Another person dies after being found unresponsive at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta
A 24-year-old man died at an Atlanta hospital after being found unresponsive at a jail that is already being investigated by federal authorities for potential civil rights violations. A Fulton County Jail officer found Shawndre Delmore during a routine check just before 8.30pm on 31 August, the county sheriff's office said in a news release Wednesday. Jail staff attempted to revive Delmore until medical staff arrived, and he was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he died on 3 September, the release says. Delmore is the sixth person to die in Fulton County custody since the end of July. He was arrested on 1 April by Atlanta police and was being held on $2,500 bond on a second-degree burglary charge. Atlanta police will investigate his death, and the county medical examiner will do an autopsy, the sheriff's office said. The US Department of Justice in July opened a civil rights investigation into jail conditions in the county, citing violence, filthy conditions and the death last year of a man whose body was found covered in insects. Lashawn Thompson, 35, died last September in a bedbug-infested cell in the Fulton County Jail’s psychiatric wing. An independent autopsy done at his family’s request found he died from severe neglect. His family has since reached a settlement with the county. Dayvion Blake, 23, was stabbed to death and four others were stabbed an injured during a fight at the jail on 31 August. Samuel Lawrence, 34, died Saturday at Grady Memorial Hospital after he was found unresponsive in his cell at the jail. The other three people who died in the last month include 66-year-old Alexander Hawkins, 34-year-old Christopher Smith and 40-year-old Montay Stinson. Read More Georgia prosecutors predict four-month trial and 150 witnesses for Trump’s election interference case Inside the notorious Fulton County Jail where Trump and 18 allies were booked over Georgia election plot Wisconsin Republicans want to impeach a liberal state Supreme Court justice before she has even heard a case
2023-09-07 11:51
Meet the professional cuddler charging £70-an-hour to hug ‘the big spoons in life’
A professional cuddler who makes a living giving clients hugs has said people travel from all over the globe to receive the cuddle therapy she offers which is “far less intimate than a massage” and helps people from “all walks of life”. Natasha Wicks, 44, from Coventry, West Midlands, says that despite criticism, cuddling is scientifically proven to release happy hormones like dopamine and that a lot of her clients are “the big spoon in life” and go to her for emotional support that they do not have at home. As such, many of her clients are caregivers and most of them join Natasha for two-hour hugging sessions, costing £70 an hour. The sessions vary depending on what the client wants, some having “emotional hugs”, others talking more and some wanting to “sit at opposite ends of the sofa with our legs and feet entwined”. Natasha became a cuddle therapist in 2015 and, while she has had comments online from people criticising the practice, she said that her family and friends were unsurprised when she first started giving professional cuddles. She said: “They all said to me that I give the best cuddles so it’s not surprising that I’d start doing it as a job. “It’s very much what I do, I help people and want to make people feel better. It’s a natural thing when someone is going through a tough time to want to give them a hug. “Cuddle therapy might not be as widely accepted in society but it’s far less intimate than other things like massages which are seen as normal.” Prior to becoming a cuddler, Natasha originally trained as a CBT therapist and counsellor. She said: “There’d be situations where I would be talking to someone and they’d really need a hug, but obviously, you’d have professional boundaries in place and it wouldn’t have been appropriate. “It was just a really natural thing. One client had finished her final session and we had agreed that she wasn’t my patient anymore so we hugged goodbye. She said to me that she’d wanted to do that for a long time and I thought ‘me too’.” Looking into cuddle therapy, which she said was increasing in popularity in 2014, Natasha took a training course. By 2015, she was a qualified cuddler and started taking on new patients for cuddle sessions. Natasha provides a minimum session of one hour but said most people go for at least two hours, sometimes longer if they are receiving more than one type of therapy. She said: “I always give people a hug on the doorstep when they arrive and then they’ll come in and relax, and we’ll have an initial chat about what brings them here. After that, I’ll put on some ambient music and we’ll have a cuddle on my cuddle sofa. “It can be daunting coming into a stranger’s house and I can tell the difference in them from arriving to leaving. The first hug they might be angled away from me but when we’re hugging goodbye, I can get my head in between their neck and shoulders and you can almost feel that a weight has been lifted from them.” There is not one type of person that visits Natasha for cuddles, but she says that a lot of her clients are caregivers. She said: “There’s all sorts of people who come for a cuddle, from people who have moved away from home for the first time and just want a mum hug all the way to people in their 80s. “I’m inclusive of all genders and all ages. I get a lot of clients who are the carers of their family and they are so busy looking after other people, and probably giving the hugs and support to other people, that they don’t have that for themselves. “A lot of people that come to see me are generally people are the big spoon in the life – they take care of others and don’t want to show a vulnerable side to people because they don’t want people to worry that they can’t cope. “I get a lot of carers, a lot of NHS staff, a lot of mums, a lot of people that are in a world where they have to be the strong one in the situation and they just want to be able to come here and let their guard down.” Natasha’s priority is to make people feel at ease when they arrive as she said it can be “nerve wracking” turning up at someone’s house for a hug. Setting out clear boundaries prior to meeting, the therapist has said that the patients she has welcomed into her home have all been respectful. She added: “I always say to people that when your body relaxes, your tummy might crumble and mine might too, but that people don’t need to worry about it. Sometimes people fall asleep and they might snore or fart, it’s just natural things that happen. It’s happened twice where someone has got an erection and that’s fine, I have boundaries and we’ll just change position. “I want people to feel reassured that, as soon as they get in, they feel comfortable.” Despite the unconventional therapy, when Natasha first took on cuddle clients, she said her family were completely “unsurprised” and the step from CBT therapy to cuddle therapy was a “natural evolution”. While Natasha focuses her time on a holistic approach for treating people, she noted that there is also neuroscience behind cuddles. According to the 44-year-old, physical touch activates the brain’s orbitofrontal cortex and cuddling releases oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin. Now, Natasha also does EMDR therapy and is a mental health swim host, and has clients travel from all over the globe to receive her hugs. She said: “Working from Coventry is brilliant because I’m only nine minutes on the train from Birmingham Airport and people come to visit me from all over. I get a client from Belgium, someone from Ireland and people from all over the UK who come to see me. “I wanted to find a sofa bed that just looked like a big comfy sofa for cuddle sessions. I’d started off with a big L shaped sofa but after about five years, it was sagging a bit, there’d been a lot of healing done on that sofa and it was time for a new one. “Now I have a sofa bed in my living room that I use as my cuddle sofa. It’s in the living room and it’s used for everyday life, watching TV with my partner, having people round and also for my work.” Breaking down the taboo around cuddle therapy, Natasha hopes more people will embrace the alternative treatment. She added: “As it’s become more popular, more people are becoming qualified as cuddlers and I think that’s great. “I’ve had comments online before of people thinking it’s weird or not understanding but there are other things we accept in society that are much more intimate than cuddles, like massages. “It’s not weird, it’s actually a really lovely thing to be able to make another soul feel better for a while.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live New warnings about ‘concerning’ rise in at-home cosmetic dentistry What is ‘beer tanning’ and why are experts warning against it? Christian Cowan: Designing is like dreaming
2023-07-26 22:45
La Liga file complaint against PSG to European Commission
La Liga have announced they have filed a complaint against Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain to the European Commission, claiming they have distorted markets due to involvement from Qatar.
2023-08-13 02:49
Top US General Doubts Xi Planning to Take Taiwan by Force
The US’s top general said he doubts Beijing plans to try to take Taiwan militarily, comments that ease
2023-11-10 15:20
Stock market today: Wall Street follows global markets lower after more rate hikes
Wall Street followed global markets lower early Thursday as countries around the world cranked up interest rates one day after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell told Congress he believes inflation still isn’t under control
2023-06-22 21:54
Fireman who allegedly set string of fires he later responded to arrested and charged
An Iowa firefighter has been arrested and charged with 13 counts of arson after he allegedly set a series of fires and then later responded to them, authorities say.
2023-09-30 22:27
Scholz Promises Long-Term Boost to German Military Spending
Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged that Germany will forge ahead with a significant expansion of its military capabilities even
2023-11-10 22:28
Ohtani misses 6th straight game as Angels place infielder Luis Rengifo on injured list
Shohei Ohtani missed his sixth straight game due to a right strained oblique as the Los Angeles Angels hosted the Cleveland Guardians
2023-09-10 09:24
Is Sony angry at Pat Sajak for quitting without notice? ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host created chaos with abrupt decision
Pat Sajak left Sony executives in a big conundrum after quitting the show without any due notice
2023-07-15 16:50
Schools egged, businesses harassed: Japan suffers Chinese backlash over Fukushima release
A wave of online harassment and vitriol directed at Japanese people following the release of treated radioactive wastewater from Fukushima has sent tensions between Japan and China soaring, prompting Tokyo to summon the Chinese ambassador.
2023-08-29 12:50
Trump news – live: Georgia grand jury could weigh conspiracy charge as ex-NYPD boss hands docs to Jan 6 probe
Donald Trump has shared a QAnon post on his Truth Social platform as he continues to lash out at President Joe Biden, special counsel Jack Smith and Attorney General Merrick Garland ahead of his third potential looming criminal indictment. The former president reTruthed a post from a QAnon supporter which showed an image of Mr Trump along with the ominous message: “Nothing can stop what is coming. Nothing.” Mr Trump has gone on the attack in recent days over the grand jury investigation into the January 6 Capitol riot and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In one of the clearest signs Mr Trump could face federal charges in the case, the former president said last week that he had received a letter saying he is a target of a grand jury investigation. Court documents revealed on Monday that former New York City Police Department commissioner Bernie Kerik, who collected spurious evidence of alleged voter fraud and manipulation for Mr Trump’s campaign, has agreed to turn over hundreds of documents to the DOJ as part of its probe. Mr Kerik was working for Rudy Giuliani and had previously refused to share the evidence. Read More What Donald Trump’s trial date means for the 2024 election Trump demands cameras in courtroom for potential election fraud case Trump legal team tries again to block Georgia election interference grand jury probe Is Donald Trump a legal unicorn?
2023-07-26 04:58
Gundogan urges Man City to stay focused before climax to treble bid
Ilkay Gundogan has urged Manchester City to stay focused as the Premier League champions prepare for the climax...
2023-05-23 05:59
You Might Like...
Raiders: Davante Adams lays down the law on Josh Jacobs drama
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds embraces role as a key player in Republican presidential race
Anger, sorrow as Indigenous Australians weigh referendum defeat
Lyles scorches to 200m victory at Zurich Diamond League
The Big 12 has 4 new members this year. It is also getting an early look at 3 teams coming next year
MATCHDAY: Bellingham's Real Madrid hosts Real Sociedad. Everton faces Arsenal in Premier League
Chris Sale can't get through the 5th inning as Nationals ding playoff hopes of Red Sox, 10-7
Liverpool owner FSG announces minority investment by New York equity firm
