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A California doctor is expected to plead guilty Wednesday in a deal with federal prosecutors over the fatal overdose of “Friends” star Matthew Perry last year. According to an 18-count indictment filed in August, Chavez is one of five individuals charged in connection with Perry's accidental overdose. The other individuals charged in connection with Perry’s death include the actor’s live-in personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, and Erik Fleming, 54, a friend of Perry’s who authorities described as a “street dealer.” Both have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Also charged is Jasveen Sangha, 41, an alleged drug dealer known as the “ketamine queen” who has pleaded not guilty. “We allege each of the defendants played a key role in his death by falsely prescribing, selling or injecting the ketamine that caused Matthew Perry’s tragic death,” Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram said when the charges were announced.

Persons: Matthew Perry, Mark Chavez, Jean Rosenbluth, Perry, Chavez, Salvador Plasencia, Plasencia, ”, “, Chavez’s, Matthew Binninger, Kenneth Iwamasa, Erik Fleming, Perry’s, Matthew Perry’s, Anne Milgram Organizations: Drug, Administration Locations: California, Los Angeles, Santa Monica

CNN —Mark Chavez, one of the two doctors charged in connection with “Friends” star Matthew Perry’s death, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine as part of a plea agreement during a court appearance in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Chavez is accused of providing Dr. Salvador Plasencia – who is also charged in connection with Perry’s death and has previously pleaded not guilty – with the ketamine given to Perry through a fraudulent prescription, according to court documents. Plasencia and Chavez are among the five people who have been charged in connection with the death of the beloved actor. Perry’s personal assistant Kenneth Iwamasa and an acquaintance of Perry’s, Erik Fleming, were also charged and, along with Chavez, have been cooperative with prosecutors. Fleming, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine and one count of distribution of ketamine resulting in death, and Iwamasa, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death, have sentencing dates set in the coming months.

Persons: Mark Chavez, Matthew Perry’s, Chavez, Perry, Matthew Perry, Kevin Winter, Salvador Plasencia –, Plasencia, Perry’s, Kenneth Iwamasa, Erik Fleming, Fleming, Iwamasa, Jasveen, –, Matthew Binninger, CNN’s Taylor Romine, Cheri Mossburg, Nick Watt, Jack Hannah Organizations: CNN, Angeles, Angeles County Medical, US, Office, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA Locations: Los Angeles, Angeles County

☆ What Happened to Venezuela’s Democracy?
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Julie Turkewitz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A generation ago, a charismatic former military officer swept into the highest office in Venezuela on a promise to deliver a more inclusive democracy, a system for the common man that would transfer the levers of power from the political elite to the people. That man was Hugo Chávez, who in a democratic vote rode a wave of discontent into the presidential palace in 1999, eventually founding what he called the country’s socialist revolution. On Monday, as anti-Maduro protests erupted around the country and armed government-aligned gangs tried to dissuade them, demonstrators in the northern state of Falcón climbed atop a Chávez statue. First, they attempted to hack off his head. Then, hindered by its bulk, they instead sent his entire mammoth metal body crashing to the ground.

Persons: Hugo Chávez, Chávez’s, Nicolás Maduro Locations: Venezuela, Falcón

CNN —Nicolás Maduro, the authoritarian leader of Venezuela, has been reelected as president, the country’s election authority has announced, amid allegations of electoral irregularities by the opposition. Maduro will hold office for a third consecutive six-year term – representing the continuity of “Chavismo” in power, which started in 1999 at the hands of former president Hugo Chávez. Maduro has been in power since Chávez’s death in 2013. The vote has come at a crucial moment for Venezuela, an oil-rich nation that experienced the worst economic crash of a peacetime country in recent history. In the capital Caracas, opposition supporters were seen crying and hugging after the results were announced.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Edmundo González Urrutia, Maduro, Hugo Chávez, —, Antony Blinken Organizations: CNN, Democratic, National Electoral Council, Voters, CNE Locations: Venezuela, Caracas

☆ Venezuelans vote in crucial election as opposition challenges Maduro
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Venezuelans headed to the polls on Sunday to vote in a highly consequential presidential election where the country’s longtime strongman, Nicolas Maduro, will face one of his greatest political challenges yet, say analysts. Of the nine other candidates running for the presidency, his biggest challenger is a unified opposition movement that overcame their divisions to form a coalition known as the Democratic Unitary Platform. The opposition movement has maintained its momentum despite sustained government repression, in which their first-choice candidate, María Corina Machado, was disqualified from running. The government has also created significant impediments for the millions of Venezuelans abroad to vote, including widely unattainable passport and residency requirements. But several international election observers have announced this week that they will no longer travel to Venezuela to monitor the vote.

Persons: Nicolas Maduro, Maduro, Hugo Chavez’s, María Corina Machado, Machado, Edmundo González Urrutia, Matias Delacroix, –, Laboratorio de, Jimmy Carter –, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ” Laura Cristina Dib, CNN’s Stefano Pozzebon, David Shortell, Michael Rios Organizations: CNN, Democratic, International Monetary Fund, European Union, The Carter, Washington Office Locations: Venezuela, Latin America, Caracas, United States, Laboratorio de Paz, Venezuelan, America, WOLA

☆ What to expect in Venezuela’s presidential election as strongman Maduro faces his biggest test yet
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-21 | by ( David Shortell | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado wave to supporters at the Central University of Venezuela UCV in Caracas on July 14, 2024. Analysts see those as the seeds of a pretext that Maduro could use to postpone or cancel the election at the last minute. Some have speculated that Maduro could use the crisis as an excuse to suspend the election. Supporters at a meeting with Venezuelan opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Central University of Venezuela UCV in Caracas on July 14, 2024. Maduro currently faces drug trafficking and corruption charges in the US and is under investigation for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.

Persons: Nicolás Maduro, Maduro, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia –, Hugo Chavez’s, Nicolas Maduro, Flores, Teresa Carreño, Jesus Vargas, “, Edmundo Gonzalez, Maria Corina Machado, Pedro Rances Mattey, Gonzalez, Corina Yoris, Oswaldo Ramírez, ORC Consultores, ”, Juan Barreto, Chávez, Ryan Berg, They’re, Machado, Yoris, –, Jimmy Carter –, Berg, ” Machado Organizations: CNN, of American, Teresa, Teresa Carreño Theater, International Monetary Fund, Central University of Venezuela UCV, Getty, Democratic, Venezuelan, Americas, Center for Strategic, International Studies, US, The Carter, European Union, CSIS, International Criminal, Socialist United Party Locations: Canada, United States, Caracas, Venezuela, Anadolu, “, Agua, Maiz, AFP, Guyana

☆ How Speaker Johnson helped Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-12 | by ( Marshall Cohen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Years before becoming House speaker, Republican Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana played a leading role aiding Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. That history will be on display Friday, with Johnson set to deliver remarks alongside the former president about “election integrity” – a phrase Trump often uses to describe the lie that the 2020 election was rigged and unfounded concerns about future mass voter fraud. Johnson carved out an influential role after the 2020 election, helping Trump’s attempts to subvert the will of the people and overturn the legitimate results. He later recruited a majority of House Republicans to endorse a Trump-backed lawsuit seeking to invalidate the results from four key states that Trump lost: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. (In truth, as the Supreme Court later affirmed, judges have the power to review state election laws.)

Persons: Mike Johnson, Donald Trump’s, Johnson, ”, Trump, Trump’s, Joe Biden’s, ” Johnson, Hugo Chávez’s, Smartmatic, would’ve, Biden, – Johnson Organizations: Republican, Trump, Voting Systems, Biden, Dominion, Fox News, House Republicans, Republicans, Democratic Locations: Louisiana, Hugo Chávez’s Venezuela, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona

Several Latinos whose lives and work left a profound imprint on American institutions — from arts and entertainment to legal and civil rights — passed away in 2022. Cavazos began his education in a two-room schoolhouse on the King Ranch in Texas, where his father was a foreman. President Reagan named Cavazos Secretary of Education in 1988, making him the first Hispanic ever to serve in the U.S. Together, “Luis” and Maria” showed young audiences that Latinos were people who worked, fell in love and were part of their community. Her goals were to give Latinos a presence in the dance world, and to instill pride in Hispanic culture.

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