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Tens of thousands of fish die in Midwest as drought, heat take their toll

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Photo credit: Cuyahoga jco

About 40,000 shovelnose sturgeon were killed in Iowa last week as water temperatures reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit (36.1 Celsius). Nebraska fishery officials said they’ve seen thousands of dead sturgeon, catfish, carp, and other species in the Lower Platte River, including the endangered pallid sturgeon. And biologists in Illinois said the hot weather has killed tens of thousands of large- and smallmouth bass and channel catfish and is threatening the population of the greater redhorse fish, a state-endangered species.

So many fish died in one Illinois lake that the carcasses clogged an intake screen near a power plant, lowering water levels to the point that the station had to shut down one of its generators.

“It’s something I’ve never seen in my career, and I’ve been here for more than 17 years,” said Mark Flammang, a fisheries biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. “I think what we’re mainly dealing with here are the extremely low flows and this unparalleled heat.”

The fish are victims of one of the driest and warmest summers in history. The federal U.S. Drought Monitor shows nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states are experiencing some form of drought, and the Department of Agriculture has declared more than half of the nation’s counties — nearly 1,600 in 32 states — as natural disaster areas. More than 3,000 heat records were broken over the last month.

Iowa DNR officials said the sturgeon found dead in the Des Moines River were worth nearly $10 million, a high value based in part on their highly sought eggs, which are used for caviar. The fish are valued at more than $110 a pound.

Read more from this story HERE.

Planned Parenthood Hit With Massive Fraud Suit, Alleging Medicaid Overbilling, Substandard Medical Practices

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A former Planned Parenthood abortion clinic manager has filed a lawsuit against the nation’s biggest abortion business accusing it of engaging in massive fraudulent activities. The lawsuit follows a new investigation of Planned Parenthood in Illinois and Planned Parenthood abortion companies in other states having been found to have engaged in overbilling and Medicaid fraud.

Planned Parenthood clinic director Sue Thayer filed the lawsuit against the abortion giant’s Iowa affiliate accusing it of submitting “repeated false, fraudulent, and/or ineligible claims for reimbursements” to Medicaid and failing to meet acceptable standards of medical practice. Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly the Alliance Defense Fund) filed the suit for Thayer in March 2011, but it only became public yesterday.

“Americans deserve to know if their hard-earned tax money is being funneled to groups that are misusing it,” said Senior Counsel Michael Norton, a former United States Attorney who is handling the lawsuit for ADF. “People may hold different views about abortion, but everyone can agree that Planned Parenthood should play by the same rules as everyone else. It certainly isn’t entitled to any public funds, especially if it is defrauding Medicaid and the American taxpayer.”

Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys filed the suit under a federal law that allows “whistleblowers” with inside information to expose fraudulent billing by government contractors. By law, such cases may not be made public until a court unseals them. In March, a federal court unsealed a similar Alliance Defending Freedom lawsuit against a Texas Planned Parenthood affiliate.

“During my last years working at Planned Parenthood, it became increasingly clear to me that not all of their policies and protocols were completely legal and ethical. After much thought, I contacted the Alliance Defending Freedom,” Thayer said about the lawsuit. “I believe that it is an important piece in the nationwide effort to shed light on the darkness and deception surrounding America’s largest abortion provider – Planned Parenthood.”

Read more from this story HERE.

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Rick Perry to speak in Iowa on Sunday

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Texas Governor Rick Perry will speak at a Republican fundraiser in Iowa Sunday for the Black Hawk County Republicans, his campaign confirmed to the CBS News on Tuesday.

Perry appears poised to soon announce his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, and his decision to travel to the crucial first-in-the-nation voting state signals that he plans to compete aggressively there. Perry also plans to make stops in South Carolina and New Hampshire on Saturday, and is expected to make his plans to seek the nomination clear in his remarks in South Carolina.

“It’s an important area of the state for Republicans,” Mark Miner, a spokesman for Perry, told the Des Moines Register of Perry’s decision to travel to Waterloo, Iowa. “There’s nothing new to announce, but stay tuned.”

Perry’s campaign said the event will take place in Waterloo’s Electric Park Ballroom, and Perry will be joined by Sen. Chuck Grassley, Rep. Walt Rogers, R-Iowa, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn and Secretary of State Matt Schultz.

Notably, the trip will come just a day after Saturday’s closely-watched Iowa straw poll in Ames. Perry, who is not on the straw poll ballot, will undoubtedly divert attention from the outcome of the poll, which traditionally has a significant impact on the Republican presidential race.

Read More at CBS News By Lucy Madison, CBS News