BOISE, Idaho – An Idaho judge says he won’t postpone the quadruple murder trial of a man accused in the stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students.

Fourth District Judge Steven Hippler made the ruling Thursday, telling Bryan Kohberger’s attorneys that jury selection will begin in August and opening arguments will likely be held around Aug. 18.

Hippler also rejected the defense team’s request to present theories of four “alternate perpetrators” to the jury, writing that evidence presented by the defense is “entirely irrelevant.”

“Nothing links these individuals to the homicides or otherwise gives rise to a reasonable inference that they committed the crime; indeed, it would take nothing short of rank speculation by the jury to make such a finding,” Hippler wrote in the order.

Kohberger, 30, a former graduate student in criminal justice at Washington State University, is charged with four counts of murder. Prosecutors say he sneaked into a rental home in nearby Moscow, Idaho, not far from the University of Idaho campus, and fatally stabbed Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves on Nov. 13, 2022.

Kohberger stood silent at his arraignment, prompting a judge to enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Defense attorney Anne Taylor had asked the judge to delay the proceedings. She said beginning the trial this summer would violate Kohberger’s right to a fair trial in part because his defense team was still reviewing evidence and struggling to get potential witnesses to agree to be interviewed. She also said extensive publicity could taint the proceedings and that a cooling off period would help ensure an impartial jury.

But Hippler noted that interest in the case has only grown and that previous delays have only given the media more time to “provide coverage to a public audience which is clamoring for answers.”

“The longer the public is made to sit and wait for the facts to come out at trial, the more time there is for inflammatory, speculative stories, movies and books to circulate and more time for prior ones to be rebroadcast, purchased, viewed and consumed by the public,” he wrote.

Hippler also denied the defense’s request to present evidence of four “alternate perpetrators” to jurors, after finding that evidence was flimsy at best and would lead to “wild speculation,” needlessly dragging out a trial that is already expected to last three months.

The names of the four were redacted from the ruling, but Hippler briefly described them: Three of the people were socially connected to at least one of the victims, and interacted with them socially in the hours before the killings, lived within walking distance of the home and had been to the home before. The fourth person had only a “passing connection” to one victim after noticing her at a store several weeks before the deaths, Hippler said.

All four cooperated with investigators, and their DNA didn’t match samples taken at the crime scene, Hippler said, and there is no admissible or significant evidence that any one of them had a motive, was present at the crime scene or was otherwise connected to the crime.

“There is not a scintilla of competent evidence connecting them to the crime,” Hippler said.

Jury selection will begin Aug. 4, Hippler said, with the trial starting about two weeks later.

PHILADELPHIA – Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Philadelphia’s public schools with failing to properly inspect eight schools for damaged asbestos. The district agreed to have the criminal case deferred while it pays for a court supervised monitor to keep tabs on its response.

Prosecutors said it was the first time a school district in the U.S. has faced such environmental criminal allegations.

The district is charged with eight counts of violating the federal Toxic Substances Control Act for allegedly failing to perform inspections in a timely manner during a recent five-year period.

Authorities said a judge must approve the terms of the deferred prosecution agreement, which avoids a grand jury indictment. If the school district complies with the relevant federal law, the government can eventually drop the charges.

About 300 of the school district’s aging set of 339 buildings contain asbestos, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a release.

Asbestos, a construction material in wide use until the 1980s, has been linked to cancer and lung disease.

Investigators said some asbestos was improperly addressed and that schools have had to close as a result of asbestos problems. Prosecutors said the “longstanding and widespread problem” put students and teachers in danger.

The deferred prosecution agreement says the school system has already improved policies, procedures and compliance regarding asbestos inspections and abatement.

Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. told The Philadelphia Inquirer the deferred prosecution agreement is a sign of the district’s progress in addressing the problem. He noted the district will train workers on asbestos management as part of the deal.

Until recently, Tata Motors had a dream run in India’s electric-vehicle market. 

The first homegrown automaker to successfully launch an EV in the country, it quickly gained traction with vehicles across diverse price points. By 2023, Tata Motors had cornered most of the Indian market. 

Then came the speed bumps. Tata Motors’ fleet sales plummeted from 26,000 in 2023 to 2,000 in 2024. Its market share eroded from about 70% in early 2024 to 53% this year. 

Rivals closed in. JSW MG Motor India, a joint venture between India’s JSW Group and China’s SAIC Motor, more than doubled its market share to 28% in 2025. It sold 3,765 EVs in May, while Tata Motors sold only 586 more, according to data from the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations. Domestic auto giant Mahindra & Mahindra sold 2,632 EVs and registered a 343% year-on-year growth.  

Overall volumes continue to be small amid fluctuating demand in the Indian market. While the government aims for a third of all vehicles to be electric by 2030, EVs comprised only 2.5% of the 4.3 million cars sold in the country in 2024. Sales have grown to a modest 4% this year. The EV market is estimated to expand from $8 billion in 2023 to more than $117 billion by 2032.  

Tata lost its first-mover advantage because of “innovative ways of selling by [JSW] MG,” Puneet Gupta, director for South Asia at automotive intelligence firm S&P Global Mobility, told Rest of World. JSW MG’s competitive pricing and battery-as-a-service model — which allows customers to lease or subscribe to EV batteries — gave it an edge in the Indian market.  

This signals a growing shift. As domestic and international electric carmakers try to win over India’s cost-conscious buyers, the battle ahead hinges on value, not just slashed rates.

Escalating price wars have triggered fears of a financial crisis in China’s EV sector. But in India, the still-nascent segment is following a different trajectory, industry experts told Rest of World. India’s increasingly well-traveled consumer prefers affordable EVs that can offer futuristic technology, good performance, and reliability. 

“It will not be a zero-sum game on pricing,” said Harshvardhan Sharma, a Gurugram-based auto tech and innovation expert at Nomura Research Institute. “Pricing is one of the factors — the competition is evolving around a value-based differentiation rather than a race to the bottom.”

Tata Motors aims to regain market leadership with a well-conceived product portfolio, new launches, and a renewed focus on improving after-sales service, according to its latest earnings report. Representatives from Tata and JSW MG did not respond to Rest of World’s requests for comment. 

The rate of adoption is still slow, Rajat Mahajan, partner and auto sector leader for South Asia at global consulting firm Deloitte, told Rest of World. “And so, what is at play is: how can we get more customers aware of EVs, and get used to EVs.” 

Tata Motors tackled the challenge early on. In 2020, it introduced the Nexon, an electric SUV priced at 14 lakh rupees ($16,300), which became India’s most popular EV. In 2022, its most affordable hatchback, Tiago — which offered a range of 250 kilometers (155 miles) at a starting price of 8.5 lakh rupees ($9,900) — sold 10,000 units in one day. 

But JSW MG chipped away at Tata Motors’ leadership with the Windsor — the country’s best-selling EV since its launch in September 2024. With an introductory price of 13.5 lakh rupees ($15,700) — only slightly higher than a premium hatchback — the spacious car is able to compete with the bigger SUVs and sedans in the market.

Much of Windsor’s success is tied to JSW MG’s introduction of the battery-as-a-service model in India, which gave the company a “significant tactical advantage,” Sharma said. “It allows the customer to decouple 50% of the acquisition cost of the product.” Such a service doesn’t just reduce upfront costs, it also encourages adoption by mitigating customer anxieties about vehicle range and battery health.

JSW MG has since extended the battery-as-a-service model to all its EV cars. These include the Comet — the company’s smallest EV — relaunched in March at a starting price of 4.99 lakh rupees ($5,800). 

Tata Motors appears wary of battery-as-a-service for now. Its representatives argue the model is a “market activation storyline” that gives the illusion of better affordability without significantly lowering the total cost of ownership. 

Earlier this month, Tata Motors launched its most advanced EV, the Harrier.ev, at an introductory price of 21.49 lakh rupees ($25,000). Following JSW MG and Mahindra’s lead, it offered a lifetime warranty on the vehicle’s battery pack. The car is powered by a battery that is “designed and manufactured in India,” Anand Kulkarni, chief products officer for electric passenger vehicles at Tata Motors, said at the launch. 

The company may still be able to regain its stronghold. As U.S. protectionism disrupts global supply chains and forces Chinese automakers to turn to other markets, the Tata Group — Tata Motors’ parent company and one of India’s largest conglomerates — is pursuing a self-reliant ecosystem, dubbed the “Tata UniEVerse,” by leveraging diversified businesses. 

Tata Power operates a vast infrastructure with over 5,500 charging points; outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services provides advanced research and product design for car technology; Tata Chemicals is engaged in cell development and localized manufacturing; and Tata Motors Finance extends financing solutions for customers and dealers. 

Most EV companies tend to depend on Chinese batteries — Tata plans to change that. Its subsidiary Agratas is eyeing in-house production at a $1.5 billion plant in the western state of Gujarat, and a $5 billion battery gigafactory in the U.K. 

“Nobody understands the EV industry in India today better than Tata,” Gupta said. “EV is about the ecosystem; it’s not only about car manufacturing.”

Tata Motors is also expanding overseas with its EVs in emerging economies such as Mauritius and Sri Lanka. It tasted initial success with its 2021 entry into Nepal, a fast-growing EV market, but Chinese brands have since gained ground.

In India, the competition is set to intensify as global players trickle in, albeit with uneven moves. As Tesla’s long-pending entry takes shape, it has shelved assembly plans and opted to roll out imported cars. VinFast India, a subsidiary of Vietnamese EV maker VinFast, was expected to debut with premium SUVs this month, but its launch plans have been delayed due to lagging production and dealers dropping out.   

Although Chinese auto giant BYD has been operational in India for several years, the government has rebuffed its attempts to establish a local factory, citing national security concerns. Since BYD’s cars are imported, they’re more expensive than local competitors, limiting its market share. 

Domestic EV upstarts, meanwhile, are experimenting with compact models. This January, Vayve Mobility, a Pune-based startup, launched Eva, a two-seater EV that goes into production next year — it is expected to be India’s cheapest electric car. 

The car aims to address urban mobility challenges for nuclear families, and offers a range of 250 kilometres (155 miles). Prices across models start from 3.25 lakh rupees ($3,700). It has a solar-panel roof for charging, in addition to a standard port.

The company plans to scale at a tempered pace and the car is currently sold out for the first year of production, Vilas Deshpande, co-founder and chief operating officer at Vayve Mobility, told Rest of World. 

EV startups have had limited success in India so far, with four legacy carmakers dominating 80% of the market, according to research firm Bernstein.