Logan Ramsey

Editor-in-Chief

Local: The renovations to Pocatello High School will continue despite resistance

A $7.5 million renovation to Pocatello High School is still set to continue as planned despite criticism. The renovation is set to connect the two buildings of the high school with a glass-paneled commons area that the school district says will create better security, prevent students from having to walk outside to get to other parts of the now separate buildings and provide a commons areas where students can eat. Steven McCurdy, a graduate of Pocatello High School, started the “Save Pocatello High School” Facebook page to collect signatures of opponents, and it currently has about 1,900 signatures.

Regional: There have been no charges made in the shooting death of a suspended Idaho Falls Police officer

The Layton City Police Department did not recommend charges against the man that shot a suspended Idaho Falls police officer in his home in Layton, Utah. The officer was Blaine Reed. He was suspended from his job as an officer in November after he came under investigation for a domestic dispute with his ex-girlfriend, where he was charged with attempted strangulation and aggravated assault in December. Reed attacked the victim believing he was dating a different ex-girlfriend and had a physical confrontation, which ended with him being shot. The victim said Reed threatened him, and the action was in self-defense.

Statewide: A Nampa man is facing federal charges after he allegedly led illegal bear hunts in Alaska

A man from Nampa, Idaho, faces multiple felony charges after officials say he falsified hunting documents when hunting grizzly bears in Alaska, according to court documents. The man is Paul Silvas, 51, and he’s been charged with four violations of the Lacey Act, a federal law regulating trade and transportation of wildlife. In order to hunt grizzly bears in Alaska, out-of-state residents must receive permits and tags from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and be accompanied by either a licensed big game guide or “a relative … within and including the second degree of kindred.”

National: Special Counsel Robert Mueller has found no collusion by the Trump campaign but did not exonerate the president

Attorney General William Barr released his summary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report and said that the investigation did not find evidence of the Trump campaign colluding with Russia and doesn’t issue any new indictments. The investigation also did not find enough evidence to prosecute obstruction of justice, but the report did not exonerate Trump. Mueller’s team has indicted, convicted or gotten guilty pleas from 34 people and three companies, including top advisers to President Trump, Russian spies and hackers with ties to the Kremlin. Mueller’s report has not been made available to the public or Congress and Democratic leadership is calling for it.

International: US-backed forces declared victory in Syria over ISIS

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared a military victory over the Islamic State on Saturday after they liberated the last pocket of territory held by the group — all that remained of the caliphate the group declared in 2014 — and brought an end to the nearly five-year war. The war ended in Baghouz, a minor border village where the cornered militants made their last stand, under a grueling siege for weeks.”Baghouz is free and the military victory against Daesh has been achieved,” tweeted Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for the Kurdish-led SDF, referring to IS by its Arabic acronym.