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Moscow PD seems to still be struggling to find significant leads in the case of the slain college students ... but the cops investigating have been offered counseling as pressure to get answers ramps up.

The counseling services have been activated in the department as a way to take "care of our officers," according to department spokesman Captain Anthony Dahlinger ... who told DailyMail the resources are there "for anyone who needs them, and our priority is to keep our force healthy as we work until we get this investigation to its conclusion."

Capt. Dahlinger says morale is still high, however ... adding, "We're all committed to seeing this investigation through to the end – it being the holidays is kind of moot. We're just focused on that goal."

A rep for the department confirms the news with TMZ, and says "Our officers and their families are continually offered support through several avenues including our regional Peer Support Team," adding counseling will continue to be offered on an as-needed basis.

We're also told patrols around Moscow and Univ. of Idaho are constant and will continue -- thanks to the help from Idaho State Police.

It's lookin' like hell on Earth this holiday season for Southwest passengers, and cancelations still aren't easing up -- but it looks like the CEO is hoping to encourage his employees to get the job done during this nightmare.

The Dallas-based air transport company nixed another 2,500 flights Tuesday, according to CNBC ... or roughly 63% of its flights. For those unaware, Southwest also killed 70% the day before.

CEO Bob Jordan reportedly sent a message to his employees after customers were getting stranded at airports ... saying, "We’ve got to get out of this. We’ve got to get to the point where we’re reliable and we get our Customers, our Crews, our aircraft, everything on track."

Southwest is gunning to fly on a third of its schedule throughout the week -- with the goal of simply getting planes and crews where they're needed. Jordan says, however, "Obviously that will have even more impact on our Customers."

The company says it'll "honor reasonable requests for reimbursement for meals, hotel, and alternate transportation,” according to its website ... as long as passengers can provide a receipt to match.

FYI -- the U.S. Department of Transportation announced an investigation into Southwest Monday ... saying it's going to look into the "unacceptable rate of cancellations and delays & reports of lack of prompt customer service."

A man who lived in the house where 4 University of Idaho students were brutally killed is baffled no one heard the sounds of death, because the house itself had to give off signals something terrible was happening.

Cole Alteneder, who graduated from the University, told ABC News, "It's definitely an old, creaky house ... You can't walk up any of the stairs or on any of the floors without everybody in the house knowing it."

As we reported, there were 6 people in the house at the time of the quadruple murders ... 2 people were spared and say they heard nothing. Police have said the 2 survivors are not suspects.

Cole says the house and the area surrounding it were well-known places to party, adding, "... people would hop the fences and just, like, walk away if the cops came."

Lots of people in the area knew the house and had access, and cops say they have been chasing down leads since the brutal murders.

A dog that was separated from her owner during a hike during the winter blast got a precious Xmas present -- life -- thanks to a determined owner and a rescue team.

Nala was hiking with her owner Christmas Eve in Ogden, Utah ... near Waterfall Canyon. Somehow the pooch and owner got separated. The owner searched high and low, but no Nala in sight. At nightfall, the frustrated and worried owner went back home.

On Christmas Day, the owner returned to the trail -- 2.4 miles from start to finish -- and spotted his dog. Thing is ... the owner's family didn't have a clue because cell service sucked, so they became worried he might be in trouble and called the cops.

A rescue team spotted the owner, who told them he spotted Nala at the top of a frozen waterfall, but couldn't reach her because of ice and steep terrain.

With the help of a drone, the rescue team spotted the dog and they then began a difficult hike to save the animal. Nala was a little freaked out at first, but eventually realized the team was there to help and she cooperated as they brought her down the mountain.

Nala had a few injuries, but nothing life-threatening. She's back with her fam.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry calling BS over a British newspaper's attempt to make peace after one of their writers penned a scathing takedown of the Duchess ... one that got so much backlash, they actually had to yank the thing entirely.

We're talking about Jeremy Clarkson's column in The Sun from a couple weeks ago, in which he suggested MM was deserving of a public flogging of sorts ... saying he dreamed of her being stripped down and shamed in the most graphic of terms.

The paragraph that drew the most outrage read, "Meghan, though, is a different story. I hate her. Not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level. At night, I'm unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, 'Shame!' and throw lumps of excrement at her."

He was referring to an infamous scene in 'Game of Thrones,' when Cersei is put through this exact type of treatment, in dramatic fashion.

Of course, his words drew the ire of many on social media ... with a ton of folks calling his words misogynistic, racist and downright evil -- just the sheer amount of vitriol he expressed for Meghan in the wake of her and Harry's Netflix special was, frankly, beyond the pale.

There were reportedly scores of complaints filed over the column, and eventually ... The Sun got the message and apologized. They said, in part, "Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher, we realise that with free expression comes responsibility."

The Sun added, "We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry." They deleted the piece from their website and their archives as well. Clarkson even apologized, saying he'd made a "clumsy" misstep in trying to reference 'GOT.'

Welp, the Sussexes weren't having ... calling The Sun's word empty and meaningless -- especially since they, apparently, have not reached out to the one person that matters.

A rep for Meghan and Harry says, "The fact that The Sun has not contacted The Duchess of Sussex to apologize shows their intent. This is nothing more than a PR stunt."

The Idaho University murder investigation has been frustrating and heartbreaking for the families of the 4 victims, but it has also taken its toll on the ex-boyfriend of one of the victims, whose life has been upended in suspicion.

Jack DuCoeur dated Kaylee Goncalves for 5 years and called her the love of his life ... this according to his aunt, Brooke Miller, who spoke to the NY Post. Miller believes, although Kaylee and Jack had broken up, they would have eventually married.

Kaylee had broken up with DuCoeur 3 weeks before the murders. Miller says the split was amicable, although she concedes her nephew was sad that the relationship had ended.

DuCoeur was on the radar of cops shortly after the murders, especially because Goncalves and Madison Mogen called him 10 times in the hours before the murders. Cops investigated and cleared DuCoeur, but that didn't remove the specter of suspicion. Miller says "half of America" thinks her nephew may be the culprit.

The Internet has not been kind to DuCoeur, pointing the guilty finger at him.

BTW ... Goncalves' family has supported DuCoeur, saying he was not involved in her death. Miller told the Post ... “We all know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that there’s no way that Jack would ever do anything like that to anybody.”

The winter weather this year is no joke, and visibility is getting severely worse in places with extreme conditions ... which is exactly how this reporter seemingly appeared out of nowhere due to an insane whiteout.

CNN's Polo Sandoval performed his reappearing trick Friday in Buffalo, NY, as he showed viewers just how bad the conditions have gotten ... and if ya squint real hard, you might be able to spot him at the beginning of the clip.

Polo -- wearing all-black, mind you -- says he's seen a few cars on the road ... a big mistake, especially with a current driving ban on the area. He says the lack of visibility comes from high winds, because there isn't a ton of snow being created.

CNN's anchor, Kristin Fisher, admits she completely lost Polo at the beginning -- before he stepped through the rough storm.

A small plane crashed on the crowded beach near the famous Santa Monica Pier, killing the town's former mayor ... and it's all on video.

The fatal wreck happened Thursday afternoon, when a single-engine Cessna took off from the Santa Monica airport and a few minutes later crashed on a famous stretch of sand.

Video shows the plane trying to make an emergency landing on the shoreline just south of Santa Monica Pier, but the plane flips over on its top as the pilot tries to land in the waves.

Former Santa Monica Mayor Rex Minter was the lone passenger on the plane, and he died in the crash. The pilot survived the crash, but has yet to be identified.

The pilot reportedly made a distress call shortly after takeoff, saying there was an issue with the engine ... and he risked the beach landing, saying he thought it was the only option.

Beachgoers were stunned as the plane crashed right in front of them ... and lifeguards, police and firefighters rushed to the scene.

95-year-old Minter was elected Santa Monica mayor way back in the day ... serving between 1963 and 1967 before going on to be a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge.

It's supposed to be the most wonderful time of year -- but not if you've got to travel this holiday season -- 'cause extreme weather has rocked the U.S. and canceled thousands of flights in the process.

Parts of the country have experienced everything from hurricane-strength winds to blizzards and a bomb cyclone ... causing power outages in nearly 1.5 million homes.

The Midwest has been hit hard with freezing cold weather, and some of those temperatures are said to get even colder than temps on Mars!!!

The winter weather has caused nearly 2/3 of the U.S. to be placed under a winter weather alert.

Of course, this weather isn't ideal for folks trying to get home for the holidays ... more than 3,000 flights have been already been delayed or canceled around the country on Friday morning alone.

From NYC to Chicago the winter weather is wreaking havoc in the U.S. ... and the worst is supposedly still to come.

In Seattle, people were taking to the streets to ice skate during one of the worst ice storms the city has seen in years.

A local Iowa news broadcaster was EXTREMELY bent out of shape over his assignment -- covering the blizzard -- and he let his bosses know on live TV -- and it's hilarious.

KWWL reporter Mark Woodley was dispatched onto the snow-covered streets in Waterloo, IA, during Thursday's hours-long morning show. Right from the get-go, Woodley had a 'tude, snarkily delivering a weather report about the sub-zero temps.

He kicked things off this way ..."I normally do sports, uh, everything is canceled here for the next couple of days so what better time to ask the sports guy to come in about five hours earlier than he would normally wake up and go stand out in the wind and the snow and the cold and tell other people not to do the same."

It gets funnier ... Woodley joked that a co-worker named Clint cut a better deal because he's allowed to stay warm in the Storm Chaser vehicle. "I feel like Clint got the better end of that deal. That thing's heated. The outdoors currently is not heated."

Woodley also cracked this doozy ... "This is a really long show. Tune in for the next couple hours to watch me progressively get crankier and crankier."

He wasn't done yet ... "I've got good news and I've got bad news. The good news is that I can still feel my face. The bad news is I kind of wish I couldn't."

Hours later, Woodley couldn't take it anymore and addressed the TV host named Ryan, who was enjoying the warm studio ... "Can I go back to my regular job? I'm pretty sure Ryan that you guys added an extra hour to this show because somebody likes torturing me."

One thing's for sure ... Woodley should try stand-up comedy -- after he warms up with some hot chocolate.

A woman with a firearm held a Walmart employee hostage at gunpoint inside a Mississippi store ... causing cops to race to the scene and take lethal action.

The nightmare situation played out Wednesday night at a Walmart in Richland, MS ... video from inside the store shows a woman holding a gun in one hand and grabbing hold of a Walmart employee with the other.

As you can see, the Walmart worker looks terrified as she's ordered around the store by the woman with the gun.

Police say they responded to a report of a hostage situation and an officer ended up shooting and killing the suspect. Cops say no one else was hurt in the incident, and now the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is on the case.

It's unclear why the woman took a Walmart employee hostage ... but cops say they were told the suspect walked into the store with a gun and demanded news crews show up.

Justin Bieber has his sights set on a music deal, one that would sell the rights to his entire catalog ... and it's reportedly got a price tag close to $200 million.

The big-ticket transaction would be with Hipgnosis Songs Capital, according to The Wall Street Journal ... whose sources claim the sale could go down as the largest music-rights acquisition in the company's history.

The possible deal could cover Justin's entire catalog of recorded music, which includes 6 albums over the span of a decade not to mention a ton of singles and collabs over the years.

Hipgnosis isn't a stranger in the world of acquisitions ... because the company reportedly bought catalog rights to Justin Timberlake's catalog earlier this year for $100M.

Experts and investors say putting money down on younger music comes with a higher risk, while jumping on older hits is safer -- especially as popularity in decades-old songs grows over time.

Elon Musk says he's out as CEO of Twitter ... as soon as he finds a replacement.

Musk confirmed the news in an amusing tweet Tuesday night..."I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take this job!"

He added..."After that, I will only run the software & servers teams." Pretty shocking stuff from a guy who recently purchased the company for $44 BILLION!!

Of course, the move stems from a poll Musk took earlier in the week, asking millions of Twitter users to vote on whether he should remain the boss. More than 57 percent of the people voted to oust Elon, compared with just over 42 percent who wanted him to stay as head honcho.

The poll seemed tied to Elon's misstep on Sunday when he implemented a policy that barred accounts from promoting competing platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Twitter users expressed anger over the new rule because they're accustomed to sharing messages across open social media networks. Musk quickly buckled, adjusting the policy to suspend accounts whose primary purpose is to give free advertising to rival companies.

Elon's troubles with Twitter have only been mounting. Last week, Musk temporarily suspended the accounts of several prominent journalists after he accused them of doxxing him by revealing his personal information and the whereabouts of his private jet in real-time.

An apparently unhoused man is in police custody after an hours-long standoff sparked by the guy boldly taking over a woman's home while armed with a sword.

The scary intrusion went down Monday in Venice, CA, where resident Marcia Davalos told KCAL9 she arrived home to find the man already chilling inside, and claiming it was really his. Aside from trashing her place, he slammed the door in her face and locked her out.

What's more, the man reportedly had a knife and a massive sword ... which resulted in a huge LAPD response, swarming the block with the SWAT team and even sending in a robot to check out the situation.

After a 4-hour-long standoff, police used tear gas to force the man out of the home ... and, bizarrely, he emerged wrapped in a bath towel!

The guy had made himself so at home, he was taking a shower when cops decided his time was up.

Donald Trump broke the law during the attack on the U.S. Capitol -- so says the Jan. 6 congressional committee ... which is now asking the Department of Justice to prosecute.

The House select committee made criminal referrals to federal prosecutors Monday, suggesting they've found evidence of criminality throughout their months-long hearings ... and are now pointing out specific crimes they feel the DOJ could pursue, if they're inclined.

The charges they feel are warranted here ... obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, conspiracy to make a false statement, conspiracy to defraud the United States and straight-up insurrection. If the DOJ were to prosecute (and if Trump was convicted of all this) ... he could face up to 35 years in prison.

Of course, Congress's recommendation to the Justice Dept. is simply that ... a proposal, which is largely symbolic in this case -- and may not really amount to much big picture.

Fact is ... the DOJ is already running its own investigation into Trump on multiple fronts, including for his involvement on Jan. 6 -- for which they've already appointed a special counsel. Their probe(s) have been running parallel to the congressional hearings for a while, and they've been keeping tabs on the proceedings. It's unclear if they've become aware of any major new bombshells against Trump that they weren't already aware of.

With that said ... the fact Congress is officially looking to have a former Prez prosecuted -- even if it is out of their hands -- is a major statement ... as it's never been done before.

Whether Trump ends up being personally charged/prosecuted for any alleged wrongdoing -- and there's a lot he's been accused of lately -- remains to be seen, especially since he's running for office again and is about to be in the thick of his 2024 campaign very soon.

Trump's alleged malfeasance on or around Jan. 6 has been well-documented throughout the hearings -- there's been claims that he fought with his own Secret Service in an attempt to arrive and meet the coup crowd at the Capitol ... not to mention the allegation that he asked to have metal detectors removed in hopes of people being able to sneak in weapons.

Of course, there's also the fact that he explicitly called his VP, Mike Pence, a traitor ... and essentially left him for the wolves, along with the other lawmakers that day. Trump was also very soft on condemning the attack, and is reported to have prolonged his response.

New rule alert at Twitter -- Elon Musk apparently wants to keep the bird app exclusive, so he's banning the promotion of any other social media accounts ... including via Linktree.

The official Twitter Support account made the announcement Sunday, writing ... "We recognize that many of our users are active on other social media platforms. However, we will no longer allow free promotion of certain social media platforms on Twitter."

They add, "Specifically, we will remove accounts created solely for the purpose of promoting other social platforms and content that contains links or usernames for the following platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, Truth Social, Tribel, Nostr and Post."

Some clarification ... Twitter Support notes this doesn't mean they're banning the use of links to other social media sites, including cross-posting of content (like throwing up an IG link on Twitter, for instance). What it sounds like they won't stand for now ... unadulterated plugging of one's other accounts that might lead Twitter users away from the platform.

Several users have already gotten into the weeds of Twitter's new policy, and they appear to confirm this will apply to Linktree URLs -- which allow people to go and find someone's entire social media presence, among other useful links. Content creators use Linktree quite often.

Twitter also says that phrases like "Follow me on XXXX" will likely get someone banned as well. This has been happening a lot lately under the new Musk regime -- folks have been touting their Mastadon accounts, and others, as prominent users have migrated over.

It's just the latest crackdown on Elon's watch. Remember, he's been suspending journos who cover/criticize him ... handing down bans and reversals of those bans on the drop of a dime.