Experiencing stiff feet after reaching 60? These four barefoot exercises can help rejuvenate your foot’s natural suspension.
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Every day, we confine our feet within shoes, often neglecting the importance of strengthening them, which poses a significant issue. Take a look at your foot—nearly a quarter of your body’s bones are located there. As a fitness coach, I’ve observed that most people are unaware of how to effectively build strength in their feet.
By the conclusion of this guide, you’ll understand that your feet function more like a mountain bike’s suspension system rather than a solid brick. I’ll also introduce you to four exercises that can help restore this natural suspension mechanism, all done barefoot.
The Engineering Inside Your Foot
Let’s take a closer look. Each foot contains 26 bones, and 28 if you count the sesamoid bones. There are over 33 joints and well over 100 muscles, tendons, and ligaments all in your foot. That’s an incredible amount of engineering packed into something most of us never even think about.
Most people think they have only one arch in the foot. If this is your right foot and this is the inside, you’d think of the medial arch. So when we talk about the arch of the foot, most people limit their thought to the medial arch. But we also have a lateral arch, and we also have a transverse arch for the rotation of the foot.
These arches don’t simply hold you up. They constantly change every time you take a step. That includes an extension of the big toe, and that includes both of the arches, medial and lateral, and of course the transverse. So every little step you take, all 28 of these bones have to work in conjunction with the ground and all the bones above them to ensure a strong, stable, and efficient gait.
Your Feet Are Suspension, Not Concrete
Imagine you’re driving a pickup truck with no suspension. Every crack in the road would travel straight into the frame. Now imagine driving on the exact same road with premium shocks and suspension. The bumps don’t disappear, right? The suspension simply absorbs and redistributes the force. That is exactly what your feet were designed to do.
Every step you take creates force that can be two to three times your body weight. If you’re running, we’re talking around seven times. And if you’re running on a hard surface like concrete, we’re talking closer to 12 to 15 times. So whatever you weigh, every step you take is two to three times that traveling through your body, and if you’re running, especially on a hard surface, that’s up to 12, sometimes considered 15 times the force from your body weight into the ground and traveling back up your foot and through your spine.
If these forces aren’t distributed throughout the foot with its variety of movements, they travel directly into your knees, your hips, and your spine. Instead of allowing that to happen, your arch flattens slightly, your plantar fascia stores elastic energy, and then your foot becomes rigid again as you push off.
How One Step Actually Works
Every step we take, that big toe has to go into some extension. That then transfers the load into the sesamoid bones, and then that sends it up the foot, and then up the shin, and then your knees, your hips, and so on. Remember, a lot of things have to happen.
So when that toe goes into extension, there’s also a change in the transverse fascia, the rotation of the foot. There’s also a change in the medial arch, which goes internal, and then as we get rigid and we step off the toe, everything transfers out. You have to have all these combined movements of rotation, flexion, and extension to have good force distribution from the foot.
Try to think of the plantar fascia like a heavy-duty winch cable. As your toes extend, that cable tightens, pulling the arch upward and transforming your foot into a powerful lever. It’s really an elegant design.
Shoes Support, They Don’t Strengthen
Unfortunately, most of us spend decades asking our shoes to do the work instead. Before anyone misunderstands me, shoes, socks, even orthotics absolutely have their place. For certain injuries and deformities, and even medical conditions, an orthotic really is valuable.
But for most people, you probably don’t need an orthotic. You just need some manual therapy, and you definitely need some exercises for it.
Here’s the important distinction. An orthotic supports your foot. Socks, to a degree, compress your foot. Shoes support your foot. But none of them actually strengthen the muscles. They don’t improve coordination, and they don’t retrain the nervous system. That’s where barefoot training becomes so valuable.
Your Feet Are Your Body’s GPS
One of the biggest reasons is something called proprioception. The bottom of your foot contains thousands of sensory receptors. Every second, they’re measuring pressure, surface texture, joint position, weight distribution, and movement. All that information is sent directly to your brain. The brain then makes tiny adjustments throughout your ankles, your knees, your hips, and even your spine, long before you’re even aware of it.
I like to think of the feet as your body’s GPS system. The better the signal, the better the navigation.
As we get older, those signals often become weaker. Not because our brain stopped working, but because our feet become less active. We wear supportive shoes nearly all day. We spend very little time barefoot. Those small muscles become weaker, the nervous system receives fewer meaningful inputs, and over time, balance, coordination, and movement quality begin to decline.
There’s another fascinating aspect of the foot. The sole contains one of the highest concentrations of sensory nerve endings anywhere in the body. That’s one reason practices like foot massage, acupuncture, and reflexology have existed for thousands of years.
Now, the research doesn’t support the idea that pressing on one spot on your foot can directly treat an entire organ or organ system. But there is evidence that stimulating the feet can help improve relaxation, alter pain perception for some people, and increase sensory awareness, whether that’s through massage, acupressure, or simply spending more time moving barefoot.
You’re giving your nervous system richer information to work with, and that’s exactly what these exercises are designed to do. They’re not just strengthening muscles; they’re rebuilding the body’s natural suspension system one step at a time.
The first exercise in our foot restoration series is self-massage. If you don’t have the flexibility to be on the floor, you can do this sitting in a chair. If you’ve never done this, your foot fascia may be extremely tight and you may not be able to get your fingers all the way in. You can certainly use some lotion to help make the process a little easier.
How to Do It:
- Take your right leg and cross it over your left.
- Interlace each one of your fingers in between each one of your toes, starting by sliding your pinky finger in between your pinky toe.
- Grab your fingers so you can really get it in there, webbing to webbing, the webbing of your fingers into the webbing of your toes.
- Once everything is fully in there, dorsiflex your foot, bending it back.
- Use your other hand to hold your heel so your heel doesn’t move and your ankle doesn’t move.
- Gently twist your foot back and forth, like you’re wringing out a towel.
- Pump by flexing and extending the forefoot, or the front of the foot.
- Combine those two movements into a torsion, which we can also call a lemniscate.
Avoid These Mistakes:
- Don’t let your heel or ankle move. Hold the heel steady with your opposite hand so the motion happens in the forefoot.
- Work both directions. Don’t only twist one way.
- Don’t force your fingers in if the fascia is too tight. Use lotion and work into it gradually.
Sets and Reps: Anywhere from three to five minutes per foot.
Form Tip: When you’re done, look down at your toes and you can generally see a little more space in the foot you just worked. That won’t last through the day, it’ll start to cramp back in. But imagine doing this most every day and starting to restore that natural splay and natural arch just with a little bit of self-massage.
Single-Leg Standing Toe Coordination
Step one is just single-leg balance. Once you’re comfortable balancing on a single leg, then we work the coordination.
How to Do It:
- Stand on one leg. If you need to, hold onto a chair or put your hand on the wall.
- Lift your big toe, then set it down.
- Lift your other four toes, then set them down.
- Work back and forth between the big toe and the other four toes.
Avoid These Mistakes:
- Don’t skip the balance step. Get comfortable on one leg before you add the toe work.
- Don’t force the standing version if you’re not ready. Start seated in a chair, progress to kneeling, and then eventually the goal is to perform the exercise from a standing position.
Sets and Reps: About 60 to 90 seconds each foot, one to three sets.
Form Tip: The progression is seated, then kneeling, then standing. Work the coordination at whatever level you can control it.
The Shuffle Walk
This next exercise I picked up from the Gait Guys. As the toe comes up, I feed all those proprioceptors. I give it even more information by dragging it. And then as it rolls down and the other comes up, I get the coordination phase. That’s the idea with the shuffle walk.
How to Do It:
- Start with your feet nice and square.
- Roll up onto the ball of your right foot.
- Drag it backwards until your big toe is about at the middle of the other foot.
- Roll it down and set it down.
- Roll up onto the other foot, drag it back, set it down.
- Repeat, one, two, one, two, over and over until you’re really comfortable with it.
- Once you’re comfortable, put it into the full motion: as one foot comes down, the other one is already coming up.
Avoid These Mistakes:
- Don’t rush to the full motion. Get comfortable with the one-at-a-time version first.
- Don’t skip the drag. That’s what feeds the proprioceptors even more information.
Sets and Reps: 60 to 90 seconds, one to three sets.
Form Tip: Yes, it looks like the moonwalk. That’s the idea.
Watch the shuffle walk:
Michelle Pfeiffer Reveals Why She Prefers Not to Star in New Films
Michelle Pfeiffer is contemplating an exit from the silver screen.
The legendary actress, known for her iconic role in Scarface, has announced at 68 that she is considering stepping back from leading roles in films. Following the success of her recent television ventures, The Madison and Margo’s Got Money Troubles, Pfeiffer feels ready for a change in direction in her career.
“I swear to God, I never want to star in another movie,” Pfeiffer stated emphatically during The Hollywood Reporter‘s THR x Apple TV event titled Leading the Narrative: The Women of Apple TV on Sunday.
The actress expressed a strong preference for ensemble pieces: “It’s so much more fun, I love it so much.”
Pfeiffer also shared her admiration for the current landscape of television, saying, “I’ve just been so bowled over by the female performances on television and honestly, they’re just really owning TV.”
The announcement may come as a surprise to fans given the three-time Oscar nominee’s legendary screen career, which includes iconic roles in Scarface, Batman Returns, Dangerous Liaisons, I Am Sam, White Oleander, Tequila Sunrise, Married to the Mob and The Witches of Eastwick.
Michelle Pfeiffer, 68, revealed she is ready to pivot away from movie roles and focus on television, following the success of her two recent TV projects; Seen on August 2
The announcement may come as a surprise to fans given the three-time Oscar nominee’s legendary screen career, which includes her iconic role in Scarface; seen in a still
Both The Madison and Margo’s Got Money Troubles have been big hits for Pfeiffer, with the latter earning her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series.
Aside from starring on the shows, she is also an executive-producer on both projects.
Margo’s Got Money Troubles – created by David E. Kelley – follows a young single mom (Elle Fanning) who decides to open an OnlyFans account in order to provide for her family. Pfeiffer plays Fanning’s mom.
Pfeiffer – who appeared on Sunday’s panel alongside Fanning, Dale Dickey, Karolina Wydra, Rhea Seehorn and Jessica Williams – said that the characters on the show reminded her of a Robin Williams quote.
‘I love how complicated and flawed all these characters are, and it really reminds me of that famous Robin Williams quote where he says, “Remember that everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about, and be kind.”‘
‘That kind of, for me, sums up the show and the message of the show, and I’m really proud to be a part of it.’
Margo’s Got Money Troubles is a TV adaptation of the same-name novel written by Rufi Thorpe.
The series also stars Hollywood mainstay Nicole Kidman as well as Rico Nasty.
‘I never want to star in another movie, I swear to God,’ Pfeiffer said during the THR x Apple TV’s Leading the Narrative: The Women of Apple TV event on Sunday; Pictured at the event with Elle Fanning
‘I only want to do ensemble pieces. It’s so much more fun,’ she said, adding, ‘I’ve just been so bowled over by the female performances on television and honestly, they’re just really owning TV’; Pictured with Fanning and Rhea Seehorn
Both The Madison and Margo’s Got Money Troubles have been big TV hits for Pfeiffer, with the latter earning her an Emmy nomination; seen in a still from Margo’s Got Money Troubles
The series follows a young single mom (Fanning) who decides to open an OnlyFans account in order to provide for her family. Pfeiffer plays Fanning’s mom
Her other project, The Madison, is a contemporary Western created by Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan. The Madison is available to stream on Paramount+
Season 1 of Margo’s Got Money Troubles is now streaming on Apple TV.
Her other project, The Madison, is a contemporary Western created by Yellowstone mastermind Taylor Sheridan.
It follows the Clyburn family as they travel to Montana following the death of patriarch Preston (Kurt Russell). She plays Preston’s widow Stacy.
Stacy tries to keep the family intact as they struggle with rural Montana after living the high life in New York City.
Pfeiffer recently revealed that she agreed to star in The Madison without reading a script for the show.
The actress took a ‘leap of faith’ to join the cast because of creator Sheridan’s previous involvement in successful shows, such as Yellowstone and Tulsa King.
Michelle told Variety: ‘Taylor reached out to me and said he had an idea and would like to meet me.’
‘So I’m off to Texas, I went to his ranch and had a wonderful evening meeting people. He talked to me about the arc of the character and the concept of the show, and it was very broadly laid out.’
Long before her pivot to TV, Pfeiffer famously played Catwoman in the 1992 superhero film Batman Returns; Seen in a still
‘I said, “Okay, when could I read something?” He said, “Well, I’d like to know who I’m writing for before I start writing. So after you commit.”‘
Pfeiffer called up her good friend Helen Mirren, who had worked on Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel 1923, to vet him. Mirren sang Sheridan’s praises so Pfeiffer signed on to The Madison with no script.
The Madison, which has already been renewed for a second season, is available to stream on Paramount+.
Long before her pivot to television, Pfeiffer delivered iconic film performances, including her breakout turn as icy mob wife Elvira Hancock in 1983’s Scarface and as Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992).
Along the way, she earned three Academy Award nominations for her roles in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), and Love Field (1992).
Australia’s Housing Market: Navigate Record Gains & Losses
Australian property values have been soaring to unprecedented levels, yet a subtle “first crack in profitability” might foreshadow a cooling market.
Recent figures from Domain, published on Wednesday, reveal that in the first half of 2026, 97.4 percent of home resales were profitable, a slight dip from the 97.5 percent recorded a year earlier.
Although this minor drop of 0.1 percent seems insignificant, it could suggest the beginning of the end for the long streak of robust resale profits.
Despite this, the majority of sellers are expected to continue enjoying “substantial gains,” as noted by Domain’s chief residential economist Nicola Powell in an interview with SBS News.
Nonetheless, this marginal decline in nationwide profitability might be an indication of a decelerating property market, potentially leading to a drop in home prices in the foreseeable future.
“While that shift is small, I think it is significant because what it’s telling us is that resale profitability is a lagging indicator and tends to follow changes in home pricing,” she explained.
“We’ve got some of our capital cities now going backward in price and particularly in some of our markets, we are seeing an increase in loss-making resales.”
REA Group Senior Economic Analyst Megan Lieu said realestate.com.au data also revealed a drop in profitability.
In the past six months to July, 94.4 per cent of home resales made a profit, down from 94.9 per cent in the previous six months to January, she said.
But while properties are seeing larger average losses as profitability declines, some markets are soaring.
Where are people making and losing money on property?
While slightly fewer properties are making a profit compared to 12 months ago, successful sellers are still enjoying record returns.
Median resale profits climbed to record levels of $458,000 for houses and $237,000 for units nationally.
In the capital cities, median house profits were even higher at $552,000.
Sydney posted the country’s largest resale returns, with the median house vendor achieving a profit of $739,500.
Meanwhile, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide are increasingly standing out as the strongest markets for seller returns, with almost every resale delivering a gain.
Perth recorded the greatest proportion of profitable house resales, with 99.6 per cent of sellers making a profit on their transaction. Brisbane led the unit market, where 99.5 per cent of resales generated a positive return.
In contrast, Melbourne remained the weakest capital city market for units. More than one in four sellers sold for less than their original purchase price, while Melbourne also recorded one of the highest shares of loss-making house resales, alongside Canberra.
Surprisingly, some areas saw both record profitability gains and losses over the year.
Powell explained that record-high losses come from a small pool of sales.
“Those losses are perhaps large because they’re in financial strife,” she said.
“Or perhaps they’ve maybe leveraged themselves too much; they’ve stretched themselves too much to keep up with voracious price gains.”
Home values and sale volumes fall
As overall profitability has fallen, home values and the number of properties sold have declined, according to Cotality.
In its latest report released on Monday, the group found that home values had fallen by 0.7 per cent in July and fewer people had listed their properties.
Cotality Head of Research Gerard Burg said that nationally, total home listings sat 1.1 per cent below the five-year average over the four weeks ending 26 July.
“There remains a mismatch between the pricing expectations of buyers and sellers,” Burg said in the report.
“Capital city auction clearance rates have remained below 50 per cent since late May, although they have moved up from the low 40s range in mid-to-late June.”
Lieu said that higher interest rates and tax changes from the federal budget are also contributing to a market slowdown.
“We expect prices to fall further in 2026, however, the extent of the decline will depend on the trajectory of interest rates and supply,” she said.
A growing divide
Looking at property markets across Australia shows a “growing divide” in prices that Powell expects will continue.
On the one hand, the largest property markets — Melbourne and Sydney — are seeing prices weaken, while smaller markets in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane continue to soar.
“Both Melbourne and Sydney are seeing an uplift in housing supply, so that increase in housing stock is giving buyers more choice,” Powell explained.
While those capitals could continue to fall in price, it could be some time before other cities hit a price ceiling.
Powell said these shifts in profits and losses are normal in the property market.
“Making money off of property is about being in it for the long game,” she said.
“Staying put increases your chances of actually making a healthy profit upon reselling that home, because you’re riding the waves and the turns that make up the property price cycle.”
Courageous Confession: Beth Walker Breaks Silence on RHORI Husband Brian Pontarelli with No NDA Constraints
Season one of The Real Housewives of Rhode Island is mired in controversy, with the spotlight sharply focused on star Rulla Pontarelli‘s husband, Brian, and his alleged extramarital escapades.
The scandal centers on whispers and accusations that Brian is involved with Beth Walker. Some cast members have claimed that the affair is far from over, casting a shadow over the reality show’s first season.
In an unexpected twist, controversy reignited when Beth Walker shared several photos featuring herself with Brian on social media. Yesterday, Reality Blurb secured an exclusive interview with Beth, shedding light on her motivations behind making these private glimpses public.
Some of the women brought up Brian’s indiscretion, allegedly with a woman named Beth Walker, and insisted it was still going on.
After Beth posted some photos with Brian yesterday, Reality Blurb exclusively spoke to her about why she decided to pull the trigger and post the pics of her and him.
“I was trying so hard to take the high road,” she began. “But after seeing his first interview, calling it the darkest time of his life.. I couldn’t resist (sharing the photos).”
Beth also explicitly insisted there is “no NDA about our relationship” and called that “just another lie he hides behind.”
“I was cryptic in my posts, but not anymore,” she added.
As Reality Blurb reported, Beth shared a photo of her and a shirtless Brian on her Instagram Story yesterday, and both were smiling.
“Funny,” she wrote. “For the ‘darkest time’ of your life, you sure smiled a lot.”
She went on to share two more photos with Brian, writing, “My camera roll remembers your ‘darkest time’ a bit differently.”
She later added, “Amazing how your ‘deepest, darkest time’ somehow produced 2 1/2 years of photos like this.”
Rulla, for her part, took to her Instagram Story to share a photo of Beth and call her out for being a homewrecker.
“This is the attempted home wrecker, Beth Caron Walker, from Cranston, Rhode Island. Here she is having fun with [Paul O’Connor], who is foolish enough to waste his time with her. Good luck, bud! Take care! Please take her!” Rulla captioned the pic, which showed an image of Beth dancing with Paul, a food and fashion enthusiast from Boston.
Paul ended up responding with some posts in which he went at Brian and tagged Rulla.
In an Instagram Story post, which he has since removed, Paul showcased an image that seemed to feature himself with Beth as he labeled Brian a “Foot Fetty” and confirmed he was a non-follower.
In a second now-deleted post, Paul called out Brian as “Lyin creepy Brian,” “Dr. Sole Mates, DPM,” and “Foot Fetty Brian,” and he warned his followers of Brian’s “excessive BS” and insisted he was a “sole liar” and “sketchy stepper.”
Beth, for her part, posted more and insisted a “mic drop” is coming.
Season two of RHORI is currently filming, and based on all of these posts, it seems inevitable that the topic of Brian’s affair will be unavoidable.
Marine Vet Officer and Suspect Killed in Las Vegas Shooting
Tragedy struck in Las Vegas on Tuesday when a police officer, who had previously served as a Marine, was fatally shot in the line of duty while attending to an incident involving an armed individual. Authorities have confirmed that the suspect was also killed during the confrontation.
In response to a distress call about a person brandishing a firearm and seemingly under the influence, officers and police drones rapidly descended on a business located in the 4500 block of East Tropicana Avenue shortly before 4 p.m., as reported by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Sheriff Kevin McMahill disclosed that the officer, after being critically wounded by gunfire, was swiftly transported to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Officers engaged with the armed suspect near Mountain Vista Street beneath the Interstate 11 underpass. It was there that the suspect opened fire on them, leading to at least one officer discharging their weapon in self-defense.
The exchange proved fatal for the suspect, who was declared dead at the location.
A 30-year-old officer was wounded during the exchange and taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said during a news briefing.
“A 30-year-old Las Vegas police officer was then worked on heroically by the Clark County Fire Department, other officers and EMS,” McMahill said. “He was transported to UMC where nurses worked to save his life.”
The sheriff said the officer was a Marine veteran who had worked for the police department since November 2023. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
“Unfortunately, our officer has passed,” the sheriff continued.
McMahill said the officer was a Marine veteran who had served with the police department since November 2023.
“A person who served this country and this community,” McMahill said. “As you can imagine, I have lots of grieving police officers and a grieving community.”
The police department offered its condolences to the officer’s family and pledged to support them “in every way we can in the days ahead.”
The suspect was pronounced dead at the scene. (Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
Other law enforcement agencies also mourned the officer’s death.
“The Nevada State Police extends our heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and loved ones of the fallen officer, and to our partners at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department,” the agency said in a Facebook statement. “Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.”
Meghan Markle’s Milestone 45th Birthday Snubbed by Royal Family, Experts Say
Pool/Getty Images
In the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s recent visit to the United Kingdom, it seems the icy relationship with King Charles III is thawing. However, royal watchers shouldn’t anticipate any ostentatious displays for the Duchess of Sussex’s birthday. Markle, who gained fame on the television series “Suits,” is turning 45 shortly after her children, Princess Lilibet and Prince Archie, made their long-awaited visit to Highgrove House to meet Charles and Queen Camilla in July. As this renewed connection sparks curiosity, many are left wondering how the royal family plans to acknowledge Meghan’s birthday on August 4.
According to royal commentator Tom Sykes, who spoke to Page Six on Meghan’s big day, there would certainly be some type of gesture from Charles. “The king is a scrupulously polite man, and I’m quite certain he would wish to send his daughter-in-law his birthday wishes,” he told the outlet. Royals expert Kinsey Schofield concurred, but believed the As Ever owner should temper her expectations and to expect Charles to send a “modest gift ‘through his staff,'” as Page Six wrote. Charles and Camilla may extend their birthday wishes, albeit privately, but Sykes added that it’s unlikely that Prince William and Princess Catherine would follow suit.
A few days leading up to the occasion, royal correspondent Jennie Bond shared insights with the Mirror, suggesting that if relations between Charles and Meghan are amicable, a phone call or birthday card might be expected. Bond emphasized the importance of Meghan joining the Highgrove visit, noting, “The children deserve to see some family harmony: it would have been damaging to have to explain that their mother wasn’t invited.” Before this family gathering, there was no shortage of speculation regarding potential tensions between Meghan and the royals.
Signs that King Charles III is making amends with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
In the lead-up to the anticipated reunion with King Charles III, rumors swirled about whether Meghan Markle and the children would accompany Prince Harry on his transatlantic trip. Tensions were reportedly high in May as whispers of palace drama emerged when Harry purportedly made demands concerning Meghan’s reception at Buckingham Palace. An insider told Heat World, “Harry has been coming in with all these demands on behalf of Meghan, and it’s already rubbing a lot of palace aides up the wrong way.” Despite the undercurrent of unrest, King Charles appeared willing to embrace the visit. “King Charles is looking forward to welcoming the Sussexes this summer, but Prince Harry is extremely nervous over how Meghan will be received,” the source added.
Around that same time, Meghan seemed to send a subtle message to Charles and the family that she and Harry wanted to reconnect to their royal lifestyle. For Prince Archie’s 7th birthday in May, she made an Instagram post that featured a throwback photo of her son as a baby sleeping on Harry’s chest at the royals’ Frogmore Cottage — back when the Sussexes were part of the royal family. The timing of the post, as Meghan and the kids were presumably gearing up to visit grandpa, seemed to be a tiny olive branch.
The previous year, Prince Harry and Meghan did not reach out to mend fences, notably skipping any public acknowledgment of Charles’ birthday in November 2025. In contrast, Prince William and Princess Catherine took a moment to send their best wishes to the king.
Atlanta Mother Devastated by Misdiagnosis: Lab Error Leads to Unnecessary Hysterectomy, Sparks Legal Battle
An Atlanta woman’s ordeal began with a grave cancer diagnosis that led to a life-altering surgery, only to reveal later that the procedure had been performed due to a laboratory mistake, as detailed in recently filed court documents.
Cassandra Barksdale, aged 43, received alarming news last March, when doctors mistakenly informed her that she faced a terminal diagnosis, confusing her biopsy results with those of another patient. This lawsuit, filed on Tuesday, brings her experience to light and has been reported by The Post.
Her journey began at Kaiser Permanente Southwood Medical Center in Jonesboro, Georgia, in January, where she sought assistance for uterine fibroids, following episodes of concerning bleeding.
The biopsy performed was mismanaged, as another individual’s tissue sample was misidentified as hers, according to information within the court filings.
By March 2025, Barksdale received the shocking news of being afflicted with “high-grade, aggressive endometrial uterine cancer.” Despite this, a later CT scan indicated there were no signs of cancer or its spread.
A doctor “recommended a total hysterectomy,” which included removing her cervix, uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries. She also had four lymph nodes removed.
Pathology reports showed no signs of cancer, but doctors recommended she should undergo chemotherapy.
But in September 2025, doctors told Barksdale that the cancerous tissue belonged to a different patient. They were seemingly unaware they were living with the disease.
This was around four months after Barksdale was given the news she had cancer.
Barksdale alleged negligence and claimed she suffered “sustained, permanent and irreversible injuries,” and the plight has left her with a “fear of future medical treatment… and distrust.”
“My sons went into a deep depression,” Barksdale revealed at a press conference Tuesday, describing the impact of her plight on her family.
“I had to contact my kids to let them know that I have five years to live and that I’m going to die because I have aggressive cancer.”
“I started contacting other attorneys to try to get trust funds so that way I could leave my house and have trust for my kids. It took a big hold over my family.”
She admitted that while relieved she didn’t have cancer, she experienced some mixed emotions.
“I was excited that I didn’t have cancer,” she said.
“But I was still upset because the person out there that got my tissue and was thinking that they only have fibroids, they’re walking around for seven months thinking they only have fibroids, and I was the one with the cancer.
“So it made me feel very, you know, I was very angry and sad, and I was very concerned about the other person.”
Barksdale’s lawyer, Roderick Edmond, was bewildered that the tissue mix-up occurred.
“We’ve got computers, we’ve got science, we’ve got AI, how the hell did this happen?” he told reporters.
Kaiser Permanente acknowledged the error.
“Ms. Barksdale should not have experienced this,” a spokesperson said.
“We have highly trained staff and very thorough processes in place to prevent errors like this from taking place. After this occurred last year, we took immediate steps to ensure it could not happen again.”
Barksdale is seeking $10,000 in damages and a jury trial.
Family Alleges Designer’s Death on Yacht Was a Homicide
The family of a New York fashion designer, who was tragically discovered dead aboard a high-end yacht, is gearing up to pursue a wrongful death lawsuit against the vessel’s owner, a prominent investor.
Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, aged 33, had arranged to meet Christopher Durnan on the evening of August 4, 2025, aboard his yacht named Ripple. The meeting, taking place at the exclusive Montauk Yacht Club in the Hamptons, was meant to discuss her swimwear brand, East x East.
However, what was supposed to be a business discussion turned into a nightmare when Durnan, around midnight, was seen running down the dock unclothed, desperately calling for assistance as he reported that his guest, identifiable by her blonde hair and blue eyes, had lost consciousness.
Good Samaritans rushed to board Ripple in a bid to save her, but their efforts were in vain as Nolan-O’Slatarra was pronounced dead onsite.
Seeking justice, the designer’s bereaved family has announced their intention to initiate a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against Durnan, with plans to file it in New York Supreme Court. This legal action marks one year since they received the heartbreaking news of Nolan-O’Slatarra’s sudden demise.
It accuses Durnan, who is believed to have invested more than $200,000 in Nolan-O’Slatarra’s beauty boutique, of causing her death through assault and negligence.
The filing claims Durnan, a father-of-two, ‘intentionally and wrongfully assaulted’ the fashion designer without detailing the specific accusations against him.
It further accuses Durnan of gross negligence, recklessness and wanton conduct that directly caused Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death – either individually or in combination with one another.
The family is now seeking ‘to recover damages for the personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering sustained by Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra prior to her death’ as well as punitive damages and pecuniary damages to her family, according to the filing obtained by the Daily Mail.
Martha Nolan-O’Slatarra, 33, the founder of swimwear brand East x East, was found unresponsive aboard a ritzy yacht in Montauk on August 5, 2025 before being declared dead at the scene
Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family is now planning to file a wrongful death suit against Christopher Durnan, the owner of the yacht who had invested more than $200,000 into the fashion designer’s beauty boutique
The yacht where Nolan-O’Slatarra was found unresponsive is pictured
But the summons comes as the Nolan-O’Slatarra family continues to press the Suffolk County police for answers about her mysterious death.
‘We are in the same place where we were this time 12 months ago,’ a source close to the family told the Irish Independent.
‘We knew, and were being told, very little then — and we know even less now.’
Detectives have only said that an initial post-mortem examination ‘did not show evidence of violence and her final cause of death is pending further investigation.’
Sources have previously speculated that Nolan-O’Slatarra succumbed to a drug overdose after photographs from the plush yacht showed a dusting of mysterious white powder across a seat on the 50-foot cabin-cruiser.
However, sources close to the family told the New York Post that an independent autopsy they had commissioned showed the designer had only ‘trace amounts of cocaine’ in her system.
Instead, they claimed, it found some sort of assault led directly to Nolan-O’Slatarra’s death.
Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family has denied she died of a cocaine overdose
The fashion designer had recently celebrated the opening of her East x East popup shop at Gurney’s Montauk Resort and Seawater Spa
Durnan had previously been accused of assault when Michael Balfe, a retired firefighter, claimed in a 2022 lawsuit he was ‘viciously attacked, bit and assaulted’ during a gig at New York’s Webster Hall.
Balfe, 61, said the unprovoked assault on September 11, 2021 – the 20th anniversary of 9/11 – left him ‘seriously injured both physically and mentally.’
He sued Durnan for battery and Webster Hall for negligence, claiming security guards at the storied East Village venue, which has hosted the likes of Madonna, Metallica and U2, didn’t step in fast enough to protect him.
Criminal court filings reveal Durnan was arrested on misdemeanor charges, including possession of a controlled substance and assault, but pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was handed a one-year conditional discharge.
He claimed, however, that he was acting in ‘justifiable self-defense’ and that Balfe was the ‘initial aggressor’ in their civil suit, which was settled in December 2023.
An attorney representing Durnan now maintains that he was not responsible for Nolan-O’Slatarra’s untimely death.
Robert Holdman instead claimed that Nolan-O’Slatarra went limp between 10.30pm to 11pm on the night of August 4, and Durnan feared she was having a heart attack.
At that point, Durnan tried to perform CPR but it was to no avail, the lawyer claimed.
‘She was gone almost immediately,’ Holdman told New York Magazine last year. ‘She was non-responsive.’
The lawyer then went on to claim that his client stripped his clothes off that night because they were ‘soaked’ with Nolan-O’Slatarra’s vomit.
Self-made entrepreneur Martha grew up in Carlow, Ireland before moving to New York and creating a jet-setting life of luxury for herself that’s often associated with Manhattan’s elite
Nolan-O’Slatarra arrived in the US about a decade ago and soon took to her glam new life in the Big Apple, telling The Irish Independent in a 2024 interview that she ‘loved’ living on the Upper East Side.
She was seen sipping champagne, taking a private jet to Nashville for a concert and cozying up to her sales exec boyfriend Nicholas DiRubio during a helicopter ride in TikTok posts.
The fashionista went on to establish several companies, including fashion accessories brand Duper and luxury swimwear label East x East.
But the petite designer was also involved in a legal dispute when a former employer claimed in a 2022 lawsuit that she stole $34,000 from a company bank account.
She denied the allegation, and the case was settled.
Nolan-O’Slatarra also married and later split from a man named Sam Ryan, finalizing an uncontested divorce just months before her death.
The Daily Mail has reached out to an attorney for Nolan-O’Slatarra’s family for more information. An attorney representing Durnan could not be reached for comment.