Planned Parenthood

After a tumultous and short-lived breakup between the two nonprofits in February, Susan G. Komen for the Cure is sending grant money Planned Parenthood's way. At least 17 Planned Parenthood affiliates will be receiving funding from their local Komen organizations, according to a report out in the Washington Post. The move comes as the breast cancer foundation continues to reforge ties after an unsuccessful attempt to stop funding the sexual and reproductive healthcare provider's breast-health services.

Girl Scouts are dangerous -- and not just to your diet. At least that's what Indiana lawmaker Bob Morris says. He has labeled the Girls Scouts of America a radical organization that promotes homosexuality and abortion and is out to destroy American values. The Republican state representative is being roundly ridiculed for his position, even within his own party. But Morris isn't backing down. "My family and I took a view and we're sticking by it," Morris told the Associated Press this week, adding that his daughters are now members of a group for conservative Christian girls.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure on Sunday held its first Race for the Cure breast-cancer fundraiser since the controversy over its decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood. And, organization officials say, the event -- held in El Paso, Texas -- went off without a hitch. Race organizers told Reuters that 11,000 supporters appeared in the group's signature pink shoes and T-shirts to race or walk for Komen, the world's largest breast-cancer charity. That was nearly as many as last year, they said.

For those who haven't reached the saturation point regarding the fracas surrounding Susan G. Komen for the Cure's decision - and then reversal - to cease awarding grants to Planned Parenthood for breast-health services, here's one more snippet of news. Karen Handel, former senior vice president for public policy at Komen, blasted Planned Parenthood in an interview with the Daily Beast, calling the organization a “gigantic bully, using Komen as its own personal punching bag.” Handel , who declared her antiabortion views during an unsuccessful run for Georgia governor in 2010, resigned from her Komen position earlier this week. She has since acknowledged her role in the move to drop Planned Parenthood from receiving future Komen grants.

The fur continues to fly in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure/Planned Parenthood flap as a former board member calls for the resignation of Komen founder and chief executive Nancy Brinker and a full replacement of the current board. Eve Ellis, who served on the Komen board for six years and is a financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Smith Barney in New York, issued a letter to family and friends that wound up being published by the U.K. newspaper the Guardian. She starts out praising the organization, calling it "the #1 breast cancer organization by a long shot," and gives herself props for raising, with her spouse, more than $250,000 in six years.

Karen Handel says she resigned as a vice president for Susan G. Komen for the Cure because she had become "too much of a focal point" in the controversy surrounding Komen's decision to cut its funding to Planned Parenthood -- a decision that, after a torrent of public outcry, was reversed within days. "I really felt I had a responsibility to step aside so that [Komen] could refocus on their mission," Handel told Fox News in an interview Tuesday. The resignation follows close on the heels of accusations that Handel, a former gubernatorial candidate in Georgia who campaigned partly on a promise to yank state funding from Planned Parenthood, brought that same intent to the Dallas-based Komen when she was hired as senior vice president of public policy in April -- an accusation that Handel denies.

The resignation today of Komen for the Cure vice president Karen Handel is another step in the right direction for the breast cancer foundation as it seeks to move forward and win some of its supporters back, crisis management experts say. "Her leaving is part of Komen showing that they get it," said Michael Gordon, chief executive of Group Gordon , a New York-based corporate and crisis communication firm. "She was perceived as the cause of the mess. " Handel's resignation comes after Komen spent several days in the white-hot spotlight after it first announced last week it would no longer provide grants to Planned Parenthood . Komen claimed that because the group was the focus of a congressional inquiry for possibly using federal funds for abortion services, it no longer met revised funding criteria.

Democrats in Congress applauded Susan G. Komen for the Cure for deciding to amend a new policy that led to the controversial decision to end grants for Planned Parenthood's breast health services. “This is a major victory for the men and women across America who made their voices heard over the last few days to express their shock and dismay at Komen's initial decision,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said in a statement. The decision had caused an uproar amid speculation that it was politically motivated.

As soon as Susan G. Komen for the Cure issued an unexpected statement reversing its decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, statements praising and criticizing the move were released. "We are enormously grateful that the Komen Foundation has clarified its grantmaking criteria, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with Komen partners, leaders and volunteers," said the statement from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "What these past few days have demonstrated is the deep resolve all Americans share in the fight against cancer, and we honor those who are at the helm of this battle.

After three days of tumult, the breast cancer foundation Susan G. Komen for the Cure announced it had reversed its decision to deny further grants to Planned Parenthood Federation of America for breast-health services. The decision follows an outpouring of criticism from politicians and other nonprofit organizations, as well as strong public reaction via Twitter, Facebook and other social media. "We want to apologize to the American public for recent decisions that cast doubt upon our commitment to our mission of saving women's lives," Friday's statement from Komen said.