CNN
 — 

Ukraine managed to wrangle some more favorable terms out of the United States before signing the long-awaited minerals deal on Wednesday.

The agreement on natural resources was finally struck late on Wednesday, after weeks of tense bargaining that at times turned sour and temporarily halted Washington’s aid to Ukraine.

Kyiv eventually convinced US President Donald Trump to drop some of his key demands but failed to make American security guarantees part of the agreement.

Ukrainian officials touted the final accord as an equal partnership between Kyiv and Washington – a notable shift from some of the earlier drafts which were described by Ukraine’s leader President Volodymyr Zelensky as the US asking him to “sell my country.”

The signed deal, seen by CNN, does indeed appear to be more favorable to Ukraine than some of the previous versions. Here’s what we know.

Aid: Crucially, the deal does not call for Kyiv to reimburse the US for the aid it has already received – a key concession from Trump who has long framed the agreement as Ukraine “paying back” the US.

Washington initially demanded a $500 billion share of Ukraine’s rare earths and other minerals in exchange for the aid it has already provided to Kyiv. When Zelensky rejected that idea, Trump called him “a dictator.”

Instead, the agreement that was inked on Wednesday says that future American military assistance to Ukraine will count as part of the US investment into a joint reconstruction investment fund that will be used to pour money into Ukraine’s natural resources.

Natural resources: The deal gives the US preferential rights to mineral extraction in Ukraine and states that Kyiv will have the final say in what and where is being mined. Ukraine will also retain the ownership of the subsoil.

“All resources on our territory and in our territorial waters belong to Ukraine. It is the Ukrainian state that determines where and what to extract,” said Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who signed the deal on behalf her country.

And although Trump has referred to the agreement as a “rare earth” deal, the accord signed on Wednesday goes well beyond that by including other natural resources such as oil, natural gas, gold and copper.

The tone: In a win for Ukraine, the deal also adopts a strong language on the war with Russia itself. It points at Moscow as the aggressor in the conflict, diverging from some of Trump’s previous false statements about Ukraine and Zelensky being responsible for the war.

The deal also spells out the goal of the agreement as “a peaceful, sovereign and resilient Ukraine” – a notable step away from Trump saying earlier this year that, “Ukraine may be Russia some day.”

EU guarantees: It also keeps the door open for Ukraine’s potential future membership in the European Union, saying that investment needs to be made in accordance with Ukraine’s obligations as an EU candidate state. It adds that if Ukraine was to join the bloc in the future, this deal would be renegotiated “in good faith.”

A boost for the US: But the terms of the agreement also show the US has secured a host of advantages for itself.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent characterized it as a “historic economic partnership,” saying in a statement that it “signals clearly to Russia that the Trump Administration is committed to a peace process centered on a free, sovereign, and prosperous Ukraine over the long term.”

The agreement seen by CNN also specifies that the earnings and other payments made as part of the deal will be tax-free and not subject to any levies or duties by Ukraine.

It also says that if a conflict arises between the wording of the agreement and Ukraine’s law, the deal will have a legal precedent.

Security questions: Ukraine has dropped its key demand that the US provides security guarantees as part of this agreement. It was this demand that ultimately led to the shouty meeting between Zelensky and Trump in the Oval Office in February.

Trump then refused to provide security guarantees, saying he wanted Ukraine to sign the agreement first and talk about guarantees later.

At the time, Zelensky refused, but Ukrainian officials have since indicated that they believe that US investment and the presence of American companies in Ukraine will make Washington more interested in Ukraine’s security.

Exclusive access for the US: While it ensures the US receives preferential access to Ukraine’s mineral riches, the deal doesn’t guarantee any exclusive rights.

Existing resources: The deal is limited to new projects, which means the US and Ukraine will have to invest in order to see profits. Existing mining operations that are already generating revenue for the Ukrainian government are excluded.

This clause puts a question mark over the benefits of the deal for the US. While Ukraine has large reserves of several valuable materials, the process to extract some of them is expensive and technically difficult.

Gavin Mudd, the director of the Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre at the British Geological Survey, told the non-profit Science Media Center that the production of some minerals – such as titanium, lithium or graphite – could be achieved quickly, if the regions where the deposits are are secure.

“However, in the case of rare earths, it will take years to ramp up capacity – studies will need to be completed to assess and determine how best to mine the deposits and process the ores and produce rich concentrate, and a new refinery will be needed to produce high purity metals and oxides for use in numerous technologies. All of this sits alongside the need to actually mine the minerals” he said.

The Ukrainian government has in the past made the argument that its mineral deposits are one of the reasons the West should support Ukraine – to prevent these strategically important resources from falling into Russian hands.

Experts agree with that idea. Liam Peach and Hamad Hussain, economists at Capital Economics, wrote in an analyst note on Thursday that the agreement “provides some reassurance that the Trump administration is not planning on abandoning Ukraine altogether” because it establishes US economic interests in Ukraine.

The deal strengthens Ukraine’s position, but doesn’t necessarily bring the war closer to the end as it is separate from any negotiations with Russia. Those talks appear to be stalling, as Moscow continues to refuse a 30-day ceasefire agreement proposed by the US and agreed by Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the devastating war keeps raging. Seven people died in occupied Ukraine Thursday, with Russian and Ukrainian officials trading claims over the attack

Shelby Magid, the deputy director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center, wrote in a note that the deal puts the Ukrainians “in their strongest position yet with Washington since Trump took office.”

The road to it was incredibly rocky, with the US temporarily suspending aid to Ukraine after the disastrous Oval Office meeting.

Negotiations continued behind the scenes in the weeks that followed. In the meantime Trump began losing patience with Putin’s stalling over a peace deal, giving an opening to Kyiv to repair ties.

In the end, it seems that the two leaders just needed to talk to each other privately, without cameras and away from aides who have derailed the process in the past.

Trump and Zelensky spoke at the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday. A photograph of the two of them huddled together inside St. Peter’s Basilica showed them in a discussion, leaning towards each other.

Zelensky said on Thursday the signing of the minerals deal was “the first result of the Vatican meeting.”

“President Trump and I used every minute of our time to the fullest. I am grateful for that,” he said.

It was after this meeting that Trump questioned whether Russian leader Vladimir Putin wants a peace deal and floated the idea of imposing more sanctions on Moscow. Just days later, the minerals deal was signed.

“Ukrainian officials showed they could manoeuvre and persevere to ultimately get a fair deal. While the Trump administration put tremendous pressure on Ukraine to accept earlier deals, Ukraine managed to show that it is not just a junior partner that has to roll over and accept a bad deal,” Magid said.

However, there was some more drama on Wednesday, when a last-minute disagreement over which documents would be signed on Wednesday threatened to derail the deal.

Materials such as graphite, lithium, uranium and the 17 chemical elements known as rare earths are critical for economic growth and national security.

They are essential to the production of electronics, clean energy technology, including wind turbines, energy networks and electric vehicles, as well as some weapons systems.

China has long dominated the global production of rare earth minerals and other strategically important materials, leaving Western countries desperate for other alternative sources – including Ukraine.

The US largely depends on imports for the minerals it needs. Of the 50 minerals classed as critical, the US was entirely dependent on imports of 12 and more than 50% dependent on imports of a further 16, according to the United States Geological Survey, a government agency.

Ukraine, meanwhile, has deposits of 22 of these 50 critical materials, according to the Ukrainian government.

The country has some of the world’s largest deposits of graphite, lithium, titanium, beryllium and uranium, all of which are classed by the US as critical minerals. Some of these reserves are in areas that are currently under Russian occupation.

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CNN
 — 

On a recent chilly, drizzly afternoon in Amsterdam’s city center, a steady stream of patrons venture out of the rain and into a narrow 17th-century building on the Haarlemmerdijk, a popular shopping street. A gilded sign shaped like a shining sun hangs above the front door, reflecting the shop’s name, ‘t Zonnetje, which means “little sun” in Dutch.

A jingling bell announces every arrival. These days, it’s a mix of tourists and regular customers who come to buy coffee and tea every week or two — just as their predecessors have for nearly 400 years.

But this storied institution, beloved by Amsterdam visitors and residents alike, may not be in business much longer.

Its longtime owner, Marie-Louise Velder, has plans to close at the end of May because she can no longer stay afloat after years of skyrocketing rent — a notable setback to the preservation of the Dutch capital’s character in the ongoing tide of rising rents and gentrification, partly driven by overtourism.

Velder, 76, was born and raised in Amsterdam and has owned the shop since 1999. She told CNN she has received an outpouring of support from customers and friends since the closure was reported by Dutch newspaper Het Parool in mid-April.

She said she welcomes the opportunity to share her story with a wider audience in hopes of helping her keep ‘t Zonnetje from shuttering.

“I had a lot of phone calls, and so I think perhaps help is coming from above,” Velder, clad in a green hooded fleece, told CNN during an interview at her shop over (what else?) a cup of tea. “That’s what I hope.”

Longtime customers have expressed deep sadness over the news. Kate Carlisle, an eight-year resident of Amsterdam and a longtime visitor, first discovered ‘t Zonnetje during a trip to the Dutch capital before moving there. Carlisle had her dog with her, and she was delighted to receive “the biggest welcome” from Velder.

Carlisle now visits the shop every couple of weeks to buy coffee (which she says she leaves on her counter “a good half-day just to make the house smell better”), bonding with Velder through the years over their shared love of java and animals. She said ‘t Zonnetje’s closure would be a significant loss for the city.

“It is a heritage site, the building itself, the history behind it, the street,” Carlisle told CNN Travel. “So I’m really hoping that something can happen to start to protect this. Otherwise, it’s just going to be like strip malls. And that’s not what Amsterdam is about. That’s not why people come here.”

Walking into ‘t Zonnetje, which is nestled between a flower shop and a clothing store, feels like stepping back in time. Its wooden floors are original, with shelves housing weathered tins of loose-leaf tea and spices. Dispensers of whole coffee beans from countries around the world, including Ethiopia, Portugal and Peru, stand side by side behind the counter, on which a vintage Berkel scale cuts a commanding presence.

According to ‘t Zonnetje’s entry on Amsterdam’s tourism website, the building reportedly dates to 1642 (though a book about the shop by a Dutch author and former shop owner that Velder keeps handy puts the date at 1612). The business started with “a bucket of coal, and a bucket of water and herbs,” Velder explained. “And then later on, the tea came … And then later the coffee.”

Velder pointed to a building across the street, noting that before its construction, the waters of Amsterdam’s IJsselmeer sea inlet nearly reached the shop centuries ago. “The boats were coming in here, and brought (shipments) here,” she said.

Velder purchased the business in 1999 without a contract, “just a handshake,” she says. The first few years presented a steep learning curve, but Velder, determined, said she immersed herself in learning as much as she could about the industry and what customers were looking for.

“It took me now at least five, six years until I found out what tea-drinking and coffee-drinking really was, and where I had to look and what to do and what was more important,” Velder said.

Eventually, she hit her stride, earning a reputation for high-quality products sourced from around the world. In the past, the shop has offered up to 350 varieties of tea — some made with her own “secret recipe,” Velder said — though she has cut back on placing new orders in light of the planned closure. Currently, 15 types of coffee are available.

Over the years, the shop also had an on-site cafe of sorts where patrons could linger over a cup of coffee and conversation. That feature has been closed since the pandemic, Velder said.

Even so, employees say ‘t Zonnetje remains a critical part of the true spirit of Amsterdam, a place that serves as a gathering spot for neighbors and visitors while showcasing centuries of history.

“It is more than a shop — it also has a very important social role,” explained Nathalie Teton, who has worked at ‘t Zonnetje on and off since 2021. “There were a lot of people also living alone coming here, having a cup of tea and coffee, talking with Marie-Louise. You will hear all the gossip, who is sleeping with who, and also old stories, because there were also a lot of senior people coming in.”

“Of course, there are other tea and coffee shops in Amsterdam. But they are more mainstream. This one is really unique.”

Amsterdam, which is amid a yearlong celebration leading up to its 750th anniversary this October, has been struggling for years with how to preserve its unique history as overtourism threatens to irrevocably change the character of the city.

Over the past decade, city officials have focused their tourism efforts on stemming the tourist tide and attracting the right kind of visitor to the city: those who come to appreciate Amsterdam’s museums and culture, not partake in its infamous vices.

Among those measures: increasing the tourist tax, banning tours in the historic De Wallen neighborhood, banning cruise ships and limiting the opening of shops catering specifically to tourists. However, results have been mixed, and some measures — such as a 2020 ban on vacation rentals in certain neighborhoods — have been struck down by the courts.

Meanwhile, centuries-old businesses like ‘t Zonnetje, which have long been entrenched in their local neighborhoods, remain increasingly susceptible to rising rents, as TikTok trendy eateries, generic sweet shops and “coffeehouses” that specialize in marijuana proliferate among the tourist set. In March 2023, US former boxing star Mike Tyson opened his first brick-and-mortar cannabis shop in Amsterdam, just down the street from SoHo House and W Amsterdam.

Some experts say city officials have not done enough to protect locally owned, long-established businesses such as ‘t Zonnetje. Dimitris Dalakoglou, an urban anthropologist and professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, told CNN via email that city leadership in Amsterdam and other European cities has long since “abandoned” the “prevention of this urban catastrophe.”

He warned Amsterdam is becoming “an empty façade of itself” in a 2018 article and said ‘t Zonnetje’s closure marked another “small death” for the city.

“Amsterdam’s real estate is changing fast to the benefit of capitalist profit-making: the banking sector, real estate investors and new richer inhabitants/users of the urban spaces, whilst the previous urban groups are slowly pushed away,” Dalakoglou said. “Almost every urban space’s policy goes towards this direction, even the ones which claim to aim for the opposite goal.”

Too-high rent and other struggles

Over at ‘t Zonnetje, Velder claims that the building’s landlord has steadily increased the rent, which, circa 2019, was about 18,000 euros (about $20,000) annually. In September 2024, the landlord proposed further increases, doubling the rent to about 6,000 euros (currently about $6,800) per month.

Velder took the landlord to court over that proposed increase, according to Het Parool. But even with a judge’s decision to retroactively reduce the rent to about 50,000 euros per year ($56,000), costs of the business — including payroll for four staffers — remain too high to cover with sales bringing in only about 300 euros (about $340) a day, Velder says.

Property management company Florès Vastgoedbeheer told CNN via email that the building’s landlord is not currently in the Netherlands and is unavailable for comment.

However, the email stated that the “tenant terminated the lease without any notice for her own reasons” and that “the property will become available to rent and suitable candidates can apply in due course to an estate agent to be appointed.”

Escalating rent isn’t the only challenge Velder has faced over the years.

Velder also has had disputes with a local entrepreneur who she claims offered to help the business while it was in financial trouble. A proposed deal never materialized, and the two eventually ended up in court, according to Het Parool.

In an email to CNN, Amsterdam lawyer Maarten Hilberdink, who represented Velder in various cases, described the shop’s potential closure as a “great loss for Amsterdam.”

“Marie-Louise has built something very special and it is a great pity that she had to spend her last years as an entrepreneur with legal battles and that this special store is now lost to Amsterdam,” he said.

All of these issues have taken a harsh emotional and physical toll on Velder. “I was this morning (seeing) my doctor, and (my blood pressure) was the highest I ever had, 210,” Velder said. “She said, ‘This is impossible. Your blood pressure is so high. It’s sky high.’”

Despite the assorted challenges she has faced, Velder tries to maintain an upbeat attitude. She laughs easily and often, chatting with her staffers, some of whom refer to her by her nickname of “Loucky,” and customers in Dutch and English (her father was an American from Chicago). She welcomes everyone who comes into the shop — which has a 4.9 star rating on Google and 98 mostly glowing reviews — with equal enthusiasm.

However, Velder also expresses deep sorrow over the thought of closing her beloved business. “I love my customers, they are fantastic, and they love me,” she said. “This is my baby.”

Her “baby” is now struggling through a very difficult stage — and facing a highly uncertain future. It’s unclear whether or how Amsterdam’s gemeente (municipal government) would or could grant the shop protected status. In an email to CNN, the city’s tourism department said that while it “recognize[s] the significance of such changes in Amsterdam’s streetscape, matters related to the diversity and development of the local retail and hospitality offering fall outside the scope of Amsterdam&Partners.”

Longtime customers of ‘t Zonnetje, meanwhile, hope something can be done before another piece of Amsterdam’s history is lost.

“It is a jewel that needs protecting and absolutely needs support, and people shouldering in and bellying up and [doing] everything they can do to save it, because it’s one of a kind,” Carlisle said. “Amsterdam doesn’t have much of this anymore.”

CNN
 — 

Prosecutors are allowed to keep a wealth of evidence in their case against Bryan Kohberger, the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students in their off-campus home in 2022, a judge has ruled.

The Idaho judge’s decision to deny defense motions relating to the suppression of different types of evidence is among the latest developments ahead of the trial, which is scheduled to begin in August 2025.

It’s been a long and winding road since the four students – Kaylee Goncalves, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Madison Mogen – were fatally stabbed in the overnight hours of November 13, 2022, at a home just off the school’s main campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger, a Washington State University graduate student in criminology, was arrested in the killings on December 30, 2022, in his home state of Pennsylvania. He was charged with four counts of murder; a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in May 2023, and his attorneys have indicated the 29-year-old intends to present an alibi as part of his defense.

The progression of the case has been slowed by a series of pre-trial motions and hearings that have frustrated the family of one of the victims as well as the judge overseeing the case.

The hearings largely fall into a few different buckets. One relates to the defense attorneys’ access to evidence, particularly how the prosecution used investigative genetic genealogy in building the case. A second set of hearings concerns Kohberger’s proposed alibi for his innocence. Third, there have be a number of hearings related to a gag order that restricts what the parties can publicly say about the case.

Here’s a timeline of some of the notable pre-trial developments and decisions so far:

June 9, 2023: A coalition of media organizations and the family of one of the victims came to court to challenge the gag order placed on the parties in the case.

June 23, 2023: Latah County Judge John Judge denied both requests but issued a revised gag order that allows the parties to discuss topics that do not have a “substantial likelihood of materially prejudicing or otherwise influencing the outcome of the case.”

August 2, 2023: Kohberger’s attorneys said they would use an alibi defense but couldn’t pin down their client’s specific location on the night of the killings because he was “driving during the late night and early morning hours.”

“Mr. Kohberger is not claiming to be at a specific location at a specific time; at this time there is not a specific witness to say precisely where Mr. Kohberger was at each moment of the hours” of the attacks, his attorneys said in a court filing.

October 26, 2023: The judge denied a request to dismiss the grand jury indictment after the defense argued there was an error in the grand jury instructions.

December 18, 2023: The judge denied a second motion to dismiss the indictment after the defense argued prosecutors failed to comply fully with state rules on jury selection and the jury questionnaire.

February 28, 2024: Defense attorney Anne C. Taylor asked the court to allow three defense experts and others to view the investigative genetic genealogy evidence, which has been sealed, to understand the full timeline of how police began to focus on Kohberger.

Genetic genealogy is a practice that blends DNA analysis in the lab with genealogical research, such as tracing a person’s family tree. In this case, investigators found a single source of male DNA on the button snap of a leather knife sheath left at the crime scene, according to a probable cause affidavit. FBI investigators loaded the DNA profile to public genealogy sites to search for a match and then sent a tip to investigate Kohberger, according to a prosecution court filing.

The judge initially declined to give the defense investigators extended access to the investigative genetic genealogy, saying he would rather the experts already approved to view the material give justification for digging deeper.

April 4, 2024: The judge criticized Kohberger’s defense attorney, saying she commissioned phone surveys to potential jurors that could hinder Kohberger’s ability to get a fair trial. However, Taylor said the judge violated her client’s right to due process by ordering a stop to the anonymous survey without hearing the defense’s side first.

Judge said he wants a “hearing at least every month,” noting the importance of “cleaning up” the legal proceedings.

April 17, 2024: Kohberger’s defense lawyers filed a court document saying they plan to offer a cell phone tower and radio frequency expert to partially corroborate his proposed alibi that he was out driving west of Moscow on the night of the slayings.

April 19, 2024: The judge allowed surveys conducted with potential jurors to continue “without modification” after temporarily pausing them.

April 29, 2024: The prosecution asked the court to deny Kohberger the opportunity to add to his alibi and to preclude anyone other than the defendant to testify as to his whereabouts on the night of the killings.

May 2, 2024: Kohberger’s defense had asked for an upcoming evidentiary hearing with witnesses be made public, while the prosecution asked that it be sealed. The judge ruled that it will be closed to the public.

After the hearing, the family of Goncalves, one of the victims, criticized the slow pace of the proceedings. “This case is turning into a hamster wheel of motions, hearings, and delayed decisions,” adding they were “incredibly frustrated.”

May 23, 2024: Taylor, the defense attorney, questioned a Moscow police detective about the preparation of visual cell phone logs and methods for searching for certain videos. The testimony was related to two motions to compel prosecutors to share discovery with the defense, but the contents of the motions are sealed, so it was not clear what they were requesting.

May 30, 2024: The Moscow police detective leading the investigation and a defense expert in cell phone location data testified that the defense has not received some key evidence in the case.

Cpl. Brett Payne, the lead investigator on the case, testified he and other investigators collected thousands of hours of video surveillance as they tried to locate a white Hyundai Elantra connected to the suspect. The videos are saved on various thumb drives, but there is no central inventory of the videos, he testified. He also said investigators did not see on any of the videos the Elantra going south from Moscow toward Pullman, Washington, in the early morning hours after the killings.

The probable cause affidavit used in the case alleges Kohberger drove south toward Pullman after he committed the four killings.

Sy Ray, an expert on cell phone geolocation data, testified that he has not been provided the underlying AT&T source data and list of nearby cell towers that was used by detectives to create a map of Kohberger’s movements with his cell phone. Based on the data he had received, he believed some statements in the records were not accurate, and he said the missing data could be helpful to the defense.

“Because of the piecemealing of the data, because of the missing data, because of data that I’m reviewing that is incredibly inaccurate, everything that is missing is absolutely to the benefit of the defense right now,” he said.

June 7, 2024: After previously restricting who had access to the investigative genetic genealogy evidence, the judge ruled to allow unnamed “defense investigators” to view the material.

June 27, 2024: The parties set a trial date of June 2, 2025. Judge set aside about three months for the trial, including two weeks for jury selection, eight weeks for the trial and two weeks for potential post-conviction hearings and sentencing.

“This is a great step to set these deadlines and hearings so that we can move through this,” he said.

July 22, 2024: Kohberger’s defense team filed a memorandum in support of moving the case out of Latah County, saying he can’t receive a fair trial there “because of the extensive publicity that is ongoing and inflammatory.” The defense suggested the trial be moved to Ada County, which includes Boise, about 300 miles south.

August 13, 2024: Prosecutors objected to the defense team’s change of venue motion, arguing the defense failed to prove that Kohberger would not receive a fair trial in the county. “The Court should deny Defendant’s motion and instead, focus on crafting remedial measures to ensure that a fair and impartial jury can be seated in Latah County,” the prosecution argued.

August 19, 2024: In a reply to the state’s objection, Kohberger’s defense said moving the venue to Ada County is supported by expert analysis, precedent and results of a survey in Latah County showing a “mob mentality.” “The traumatized town of Moscow is understandably filled with deeply held prejudgment opinions of guilt,” the defense wrote.

August 29, 2024: At a hearing on the change of venue request, four expert witnesses testified for the defense about potential biases among the local jury pool. The prosecution did not call any witnesses.

September 5, 2024: Kohberger’s defense team filed 13 motions aimed at removing the death penalty from his case.

Attorneys argued the death penalty is unconstitutional because it violates international human rights law and prevents the right to a speedy trial. They said the methods used to put inmates to death in Idaho equate to cruel and unusual punishment and the practice violates the public’s evolving standards of decency. Kohberger could be executed by firing squad if he’s sentenced to death – and if the state cannot obtain the drugs necessary for a lethal injection. The court has set October 10 as the deadline for the state’s response.

September 9, 2024: Judge John Judge granted the defense motion to move the trial out of Latah County due to concerns the local community is prejudiced against him.

“Considering the undisputed evidence presented by the defense, the extreme nature of the news coverage in this case, and the smaller population in Latah County, the defense has met the rather low standard of demonstrating ‘reasonable likelihood’ that prejudicial news coverage will compromise a fair trial in Latah County,” the judge wrote. The judge also highlighted logistical issues with holding such a high-profile case in Latah County.

September 12, 2024: The Idaho Supreme Court ruled to move Kohberger’s trial to Ada County, which surrounds the capital city of Boise and is the most populous county in the state. Ada County District Judge Steve Hippler will take on the case, the court ruled.

September 26, 2024: The new judge in the case told lawyers he was weighing whether to change the trial date. Hippler would prefer to move the trial – scheduled to start in June – to either May or September, because he anticipated issues with keeping a jury intact during a lengthy summer trial, he told prosecutors and defense attorneys during his first hearing in the case.

The gag order that was issued when the case was in Latah County would remain in place, Hippler also said.

October 9, 2024: Judge Hippler moved Kohberger’s trial date two months later, setting it to begin August 11, 2025. The voir dire portion of the jury selection process will start July 30, 2025, Hippler ordered.

November, 7, 2024: Hippler said he is considering several motions filed by the defense to have the death penalty dismissed in this case. The defense argued the death penalty violates Kohberger’s constitutional rights, which protect him from cruel and unusual punishment, and it violates international law. Kohberger’s attorneys said the death penalty creates a potential conflict with his constitutional rights to effective counsel and a speedy trial, among other concerns.

The court said it will issue written decisions for these motions at an unspecified later date.

November 15, 2024: Kohberger’s defense team filed 13 motions asking to suppress evidence from information obtained through multiple warrants. The information, which includes cell phone records, internet data and searches of his car and parents’ house, has constitutional issues and was obtained through the use of investigative genetic genealogy, his team said. The use of investigative genetic genealogy to identify Kohberger is a longstanding issue in the case.

The defense also requested a hearing to discuss the motions.

November 20, 2024: Judge Hippler allowed prosecutors to continue to pursue the death penalty against Kohberger, denying the defense’s motions on the issue. Defense attorneys in September filed 13 motions arguing against the death penalty, saying it would violate Kohberger’s constitutional rights, protecting him from cruel and unusual punishment, and would violate international law, among other concerns.

Hippler addressed the defense’s arguments in his order, saying none of them are strong enough to counter existing case law and precedent.

January 23 and 24, 2025: During a motions hearing, Kohberger’s defense team called for the suppression of evidence stemming from the investigative genetic genealogy process, claiming it’s a violation of the defendant’s constitutional right to privacy. They also called for suppression of cell phone records for the same reason.

The defense also requested a Frank’s hearing, which would determine whether law enforcement intentionally or recklessly included a false statement in their original search warrant affidavit. Defense attorney Anne Taylor argued important facts were left out of the affidavit, including that unknown male DNA was found mixed with Kohberger’s DNA on a handrail at the house, and another unknown male DNA sample was found on a glove outside the house. She also noted no DNA found at the crime scene was found in Kohberger’s car or on his steering wheel.

Judge Hippler said the unknown male DNA doesn’t exclude Kohberger, but might indicate someone else was involved. Kohberger’s DNA on the knife sheath alone establishes probable cause for arrest, Hippler said.

The prosecution argued probable cause was established that Kohberger committed crimes and therefore all warrants were valid.

Hippler did not immediately make a decision. If a false statement is found, it means Kohberger’s case could potentially be dismissed.

February 19, 2025: Judge Hippler denied a motion to suppress critical DNA evidence, allowing the investigative genetic genealogy process to remain in evidence, ruling the defense did not show Kohberger’s constitutional rights were violated.

Multiple motions from Kohberger’s defense team requesting the suppression of information obtained through warrants to AT&T, Google, Amazon and others were also denied, as well as an arrest warrant and several other search warrants, saying that the defense did not meet the standard needed for exclusion.

Hippler also denied a request for a Franks hearing, which would have determined whether law enforcement intentionally or recklessly included a false statement in their original search warrant affidavit. In his order, he said the standards needed for that hearing were not met.

February 21, 2025: New details emerged after a judge unsealed a partially redacted transcript from a hearing originally closed to the public, giving an inside look at the fight to use investigative genetic genealogy in the case. Judge Hippler ultimately allowed the evidence to be used.

The prosecution filed a motion requesting to use a model of the house where the stabbings occurred during the trial. In a series of filings, the prosecution also asked the judge to bar the admission of certain defenses, including use of an alibi and claiming there was another perpetrator, without sharing evidence first. They also asked that certain expert testimony on Kohberger’s mental health – which is currently sealed and not viewable by the public – not be allowed.

February 24, 2025: Attorneys for Kohberger claim in a motion that their client has autism spectrum disorder – or ASD – and executing him would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.” A “Motion to Redact or Seal Newly Filed Records” was also entered. The motions mark the latest attempt by Kohberger’s attorneys to try to remove the possibility of the death penalty.

March 3, 2025: Hippler warned attorneys for Kohberger and prosecutors to stop filing so many sealed documents and said the court will “look with scrutiny” at further requests to seal court documents. The judge urged in a court order for both sides to use the “least restrictive method” to protect private information, such as redacting documents rather than sealing them entirely.

March 5, 2025: A motion by the defense is unsealed, revealing a three-person mixture of unknown DNA was found under victim Mogen’s fingernails. The defense asked that the DNA evidence be kept from the jury in Kohberger’s trial because jurors could believe the DNA is Kohberger’s.

March 6, 2025: Text messages between the two surviving roommates in the off-campus home are unsealed, along with the transcript of the 911 call made by the roommates before first responders arrived on scene.

In another defense motion, Kohberger’s attorneys argue that the death penalty should be taken off the table because they cannot possibly review the enormous amount of discovery in time for the August trial.

March 19, 2025: Several court documents were unsealed, including a limited search warrant that revealed Kohberger had bought a Ka-Bar knife, a sheath and sharpener on Amazon eight months before the homicides. As the sheath, prosecutors have said, contained a “statistical match” to his DNA, now they argue the purchases before the homicides make it “more probable … that the sheath found at the crime scene was Bryan Kohberger’s,” according to court documents.

Other court documents include a selfie Kohberger allegedly took hours after the killings. Prosecutors argue Kohberger’s “bushy eyebrows” match descriptions given by a surviving roommate, who was present at the time of the murders.

Additionally, other unsealed documents shed new light on the communications of two surviving roommates, including details on their texts and phone calls in the hours after their housemates were killed.

March 26, 2025: In a newly released court filing, Kohberger’s attorneys argue the defendant doesn’t understand the magnitude of his actions due to his autism spectrum disorder and, therefore, should not be considered for the death penalty.

The documents include an anecdote describing Kohberger making small talk with an officer at the back of a squad car after his arrest, where he asked the officer about his education and suggested they get coffee at a later date.

“He did not perceive the profoundly serious nature of the moment and exhibited no perception of what was happening,” the filing said.

In a separate filing, prosecutors reveal store records showing that Kohberger purchased a black balaclava from Dick’s Sporting Goods in January 2022 –– one that matches a description given by a surviving roommate who saw an intruder in the house the night of the stabbings.

Other evidence prosecutors cited included an academic paper Kohberger wrote for a criminal justice class in 2020. The 12-page paper, titled “Crime-scene Scenario Final” details a case involving a 35-year-old woman who was stabbed to death with a knife at a trailer park, including steps on how he would assess a crime scene if he were an investigator. It was not immediately clear whether the case described in the paper is hypothetical or real.

The paper “would be introduced to show Defendant’s knowledge of crime scenes,” the documents read, with prosecutors pointing to aspects of the case that are similar to the University of Idaho murders, such as the use of the knife, surveillance video and collection of DNA.

April 24, 2025: The judge denied Kohberger’s motion to strike the death penalty over Kohberger’s autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.

April 29, 2025: The judge denied Kohberger’s motion to strike the death penalty over the high volume of discovery.

This story has been updated with additional information.