Investigators said they conducted an extensive search for the knife they believe Bryan Kohberger used to kill four students in Idaho.

“There’s no evidence that we found that would lead us to any specific, even general, location as to where the murder weapon or the clothes have been,” Moscow police Cpl. Brett Payne said at a news conference today.

Idaho State Police Lt. Darren Gilbertson added that everywhere there was evidence indicating Kohberger’s whereabouts, “we searched that.”

He said authorities searched on the ground and in the water and even sent soil samples to determine if Kohberger had used a shovel.

“We searched everywhere that we possibly could but the reality is we were looking for a singular, small — it’s not that small — Ka-Bar knife,” Gilbertson said.

Some context: Several court documents unsealed in March, including a limited search warrant, revealed Kohberger had bought a Ka-Bar knife, a sheath and sharpener on Amazon eight months before the homicides.

Russian and Ukrainian delegates have begun their third set of direct talks in Istanbul, days after US President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to make peace or face “very severe tariffs.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not publicly acknowledged Trump’s ultimatum, and Moscow has continued to pummel Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles while its ground troops grind forward in the east.

The two previous rounds of talks in Istanbul, in May and June, helped facilitate the exchange of thousands of prisoners of war and the remains of dead soldiers, but made little progress toward a potential ceasefire agreement.

Before Wednesday’s latest round of talks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov sought to downplay expectations, stressing that the two sides’ negotiating positions remain “diametrically opposed.”

“No one expects an easy path. It will be a very difficult discussion,” Peskov said Wednesday. A day earlier, he told reporters not to expect “any miraculous breakthroughs.”

Peskov confirmed that Moscow’s delegation is unchanged from the previous rounds of talks and will be headed by Vladimir Medinsky, a former culture minister and now a senior Putin aide.

Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s former defense minister, is leading Kyiv’s delegation after heading the previous two.

Last month, Russian casualties hit a grim milestone, with the UK’s Ministry of Defence estimating that Putin’s war has likely cost Russia more than 1 million casualties since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

That number tracked with an assessment the same month from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, DC, which put the number of casualties at 950,000 and predicted that “Russia will likely hit the 1 million casualty mark in the summer of 2025.”

Despite those losses, the Russian president has shown little sign of compromising on his maximalist war aim of dismantling Ukraine’s sovereignty. In a long essay published months before the full-scale invasion, Putin falsely argued that Russia and Ukraine are one country; his comments suggesting to many that the war has been waged to make that a reality.

In addition to Trump’s fresh threat of new sanctions on Russia and other countries that purchase Russian oil if peace isn’t reached in 50 days, the US also secured a deal to funnel new weapons to Kyiv through European allies. The moves were in stark contrast with previous approaches the US leader has taken with the conflict.

Trump’s reversal came after the European Union unveiled a new package of sanctions proposing to lower the price cap on Russian oil exports and introducing a full transaction ban on Russian banks and financial institutions in third countries that help Russia dodge existing sanctions.

It is unclear whether Trump’s latest decisions will sway Moscow’s approach, but his about-face could provide a much-needed boost to Ukraine’s military coffers, and signals his growing frustration with Putin.

“My conversations with him are very pleasant, and then the missiles go off at night,” Trump explained last week.

Before the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his call for a direct meeting with Putin, saying only a meeting of the two leaders can end the war.

Paris
 — 

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, filed a 22-count defamation lawsuit in the United States against right-wing podcaster Candace Owens Wednesday over the claim that Brigitte could be a man.

The lawsuit filed in Delaware Superior Court alleges Owens has broadcast “a relentless year-long campaign of defamation against the Macrons” according to a statement from Tom Clare, the Macrons’ lawyer.

In March, conservative commentator Candace Owens revived an absurd conspiracy theory with a YouTube video titled “Is France’s First Lady a Man?” according to the complaint.

Promoted widely on X, Owens said the conspiracy theory was, “likely the biggest scandal in political history.”

Since then, Owens has produced numerous videos about Brigitte Macron for her nearly 4.5 million YouTube subscribers, including a multi-part series called “Becoming Brigitte.”

The lawsuit further claims she has also sold merchandise promoting the claim.

The Macrons’ complaint alleges Owens was the first person to bring these baseless claims to the US media and an international audience. The couple are suing for punitive damages and allege that they have suffered “substantial economic damages” including loss of future business opportunities.

On Instagram, Owens posted a screenshot Wednesday of an article referencing the Macrons’ lawsuit and a picture of the couple with the caption: “I will be coming for this wig today. Stay tuned.”

CNN has reached out to Owens for comment.

Separately, Brigitte Macron sued two French women for spreading similar claims in 2022. After winning the initial case, this year the women won an appeal and the lawsuit will go to a higher court, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.

According to the statement, these retraction demands to Owens were accompanied by, “incontrovertible evidence disproving her allegations and proving, among other things, that Mrs. Macron was born a woman named Brigitte Trogneux, that she is not a blood relative of President Macron,” and that the Macrons are not being controlled or blackmailed by unknown forces by a CIA-linked program.

“Owens has used this false statement to promote her independent platform, gain notoriety, and make money,” the official complaint said.

The claims caused, “tremendous damage” to the Macrons, the complaint added.

“Every time the Macrons leave their home, they do so knowing that countless people have heard, and many believe, these vile fabrications. It is invasive, dehumanizing, and deeply unjust,” the complaint continued.

The Macrons are seeking punitive damages against Owens and her business entities for 22 counts of defamation, false light, and defamation by implication, the statement said.

At a Paris event in March 2024, Macron addressed the rumor around his wife saying that the worst part of being a president was having to deal with “the false information and fabricated stories.”

“People end up believing them, and it disrupts your life, even in your most private moments,” Macron said.

France’s Elysee Palace said the lawsuit was a “private affair” and would not comment on the matter.