If you were wondering what name Sean “Diddy” Combs is going by these days, you’re in luck because he set the record straight surrounding his moniker while on the Ellen show Wednesday.
“I feel it’s very important that I clear that up,” said Diddy, after host Ellen DeGeneres flat out asked “What’s your name?”
“I decided that I’m just going to go with the name Diddy,” the entrepreneur, who has also gone by Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, and Puffy, clarified before sharing that his legal name is now Love.
“Love is my real name,” he explained. “So, I just changed my name to Sean Love Combs. That’s what it says on my driver’s license. That is my official name. Love.”
In a lengthy Instagram post accompanied by tearful photos, Dove Cameron reveals that she’s having a hard time reconciling the pressure that society puts on us to stick to one identity.
“I’ve been struggling lately with the concept of self, my inner relationship to who I know myself to be and my outer perceivable self, who I feel I have never known but who other people seem to,” the singer and actress writes.
Adding that she’s “sometimes terrorized by my identity and image,” she admits that she’s been “covering mirrors” and “feeling wrong in clothing that used to make me feel beautiful.” She also says she’s been “crying a lot lately.”
The “Boyfriend” singer, who self-identifies as queer, goes on to say, “I don’t know if I’ve ever slowed down enough to learn who I am outside of fight, flight or freeze…sexuality and performative gender norms, societal rewards and identity are really throwing me for a loop.”
In part, Dove blames “social media and mirrors and branding and the constant broadcasting of self,” noting that it’s “not optimal for mental health…this is a modern problem not designed with human health in mind.”
She goes on to say that she’s sharing all this so “that we may all feel more comfortable in a conversation that may be confusing, and we may navigate something that feels difficult to put to words together.”
Dove concludes, “emotion is COOL. dysphoria is OK. living as a human is INTENSE. we are all holding hands. Don’t forget.”
Tom Cruise capped off a big day at the Cannes Film Festival by taking home its prestigious Palme d’Or following the premiere of Top Gun: Maverick.
The award honors the best film screened at the festival, but the honor’s presentation was said to be a surprise to Cruise, following a “Masterclass” retrospective of his onscreen career — and a five-minute standing ovation for the long-awaited sequel.
Cruise called the event, “An incredible evening and an incredible time.”
He was thrilled, “Just to see everyone’s faces,” following the COVID-19 restrictions.
“It’s been 36 years since Top Gun and we had to hold this for two years because of the pandemic,” Cruise told the crowd, adding, “I make these movies for all of you.”
(NEW YORK) — Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” into neighboring Ukraine began on Feb. 24, with Russian forces invading from Belarus, to the north, and Russia, to the east. Ukrainian troops have offered “stiff resistance,” according to U.S. officials.
The Russian military has since launched a full-scale ground offensive in eastern Ukraine’s disputed Donbas region, attempting to capture the strategic port city of Mariupol to secure a coastal corridor to the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula.
Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:
May 19, 8:29 am
ICRC registers hundreds of prisoners of war from Mariupol steel plant
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday that it has registered hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war from a besieged steel plant in war-ravaged Mariupol this week, after the Ukrainian city fell into Russian hands.
A team from the ICRC began on Tuesday to register combatants leaving the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works plant, including the wounded, at the request of the parties to the conflict. The operation continued Wednesday and was still ongoing Thursday. The ICRC is not transporting prisoners of war to the places where they are held, according to a press release from the organization.
“The registration process that the ICRC facilitated involves the individual filling out a form with personal details like name, date of birth and closest relative,” the organization said. “This information allows the ICRC to track those who have been captured and help them keep in touch with their families.”
The ICRC noted that it “maintains a confidential dialogue with the parties to the conflict on their obligations under international humanitarian law.”
“In accordance with the mandate given to the ICRC by States under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the ICRC must have immediate access to all POWs in all places where they are held,” the organization added. “The ICRC must be allowed to interview prisoners of war without witnesses, and the duration and frequency of these visits should not be unduly restricted. Whenever circumstances permit, each party to the conflict must take all possible measures to search for and collect the dead.”
For weeks, Ukrainian fighters and civilians were holed up inside Mariupol’s vast Azovstal plant as the remaining pocket of Ukrainian resistance to Russia’s relentless bombardment of the strategic southeastern port city. Russia claimed Thursday that 1,730 Ukrainian fighters had surrendered in Mariupol over the previous three days, while Ukraine confirmed Tuesday that more than 250 had yielded in the initial hours after it ordered them to do so.
Mariupol is the largest city that Russian forces have seized since launching an invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24. Its complete capture gives Russia total control of the coast of the Sea of Azov as well as a continuous stretch of territory along eastern and southern Ukraine.
May 19, 7:30 am
Russia has fired top commanders over Ukraine war failures, UK says
Russia has fired senior military commanders in recent weeks “who are considered to have performed poorly during the opening stages of its invasion of Ukraine,” the U.K. Ministry of Defense said Thursday in an intelligence update.
According to the ministry, Lt. Gen. Serhiy Kisel, who commanded Russia’s elite 1st Guards Tank Army, has been suspended for his failure to capture Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Vice Adm. Igor Osipov, who commanded Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has also likely been suspended following the sinking of the fleet’s flagship, Moskva, in April. Gen. Valeriy Gerasimov, the Russian military’s chief of the general staff, likely remains in his post, but it was unclear whether he retains the confidence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the ministry.
“A culture of cover-ups and scape-goating is probably prevalent within the Russian military and security system,” the ministry said. “Many officials involved in the invasion of Ukraine will likely be increasingly distracted by efforts to avoid personal culpability for Russia’s operational set-backs.”
“This will likely place further strain on Russia’s centralised model of command and control, as officers increasingly seek to defer key decisions to their superiors,” the ministry added. “It will be difficult for Russia to regain the initiative under these conditions.”
May 19, 6:30 am
Russia puts two Ukrainian commanders on wanted list
Russia has placed two Ukrainian commanders on a wanted list.
Serhiy Velychko and Kostiantyn Nemychev, commanders of the Azov Regiment, a far-right group now part of the Ukrainian military, have been added to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs’ database of wanted fugitives in connection with a criminal case.
According to the Russian Investigative Committee, Velychko and Nemychev are accused of attempted murder of at least eight Russian servicemen who sustained multiple injuries in eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Criminal charges were brought against the pair in absentia, and Russian authorities are working to track down and apprehend them.
May 18, 10:41 pm
Senate confirms new US ambassador to Ukraine
The Senate on Wednesday night unanimously confirmed the new U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, a career foreign service officer.
The vote took place on the same day the U.S. officially resumed operations at its embassy in Kyiv.
May 18, 3:46 pm
Google’s Russian business to file for for bankruptcy
Google Russia has published a notice of its intention to file for bankruptcy, a spokesperson told ABC News in a statement.
“We previously announced that we paused the vast majority of our commercial operations in Russia. The Russian authorities’ seizure of Google Russia’s bank account has made it untenable for our Russia office to function, including employing and paying Russia-based employees, paying suppliers and vendors, and meeting other financial obligations,” a Google spokesperson said.
Adding, “People in Russia rely on our services to access quality information and we’ll continue to keep free services such as Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, Android and Play available.”
-ABC News’ Rashid Haddou-Riffi
May 18, 3:34 pm
US, European allies ‘will not tolerate any aggression against Finland or Sweden,’ Biden adviser warns
U.S. and European allies “will not tolerate any aggression against Finland or Sweden” as their applications to join NATO are being considered, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned Wednesday.
President Joe Biden said the U.S. would “remain vigilant against any threats to our shared security, and to deter and confront aggression or the threat of aggression.”
Sullivan was asked to clarify if that meant the U.S. was extending NATO security protections to Finland and Sweden during this time, and he said Article 5 only kicks in when all 30 allies ratify the accession.
“But the United States, is prepared to send a very clear message, as are all of our European allies, that we will not tolerate any aggression against Finland or Sweden during this process, and there are practical measures that we can take along those lines that Secretary [of Defense Lloyd] Austin will coordinate with his counterparts about Finland and Sweden,” Sullivan told reporters.
With Turkey opposed to this move, Sullivan told ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks that the White House is “confident at the end of the day” that Finland and Sweden “will have an effective and efficient accession process” and that “Turkey’s concerns can be addressed.”
Biden will host the leaders of Sweden and Finland at the White House Thursday.
“Two nations with a long tradition of neutrality will be joining the world’s most powerful defensive alliance, and they will bring with them strong capabilities and a proven track record as security partners and President Biden will have the opportunity to mark just what a historic and watershed moment this is when he meets with them tomorrow,” Sullivan said.
-ABC News’ Justin Gomez and MaryAlice Parks
May 18, 3:15 pm
Blinken meets with Turkish counterpart at UN ahead of NATO summit
Ahead of a meeting at the United Nations, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday.
Blinken told reporters he was grateful for the solidarity Turkey has shown against Russian aggression.
While Cavusoglu said he would work with Blinken to “overcome the differences through dialogue and diplomacy,” he signaled that Turkey still had significant reservations about Sweden and Finland joining NATO, complicating their path to membership.
“Turkey has been supporting the open door policy of NATO even before this war, but with regards to these possible candidates—already candidate countries—we have also legitimate security concerns that they have been supporting terrorist organizations, and there are also export restrictions on defense products,” Cavusoglu said.
Then adding, “We understand their security concerns, but Turkey’s security concerns should be also met.”
Turkey has expressed concerns about Finland and Sweden joining NATO over the countries’ support of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which the Turkish government considers a terrorist organization.
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 18, 2:21 pm
Russian offensive effort shrinking, incremental progress toward Black Sea: Pentagon
Russian offensive operations in Donbas are becoming more modest, shrinking both in size and scale, according to a senior U.S. defense official.
The Russians are making little progress so far in Donbas, with lots of back-and-fourth between both sides, according to the official.
“We see them hew very closely to their doctrine of artillery fire then a font of frontal attack by formations that are small, and in some cases, not fully resourced, fully manned, fully strong. And they get rebuffed by the Ukrainians,” the official said.
Russian forces are also still suffering from poor communication between commanders and are having other coordination issues, according to the official.
To the northeast of Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces continue to push Russian troops back toward their border, according to the official.
Russian forces are making some progress pushing closer toward the Black Sea from between Kherson and Mykolayiv, according to the official. The official said it is not clear what the intent is for this line of advance, but the U.S. sees no signs of an imminent naval assault at this time.
The U.S. believes Russia is “certainly trying” to disrupt to flow of military aid moving through Ukraine, but there have been no indications that it has had any success, according to the official.
Three of the eleven Mi-17 helicopters, more than 200 of the 300 Switchblade drones and nearly 10 Phoenix Ghost drones that the U.S. has promised Ukraine have been delivered, according to the official. The Ukrainians have told the Pentagon that 79 of the 90 U.S. howitzers that were delivered are now being used in combat.
-ABC News’ Matt Seyler
May 18, 9:53 am
Finland, Sweden formally submit applications to join NATO
Finland and Sweden formally submitted their applications to join NATO to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg Wednesday morning at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters.
Stoltenberg welcomed the requests, saying, “This is a good day, at a critical moment for our security,” according to NATO.
“Every nation has the right to choose its own path. You have both made your choice, after thorough democratic processes. And I warmly welcome the requests by Finland and Sweden to join NATO,” Stoltenberg said Wednesday.
Adding, “You are our closest partners. And your membership in NATO would increase our shared security.”
May 18, 9:25 am
Russian soldier pleads guilty to killing civilian
Russian Sgt. Vadim Shyshimarin pleaded guilty Wednesday to shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man on Feb. 28. The guilty plea carries a life sentence.
It’s the first trial Ukraine has conducted for an act that could be considered a war crime.
Asked by the presiding judge whether he accepted his guilt, Shyshimarin said: “Yes. Fully yes.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov dismissed the proceedings on Wednesday, telling reporters that accusations leveled against Russian soldiers by Ukraine were “simply fake or staged.”
May 17, 6:26 pm
State Department ‘confident’ in NATO expansion
As Turkey becomes more vocal about its opposition to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, the State Department said it is still assured of the alliance’s unified support for the two prospective members.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said during a briefing Tuesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken came away from meetings with NATO allies with a “sense of confidence there was strong consensus for admitting Finland and Sweden into the alliance if they so choose to join, and we’re confident we’ll be able to preserve that consensus.”
Price said that assessment came from what Blinken heard in conversations behind closed doors.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has publicly said that both candidates are untrustworthy because he perceives them as being supportive of groups Ankara views as extremist.
There is speculation that Turkey’s opposition is an attempt to leverage the moment to achieve its own policy goals or concessions from the U.S. Price said Tuesday that Turkey has not made any specific requests.
Price confirmed that Blinken will meet with his Turkish counterpart on the sidelines of the U.N. on Wednesday, adding that “other conversations are ongoing between and among current NATO allies and potential aspirant countries.”
-ABC News’ Shannon Crawford
May 17, 2:22 pm
Finland, Sweden to jointly submit applications for NATO membership on Wednesday
Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson’s office announced Sweden and Finland will jointly submit an application for NATO membership on Wednesday, after she met with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Stockholm.
“It is a message of strength and a clear signal that we stand united going into the future,” Andersson said in a joint press conference with the Finnish president.
The two leaders are set to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Thursday.
The two countries have stepped away from nonalignment in the wake of Russian’s invasion of Ukraine, and fears for their own security.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 17, 2:11 pm
ICC sends 42 investigators to Ukraine
The International Criminal Court deployed a team of 42 investigators forensic and support personnel to Ukraine to advance investigations into crimes falling under ICC jurisdiction and provide support to Ukrainian authorities.
“This represents the largest ever single field deployment by my office since its establishment,” ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said Tuesday.
Khan said 21 countries have offered to send national experts to his office and 20 states have committed to provide financial contributions.
“I look forward to working with all actors, including survivor groups, national authorities, civil society organisations and international partners, in order to accelerate this collective work moving forward,” Khan said.
-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou
May 17, 1:33 pm
US commerce secretary says export controls on Russia are working
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters Tuesday that the export controls the U.S. and other countries have put on Russia are working, including compliance from China.
“These export controls are having a strong and significant effect,” Raimondo said Tuesday.
Raimondo returned from Paris where she co-chaired the U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council Ministerial Meeting. She said there was consensus and partnership amongst countries with respect to cutting off Russia’s access to “critical technologies.”
“We’ve had extensive discussions on export controls,” she said.
The Commerce Department and 37 other countries have limited semiconductor chips that can be exported to Russia, which help not only everyday Russian carmakers, but the Russian military build and use military equipment.
“You’ve all heard the anecdotal stories of Russia’s inability to continue to produce tanks and auto companies shutting down but overall U.S. exports to Russia have decreased over 80%, between February and a week ago,” she said. “So we essentially stopped sending high tech to Russia, which is what they need for their military.”
Even China, Raimondo said, stopped shipping tech products such as laptops to Russia by 40% compared to a year ago.
Asked whether she trusts the Chinese data, Raimondo said it is “consistent” with what the Ukrainians are seeing on the ground.
“We are not seeing systematic efforts by China to go around our export controls,” she said. “So yes, I think this is probably quite accurate.”
-ABC News’ Luke Barr
May 17, 9:20 am
Biden to meet with leaders of Sweden, Finland as they seek to join NATO
President Joe Biden will host Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden and President Sauli Niinistö of Finland at the White House on Thursday as the two countries seek to join NATO, the White House announced Tuesday.
The three leaders will “discuss Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO applications and European security,” according to a statement from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Actress Marnie Schulenburg, who played Alison Stewart on As the World Turns from 2007 to 2010, has died. Deadline reports the Daytime Emmy Award-nominated actress was 37 and died after a battle with metastatic breast cancer at a hospital in Bloomfield, New Jersey…
Peacock has released the official trailer for its upcoming reimagining of the groundbreaking British drama series Queer as Folk, which follows a group of friends whose lives are rocked after a tragedy. The series stars Grey’s Anatomy‘s Devin Way, Agents of SHIELD‘s Fin Argus, Big Sky‘s Jesse James Keitel, CG, Hacks‘ Johnny Sibilly and Special‘s Ryan O’Connell, the latter of whom is also attached as a writer and co-executive producer. Guest stars include Kim Cattrall and Juliette Lewis, who play parents to LGBTQ kids. The full season of Queer as Folk launches June 9 on Peacock…(Trailer contains uncensored profanity.)
The second project from Robert Downey Jr.‘s Team Downey for Discovery+ will be an unscripted series tentatively titled Downey’s Dream Cars, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series will feature the Iron Man star and his team of experts reviving classic cars, as they “also look to restore a battered global environment by creating eco-friendly automobiles for the 21st century.” “My goal is to showcase that it’s possible to keep the integrity of classic cars while leveraging new tech and innovation to make them more eco-friendly,” Downey Jr. said in a statement obtained by the outlet…
Jamie Foxx, Robert De Niro, Scott Eastwood and John Leguizamo are set to team up for the action indie movie Tin Soldier, according to Deadline. It “tells the story of The Bokushi — played by Foxx — who preaches to hundreds of veterans who have been drawn to the promise of protection and purpose under him.” After several failed attempts by Emmanuel Ashburn — a government military operative played by De Niro — to penetrate his heavily armed fortress, he recruits Eastwood’s Nash Cavanaugh, a former disciple of The Bokushi, “to get revenge on the man who took everything from him, including the love of his life.” Tin Soldier begins filming next week in Greece…
For the first time in RuPaul’s Drag Race history, the All Star season 7 cast will consist of winning queens of seasons past. Ahead of their intimate and funny conversation with Emmy-winning actor Ben Platt at 92Y earlier this month, ABC Audio caught up with each of the eight ladies, who say the slayage displayed this time around will be bigger, better and fiercer than ever before.
“You’ve seen amazing drag on every season,” said The Vivienne, a Welsh queen who won the first season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. “This season you’re going to see the best runways … you’re going to see celebratory drag,” she said, standing alongside season 11 winner Yvie Oddly.
That’s another major difference between the new and old seasons — the queens aren’t out to get one another, they help, love and push each other up because that’s how “you get the best drag ever possible.”
All Stars season 5 winner Shea Couleé, who also competed on season 9, said this third time around was a charm in terms of her castmates. “I would say that this cast is definitely the most dynamic, the most well-rounded and the closest of all the cast that I’ve been in,” she said. Standing alongside season 3 winner Raja, who Couleé says “absolutely crushed it,” both queens say they can’t wait for fans to witness the heart that went into this season.
When asked about the experience of living in a house full of winners, season 5 winner Jinkx Monsoon admits the competition was harder in some ways, considering the high expectations set by both viewers and themselves. Jaida Essence Hall,of season 12, described it as taking a handful of diamonds and throwing them in the air: “It’s hard to see which one is going to shine the most because they’re all brilliant.”
As for Monét X Change and Trinity The Tuck,who tied for the season 4 All Star crown, they say they’re coming to “play the game and have fun.”
Season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars premieres tomorrow, May 20, on Paramount+.
(NEW YORK) — With Memorial Day weekend around the corner, many Americans will likely hit the road to enjoy the unofficial start of summer. But that road trip will cost them as gas prices hit new highs across the country.
The national average for gas is now sitting at $4.58 a gallon. Every single state in the U.S. is seeing an average gas price above $4 a gallon, with California holding the highest average at $6.06.
And the pain at the pump may only get worse. Some analysts are warning that before the end of the summer, the national average for gas could hit $6 a gallon or more.
(NEW YORK) — The dire shortage of baby formula has forced frustrated parents to scour social media for enough supplies to feed their children — their desperation now becoming a target for scammers seeking to exploit that distress.
An urgent new warning from the Federal Trade Commission is sounding the alarm that thieves have begun to swarm the shortage for their own illicit profit, “popping up online and tricking desperate parents and caregivers into paying steep prices for formula that never arrives.”
“Scammers exploiting the high demand for baby formula have sunk to new lows,” the bulletin says, warning that schemes may make fake websites or profiles on social media using product images and logos of household-name formula brands, “all to make you think you’re buying products from the companies’ official websites,” the FTC said.
The government agency’s alert marks the latest in a rapidly growing groundswell of similar cautions: seven states around the country are now advising parents to stay vigilant amid the formula frenzy.
“Parents of infants in North Carolina are struggling to feed their babies during the current baby formula shortage. But instead of helping parents in this perilous position, scammers are looking to take advantage of this crisis to steal a quick buck,” North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein’s office said Wednesday.
“Parents, feeling the pressures of the shortage, may find themselves scrambling to find alternative solutions but in the end could end up being scammed by unscrupulous bad actors online,” New York Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said in a recent alert. “It is imperative that parents and guardians be aware of scams and know how to spot illegitimate online sales.”
“Anyone seeking to take advantage of this crisis in a manner that violates the law will be held accountable,” New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella said in an alert Wednesday, cautioning against buying formula from “untrusted or unfamiliar online sources,” and that families should “thoroughly research any online retailers that claim to be offering formula for sale via the Better Business Bureau.”
The Better Business Bureau told ABC News it has already been fielding complaints from parents who say they have been the victim of formula scams online — and issued their own alert earlier this month.
“Someone is claiming to sell that product and they are asking people to pay using a PayPal or Venmo or a cash app-type of system. And once that money is paid out, and the order is placed, they never end up receiving that product,” Sandra Guile, a BBB spokesperson, said.
Experts say scammers can appear legitimate — posting ads or commenting on reputable social media groups offering to sell formula — then disappear once they receive payment.
First-time mom Jessie Esparza-Wohlgemuth had scoured every store and social media group she could think of trying to find baby formula for her 6-month-old son, Elijah Matthew.
The shortage has made those precious cans hard to come by. Parents nationwide are confronted by barren grocery shelves and limits on how much they can buy at one time. Esparza-Wohlgemuth was starting to reach her wits’ end.
So when one person reached out online in late April offering what seemed like a great deal, she got excited — nearly two dozen cans of Nutramigen for a decent price — enough for Elijah and more to redistribute to other moms in the community. The would-be seller even sent along pictures of the available products.
Esparza-Wohlgemuth sent payment of nearly $300 and offered to send the seller a prepaid shipment label.
Then, the seller stopped responding to her messages, and those coveted cans never showed up.
“I realized, yeah, I just got scammed,” Esparza-Wohlgemuth told ABC News. “That moment when you feel like there’s a relief — and then you realize that you just got taken advantage of — that’s really hard. That’s $290 I could have spent on my own child, for diapers, wipes, clothes. It’s heartbreaking someone would do this to a little person and take advantage of the moms that are literally scrambling to find food for their babies.”
For enterprising fraudsters, families’ frenzy to feed their children amid the shortage has presented a ripe opportunity.
Tennessee mom Kate Fazio says she was scammed earlier this year. The person she tried to buy from even sent her a fake tracking number.
“The link that she sent was for something that had been delivered to California. It wasn’t baby formula. I never got my baby formula from her and she stopped responding to me pretty quickly after that,” Fazio said.
Fazio reported the scam to her local authorities, PayPal and to her bank, but saw no progress for months. She said she has seen other moms calling out the same fake seller for similar scams as recently as last week.
On Wednesday — after ABC News reached out to PayPal for comment — Fazio said her money was reimbursed “as a one-time goodwill gesture,” according to a message from the company to Fazio shared with ABC News.
ABC News reached out to PayPal, which confirmed it had refunded Fazio.
PayPal said its platform has a zero-tolerance policy for fraudulent activity and will shut down anyone attempting to defraud customers or who violate platform policies.
Experts advise that consumers using cash payment apps such as PayPal or Venmo should use the “goods and services” function for their transactions, which offers additional purchase protection. If a seller doesn’t deliver on what they’ve promised, the gipped buyer gets a refund.
Parents hunting for formula online should research who they’re buying from to make sure the seller is legitimate, experts say — even searching the company, person or product by typing their name with terms like “review,” “complaint” or “scam.”
Social media groups have offered a unique forum for families to crowdsource formula within their communities, but those groups have also offered easy marks for scammers to infiltrate. The Better Business Bureau says it may be a red flag if a seller advertising on social media is communicative until the payment is made, but once payment clears, they are unreachable.
“Think before you click. Be especially cautious about email solicitations and online ads on social media sites,” BBB’s formula scam alert says.
A spokesperson for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, told ABC News the company does not tolerate scam activity on any of its platforms, and that it actively reviews and removes suspicious activity.
Experts suggest keeping receipts from all transactions, and, when possible, use a credit card for the purchase, since that could provide more protection against fraud than other payment methods.
“That someone took advantage of me in a time where I’m already vulnerable, fearing not having enough to feed my kid, that made me feel even more vulnerable,” Fazio said. “As a mom, your number one goal is to take care of these kids. Keep them happy, keep them fed, keep them safe.”
Members of the public seeking to report suspected online shopping fraud can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau at BBB.org or report a scam at BBB.org/scamtracker.
Consumers can also file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at reportfraud.ftc.gov or call 877-FTC-HELP (382-4357).
Halsey has a message for those criticizing their appearance.
In a five-second TikTok posted on Wednesday, the “Without Me” singer looks off into the distance as a song plays in the background. Text superimposed over the video read off the various critiques they’ve received that read, “Halsey u look sick,” “Is she ok? Put some meat on those bones,” “She’s too thin :/” and “Looks unhealthy.”
In the caption, Halsey hit back, ““u look sick” BC I AM! LET ME LIVE!”
The post comes shortly after the 27-year-old shared they’ve been diagnosed with several health conditions. Halsey says they have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which Mayo Clinic describes as a disorder that affects one’s connective tissue, and Mast Cell Activation syndrome, which Mayo Clinic defines as a buildup of too many mast cells — a type of white blood cell — that can cause allergic reactions and inflammation and several other disorders.
They also explained their ongoing battle with endometriosis has “been exacerbated” by these new health issues, which they say occurred after giving birth to their son, Ender. “My body is rebelling against me a little bit,” Halsey said at the time.
