by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

December 5, 2024

Jewell Loyd Requests Trade From WNBA’s Seattle Storm

Loyd demands the action after complaining of bullying from the coaching staff and team announces no verification of complaints.

Seattle Storm All-Star guard Jewell Loyd has asked to be traded from the WNBA team.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the two-time WNBA champion and 2015 Rookie of the Year no longer wants to play for the team. She previously complained to the team that there was harassment and bullying from the coaching staff, which launched an investigation into her accusations. It was reported in November that the Storm hired a law firm to investigate the claim. The team recently announced that no violations were discovered in the investigation, which may have led to Loyd’s request.

The Storm provided ESPN with a statement regarding the results of the report.

“The Storm recently received internal allegations of potential workplace policy violations. The organization retained an outside investigator to conduct an impartial investigation into the allegations. The investigation has been completed, and there were no findings of policy violations or any discrimination, harassment, or bullying.”

Loyd has spent her whole career with the Storm and helped the team win multiple WNBA titles in 2018 and 2020. She is a six-time All-Star and has been selected three times as an all-WNBA player. The Storm drafted her as the top pick in the 2015 draft. Last year, she led the WNBA in scoring and won two gold medals in the Olympics, playing with USA Basketball. She re-signed with the team for a supermax two-year extension in September 2023.

Earlier this year, the team signed coveted free agents Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike. After Diggins-Smith signed, shortly after the Storm got Ogwumike to place her signature on a contract after playing for the Los Angeles Sparks, Diggins-Smith made it clear that she wanted to play alongside Loyd.

“I’m laser-focused for the upcoming season. Stepping onto the court alongside Jewell, benefiting from the leadership of Noelle Quinn, and feeling the energy of the Seattle Storm fans is a combination that I am confident will lead to success.”

Memphis police, federal judge, civil rights investigation

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

December 5, 2024

DOJ Determines Memphis Cops Have History Of Excessive Force, Violating Rights Of Black People

The Memphis Police Department is called to task by the Department of Justice.

A Department of Justice investigation into the Memphis Police Department (MPD) and the City of Memphis, has revealed that both entities have a pattern of violating the rights of city’s Black residents. Specifically, actions police officers have taken against Black people in the city violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

The report states that the MPD uses excessive force, and conducts unlawful stops, searches, and arrests. In addition, the police department unlawfully discriminates against Black people when enforcing the law as well as unlawfully discriminating when tending to people with behavioral health disabilities.

“The people of Memphis deserve a police department and city that protects their civil and constitutional rights, garners trust, and keeps them safe,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division in a written statement. “…Our investigation also identified troubling policing practices that impact some of Memphis’ most vulnerable residents—its children. We acknowledge Memphis’ cooperation during our investigation and look forward to instituting reforms that will address the harms we identified.”

Memphis is where several police officers beat Tyre Nichols after he was pulled over for reckless driving on Jan. 7, 2023. Video caught five police officers, all members of a crime suppression team called the Scorpion Unit, pummeling Nichols. He died three days later at a local hospital. The five officers were fired for violating police department policies and the unit was disbanded.

In October, three of the former Memphis police officers were convicted of federal witness tampering charges, NBC News reported.

The Justice Department stated that this investigation is separate from its criminal cases against the former MPD police officers for federal crimes related to Nichols’ death.

The department opened this investigation on July 27, 2023. Attorneys and staff in the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee conducted it.

by Sharelle B. McNair

December 5, 2024

Lawsuit Accuses Amazon Of Slight Delivery Service To Predominantly Black D.C. Neighborhoods

If safety was a concern, something else could have been done.

Online retail conglomerate Amazon was hit with a lawsuit for allegedly slowing down Prime delivery service in two predominantly Black neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., while customers still paid for the service, Associated Press reports.

The suit, filed by D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, accuses the company of delaying delivery to two low-income ZIP codes, 20019 and 20020, also known as Ward seven and eight, forcing customers to rely on third-party delivery services, including UPS and USPS in 2022. By embedding a delivery “exclusion,” customers in the ZIP codes were still paying $139 a year or $14.99 per month for Prime delivery, which included one-day, two-day, and same-day shipments.

Schwalb’s office claimed the company failed to alert Prime members within the regions about the change and experienced slower deliveries without an explanation. The suit also alleges Amazon did not tell new customers about the exclusions when they signed up for Prime memberships. “Amazon is charging tens of thousands of hard-working Ward 7 and 8 residents for an expedited delivery service it promises but does not provide,” Schwalb said in a statement.

“While Amazon has every right to make operational changes, it cannot covertly decide that a dollar in one ZIP code is worth less than a dollar in another.”

One resident, Sehree Mickel, said some packages didn’t come for close to a week after ordering. Mickel says she has lived in southeast D.C. for over four years and has been an Amazon Prime member for several years. She noticed the limited number of Amazon trucks seen in her new neighborhood since she lived in Virginia prior. “It’s not one to two days. It’s more five to six, seven days sometimes. And I’m like…are we still doing Prime?” Mickel said, according to Fox 5 DC.

“I noticed there were no Prime trucks in our neighborhood, not even on our street or even in the block when you’re leaving to go out, you don’t see any trucks in the area.”

She decided to test the theory of the lack of deliveries correlating with the ZIP codes. “So, I reached out. I said, ‘I’m going to send it to my old address in Alexandria.’ They got it in the same day within hours, dog bags. They got it within the same hour,” she remembered.

“So, I said…‘Hmm…I’m going to send it to my friend in Upper Marlboro; they got it later that night or early the next morning. Same product, several days? That doesn’t make sense.”

Amazon seemingly defended its stance, claiming the change was made due to driver safety concerns, stating there have been targeted acts of violence. “There have been specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages” in the two ZIP codes, and the company made the change to “put the safety of delivery drivers first. “We made the deliberate choice to adjust our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting the safety of drivers,” spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement.

“The claims made by the attorney general, that our business practices are somehow discriminatory or deceptive, are categorically false.”

Since 2020, the suit says more than $4.5 million has been spent by Prime members, with 50,000 members being affected in the targeted region. Several residents rely on such services, especially for food deliveries, since the area is a noted food desert. Prior to Amazon’s decision to implement its delivery “exclusion,” over 72% of Prime packages in the listed ZIP codes were delivered within two days.

However, it dropped to 24% in 2023.

by Kandiss Edwards

December 5, 2024

8-Year-Old Shooting Victim’s Grandmother Offers Forgiveness To His Killer

'Yes, you took a life, but there's still hope for you because you're alive.'

On Nov. 26, while riding along Swan Avenue near Kingfisher Avenue in Baton Rouge, LA, 8-year-old Diellon Daniels was killed during a drive-by shooting. Now, the boy’s grandmother, Erica Rayford, is offering forgiveness while appealing to the shooter to surrender to authorities, WAFB/Gray News reports.

“Yes, you committed the crime,” Rayford said. “Yes, you took a life, but there’s still hope because you’re still alive. We cannot see Dill again. They can see their family. Just own up to what you’ve done. Change your life. You never know what may happen.”

Unfortunately, the death of Diellon is not the only charge facing the shooter. At the time of the incident Courtlyn Daniels, Diellon’s mom who was pregnant at the time, was in her vehicle with five of her children. Three were injured in the shooting.

Courtlyn Daniels has since given birth to her eighth child.

Baton Rouge Police Chief TJ Morse said the Daniels family was caught in the middle of what appeared to be a targeted shooting. According to Morse, the car was struck 20 to 30 times as evidenced by the shell casings found on the scene.

The family is faced with uncertainty and financial turmoil. Courtlyn is raising funds to bury Diellon as she tries to make sense of the tragedy.

“I unexpectedly lost one of my dear eight, one of my baby boys, due to senseless gun violence. I have endured a pain no mother should have to bear, and that is losing a child, especially to gun violence,” she wrote in a GoFundMe post.

If you would like to donate to Diellon’s funeral expenses click here. As of the afternoon of December 5, the campaign has raised more than $35,000; the goal was $15,000.

Brian Thompson, UNITED HEALTHCARE, UnitedHealthcare, CEO, CEO

by Mitti Hicks

December 5, 2024

Social Media Users Lack Sympathy For United Healthcare CEO Who Was Fatally Shot

UnitedHealthcare is the country’s largest private health insurer by market share.

Social media users have responded with a lack of sympathy following the news that UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed.

Some social media users say his death is not surprising. UnitedHealthcare is the country’s largest private health insurer by market share. Recently, it has been the subject of lawsuits and criticism from regulators and lawmakers for allegedly denying claims to maximize profits.

“Deny. Defend. Depose. Those were the words written on the shell casings that killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson,” user beingjanine_ said on Threads. “And that, kiddos, is what we call Poetic Justice.”

View on Threads

“Interesting read about why most Americans weren’t too upset about the dispatching of the UnitedHealthcare CEO. Apparently, when you are callous enough and get rich from the misfortune and misery of others, people that you’ve violated the human contract,” Threads User Dawn The Amazing stated.

Other social media users discussed their experience working with the healthcare giant. Threads user Bhavinmistry_bm said he only lasted about six months in his early 20s.

“The call that broke me was a woman calling in about a bill she received. She had lost her six-year-old to a brain tumor,” he said. “They were planning the funeral and they got notice that they were being sued by a doctor because UH hadn’t paid a nearly 1.4 million dollar claim. I couldn’t really help her. Our call center was for checking if something was in-network or covered. But I could see the claim.”

Not everyone agrees with the lack of sympathy for the husband and dad of two.

“Anyone who thinks the death of the UnitedHealthcare CEO is funny seriously needs therapy,” Threads user shellbaby2013 said. “This man has a family just like we do.”

“People applauding the death of the assassination of the UnitedHealthcare CEO?!,” said Threads user steph1official_. “That’s horrible! He was still a person. People are evil smh.”

Thompson was shot and killed outside a midtown Manhattan hotel Wednesday morning, sending shockwaves across the nation. Police say a masked gunman shot 50-year-old Thompson multiple times before leaving the scene. All of this happened in a busy section of Manhattan outside of the Hilton Midtown Hotel. Thompson was attending a conference for UnitedHealthcare investors.

While police are calling it a “premeditated, pre-planned, and targeted attack,” social media has responded to the news, with many expressing little to no sympathy.

The shooter’s identity and motive are currently unknown. According to the latest report from CBS News, investigators have found bullets marked with the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written on them.

Threats Leading Up To His Murder

Thompson’s wife, Paulette Thompson, told NBC News that he received threats, which could have involved issues related to “lack of coverage.”

“Yes, there had been some threats,” Thompson stated. “Basically, I don’t know, a lack of coverage? I don’t know details. I just know that he said there were some people that had been threatening him.”

According to his wife, the CEO did not alter his travel plans despite the threats. Colleagues traveling with Thompson also said he wasn’t traveling with a security detail.

THE DNA OF CHANGE: DR. WELDON’S VISION FOR DIVERSITY IN GENETIC RESEARCH

by Black Enterprise

December 5, 2024

THE DNA OF CHANGE: DR. WELDON’S VISION FOR DIVERSITY IN GENETIC RESEARCH

Dr. Carika Weldon is seeking to be at the forefront of advancing genetic research, with a mission to bridge gaps in representation and health equity for underrepresented communities, particularly in the Caribbean. In this Q&A, she reflects on her journey as a trailblazer in medical research, shares insights into groundbreaking projects like the Caribbean Breast Cancer Whole Genome Pilot Study, and discusses her vision for the future of genomic science in the region. Discover how Dr. Weldon combines cutting-edge science with community advocacy to drive meaningful change in global health.

by Daniel Johnson

December 5, 2024

FBI Cautions Android, iPhone Users To Encrypt Messages Due To Hacking Concerns

The hacking campaign is one of the largest compromises of intelligence in United States history.

After an unprecedented cyber attack on telecommunications companies like AT&T and Verizon, officials are warning Android and iPhone users to use encrypted text messaging apps to communicate cross-platform.

Jeff Greene, executive assistant director for cybersecurity at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, recommended that Americans download and use encrypted messaging.

“Our suggestion, what we have told folks internally, is not new here: Encryption is your friend, whether it’s on text messaging or if you have the capacity to use encrypted voice communication. Even if the adversary is able to intercept the data, if it is encrypted, it will make it impossible,” Greene told NBC News.

Added an unnamed senior FBI official, “People looking to further protect their mobile device communications would benefit from considering using a cellphone that automatically receives timely operating system updates, responsibly managed encryption and phishing resistant” authentication for their email, social media, and collaborative accounts.

According to NBC News, the hacking campaign is one of the largest intelligence compromises in United States history, and there is currently no timetable for the hackers’ expected expulsion from Verizon, AT&T, and Lumen Technologies’ telecommunications systems. Greene told reporters that it’s “impossible to predict a time frame on when we’ll have full eviction.”

According to WIRED, not all message encrypting platforms are created equal.

Signal, a platform used most prominently by activists and journalists to avoid sensitive conversations and data from being pounced on by outside forces, currently offers the strongest end-to-end encryption available to the public.

Signal’s encryption, otherwise known as the Signal protocol, is so strong that it serves as the basis for WhatsApp encryption and Facebook’s Secret Messenger encryption programming. However, unlike WhatsApp, Signal collects no data about its users that can be handed to the federal government.

According to NBC News, the hack was targeted to expose the metadata of users around Washington, D.C. Metadata contains information like phone numbers of a given phone contacted.

The hack also attempted to acertain when live calls were made by some specific targets, such as the presidential campaigns of now-President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

The hack also targeted systems used by the three named telecommunications companies in compliance with the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA), which lets law enforcement and intelligence agencies that possess court orders track citizens’ communications.

Intelligence organizations believe that the hack’s intent was not an attempt to influence the election outcome but was instead a massive increase in the scale of an old espionage tradition of the Chinese government: the attempt to gather intelligence on America’s politics.

According to the Federal Communications Commission, “CALEA is intended to preserve the ability of law enforcement agencies to conduct electronic surveillance while protecting the privacy of information outside the scope of the investigation.”

However, Sen. Ron Wryden (D-OR) a strident advocate for privacy, was critical of the federal government’s use of CALEA, telling NBC News, “Whether it’s AT&T, Verizon, or Microsoft and Google, when those companies are inevitably hacked, China and other adversaries can steal those communications.”

Suspect Charged In Fatal Shooting Of 3-Year-Old On Thanksgiving

by Kandiss Edwards

December 5, 2024

Suspect Charged In Fatal Shooting Of 3-Year-Old On Thanksgiving

The 3-year-old's mother believes the shooting was accidental.

Tatisha Refuge, a 47-year-old New Orleans resident, turned herself into authorities following the death of 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff. Refuge is charged with “negligent homicide.”

Rudy’s mother, Leshawn Ratliff, is a Texas resident but visited Refuge, a surrogate mother to her, during the last days of the Thanksgiving holiday, she told Fox 8 News.

“I came here Saturday to pick up my older son. He spent his Thanksgiving break down here and I came down on Saturday to pick him up so that we can go home on Sunday and that they can go back to school on Monday,” Ratliff said.

While playing a game of UNO, Refuge’s unsecured weapon fell from her waistband and discharged, striking Rudy. Ratliff recounted how the scene unfolded after she discovered Rudy had been shot.

“I started seeing blood come out of his chest. That’s when I knew he was shot. So, I got on the phone with 911.”

The mother refused to wait for 911. Instead, she opted to drive Rudy to University Medical Center for treatment. She said Rudy appeared alive when they arrived at the facility. Unfortunately, 20 minutes later, she was informed of his passing.

Tatisha Refuge has been charged with negligent homicide as a result of the shooting that left 3-year-old Rudy Ratliff dead. #Khou11 @AmandaHTV
https://t.co/BFIeGhAHYG

— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) December 4, 2024

Ratliff cherished her relationship with Refuge and is torn now that her surrogate mother is being charged.

“It was an accidental shooting. The gun fell off his grandparent. It wasn’t in a safe. It wasn’t in a handgun position. It was just in the pocket, I guess, and fell out and shot my son,” Ratliff said. “I know it was a mistake. I believe in my heart it was a mistake. I just don’t understand. I just don’t understand.”

The grief-stricken mother set up a GoFundMe and is reaching out to the public for assistance in Rudy’s burial. To support the Ratliff family in their time of need, click here.

by Sharelle B. McNair

December 5, 2024

Home Depot Allegedly Faked Black Friday Deals By Covering Original Prices With Holiday Stickers With The Same Costs

Have you been bamboozled by Black Friday deals?

A TikTok video called out Home Depot for allegedly faking Black Friday deals by masking original prices as a “deal” with the exact same price.

With close to 25,000 likes, TikToker @sidemoneytom removed the “holiday sale” price sticker on a high-pressure inflator priced at $24.97, which was the original price underneath. He didn’t stop there. The content creator went around the home improvement retailer to expose other items that customers assumed they were getting for a steal. He exposed a smash burger maker being sold for $19.97, priced the same on a regular day.

A drone was also revealed to have a Black Friday deal of $34.88, revealed to be the original price.

@sidemoneytom
Wow such deals this black friday #fyp #homedepot #tools
♬ original sound – SideMoneyTom

While Home Depot has yet to respond to the allegations, retail experts warn companies that such moves can be considered false advertising. They also highlight it as a bad decision, with trends like shrinkflation taking over and heightening customer mistrust.

“Leading retailers invest heavily in their customer relationships, and trust is a major component of this,” said the marketing software company OptiMine CEO Matt Voda. “Trust is difficult and slow to build, but lost very easily and quickly with such practices.”

Video viewers in the comment section didn’t seem shocked by what they saw. One user claimed to be a former employee and seemingly confirmed that the retailer often does fake Black Friday deals. Another said they feel that customers may have taken note from previous Black Fridays. “People have noticed. There were no lines this year or last year. This year seemed even smaller than last year. Stores didn’t start getting packed until 10 or 11,” @boomski wrote.

Target was also accused of faking its Black Friday deals on TikTok. Attorney Ugo Lord reposted a video in which a woman pulled back the price of a smart TV advertised with a Black Friday price of $649.99. When she removed the sticker, it showed that the TV was already on sale for the same price.

@ugolord
Replying to @goldieperkins07 Customer exposes Target’s “Black Friday deals“ are completely worthless! Would this be considered false advertising? Guess and stick around for P2! #lawyer #lawyersoftiktok #lawtok #stitch with
♬ original sound – ⚖️ The TikTok Attorney ⚖️

Luke Kachersky, an associate professor of marketing at the Fordham Gabelli School of Business, says tactics like this have been going on for a while because it’s difficult to prove that a retailer is pushing false advertising. “Sure, the price is the same, but the retailer could simply argue they’re labeled [or] re-named their existing prices for the season,” Kachersky said.

“But while that kind of argument might work for a retailer in a legal sense, it fails common sense. Consumers are definitely going to feel lied to.”

One TikTok user said they learned their lesson from Amazon in 2023.

According to AOL, Amazon was hit with a lawsuit after being accused of pushing fake discounts to entice people to buy products. The suit, filed by customer David Ramirez, who purchased an Amazon Fire TV, explicitly targets the product’s “list price,” accusing the online conglomerate of making it look like a product is on sale when it’s not. The litigation proposes there aren’t “limited-time sales”—with the old idea that if things are on sale all the time, nothing is on sale.

Mother Arrested After Allegedly Leaving Newborn Baby In Vehicle While She Worked

by Cedric 'BIG CED' Thornton

December 5, 2024

Mother Arrested After Allegedly Leaving Newborn Baby In Vehicle While She Worked

21-year-old Nikita Jones was also accused of hitting her baby in the face and charged with one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one felony count of intentional child abuse causing serious physical injury.

A woman has been arrested after allegedly striking her newborn baby and leaving the infant in a vehicle while she went to work at her job at a McDonald’s restaurant.

According to Law & Crime, 21-year-old Nikita Jones was taken into custody after police issued two warrants for her arrest. The charges were one count of misdemeanor child abuse and one felony count of intentional child abuse causing serious physical injury. She was arrested on Dec. 2. Police officers stated that the North Carolina woman left the newborn baby unrestrained in her car, and they alleged that she previously hit the baby in the face, showing visible bruising around her eyes. They added that temperatures were in the 40s on the day that she left her child in the car.

CBS 17 reported that the warrants revealed that Jones struck her six-week-old child in the face on Nov. 20. The next day, she left her baby unattended and unrestrained in a parked car. Court records show that Jones received a $50,000 secured bond for the felony charge and a $5,000 secured bond for the misdemeanor charge. She is scheduled for a court date in Wake County Court for the felony charge on Dec. 10 and the misdemeanor charge the following week on Dec. 19.

WRAL News reported that the condition of the baby was unknown, and it wasn’t revealed how long she was in the car. Dr. Ryan Lamb, medical director and chair of emergency medicine at UNC Rex Holly Springs, explained to the media outlet that it would take hours for hypothermia to set in for adults. Still, for infants, a shorter time would suffice for the baby suffering from the lower temperature.

“An appropriately dressed person in 40 degrees has hours,” Lamb said, “yet infants cannot regulate their temperature as well, and they have more body surface area than their body mass—there is more to keep warm.”