50,000 fine, and the possibility of a lifetime hunting revocation. Each unlawfully taken deer carried with it a civil penalty, which in this case totaled $14,000. 

At his sentencing hearing, Archibald accepted a plea deal from the Madison County Prosecutor where he pleaded guilty to one felony count for Unlawful Killing, Possessing or Wasting of Wildlife in exchange for the additional 13 charges being dropped and a restitution hearing to be held for the remaining deer. 

Ultimately, Archibald received reduced penalties of 60 days in jail to be served over a six-month period, $7,000 in civil penalties, and a 10-year hunting license revocation. 

“There has been a lot of public interest in this case. We take calls about wildlife crimes very seriously and want to thank everyone who provided information” says Regional Conservation Officer Barry Cummings.  “Our three lead investigators spent over 300 hours following up on leads and putting together a rock-solid case. Idaho’s wildlife belongs to everyone and is a limited resource.  We work hard, every day, to hold to account those individuals who would steal that resource from our citizens.”

The unlawful taking of wildlife in Idaho is a crime against all Idaho citizens. Wildlife crimes like these often begin with a call from concerned hunters who witness blatant violations or suspicious activity and call into Idaho’s Citizens Against Poaching hotline. Callers to the hotline, (800) 632-5999, can report wildlife violations anonymously, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Cash rewards are available to callers who provide information leading to the citation of suspected wildlife law violators.

IDFG – written by James Brower

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