The week at a glance...United States

Sacramento

Gay therapy banned: California became the first state to outlaw “conversion’’ therapy aimed at turning a minor’s sexual orientation from gay to straight. The law “bans non-scientific ‘therapies’ that have driven young people to depression and suicide,’’ said Gov. Jerry Brown. “These practices have no basis in science or medicine and they will now be relegated to the dustbin of quackery.” The American Psychiatric Association has found that conversion therapies—usually offered by evangelical Christian groups—do not work, and can raise the risk of depression, suicide, anxiety, and self-destructive behaviors among gay teens. The conservative Pacific Justice Institute immediately filed a lawsuit to block the new law. “This legislation is an outrageous violation of the civil rights of youth, of parents, and of licensed counselors, including clergy who are licensed counselors,” said Brad Dacus, the institute’s president.

Naco, Ariz.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Border agents shot: A Border Patrol agent was killed and another was wounded in a shoot-out in a border town known as a major drug-smuggling hub, authorities said. Agent Nicholas Ivie, 30, died in a shoot-out that erupted when he and two other agents responded to an apparent attempt by someone to cross the border, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency. The shooting occurred near Naco’s Brian Terry Station, named after an agent killed in the line of duty in December 2010; Terry’s murder is linked to the botched gun-tracking case known as Fast and Furious. Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said investigators were at the scene and asked the public to “take a moment and think of our families and think of the heroes involved.” Ivie is the 14th agent killed in the line of duty since 2008, including three this year.

Dallas

Troubled flights: American Airlines temporarily grounded 47 of its Boeing 757s this week, as it investigated the cause of seats coming loose on three domestic flights. The Federal Aviation Administration is also reportedly looking into whether the incidents are related to lapses in maintenance and inspection procedures. The airline denied that the loose seats were the result of sabotage by disgruntled employees, who face layoffs, pay cuts, and benefit reductions after American filed for bankruptcy protection last year. The nation’s third biggest airline has canceled hundreds of flights recently because of an increase in maintenance requests and sick leave by pilots, which American called an illegal work slowdown. An American spokesman said engineers, inspectors, and other employees were working “to evaluate the aircraft and determine the next course of action to correct the problem.”

Washington, D.C.

Facing the fiscal cliff: With disaster looming, lawmakers from both parties this week revealed plans to try to pull the nation back from the “fiscal cliff,” a convergence of mandatory tax increases and deep budget cuts due to take effect on Jan. 1. A bipartisan group of senators, including Tom Udall (D-N.M.), told The New York Times that they were working on an ambitious three-step plan for deficit reduction, starting with a tax-code overhaul, savings from Medicare and Social Security, and cuts to other federal programs. Meanwhile, the so-called Gang of Six, another bipartisan group focused on fiscal issues, said that they had expanded their ranks and scheduled a “secret” retreat hosted by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). “We need to find something that’s going to make us come to the table and put our fiscal house in order,” said Udall.

Harrisburg, Pa.

Voter ID law postponed: Voters in the battleground state of Pennsylvania will not be required to show a state-issued photo ID to cast their votes in the November election, a judge ruled this week. Commonwealth Court Judge Robert Simpson postponed the most controversial piece of the state’s new voter identification law, after finding that authorities could not guarantee voters easy access to the new IDs. The 6-month-old law was passed by Republicans to prevent fraud in some districts of Philadelphia. Democrats have objected, calling the law a blatant attempt to disenfranchise young adults, the poor, and minorities, who are likely to vote Democratic. “We believe and expect that in future elections voters will be required to show an ID to vote,” said a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State.

New York City

TSA luggage thief: A convicted airport security screener who stole more than $800,000 worth of valuables over four years said he was part of a “massive” crime wave that preyed upon passengers’ luggage and personal belongings. Pythias Brown, a former Transportation Security Administration screener at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, told ABC News that he had exploited a “culture” of indifference at TSA that included lax oversight and tip-offs from crooked colleagues. “It was so easy,” said Brown, who lifted cameras, computers, and other valuables from passengers’ luggage. Brown, who served three years in prison for his crimes, says theft is “very commonplace” at federal security checks. “It is an outrage to the public and, actually, to our aviation security system,” said Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House transportation committee.