News briefs

Tribune News Service on Jul 22, 2025

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Will Bryan Kohberger speak at his sentencing? Here’s what to expect

BOISE, Idaho — Families of the four University of Idaho students who were stabbed to death in November 2022 will have their first chance to address the courtroom — and the man who killed their loved ones — at Wednesday’s hearing where Bryan Kohberger will be sentenced for his crimes

Plans for Kohberger’s trial came to an end after the defense requested a plea offer from the prosecution, marking the closure of 2 1/2 years of the case. The 30-year-old was expected to stand trial on four counts of first-degree murder and a felony burglary charge. Instead, he pleaded guilty to all counts and is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.

In exchange for the guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to remove the death penalty as an option and asked that he be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences, plus the maximum punishment for burglary of 10 years.

Seniors Kaylee Goncalves and Madison Mogen, both 21; junior Xana Kernodle, 20; and freshman Ethan Chapin, 20, were killed in an off-campus Moscow house.

—The Idaho Statesman

Beto O’Rourke urges fellow Democrats to ‘ruthlessly’ focus on winning power

WASHINGTON — Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke says California and other blue states should not sit idly waiting for Republicans to enact mid-decade redistricting plans in Texas and elsewhere ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Democrats should go on offense and redraw congressional boundaries in the states they control now to secure additional seats for their side, O’Rourke said. He accused Republicans of caring about power above anything else, including doing the right thing or protecting the Constitution.

“Democrats care more about being right than they care about being in power and we have to change that,” O’Rourke said. “We have to be ruthlessly focused on winning power.”

O’Rourke delivered his call for Democrats to get tough and fight fire with fire during a Tuesday discussion at the left-leaning Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C.

—The Dallas Morning News

Coca-Cola rejects Trump demand for only cane sugar in US Coke

NEW YORK — Coca-Cola Tuesday rejected President Donald Trump’s demand to use only cane sugar in its flagship soda and instead vowed to introduce a new product for the U.S. market that would use the made-in-America sweetener.

A few days after Trump claimed Coca-Cola had agreed to switch from high-fructose corn syrup, the beverage giant instead only agreed to launch a new version of the signature drink that will use only American cane sugar.

The Atlanta based corporation did not say it would change the recipe of its signature Coca-Cola drink sold nationwide as Trump suggested.

“The company plans to launch an offering made with U.S. cane sugar to expand its Trademark Coca-Cola product range,” Coca-Cola said in its second-quarter earnings report.

—New York Daily News

Iranians targeted with spyware in lead-up to war with Israel

More than a dozen Iranians’ mobile phones were targeted with spyware in the months prior to the country’s war with Israel, according to new research.

Miaan Group, a digital human rights organization based in Austin, Texas, found a number of Iranians who received threat notifications from Apple Inc. in the first half of 2025, and researchers believe they only identified a fraction of the total targets. Another round of Iranian spyware targets was discovered by Hamid Kashfi, a Sweden-based cybersecurity researcher and founder of the firm DarkCell.

The attacks mark the first known example of such highly advanced cyber-espionage tools being used both inside Iran and against Iranians living abroad. It’s not clear who was behind the attacks.

Miaan Group said the victims included two Iranian dissidents inside the country and a technology worker who is an Iranian citizen living in Europe, who were targeted with spyware on their iPhones. They were first notified of the incident via text message by Apple, which typically sends a threat notification message to victims when a hack is detected.

—Bloomberg News