• Sports

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

August 25, 2024

NFL PLayer Cam Jordan Becomes Little Caesars Franchise Owner

'This collaboration aligns perfectly with my commitment to community, entrepreneurship, and fostering growth opportunities,' said Jordan.

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New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan was recently announced as the newest partner in several Little Caesars franchises.

The company announced that the NFL Pro Bowler is a partner with Little Caesars franchisees Andrew Feghali and Michael Khalil. Jordan has already appeared in numerous commercials for the fast food chain and has always touted being a regular customer of Little Caesars while growing up in Chandler, Arizona.

“I am excited to announce my partnership with Little Caesars as a franchise investor,” said Jordan in a written statement. “This collaboration aligns perfectly with my commitment to community, entrepreneurship, and fostering growth opportunities. I am thrilled to join a business that has had such a longstanding impact in my life.”

Jordan joins with Feghali, who owns several franchises across the United States, including Dave’s Hot Chicken and Jersey Mike’s.

“Cam is our ideal partner; we both share a deep passion for the Little Caesars brand and a strong commitment to serving our communities. I am thrilled to welcome him aboard as we continue to grow our footprint with Little Caesars,” said Andrew Feghali, franchisee and CEO of AMF Restaurants.

Last year, Jordan signed a two-year, $27.5 million extension to stay with the Saints. The defensive player was set to enter the last year of a three-year, $52.5 million extension he signed in 2019 when he agreed to stay with the team until the 2025 season.

The latest Little Caesars franchise owner has been to the Pro Bowl eight times and is a three-time All-Pro selection. The nine-time captain is the Saints’ all-time sack leader, with 117.5 sacks as he enters his 14th season in the league. He is currently No. 23 on the list of NFL all-time career sack leaders.

Jordan also gives back to the community through his Cam Jordan Foundation, which focuses on impacting children’s lives and improving the community through resources, youth development, and innovative experiences.

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• Technology

by Daniel Johnson

August 24, 2024

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Revealed As Investor In Elon Musk’s Twitter/X Takeover

In the court order mandating that the social media platform release a list of non-redacted names, the court maintained that Twitter/X had put itself into the position that it now found itself in.

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Following a federal lawsuit over Elon Musk’s alleged failure to pay arbitration fees after his purchase of Twitter/X, the company was forced to disclose its list of shareholders. The list includes entities connected to Sean “Diddy” Combs, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud, as well as billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the filing, which resulted in a victory for the plaintiffs, provides a peek into who financed Musk’s $44 billion purchase of Twitter in October 2023.

The company, of course, fought to hide the names of its investors, citing that “[n]o publicly held corporation owns 10% or more,” but a journalist and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argued that Twitter/X’s position in the global marketplace of ideas necessitated understanding the financial motives that could potentially shape the platform. 

In the court order mandating that the social media platform release a list of non-redacted names, the court maintained that X had put itself into the position that it now found itself in. The platform, however, decided to move the case to the Northern District of California federal court, which has rules about disclosing entities with a financial stake in the lawsuit. 

According to the federal judge’s ruling, “Here, respondents have presented little more than conjecture in support of their position,” the judge wrote. “The disclosure statement does not contain any scandalous information or trade secrets. On the record before it, the court is unable to discern a factual basis for sealing the disclosure.”

According to Fortune, Jacob Silverman, the journalist who worked with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, told the outlet that it was important for the public to know who was potentially influencing the platform. 

“Simply, it’s about transparency, disclosure, and free speech—on behalf of the public and X’s users,” Silverman said, before continuing, “It’s important that the public knows who owns the platform, who might influence its governance, and who Musk owes.”

The Washington Post was the first outlet to release a full list of the stakeholders, and according to its reporting, a fund linked to Combs was among the investors in Musk’s bid to purchase Twitter/X. It also noted that many of the funds listed on the filing are controlled by the same firm or person. In addition to Combs and the Saudi Crown Prince, other investors include venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Twitter founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey, and 8VC, a venture capital firm started by Joe Lonsdale, the co-founder of an intelligence contractor and data analysis platform, Palantir. 

According to Rolling Stone, The New York Times reporters Kate Conger and Ryan Mac detail an anecdote in their forthcoming book, Character Limit: How Elon Musk Destroyed Twitter, regarding Elon Musk trying to assure Datavio Samuels, the CEO of Revolt, that the surge in racist content wouldn’t alienate Black users due to the surge in hate speech on the platform. 

“I don’t know if you know this, but Puff [one of Combs’ former stage names] is an investor in Twitter.” Musk told Samuels, “You know, he’s a good friend of mine. We text a lot.”

According to their reporting, Fidelity Investments, a financial services company, provides the clearest picture of the potential loss for those who invested in Musk’s purchase of Twitter. The company cut its initial $20 million valuation to approximately $5.6 million, representing a 71.5% loss.

RELATED CONTENT: Don Lemon Calls Out Elon Musk For Fraud And Breach Of Contract In $1.5M Lawsuit

• News

by Daniel Johnson

August 24, 2024

World Bank Pulls Advertising From Twitter/X Over Ads Appearing Under Racist Content

The World Bank pulled its ads from Twitter/X after a CBS report showed its content appearing alongside white supremacist content.

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The World Bank has pulled all of its paid advertising from X, formerly known as Twitter, after a report from CBS News indicated that its promoted content was above racist content from white supremacist accounts who also paid to advertise on the application.

CBS News reported that the account, which they are not publicly identifying, has more than 115,000 followers and regularly posts white nationalist and neo-Nazi content. The World Bank’s official X account has 3.8 million followers.

According to a statement given to CBS News by a spokesperson for the World Bank on Aug. 23, the group was already working with the platform to ensure strong safety protocols, but this latest incident was the last straw, and they have pulled their advertising entirely. 

“The World Bank Group had already reduced its paid marketing on X while working with the platform to implement the strongest safety protocols X offers for our content. This latest incident is entirely unacceptable, and we are immediately ceasing all paid marketing on X.”

According to CBS News, the account has been populating on X over numerous businesses underneath multiple posts from the account sharing neo-Nazi content, including a video of Adolph Hitler, captioned, “We defeated the wrong enemy.”

Through its investigation, the outlet indicates that several “blue-check” accounts regularly post racist content and have their promoted content appear in the comments section of recognizable brands. The accounts seem to violate X’s terms of service, which state, in part, that users “may not attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”

The terms of service also indicate that X prohibits the targeting of people or groups through media that depicts either the Holocaust or any “symbols historically associated with hate groups, e.g., the Nazi swastika.”

In March, Wired reported that in stark contrast to the stated terms of service, Elon Musk, the owner of X, allegedly suspended or banned accounts that revealed the identity of a neo-Nazi cartoonist known as Stonetoss after the cartoonist directly appealed to Musk.

Among those who had their accounts suspended for posting Stonetoss’ real name, Hans Kristian Graebener, were Jared Holt, a senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Hannah Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and Steven Monacelli, an investigative reporter for the Texas Observer.

Monacelli told Wired before X changed its privacy policy to prohibit posting “the identity of an anonymous user, such as their name or media depicting them,” that “According to X’s terms of service, posting someone’s name does not constitute doxing, but, many accounts, including my own, have been made to delete posts that merely mention the name of the racist and antisemitic cartoonist Stonetoss. I’ve never seen enforcement like this before.”

In June, NBC News reported that Twitter/X was placing promoted ads with hashtags commonly used by white supremacists, which came nearly 18 months after Musk promised to demonetize hateful posts on the platform. 

At the time, X stated to NBC News via email asserting its rules around violent and hateful speech. 

“X has clear rules in place relating to violent and hateful speech, and robust protections in place for advertisers. One of our enforcement tools is to limit the reach of posts, which is not reflected in this research.” 

However, according to Megan Squire, a deputy data director for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the platform’s enabling of extremist accounts to monetize and promote their content contradicts its attempts to become a cultural power player.

“It shows that it’s not top of mind, and it’s not on anyone’s to-do list for the week,” Squire told NBC News. “It’s a choice. They can’t have it both ways. If you’re going to have the power to weigh in on cultural issues, then that extends to the responsibility to use that power for good.”

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• News

by Daniel Johnson

August 24, 2024

Former Florida Deputy Charged With Manslaughter In Killing Of Black Airman Roger Fortson

Eddie Duran could spend up to 30 years in prison if found guilty.

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Eddie Duran, the former Okaloosa County sheriff’s deputy who shot and killed U.S. Airman Roger Fortson in May, has been charged with manslaughter, according to Florida authorities. 

According to NPR, Duran will be charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm.

Gregory Marcille, the assistant state attorney for Okaloosa County, told the outlet that that particular charge carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. However, the Okaloosa County State Attorney’s Office declined to make any additional comments due to the nature of the ongoing investigation.

Ginger Brown Madden, the Okaloosa County State Attorney, also told NPR that there is an outstanding warrant for Duran’s arrest. 

Benjamin Crump, who is one of the lawyers representing Fortson’s family, said in a statement that the manslaughter charge represents a step toward “real justice” for Fortson’s family.

“Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family,” Crump said.

The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department issued its own statement, declaring that it has been “accountable and transparent” during its discussions with Fortson’s family and counsel and their communications with the U.S. Air Force.

“The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) has been fully accountable and transparent in its compliance with statutory requirements, providing numerous public statements, making accessible the available body-worn camera footage and other related records, meeting with Mr. Fortson’s family and legal counsel, and communicating openly with the U.S. Air Force and our community-at-large.”

As BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported, Fortson was allegedly shot and killed by Duran when Duran responded to a call about a disturbance at Fortson’s apartment. However, when Duran approached his door, Fortson was alone and on FaceTime with his girlfriend.

According to NPR, bodycam footage shows Duran announcing himself as law enforcement after knocking on his door, and Fortson appears holding a gun to the ground on the other side of the door. Duran fired several shots into Fortson, who later died at a hospital.

According to Brian Barr, another of the Fortson family’s lawyers, the call Duran was sent to respond to did not correspond to Fortson’s apartment and Crump said in May that Duran was not even supposed to come into Fortson’s apartment. 

Originally, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Department went with Duran’s self-defense claim, but after an internal investigation concluded that Duran’s use of deadly force was “not objectively reasonable and therefore violated agency policy,” Duran was fired. 

Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden released a statement following the firing of Duran saying that the killing of Fortson should never have happened.

“This tragic incident should have never occurred,” Aden said. “The objective facts do not support the use of deadly force as an appropriate response to Mr. Fortson’s actions. Mr. Fortson did not commit any crime. By all accounts, he was an exceptional airman and individual.”

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