Latest news with #TNS
The Star
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
J.Lo suffers wardrobe mishap in concert: 'I don't usually wear underwear'
Jennifer Lopez has been garnering plenty of publicity for her risque shows. Photo: TNS Jennifer Lopez seems to be feeling like herself these days, upon turning 56 and in the aftermath of her high-profile divorce from Ben Affleck — enough that she continued her recent trend of sex-forward displays in her Up All Night world tour by letting the world know that she doesn't wear underwear. This revelation came amid a wardrobe malfunction during Lopez's show in Warsaw, Poland, Friday night, as People reported. The mega-star entertainer came on stage during a moment when her band and back-up singers and dancers got the crowd to sing Happy Birthday to her. Lopez was wearing a glittery, gold skirt that a dancer had apparently just tied on, but it fell to the stage floor, revealing that she was wearing glittery, gold underpants, according to a video posted to her official YouTube channel. Lopez didn't let the potentially embarrassing wardrobe mishap phase her and even found a way to use it for this show-stopping, 'surprise moment,' as she billed it on YouTube. She flashed a big smile and strutted around the stage in her self-described 'underwear,' waving her arms and pulling off a little spin. After a dancer approached her to reattach the skirt, Lopez waved him off. 'I'm out here in my underwear,' Lopez jokingly proclaimed. 'I'm glad I had underwear on. I don't usually wear underwear,' Lopez revealed. Of course, the 'underwear' also could be seen as bikini bottoms, or short shorts, that are part of the costume and not designed to be that revealing. But Lopez, who played a pole dancer in the acclaimed 2019 film Hustlers , seemed to revel in the idea that she was being risque, as she tossed the skirt into the crowd and told fans to 'keep it.' Lopez has been garnering plenty of publicity for her show, and for the suggestive things she says about her sex life and for the 'X-rated' dance moves she does with some of her male dancers, as the Daily Mail reported. She incited the ire of pro-Trump SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly, who took to X last week to angrily share a clip from one of Lopez's recent performances. The clip showed Lopez straddling one of her dancer's shoulders with her crotch in his face. 'So she's a soft porn star now,' Kelly wrote alongside the video. 'Great choices!' – The Mercury News/Tribune News Service
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
TNS Half Year 2025 Robocall Report: Bad Actors Exploiting Non-IP Networks of Smaller Carriers
SIM boxing and other evolving tactics exploit non-IP traffic RESTON, Va., July 29, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--New data, released today in the Transaction Network Services (TNS) 2025 Half Year Robocall Investigation Report, reveals that bad actors are increasingly able to exploit vulnerabilities within smaller carrier networks that have not fully migrated from legacy to all-IP networks. Eighty-four percent of all call traffic between top US telecom providers (Verizon, UScellular, T-Mobile, Lumen, Comcast, Charter and AT&T) was signed and verified with STIR/SHAKEN protocols in the first half of 2025 – affirming that tier-1 carriers are maintaining a high success rate protecting their subscribers from unwanted robocalls. But only 21% of calls were signed when originating from non tier-1 carriers. "Tier-1 operators are delivering consistently high levels of signed call traffic following their migration to SIP networks and STIR/SHAKEN implementation," said Seth Walton, TNS' General Manager of Communications Market. "However, our Report data underscores that until more smaller carriers migrate their networks for SIP-to-SIP connectivity, bad actors have a path into launching robocall campaigns. Regulators, policymakers and industry leaders must continue to advance efforts and cost-feasible technologies to facilitate this network migration." The latest iteration of TNS' Robocall Investigation Report also includes several new robocall insights and trends for telecom industry stakeholders to prepare for the remainder of the year: Tier-1 Operators Face Challenges with Invalid Attestation Ninety-four percent of call traffic between top carriers was signed with "A-level" attestation. That's good news, as it demonstrates that these operators have established SIP-to-SIP connections between originating and terminating parties, making it more difficult for robocall bad actors to infiltrate tier-1 networks. However, authentication challenges are emerging as invalid attestation is occurring more frequently whereby spam calls are being delivered with improperly signed A attestation. Therefore, while some carriers may be signing traffic successfully, further call verification is needed to validate calls and eliminate openings for bad actors. Smaller Carriers' Delayed IP Migration Forces FCC Action Smaller carriers that were able to sign calls maintained strong attestation levels as well: 93% of call traffic that was signed by non–tier-1 carriers included "A-level" attestation. However, with many smaller carriers struggling to migrate fully to IP networks and Tier-1 carriers' signed traffic stagnation, bad actors are still able to hide unwanted call traffic. In response, the Federal Communications Commission adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that will mandate and facilitate stronger call authentication frameworks for non-IP networks. Top Robocall Scams in the First Half of the Year One of the most prevalent robocall scams in the first half of the year was an IRS back taxes scam, where bad actors spoofed legitimate IRS numbers to impersonate the agency, claiming the victims owed taxes and threatening them with arrest or prison time due to the alleged tax debts. SIM boxing (also known as interconnect bypass fraud) has historically been associated with fraudsters seeking to exploit price disparities between local and international call rates. But now, bad actors are using SIM boxes to launch robocall spam campaigns from overseas by leveraging multiple SIM cards to conceal traffic within trusted networks. This attack is difficult for operators to identify and tag, as they trust traffic that originates in their own network. Other common robocall scams included fund recovery scams, Google Voice scams, solar power scams and precious metal investment scams. Americans More Proactively Reporting Robocall Activity Americans are taking a greater initiative to report scam calls. According to recent TNS survey data, 43% of respondents submitted a robocall complaint to their state's Attorney General, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or the Do Not Call Registry in the last 12 months. This represents a significant increase from 2023, when 28% of people submitted a robocall complaint. For access to the latest robocall data trends and insights on the top scams targeting Americans this year, download the TNS Half Year 2025 Robocall Investigation Report. About TNS: TNS, a market leader in call analytics and robocall mitigation, provides an end-to-end ecosystem for protecting, and restoring trust in, voice calls. TNS addresses the full needs of wireless and wireline operators globally with TNS Call Guardian® the industry-leading call analytics solution that protects subscribers from high risk and nuisance robocalls. In addition, its Enterprise Branded Calling solution is the core component of its Identity Analytics Suite that is taking the next step in enriching consumer engagement, making voice calling an integral part of an omnichannel customer experience program. TNS analyzes over one billion call events across more than 500 operators every single day, enabling carriers to identify more unwanted robocalls. For additional information visit: View source version on Contacts Company Contact: TNSClare Cockroft/Sarah Chapman703-814-8065pr@ Or Media Contact: Bluetext for TNSThomas Walter646-265-3144tns@
The Star
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Novels and movies offer closure. Video games should too.
A scene from 'Shadow of the Colossus'. The industry's shift toward live service games that are updated for years has studios unwilling to embrace the power of mortality. — Handout via TNS Twenty years ago, while the credits rolled on Shadow Of The Colossus , I left my PlayStation 2 console powered on and took a somber lap around my neighbourhood. I had just defeated the last of the game's 16 colossi before being violently flung across the desolate battlefield. The game's themes of sacrifice, obsession and the morality of violence stitched together an unforgettable narrative. As I walked around a nearby basketball court, I was full of contemplation over the ending's meaning and a yearning that I didn't want the game to be over. But that's precisely why the protagonist Wander's journey left such an indelible mark: It ended. Too many games nowadays are unwilling to embrace their own story's mortality. Live service games, which are continually updated for months or even years, have become extremely popular for studios because successful ones can be financially lucrative. By the end of the year, Fortnite is projected to have generated more than US$40bil (RM 169.09bil) in revenue since its 2017 release, drawing players back with regular updates and special events like an AI-powered Darth Vader and concerts featuring J Balvin and Juice WRLD. A survey of game studios that was taken in 2023 revealed that 95% of them were working on a live service game or intended to release one. Sony, which created Shadow of the Colossus, has leaned into live service in recent years with very mixed success. The trend needs to end. Live service games rely on questionable microtransaction tactics, with some giving advantages to people who spend more money. They can be overly competitive, with players pouring hours into mimicking their favorite content creators. And they are becoming painfully unimaginative, with new hero shooters and extraction shooters looking like clones of their popular predecessors. For decades, video games told stories that ended but lived on in the cultural impact of their characters, their themes and their myths. Narrative-driven games are still being released – Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales , Ghost Of Tsushima , the modern God Of War – that leave players with a sense of overwhelming grief or intense satisfaction. The steady encroachment of the live service model, however, means that artistic finality is clashing with the hope of financial perpetuity. Bigger budgets for blockbuster games have transformed the industry, and many studios consider live service a better bet. But because players can't easily devote dozens of hours to multiple live service games, there have been a few big winners and many, many losers. Anthem , a multiplayer role-playing game by Electronic Arts, stopped receiving updates two years after its release and will have its servers turned off in January; Sony's hero shooter Concord lasted two weeks . Even a successful live service game like Destiny 2 has seen player counts plummet, with each expansion introducing changes that can overwhelm players who are returning to the game. The model has other problems. Studios that need players to return to the same game for months or years often tantalise them with seasonal items or quests, a predatory 'Fear of Missing Out' model. Some players spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars within sports titles like EA Sports FC and NBA 2K ; when the game's servers are inevitably shut off, they own nothing regardless of how many times they've virtually swiped a credit card. There is even a 'Stop Killing Games' petition that is trying to combat that trend. Although industry trends seem to favor the live service model, there is still some room for contemplation and reflection in an industry that seems to be picking up speed. In recent years, games like The Last of Us Part II and Alan Wake 2 were praised for their tightly contained, emotionally driven narratives. They emphasised thoughtful relationship building between characters and offered immersive experiences, core tenets of games with a focus on narratives that end but never leave us. Shadow Of The Colossus was critically acclaimed but never even received a sequel. Wander's story would lose its potency if, after defeating the final colossus, players needed to wait for Season 2 to continue his journey. – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
That this is gaslighting is only in your silly, little mind
If you wanted to see the poster boy for the psychological manipulation technique known as gaslighting, look no further than the American ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra. Hoekstra, you'll recall, recently said U.S. President Donald Trump thought Canadians were 'nasty' because we aren't travelling to the United States and aren't buying American liquor, among other products. Gaslighting is when you try to deny reality to advance your own argument. This is the reality Hoekstra is trying to deny: Trump, without cause or justification, started this series of events. Advertisement Why this ad? For them to get angry at our response is classic gaslighting. Both countries, with the exception of a leader who doesn't understand how global trade works, were happy with their previous trade arrangement. Trump himself praised the deal he now criticizes and wonders which idiot signed it. (Hint: you did, Don.) American businesses were quite content, knowing Canada was America's biggest customer by a large margin. Trump tried to gaslight Prime Minister Mark Carney in the Oval Office by denying that; Carney was having none of it. Prime Minister Mark Carney fact-checked U.S. President Donald Trump in May when Trump claimed the U.S. doesn't do much business with Canada: 'We are the largest client of the United States.' (Anna Moneymake / TNS files) Trump tries to gaslight the world by claiming it's so unfair that American manufacturing is in decline, having shifted to lower-wage countries such as Bangladesh, Taiwan and Vietnam, among others. He ignores entirely that the United States has nobody to blame for that but itself, when many American companies were all too happy replacing most of their organizational charts with cheap, foreign labour. Trump's understanding of global trade, of tariffs and what trade deficits and surpluses mean, is absolutely not grounded in any kind of reality. There's a joke making the rounds on social media that goes something like this: 'I was at the grocery store yesterday and bought $100 in groceries. The store didn't buy a thing from me, so to make up that trade deficit, I'm going to impose a 50 per cent tariff on my purchases. My spending $150 for $100 in groceries is really going to show that store!' Prices haven't spiked in the U.S. due to tariffs yet, but economists are saying it's because many businesses and some consumers stocked up on affected items before the tariffs kick in. With the Aug. 1 deadline looming, businesses won't be able to hold the price on items for long.
The Star
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Actress Winona Ryder claims director threatened to 'destroy her life'
, though both of her brothers have worked as production assistants on a select number of her movies. Photo: TNS Winona Ryder has revealed a director she once worked with decades ago threatened to 'destroy [her] f—ing life' after she reported him for inappropriate behaviour. The two-time Oscar nominee, 53, recalled to Elle UK that after she asked producers if they could handle the difficult director, he confronted her the following day when she had 'a big scene,' making one of his own. Ryder claims the director approached her as if he was going to discuss the scene, then 'changed his tone to a whisper.' 'He came up to me, and he was like, 'OK, so um, if we just try it like – you f—ing c–, I'm gonna destroy your f—ing life,'' recalled the Beetlejuice star, saying she was then forced to jump into the scene acting as if everything was OK. 'What's so crazy is my brother was working as a PA on the movie, and I didn't even tell him, and I didn't complain,' she said. The Stranger Things actress did not disclose the identity of the director nor the film, though both of her brothers have worked as production assistants on a select number of her movies. IMDb shows that Uri Ryder, who goes by Uri Horowitz, was a production assistant on 1994's Reality Bites , directed by Ben Stiller. Her half-brother, Jubal Palmer was meanwhile a production assistant on Janusz Kaminski's Lost Souls and Steven Brill's Mr. Deeds remake, both of which starred Winona. Palmer was also credited as his sister's own assistant on the set of Richard Linklater's A Scanner Darkly . Nearly a decade after Reality Bites , Ryder made a cameo in 2001's Zoolander ,1 also helmed by and starring Stiller, but she never again worked on projects directed by Linklater or Kaminski. The latter is best known as the Academy Award-winning cinematographer behind Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan . – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
