West
West Coast exodus driving surge in homeschooling in deep red state called 'freest' in nation
Idaho is experiencing huge growth due to West Coast transplants fleeing their liberal bastions, and along with it, more parents choosing to homeschool.
“A lot of people from California, Oregon, even from Washington, [where] the political climate is driven by more liberal enclaves, conservatives have begun to feel like their voices aren’t being heard in those states and in those communities and have opted to move out into a more conservative state,” Audra Talley, a board member for the nonprofit advocacy organization Homeschool Idaho, told Fox News Digital.
The Gem State is consistently listed as one of the fastest-growing states in the country, largely thanks to migration. The Post-Register newspaper reported Idaho was the nation’s fourth-fastest growing state, percentage-wise, in population growth between 2022 and 2023, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Homeschooling also appears to have surged in the Gem State. Idaho doesn’t have reporting requirements for homeschoolers, but public school data indicates there’s been an uptick in parents choosing to homeschool.
WEST COAST EXODUS DRIVES SURPRISING POLITICAL EFFECT IN RED STATE, AND IT’S NOT A LIBERAL SHIFT
Idaho is experiencing a homeschooling surge as conservatives flood into the Gem State. (Courtesy: Bryndle Photography)
According to research from the Homeschool Hub at Johns Hopkins University, more students left public school to homeschool in the 2022-23 school year (nearly 4,000) than they did before the coronavirus pandemic (less than 3,000). The research, using data from the Idaho Department of Education, also found more homeschooling students are accessing public school services than before the pandemic.
While the pandemic pushed more parents to homeschool, Talley believes it continues to be a popular option in her state because parents are drawn to the freedoms the red state offers parents with minimal government involvement.
“Idaho is the freest, out of three or four states in the country that offer homeschooling as an option with very minimal regulation and [little] direct oversight,” Talley said.
WHY ARE AMERICANS FLEEING THE WEST COAST FOR THIS DEEP RED STATE? FREEDOM AND FRIENDLINESS
Homeschooling families enjoy less regulation and government oversight, Homeschool Idaho says.
“Idaho law does not require any notification in order to begin or continue homeschooling. No test scores or work samples need to be filed,” according to Homeschool Idaho. “You are not required to provide any information about what curriculum you intend to use, your education level or teaching experience, or anything else about your home or homeschool.”
The freedoms Idahoans enjoy are also why Talley’s group is wary of the school choice movement or any other movement that would give the government greater control over homeschoolers. She said it took decades of legal battles for Idaho families to earn the educational freedoms they now enjoy.
US DATA SHOWS 50,000 STUDENTS MISSING FROM EDUCATION SYSTEM SINCE PANDEMIC
U.S. Census Bureau 2022 American Community Survey (Ramiro Vargas/Fox News Digital)
“We’ve spent 30, 40 years of fighting for the autonomy of homeschool parents to educate their children as they see fit, with little intrusion on the part of the state. Right now, we’ve shifted from the mentality of the state needing to control, by threat of force, that education, to now the state going, ‘Well, here’s some money to do what you already do.’ And our concern with that is, as soon as you offer money to do something that you’re already doing as a homeschooler — money always comes with strings attached,” she continued.
The red state’s pro-parent approach has made it a particularly appealing place to move for conservative families, advocates say.
A 2023 analysis of voters who moved in from other states depicts a red wave crashing down on Idaho. Californians led the pack, with 75% registering as Republicans and a mere 10% registering as Democrats. More than 60% of Washington and Oregon transplants who registered to vote in Idaho did so as Republicans.
“Idaho is a very conservative state politically and socially. And we’ve had a large movement of people moving out of higher tax states, less conservative states coming into Idaho,” Talley said. “So we’ve had, with that, more people interested and exercising their ability and their right to homeschool, and Idaho is a great place to do that.”
Fox News’ Hannah Ray Lambert contributed to this report.
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Alaska
Alaska Sports Scoreboard: July 11, 2026
High School
Legion Baseball
Sunday
Issaquah (WA) 7, Wasilla 5
Monday
Dimond 14, Eagle River 4
West 13, Kenai 4
Service 2, East 1
Tuesday
Roseburg (OR) 16, Wasilla 5
Kenai 7, Dimond 2
Kenai 15, Dimond 4
Palmer 5, Service 4
Palmer 20, Service 11
Chugiak 8, East 7
South 3, Ketchikan 1
Fairbanks 10, Chena River 4
Wednesday
West 4, Palmer 3
Chugiak 13, Eagle River 3
South 4, Ketchikan 3
Ketchikan 4, South 1
Thursday
Service 2, Dimond 1
Ketchikan 9, South 6
Friday
Wasilla 20, Dimond 4
Palmer 11, Eagle River 5
Auke Bay 12, East 2
Fairbanks 13, Chena River 5
Kenai 15, West 5
Kenai 24, West 8
Saturday
Chena River vs. Fairbanks (Late)
East vs. Auke Bay (Late)
Auke Bay vs. East (Late)
Palmer vs. Wasilla (Late)
Alaska Baseball League
Sunday
Mat-Su Miners 7, Anchorage Bucs 4
Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 18, Peninsula Oilers 7
Monday
Mat-Su Miners 14, Anchorage Glacier Pilots 3
Peninsula Oilers 11, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 4
Tuesday
Anchorage Bucs 8, Anchorage Glacier Pilots 7
Peninsula Oilers 7, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 6
Wednesday
Mat-Su Miners 10, Anchorage Glacier Pilots 0
Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 5, Peninsula Oilers 3
Thursday
Peninsula Oilers 6, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 5
Mat-Su Miners 7, Anchorage Glacier Pilots 2
Friday
Anchorage Bucs 2, Mat-Su Miners 0
Saturday
Anchorage Bucs vs. Anchorage Glacier Pilots (Late)
Mat-Su Miners vs. Peninsula Oilers (Late)
Arizona
Cardinals Mailbag: Latest on Jacoby Brissett, Carson Beck, and Arizona’s QB Future
ARIZONA — We’re less than two weeks removed from the start of training camp, and the Arizona Cardinals feel oh-so-close to football season.
We’ll probably do one more pre-camp mailbag before things get kicking, but thanks to everybody who answered our call on X.
Before we get started, I did get a few questions on how players looked during minicamp and OTA’s. Reporters are only allowed to view the first 30 minutes of practice, which mostly involves individual position drills, special teams and stretching.
Case in point, we can’t say how somebody like Carson Beck or Isaac Seumalo looked. The questions are appreciated nonetheless.
Let’s get into it, hopefully you guys are staying hydrated:
Which Cardinals position groups are well stocked and worry free heading into training camp? – Ed
Ed, thank you always for the questions.
I think the running back room is the most obvious answer here, where the Cardinals realistically have three backs who could be starters on other teams in Jeremiyah Love, James Conner and Tyler Allgeier.
Offer a bit something different, and if former Day 2 pick Trey Benson is your fourth running back, that’s a pretty loaded room.
Another spot I’m eying for this is cornerback, where all of Will Johnson, Denzel Burke, Garrett Williams, Starling Thomas and Sean Murphy-Bunting could start with Max Melton being another name to provide competition.
The tight end room — headlined by Trey McBride — is also a good one, which bodes well for Arizona’s intentions to utilize 12 and 13 personnel.
What’s the current standpoint on the Jacoby Brissett contract extension? – Ceddy
That’s a great question Ceddy, as there’s been virtually zero info leaked on how talks are going between the two sides.
For what it’s worth, Brissett was spotted working out with Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride this week, so his intentions are still to be the starter. Arizona reportedly is committed to him being the starter, too.
The actual divide seems to be guaranteed money, as Brissett has only $1.5 million guaranteed for 2026 — which is the final year of his contract. It doesn’t seem like he wants more years tacked on.
The likely end result? The Cardinals guarantee a few more million to satisfy Brissett right before the start of training camp.
What’s your prediction for running back touches? – Staches
Stache, IF THAT IS YOUR REAL NAME, running back touches in Arizona might not be what people want or think.
Yes, the Cardinals used the No. 3 pick on Love. Yes, he should be featured in the offense.
However, Love has never quite owned a dominant role in a backfield dating back to his Notre Dame days with Jadarian Price.
On the other side of the coin, Mike LaFleur’s tenure in New York/Los Angeles as an OC utilized more of a committee approach in terms of running back usage.
Love, Allgeier and Conner all figure to have some role. By season’s end, Love probably ranks first in total touches, but it won’t be a wide gap barring injury.
Cardinals overperform relative to expectations next year but still need a QB. What avenues could they pursue? – Blake
First of all, Blake does great stuff as the host of Bleav In Arizona Cardinals podcast, so go check his work out.
In this scenario, I think Arizona has two options: Roll with Carson Beck for 2027 or push all of their chips into the coming draft class for a quarterback.
If the Cardinals outperform relative to expectations, you would…. hope Beck at least showed something? At some point? Though nothing is guaranteed.
Also I know the 2027 class has all the hype in the world, though we’re so far removed from seeing that come to fruition. We forget the 2026 class had plenty of quarterback hopes before the dust eventually settled.
This is a very real scenario, but entering LaFleur’s second year, there might also be very real pressure to get a franchise guy and get the program moving in the right direction.
The NFL stands for “Not For Long” and the Cardinals have been losers for far too long. If Arizona outperforms expectations, they need to put the pedal to the floor in 2027.
How much Carson Beck do you think we’ll see on the hall of fame game? – Noah
Noah, I think we saw a lot of Beck.
It’s unlikely any starters will play in the first of four Arizona preseason games, paving the way for Beck, Kedon Slovis and potentially even a drive or two of Gardner Minshew for the Cardinals.
Beck will see plenty of preseason time entering his rookie season. Maybe the third preseason game will feature less since that’s considered a typical “dress rehearsal” for starters that typically play the most.
If I had to guess a split for Beck/Minshew/Slovis in the HOF game, it would look like this:
Minshew: One drive
Beck: Rest of first half
Slovis: Second half
You could flip-flop Beck and Slovis, but you get the idea.
What is the most un-spoken positive change the team’s made since the Mike LaFleur hire? (For me its the defensive staff) – S0N0FDAV1D
That’s along what I’m thinking too, but I would take a bit of a step back to see the bigger picture.
Part of the criticism on Jonathan Gannon’s staff was the lack of experienced and seasoned minds on either side of the ball. Gannon banked on high energy, youthful guys — which ultimately didn’t pan out.
LaFleur acquired names such as Nathaniel Hackett and Teryl Austin to supplement their respective sides of the ball. Both have extensive coordinator experience and carry weight across the league.
That won’t directly translate to wins, but especially for a first-time coach like LaFleur, I do think there’s something to be said about those changes.
If Carson Beck starts half the season, and shows real flashes, do the Cardinals take a quarterback in the 1st round next year? – Holden
Incredible twitter name, Mr. Holden Beers.
I do think a best-case scenario is Beck can clearly show he’s the guy for Arizona, which would save time and money for the Cardinals. That would be massive.
The biggest issue here is the Cardinals have a massive question to answer with Beck on little expected time on task. The sample size we see of the rookie quarterback won’t be convincing enough one way or another.
So if he shows “real” flashes, I think it depends where the Cardinals finish in the standings. If they’re already in pole position to draft somebody, I do think they’ll pull the trigger on somebody like Arch Manning.
If Arizona is out of reach and needing to make a massive trade up, the Cardinals might prefer to stick with Beck.
Follow
California
‘Explosive diarrhea’ parasite surfaces in California as health officials fear statewide surge
A parasite that causes bouts of “explosive diarrhea” has surfaced in California as a fast-growing outbreak sweeps across the US — with health officials warning the state’s official case count likely captures only a fraction of the true number of infections.
State data show between that between 1 and 10 California cases have been linked to a broader statewide outbreak as authorities continue tracking the spread.
But officials say many infections are never confirmed because some people recover without seeking medical care or getting tested, the parasite requires specialized laboratory testing to detect, and confirmed cases can take about six weeks to be reported.
Most of California’s infections have been tied to international travel rather than the expanding multistate outbreak.
Across the country, at least 2,944 people in 32 states have been sickened, with Michigan bearing the brunt of the outbreak.
The state has reported 1,562 infections, roughly 31 times the approximately 50 cases it typically records in a year, and at least 44 people have been hospitalized.
Investigators are examining whether contaminated food is driving the spike, but they have not identified a specific produce item, supplier or grower responsible for the outbreak.
Cyclospora, the parasite behind the illness known as cyclosporiasis, is typically spread through food or water contaminated with feces.
Previous outbreaks have been traced to imported fresh produce, including raspberries, basil, snow peas, mesclun lettuce and cilantro.
According to the CDC, the illness can cause severe gastrointestinal symptoms, including watery diarrhea “with frequent and sometimes explosive bowel movements.”
Other symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, bloating, fatigue, loss of appetite and weight loss.
Symptoms usually begin about one week after infection, although they can appear anywhere from two days to two weeks later, making it more difficult for investigators to determine where someone was exposed.
The CDC recommends treating cyclosporiasis with the antibiotic trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, commonly sold as Bactrim, Septra and Cotrim, over a 10-day course.
As investigators continue searching for the source of the outbreak, some Taco Bell restaurants have temporarily removed fresh ingredients from their menus as a precaution.
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Locations, including some in Metro Detroit, posted notices telling customers they were temporarily unable to serve lettuce, cilantro, onions, pico de gallo and guacamole because of a nationwide recall while health officials respond to the increase in cyclosporiasis cases.
Restaurants in outbreak hot spots, including Michigan and Ohio, have also pulled raw lettuce, onions, cilantro-onion mix, pico de gallo and guacamole from their menus.
However, neither the CDC nor the Food and Drug Administration has linked Taco Bell to any reported illnesses.
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