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Silvio Horta, ‘Ugly Betty’ Creator Found Dead In Miami In Apparent Suicide

Pompeo Rejects ‘Propaganda’ Claim Soleimani Was on Diplomatic Mission in Iraq

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dismissed a suggestion that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani was on a diplomatic mission in Iraq when he was killed by an American drone strike last week. The claim, he said, is “fundamentally false” and a piece of “Iranian propaganda.” Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif, claimed that Soleimani, who was in charge of the shadowy Quds Force, was in Baghdad on a diplomatic visit. “Does anybody in here believe that?” Pompeo sarcastically told reporters. “Is there any history that would indicate that it was remotely possible that this kind gentleman, this diplomat of great order, Qassem Soleimani, had traveled to Baghdad for the idea of conducting a peace mission? We know that wasn’t true. We not only know the history, we know in that moment that was…

Silvio Horta, ‘Ugly Betty’ Creator Found Dead In Miami In Apparent Suicide

Silvio Horta, the creator and executive producer of ABC sitcom, Ugly Betty, has died at the age of 45, Variety reports.

Horta was found dead in a Miami hotel room on Jan. 7 in an apparent suicide, according to the publication.

A representative for Horta confirmed the news of his passing but did not comment on the cause of death.

Cuban-American Horta created the United States version of Ugly Betty, which aired more than 80 episodes over four seasons from 2006 to 2010.

The hit show was based on the Colombian telenovela “Yo soy Betty, la fea,” and followed the life of a sweet-natured Mexican-American girl from Queens, Betty Suarez, who lands a job at a trendy but cutthroat New York fashion magazine.

America Ferrera, who played the loveable character of Betty, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her role in the series.

Eric Mabius, Tony Plana, Ana Ortiz, Becki Newton, Michael Urie, Mark Indelicato, and Vanessa Williams were regular characters on the show throughout its entire run.

Silvio Horta, ‘Ugly Betty’ Creator Found Dead In Miami In Apparent Suicide Judith Light and Silvio Horta attend the Ugly Betty Reunion After Party in Austin, Texas on Jun. 11, 2016. (Rick Kern/Getty Images for Entertainment Weekly)

Ugly Betty earned Horta an Emmy nomination in 2007 for outstanding comedy series, and in the same year, it won best television series—comedy or musical at the Golden Globes.

Horta was the son of Cuban immigrants and was born in Miami. He graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School in 1992 and majored in film at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

His other credits include the TV series Jake 2.0, which broadcast on UPN from 2003 to 2004, and The Chronicle, which aired on the Sci-Fi Channel from 2001 to 2002.

However, his most recent was for writer/executive producer of NBC’s 2015 TV movie “The Curse of the Fuentes Women.” About a mysterious stranger who washes up on the beach in Miami and changes the lives of three generations of Fuentes Women.

In a 2008 interview with NewNowNext, Horta spoke candidly of the stresses of creating a hit show and admitted the process was “exhausting.”

“My first year doing this, people would constantly ask me, ‘Aren’t you happy? You must be thrilled. You’ve got a hit show. You must be having the time of your life.’ Well, no, I’m not. It’s all-consuming,” he said.

“I was so exhausted by the time I got home on Friday night. I was just paralyzed. I didn’t want to go out. I didn’t want to socialize, and I had so much work to do. That was it. That was my life.”

Ugly Betty star America Ferrera was among some of the celebrities to pay tribute to Horta, and said she was “heartbroken” over the “devastating news.”

“His talent and creativity brought me and so many others such joy & light,” she wrote. “I’m thinking of his family and loved ones who must be in so much pain right now—and of the whole Ugly Betty family who feel this loss so deeply,” she wrote on Instagram.

Silvio Horta, ‘Ugly Betty’ Creator Found Dead In Miami In Apparent Suicide Executive producer Silvio Horta of “Ugly Betty” speaks on the Showrunners Panel during the 2007 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour for ABC at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 14, 2007. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Vanessa Williams also reacted to Horta’s passing on Instagram, writing: “Still in shock after hearing the tragic news of our #uglybetty creator #silviohorta. His creativity and passion will be missed by so many of us that worked with him. May he Rest In Peace.”

For a suicide prevention number within the United States call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. You can also text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

For those living anywhere else the International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide can provide contact details for suicide help.

This article is from the Internet:Silvio Horta, ‘Ugly Betty’ Creator Found Dead In Miami In Apparent Suicide

‘Heckler’s Veto’: UBC Threatened With Legal Action for Cancelling Talk on Antifa

The University of British Columbia is being threatened with legal action over the cancellation of a speaking engagement featuring conservative U.S. journalist Andy Ngo discussing Antifa violence. Sponsored by the Free Speech Club, the event had been given the green light to take place on Jan. 20, but on Dec. 20 the university suddenly cancelled the talk citing safety and security concerns. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF) is calling on UBC to reinstate the event or face legal action, saying cancelling Ngo’s talk goes against the university’s principles regarding academic freedom and free speech. “The decision is unreasonable,” said JCCF staff lawyer Marty Moore in a demand letter to UBC president Santa Ono. “It is an alarming betrayal of the foundational pillar of higher education—the freedom of thought,…