Kansas woman makes $80 an hour to cuddle with complete strangers
LAWRENCE, Kan. – A woman in Kansas is getting paid to cuddle with people.
Robin Marie is a ‘professional cuddler.’ She provides a safe place for clients to receive platonic touch while also setting boundaries.
“I really believe in the power of touch and how it can heal people,” Marie told WDAF. “It can be as simple as me sitting on the couch just sitting next to someone. It can be holding hands with someone all the way to we’re laying horizontal on the bed and we are spooning.”
Marie got involved with therapeutic touch a few years ago after realizing she was touch-deprived.
“I wasn’t dating for a few years, and I saw a massage therapist in Kansas City and told her I realized the only time I was getting touched was when I got a massage,” she explained.
It took her three to four months to receive her certification as a “professional cuddler” from an online site called Cuddlist.
“There is a training process that you go through and practicum as well, and then you get certified by going through an evaluation with a specially-trained cuddlist,” she said.
Marie now has about 30 clients, ranging in age from 20-75 years old, and she charges $80 an hour.
“It’s really an opportunity for people to be able to explore how they would like to experience platonic touch for themselves,” Marie said. “It’s comforting, nurturing, soothing and, again, platonic.”
The sessions take place at a neutral home, and her clients must agree to the code of conduct, provide a copy of the driver’s license and participate in a video chat pre-screening before meeting in person.
“The baseline agreement that I have with every client is if either of us are ever uncomfortable, we agree to speak up and say something,” Marie said.
She said professional cuddling can help people feel more comfortable in their skin and, most importantly, connect with another person.
“That is something touch those for us through oxytocin release and neurotransmitter release. It really helps you feel connected and in touch with another human being when nothing else does.”
On Tuesday, Amy Thompson experienced her first professional cuddling session with Marie. The 27-year-old believes this kind of contact can help with understanding consent, especially in the #MeToo era.
“There’s this huge consent crisis where people don’t know how to explicitly communicate with each other and being a safe space like with what Robin does could be extraordinarily beneficial to myself and others,” Thompson said.
Marie admits therapeutic touch may not be for for everyone, but she thinks – with time – it won’t be as unconventional as it’s presently considered.
“It’s not going to be that long, maybe another 10 years or so, where it will be, ‘Oh yeah, that person’s a cuddler,’ like you say ‘That person’s a massage therapist,’ and I really look forward to that.”
via: https://pix11.com/2019/01/10/this-woman-is-a-professional-cuddler-getting-paid-for-platonic-touch/
Man who raped dying teen gets less than 3 years in prison
LYNNWOOD, Wash. – A Washington state man will spend less than three years in prison after drugging and raping an 18-year-old girl as she died of an overdose, a sentence the victim’s mother called “a joke,” according to KCPQ.
Brian Valera, 20, was sentenced Thursday for giving 18-year-old Alyssa Noceda drugs, raping her, then trying to hide her body after she died.
Alyssa’s mother, Gina Pierson, told KCPQ she feels anything but a sense of justice after the man responsible for her daughter’s death will spend less time in prison than a car thief.
“She was a very outgoing person, bubbly, smart, beautiful,” according to Pierson, who said she’ll never forget the happiness in her daughter’s eyes. “Just an overall great human being.”
Alyssa Noceda died last February of a drug overdose at a party. On Thursday, Brian Varela, the man prosecutors say was responsible for her death, was sentenced for his crimes.
“I’m heartbroken,” said Pierson. “She deserves justice and she’s not receiving it.”
Police say it happened inside a mobile home near Martha Lake. Court documents say Noceda used marijuana and snorted prescription drugs Valera shared with her – but she soon lost consciousness, and her lips turned blue.
Court documents say Valera sent pictures and text messages to his friends saying she had passed out and that he had had sex with her, but he never called first responders for help.
“She died from an acute combined overdose of fentanyl and a generic for Xanax,” said Pierson.
One of Valera’s friends eventually called police, and when they searched his home days later they found Noceda’s body stuffed into a crate.
Valera was sentenced to less than three years in prison for second degree manslaughter, third degree rape and unlawful disposal of remains.
“He chose not to do anything. He knew what was going on, he made that obvious in the text message and the photos he sent to his friends,” said Pierson. “He knew every single thing that was going on with her and he chose to do nothing. There were no mistakes in there.”
Valera could have called for help and avoided drug possession charges thanks to the state’s Good Samaritan law. Instead, court records say he raped his victim, tried to conceal his DNA evidence on her body and planned to bury her in a hole near Marysville.
Noceda’s mother says she hopes lawmakers pay attention to this case – and change state law to make sure other offenders face harsher punishments for similar crimes.
“I’m just appalled. It’s a joke. A slap on the wrist for taking someone’s life and violating another human being,” she said.
via: https://pix11.com/2018/11/19/its-a-joke-man-who-raped-dying-teen-gets-less-than-3-years-in-prison/
Man reportedly ate woman’s pet fish, later sent gross picture with caption ‘found your fish’
BATON ROUGE, La. – A man who allegedly ate a woman’s fish in her dorm room at LSU and later sent her a picture of his feces has been arrested.
The incident occurred on October 22, 2016, after LSU took on Ole Miss in Tiger Stadium, according to WBRZ.
21-year-old Maxwell Taffin, who was 18-years-old at the time of the incident, has been booked on one charge of cruelty to animals and one charge of improper telephone communications, according to WBRZ.
Taffin and two of his friends to stayed in one of the trio’s ex-girlfriend’s dorm room after the Ole Miss game.
When she returned to her room, Taffin reportedly said “check your fish tank” as he left.
The victim noticed Bumba, her pet Siamese fighting fish was missing, and soon received a text message showing feces in a toilet.
The photo was captioned “found your fish.”
When questioned by LSU police, Taffin reportedly said “Yeah, I’ll be honest with you. I ate [the victim’s] fish,” according to WBRZ.
Taffin told police “a lot of people” use his phone, which isn’t password protected.
LSU police issued a criminal summons for Taffin, but he failed to appear, leading to his arrest on January 8th.
Photo of black, white students segregated in South African classroom draws fire Elizabeth Llorente By Elizabeth Llorente | Fox News
A photo that an elementary school teacher in South Africa took of her classroom to soothe parents nervous about their children’s first day of school instead generated shock and outrage after it showed four black children sitting at a small table in a corner, separate from the white children seated at a larger table.
The teacher at Laerskool Schweizer-Reneke in South Africa’s North West province, shared the picture on the school’s WhatsApp group, intended as an update for parents.
However at least one of the children’s mothers, who does not wish to be identified, was furious with the connotations.
All I saw was messages from the white parents saying ‘dankie, dankie [‘thank you, thank you’] but no one was saying anything about the separation of the learners,” she told the South African Times.
The chairman of the school’s governing body, Jozeph du Plessis, said the teacher thought she was helping the students feel at ease on their first day of school, by seating them with children from their own racial group.
“We saw the photo and we were also angered by what we saw,” he said. “The kids were quite unsettled – you must realize they were five years old on their first day at school – and she grouped them in a way she thought would settle them quickly and comfort them.
“There was no intent of racism or segregation from the teacher’s side. We are investigating – perhaps it could be a language issue, perhaps those kids are not speaking Afrikaans, but I can’t speculate.”
The controversy prompted a protest outside the school on Thursday, and some white parents retrieved their children from class.
Sello Lehari, the provincial Education Minister, said after stopping by the school: “From the information I got from the meeting, it seems that there are a lot of cases here of racism.
“I will send a team to do an investigation into all schools… to deal with issues of racism in totality,” Lehari said.
Student activist Mcebo Dlamini said on social media the most “provocative” thing about the whole situation “is not that black kids are ostracized from white kids, that is common in our supposedly post-apartheid Africa.”
“Rather what becomes painful is that there are black people who still insist that racism has ended and who think that blacks and whites can have peaceful relations that do not have undertones of racism.”
The teacher has subsequently been suspended, according to South Africa’s News24.
Article via FoxNews
American Boy, 16, Caught Fighting for ISIS in Syria, Militia Says
A 16-year-old American boy fighting on behalf of the Islamic State was captured on the battlefield in Syria, an American-backed force fighting the militants said Wednesday.
If the teenager is proved to be a United States citizen, he would be the first American minor to be caught fighting on behalf of the terrorist group overseas.
His arrest follows the capture of Warren Christopher Clark, 34, a former substitute teacher from Texas whose seizure in the same area was announced on Sunday. They are among the handful of American citizens — just five so far — who have been taken alive on the front line in the battle against the Islamic State, according to a database maintained by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.
The militia that announced the boy’s capture, the Syrian Democratic Forces, said he was among eight foreign fighters who were apprehended this week in the last sliver of Islamic State-held territory in northeastern Syria. The others included citizens of Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
United States officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and over the weekend the same militia announced the capture of what they said was another American citizen. There were indications, however, that that person might be from Trinidad, according to Simon Cottee, a senior lecturer in criminology at the University of Kent.
Mr. Cottee also said that he had a name very similar to that of the teenager said to be American in a database kept to track Islamic State fighters from Trinidad.
The captures were announced three weeks after President Trump declared “We have won against ISIS,” another name for the Islamic State, and ordered the withdrawal of 2,000 American troops from Syria.
While United States officials have estimated that 295 Americans either have joined or tried to join militant groups in Iraq and Syria, they have not said how many of those recruits successfully made it to the battle zone, nor which group they joined.
The database maintained by the Program on Extremism has identified just 55 American nationals who joined the Islamic State. That is a small fraction of the number from countries like France, from where at least 1,400 people are believed to have joined, according to the Paris-based Center for the Analysis of Terrorism.
While the 16-year-old would be the only American minor caught on the battlefield, other American teenagers have been found in Islamic State-controlled territory.
A 15-year-old girl from Kansas was repatriated from Syria, after being forced to travel to the war zone by her father. She was forcibly married to an ISIS fighter and was pregnant at the time of her capture.
And several other American teenagers have been arrested for trying to carry out attacks on behalf of the militants in the United States. Prosecuting them has proved difficult because of their age, said Seamus Hughes, the deputy director of the George Washington University Program on Extremism.
In South Carolina, for instance, Zakaryia Abdin was accused of plotting an attack against soldiers on behalf of the Islamic State at age 16. He initially pleaded guilty to a firearms offense and was sentenced to one year in a juvenile facility. Only when he tried to travel to Syria following his parole, then age 18, did the Justice Department charge him with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.
In New Jersey, Santos Colon, 17, pleaded guilty in 2017 to participating in a plot to kill Pope Francis during a Mass in Philadelphia two years earlier. He was released to a halfway house pending sentencing; he faces up to 15 years in prison.
“Here’s the concern with this case,” Mr. Hughes said, referring to the teenager apprehended in Syria. “How long has this young man been in Syria? Did he go early on with family? Or is it a more recent case of traveling? And he is purported to have been fighting for ISIS. It’s one thing to say it and another to prove it in a court of law, and authorities may well decide not to prosecute him given his age.”
Article via NYTimes
Florida Woman Breaks into Police Station, Eats Officer’s Chicken and Asparagus, Gets Arrested After Leaving ID Behind
Police have arrested a woman in Florida after she broke into a police station, stole food from an officer, and left her wallet behind.
Yvelande Jean-Pierre, 29, is believed to have smashed a window to enter the police station on 2210 S. Congress Avenue, in the early hours of January 3, according to a report by Boynton Beach Police Department.
She then took two readymade chicken and asparagus meals from the fridge, and heated one of the meals in the microwave.
“One of the meals appears to have been consumed inside of the kitchen area, as the asparagus was left on the counter next to the microwave,” the police report stated. She then left the premises.
Officers Darin Hederian and Gregg Koch arrived at the station at around 8:30am, to find that the window on the south side of the building, leading to the kitchen area, had been broken. Police believe Jean-Pierre stood on two recycling bins in order to access the opening.
Agent Andrew Berben later arrived at the police station, and confirmed that the meals were his, and he had paid $7 for each.
The police officers were able to track down the suspect after crime scene investigator Amanda Eichorst discovered a plastic shopping bag on top of a trash can at the front of the station.
At first, officers thought the bag was garbage, but soon noticed it contained Jean-Pierre’s Florida ID card, and a State of Florida Security Officers card.
Footage recorded by the station’s CCTV cameras showed Jean-Pierre walking to the front of the station at around 1:25am, and squeezing past a locked gate. She is then shown trying to open windows at the front of the station, but is unsuccessful. Fetching two recycling bins to the back of the building, she takes these to its south side.
By around 2:21, she is seen climbing over the police station gate, and heading south on S. Congress Avenue.
Police officers found the recycling bins depicted in the video underneath the broken window. Jean-Pierre is thought to have caused $300 worth of damage.
On January 9, detectives arrested Jean-Pierre and charged her with burglary to an unoccupied structure, theft and criminal mischief.
“Her first mistake was breaking into our substation,” Boynton Beach Police Department wrote in a caption to a statement on a document-sharing website.
“The second was eating Agent Berben’s chicken and asparagus (although she’s clearly not a fan of asparagus). Her third mistake was leaving her wallet and FL ID behind.”
Officers made similar remarks on Twitter, alongside a photo of the crime scene.
Article via NewsWeek
A man was found dead at Democratic donor Edward Buck’s home. It’s not the first time.
A man was found dead at the home of prominent Democratic donor Edward Buck in West Hollywood early Monday morning, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. It’s the second death of an adult male at Buck’s home in the last couple years. In July 2017 a man identified as Gemmel Moore was determined to have fatally overdosed at the same location, authorities said. Buck, 64, was present at the time of both incidents.
Now police are conducting an investigation of Monday’s death as well as follow-up interviews and a secondary review of the 2017 death to better understand the two cases, authorities said.
Deputies responded to the home at 1:05 a.m. Monday regarding a person not breathing. They pronounced the man dead when they arrived, the Sheriff’s Department said. The cause of death is unknown and will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.
The death of Moore, a 26-year-old black man, in July 2017 was determined to be an accidental methamphetamine overdose, the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner’s website says.
The admissible evidence in the case was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Buck was responsible for Moore’s death, according to a charge evaluation worksheet from the LA County District Attorney in July 2018. The admissible evidence was also insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he furnished drugs to Moore or that he possessed drugs, the document states.
The Los Angeles LGBT Center, an organization that provides services and advocates for LGBT people, called on the Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to fully investigate the latest death and “aggressively seek justice.”
“Although the investigation is in its early stages, we urge Sheriff Villanueva to keep the public fully informed as LGBT people have a considerable and urgent interest in a case that is so clearly linked to the health and safety of our community,” the statement said. “The reports we have heard provide more questions than answers.
“Buck’s attorney, Seymour Amster, told CNN that Buck and the victim had been friends for over 25 years. He said he did not believe there would be charges filed in the case.
“Yes, Ed does have individuals he associates with who have problems with drugs. He tries to talk them out of it. Sometimes they bring their problems into his apartment, and that’s where the problem is,” Amster said.Buck has donated to a number of Democratic candidates and PACs in recent years, according to information from OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in US politics. In 2017, he gave $10,400 to the Getting Stuff Done PAC affiliated with Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, $2,700 to Rep. Ted Lieu of California, and $1,000 each to Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California, Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, and former Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana.
He also previously gave $2,700 to Hillary Clinton in 2015, $5,000 to the House Majority PAC that supports Democrats in 2014, and $1,000 to Barack Obama in 2008, according to OpenSecrets.In 2010, Buck heckled California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman at a political event, according to news reports from NJ.com at the time. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was campaigning for Whitman, then confronted Buck.
“It’s people who raise their voices and yell and scream like you that are dividing this country,” Christie said. “We’re here to bring this country together, not to divide it.”
Article via CNN
‘If there’s a concrete wall in front of you, go through it,’ Trump said in 2004 speech
Donning an emerald green graduation gown, Donald Trump stood grinning on the stage at Wagner College in Staten Island as a faculty member offered a glowing introduction in May 2004: “A New York original. Everyone knows something about him and everyone has an opinion concerning him,” the faculty member said.
Trump was there to give the commencement address to the class of 2004 and to accept an honorary doctorate of humane letters. He drew laughs from the crowd while describing his transition from real estate magnate to television celebrity — “I’m a star, and there’s nothing like it.” He took a half-baked stab at self-deprecation, joking that the Guinness Book of World Records “has me down as the greatest personal financial comeback of all time.”
But even then, talk of concrete walls managed to seep its way into Trump’s monologue — only this time, as Comedy Central’s Trevor Noah pointed out Wednesday on “The Daily Show,” the message was a bit different from the one he would preach years later as president.
“I’ll tell you, to me, the second-most important thing after love what you do is never, ever give up,” Trump told the students, motioning his hands and raising his index finger the same way he does at campaign rallies. “Don’t give up. Don’t allow it to happen. If there’s a concrete wall in front of you, go through it. Go over it. Go around it. But get to the other side of that wall.”
Read more via TheWashingtonPost
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez hits out at ‘disgusting’ media publishing fake nude image
Congresswoman says attacks were ‘just a matter of time’, adding that women in leadership face more scrutiny
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the rapidly rising star of the Democratic party, has lashed out at conservative media for its treatment of women in leadership positions after the Daily Caller published a fake photo of the politician nude in a bath-tub.
The rightwing website published the image showing a woman’s bare feet in the bath, under the headline: “Here’s the photo some people described as a nude selfie of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez”. In fact, the photograph had been circulating on the internet already for a month and has been shown to have been falsely ascribed to the politician by a user on a Reddit forum.
wikiFeet: how online foot fetishists debunked Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s fake nude
Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter that the use of a discredited image by a prominent conservative outlet showed that “women in leadership face more scrutiny. Period.”
She said the actions of the Daily Caller were “just a matter of time” given that Republicans had been “frothing at the mouth all week” – a phrase that she did not explain. She also criticized the Daily Mail which she accused of sending a reporter “to my boyfriend’s relative’s homes” offering them cash for “stories”.
Ocasio-Cortez became an instant political sensation last June when she ousted in the Democratic primaries a New York congressman who had held the seat for 20 years. She went on to win the general election in November, propelling herself to a leadership position within the new generation of up-and-coming Democratic politicians.
Being the youngest US congresswoman ever to be sworn in (she is now 29), combined with her self-identification as a democratic socialist which has riled conservatives, has brought the social media spotlight onto Ocasio-Cortez with some challenging results. Last week there was a storm of protest on Twitter after a user going under the handle “AnonymousQ” posted an old 30-second video of her dancing on a rooftop while at college.
So far the Democratic representative for New York’s 14th congressional district covering parts of the Bronx and Queens has been effortlessly able to rebuff the onslaught and turn it to her advantage. Her riposte to the dance video was to post a new, 11-second clip of her dancing outside the congressional office. It went viral.
In a later tweet, Ocasio-Cortez returned to the Daily Caller theme, lamenting the “completely disgusting behavior from Conservative outlets”. She added a pointed remark about the confirmation process of US supreme court justice Brett Kavanaugh, who won Republican support despite the sexual assault allegations made against him by Christine Blasey Ford.
“No wonder they defended Kavanaugh so fiercely,” she wrote.
Earlier in the evening, she said that if “they” – she didn’t specify whom – “want to make an example out of me, I will gladly be one. Hopefully we can be an example of dedication, courage, and persistence under fire.”
Article via TheGuardian
Celebrities rallied around Cyntoia Brown, but some worry about ‘Kardashian effect’
“We hope that the same shot would be available to everyone … But the reality is we don’t live in that world,” said one defense attorney.
When Cyntoia Brown learned her fate this week — that Tennessee’s governor was granting her clemency from a life sentence for murder — she was backed by a brigade of powerful celebrities who for more than a year shared headlines about her with millions of people.
Rihanna, Drake, LeBron James and Kim Kardashian West were some of the big names who used social media to champion Brown, who as a teenage human trafficking victim was convicted in the 2004 fatal shooting of a man who had hired her for sex.
While Brown’s impending freedom might give renewed hope to prisoners who believe the criminal justice system has failed them, defense attorneys and legal experts worry that the advantage of celebrity endorsements might overshadow an already fraught process that finds many inmates at a disadvantage.
They’re cautious, they say, about a “Kardashian effect.”
“The celebrity piece in Cyntoia Brown’s case made people pay attention — it was a nice catalyst,” said Kevin Sharp, a former federal judge and Nashville attorney who is supporting Kardashian West on another case of a Tennessee man serving a life sentence.
“There are plenty of people who are sitting in prison cells and their stories need to be told,” Sharp added. “But garnering celebrity support can’t be how to gain influence with decision makers or ensure justice moves forward. I’d hate for that to be the only way.”
It’s unclear whether Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, who had been inundated with letters of support for Brown, closely regarded what celebrities were saying. In December, actresses Alyssa Milano and Amy Schumer directed tweets asking him to consider clemency for Brown as social justice organizations launched a week of action.
In a statement Monday announcing his decision, he made no mention of the high-profile advocates, saying instead that he had taken “careful consideration” to determine a life sentence was especially harsh on someone who committed her crime at 16.
The governor lauded Brown, now 30, for continuing her schooling during the past 15 years in prison and proving herself a model inmate. His decision comes after the Tennessee Board of Parole was divided last year over recommending an early release.
In his eight years as governor, Haslam, a Republican who leaves office next week, has granted only a handful of commutations. Brown’s attorneys told NBC News that her pending release, which is set for August, is “extraordinary” and “unusual.”
Similar widespread attention is what Ohio attorney Jennifer Kinsley would like for one of her clients, Alexis Martin. In 2013, Martin was 15 when prosecutors say she was involved in the robbery and murder of a man who forced her into human trafficking.
While Martin, who is currently serving 21 years to life, has gotten some attention from victims’ advocate groups, major celebrities have yet to amplify her situation.
If someone like Kardashian West wanted to use their platform, Kinsley said, “I would welcome it.”
Still, she’s wary about having to count on Hollywood A-listers to tip the scales toward Martin, whose case remains on appeal and is seeking clemency from outgoing Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
“We hope that the same shot would be available to everyone, and that all people would have the opportunity to be treated fairly regardless of circumstances,” Kinsley said. “But the reality is we don’t live in that world.”
Kardashian West, who has more than 124 million followers on Instagram, has become one of the most outspoken celebrity activists in criminal justice reform. Last June, she successfully lobbied President Donald Trump to commute the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson, a first-time nonviolent drug offender who was serving a life sentence on drug charges. Kardashian West reportedly paid for Johnson’s legal team.
Since then, the reality TV star has been flooded with letters from prisoners asking for her help, according to TMZ.
Sharp said celebrities might shine a spotlight on cases of injustice, but it’s still the lawyers, activists and journalists who should be credited with exposing an inequity.
In the case of Matthew Charles, a Nashville man whom Kardashian West mentioned in a tweet last week when he was freed from prison for a second time, Sharp noted that it was Nashville Public Radio that had been following his story long before he was made a cause célèbre. Sharp was the federal judge who had first ordered Charles released in 2016 following his 35-year sentence for selling crack and illegal gun possession.
Charles was released again under the Trump administration’s First Step Act, which eases mandatory-minimum drug sentences and could see thousands of inmates benefit.
Sharp said it’s clear that celebrity interest “gives you a leg up,” and that they are oftentimes the most effective way to spread a story. He added that through his dealings with Kardashian West, she has shown herself to be a “serious person” on the subject of criminal justice reform — and she shouldn’t be ignored.
“Why do we listen to celebrities on anything?” Sharp said. “Sometimes a story has to be told so that citizens can say, ‘Wait a minute, here’s a wrong that needs to be righted, so how do we right that?'”
Article via NBCNews