Diddy trial live updates: Prosecution nears end in Sean Combs's case
Three women have full control over Sean Combs's image. At least until the end of his trial.
In the front row of the courtroom where Sean 'Diddy' Combs is pleading not guilty to federal sex-trafficking and criminal racketeering charges, the trio sits in the front row, each peering at the witness stand through binoculars, hastily producing sketches that will be disseminated to news organizations worldwide.
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TechCrunch
37 minutes ago
- TechCrunch
US insurance giant Aflac says customers' personal data stolen during cyberattack
Aflac, one of the largest insurance companies in the United States, says hackers stole an unknown quantity of its customers' personal information from its network during a cyberattack earlier this month. The insurance giant confirmed Friday in a legally required filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the company identified hackers in its system on June 12 and contained the incident. Aflac, which provides supplemental insurance to individuals whose expenses are not covered by their primary providers, said it was not yet known how many customers are affected by the data breach, but that the personal data includes customers' claims, such as Social Security numbers and health information. The breach also included data from Aflac's beneficiaries, employees, and agents, the company said. Aflac said its systems were not affected by ransomware, but attributed the breach to an unspecified cybercrime group known to be targeting the U.S. insurance industry. According to its Friday press release, Aflac said the hackers used social engineering tactics to break into its network. An Aflac spokesperson, who did not provide their name, declined to answer TechCrunch's questions when reached by email on Monday. Aflac, which has around 50 million customers per the company's website, is the latest U.S. insurance company to experience a cyberattack in recent weeks, amid warnings that hackers are targeting the wider insurance industry. John Hultquist, the chief analyst for Google's threat intelligence unit, said last week that the unit was 'aware of multiple intrusions' in the U.S. that bear the hallmarks of activity linked to Scattered Spider, a loose-knit collective of hackers and tactics that rely on social engineering tactics and sometimes threats of violence to target company help desks and call centers in order to gain access to their networks. The hackers are also reportedly behind the recent intrusions at Erie Insurance and Philadelphia Insurance Companies, which disclosed cyberattacks this month, with disruption ongoing. The hackers linked to Scattered Spider attacks are known to be financially motivated, and have been previously linked to cyberattacks and intrusions at tech giants, casinos, and hotels, and recent data breaches across the U.K. and U.S. retail sector.
Fox News
38 minutes ago
- Fox News
19-year-old suspect in custody after shooting at Connecticut mall leaves 5 people injured
A suspect was taken into custody in a shooting at a Waterbury, Connecticut, mall that left five people wounded, police said. Police responded to the Brass Mill Center Mall at about 4:43 p.m. Tuesday after reports of shots being fired. When officers arrived, they located five victims with gunshot wounds. The suspected gunman has been identified as Tajuan Washington, 19, of Waterbury, Waterbury Police Department Chief Fernando Spagnolo said at a news conference Wednesday morning. Washington is being held on $2 million bond and was charged with five counts of first-degree assault and "a number of weapons violation charges," according to police. The investigation is ongoing. Washington was scheduled to appear in court later Wednesday morning. Waterbury Mayor Paul Pernerewski said Wednesday that three of the five victims had been released from the hospital. Two remained hospitalized. The most seriously injured victim was struck in the spine, but she "now has feeling in her lower extremities" and "hopefully she does not find herself paralyzed." At the news conference, Pernerewski encouraged the public to return to the mall, saying the shooting was not a random act of violence and involved "two young men who knew each other, had a history, a past." "They got into a beef here," he said. "The perpetrator, instead of having what would have at one time been a fist fight, but because he was armed, came out with a pistol, shot the guy he was having a problem with and the four women who were with him as well." The mall has been searched and secured and "there's nothing to worry about here," he said, adding the city was "obviously very shaken, but we're not broken," the mayor added. "Within minutes, the state's largest police force, the Connecticut State Police, was on scene assisting the Waterbury Police Department," Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Commissioner Ronnell Higgins told reporters. "That collaboration and cooperation isn't just something that happens in emergencies. That is something that happens regularly here in the city of Waterbury between the state and local and federal law enforcement officials. "Gun violence is not something we will ever accept. It is not OK to come to a mall and then find yourself a victim of gun violence. It is not OK for someone to come here to work and then find themselves hiding, sheltering in place." Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said of Waterbury, "This is great city, and it is a city that is safe and getting safer." "This is a terrible tragedy. Hearts and prayers go out to those that were hit, hit hard. I think they're all going to be OK, fingers crossed. Prayers out there," the governor said, crediting the Waterbury police for getting to arriving within three minutes. "This type of crime is just shocking to me," Lamont said. "A lot of this crime, it maybe is one-off, but they know each other. This is not random acts of violence. This started out with some sort of a beef, some sort of an argument. And rather than ending up with a fisticuff, someone pulls out a semiautomatic and shoots seven rounds and badly wounds five people." The governor said work needs to be done in the community to root out "sources of friction," but he told the public, "I want you back in this mall." Waterbury police announced in a Facebook post late Tuesday that "detectives have identified a person of interest, and he is in police custody at this time." Spagnolo told reporters Tuesday that none of the victims were fatally wounded, and all of them were transported and treated at area hospitals. "We do not believe this was a random act of violence," Spagnolo said Tuesday. "We believe this started as a conflict and it escalated. We do know that there was one gunman at this time [whom] we've identified. That gunman was armed with a semi-automatic pistol." The chief also said evidence was recovered that helped to identify the type of weapon used and "hopefully" the shooter, through various investigative means and forensic technology. State Police, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are assisting police with the investigation, which includes the collection of video and digital evidence. "This is going to be a very lengthy and ongoing and active investigation," Spagnolo said. He also said there is no danger to the public, though he advised anyone to report anything suspicious to the police. Lamont called the shooting "tragic" in a post on X. "This afternoon there was a tragic mass shooting at the Bass Mill Center in Waterbury, a place where everyone should feel safe. We are grateful to law enforcement, who acted swiftly," the governor wrote. "Details are still forthcoming, but the @CT_STATE_POLICE will be assisting @WaterburyPD with the investigation. Our hearts break for the Waterbury community, the victims, and their families who have been impacted by this incident."
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The night WWE legend Scott Hall killed a man
"Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," the upcoming book written by Marc Raimondi which documents the rise of the legendary nWo faction and the impact it had on the broader world, publishes on Tuesday, June 24. The following is an excerpt detailing the rise of Scott Hall, aka two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee Razor Ramon, who emerged as a central figure in wrestling's New World Order. Hall was at work the night of January 15, 1983, tending bar at the strip club Thee Dollhouse in Orlando, Florida. He was bracing himself. Hall knew an altercation — 'of course it was over a girl' — was imminent. Advertisement It was early in his shift when Hall got word that the husband of the woman he had been seeing was outside in the parking lot. The man had busted all the windows out of Hall's car, and was fixing to get a piece of Hall next. Hall, a well-built, 6-foot-5 bodybuilder, went outside to confront the man and knocked him down immediately with one punch. The man, named Rodney Perry Turner, reached for a firearm and a struggle ensued. Hall took hold of the gun first — and shot Perry Turner in the head. He died instantly. Hall, then just 24 years old, was charged with second-degree murder. The case against him was later dismissed when sworn testimony was not enough to prosecute. 'I drilled him, and he went down, and his shirt went up and he was reaching for the gun, so I reached for it, too,' Hall recalled. Advertisement A bar employee told the Orlando Sentinel at the time Perry Turner had threatened to kill both Hall and Perry Turner's wife, Carol, when he found out Hall and Carol were dating. Two months earlier, Perry Turner had fatally shot another man. Perry Turner claimed he was attacked after the man made a pass at Carol. Perry Turner was never charged, as the killing was ruled justifiable. 'I should have sought counseling right then, but I didn't know anything,' Hall said. 'I was a kid.' Hall was raised in a military family. He has referred to his father as a 'big shot' in the U.S. Army. Hall's parents and grandparents had issues with alcohol, an addiction that definitely did not skip a generation. Advertisement 'We come from a long line of hard-drinking rednecks,' Hall said. Hall went to high school in Germany where his dad was stationed and moved just about every year before his family settled in Florida when he was a teen. Hall's father was a pro-wrestling fan, and Hall himself wanted to be a wrestler ever since he was eight years old when his dad took him to a hair-versus-hair match. Hall took a piece of the losing wrestler's hair home with him. 'And I just was hooked since then,' Hall said. Hall had spent time working the regional circuit as a wrestler in the 1980s, including a stint in the AWA like Hulk Hogan. Hall had a run with Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig as the AWA tag-team champions, and Verne Gagne then wanted to position Hall as his No. 1 babyface. Hall absolutely looked the part. He was tall and handsome with light brown hair and a bushy mustache. With a wide chest, big arms, and bulging trapezius muscles, Hall looked kind of like a jacked-up Tom Selleck. Razor Ramon makes his entrance at WWF Wrestlemania X8. (George Pimentel via Getty Images) 'When Verne started pushing him to be his top guy, I know other people were going like, 'Oh man, same size as Hogan, better body, better-looking,'' Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer said. 'But when it didn't work, it was kind of like, 'Oh, he doesn't have charisma.'' Advertisement Things just didn't click for Hall as a generic good guy. The fans didn't get behind him. After taking a hiatus from wrestling, Hall found his way to WCW in 1991. He knew he had to change things up, because regular old Scott Hall, as impressive as he looked with his shirt off, wasn't working. And Hall really committed to changing things up. His new character was called The Diamond Studd. He was a cocky ladies' man with slicked-back black hair, a toothpick between his teeth, and dark sunglasses. The bushy hair and mustache were long gone. The Diamond Studd wore a five o'clock shadow and didn't skip trips to the tanning bed. The leaner Studd looked nothing like 'Big' Scott Hall from the AWA. The Diamond Studd was managed on screen by Diamond Dallas Page, who previously had accompanied the very popular Fabulous Freebirds to the ring. Like Hall, Page had a background in the nightlife industry, managing several Florida clubs. Hall and Page got along well, in the ring and outside of it. And Hall started to have some success in WCW with Page by his side. Hall had size, good looks, and could work an entertaining match in the ring. There might not be a blueprint for wrestling stardom, but he checked a lot of boxes. Still, Hall wasn't being positioned past the early matches on WCW cards. The main event wasn't even in sight. Advertisement That didn't matter to Hall so much. He was grateful just to have the job of his dreams. But Hall and his wife, Dana, had just had their first child, Cody. Making more money to support his growing family would have been nice. So Hall started having conversations with Pat Patterson, McMahon's right-hand man. nWo members Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan face off with Lex Luger, The Giant and Booker T during WCW Monday Nitro in February 1997. (WWE via Getty Images) 'Some guys were higher up [in WWF], but everybody was a star,' Hall said. 'So I said, 'I don't have to be a main eventer, I still want to wrestle.' Because even the lower-paid wrestlers are getting paid, and I had no education. So I thought, this is what I still want to do for a living. If I have to be a bottom guy, I'd rather do it for the best company.' 'Bottom guys' in wrestling — or low carders and midcarders — are kind of like the fighters you see on the preliminaries of boxing or UFC events. They're talented enough and have a big enough following to earn a spot on the event, but don't have the skill level or star quality to make the main event. Their main role is to lose to wrestlers tabbed as stars as those would-be stars make their way to a headlining role. Advertisement Hall would never be a 'bottom guy' again. He was pushed near the top of the card immediately in the WWF with a new character: Razor Ramon. Hall, as Ramon, became an arrogant, well-dressed, and villainous Cuban American from Miami. It was basically a rip-off of Al Pacino's suave but brutally violent Tony Montana character in "Scarface," which had gained a renewed cult following a decade after its release. McMahon had never seen the movie and when Hall came to him with the idea, he thought Hall was a genius. For weeks on WWF television there were taped vignettes trumping up his arrival. Hall wore gold chains with an open, button-down shirt revealing his chest hair. He spoke with a fake Cuban accent, called people 'chico,' and borrowed phrases from "Scarface," adding his own spin, like 'say hello to the Bad Guy.' Hall was neither Cuban nor even Hispanic, just like Hogan wasn't actually Irish. In wrestling, everything is about the performance. And Hall was more than believable enough as Razor Ramon.
