U.S. Briefs: Idaho honors fallen firefighters

Scores of people, some waving American flags, lined the streets of downtown Coeur d’Alene July 10 and 11. There, nearly 1,000 firefighters from across the United States and Canada escorted the bodies of two firefighters killed in the line of duty to their memorial services. Coeur d’Alene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison Jr., 52, and Frank Harwood, 42, a battalion chief with Kootenai County Fire and Rescue, were shot and killed in an ambush while responding to a wildfire on the northern edge of the city June 29. A Coeur d’Alene Fire Department engineer, Dave Tysdal, was also wounded in the ambush. Harwood, Morrison, and Tysdal had nearly 70 years of combined firefighting experience.

During the 90-minute ambush, a 20-year-old suspect—whom authorities believe started the fire—shot at responding firefighters before killing himself as law enforcement officers closed in, according to Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris. The shooter’s motive was not immediately clear. Officials said he appeared to have been living out of his vehicle, but he had no criminal history and at one time had reportedly aspired to become a firefighter himself. —Todd Vician

Tennessee

A new state law to combat bullying took effect July 1, and it could leave some teens without their wheels. Under the bipartisan law, a minor convicted by a juvenile court of bullying or cyberbullying will have his driver’s license suspended for a year. State Rep. Lowell Russell, who sponsored the legislation, hopes it will get bullies’ attention and make them rethink their behavior. First-time offenders may apply for a restricted license that allows them to drive to essential activities, like school and church, but not to social events or after-school activities. To qualify, teens must pay a $20 fee and receive approval from a judge, who would specify exactly when and where they may drive. Repeat offenders will not be given the option for a restricted license. Only those convicted of bullying after July 1 will be subject to the law. —Christina Grube

Virginia

State officials confirmed July 1 they will not punish licensed therapists in the commonwealth who help minors seeking to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. In June, a county circuit court judge ruled that such counseling, often called “conversion therapy,” is protected under the state’s religious freedom protections. The ruling removes the teeth from a 2020 state law under which counselors could have faced disciplinary action. Two Christian counselors in Virginia challenged the law, saying that guiding clients to embrace homosexuality or transgender identities would go against their religious beliefs. Twenty-three states ban all forms of conversion therapy for minors, but four, including Virginia, permit the practice with some restrictions. —Juliana Chan Erikson

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Arkansas

Family farm bankruptcies are on the rise in Arkansas, with more than 60 farms auctioned in the state since December. Farmers cite severe spring weather, tariffs, and inflation as contributing factors. Also adding to the pinch are input costs—seed, fertilizer, pest management tools, and diesel—that remain high, while market prices are down. The problem isn’t limited to Arkansas. According to extension economist Ryan Loy, 259 farms filed for bankruptcy in the United States in the first quarter of the year, a number reminiscent of pre-pandemic conditions. Although the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill Act promises updated farmer safety nets, they won’t come through until 2026. Meanwhile, Jonesboro bankruptcy attorney Joel Hargis will be busy: He told KATV that farm bankruptcies make up half of his caseload. “I have filed more Chapter 12s in the last six months than I have in any full year,” he said. “If something doesn’t happen, then I think that we’re watching the death of the family farm. … These big corporate farming operations—they’re what’s going to take over.” —Kim Henderson

North Carolina

A federal trial concluded July 9 over North Carolina’s congressional and state senate elections maps. Lawyers representing civil rights groups and voters accuse the North Carolina Republicans who redrew voter maps two years ago of illegally trying to limit the influence black voters have on elections. They asked the three-judge panel presiding over the case to declare the maps—used in the 2024 election—unconstitutional. The lawyers argued in a brief that the redistricting was “intentionally discriminatory” under the Voting Rights Act and the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. But lawyers representing the North Carolina GOP argue the maps were drawn on the basis of politics, not race. “It doesn’t make sense they would use race and invite liability when they can use partisanship,” said attorney Katherine McKnight. In 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandering for partisan reasons is a political question that courts cannot decide. If the three-judge panel rules against the GOP, the maps will have to be redrawn before the 2026 election. —Emma Freire

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Missouri

Teachers in the Show-Me State will have to use phonics instead of “three-cueing” to teach students to read, thanks to a new bill signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe on July 9. The new law bans educators from classroom use of three-cueing, a method of instruction in which students learn to read by looking for clues in meaning, syntax, and visual cues rather than by sounding out words. In 2019, roughly 75% of kindergarten and elementary teachers said they used the system to instruct young readers. But after journalist Emily Hanford aired the Sold a Story podcast in 2022 criticizing early-reading methods, three-cueing came under widespread (and bipartisan) scrutiny. The latest iteration of the Nation’s Report Card found that 40% of fourth grade students and 33% of eighth graders fell below basic reading level. In the past few years, more than a dozen states have either banned three-cueing in schools or instructed teacher training programs not to include the method. —Bekah McCallum