The D&D Daily continued to analyze violent crime in 20 major cities, including those in the DOJ's 'Operation Legend,' where they've made over 1,057+ arrests since its onset in July.

The study showed 146 shootings and 49 killings from Friday through Sunday, with an average of 48.7 shootings and 16.3 killings per day - the highest shooting deaths recorded since the July 4 Holiday Weekend.

As the data shows, July Fourth weekend remains a high point for deadly violence this summer, with 233 shootings and 70 killings in over 30 cities (big and small throughout the U.S.) over just two days during that holiday weekend, averaging 116.5 shootings per day and 35 killings per day.

Below is a weekly breakdown of violence in big cities throughout the summer.

Click here to view the complete breakdown of violence in 20 American cities over the past 9 weekends, and 36 major cities from July to August.

Does this momentum continue up to the election?

The Fed's Are Focused on Chicago
U.S. Attorney's Office Provides Update on Federal Prosecutions and Strategies to Combat Violent Crime in Chicago
The sustained focus on federal prosecution of firearm offenses in the Northern District of Illinois was enhanced by Operation Legend, which launched in Chicago in July. Under Operation Legend, approximately 176 defendants have been charged with federal offenses impacting violent crime in Chicago, including 130 charged with firearms-related offenses, 40 charged with narcotics-related offenses, and 6 charged with other violent crimes. Approximately 1,057 defendants have been charged throughout the country under Operation Legend, including 568 with firearms-related offenses, 411 with narcotics-related offenses, and 78 with other violent crimes.

"The number of violent crimes in Chicago remains stubbornly high, including homicides, shootings, and carjackings, and we have seen troubling increases in these areas in 2020," said U.S. Attorney Lausch. "Our goal as federal prosecutors is not simply to bring more cases against more defendants, but rather to reduce violent crime, and one way to do that is by continuing to bring quality, impactful cases. justice.gov
 

Protests

Election Day Violence & Protests Expected

From NYC to LA People, Officials & PD's Expect Protests
Fearful New Yorkers plan to flee city on Election Day: 'People will go nuts'

"No matter who wins, someone is going to get upset."
Some people want to get out the vote. Others just want to get out.

New Yorkers are on edge after a leaked NYPD memo, obtained by The Post, revealed this week that police are preparing for protests to begin as early as Oct. 25 and grow in intensity through next year. The department decreed officers should "be prepared for deployment," adding: "This November 3rd will be one of the most highly contested presidential elections in the modern era. There is also a strong likelihood that the winner of the presidential election may not be decided for several weeks."

And it's not just New Yorkers in flight-or-fight mode. Kacie, a Los Angeles-based graphic designer who declined to give her last name, has rented a cabin in Big Bear, Calif., during the week of the election. "I don't want to be anywhere near West Hollywood, where I live," the Biden voter, 37, said. "I think everyone's lost their damn minds." nypost.com

'Cities Across the nation are Preparing for Election Day Protests'
Philadelphia officials prepare for possible protests ahead of presidential election
City officials in Philadelphia say the city is prepared to deal with any disturbances or intimidation aimed at voters on election day and before.

The Washington Post reports, FBI headquarters is planning its response for potential election day violence or mass protests in the days, following similar to the civil unrest the city saw this summer. 6abc.com

Survey Coming This Week
Election Day in America. How does it impact retail?
Any predictions or comments about what's going to happen?
Share them with the your community. Send them into gus@d-ddaily.net

What's Your Store Plan for Election Day?
Closing early?
Close all day?
Planning extra coverage?
Planning extra guard or off-duty police coverage?
Any special plans at all?
Paying your employees to vote?
If so, explain.
Quick - Anonymous - Educational

Portland, OR: DHS officers deploy crowd control agents at protesters outside an ICE building
Federal agents in Portland used tear gas to break up a demonstration honoring those who have died in custody of federal immigration officials. The group of protesters gathered at Willamette Park in the early evening Saturday before around 9 p.m. marching to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building and the area around Moody Street. Department of Homeland Security officers issued warnings to stay off the property and out of the street. Video from the scene captured the moments where DHS officers used crowd control munitions on protesters gathered at the entrance of the building. katu.com

El Dorado Hills, CA: Spy plane was sent to monitor protest in affluent suburb, home to head of California National Guard
In early June, four National Guard spy planes took to the skies over several cities to monitor street protests following the killing of George Floyd, triggering concerns that the military was improperly gathering intelligence on U.S. citizens. Three of the reconnaissance planes kept watch on demonstrations in Minneapolis, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., that drew hundreds or thousands of protesters and were marred by violence. But the target of the fourth plane was far more surprising: the affluent Sacramento suburb of El Dorado Hills, the scene of much smaller and entirely peaceful protests. It turns out El Dorado Hills happens to be the home of the head of the California National Guard, Maj. Gen. David S. Baldwin. latimes.com

Anaheim, CA: Disneyland fans, cast members protest park closure:
'Tell the guards to open up the gates'
A few dozen Disneyland enthusiasts and cast members gathered outside the park Saturday to protest its closure, which has meant the loss of more than 28,000 jobs across both of Disney's U.S. theme parks. Disneyland has been closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Walt Disney World in Florida reopened with reduced capacity in July. usatoday.com

Phoenix, AZ: Police arrest 18 people after unlawful assembly declared at protest

Seattle, WA: 5 arrested during protest march after reported property damage

San Francisco, CA: Counterprotesters Attack Conservative Demonstrators at Free Speech Rally; 3 SFPD Officers Injured

Boston, MA: At least 2 arrests made during dueling protests in Boston's Copley Square

Some Portland cops earn over $200G, largely driven by overtime amid protests
 

Compensation Tied to DEI Goals
Starbucks to link executive compensation to DEI goals
In efforts to advance racial and social equity, Starbucks will link executive compensation to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) goals beginning in the 2021 fiscal year (FY21), the company said Oct. 14. The Seattle-based company will also launch an Inclusion and Diversity Executive Council in the first quarter of FY21. Starbucks said it's sharing workforce diversity data "in more detail than we have previously shared," as well as making its filings with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission public. Other initiatives announced include a partnership with employee resource groups and the launch of a leadership mentoring program.

Starbucks has set a goal of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) representation of "at least 30% at all corporate levels and at least 40% at all retail and manufacturing roles by 2025," according to the DEI report. Starbucks has reached 100% pay equity, according to the report.  hrdive.com

BOPIS Use Up 78% & Walmart's #1
Walmart, H-E-B come out on top in grocery pickup, delivery service

Ipsos study also gives high marks to Sam's, Target, Kroger, Whole Foods and Aldi

Walmart, Sam's Club and H-E-B were named the top-performing U.S. grocery retailers for in-store pickup, curbside pickup and home delivery, respectively, in a new study by global research firm Ipsos.

Ipsos said its inaugural E-Commerce Experience Report gauges buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), curbside and delivery services of major retail brands. The two-pronged study first surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers about their usage, attitudes and perceptions of retailer pickup and delivery offerings, and then researchers conducted thousands of mystery shopping trips (150 per brand) that evaluated the pickup and delivery services of national and regional retailers.

In grocery retail, Walmart performed the strongest across all measured attributes for BOPIS service. Ipsos' E-Commerce Experience Report said Walmart excelled, in particular, at posting visible signage that steered consumers to the grocery pickup area, which was found in 86% of the stores visited. Rival Target also performed "exceptionally well" in BOPIS, with the retailer having grocery orders ready when promised at 98% of visited locations.

Walmart subsidiary Sam's Club came in at No. 1 in curbside pickup grocery service. Ipsos said the warehouse club chain exhibited a "near perfect performance," especially in allocating dedicated curbside parking spaces at 100% of stores audited. Supermarket giant Kroger was a close second in curbside service, performing well in categories that customers noted caring about most and having orders ready when promised at 97% of locations.

"Use of BOPIS and curbside pickup has increased for 78% of shoppers since COVID-19 began, and 69% expect to continue using it at the same or higher levels after the pandemic subsides." supermarketnews.com

NRF: Retail sales growth speeds up as September marks fourth month of gains
A strong rebound in apparel led a continuing V-shaped recovery from the pandemic as retail sales accelerated their rate of growth in September and marked the fourth straight month of year-over-year gains, the National Retail Federation said today.

NRF's calculation of retail sales - which excludes automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants in order to focus on core retail - showed September was up 1.3 percent seasonally adjusted from August and up 12 percent unadjusted year-over-year. The year-over-year gain was more than double the 5.7 percent year-over-year increase in August, which was unchanged from July. NRF's numbers were up 9.2 percent unadjusted year-over-year on a three-month moving average. Compared with March - the month the pandemic set in - September sales were up 5.6 percent.

- Clothing and clothing accessory stores were up 11%
- Sporting goods stores were up 5.7%
- General merchandise stores were up 1.8%
- Health and personal care stores were up 1.7%
- Building materials and garden supply stores were up 0.6% nrf.com

Long-delayed New York plastic-bag ban to kick off on Monday
 

Last week's #1 article --

The Economic Devastation of COVID Mapped
America's $2 Trillion Economic Drop, by State and Sector

Microsoft Office 365 Accounts a Big Target for Attackers
With more than 258 million active users users per month, Microsoft's Office 365 environment - like several other Microsoft technologies - has become a popular target for attackers. An analysis by security vendor Vectra AI found attackers are widely using Office 365 accounts to move laterally to other users and accounts within an enterprise, to carry out command-and-control communications, and other malicious activities.

According to Vectra, attackers are taking advantage of multiple useful capabilities available within Office 365, particularly Power Automate and eDiscovery, to orchestrate many of their malicious tasks - just as they did with PowerShell for Windows.

"Within the new work-from-home paradigm, user account takeover in Office 365 is the most effective way for an attacker to move laterally inside an organization's network," says Chris Morales, head of security analytics at Vectra. "And when there, attackers use the existing tools present to live off the land and avoid detection." darkreading.com

Cybercrime Losses Up 50%, Exceeding $1.8B
Fewer companies are being hit by cyber incidents, but those that do get hit are hit harder and more often.

According Hiscox, a Bermuda-based insurance provider, cyber losses rose nearly sixfold worldwide over the past 12 months. Its recently released "Cyber Readiness Report 2020" pins the total cyber losses among affected firms at $1.8 billion - up a sobering 50% from the previous year's total of $1.2 billion. Overall, more than 6% of the respondents in the report paid a ransom, and their collective losses totaled $381 million.

Interestingly enough, Hiscox says that companies are 15 times more likely to experience a cyberattack (30% in UK) than a fire or theft (2% in UK).

Who Was Most at Risk?
Not surprisingly, larger organizations were the most common targets - and shelled out the most money - for cybercriminals. The financial impact differed widely across countries, verticals, and firm sizes.

Cybercriminals demanded ransoms from roughly 17% of the companies they attacked, and caused dire financial consequences for the targets. The highest loss from ransom was more than $50 million for one unfortunate organization.

According to the Hiscox report, malware, ransomware, business email compromise, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) are still the most commonly used attack vectors. Besides malicious encryption imposed through ransomware, other extortion campaigns include DDoS attacks that causes the victim's IT infrastructure to crash over and over due to a constant flood of bogus IP traffic.

Surge in Spending
The report revealed that a large and broad increase in cybersecurity spending has occurred over the past year. The average spending among the respondents was $2.1 million, up from $1.5 million the previous year.

Assuming the numbers are an accurate reflection of what's going on more broadly, the total cybersecurity spending in the past year was a staggering $11.4 billion. darkreading.com

Assuring Business Continuity by Reducing Malware Dwell Time

Cybercrime: 12 Top Tactics and Trends