Hundreds arrested across 28 states in effort to curb organized retail theft
Hundreds of arrests across 28 states were made last week in what officials are saying is an unprecedented national effort to curb the rising rates of organized retail theft.
The initiative, led by the Cook county regional organized crime taskforce in Illinois, brought together more than 100 law enforcement agencies and over 30 major retailers, CNBC reported Wednesday. The retailers include Target, Macy's, Home Depot, Walgreens and Kroger.
The retailers also played a key role in the crackdown by supplying critical information. Ulta Beauty participated in nine states, sharing data on criminal activity with law enforcement.
Marty Maloney, director of media relations at Walgreens, told CNBC that organized retail crime 'remains one of the most significant challenges' in the retail industry. He added that during the crackdown operation, the company 'worked closely with law enforcement partners across nearly 20 cities and at over 40 locations to help curb this trend'.
Organized retail crime involves groups of individuals stealing merchandise in coordinated operations, often reselling the goods for profit. Authorities say this form of crime has not only grown more sophisticated, but also more widespread in recent years.
A 2024 survey by the National Retail Federation (NRF) found that, compared with 2019, retailers saw a 93% spike in shoplifting incidents and a 90% rise in the financial losses tied to those thefts. The NRF previously claimed that organized retail crime accounted for 'nearly half' of the shopping industry's $94.5bn inventory losses in 2021, but later retracted those claims.
'When you give specific focus to a crime, it reverberates,' the Cook county sheriff Tom Dart told CNBC. 'When they see it is being prosecuted and taken seriously, it deters conduct. They don't want to get caught.'
Eileen O'Neill Burke, the Cook county state's attorney, made combating retail theft a priority since she took office in December. She announced that felony charges would be pursued whenever the value of stolen goods exceeds $300, or when suspects have prior felony shoplifting convictions, standards that align with state law.
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Sky News
11 minutes ago
- Sky News
Diddy trial latest: Producer back in court after jurors hear details of 'excessive use of baby oil' and 'debauchery' nights
12:41:48 Welcome back We are back with our live coverage of the trial of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. Proceedings at the federal court in Manhattan are due to start at around 2pm UK time. We are scheduled to hear more evidence today from a former partner of Combs, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane". 22:31:45 What you need to know after day 17 of Diddy's trial - scroll down to catch up An anonymous former girlfriend and alleged victim of Sean "Diddy" Combs began her evidence against the rapper on the 17th day of his sex-trafficking trial. If you're just checking in, here's a round-up of all the key updates: A former girlfriend of Combs, who is testifying under the pseudonym "Jane", told jurors how a whirlwind romance opened a "Pandora's box" of sex sessions with male escorts that she didn't know how to stop; She alleged the hip-hop mogul coerced her into participating in drug-fuelled "debauchery" nights throughout their relationship, which began in 2021 and ended when he was arrested in 2024; She began her evidence not long after Judge Arun Subramanian issued a warning to Combs's lawyers after seeing the rapper "nodding vigorously" towards the jury during earlier testimony; The judge warned he could take steps to remove the defendant from the courtroom if the "totally unacceptable" behaviour happens again during the trial; Jane told the court she agreed to having sex with a male escort because she wanted to make Combs happy - and even "felt excited" afterwards after doing something "taboo"; But she said she thought it was a one-off - instead, it "set the tone" going forward; Asked if this is what she wanted, she said it wasn't, but that she "went along with it because I loved him at this point"; As their relationship continued, she said she did tell him "many times", but he would dismiss her, make her feel uncomfortable, or seemingly threaten to stop paying her rent; Jane said these encounters were referred to as "debauchery" or hotel nights, and they always followed the same pattern - "hotel suites, red lights, music, lotions and alcohol"; She said she would "have drugs" in her system and wear "provocative" lingerie and "high stripper shoes" and Combs would ask her to pour baby oil on the men and herself; These sessions typically lasted between 24 and 30 hours with "no sleep"; Jane's evidence is set to continue tomorrow and on several days next week. 21:11:58 Court finishes for the day It's just after 4pm in New York and so the judge leaves Jane's testimony there for the day. She will be back on the stand tomorrow and is expected to continue giving evidence for several days next week as well. We'll be back with a recap of today's hearing soon - in the meantime scroll through our posts to catch up on what was said in court. 21:09:47 Escort sex sessions lasted up to 30 hours with no sleep, Jane tells court Jane tells the court that she and Sean "Diddy" Combs had "hotel night" - sexual encounters with male escorts, also described as "freak offs" during Cassie's testimony - in Turks and Caicos, Miami, Los Angeles and New York. Combs's employees would arrange travel, she says, and he would pay. Hotel nights always followed the same pattern, the court hears - "hotel suites, red lights, music, lotions and alcohol, there would be bed sheets covering everything, blankets and towels, because of the excessive use of baby oil everywhere". Jane says she would "have drugs in my system" and wear "provocative" lingerie and "high stripper shoes". The encounters with escorts would start with small talk before she would dance in her robe, she says, to "get my nerves out". Combs liked her to pour baby oil on the men and on herself, she says, and adds that a "typical hotel night lasted a very long time". After having sex with an escort, Combs would "excuse" her, she says, and they would have sex with each other. They typically lasted between 24 and 30 hours, she says, with "no sleep". 20:52:20 Jane 'wanted to earn her own money and considered OnlyFans - but Diddy said to wait' Jane is continuing to answer questions about her relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs, telling the court it was always him who decided when they would see each other. Often, this was at short notice - a night before or on the day, the court hears. She tells jurors she always made sure she was "put together" and ready in case he called. "I liked looking beautiful for him." Combs liked her with straight hair and white coloured nails, she says, and later in the relationship he wanted her to get piercings. "Looking nice" took a lot of time and money and became like a "habit", she continues, as she strived to make him happy. The court hears that while Jane started to earn less money after she prioritised her relationship with Combs, the rapper would support her with money - payments of $5,000, $10,000 or $20,000, she says. She tells the court she wanted to make her own money and had considered content creating on adult website OnlyFans - posting photos but not showing sexual activity. Combs told her to give it time, the court hears. Asked why she felt she needed his approval, she replies: "I felt like he was my boyfriend." 20:38:38 Jane describes 'debauchery' or 'hotel nights' - and says she felt 'obligated' as Diddy paid rent After that first night in May 2021, Jane is asked what percentage of the time with Sean "Diddy" Combs she was having sex with another man. She replies: "90%." Asked if this is what she wanted, she says: "No." Jane tells the court she wanted "an old-fashioned relationship with me and him" - which is how it felt when they first met. After the first sexual encounter with an escort, Combs quickly suggested they do it again, Jane says, telling the court she was agreeable because she wanted him to be happy. "I went along with it because I loved him at this point," she says. However, Jane says she started to tell him - more than once, in writing and in person - that she did not want to have sex with other men. Over the next three years she says she told him this "many times", but it would be "uncomfortable" whenever the subject came up. Combs would dismiss it and move the conversation on, she says, or tell her she didn't have to. He would also tell her she could break up with him if she wanted to, she says. Combs paid her rent, but would threaten to stop doing so, she adds. Jane says she felt "obligated" to perform on some nights "because I knew he was paying my rent". Asked the words she and Combs used to describe the sexual encounters with male escorts, she says they would call them "debauchery" or "hotel nights". 20:27:01 First sexual encounter with male escort 'opened Pandora's box', Jane tells court After being told by Sean "Diddy" Combs that he could make the fantasy of role play with another man come true, Jane says she went to the bathroom. When she returned, she says he was in his robe and "looking serious" on his phone. He told her he could "make it happen tonight", the court hears. Jane says she was taken aback but agreed. A few hours later, she says assistants set up a room for them and she was introduced to an escort, Don. She tells the court she was nervous but Combs told her to relax and asked her to stand up. At his suggestion, she started dancing, she says, as the escort got closer and started to touch her. Combs was naked, she says, and masturbated as he watched them. Jane says she wanted to "speed things up" so asked for a condom. Combs told her he "didn't want that", she says, saying the guys were "safe" and regularly tested. Eventually, however, he did give Don a condom and they had sex, she says. Afterwards, Don left and the two of them had sex together, she says. "We were really happy." The day afterwards, Jane says she "felt excited" that she had done something "taboo", something she had never done before. However, she says she thought it was a one-off. Asked how the relationship changed after this, she tells the court "it opened a Pandora's box", and "set the tone" going forward. 20:11:06 'Diddy wanted role play with other men and liked me to have baby oil all over' Jane tells the court her relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs was kept private. Between February 2021 and May 2021, she says he would fly her to see him in Miami every few weeks, and also gave her money. During this period, they took drugs including ecstasy, molly (MDMA), cocaine and ketamine, she says. Jane says Combs wanted her to wear "provocative lingerie outfits" when they had sex and liked her to have baby oil "all over my body". Sexual sessions could last for up to 24 hours and he liked to have red lights on in their hotel rooms, she adds. Asked how she felt about the long sex sessions at this point, Jane tells the court she "really loved" Combs and enjoyed the affection. "Sean was really passionate," she says, and very complimentary. In those first three months, she says she "loved him very much". Asked what happened in May 2021, she bows her head and becomes emotional. "We would watch a lot of pornography, we started having a lot more fantasy conversations." Combs started to talk about role play with other men, she says, and one night told her he could make the fantasy a reality. Jane says she told him "okay" - but did not think it would really happen and says she did not want to have sex with anyone other than Combs. 19:55:02 Diddy 'used L word' - but made it clear he was seeing other women, Jane tells court In February 2021, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jane went on a trip to the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Bahamas, the court hears. Jane says he organised the break after she told him her birthday was coming up, and that he had several members of staff there too, including an assistant, a chef and a butler. She says they had a good connection and were "passionate" about each other - that she told him about her work and being a single mother. Asked about gifts during this trip, Jane tells the court Combs gave her a bracelet - and later offered to send her $10,000 because she wasn't working while they were there. She is also asked about drugs, and says they took ecstasy. Jane tells the court she developed deep feelings for Combs and that they "started using 'the L word'." He told her he "really liked" her, she says, but made it clear he was seeing "multiple" women. She says she was okay with this because she liked him. Asked if she had the option of a monogamous relationship, she replies: "I don't think so." The relationship lasted, on and off, until Combs was arrested in September 2024, the court hears. 19:41:04 Alleged victim Jane says she fell 'head over heels' after first date with Diddy Jane tells the court she was in a relationship with Sean "Diddy" Combs between 2021 and 2024. She called him Sean or Diddy, the court hears, sometimes Schnookums, or sometimes Ernie - she was Bert and he was Ernie, like the characters from Sesame Street. Jane says she met the hip-hop mogul during a trip to Miami in late 2020. At the time, he was involved with one of her friends, she tells the court, and he invited a group of them to his home. The witness says they spent time on a yacht and that she was "drawn" to Combs. They flirted and exchanged numbers, which is when he suggested the Bert and Ernie nicknames, she says. Asked if she saw drugs, she says she remembers seeing a pink, powdery substance on that first night. Combs told her he wanted to take her out the following day, jurors hear. She says the situation was "complicated" but they remained in touch and Combs pursued her. After the friend who had previously been seeing him got engaged to someone else, Jane says she decided to "potentially entertain" the idea. They agreed to meet up in Miami in January 2021, the court hears. Jane says they went to a hotel, had dinner on the balcony, and she ended up staying for five days. Afterwards, she says, she was "head over heels".
Daily Mail
11 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The real inspiration of terrifying attacks on US soil... and an ex-FBI chief's warning the worst is yet to come
Heinous attacks in Colorado and Washington DC show a new face of US political violence that's closer to last year's college campus radicalism than the Islamist extremism of yesteryear, lawmen and experts told the Daily Mail. Chris Swecker, an assistant FBI director in the 2000s, and others said the recent spate of outrages, often aimed at Israelis or Jews, marks a departure from the global wave of jihadist violence of the 9/11 era. Recent strikes were instead inspired by the protests against Israel 's war in Gaza that upended Harvard, Columbia, and other top schools in the months after Hamas militants launched their 7 October, 2023, raids, Swecker said. He spoke after the outrage in Boulder, Colorado, where an attacker tossed petrol bombs at supporters of Israeli hostages, and a deadly shooting of two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC. The suspects in those attacks both yelled 'Free Palestine' before they were arrested — echoing the chants from US college campuses and anti-Israel rallies in the months since fighting erupted there in October 2023. Together with the arson attack on the residence of Pennsylvania 's Governor Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, again over the Israel-Hamas war, they may showcase a paradigm shift in political violence in America. Swecker says the men behind these attacks were likely answering the calls to 'Free Palestine from the river to the sea,' and for a 'global intifada' that rang out across US college campuses under the Biden administration. 'The universities have become incubators and enablers,' said Swecker, who led the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division from 2004-2006. 'They are creating an environment that seems to be activating people on the fringes. They hear this coded language of 'Free Palestine,' and they're going to act on it.' He added: 'It's not subtle, we know what it means. It means we're going to kill Jews.' America's so-called 'student intifada' began in earnest at Columbia University last April and spread to some 60 campuses. Students, egged on by radical professors and outside anti-Zionist groups, erected encampments and brought campuses to a standstill as the Gaza war escalated. Some Jewish students described being attacked, harassed and intimidated. Activists say there's a disproportionate use of force in the decades-long territorial conflict. Palestinian Hamas fighters left some 1,200 dead and took 251 others as hostages during their macabre raids on southern Israel. A few dozen remain in Gaza. Israel's assault on Hamas-run Gaza, however, has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, flattened whole towns, and left the population in famine-like misery, leading to credible allegations of war crimes. Estimates of the actual death toll vary widely. That logic appears to have motivated Mohamad Sabry Soliman, 45, the married Egyptian dad-of-five accused of the Boulder attack. Police say he lobbed Molotov cocktails and used a homemade flamethrower to burn attendees of a Jewish demonstration in support of those taken hostage by Hamas, injuring a dozen. He reportedly yelled 'Free Palestine' and 'end Zionists' during the attack. Still, he has not professed a link to ISIS or another jihadist group, and yelled political, not religious slogans, such as the 'Allahu Akbar' often associated with Islamists. Soliman faces federal hate crime and state counts of attempted murder that could see him caged for life. His wife and children, dependents on his visa, face deportation. There are similarities to Elias Rodriguez, the college-educated Chicago man accused of shooting and killing two Israeli Embassy workers outside a Jewish museum in Washington DC on May 21. Rodriguez likewise shouted 'Free Palestine,' and also held a red keffiyeh during the attack, it is claimed. His Latino, rather than Muslim, heritage, and long track record as a social justice warrior point to a political motivation. The 31-year-old was in the past aligned to the anti-war Answer Coalition, and the ultra-progressive Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) — groups that led pro-Palestine rallies across the US, including on college campuses. He faces two counts of first-degree murder over the deaths of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky. The diplomatic workers were a couple; Lischinsky had bought a ring and was set to propose marriage to Milgrim on a trip to Jerusalem the following week. The trend may also encompass Cody Balmer, the man accused of setting Democratic Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro's residence ablaze in Harrisburg in April. The 38-year-old is charged with attempted murder, aggravated arson, burglary, terrorism, and related offenses. Balmer wrote extensively about Israel's war in Gaza before the attack and reportedly described Shapiro as a 'monster' who had 'plans' to harm Palestinians. Balmer also has a track record of minor crimes, mental illness, and marital strife. Julio Rosas, author of Fiery But Mostly Peaceful, a study on far-left activism, said recent attacks show how radical groups are 'elevating their tactics' to stop Israel's 19-month-old assault on Gaza. Activist leaders regularly urge rally attendees to 'bring the war home to the United States' — language that he says barely disguises a blatant call for violence. 'They've been protesting and marching, but the war in Gaza hasn't stopped, so they have to do more radical things to get what they want,' Rosas said. He blamed Answer, PSL, and the Democratic Socialists of America, which have staged protests both on and off college campuses, and which all describe themselves as non-violent movements. Those pro-Palestine campaign leaders 'overlap' with those who once coordinated Black Lives Matter, Antifa, and other far-left causes of recent years, he said. 'Whether it's Gaza, immigration, or George Floyd, the grievances they hyperventilate about are all the same,' he added. 'It's white supremacy, colonialism, imperialism, capitalism.' Ian Miles Cheong, a social commentator and influencer, blames police, politicians and academics for keeping their 'hands off' the rabble rousers who've pushed their followers toward violence. 'Too few college administrations are willing to speak out against them because they're afraid of being canceled,' Cheong said. He, Rosas, and other conservatives praise the Trump administration for cracking down on campus activism, restricting visas for foreign students, and other steps to stop dangerous immigrants from entering the US. 'Protest is fine, but there's nothing peaceful about harassing Jewish students or blockading classrooms and libraries,' said Cheong.
Telegraph
40 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Trump's tax bill is undermining the foundations of global finance
For decades, investors have been able to rely on a simple truth: the US bond market is a safe place to put money. When wars broke out, economies crashed or other calamities struck, money flowed into US Treasuries, as Washington's bonds are known, to protect wealth. As a result, the US has been able to rely on a ready supply of investors willing to fund the country's ever-increasing appetite for tax cuts and public spending. Investors wanted US debt and the federal government was only too happy to provide it. Not even half a year into Donald Trump's presidential term, however, decades of orthodoxy are being turned on their head. 'The US has generally benefited from demand for Treasuries from overseas investors. It's viewed as the global risk-free asset,' says John Stopford, a fund manager at Ninety One. 'The concern is that a lot of those beliefs or tenets about the US are being called into question, in terms of how reliable, how safe an investment are US Treasuries?' Offshore investors, battered by volatility and bewildered by uncertainty since Trump took office, are becoming increasingly wary of the US bond market. Returns have suffered as Trump's trade policies have weakened the dollar and the president's planned debt splurge has raised questions about just how sustainable US borrowing really is. The latest flash point is Trump's 'big, beautiful' tax and spending bill, which the Congressional Budget Office said would add $2.4 trillion (£1.8 trillion) to the deficit over the next decade. Elon Musk might have hogged the headlines this week with his outbursts against the bill but investors and traders are airing the same concerns, especially as higher deficits mean the US treasury will be asking them to buy more and more of its bonds. 'We're seeing it in the asset management community, some insurance funds, some pension funds, and foreign investors overall as well. It's just more caution in the buying, rather than a full-blown 'sell everything',' says Gennadiy Goldberg, head of US rates strategy at TD Securities. A crisis in the US bond market, or even just a slow ebbing of investor confidence and faith, could be the most profound and revolutionary legacy of Trump's second term. The US market and its currency might no longer offer the safe haven against risk, nor the anchor for markets worldwide. An end of this financial exceptionalism would mean higher borrowing costs for the US and pose a challenge to the entire American economy model. Moody's became the last major credit rating agency to strip the US of its gold-plated borrower status last month and analysts have raised the prospect of Trump facing his own ' Liz Truss moment ' as investors baulk at his spending plans. For now, concern is centred around where all this fiscal ill-discipline will leave the US in the 2030s and beyond. So investors are shying away from longer-dated Treasuries with terms such as 10, 20 or 30 years, and parking their money in shorter-term bonds that mature in one or two years. 'I see investors who are even cautious about the five to 10-year space,' Goldberg says. If this caution turns to panic, then a meltdown – with worldwide consequences – isn't out of the question. 'If there was a big deleveraging that happened – and there was a big source of selling, whether it's from foreign investors or hedge funds or levered investors or basis investors – it could potentially overwhelm the system,' Goldberg says. Foreign investors are also having to contend with a big drop in the US dollar, which is reducing their returns. 'It's fine to see bond yields rise if the currency is stable or appreciating. That's not what we're seeing at the moment. We're seeing bond yields rise in the US, and actually the currency, on a broad basket, is about 10pc down from its highs last year,' says James Ringer, a Schroders fund manager. The lack of buyers and the potential glut of bonds raises the possibility, or 'tail risk', that the market could cease to function properly. 'That would mean sellers overwhelming buyers,' says Goldberg. This could drive a sharp surge in rates and force an emergency intervention from the Federal Reserve. 'That is the risk going forward – that the system is unable to function if something goes wrong,' he adds. At the moment, there's little prospect of a panicked sell-off – mainly because investors have so few genuine alternatives. America's star may be on the wane but it is still the brightest light in the sky. 'The US is absolutely a mass market in terms of marketable debt. The second and third closest markets are an order of magnitude smaller, so that makes it really difficult for a lot of these investors to really get away from dollars,' says Goldberg. 'There's just no place for them to go.' But equally, with Trump at the helm, nobody is ruling anything out. 'Even if it's a tail risk or something that's unlikely, because it's there at the back of people's minds, potentially they do begin to change their behaviour,' Stopford says. 'They do begin to think, 'OK, well, I should have less exposure to the US, I should have less exposure to the dollar, I should be looking for alternatives that are safer, more reliable.' 'That's not bond vigilantes speculating. That's just people making rational decisions based on concerns about risk.' Scott Bessent began the week by telling the world: 'The United States of America is never going to default. That is never going to happen.' were meant to reassure. But the sheer fact that the US treasury secretary had to spell out something that has been taken for granted for decades highlights the fact that the fundamentals of the US financial system have been shaken. Whether they go on to crumble depends on what Trump does next.
