Jay-Z and Beyoncé Dropped From Diddy 'Freak Off' Lawsuit, Church Easter Egg Hunt Turns Tragic, Black Man in Wheelchair Viciously Attacked in NYC and Other Crime Stories From the Week
Troy McLeod walks his dogs every single day in his New York City neighborhood. Despite being wheelchair-bound, McLeod and his pups have maintained a comfortable routine. But everything changed one day when their regularly scheduled walk turned life-threatening. - Phenix S Halley Read More
What started as a community event celebrating Easter turned fatal at a Mississippi church. According to authorities, a deacon at the Empowerment Ministries Christian Center (EMCC) stepped in to defend a fellow church goer from an armed man, then tragedy struck. - Phenix S Halley Read More
Another day, another amended lawsuit... The weeks are counting down until Sean 'Diddy' Combs is set to stand trial for alleged sexual misconduct and racketeering, and in the mean time, his civil lawsuits just keep piling up. But while several A-list celebrities have been mentioned for allegedly participating in or witnessing the infamous 'Freak Offs,' one billionaire couple just came out to clear their names with damning receipts. - Phenix S Halley Read More
Sean 'Diddy' Combs has something up his sleeve with only three weeks until his trial begins. At seemingly the 11th hour, Combs' is trying to change his legal team in a major way. And with May 12 right around the corner, this move could prove vital to his defense strategy. - Phenix S Halley Read More
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Too scared to shop? Why retail is a prime target for criminals
Harrods, Co-op, Marks & Spencer (M&S) and now Adidas have all experienced damaging cyber attacks in recent weeks, which have sent shock waves through the retail industry. M&S alone has warned of a £300 million ($405 million) hit on profits. The attack, which began over the Easter weekend, also wiped more than £750 million ($1 billion) off its market capitalization. On 30th April, the Co-op also fell victim, reporting a few days later that hackers had accessed a 'significant' amount of customer data. Then on 2nd May, Harrods also experienced a cyber attack, although in this instance, they managed to prevent any malicious intrusion. 101 Co-op Group rank on the Fortune 500 Europe In the M&S incident, third-party service provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has reportedly launched an internal investigation to determine whether it was the gateway by which the hackers gained access. It all points to a vulnerability amongst retail businesses, despite the fact that the threat from cyber attacks has existed for many years. But why are retail businesses being targeted? 252 Marks & Spencer rank on the Fortune 500 Europe 'Retailers are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the vast amounts of personal, financial, and other sensitive data they manage. For malicious actors, access to this data is like gold dust: highly valuable and potentially extremely lucrative' Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher in the Global Research & Analysis Team at Kaspersky, told Fortune. On 27th May, Adidas became the latest victim of a cyber attack when it reported that, similar to M&S, hackers had accessed customer data through a third-party service provider. In the case of M&S, according to Vaibhav Chechani, a Mumbai-based analyst at brokerage Nirmal Bang, if the attack did originate from the Indian company, 'it will definitely impact their brand image'. TCS also works as a 'strategic partner' to Co-op. 'Retailers are prime targets for cybercriminals due to the vast amounts of personal, financial, and other sensitive data they manage…' Marc Rivero, Lead Security Researcher in the Global Research & Analysis Team, Kaspersky Rivero commented, 'As seen in the M&S attack, social engineering allows attackers to bypass sophisticated cybersecurity measures by exploiting human error. These 'human hacking' tactics manipulate users into clicking malicious links, disclosing sensitive information, or granting access to restricted systems'. 'Simply put, data opens doors. It enables fraud, fuels targeted phishing campaigns, and can even be leveraged to infiltrate other businesses within the supply chain. This makes retailers not just lucrative targets, but also strategically valuable within the broader digital ecosystem'. M&S CEO Stuart Machin confirmed this, blaming the attack on 'human error' rather than a weakness in its cybersecurity measures and added that, 'it is a moment in time, and we are now focused on recovery, with the aim of exiting this period a much stronger business. There is no change to our strategy and our longer-term plans to reshape M&S for growth, and if anything, the incident allows us to accelerate the pace of change as we draw a line and move on'. Despite this optimistic outlook, Retail Technology Magazine publisher and retail expert, Miya Knights, believes that other retailers could also be targeted, believing that those most vulnerable would be 'those that have a sizable business with large tier one scale turnover across many channels'. Speaking to Fortune, she added, 'Cybersecurity has been a basic requirement for as long as retailers have deployed IT and transacted online. But, just as e-commerce has become a major growth driver, safeguarding the digital systems they now rely on must become as core to their business as it is for financial services companies.' This should be the wake-up call that the retail industry needed in order to treat these threats in the same way as financial services institutions. Actions to combat the threat appear to be happening within the industry, with one prominent retail CTO saying that he is collaborating with several other retailers, including some direct competitors, to mitigate the risk of future cyber attacks. M&S CEO Stuart Machin [blamed] the attack on 'human error' rather than a weakness in its cybersecurity measures… According to Rivero, the retail sector is under mounting pressure from cyber groups persistently probing for vulnerabilities to access large volumes of data. He said that, 'Retailers must regularly reassess their cybersecurity strategies and continue to invest in robust defense mechanisms'. 'Retailers must adopt a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity, acknowledging that no single measure can provide complete protection. This approach should begin with staff education. Training employees to recognize phishing attempts and suspicious behavior is critical, with human error remaining one of the most common entry points for attackers', he continued. However, it's not all the responsibility of retailers, Rivero believes that to feel more secure, consumers should take a proactive approach to their digital safety. Regularly update passwords, enable multi-factor authentication where possible, remain cautious of suspicious messages or emails, and monitor financial activity closely, 'reporting any unusual behavior immediately', adding that, 'a cautious, informed approach remains the best line of defense'. His advice to retailers using third-party service providers: 'Adopt a proactive approach: regularly conducting thorough risk assessments of all vendors, enforcing strict access controls, and requiring regular security audits. Ongoing employee training is also essential – not just for non-IT staff, but also for IT teams, who are frequently targeted by social engineering tactics'. And as he puts it, 'In a landscape where cybercriminals exploit every weak link, resilience must extend beyond the organization itself to encompass the entire supply chain and all vendors'. This story was originally featured on
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Between Combs and Weinstein, #MeToo is back in the hot seat. Its founder wants to highlight a few important things
At one point during Sean 'Diddy' Combs' federal criminal sex trafficking and racketeering trial, defense attorney Brian Steel asked a witness, who was testifying under a pseudonym, if she retained counsel in order to 'join the #MeToo money grab against Mr. Combs.' The question came during one of the three days the woman, referred to on the stand as 'Mia,' testified about multiple alleged instances of physical, emotional and sexual abuse by Combs. Though the question was sustained by the judge, the moment speaks to the movement that looms large over two high-profile cases that are taking place in courts mere blocks from one another in New York City. Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking and transportation to engage in prostitution. Meanwhile, in a state court, disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein – whose initial fall from grace was the impetus for #MeToo going viral in 2017 – will soon face a verdict in his sex crimes retrial. Weinstein, 73, has also pleaded not guilty to all the charges. Empowering survivors was at the heart of the #MeToo movement that gained wide awareness as a hashtag in 2017, but it started more than a decade before that, when it was founded by survivor and activist Tarana Burke. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister recently sat with Burke for 'Laura Coates Live' to discuss where the #MeToo movement stands now. #MeToo bills itself as 'a global, and survivor-led, movement against sexual violence,' according to its website. The founder of the movement stressed one vital point: outside of legal consequences within the justice system, most survivors of gender-based and intimate partner sexual assault or violence simply want to be acknowledged and believed. This conversation has been edited for clarity and condensed. CNN: This is obviously your life's work, but #MeToo came into the public forum in 2017. How are things different today than they were in 2017? TARANA BURKE: I think there's some significant differences. People have language now to talk about this thing that we couldn't talk about, at least publicly. After Me Too, survivors know that they can say, 'I had this experience.' Even if they don't want anything to happen – they're not trying to get anybody arrested, they're not trying to have some sort of remedy happen – but they can say out loud, 'This thing happened to me.' And it should be acknowledged. I think that we don't understand what it feels like to be acknowledged for something incredibly traumatic and painful that happened to you that you then swallowed, and that society tells you is your shame. There's a lot left to do. There's a lot left to happen, and I think sometimes people try to quantify it based on numbers of cases and who went to jail, but the real way to quantify it is about numbers of survivors and people who've been able to say, 'Me too,' and that that process has opened up something for them, something cathartic, something healing. I think people are also more knowledgeable about sexual violence in a way that we weren't before 2017. CNN: How important were the initial allegations against Harvey Weinstein symbolically for the movement? BURKE: It was huge. We actually would not be here without that happening, and I think it's fair to always acknowledge those survivors who came forward around Harvey Weinstein, because technically that's pre-#MeToo. There was no impetus from the public, there was no guarantee of what was going to happen to those women afterwards. Weinstein was one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, who could just like that take away somebody's career. So the bravery of those women should never be diminished. CNN: Weinstein's New York sex crimes conviction was overturned last year, and he is currently back on trial. What was your reaction when that conviction was overturned? BURKE: Surprise, but also not deep concern. This movement is not really about how many of these people can we get in jail; it's about upending the American justice system. We have to do something completely different. In reality, the conviction rate for sexual violence in this country is very, very low. So the act of getting a Harvey Weinstein in a courtroom is monumental. It really is. We cannot understate what it takes to get somebody as powerful as Diddy (Sean Combs) or Weinstein or R. Kelly or these various people into a courtroom, to get them past the different steps in that process. Getting to conviction though is a whole other feat by itself. CNN: Can you talk about how Cassie Ventura filed under the Adult Survivors Act and how that ultimately contributed to this criminal trial against Combs? (Ventura filed a civil suit against Combs, which was quickly settled.) BURKE: One of the things that I've heard almost consistently since #MeToo went viral is, 'When is this going to come to hip-hop?' There's been so many stories, allegations, rumors throughout the years about the misogyny that exists inside of hip-hop. I had a number of people tell (me) their personal stories, but when I would ask these women – most of the time Black women who were in the industry, some well-known – and say, 'Why don't you talk about it?' they would say, 'Oh, I would be completely canceled.' And that's the tide that has turned, and the significance of what Cassie did. The significance of that lookback law is that this was years after #MeToo. We were five years or more past the hashtag going viral. Black women and women of color, particularly in the music industry and hip-hop, had not had their moment – and I would submit still probably haven't had their moment. CNN: If Sean Combs is acquitted, what do you think happens with his power and standing in the industry? BURKE: You know, there's two separate parts of the power. There's the power of being a Diddy, Puffy, the public figure, but then there's always the power of money. If he walks away from this case by some miracle – or maybe not a miracle – we need to be talking about what we all witnessed together. You can't unring this bell. We all listened to Cassie. We all saw that video. We've heard this testimony that's not going anywhere. We sometimes have short memories though. One apology video, one great produced song, and (he could) start building (himself) back. I think we have to have a longer memory. So regardless of the outcomes of these trials, (I hope) that we have an institutional memory of what we saw. And don't doubt and don't gaslight yourself. Don't doubt your own eyes and ears. We saw that man beat that woman in that hotel. Whatever the reasons behind it, we saw what we saw. CNN: Are you concerned about the optics of the #MeToo movement right now in media and on social media? BURKE: It concerns me. You have young people who are graduating high school, even graduating college, that were very young when #MeToo went viral. So they have some understanding, they've grown up in a world with this language and with this sort of new understanding. But social media is really effective. And so when you start having people pick apart these things and say, 'This was a conspiracy,' that concerns me because whoever holds the narrative holds the key. And that is a really powerful place to sit when you have ability to shape narrative around a particular topic. The psychology behind survivorship is so complicated, and so complex that the average everyday person watching at home and giving their analysis cannot understand it unless they've actually been through it. And sometimes even when they've been through it, because each of us respond differently. CNN: What is next for the #MeToo movement? What work are you focused on now? BURKE: We're really focused on safety. I think that #MeToo has been really bogged down by this narrative that it's about going out and getting people, and we've forgotten the thread that most survivors want to protect other survivors. And so we are really focused on, what does it look like to end sexual violence? What does it look like to solve the issue of sexual violence, because this is a solvable issue. We deal with healing and action. A lot of that action is how do we keep more people from not from not having to say, 'Me too.'
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Yahoo
Denver Hairstylist Left Her Apartment and Vanished. Over a Month Later, Mom Fears the Worst: 'I Am Terrified' (Exclusive)
Jax Gratton, a 34-year-old hairstylist, was last seen leaving her apartment in Denver on Tuesday, April 15 More than a month later, her mom tells PEOPLE she's "terrified" that something awful has happened to her daughter "At this time, nothing has been recovered that indicates she has been harmed, however, her disappearance is being taken seriously," the Denver Police Department tells PEOPLEA mom's fear has reached new heights now that her daughter, a Denver hairstylist, has been missing for more than a month. 'I am terrified for my daughter,' Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, 60, tells PEOPLE. 'I just need to keep her face and her beautiful self out there until we find her.' Gratton-Camis has been actively searching for Jax Gratton, 34, since she was last seen leaving her Denver apartment on Tuesday, April 15. 'My fear is that somebody killed her,' says Gratton-Camis, who alleges that her daughter had been in abusive relationships in the past. 'That is my fear.' A Denver Police Department (DPD) spokesperson tells PEOPLE that officials are 'actively looking into Jax Gratton's whereabouts" and that "at this time, nothing has been recovered that indicates she has been harmed." 'This is a priority for our Missing and Exploited Persons Unit and they are working with Jax's family on this case,' the spokesperson continues in a statement. 'Her disappearance is being taken seriously by DPD.' Jax was last seen near the 4200 block of E. Iliff Avenue, police say. Friends and family told ABC affiliate KMGH-TV that Jax left her apartment at approximately 10 p.m. local time and told her roommate that she'd be out for about three hours — but she never came back. Gratton-Camis, who lives out of state, last talked to her eldest daughter on Friday, April 11, when Jax called to get the address of her 19-year-old sister Monroe, who is in college, so she could send her some hair products. 'She was absolutely beautiful, full makeup… and happy,' says the mom. 'She said she'd been super busy, but she would talk to me on Easter.' Nine days later, the promised call never came and Gratton-Camis grew concerned. On Easter morning, she called Jax and left a message. Later that day, she FaceTimed her and texted her about the holiday. 'I didn't sleep that night,' says Gratton-Camis, who woke up early the next morning and learned Pope Francis had died. When she didn't hear from Jax, who greatly admired the pope, she knew something was amiss — as did one of Jax's friends, who called Gratton-Camis. The frantic mom started calling hospitals and jails in Colorado. Days later, she still didn't know what had happened to her daughter. At first Gratton-Camis believed that Jax's roommate, who had last seen her as she was exiting their apartment, had filed a missing persons report. While the roommate did contact police, a report wasn't filed, so Gratton-Camis rushed to get one submitted — and by Wednesday, April 24, over a week after she was last seen, Jax was officially reported as missing. Even as friends and customers raised the alert in the following weeks — posting on social media and putting up flyers throughout the city — there has been little movement in the case and Jax's mom says that investigators have eliminated the 'short suspect list' she gave them. Gratton-Camis says that her daughter hasn't touched the money in her bank account — 'Jax works very, very hard and she would not have left with money behind,' she says — and that she also doesn't believe her daughter would have left her cat behind. Additionally, Gratton-Camis says it's out of character for Jax to stop communicating with her or Monroe. Despite Jax's struggles – she had been to rehab three times for drugs and alcohol, the last of which kicked her out because she's transgender, her mom alleges – the hairstylist was doing well before she disappeared. 'She operated a successful business,' says Gratton-Camis. 'She has friends that she has been friends with since middle school.' The woman donated her time as a stylist to unhoused people in the area and loved her family. Gratton-Camis adds Jax was an integral part of her support system when she was diagnosed with colon and breast cancer a few years ago. 'Jax would call me and FaceTime me… to put me in a good mood, do a dance,' her mom remembers. 'I could barely speak, but I could hit the phone and watch her do silly things to make me feel better.' Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. In a statement she wrote, Gratton-Camis describes Jax as a 'daughter of love' and a 'friend like no other.' 'An advocate with fire, driven by purpose, a soul full of laughter, and hands never idle,' Cherilynne continues. 'She lives with honesty, shined with truth, and is cherished beyond words.' Authorities urge anyone with information about Jax to call 720-913-7867. Her mom says she is at least 5 feet, 11 inches tall and could have a range of hair colors because she often dyed it. Jax's community has also created a website to assist in the search. Read the original article on People
