NFL $765 million concussion settlement denied by federal judge

PHILADELPHIA — A federal judge denied preliminary approval of a $765 million settlement of NFL concussion claims, fearing it may not be enough to cover 20,000 retired players.
U.S. District Judge Anita B. Brody asked for more financial information from the parties, a week after players' lawyers filed a detailed payout plan for her review.

Tony Dorsett (AP Photo)

"I am primarily concerned that not all retired NFL football players who ultimately receive a qualifying diagnosis or their (families) ... will be paid," Brody wrote in a 12-page opinion filed Tuesday morning.
The proposed settlement, negotiated over several months, is designed to last at least 65 years.
The awards would vary based on an ex-player's age and diagnosis. A younger retiree with Lou Gehrig's disease would get $5 million, those with serious dementia cases would get $3 million and an 80-year-old with early dementia would get $25,000.
Some critics have argued that the NFL, with more than $9 billion in annual revenues, was getting away lightly. But the players' lawyers said they will face huge challenges just to get the case to trial. They would have to prove the injuries were linked to the players' NFL service and should not be handled through league arbitration.
Layn R. Phillips, a former federal judge from California hired by Brody to lead settlement negotiations, had called the deal fair.
The NFL would also pay an additional $112 million to the players' lawyers for their fees and expenses, for a total payout of nearly $900 million.
More than 4,500 former players have filed suit, some accusing the league of fraud for its handling of concussions. They include former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Jim McMahon, who suffers from dementia.

JFK Museum releases condolence mail 50 years later

 
BOSTON (AP) - A series of condolence messages sent after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated 50 years ago was released Tuesday from the personal papers of his widow, including a letter from the mother of one of four girls killed in the bombing of a Baptist church in Alabama during the civil rights movement.

The mail released by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston comes from the personal papers of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The series contains approximately 22,000 letters, telegrams and cards from people around the world.

One of the letters was sent by Maxine McNair, the mother of Denise McNair, who was 11 when she was killed in the September 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing of the 16th Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala. The bombing occurred as Birmingham's schools were being racially integrated for the first time and came to symbolize the depth of racial hatred in the South. The event was later seen as helping to spur the passage of civil rights laws.

In her letter, Maxine McNair likens her shock when she heard about the president's assassination with the shock she felt when her daughter was killed.

"When the tragic news came across the air waves, again my heart said, 'It isn't true, It didn't happen,'" Maxine McNair wrote to Mrs. Kennedy in the letter, sent five months after her daughter was killed.

She tells Mrs. Kennedy that she and her husband are praying for her and her children.

"Isn't it strange how people with so much to give to the world are taken? That's God's will however, and not for us to questions," she wrote.

Unlike the condolence mail in the library's John F. Kennedy papers, the newly released documents were managed by Mrs. Kennedy's personal secretaries because they required special handling or included requests for charity, Mass cards, photographs or other wishes.

Each piece includes an outgoing response from Mrs. Kennedy's office.

The collection also includes a photograph of a young boy named Kennedy in Nigeria holding a picture of the president and a letter form a French teacher describing memorial tributes made by her students.

A 10-year-old girl from Louisiana wrote Mrs. Kennedy and invited her to visit.

"I think your (sic) the nicest lady in the whole world," she wrote. "I mean it, too."

The collection is only accessible by visiting the library, and is not available online.

The personal papers of Mrs. Kennedy were donated to the library by Caroline Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr.

Why Didn't Willow Smith Want to Star in Her Dad's Production of 'Annie'?

Quvenzhane Wallis will star as the lead in the upcoming Annie remake, which is co-produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith.

Surprisingly, though, Will's own daughter Willow Smith passed on playing the main part.

"I just wanted to chill, and be at home, and decompress, and just find out what I wanna do and where I stand on this planet, with the little tiny place we have," Willow said in an interview with V magazine, obtained exclusively by E! News.

"I'm enjoying just being independent and doing my own thing," she explained.

Both Willow and her brother Jaden Smith have already starred in feature films with their famous father, so maybe Willow wants to show the world that she's more than just "Will Smith's daughter."

Either way, it sounds like this 13-year-old is already doing some serious soul-searching. With the level of maturity she's exhibiting, maybe she could star in a remake of 13 Going on 30 instead!

Student of New Mexico shooting: 'Blood everywhere'

ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - It was supposed to be like any other day.
Students escaping New Mexico's chilly temperatures congregated in the Berrendo Middle School gym before class started. Then, 13-year-old students Evan James and Kayla Koren, standing on opposite sides of the gym, heard a loud pop.
When they looked up, they saw blood and a fellow student on the floor, the victim of a gunshot wound to the face. A 12-year-old classmate holding a 22-gauge sawed-off shotgun stood nearby.
"I just saw blood everywhere," Essance Sosa, 12, said Tuesday. "Everyone started screaming and running."
Witnesses say that for the next 10 seconds or so, panic engulfed the gym and, eventually, the entire Roswell school Tuesday. Word began to spread that a student had opened fire, injuring a male and female student. Those who could, quickly texted parents and friends, and worried family members began frantically calling the school.
An 11-year-old boy was critically injured and a 13-year-old girl was in stable condition.
Officials credit John Masterson, an eighth-grade social studies teacher, with saving lives as he immediately stepped in and talked the boy into dropping his weapon. Masterson then held him until authorities arrived.
"He stood there and allowed the gun to be pointed right at him," Gov. Susana Martinez told a packed room of 1,500 or so people at a prayer vigil late Tuesday, "so there would be no more young kids hurt."
Officials also credit previous "active shooter" drills by Roswell Independent School District for preparing teachers and students, who say they were ready for what happened Tuesday morning. Students say they even thought the shooting was a surprise drill at first.
"I thought it was a drill. I really did," James said. "Then, I realized it wasn't."
Investigators still aren't sure why the boy, who has not been named by authorities or formally charged, opened fire. Authorities said the boy sneaked the shotgun onto campus through a bag or musical instrument case.
State Police Chief Pete Kassetas disputed a report from a hospital spokesman who said nurses treating the boy indicated he was the shooter's target. He said a motive still is not known.
"We just don't have a lot of information," Kassetas told reporters late Tuesday.
The suspected shooter was transferred to an Albuquerque psychiatric hospital following a hearing Tuesday, according to attorney Robert Gorence, who is representing his family. Gorence said the family would release a statement Wednesday.
Kassetas said authorities have issued search warrants for the boy's locker, his bag and his parents' home. He said he did not know what had been found by late Tuesday. They're not yet sure where the boy got the gun.
Officials at University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, said an 11-year-old boy was flown there in critical condition and a 13-year-old girl arrived in serious condition.
The governor said late Tuesday that the boy underwent a second surgery. She identified the girl as Kendal Sanders, 13, and said her condition was upgraded to stable.
Martinez said the family of the injured boy has asked that his name not be released while he recovers.
During a prayer vigil at the Roswell Convention Center hours after the shooting, an emotional crowd gathered to sing and hug as pastors spoke of healing and forgiveness. Pastors urged residents to pray for the suspected shooter.
"No superintendent ever wants to go through something like this," Roswell Superintendent Tom Burris said. "If you ever do, you want to have a strong community like here in Roswell," which is a center for ranching and farming and has a population of about 50,000.
Before the vigil, an emotional Martinez spoke to students who witnessed the shooting and urged them to talk to counselors and "let it out."
That's what she told James, who listened and nodded.
"We're all in shock," Koren said. "I'm never going to forget what I saw."
___
Montoya Bryan reported from Albuquerque. Associated Press writer Betsy Blaney in Lubbock, Texas, contributed to this report.

Tamera Mowry Recalls Shocking Comments About Her Interracial Marriage

"White man's whore." "Back in the day, you cost $300, but now, you're giving it away for free." These are the hateful comments 35-year-old Tamera Mowry, one of the identical twin stars of the '90s television sitcom "Sister, Sister," says she received after she married Fox News Channel correspondent Adam Housley in 2011. In the above clip from "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" she opens up about the intense hatred she experienced on social media for marrying outside her race.
"See, this is where I get emotional, because it's hurtful," Mowry says. "Because when my husband and I are so openly -- and we're fine with showing -- is love. Love. But people choose to look past love and spew hate. That's what hurts me, because I've never experienced so much hate ever in my life, ever."
Growing up in a biracial family, Mowry says she couldn't even fathom the hateful words she's heard about her marriage. "My mom is a beautiful black woman and my dad is an amazing white man, and I grew up seeing a family," she says.
An especially hurtful comment she's heard involves her twin sister, who is married to actor Cory Hardrict. "They say, 'Oh, Tia's a true black woman because she married a black man,'" Tamera says. "Oh – I'm less of a black person because I married white?"
Though the words are painful, Mowry says she knows what she has. "I love my husband so much, I love our family, I love our dynamic. I'm proud to be in the relationship that I am because it's based on love," Mowry says. "Pure love."
"Oprah: Where Are They Now?" airs Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on OWN.