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Planned Parenthood is asking an Iowa judge to put a law on hold that bars the organization from participating in two federally-funded sex education programs.
Assistant Attorney General Thomas Ogden says the law shouldn’t be blocked because Planned Parenthood won’t be “irreparably harmed.” He says under the law, they could still provide sex education outside of the federal programs.
0524ogden2: 16 “Yes they will have to do it without the assistance of the CAPP and PREP grant money, but as far as I read it, nowhere in their petition do they say they are unable to bear that cost themselves.”
A lawyer for Planned Parenthood says there aren’t other providers who would qualify for these grants, so the law could jeopardize progress in reducing teen pregnancy rates. A Polk County judge will decide whether to put the law on hold while the court considers the constitutional issues at play.
A large fire at a Hastings, Nebraska fertilizer plant injured three truck drivers sleeping in the parking lot and destroyed the unoccupied factory, officials said Friday.
The fire was reported about 11:30 p.m. Thursday at the Cooperative Producers Inc. dry fertilizer plant in Hastings. Crews worked most of the night and contained just before 4 a.m. Friday.
The blaze forced authorities to close U.S. Highway 6 for several hours. A release from the Adams County Emergency Management office says railroad tracks just north of the plant also were closed for a time before being reopened.
