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Bryan Kohberger hearing could set rules for evidence in Idaho murders trial

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Bryan Kohberger hearing could set rules for evidence in Idaho murders trial

Prosecutors and attorneys for Bryan Kohberger, the man charged in the killings of four University of Idaho students in 2022, will argue some of the final ground rules they want for his trial in a two-day hearing set to begin Wednesday morning.

Kohberger, 30, is accused in the stabbing deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves at a rental home near campus in Moscow, Idaho. Prosecutors say the four were killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, and their bodies were discovered later that day.

Kohberger, then a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings. Investigators said they matched his DNA to genetic material recovered from a knife sheath found at the crime scene.

A judge previously entered not guilty pleas on Kohberger’s behalf when he remained silent after being asked how he pleaded.

Attorneys for the prosecution and defense have submitted more than 170 legal filings ahead of Kohberger’s trial, CBS News correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti reported Wednesday on “CBS Mornings.” Among the filings are motions addressing whether Kohberger should face the death penalty if convicted, whether witnesses should be allowed to testify about issues like “touch DNA,” and whether certain people should or should not be allowed in the courtroom during the trial. 

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The hearing will give the attorneys a chance to make their case in person, discussing the legal reasoning behind their requests. It will also give 4th District Judge Steven Hippler a chance to ask the attorneys questions as he weighs their arguments.

Many of the motions are focused on what evidence can be presented to jurors during the trial. Each side has argued some evidence should be prohibited. 

For their part, Kohberger’s defense team is seeking to limit how much of their client’s online shopping data can enter the court, as prosecutors allege the suspect used his Amazon account to purchase what they believe to be the murder weapon — a Ka-Bar knife with sheath and sharpener — and legal filings show they want to introduce evidence of his “click history” at Amazon.com. Kohberger’s attorneys have argued his online shopping history could be taken out of context or not reflect the influence of algorithms that recommend purchases.

Investigators never found the Ka-Bar knife, although they did discover the sheath next to one of the victims at the crime scene.

Bryan Kohberger is escorted into court for a hearing in Latah County District Court, Sept. 13, 2023, in Moscow, Idaho.

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Defense attorneys have suggested the paraphernalia was planted, in another attempt by Kohberger’s representation to push back on evidence that’s central to the prosecution’s case. His lawyers have also argued against the admissibility of testimony from one of the slain women’s surviving roommates, who claims to have seen a masked man with “bushy eyebrows” in the house the night of the murders. His lawyers suggested the testimony could unfairly influence the jury.

Prosecutors want to introduce a photo that Kohberger took of himself hours after the time of the killings because they say it shows what he looked like at that time. 

The defense and prosecution also will likely present arguments over whether jurors should hear audio of a 911 call made by two women in the house roughly eight hours after the killings, as they realized one of their roommates wasn’t waking up.

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Regarding the death penalty, Kohberger’s defense has asked the judge to find that an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis would make Kohberger ineligible for the death penalty. 

Other topics that could come up include what kinds of questions will be asked during the jury selection process. Attorneys on both sides have submitted proposed questionnaires that could be used to narrow the jury pool down to a small group of candidates, but so far those documents have been sealed from public view.

Hippler can “rule from the bench” — simply telling the attorneys what his decision is on each request — but he can also decide to issue a written ruling sometime after the hearing is over. Sometimes written rulings can be particularly helpful in complicated legal cases like this one, because they can help attorneys quickly find and refer to the judge’s decisions months or even years down the road.

Jury selection in the case is expected to begin July 30, with the trial starting Aug. 11 in the Ada County Courthouse in downtown Boise.

The trial is expected to take nearly three months to complete, lasting into the start of November.

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New York City ICE raid nets 9 arrests of illegal aliens from West Africa, 4 protesters also arrested

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New York City ICE raid nets 9 arrests of illegal aliens from West Africa, 4 protesters also arrested

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A federal raid in New York City’s Chinatown neighborhood on Tuesday resulted in the arrests of nine migrants from West Africa who were in the United States illegally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told Fox News.

Four protesters were also taken into custody for allegedly blocking ICE officers and throwing objects at them.

Officials said the migrants are from Senegal, Mali and Guinea and were busted for allegedly selling counterfeit items in the area. 

ICE said the protesters who were detained have criminal backgrounds.

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PROTESTS ERUPT AS ICE AGENTS RAID NYC CHINATOWN STREET VENDORS ALLEGEDLY SELLING COUNTERFEIT GOODS

Federal agents conduct an immigration sweep on Canal Street in Chinatown as protesters gather on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York.  (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News that ICE and federal partners conducted a “targeted, intelligence-driven enforcement operation” on Canal Street focused on criminal activity related to the sale of alleged counterfeit goods. 

“During this law enforcement operation, rioters who were shouting obscenities, became violent and obstructed law enforcement duties, including blocking vehicles and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote in a statement. “Already, one rioter has been arrested for assault on a federal officer.”

During a news conference Tuesday night, Murad Awawdeh, vice president of advocacy at the New York Immigration Coalition, said between 15 and 40 vendors were arrested, and at least two locals were taken into custody for protesting and blocking their arrest efforts.

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City officials quickly moved to distance themselves from the raid.

US MARSHAL, ILLEGAL MIGRANT SHOT DURING LOS ANGELES IMMIGRATION OPERATION

Federal officers in Chinatown, New York during a sweep on Canal Street

Federal agents conduct an immigration sweep on Canal Street in Chinatown, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Jake Offenhartz)

Mayor Eric Adams’ press secretary, Kayla Mamelak Altus, told Fox News that New York City “never cooperates with federal law enforcement on civil deportation matters, in accordance with local laws,” and had “no involvement in this matter.”

“Mayor Adams has been clear that undocumented New Yorkers trying to pursue the American Dream should not be the target of law enforcement, and resources should instead be focused on violent criminals,” she said.

Protester shouts at federal agent in NYC

Protestors confront federal agents as they walk down Lafayette Street after an immigration sweep on Canal Street through Chinatown, Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in New York City.  (Jake Offenhartz/AP)

Socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani weighed in on X, calling the Manhattan raid “aggressive and reckless.”

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“Federal agents from ICE and HSI—some in military fatigues and masks—descended on Chinatown today in an aggressive and reckless raid on immigrant street vendors,” Mamdani wrote in a post. “Once again, the Trump administration chooses authoritarian theatrics that create fear, not safety. It must stop.”

Fox News’ Greg Wehner and CB Cotton contributed to this report.

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Video: Federal Agents Detain Man During New York City Raid

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Video: Federal Agents Detain Man During New York City Raid

new video loaded: Federal Agents Detain Man During New York City Raid

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Federal Agents Detain Man During New York City Raid

Masked federal agents detained a man in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, handcuffing him while he faced the wall of a building.

“Just back up, please.” “I’m not doing nothing.” “Just back up.” “You’re asking me questions. What’s up? I’m from Brooklyn.” “You can film, you can film.” “Brooklyn, Brooklyn. I’m from Brooklyn. I’m not doing nothing.” “What’s your name? What’s your name?” “He asked me for my ID.” “What is your name?” “Edwin — Edwin Jean.” “Edwin Jean.?” “Yes, J-E-A-N.” “You guys can record all you want. Just back up. Let us do our job, OK, back up.” “Why is this guy being arrested?” “Why is he being arrested.” “I didn’t do anything. He asked me for my ID.” I can’t go on this shit. Brooklyn what up. Yeah he asked me for my ID. I said, I’m not giving him no ID. That’s it. That’s it.

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Masked federal agents detained a man in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday, handcuffing him while he faced the wall of a building.

By Olivia Bensimon

October 21, 2025

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Books about race and gender to be returned to school libraries on some military bases

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Books about race and gender to be returned to school libraries on some military bases

A federal judge has ordered books about gender and race be returned to the shelves at school libraries on military bases in Kentucky, Virginia, Italy and Japan.

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A federal judge ordered the Department of Defense Monday to return books about gender and race back to five school libraries on military bases.

In April, 12 students at schools on military bases in Virginia, Kentucky, Italy and Japan claimed their First Amendment rights had been violated when nearly 600 books were removed from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools they attend. The students are the children of active duty service members ranging from pre-K to 11th grade.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kentucky, and the ACLU of Virginia filed a motion on behalf of the families requesting the return of “all books and curriculum already quarantined or removed based on potential violation of the Executive Orders.”

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Earlier this year, President Trump issued executive orders demanding federal agencies remove and prohibit any materials that promote “gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology.”

In January, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth issued the memoranda “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” which prohibited “instruction on Critical Race Theory (CRT), DEI, or gender ideology,” and “Identity Months Dead at DoD,” which barred using official resources for celebrations such as Black History Month, Women’s History Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

According to the plaintiffs, DoDEA officials sent emails directing teachers to remove books and cancel lesson plans and events that would be in violation of Trump’s executive orders and Hegseth’s guidance.

Books removed from school libraries at military bases covered such topics as sexual identity, racism and LGBTQ pride. You can see a list of the books here.

Two elementary schools cancelled Black History Month events, teachers at a middle school were told to remove posters of education activist Malala Yousafzai and painter Frida Kahlo and another school cancelled Holocaust Remembrance Day.

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According to the motion filed by the ACLU, the students claimed that when they protested the school’s actions, they were punished and became “increasingly afraid to discuss race and gender in their classrooms, because they fear being silenced by teachers fearful of violating the EOs and DoDEA guidance.”

In her decision, U.S. District Court Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles sided with the students and their families, writing that “the removals were not rooted in pedagogical concerns” but rather there was “improper partisan motivation underlying [defendants’] actions.” Giles wrote that DOD officials must “immediately restore the books and curricular materials that have been removed.”

The Department of Defense and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) have not yet responded to NPR’s request for comment.

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