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New Orleans news outlets were set to argue Thursday for an open hearing on the confidentiality of emails between Catholic officials and the citys NFL franchise concerning clergy sex-abuse scandals.

As The Associated Press reported last month, victims lawyers allege that hundreds of Saints emails show team executives did behind-the-scenes public relations damage control amid the Archdiocese of New Orleanss clergy abuse crisis. The team has gone to court to keep the emails from being made public, saying court rules would ordinarily keep them under seal and that the plaintiffs lawyers want them released for publicity purposes.

A state court hearing is scheduled in New Orleans next week before a court-appointed special master to determine whether they may be released.

The AP has been allowed to intervene in the effort to get the emails released and lawyers for the news cooperative are being allowed to participate in arguments for release of the emails. However, the Feb. 20 hearing before the special master was to be closed to the public.

The owners of The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, WVUE-TV, WWL-TV and WDSU-TV have filed a motion for access to the hearing.

Judge Ellen Hazeur was set to hear arguments at Civil District Court in New Orleans.

The Saints, whose devoutly Catholic owner Gayle Benson is close friends with the local archbishop, have disputed as outrageous any suggestion that the team helped cover up crimes. They have accused plaintiffs attorneys of mischaracterizing what is in the emails.

Benson said in a news release Monday that the NFL team played no role in determining which priests would be named in the list of credibly accused clergy published by the archdiocese.

Attorneys for about two dozen men suing the Church allege in court filings that the confidential emails show executives joined in the Churchs pattern and practice of concealing its crimes. The attorneys contend that included taking an active role in helping to shape the archdioceses list of 57 credibly accused clergy, a roster an AP analysis found was undercounted by at least 20 names.

Crux is dedicated to smart, wired and independent reporting on the Vatican and worldwide Catholic Church. That kind of reporting doesnt come cheap, and we need your support. You can help Crux by giving a small amount monthly, or with a onetime gift. Please remember, Crux is a for-profit organization, so contributions are not tax-deductible.

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Media seek open hearing on NFL teams emails with Church - Crux: Covering all things Catholic

The companys advisers said at the hearing that a rapid decline in cash made a fast sale process necessary, but some creditors expressed concern about the pace.

Had the court given the other buyer even a few more days to secure financing, there may have been a true auction that could have paid some post-petition claims, a group of vendors from Hong Kong, mainland China and Korea said in an objection filed Tuesday. Vendors have suffered literally hundreds of millions of dollars of unpaid claims they said as part of a request that approval of the sale agreement be denied.

Court papers show the buyers have the right to close stores, and it wasnt immediately clear how many would remain open. The beleaguered retailer once operated about 800 stores in more than 40 countries.

Ahead of the bankruptcy, the founders insistence onmaintaining controlhad spooked potential buyers and lenders, Bloomberg has previously reported. During the court supervised reorganization, several potential buyers looked into making bids to keep all or part of the retailer going. None except the landlord group ultimately showed up, leading to the suspension of an auction scheduled Monday.

Read more from the original source:
Judge to approve Forever 21 sale that ends founders' control - Crain's New York Business

There's a lot of scraping taking place across the KVOE listening area after a snowy Wednesday turned into an icy Thursday.

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Air temperatures have dipped into the single digits, but northerly winds above 30 mph have pushed our wind chills down to -13 at times. TV-13 meteorologist Doug Meyers says you'll need to be bundled up, especially during the morning hours.

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With the cold conditions and isolated to scattered slick spots that redeveloped after Wednesday's heavy, wet snowfall, there are a lot of schedule adjustments for Thursday. Click here for the latest updated list.

The biting cold kept area streets and roads slick after roughly 2-5 inches of snowfall across the KVOE listening area.

*KVOE studios: 3 inches*Emporia: 3.3 inches*Bazaar: 2 inches*Burlington: 2 inches*Eureka: 1 inch*Lake Kahola: 2.5 inches*Lebo: 4 inches*LeRoy: 1 inch*Lyndon: 4.5 inches

Crews have been out treating streets since shortly after midnight.

The Wednesday snowfall made for hazardous travel conditions -- as evidenced by a bus crash and an ambulance crash, both in Chase County.

A USD 259 Wichita school bus crashed on the Kansas Turnpike near the Flint Hills cattle pens exit, about 15 miles southwest of Emporia, around 9:40 am. In audio from KWCH, Kansas Highway Patrol Lt. John Lehnherr says the bus was taking 36 students from Park Elementary to Topeka when the driver lost control and the bus left the highway, overturning on the driver side.

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The rest, including four adults, came to Emporia High School afterward.Emporia Fire saysseven more kids went to Newman Regional Health after a secondary checkup at the school. USD 253 Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Kelly Bolin credited the community response for easing the situation, including USD 253's Food Service and Spartan Stop.

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Units from the Highway Patrol, Lyon County Sheriff's Office, Emporia Fire, Butler County Fire & EMS and CrossWinds Counseling and Wellness were among the response team. CrossWinds CEO Amanda Cunningham says the agency was ready to help through existing partnerships with the Lyon County Emergency Communications Center, Lyon County Sheriff's Office and Emporia School District.

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About an hour after the bus crash, a Butler County ambulance crashed on the Turnpike about two miles northeast of the Matfield Green service exit. The Turnpike Authority says the driver of the northbound ambulance, 37-year-old Lacy Volz of Wichita, lost control on the slushy highway. The ambulance then hit the center barrier wall and a nearby guardrail. She went to an unspecified hospital by private vehicle afterward. A semi was listed as involved but is not part of the actual crash narrative.

There were numerous fender-benders and non-injury slide-offs across the area. The Lyon County Sheriff's Office reported almost 30 noninjury crashes between 7 am and noon Wednesday.

Thankfully, conditions improve after Thursday. Temperatures climb to the mid-30s Friday, with upper 40s in Saturday's forecast and 50s for Sunday.

We'll keep you updated on KVOE, KVOE.com and KVOE social media. Join KVOEs social media accounts on Facebook@kvoenews and Twitter@kvoeam1400 for weather, travel and schedule adjustment information if youre not already connected. If you need to report a schedule adjustment, call KVOE at 620-342-1400 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Click here for Wednesday's KVOE News coverage.

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Thursday starting with wind chills under -10; EFD confirms 24 to NRH after bus wreck; ambulance driver hospitalized after separate wreck - KVOE

With less than a month to go before the budget that is meant to draw a line under a decade of austerity and unleash Britains potential, Boris Johnson has taken back control of the Treasury.

No 10 cannot have known how Johnsons former leadership rival, Sajid Javid, would respond to the demand that he sack his key policy advisers and instead accept guidance from the PMs team.

But they knew there was a strong possibility he would decide to walk: and they had a ready-made, super-loyal successor on hand just in case, in the form of Rishi Sunak, already chief secretary to the Treasury.

Downing Street described the plan that was put to Javid, of a joint No 10-No 11 team of advisers from which almost all of his current team would be left out as a way of ensuring chancellor and PM rise and fall together. But it would also have been read as a humiliation.

Clashes between Javid and Johnsons advisers had been whispered about at Westminster for weeks.

Allies had insisted the two men themselves got on well at a personal level, and Javid also has close links to the PMs influential partner, Carrie Symonds, who once worked for him.

But Johnson and his team were irked at a series of briefings about Javids role in big decisions including pre-empting the announcement on HS2 by revealing the Treasury would back it.

And there have been some policy differences, too though Downing Street insists these formed no part of the conversation on Thursday morning.

Johnson wants to take the opportunity of a chunky majority to take some potentially controversial decisions, including on tax and spending and Javids instincts, insiders say, were more cautious.

He had made clear his willingness to be considerably more flexible in sanctioning big-ticket spending than his predecessor, Spreadsheet Phil Hammond.

In his one set-piece speech during the election campaign, he set out something like Gordon Browns golden rule, allowing long-term investment spending including the PMs beloved infrastructure projects to be funded by borrowing. That in itself is a revolution in Conservative thinking.

But Javid also stressed that he was determined to balance the current budget, as it is known funding day-to-day spending through tax receipts which would constrain how much Johnson has available for upfront spending pledges, unless the government is willing to raise more tax.

Radical plans have been floated in recent weeks: even including a mansion tax on the most expensive homes and perhaps more likely, a revaluation of council tax to ensure the wealthier pay a higher rate.

But perhaps remembering George Osbornes pasty tax omnishambles budget and more recently, Hammond being forced to ditch a modest increase in national insurance after a backbench backlash Javid, friends say, is more cautious.

His departure underlines the determination of No 10 to hold all the levers of power over economic policy, and will be seen as a coup by his chief adviser, Dominic Cummings.

But it may also suggest economic and tax policy is pointed in a more radical direction, as Johnson tries to make good on his promise to level up Britain.

More here:
Sajid Javid's exit leaves Boris Johnson in control of Treasury - The Guardian

What I'm Hearing: USA TODAY Sports' Jarrett Bell spoke exclusively with the former NFL quarterback who said he's eager to reveal the many layers surrounding his public protests. USA TODAY

Colin Kaepernicks voice is getting stronger.

That much is clear as the former NFL quarterback plans to announceThursday he is writing a memoir to be released this year through his newly formedcompany, Kaepernick Publishing, in a partnership with Audible.

"I learned early on that in fighting against systematic oppression, dehumanization and colonization, who controls the narrative shapes the reality of how the world views society, Kaepernick said Tuesday in an exclusive interview with USA TODAY Sports. It controls whos loved, whos hated, whos degraded and whos celebrated.

Kaepernick, 32, has been unsigned by NFL teams since 2017after he protested police brutality against African Americans and other social injustices by kneeling during the national anthem the previous season as a member of the San Francisco 49ers.

Colin Kaepernick is planning to release his memoir this year through a new publish company he is starting.(Photo: Amari Kenoly/Ra Vision Media)

His yet-to-be-named memoir should fill in the gaps of thepast few years, as well as provide more insight on themotivationand methods behindhis activism. Though Kaepernick hasbeen engaged in self-empowerment efforts for black and brown people through his Know Your Rights Camps, he has rarely conducted news media interviews or been available in other public forums.

Undoubtedly, many will want to hear from Kaepernick, who despite being shunned by NFL teams has become a prominent cultural figure especially amongAfrican Americans.

Ive had a lot of questions surrounding what got me to the point of protesting," he said. "Why did I do it? Why did I do it at that moment? Why wasnt it earlier in my career? A lot of questions surrounding what led me to that point. Which led me to wanting to share that story and give insight. SoI think theres a lot of interest around it, but time will tell when the book comes out.

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OPINION: Kaepernick doesn't exactly loom over the NFL at Super Bowl, but he's certainly not forgotten

To that point, Kaepernick demonstrated some humility. He chuckled when it wassuggested his book couldbe a bestseller.

I hope so, he said.

If only the demand from NFL teams wasso robust. After the fiasco of a hastily arranged NFL workout in Atlanta in November, Kaepernick isno closer to getting an NFL job which is still a shame for a quarterback-needy league that often touts the virtues of meritocracy as lesser-talented prospects get opportunities.

The book and publishing company he'll also release an audio versionand content from other authors through Audible, a subsidiary of Amazon dont signal that Kaepernick isready to give up hope of landing another opportunity with an NFL team. He said he sees the ventures as a parallel track to football.

After all, New England Patriots star Tom Brady has an enterprise with his TB12 book and training methods, and Seattle Seahawks phenom Russell Wilson has a production company (Why Not You Productions)with his wife, Ciara.

My desire to play football is still there, Kaepernicksaid. I still train five days a week. Im ready to go, Im ready for a phone call, tryout, workout at any point in time. Im still waiting on the owners and their partners to stop running from this situation. SoI hope I get a call this offseason. Ill be looking forward to it.

In the meantime, hes an impact player in a different form.

Part of his motivation for creating the publishing company, Kaepernick explained, is to create opportunities for black and brown writers, authors and creators to control their narratives and retain ownership.

Its not just my control over stories, Kaepernick said. We wanted to be able to put the power back into the hands of the people that are telling the stories and the people that are writing the stories and creating them. We didnt want to monopolize that and hold that to ourselves. Its something that should be distributed to the people who are putting in the work to be able to tell their stories and tell them in a genuine and authentic way."

Kaepernick mayhave commanded a seven-figure advance had he shopped his memoir on the market. That route would not have fulfilled Kaepernick's vision.

Ive always had an interest in books, he said. Ive had an interest in black literature. 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X'was a book that changed my life, so much that every Know Your Rights camp that we have, we give the book to all of the youth that attend. And black literature was something that was key to developing my own thoughts and ideas of how to navigate the spaces that I enter. SoI not only wanted to give insight into what led me to protest through my memoir, I wanted to make sure I was able to retain the ownership over my story in the process.

Why now?

I realized being able to control your narrative and tell your story the way you want to is very important, Kaepernick said. The manipulation, the colonization, the distortion of stories, narrative, history, has been done forever. This is a way for me to be able to counteract that and begin to decolonize that and centralize the narrative of not only myself but other black and brown writers and authors.

One of the quotes that comes to mind is Malcolm Xs quote, If youre not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people that are being oppressed and loving the people that are doing the oppressing. Hes speaking to the control of the narrative. Sofor me recognizing the importance of our community being able to control our own narratives and tell our own stories, this is something I thought had to be the next steppingstone for us to properly address and identify not only how we view ourselves, view our communities and how we tell our storiesbut also giving the world to view us in the way that we want them to as well.

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Colin Kaepernick speaks: On his new memoir and why he still wants to play in the NFL - USA TODAY