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An animal rights group is once again suing the state of Iowa for passing a law last month designed to prosecute people who get hired at farms to work undercover to report on animal living conditions.
The law creates a trespass charge for anyone using deception to gain access to a farm to cause physical or economic harm.
The lawsuit filed today in Des Moines by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and four other groups claims the new law violates constitutional free speech and due process rights.
Nebraska troopers seized hundreds of pounds of marijuana after a pickup truck was stopped in southeastern Nebraska.
The Nebraska State Patrol says a trooper pulled over the eastbound pickup late Saturday morning near Goehner for failing to stay in its Interstate 80 lane. The trooper reported smelling the odor of pot coming from the vehicle, so the truck was searched.
The patrol says 16 trash bags containing marijuana were found. The total weight: 368 pounds (167 kilograms).
The pickup driver was arrested on suspicion of possessing more than a pound of pot and of other crimes. Seward County Court records don't yet show he's been formally charged.
While it was slow to develop, it appears the effects of the current El Nino weather pattern will hang around for a while — likely several months.
A Meteorologist with the U.S.D.A.’s Midwest Climate Hub, based in Ames, says they expect a longer-than-average El Nino, which typically means warmer, wetter weather for Iowa.
An El Nino occurs when Pacific Ocean surface temperatures rise, which in turn impacts weather across North America. An El Nino can last just nine to 12 months or sometimes as long as seven years.
