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16,000-Year-Old Tools Found in Idaho May Rewrite the Story of the First Americans

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16,000-Year-Old Tools Found in Idaho May Rewrite the Story of the First Americans


New archaeological findings published in Science challenge long-standing theories about when and how humans first reached North America. According to researchers excavating the Cooper’s Ferry site in western Idaho, artifacts suggest a human presence as early as 16,000 years ago—over a thousand years before the traditionally accepted migration across the Bering Land Bridge.

Radiocarbon Dating Pushes Timeline of First Settlers Back by Millennia

The excavation at Cooper’s Ferry, situated near the Lower Salmon River, uncovered nearly 200 items, including stone tools, debris from tool production, and extinct animal bones. Radiocarbon dating of organic remains, such as bone fragments from a long-extinct horse, places human activity at the site between 16,560 and 15,280 years ago. This predates the opening of the ice-free corridor, once believed to be the primary migration route for early settlers into North America.

This evidence has led researchers to question the Clovis-first model, which posited that the earliest inhabitants crossed the Bering Strait about 13,000 years ago. Instead, the findings favor a coastal migration theory, where ancient peoples may have traveled by boat along the Pacific coast, entering the continent earlier and through a different route than previously thought.

Lead study author Loren Davis, a professor of anthropology at Oregon State University, noted that his team’s discoveries have “refuted the hypothesis of the ice-free corridor,” and that they lend “great support to the idea that people came down the Pacific Coast instead.”

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Archaeological Evidence Suggests Links to Ancient Japan

A striking feature of the artifacts uncovered at Cooper’s Ferry is their resemblance to tools found in northern Japan from a similar era. The shape, craftsmanship, and materials suggest a shared technological heritage, raising the possibility of a cultural continuum stretching from Asia into the Americas.

“So one hypothesis is simply that you’re looking at the extension culturally of people that are bringing these ideas with them from northern Japan,” said Davis. If this connection is confirmed, it would imply not just migration, but also a transfer of cultural knowledge over thousands of miles and years.

This hypothesis is still under review, with more comparative analysis of toolmaking styles planned by the research team. If verified, it would suggest that the ancestors of Native Americans may have had a far more diverse and complex migration history than current models allow.

Criticism and Ongoing Debate Among Archaeologists

Not all experts are convinced by the Cooper’s Ferry findings. John Hoffecker, a fellow at the Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, contends that the dating has been exaggerated, arguing that the earliest confirmed human activity at the site is closer to 15,000 years ago. He also disputes the proposed link to Japan, noting that genetic and dental evidence does not support a direct lineage from ancient Japanese populations.

Ben Potter, professor of archaeology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, went further, calling the findings “superficial and unconvincing.” According to Potter, the study does not provide solid evidence against the ice corridor migration model, nor does it definitively prove an earlier presence.

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Despite these critiques, both scholars agree that the findings add a compelling dimension to the broader debate over early human migration. Hoffecker, for one, concedes that the new evidence lends support to the idea of a Pacific coastal migration, a theory that has gained traction in recent decades.

Native History and Cultural Significance of Cooper’s Ferry

Long before modern archaeologists arrived, the region around Cooper’s Ferry was known to the Nez Perce (Niimíipuu) people as Nipéhe, an ancient village. Oral histories passed down through generations have described the area as a significant cultural and spiritual location. These new findings align, in part, with Indigenous accounts of long-standing occupation, adding a layer of ethnohistorical context to the scientific narrative.

The blending of archaeological science with Indigenous knowledge systems provides a richer, more multifaceted view of the past. While debates about exact dates and migration routes continue, there is growing recognition of the deep antiquity and complexity of human presence on the North American continent.



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Idaho

Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances

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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances


For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.

The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.

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Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.

Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.

Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.

“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.

Doing so is a risk, he said.

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“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.

Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.

But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.

Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.

Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.

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“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.

The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.

House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.

Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio

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University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

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University of Idaho professor awarded M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders


A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.

A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”

Ashley Guillard posted TikTok videos falsely linking a University of Idaho professor to the Idaho college murders, leading to a defamation lawsuit. TikTok/ashleyisinthebookoflife4

“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.

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“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”

Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.

The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.

Idaho murder victims Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right, and their two surviving roommates.

Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.

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Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”

The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the savage slayings in July 2025 in a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. AP

Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.

In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.

During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.

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The off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on Nov. 17, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. James Keivom

However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.

She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.

It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.

The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

With Post wires

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Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages

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Gas prices expected to exceed  as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages


BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.

The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.

“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”

On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.

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State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline

  • Washington / $4.37
  • Oregon / $3.92
  • Nevada / $3.70
  • Idaho / $2.97
  • Colorado / $2.89
  • Montana / $2.82
  • Utah / $2.74
  • Wyoming / $2.73

In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.





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