West
Lifeguard sues LA County, alleges he was punished for refusing to fly Progress Pride flag
A devout Christian lifeguard filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County Fire Department, claiming the government’s requirement to fly the rainbow Progress Pride flag forced him to choose between his job and his faith.
“I felt like I was being targeted or entrapped by [Section] Chief [Arthur] Lester and my religious beliefs were not being taken seriously,” Captain Jeffrey Little wrote in a complaint to the county, which was included in the suit. “He did not notify me of this change and gave me no heads up that the flags would be flying.”
In March 2023, the LA County Board of Supervisors passed a motion requiring the Progress Pride flag — a rainbow flag that has additional colors to represent transgender people and people of color — to be flown at county facilities throughout June, known as LGBTQ “Pride” month. Little requested a religious accommodation that would exempt him from personally raising the Pride flag at his station, according to the suit.
The request was granted the same day, and Little, who has served the Los Angeles County Fire Department for over 22 years, was promised he wouldn’t have to raise the flag himself or ensure that it was raised at his station.
However, when he arrived at work two days later, one of his supervisors left three Pride flags near his station and lifeguards were ordered to fly the flags, according to the lawsuit.
CHRISTIAN POLITICIAN TAKES LEGAL ACTION AFTER ANTI-LGBT PRIDE TWEET SEES HIS ‘LIFE TORN APART’
Capt. Jeffrey Little, a longtime Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguard, sued the county for religious discrimination after being forced to fly a Progress Pride flag. (Getty Images/Thomas More Society)
Little said he took down the flags and, later that day, followed up with human resources, which told him his religious accomodation request was now denied. Lester, his supervising officer, ordered Little to put up the flag at his tower, according to the suit.
Little cited his religious beliefs and refused, but was told his religious beliefs “do not matter,” the complaint said. The chief then hoisted the flag himself and informed Little it must fly there the entire month.
Afterward, Little was removed from his role on a background investigation unit despite his “exemplary record” and there “never being any concerns with his work or reputation,” his lawyer, Paul Jonna of the Thomas More Society, told Fox News Digital.
“He courageously stood on principle and asked for a simple religious accommodation, which he is rightfully and legally due, only to be first denied, then threatened, harassed, discriminated and retaliated against for his widely shared Christian religious beliefs,” Jonna said in a statement.
Little also allegedly received a death threat against him and his daughters at his family home, according to the suit. For the remainder of the month, Little was forced to use up his vacation time to avoid flying the Pride flag at his work station, Jonna said.
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE REVERSES BAN ON EMPLOYEES WEARING UNIFORMS AT PRIDE EVENTS FOLLOWING LGBTQ BACKLASH
The newly painted “Venice Pride Flag Lifeguard Tower,” after its dedication ceremony at Venice Beach, California on June 01, 2017. – The tower was painted by local artists to celebrate the start of LGBT Pride Month. (Photo by Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
As Pride month approached this year, Little once again sought a religious accomodation so he wouldn’t be forced to fly the flag. However, Jonna told Fox News Digital his requests were “essentially ignored,” leading him to seek legal counsel.
In addition to the fire department, Little’s suit names three lifeguard chiefs as plaintiffs and claims religious discrimination, retaliation and harassment and violations of the First Amendment.
Jonna argued his client’s accomodation request should be granted because it is “so narrow” and puts no burden on his employer.
“In this case it’s so easy,” the attorney told Fox News Digital. “There are situations where accommodating a religious observer would be difficult. This is not one of them. This is the most straightforward possible accommodation request. And yet they’re just ignoring him.”
The suit seeks “damages and injunctive relief—a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction—to protect Captain Little’s religious rights during Pride Month,” the Thomas More Society said.
The LA County Fire Department told Fox News Digital it does not comment on personnel issues or ongoing litigation.
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BEAVER, Utah — While firefighters have been hard at work fighting what’s been called the state’s “most destructive fire in history”, what will be left after the final embers have been put out?
For Tucker High Adventure Tours co-owner Lane Tucker, it’s been a quiet day to catch up on some repairs.
Along with his father and brother, they offer backcountry skiing, rock climbing, backpacking trips and more.
Or they normally would before things came to a sudden halt after losing five of the nine condos they own to the Cottonwood Fire.
Several trip offerings have been cancelled as well, along with the popular local races like the “Crusher in the Tushar”. He estimates they’ll lose between $ 30,000 and $ 50,000 in revenue.
Despite the overwhelming uncertainty, Tucker is hopeful they can breathe new life into exploring these mountains once again.
“Some of those really thick tree stands and stuff…if the soil holds and if the snow comes in and holds well – there’s going to be some really sweet skiing,” he said. “If we just forget about it and it’s, ‘oh, that place got burned. It’s not going to be anything,’ – you’re going to be missing out.”
Businesses he’s worked with throughout the years have also been feeling the impact, Eagle Point in particular.
Wyoming
Measles confirmed in Teton County, Wyoming, as summer crowds flock to parks – East Idaho News
JACKSON, Wyo. (WyoFile) — After confirming a case of measles in an unvaccinated adult in Teton County, Wyoming, health officials are warning the public about possible exposure at locations in Grand Teton National Park and Jackson.
The news comes as summer crowds flood the region with tourists from around the world.
The public may have been exposed between June 17-25 at several locations in Teton County, according to the Wyoming Health Department. They include restaurants in Grand Teton National Park’s Colter Bay Village on June 17-18; a Colter Bay convenience store on June 20 and the Target in Jackson on June 25.
“We are asking people who may have been exposed to watch for measles symptoms for 21 days past the exposure date and consider avoiding crowded public places and high-risk settings such as daycare centers,” State Health Officer Alexia Harrist said in a press release.
Monitoring is especially critical for people who have not been vaccinated with the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine, according to the health department.
It marks Wyoming’s second confirmed case of the highly contagious infection in 2026. Wyoming went 15 years without a confirmed case of measles until last year.
Resurgence
Health officials confirmed Wyoming’s first 2026 case in May. An adult patient in Fremont County who did not have a confirmed vaccination status caught the disease, according to the Wyoming Department of Health.
Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000 — indicating no endemic transmission for 12 months or more. But it re-emerged in recent years primarily due to declining vaccination rates and increased public health skepticism. Those trends spawned during the COVID-19 pandemic and have persisted during the second Trump administration.
The neighboring state of Utah is one of America’s 2026 measles hotspots, with 499 cases reported so far this year.
RELATED | Anguished parents. Doctors in tears. Utah’s long measles outbreak takes a toll
A vaccination rate of 95% is necessary for community immunity to prevent measles outbreaks, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
In 2025, Wyoming’s proportion of kindergarten students who had completed the MMR vaccine was 93.6%, the CDC reports. That rate is higher than Colorado, Utah and Montana for the same year.
However, it’s declined overall since 2012-13, when Wyoming’s kindergarten vaccination rate was above 97%. It fell to 90.2% in 2020-21 before inching back up to the current 93.6%.
A measles case had not been reported in the state since 2010 until July 2025, when the health department confirmed measles in an unvaccinated child from Natrona County. By year’s end, 13 more cases were confirmed. The majority involved unvaccinated children and adults.
Along with being extremely contagious, measles can cause severe complications like pneumonia and brain swelling and can leave lasting impacts on the immune system. One to three out of every 1,000 children who become infected with measles will die from complications, according to the CDC.
RELATED | The US is on the verge of losing its measles elimination status. Here’s why that matters
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