Venezuelan opposition strips Guaidó of 'presidential' role

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — For three years, Juan Guaidó led the Venezuelan opposition’s efforts to bring about new elections and remove socialist President Nicolás Maduro.

But on Friday, dozens of politicians who once backed Guaidó voted in favor of removing the 39-year-old engineer and replacing his U.S.-supported “interim government” with a committee to oversee presidential primaries next year and protect the nation’s assets abroad.

The vote reflects a changing balance of power within the opposition, which is trying to find new ways to connect with voters ahead of the nation’s 2024 presidential election.

Three of Venezuela’s four main opposition parties backed the proposal to remove Guaidó, who was supported only by his own Popular Will party.

After the vote, Guaidó said the move would create a “power vacuum” that could encourage more foreign nations to recognize the Maduro administration.

“If there is no interim government, who will they recognize in its place,” he said. “Today we have jumped into the abyss. And given up on an important tool in our struggle.”

Guaido’s opponents said new ways of connecting with voters should be found. The interim government has no sway over local institutions and is unable to provide basic services, with some Venezuelans mocking it as a “fake” government.

“It’s with a heavy heart that I make this vote,” said Luis Silva, a member of the Democratic Action party who participated in the online session for the vote. “We haven’t been able to come up with a unanimous decision, but we need to look for new strategies.”

Daniel Varnagy, a political science professor at Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, said the opposition had generated high expectations under Guaidó’s leadership but then failed to keep its promises to people yearning for a change in Venezuela’s governance.

“He promised to cease (Maduro’s) usurpation, lead a transition and organize fair elections, and none of that happened,” Varnagy said.

Guaidó rose to leadership of the opposition in 2019 when he was president of the then opposition-controlled legislature, which had begun its five-year term in 2015 after what many observers considered Venezuela’s last fair elections. It was the last instution not controlled by Maduro’s socialists.

The National Assembly argued Maduro won his second presidential term illegally in 2018 because his main rivals were banned from running. So the opposition legislators created an “interim government,” headed by Guaidó, that was meant to last until Maduro stepped down and free elections could be held.

Guaidó organized protests in Venezuela, snuck out of the country for an international tour and was recognized as the nation’s legitimate leader by the United States and dozens of European and Latin American governments that rejected Maduro’s rule.

His interim administration was also given control of Venezuelan government assets abroad that had been frozen, including Citgo, the Houston-based oil refiner.

But the Guaidó-led opposition failed to win over the Venezuelan military or the nation’s courts to its side, while Maduro’s administration faced down street demonstrations and tightened its grip even more on the South American nation.

The failure to drive out Maduro frustrated Venezuelans, who are struggling with high inflation, food shortages and the lowest wages in South America — hardships that prodded millions of people to migrate in recent years.

In a poll taken by Venezuela’s Andres Bello University in November, only 6% of Venezuelans said they would vote for Guaidó if he participated in presidential primaries next year while a few other opposition leaders got bigger numbers.

Guaidó’s influence has also diminished since late 2020, when the National Assembly that elected him as interim president was replaced by new legislators chosen in elections boycotted by opposition parties.

Many members of the 2015 National Assembly are now in exile, but they continue to claim to be Venezuela’s legitimate legislative branch and hold online meetings in which they make decisions on issues involving the “interim government.”

On Friday, 72 of the 109 former legislators who participated in the online session voted in favor of a measure calling for replacing Guaidó’s interim administration with a committee made up of several opposition leaders.

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Rueda reported from Bogota, Colombia.

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Russia fires 20 cruise missiles at Ukraine on New Year's Eve, at least 1 dead, dozens injured

Russia on Saturday fired 20 cruise missiles at Ukraine as civilians looked to welcome in the New Year, resulting in the death of at least one and dozens injured.

Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 12 of the 20 missiles launched using Tu-95ms strategic bombers positioned in the Caspian Sea along with ground-based missile systems Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said on Telegram. 

The strikes hit locations across the Kyiv, Zhytomyr and the Khmelnytskyi regions. 

Part of a hotel sits destroyed following a missile attack on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement that at least one person had been killed.

Part of a hotel sits destroyed following a missile attack on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement that at least one person had been killed.
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

RUSSIA READIES AIR DEFENSES OVER MOSCOW, GIVES SHELTER MAPS TO BORDER CITY AHEAD OF NEW YEAR

Ukrainian air defense forces shot down six missiles in Kyiv where at least one person was killed and 16 were injured, along with five missiles in the Zhytomyr region and one in the Khmelnytskyi region, which left seven injured, including three in “serious condition” according to Ukrainian news outlets. 

 Five districts in the western, central, southern, and eastern parts of Kyiv were hit including at least one hotel, the Ukraine Palace concert hall, and residential buildings.

Emergency workers gather at the scene of a blast on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Emergency workers gather at the scene of a blast on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

 KYIV, LVIV WITHOUT POWER AFTER RUSSIA LAUNCHES ‘MASS’ AIR AND SEA BASED CRUISE MISSILE ATTACK ACROSS UKRAINE

Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko took to Twitter to announce the strikes Saturday morning and said, “There are explosions in Kyiv! Stay in shelters!”

Klitschko said that while Kyiv residents still had access to water and heat, certain train lines had been closed and roughly 30 percent of the city was without electricity.

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Chief Justice in year-end report reinforces need for judicial security after contentious year at Supreme Court

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

After a summer of marches outside the Supreme Court, and a physical threat against one its members, Chief Justice John Roberts thanked Congress Saturday for strengthening judicial security. 

But Roberts’ annual year-end report was noteworthy for what he did not mention: any update on the Court’s internal investigation into the public leak of a draft opinion in the contentious abortion decision striking down Roe v. Wade.

The 5-4 final ruling in June reversing the nationwide constitutional right to the procedure sparked weeks of angry protests, an 8-foot-tall unscalable metal fencing surrounding the court building and increased round-the-clock security at the justices’ homes. 

An armed California man was arrested in June outside Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s Maryland home and charged with attempted assassination of a Supreme Court member. He told officers her was angry at the leaked draft opinion that would dramatically shift abortion rights back to the states.

Roberts, in his written summary of the federal judiciary, noted the 65th anniversary of riots outside Little Rock Central High in Arkansas, following plans to segregate public schools.

“The law requires every judge to swear an oath to perform his or her work without fear or favor, but we must support judges by ensuring their safety. A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear,” Roberts wrote. “The events of Little Rock teach about the importance of rule by law instead of by mob.”

Congress in recent weeks passed a law increasing security and privacy protections for federal judges and their families.

The act was named after Daniel Anderl, son of federal Judge Esther Salas. The 20-year-old was shot to death in 2020 at his New Jersey home in what was meant to be an attack on the judge by a disgruntled former litigant who found the family’s address online. 

“I want to thank the Members of Congress who are attending to judicial security needs — these programs and the funding of them are essential to run a system of courts,” Roberts wrote.

As head of the federal judiciary, the chief justice of the United States summarized a dramatic year at the Supreme Court and the 107 district and appeals courts across the country.

Besides noting security concerns in general terms, Roberts did not address the controversy surrounding the abortion ruling, or the eroding public confidence in the court itself.

A Fox News poll in September found just 42% of those surveyed approving of the Supreme Court’s job performance — with a majority 52% disapproving. Just five years ago, the numbers were reversed — 58% approving, 31% disapproving.

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And when it comes to the controversial abortion ruling, our poll found just 32% approving of the decision reversing Roe v. Wade, with 63% disapproving. And 57% support making abortion legal all or most of the time.

Many progressives in particular view the current court as too political, following former President Trump’s appointments of three justices in his single term, tilting the court to a 6-3 conservative majority.

“Chief Justice Roberts has expressed a concern for the institutional standing of the court and as the chief justice, that is very much a concern that he should properly have,” said Elizabeth Wydra, president of the Constitutional Accountability Center. “I think the leak of the Dobbs [abortion] opinion has caused internal strife on the court. The substance of that decision has caused strife among millions of Americans, particularly women. And so we’re seeing a court that has taken a big hit in the eyes of the public and in terms of public confidence in the court.”

Questions over the court’s “legitimacy” have extended to the justices themselves. 

“When courts become extensions of the political process, when people see them as extensions of the political process, when people see them as trying just to impose personal preferences on a society irrespective of the law, that’s when there’s a problem — and that’s when there ought to be a problem,” Justice Elena Kagan said at a legal conference recently. “If, over time, the court loses all connection with the public and with public sentiment, that is a dangerous thing for democracy.”

MAJOR ECO GROUP SAW LARGE FUNDING UPTICK FUELED BY LIBERAL DARK MONEY NETWORK: ‘BEST YEAR EVER’

As far as who leaked the draft opinion of the abortion ruling, the mystery continues.

The day after the leak was published by Politico in May, the Chief Justice appointed an internal committee led by Court Marshal Gail Curley to oversee the investigation.

Justice Neil Gorsuch in September said he expected a report to be released “soon,” but the court has not publicly identified the leaker, or issued any updates.

Multiple sources previously told Fox News that the investigation into the approximately 70 individuals in the court who might have had access to the draft opinion has been narrowed. Sources say much of the initial focus was on the three dozen or so law clerks, who work directly with the justices on their caseload.

But court sources say the leak has disrupted the internal dynamics between the nine justices, who rely on discretion and a level of secrecy in their private deliberations, to do their jobs free of outside influence.

“The leak of that draft opinion was just an absolutely terrible, cataclysmic event for the court,” said Thomas Dupree, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Bush 43 administration. “I think it was a breach of trust, it was obviously a breach of integrity. And I think it’s going to take a long time for the scars from that leak to heal.”

2022 also the history-making confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, as the first Black female member of the court.

She has wasted little time putting her imprint on the bench. A survey of oral arguments since October found Jackson to be the most active questioner of counsel in the public sessions, at times offering lengthy challenges of the conservative positions offered by lawyers making their case.

In perhaps the mostly closely-watched appeal of the term, an affirmative action challenge to race-conscious university admissions policies, Jackson in October worried about the consequences if minority applicants would be barred from talking about race in their admissions essays many schools require.

FACE OF ‘LIBS OF TIKTOK,’ WHO REMAINED ANONYMOUS DUE TO LEFT’S ‘VIOLENT NATURE,’ FINALLY REVEALED

“I’m worried that that creates an inequity in the system with respect to being able to express your identity and, importantly, have it valued by the university when it is considering the goal of bringing in different people.”

The 52-year-old Jackson is one of 99 lifetime judicial appointments by President Biden, more than his two predecessors in their first two years in office. 

And Biden — who has made nominating judges a political priority — has 83 court vacancies to fill in the new year, likely to be helped by a Democrat-controlled Senate

The president hopes his choices will pay off in the long-term, believing judges who share his ideology would help advance his broader legislative and executive agenda. 

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE AMY CONEY BARRETT FACES CALLS TO RECUSE HERSELF FROM LGBTQ CASE OVER CHRISTIAN FAITH

In the short-term, the Supreme Court will remain a 6-3 conservative majority.

Rulings are expected in coming months on hot-button topics like :

All these pending issues, the internal leak investigation, and questions over the court’s public standing will test the nine justices, and the chief justice in particular, who long sought to preserve the judiciary’s reputation as free from partisan politics.

While his year-end report may have deftly sidestepped hard questions, remarks Roberts made in September revealed his growing concern.

“If the court doesn’t retain its legitimate function, I’m not sure who would take up that mantle. You don’t want the political branches telling you what the law is, and you don’t want public opinion to be the guide of what the appropriate decision is,” Roberts said. “Simply because people disagree with an opinion is not a basis for questioning the legitimacy of the court.”

 

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Las Vegas Quashes 35,000 Traffic Warrants Because Of New Bill

Carscoops 

If you’ve been driving in or around Las Vegas and were pulled up by the long arm of the law, then we may have some good news for you. The state of Nevada passed a new bill which, we’re sure quite conveniently for some, means that as many as 35,000 traffic warrants are going away.

The state legislature was actually passed last year, but won’t go into effect until January 1st, 2023. It related to the decriminalization of some minor traffic violations, which will now be reclassified as civil infractions.

The Assembly Bill 116, signed by Governor Sisolak, is what tweaked many offenses considered criminal misdemeanors (and therefore arrestable offenses) into infections that will no longer subject those who commit them to arrest.

Read: Californian Teen Arrested For Allegedly Handing Out Fake Parking Tickets To Collect Real Money

The new bill means that 35,000 active warrants have been rejected through legal procedure by the Las Vegas Municipal Court. It also promises that those who were on the hook for fines related to said offenses will be able to sleep easy knowing that their dues are required no more.

The ruling is neither a silver bullet, nor some kind of get out of jail free card though – it isn’t to say that residents of Las Vegas can go around with a busted taillight and not worry about the ramifications. According to KTNV Las Vegas, drivers who break the law will still be subjected to tickets. The main difference is that those who leave their fines outstanding will no longer have to worry about seeing the inside of a jail cell.

Those who want to check whether their cases have been affected by the quashing of warrants can log on to lasvegasnevada.gov/municipalcourt.

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Sex outside marriage ban tests Indonesia's relationship with democracy



CNN
 — 

When Indonesia passed controversial amendments to its criminal code earlier this month, one aspect above all others dominated the headlines: the criminalization of sex outside marriage.

Tourism figures warned it would put foreigners off visiting and hurt Indonesia’s global reputation – no small matters in a country that welcomed up to 15 million international travelers annually before the pandemic and recently held the G20 presidency for the first time in its history.

Officials have since played down the likelihood of tourists being charged, but hundreds of millions of Indonesians still face the prospect of up to a year in jail for the same offense – and rights activists warn that this is only the start of the new code’s potential to threaten Indonesians’ personal freedoms and civil liberties. Indonesian officials, on the other hand, defend the move as a necessary compromise in a democracy that is home to the world’s largest Muslim population.

The new code also criminalizes cohabitation between unmarried couples and promoting contraception to minors, and enshrines laws against abortion (except in cases of rape and medical emergencies when the fetus is less than 12 weeks) and blasphemy.

It also limits Indonesians’ right to protest and criminalizes insulting the president, members of his cabinet or the state ideology.

Offenders face the prospect of prison terms ranging from months to years.

Rights groups have been scathing in their assessments.

“In one fell swoop, Indonesia’s human rights situation has taken a drastic turn for the worse,” said Andreas Harsono, senior Indonesia researcher at Human Rights Watch.

“Potentially, millions of people will be subject to criminal prosecution under this deeply flawed law. Its passage is the beginning of an unmitigated disaster for human rights in Indonesia.”

Protesters throw rocks at riot police on September 24, 2019, as demonstrations in Jakarta and other cities take place against proposed changes to Indonesia's criminal code laws. The changes were later watered down, but remain controversial.

The creation of the new code is in part a reflection of the growing influence conservative Islam plays in the politics of what is the world’s third-largest democracy.

About 230 million of the 270 million people who call this vast and diverse archipelago nation home are Muslim, though there are also sizable Christian and Hindu minorities and the country prides itself on a state ideology known as “Pancasila,” which stresses inclusivity.

The constitution guarantees a secular government and freedom of religion, and criminal law is largely based on a secular code inherited from the former Dutch colonial power – though the province of Aceh adopts and implements sharia law – and Islamic principles influence some civil matters and local level by-laws.

However, more conservative forms of Islam that were once repressed under the former dictator Suharto have in recent years emerged as increasingly powerful forces at the ballot box.

In the most recent general election, in 2019, President Joko Widodo controversially picked an elderly Islamic cleric – Ma’ruf Amin – as his running mate in a move that was widely seen as a move to secure more Muslim votes.

The appointment of Ma’ruf raised eyebrows among Widodo’s more moderate supporters, but it helped see off the challenge from the former military general Prabowo Subianto who had forged an alliance with hardline Islamist groups. Some of those groups had already demonstrated their clout by leading mass protests that led to the toppling of the Jakarta governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, on a blasphemy charge.

The new criminal code – which updates the code inherited from the Dutch and was passed unanimously by lawmakers belonging to multiple parties – also reflects this growing influence of conservative Islam. Some conservative parties had been calling for an even stricter code, but previous proposals sparked mass street protests and were shelved after Widodo intervened.

Describing the new code as a “compromise”, Indonesian officials have said it needed to reflect a spread of interests in a multicultural and multi-ethnic country.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Still, while the new code clearly has the backing of many conservative voters, critics paint it as a step backwards for civil liberties in what is still a fledgling democracy.

Indonesia spent decades under strong-man rule after declaring its independence from the Dutch in the 1940s, under its first president Sukarno and later under the military dictator Suharto. It was not until after Suharto’s downfall in 1998 that it entered a period of reformation in which civilian rule, freedom of speech and a more liberal political environment were embraced.

Rights groups fear the new code risks undoing some of that progress by pandering to the conservative religious vote at the expense of the country’s secular ideals and reinforcing discrimination against women and the LGBTQ community. They also fear its longer-term effects could be corrosive to the democratic system itself and see uncomfortable parallels to the country’s authoritarian past.

Aspects of the code relating to insulting the president or the state ideology could, they say, be abused by officials to extort bribes, harass political opponents and even jail journalists and anyone deemed critical of the government.

“It is never a good thing when a state tries to legislate morality,” said Zachary Abuza, a professor specializing in Southeast Asian politics and security issues at the National War College in Washington, DC. “The new code puts civil liberties at risk and gives the state powerful tools to punish ideological, moral and political offenses.”

One political blogger, who asked not to be identified for fear of persecution under the new laws, told CNN that he expected online surveillance and censorship by the authorities to increase.

“The terms are not clear – that’s what makes the code especially scary and dangerous,” he said. “It’s all left to interpretation by the government.”

He gave the example of someone liking a critical tweet about the president, asking if that would be enough to land the person in jail.

“It will boil down to whoever the government wants to prosecute,” the blogger said.

It will be at least three years until the revised code comes into effect, according to officials, so it is still early to predict how the new laws will be implemented and enforced.

Much may depend on how satisfied more conservative voters are with the “compromise” code – or how angry those who protested on the streets against its earlier formulation remain.

At the same time, there are those who question whether lawmakers have made the mistake of listening only to the loudest voices in an attempt to pick up votes.

Norshahril Saat, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said there was a “complex relationship between Islam, politics, and society in Indonesia.”

He pointed to a 2022 national survey commissioned by the institute that found most respondents considered themselves moderate and supported the idea of a secular state – even though more than half of them also felt it was important to elect a Muslim leader.

Norshahril cautioned against concluding that support for the new criminal code was evidence of “a conservative Islamic tide.”

“It may mean that the current slate of elected politicians are conservative but more likely that they are responding to pressure from some powerful conservative lobby groups,” he said.

Of more concern, he said, is that “in today’s Indonesia, all of the political parties unanimously agreed on criminalizing these ‘sins’.”

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Incoming Kansas attorney general fined for 2020 Senate campaign finance violations



CNN
 — 

The Federal Election Commission has levied a $30,000 fine on incoming Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and a private border wall organization he was once affiliated with due to campaign finance violations committed during his unsuccessful 2020 Senate bid.

In an agreement approved by the FEC last month, about a week after Kobach was elected, he admitted to illegally accepting an in-kind contribution from We Build the Wall, a Steve Bannon-linked group which ran a fundraising campaign to build a private border wall but became ensnarled in allegations of fraud.

CNN has reached out to attorneys for Kobach and We Build the Wall for comment.

In 2019, Kobach’s campaign rented We Build the Wall’s 295,000-person email list for just $2,000, a price significantly below the normal rate.

The campaign was also accused of additional campaign finance violations in connection with We Build the Wall, but the FEC, which is made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, either dismissed those allegations or was equally divided.

Kobach is an immigration hardliner and a longtime spreader of false election claims who served as Kansas’ secretary of state from 2011 to 2019 and has close ties to former President Donald Trump.

Kobach was narrowly elected Kansas attorney general in November, defeating Democrat Chris Mann 51% to 49% in the reliably red state. His victory came after two consecutive defeats in recent election cycles – losing bids for the governorship in 2018 and for the GOP nomination for US Senate in 2020.

He previously served on We Build the Wall’s board and as the organization’s general counsel.

Two men have pleaded guilty in federal court, and another was convicted of defrauding donors in connection with We Build The Wall. Bannon and the organization itself are now facing charges in New York state. Bannon, who has pleaded not guilty to state charges, had previously been indicted in federal court but was pardoned by then-President Trump at the end of his term.

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Playoff-bound Chargers set for huge defensive boost with return of four-time Pro Bowler

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

The Los Angeles Chargers have played a majority of this season without possibly their best defensive player – they clinched a playoff spot last week

Sounds like a good time to get a four-time Pro Bowler back.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Joey Bosa has been activated from injured reserve and is expected to play for Los Angeles on Sunday in their Week 17 matchup against the L.A. Rams.

Bosa suffered a groin injury in Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars and needed surgery to repair a muscle. He was designated to return from IR earlier this week.

The 27-year-old has made each of the last three Pro Bowls and won the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2016. He was the third overall pick of that year’s draft out of Ohio State. His younger brother, Nick, was the second pick the following season.

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Bosa had 1.5 sacks in the Chargers’ Week 1 win over the Las Vegas Raiders – he has 59.5 in 82 career games, reaching double-digit sacks in four seasons.

NFL Network initially reported that Bosa’s injury would require a six-week recovery, but Bosa will have missed just over three months.

After their contest against the Rams, the Chargers will head to Denver to close out their season against the Broncos. They are currently the sixth seed in the AFC, which at this point would match them up with the Cincinnati Bengals.

 

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YouTube star Keenan Cahill dead at the age of 27 after complications from open heart surgery

Latest & Breaking News on Fox News 

Keenan Cahill, the YouTube star who created viral lip-syncing videos with celebrities including Katy Perry, Justin Bieber and 50 Cent, has died. He was 27.

The social media personality, who was diagnosed with the rare genetic disorder Maroteaux Lamy Syndrome at the age of 1, died Thursday after developing complications following a recent open-heart surgery, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family. 

“We are sad to announce the passing of Keenan Cahill,” a post on Cahill’s official Facebook page read. 

It continued, “Keenan is an inspiration and let’s celebrate by remembering all the content he created, artists he collaborated with, music he produced and the love he had for everyone who supported him over the years.”

YOUTUBE STAR COREY LA BARRIE DEAD ON 25TH BIRTHDAY AFTER CAR CRASH, DRIVER ARRESTED

The GoFundMe was organized by Cahill’s aunt Katie Owens, the sister of his mother Erin Cahill, in order to pay for the costs of his medical and funeral expenses. 

“We are devastated to announce that our nephew, Keenan Cahill, passed away on December 29th at the age of 27,” Owens wrote on GoFundMe. “Twelve days earlier he had open heart surgery and was starting to recover, but complications arose that he couldn’t overcome.”

She continued, “Keenan had Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, which is a progressive condition that causes many tissues and organs to enlarge, become inflamed or scarred, and eventually waste away.” 

“He was first diagnosed at the age of 1. Because of his rare disease, he has had countless surgeries over his short life including a bone marrow transplant.”

Born in Elmhurst, Illinois, Cahill became one of the first YouTube stars after rising to fame with his popular lip-syncing videos that he began posting on the platform in 2010. Cahill’s channel currently has 725,000 subscribers and over 500 million views. His first video, in which he lip-synced to Katy Perry’s hit song “Teenage Dream,” went viral and has 58 million views. The clip caught Perry’s attention, and she reached out to Cahill. 

The two met in 2011 during her California Dreams tour and the pop superstar joined Cahill for a duet of “Teenage Dream” that was posted on his YouTube channel.

In November 2010, 50 Cent appeared in a video on Cahill’s channel in which the two lip-synced to the rapper’s song with Jeremih “Down on Me.”

Other stars who collaborated in videos with the internet celebrity included Justin Bieber, Britney Spears, Ariana Grande, Nick Cannon, David Guetta, Jason Derulo, Tyra Banks and DJ Pauly D.

In 2011, Cahill appeared with Jennifer Aniston in a commercial for SmartWater. Cahill also joined electronic music duo LMFAO on stage for a performance at the 2011 American Music Awards.

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The Youtuber appeared along with Adam Levine, Sia and Ryan Tedder in the music video for Sara Bareilles’ 2011 song “Uncharted.”

Owens noted on the GoFundMe page that Cahill “never made a lot of money, but he enjoyed what he was doing and brought smiles to the faces of so many people.”

After news of his passing broke, Pauly D shared a tribute to Cahill on Twitter. He posted a photo of himself with Cahill and wrote, “Rip Keenan. Thank You for always making the world smile.”

Perez Hilton shared a video of his duet with Cahill featuring the Maroon 5 song “Moves Like Jagger” and tweeted, “Rest in Love.”

 

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Chief Justice John Roberts say judges’ safety is ‘essential’ to the U.S. court system

US Top News and Analysis 

U.S. Supreme Court justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., Samuel A. Alito, Jr. and Elena Kagan pose for their group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., October 7, 2022. 
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters

With security threats to Supreme Court justices still fresh memories, Chief Justice John Roberts on Saturday praised programs that protect judges, saying that “we must support judges by ensuring their safety.”

Roberts and other conservative Supreme Court justices were the subject of protests, some at their homes, after the May leak of the court’s decision that ultimately stripped away constitutional protections for abortion. Justice Samuel Alito has said that the leak made conservative justices “targets for assassination.” And in June, a man carrying a gun, knife and zip ties was arrested near Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s house after threatening to kill the justice, whose vote was key to overturning the court’s Roe v. Wade decision.

Roberts, writing in an annual year-end report about the federal judiciary, did not specifically mention the abortion decision, but the case and the reaction to it seemed to be clearly on his mind.

“Judicial opinions speak for themselves, and there is no obligation in our free country to agree with them. Indeed, we judges frequently dissent — sometimes strongly — from our colleagues’ opinions, and we explain why in public writings about the cases before us,” Roberts wrote.

Polls following the abortion decision show public trust in the court is at historic lows. And two of Roberts’ liberal colleagues who dissented in the abortion case, Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, have said the court needs to be concerned about overturning precedent and appearing political.

After the leak and threat to Kavanaugh, lawmakers passed legislation increasing security protection for the justices and their families. Separately, in December, lawmakers passed legislation protecting the personal information of federal judges including their addresses.

The law is named for the son of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, 20-year-old Daniel Anderl, who was killed at the family’s New Jersey home by a man who previously had a case before her.

Roberts thanked members of Congress “who are attending to judicial security needs.” And he said programs that protect judges are “essential to run a system of courts.”

In writing about judicial security, Roberts told the story of Judge Ronald N. Davies, who in September 1957 ordered the integration of Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. Davies’ decision followed the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling that segregated schools were unconstitutional and rejected Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus’ attempt to stop school integration.

Davies “was physically threatened for following the law,” but the judge was “uncowed,” Roberts said.

“A judicial system cannot and should not live in fear. The events of Little Rock teach about the importance of rule by law instead of by mob,” he wrote.

Roberts noted that officials are currently working to replicate the courtroom Davies presided over in 1957. Roberts said the judge’s bench used by Davies and other artifacts from the courtroom have been preserved and will be installed in the re-created courtroom in a federal courthouse in Little Rock “so that these important artifacts will be used to hold court once again.”

Before that happens, however, the judge’s bench will be on display as part of an exhibit at the Supreme Court beginning in the fall and for the next several years, he said.

“The exhibit will introduce visitors to how the system of federal courts works, to the history of racial segregation and desegregation in our country, and to Thurgood Marshall’s towering contributions as an advocate,” Roberts said. Marshall, who argued Brown v. Board of Education, became the Supreme Court’s first Black justice in 1967.

The Supreme Court is still grappling with complicated issues involving race. Two cases this term deal with affirmative action, and the court’s conservative majority is expected to use them to reverse decades of decisions that allow colleges to take account of race in admissions. In another case, the justices could weaken the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, the crown jewel of the civil rights movement.

The justices will hear their first arguments of 2023 on Jan. 9.

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