Category: kifi-local-news

CNN

The Bryan Kohberger sentencing hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. MDT. You can watch the livestream below.

By Alaa Elassar, CNN

(CNN) — Bryan Kohberger has one last chance Wednesday to give the grieving parents of four University of Idaho students he admitted to killing the answers they’ve desperately sought for nearly three years.

Why did he do it?

Kohberger will have an opportunity to reveal those details before his sentencing Wednesday, following a remarkable change-of-plea hearing on July 2 that spared him the death penalty and his highly anticipated murder trial by admitting guilt to burglary and first-degree murder in the November 2022 killings of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen.

Kohberger will be granted an allocution — the formal opportunity defendants are given to speak directly to the court before they are sentenced by the judge. Traditionally, defendants use allocution to humanize themselves and express remorse, or offer an apology, or even an explanation for their actions — anything that could be taken into account during sentencing, according to the American Bar Association.

But it’s unlikely he’ll say a thing, legal analyst and trial attorney Mercedes Colwin told CNN.

“What we can expect in sentencing would first be the victim impact statements by the families. We already know that there are several that are going to speak, which should be horrendous,” Colwin told CNN.

“I’m sure it’s going to be gut-wrenching, and then he will be given the opportunity to address the court before the judge sentences him. That’s where he can say, ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve done,’ which I don’t expect any of that to take place,” Colwin said.

The question of whether Kohberger will speak about his crimes even invited a comment from President Donald Trump, who said in a post on Truth Social on Monday the judge should make the 30-year-old “explain why he did these horrible murders” before the sentencing.

A sign for victim Kaylee Goncalves is seen in front of a University of Idaho campus sign in Moscow, Idaho, on November 29, 2022. Courtesy: Lindsey Wasson/Reuters via CNN Newsource

In every previous court appearance, Kohberger has remained expressionless, silent and unmoved as prosecutors recounted the chilling details of the late-night killings — how he entered a home through a sliding door and savagely stabbed four young students to death while two survivors, terrified, texted each other about a masked figure moving through the hallway.

Despite Kohberger admitting to the crimes, the July 2 change-of-plea hearing left one giant hole in the story: why he targeted the residents of the King Road house. It’s unclear whether the public will ever get an answer, as it’s not required by the plea deal.

Allocution may offer one final chance for him to address it in court.

Here’s what to expect.

Allocution does not require him to divulge any details

During the change-of-plea hearing, Judge Steven Hippler formally questioned Kohberger to ensure he fully understood the charges, the consequences of pleading guilty, and his rights before accepting the plea.

“Are you pleading guilty because you are guilty?” the judge asked.

“Yes,” Kohberger said.

“Did you on November 13, 2022, enter the residence at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, with the intent to commit the felony crime of murder?” Hippler asked.

“Yes,” Kohberger again responded, as one of the victims’ family members silently wept while other loved ones listened intently.

But that was all.

The judge asked Kohberger only basic confirmation questions. There was no inquiry into why he committed the crimes or whether he felt any remorse. The plea agreement and the written factual basis offer little insight into Kohberger’s motive.

Several key concerns were left unaddressed, including what drove Kohberger to carry out the killings, why he targeted the students specifically and why two roommates were spared.

The plea agreement doesn’t necessitate that Kohberger disclose any details about the murders at his sentencing.

“I had hoped the agreement would include conditions that required the defendant to explain his actions and provide answers to the many questions that still remain, especially where evidence is missing or unclear,” Xana Kernodle’s father, Jeff Kernodle, said in a statement following the guilty plea.

At Wednesday’s sentencing, allocution will offer Kohberger a confronting choice: stay silent or face the families of his four victims and attempt to explain the horror he inflicted.

Allocution rights can be traced to 1689, when English courts recorded that, in cases in which defendants faced possible death sentences, the failure to ask defendants directly whether they had anything to say prior to sentencing constituted a basis for reversal, according to the American Bar Association.

Numerous historic allocution statements have been delivered over the years, including John Brown’s address to the court after his death sentence in 1859, and Susan B. Anthony’s defiant speech following her arrest for voting in 1873.

A Moscow police officer stands guard in his vehicle on November 29, 2022, at the home where the four University of Idaho students were found dead. Courtesy: Ted S. Warren/AP via CNN Newsource

Several convicted murderers have also given allocution statements, including serial killer Ted Bundy; Timothy McVeigh, convicted for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing; and John Wayne Gacy, known as the “Killer Clown.”

Allocution rights appear at the state level, though they vary across jurisdictions. But according to Idaho law, the defendant has the “right of allocution,” or the right to personally address the judge, if they choose to.

“Before imposing sentence the court must give counsel an opportunity to speak on behalf of the defendant and must ask the defendant personally if the defendant wishes to make a statement and to present any information in mitigation of punishment,” Idaho’s Criminal Rule 33 states.

Allocutions are not made under oath and and Kohberger will not be subjected to cross-examination, according to the state law.

“Their families may never hear why he targeted this house and their children, what made him do it. He’s not required to answer the ‘why,’ although we know he killed them because he’s already taken this plea,” Colwin said. “They may never get true closure.”

He may one day speak to the media

A pile of questions over the killer’s method and motive have haunted the case since the four students were discovered stabbed to death in their off-campus home in Moscow, Idaho, with no signs of forced entry.

But even if Kohberger remains silent now and does not exercise his right to allocution, there’s still a possibility he will speak out later. There is no stipulation in Kohberger’s plea agreement to prevent him from doing interviews with media or writing a book.

A trove of documents and discovery that could also shine more light on the case remains sealed by the court and is expected to stay that way until after his sentencing on July 23. But it’s unclear how the court will handle the large volume of material.

“The families who want an explanation believe the ultimate closure is understanding why,” Colwin said. “Even if he someday explains his motivations, I shudder to think of what he might say.”

The mother of Kaylee Goncalves, Kristi Goncalves, second from right, walks with family members including Steve Goncalves, left, to the Ada County Courthouse for Bryan Kohberger’s plea deal hearing on July 2 in Boise, Idaho. Courtesy: Jenny Kane/AP via CNN Newsource

For some, the plea deal was injustice. For others, closure

After the victims’ families were informed of the plea deal, fathers Jeff Kernodle and Steve Goncalves harshly criticized prosecutors for not consulting the victims’ families before agreeing to conditions of the deal.

The Goncalves family members said in a statement earlier this month they had expected more answers from the change-of-plea hearing when Judge Hippler questioned Kohberger before accepting his guilty plea.

“Today was the day, the day for answers, the day to find out what happened, to find out really anything about what the Defendant did that night and why he took the lives of 4 beautiful people. At least that’s what we hoped for but hope is really all we had today,” the Goncalves family’s July 2 statement read.

“We’ll never see this as justice,” Steve Goncalves told CNN’s Jim Sciutto.

Others voiced acceptance, saying that despite a lack of answers, they were relieved to avoid a drawn-out trial and the possibility of a yearslong appeals process. Mogen’s father, Ben Mogen, told the Idaho Statesman he viewed the deal as an opportunity to avoid the pain and spectacle of a trial and focus on healing.

“We support the plea agreement 100%. While we know there are some who do not support it, we ask that they respect our belief that this is the best outcome possible for victims, their families and the state of Idaho,” said Leander James, who represents Mogen’s mother and stepfather, Karen and Scott Laramie.

The Chapin family’s “initial response was, ‘an eye for an eye,’” Stacy Chapin, Ethan Chapin’s mother, told NBC’s “Today.”

“But we’ve spent a ton of time talking about it with prosecutors, and for us, we always felt like this was a better deal,” she said.

Had Kohberger gone to trial, a death sentence was not guaranteed. And even if he had received one, it likely would have taken years, possibly decades, to carry out, with no certainty it would ever happen.

Kohberger will be sentenced this week to life in prison without parole, and he’ll forfeit his right to appeal. He will no longer be allowed to appear in the civilian shirt and tie he usually wears for hearings, according to Hippler. The next time he sets foot in the courtroom, he will be dressed in prison garb.

“To the families of Kaylee, Madison, Xana and Ethan – we will never forget the beautiful light your precious children shone brightly in the world,” Colwin said. “No evil will ever take that away.”

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

CNN’s Taylor Romine, Jean Casarez, Elizabeth Wolfe, Rebekah Riess, Dakin Andone, and Kit Maher contributed to this report.

Click here to follow the original article.

CNN Newsource

By Hilary Clarke, CNN

(CNN) — Ozzy Osbourne, the hellraising frontman of Black Sabbath and reality TV star, died Tuesday, his family shared.

He was 76.

“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning,” Osbourne’s family said in a statement to CNN. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”

No details surrounding cause of death were immediately available.

The news comes just weeks after Osbourne performed with Black Sabbath in his hometown of Birmingham, England, where he reunited with bandmates, including bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and guitarist Tony Iommi. The show was a concert event called Back to the Beginning and marked Black Sabbath’s first performance in two decades. It was billed as Osbourne’s “final bow,” according to Black Sabbath’s official website.

Famed for his outrageous antics on stage, including once biting the head off a bat and throwing raw meat onto concertgoers – along with repeated bouts of alcohol and substance abuse – Osbourne was respected by the rock establishment and reviled by the religious right, who believed him to be a devil-worshipper.

He had a second career in later life, playing himself in the popular reality TV show “The Osbournes,” a fly-on-the-wall family formula later maximized by the Kardashians.

Beginnings

John “Ozzy” Osbourne was born on December 3, 1948 in the central English city of Birmingham, the son of a toolmaker and a factory worker.

He left school at age 15 and after a series of jobs, including construction-site laborer and slaughterhouse worker, he tried burglary. That career ended badly, with a six-week prison sentence after his father refused to pay a fine, according to Osbourne’s 2009 autobiography, “I Am Ozzy.”

Osbourne was musically inspired by The Beatles, crediting the Fab Four’s 1963 smash “She Loves You” for his becoming a musician.

In 1967, Butler, Black Sabbath’s bassist and principal lyricist, formed a group – then called Rare Breed – and asked Osbourne to join, along with guitarist Iommi and drummer Ward.

After a couple of name changes, the band finally settled on Black Sabbath, because, as Butler told Rolling Stone magazine in 2016, “if people paid money to feel scared at the movies, then the same must be true of concerts.”

The band’s self-titled first album was recorded in just two days in 1969, Rolling Stone reported.

“Once we’d finished, we spent a couple of hours double-tracking some of the guitar and vocals, and that was that. Done,” Osbourne wrote in his autobiography. “We were in the pub in time for last orders. It can’t have taken any longer than 12 hours in total. That’s how albums should be made, in my opinion.”

The ‘Godfather of Heavy Metal’

Black Sabbath’s loud, gloomy music, the satanic aura conjured by the use of the tritone, the irregular interval in music associated with the Devil since the Middle Ages, was immediately popular.

The group’s second album, “Paranoid,” released in 1970, shot to number one in the UK album chart. Black Sabbath didn’t repeat that feat again until the release of their album “13” in 2013.

Often referred to as the Godfather of Heavy Metal, Osbourne preferred his other “title,” The Prince of Darkness, which he used on his Twitter account.

“I have never, ever, ever been able to attach myself to the word ‘heavy metal’ – it has no musical connotations,” Osbourne told CNN in a 2013 interview. “If it was heavy rock I could get that but the 70s was kind of like a bluesy thing, the 80s was kind of bubblegum-frosted hair, multi-colored clothes, and the 90s was kind of grungy.”

Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, after the group had already made eight albums together, over his alcohol and drug use. He went on to have a successful solo career, releasing 11 more albums before getting back together with the group in 1997.

The bat-biting incident occurred at Osbourne’s show at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa on January 20, 1982 on his “Diary of a Madman” tour.

He later claimed he thought the bat was made of rubber.

It was a stunt that followed him. “Every time I do an interview they ask me ‘What do bats taste like, Ozzy?’ Like my mother-in-law’s cooking,” he told NBC’s Today Show in 1987.

Osbourne’s substance abuse – the reason for his divorce from his first wife, Thelma Mayfair – followed him.

Also problematic was his relationship with his father-in-law and former manager Don Arden, who had managed some of the biggest acts of the 1960s and 1970s, including Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.

Osbourne had known Arden’s daughter, Sharon, since she was a teenager.

They began a relationship in 1979, when she was 28, much to Arden’s displeasure.

When the two decided to marry in 1982, Arden gave Sharon her new husband’s contract as a wedding present.

She returned the favor by taking her husband off her father’s record label and signing with the much bigger US company, CBS.

Arden sued and eventually won a million-dollar settlement, according to his obituary in the Daily Telegraph. Sharon – who went on to become Ozzy’s manager – didn’t talk to her father again for nearly 20 years.

‘Looking back, I should have died a thousand times’

Osbourne, meanwhile, continued his rock n’ roll lifestyle.

“Looking back, I should have died a thousand times but never did,” he said in the 2011 documentary “God Bless Ozzy Osbourne.”

“By 12 o’clock in the old days I’d have powder up my nose, f*****g  s**t in my veins, all kinds of stuff.”

The drugs and alcohol contributed to volatility at home.

In an interview with CNN in 2011, Sharon Osbourne spoke of her husband’s violent outbursts. “It was damn pretty scary,” she said. “You’re in a house, no neighbors each side, the kids asleep, you know you’re on your own, what the hell do you do?”

Reality royalty

But as dysfunctional families go, the Osbournes were very popular, and their reality television show, “The Osbournes,” won a 2002 Primetime Emmy.

The show became a vehicle for his family members to build their individual popularity, with wife Sharon transitioning into a television media career primarily on chat shows, and daughter Kelly enjoying her own music career before also becoming a television personality.

Other accolades bestowed on Osbourne include multiple Grammys, including one in 1993 for his solo song “I Don’t Want To Change The World.” He won two more Grammys as recently as 2023, when he took home gongs for best rock album and performance, and also garnered music’s top honor several times as part of Black Sabbath.

In March 2006, Osbourne and the members of Black Sabbath were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Later on Tuesday, Butler posted a tribute to his late bandmate on Instagram, writing, “Goodbye dear friend- thanks for all those years- we had some great fun.”

Referring to the area within Birmingham from which they hail, Butler added, “4 kids from Aston- who’d have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston.”

Iommi also posted about the “heartbreaking news,” writing on X that he “can’t really find the words, there won’t ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother.”

“Where will I find you now?” Ward asked in his tribute on X. “In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart.”

Health struggles

In early 2019, Osbourne had to cancel a string of concerts following a bout of pneumonia and a severe fall at his Los Angeles home.

But his health issues didn’t stop there. In the ensuing years, the rocker endured multiple surgeries – including one that he said went wrong and virtually left him “crippled.” He revealed his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in January 2020.

Nonetheless, Osbourne performed intermittently during that period, including at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

In a 2023 interview with Rolling Stone, Osbourne said he would “die a happy man” if he could perform one more show to express his gratitude to his fans from the stage.

“If I can’t continue doing shows on a regular basis, I just want to be well enough to do one show where I can say, ‘Hi guys, thanks so much for my life.’ That’s what I’m working towards, and if I drop down dead at the end of it, I’ll die a happy man,” he said at the time.

Earlier that year, the “Iron Man” singer announced that his touring career was over, saying he was no longer “physically capable (of it)” after suffering several health setbacks. That summer, he withdrew from an appearance at a music festival scheduled for October 2023.

“I’m taking it one day at a time, and if I can perform again, I will,” he told Rolling Stone at the time. “But it’s been like saying farewell to the best relationship of my life. At the start of my illness, when I stopped touring, I was really pissed off with myself, the doctors, and the world. But as time has gone on, I’ve just gone, ‘Well, maybe I’ve just got to accept that fact.’”

Osbourne leaves behind his wife, three children from his first marriage, and three with Sharon; Jack, Kelly and Aimee.

This story has been updated.

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

Click here to follow the original article.

Curtis Jackson

BURLEY, Idaho (KIFI) – Three people were sent to the hospital from a rollover accident.

It happened near the junction of Interstate 84 and Interstate 86, east of Burley.

Idaho State Police said an 18-year-old woman from Hansen was driving westbound when the car veered into the median and rolled.

The driver was wearing a seatbelt, but ISP says her two teenage passengers were not.

All three were taken to the hospital.

ISP is still investigating the crash.

Click here to follow the original article.

Curtis Jackson

BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) – A box truck tipped over on State Highway 31, over Pine Creek Pass, injuring two people.

The crash happened around 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, July 22, 2025.

The two people were taken to the hospital. Their condition is unknown.

Emergency crews from Swan Valley and Victor responded to the scene of the accident. 

This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Click here to follow the original article.

Curtis Jackson

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – Two 18-year-old men were taken to the hospital following an accident on I-15 Monday night south of Idaho Falls at milepost 114.

Idaho State Police reported that the 18-year-olds were in a 2023 Kia Sportage, driving south, when the car collided with a 1990 International truck driven by a 25-year-old from Ammon.

Names were not released by police. The driver of the Kia was from Henderson, Nevada, and the passenger was from Newman Lake, Washington.

Their injuries are unknown. All of them were wearing seatbelts.

The accident happened just before 8 p.m., blocking the southbound lanes for approximately an hour and 20 minutes.

The crash is still under investigation.

Click here to follow the original article.

Curtis Jackson

The following is a news release from Grand Teton National Park.

MOOSE, Wyo. (News Release)— An Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) technician at Grand Teton National Park recently discovered quagga mussels on a boat arriving from Utah. The mussels, which measured about 6–8 mm (about the width of a pencil) were found during a routine AIS inspection at one of the park’s check stations. Although the mussels were no longer alive, their presence is a serious concern. 

The boat was decontaminated and sealed for a mandatory 30-day dry period, in accordance with Grand Teton National Park policy.

Wyoming remains one of only five states with no bodies of water that have tested positive for or been infested by quagga or zebra mussels. Once introduced and established these species often cause dramatic ecological and economic damage, making prevention critical.

“Finding mussels at a Grand Teton AIS check station is uncommon but it’s a good reminder that the risk of an introduction is real,” said Chad Whaley, Fisheries Biologist and AIS Coordinator. “We cannot become complacent. The risk level is not going down.”

AIS check stations have operated in Grand Teton National Park since 2015 and serve as the final line of defense in protecting the park’s waters. 

Protecting Grand Teton National Park’s waterways is a shared responsibility. Prevention is an essential duty for boaters, anglers, and resource managers alike. Grand Teton National Park works with numerous partners throughout the community and region to support and enforce AIS prevention.

Park leadership extends appreciation to the vigilant technician who identified the mussels and to the cooperating boater. Both played a vital role in helping keep Grand Teton and Wyoming’s waters free of invasive species. The park also thanks the public for supporting watercraft inspections before launching in Grand Teton waters.

Boaters are reminded that they are required to stop if they pass an open watercraft inspection station, regardless of prior inspection history or destination. Out-of-state boaters must be inspected before launching on any waters in Wyoming. Arriving with a clean, drained, and dry watercraft speeds the inspection process and helps protect aquatic resources.

For more information on AIS regulations and how to help prevent the spread of invasive species, visit Get on the Water – Grand Teton National Park (U.S. National Park Service).

Click here to follow the original article.

Curtis Jackson

WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana (KIFI) – Three people were killed in a plane crash south of West Yellowstone.

Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office said it was notified by U.S. Department of Transportation Aero Division of a possible plane crash on July 18, 2025, at 1:41 p.m.

The agency stated that the aircraft departed from West Yellowstone Airport just before midnight on July 17 and could not be located.  

The Sheriff’s office news release said, “Utilizing the last location of an occupant’s smart watch, two search planes were sent to search for the missing aircraft. At 2:13 p.m. the search planes confirmed the plane had been located crashed in dense timber just south of the town near South Plateau Rd.”

Search and Rescue teams located the crash site and confirmed all three people on board were deceased.

They were identified as 60-year-old Rodney Conover and 23-year-old Madison Conover from Tennessee, and 55-year-old Kurt Enoch Robey of Utah.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board.

Click here to follow the original article.

Noah Farley

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (KIFI) — Idaho Fish and Game estimates there are about 100 less wolves in the Gem State than last year.

Last week, wildlife managers estimated there are over 1,200 wolves in Idaho.

Idaho Fish and Game said it is changing how it counts the wolf population. In the past, it used cameras, but now it uses the ABC method, which uses age and genetic data from wolf teeth collected from harvested wolves to estimate population and litter sizes.

“It really has been an agency-wide effort,” said IDFG Wildlife Research Manager, Matt Mumma. “Across the regions and actually checking in on wolves and gathering those teeth which are vital to the model itself.”

The estimates show wolf numbers peak in May due to new pups being born, but the numbers start to decline afterwards due to hunting and other natural causes.

Wildlife managers say these numbers and using the new ABC method are important for Idaho as the state tries to reduce its wolf population to around 500 a year.

Click here to follow the original article.

Curtis Jackson

DOWNEY, Idaho (KIFI) – Bannock County has scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Exhibit Hall at the Fairgrounds in Downey.

The ceremony will take place on the first day of the Bannock County Fair, August 4, at 5 p.m.

The new building replaces four former exhibit halls that were condemned due to age and safety concerns. The building will be used for 4-H displays, artwork, hand-sewn quilts, and local crafts during the fair, as well as for various community events throughout the rest of the year.

The building features a 50-by-90-foot exhibit space, a kitchen, a meeting room, offices, storage rooms, and restrooms.

“This building is going to be a huge asset to our beloved county fair, as well as the citizens of Bannock County year-round. I’m excited to cut the ribbon and fill it with exhibits from our talented community members,” said Commissioner Ernie Moser.

The construction was led by Bannock County Director of Facilities Dan Kendall, with local contractors including Teton West of Idaho, KJ Acoustics, Charron AC, Legacy Fire Protection, Razor Electric, and Portneuf Valley Plumbing.

It was funded through a combination of $1 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and $700,000 in local funding from Bannock County.

Following the ceremony, attendees are invited to enjoy light refreshments and then head over to the annual Free Potato Bar at 6:00 p.m. by the Covered Stage (Building 18). Parking is available in the general fairgrounds lot across from the new building at 225 W Center Street.

The Bannock County Fair goes through Saturday, August 9, 2025. To see a listing of events, click here.

For a map of the fairgrounds, click here.

Click here to follow the original article.

Curtis Jackson

ST. ANTHONY, Idaho (KIFI) – Fremont County is the latest county to restrict open burning on private land.

Due to the high fire danger, the Fremont County Commissioners issued a burn ban on Monday.

In a news release issued about the burn ban, it said campfires in approved fire pits, or propane and charcoal grills, are allowed.

“Fire districts in Fremont County are volunteer departments, meaning that firefighters do not live at or respond immediately from a fire station – they respond from home or work when a call is received,” the release said. “Many of the volunteers are unable to respond during weekday working hours due to the nature of their business or simply not being in the area.  This manpower shortage makes it more difficult to catch a fire before it becomes uncontrollable.”

The news release mentioned that the Grassy Fire, which burned two weeks ago, showed extreme fire behavior that is not typically seen until mid-to-late August.

Commissioners in Bannock and Bingham counties have also recently ordered burn bans in those counties.

Click here to follow the original article.