R.I.P.

Natalee Holloway was declared legally dead Thursday by a judge in her home state of Alabama. She mysteriously vanished in Aruba more than six years ago.

Probate judge Alan King made the ruling at the request of Holloway's father.

While her body was never found, Dave Holloway met a legal presumption of death for his daughter, according to King, who had set Thursday as the deadline for anyone to come forward and prove she didn't die on the Caribbean island.

With no evidence to the contrary, Natalee Holloway is legally deceased.

The ruling comes just one day after longtime suspect Joran van der Sloot pleaded guilty to the murder of another woman, Stephany Flores, in Peru.

Van der Sloot's lawyer said the 24-year-old killed Flores in 2010 due to "extreme psychological trauma" he experienced in the Holloway investigation.

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Over 1,500 mourners turned out today for a memorial service in honor of Ben Breedlove, an 18-year old from Texas who died from a heart attack on Christmas Day.

Prior to his passing, however, Breedlove posted a few YouTube videos that detailed his brushes with death and his appreciation for life. He showed no fear of whatever lay ahead, as depicted below:

Ben Breedlove Life Story, Part 1

"It's exciting to know that Ben planted a seed in people's mind to begin thinking about things that really do matter in life," Ben's mother, Deanne Breedlove, told ABC News' Austin affiliate KVUE at the memorial. "You know, we all have hope. Everyone has challenges, but we have a real hope and he saw that. He felt the peace of God when he had those glimpses into heaven and heavenly presence."

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On Christmas Day, Ben Breedlove - a teenager in Austin who who suffered for years from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy - passed away, but not before he recorded a pair of moving YouTube videos.

In the messages, Breedlove tells his life story, including multiple brushes with death, the final one taking place when he passed out in his high school hallway, leading to a peaceful vision that included a white room, a white suit and a visit from his favorite rapper, Kid Cudi.

"I then looked at myself in the mirror," Breedlove writes on a notecard in the video. "I was proud of MYSELF, of my entire life, everything I have done."

Ben Breedlove Life Story, Part 1

Ben Breedlove Life Story, Part 2

Ben's mother says the videos were a "gift" to the family, while Kid Cudi has chimed in on his blog, writing:

"This is why I do what I do. Why I write my life, and why I love you all so much. Life is really f– up sometimes... I know Ben is at Peace. To Ben's family, you raised a real hero, he's definitely mine."

Amen.

Former Saturday Night Live staff writer Joe Bodolai has died in an apparent suicide. His body was discovered yesterday by a cleaning crew at an L.A. hotel.

Law enforcement sources say Bodolai, who wrote several Wayne's World sketches for SNL as well as the movie, had been staying there more than a week.

A mixture of anti-freeze and Gatorade may have done him in, TMZ reports.

Classic Wayne's World Sketch

Bodolai also had posted what appears to be a suicide note on December 23 on his blog, titled, "If This Was Your Last Day Alive What Would You Do?"

He goes on to describe some of the things he remembers, and laments.

In the note, Bodolai writes about "Stuff I Would Like to Have Seen In My Life" such as the Browns winning the Super Bowl and the "truth" about JFK.

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Kim Jong Il, the leader of North Korea since 1994 and a dangerous man known for a number of eccentricities, reportedly passed away yesterday morning on a train.

The tyrannical despot was 69.

According to CNN, the broadcaster who broke the news on state television said Kim died due to "overwork" after "dedicating his life to the people."

"It is the biggest loss for the party...  and it is our people and nation's biggest sadness," said an anchorwoman on air in North Korea, adding that the despondent country must "change our sadness to strength and overcome our difficulties."

Good luck with that.

Kim Jong Il Dead: Report

Earlier this year, reports indicated that Kim was sick with cancer and making the necessary moves to transfer power to his son, Kim Jong Un. That rumor was never verified, however, and the state of North Korea - one of the most secretive nations on Earth - is unclear.

The North kept news of the death of its leader secret for about two days, perhaps a sign that the leadership was struggling to position itself for an unstable transition.

A few hours after the announcement, the powerful Workers' Party and officials implied Kim's chosen successor, his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was in fact in charge.

In response to Kim's alleged death, South Korea's military declared an "emergency alert."

The dictator was known for ego and his control over the media, as many in the press, for example, reported that he "routinely" shot three or four holes-in-one per round of golf, among other absolute absurdities, as part of his personality cult.

[Photos: WENN.com]

Christopher Hitchens, famed British-born author, literary critic and journalist, passed away Thursday at a hospital in Texas. He was 62 years old.

He died from pneumonia, a complication of esophageal cancer.

Vanity Fair magazine, his longtime employer, announced his death, and said simply that there would "never be another like Christopher."

Christopher Hitchens Interview

VF editor Graydon Carter described the writer as someone "of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar ... Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."

Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1949.

He began his career as a journalist in the UK in the 1970s and later moved to N.Y. City, becoming Vanity Fair contributing editor in November 1992.

He is survived by his wife, Carol Blue, and their daughter, Antonia, and his children from a previous marriage, Alexander and Sophia. R.I.P.

A shooting at Virginia Tech University has left two people dead, including a police officer, and prompted the entire school to be placed on lockdown today.

A Virginia Tech police officer was fatally shot on the campus by an as-yet-unidentified gunman, for whom a sweeping search was conducted for four hours.

Here's the local press conference detailing the events of this afternoon:

Virginia Tech Shooting Press Conference

Around 4:30 p.m. EST, the Blacksburg, Va., school announced on its Twitter feed that "law enforcement agencies have determined there is no longer an active threat or a need to secure in place. Resume normal activities."

Police said that the shooting occurred shortly after noon, after the police officer made a routine traffic stop in the Coliseum parking lot near McComas Hall.

During that stop, a person who wasn't involved in the traffic stop approached and shot the officer, then fled toward a nearby parking lot, officials said.

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Harry Morgan, who played Col. Sherman Potter on TV's legendary war series M*A*S*H and Jack Webb's detective partner in Dragnet, died Wednesday at age 96.

He and the show became staples of CBS from 1972-1983. The satirical dark comedy was one of TV's best shows and its finale one of the most-watched events ever.

The veteran actor died in his home in Los Angeles, Calif., after suffering from pneumonia, daughter-in-law Beth Morgan told the Associated Press yesterday.

"He was side-splittingly funny, a very gentle and loving father-in-law," Beth Morgan said. "He was very humble about having such a successful career."

Morgan became interested in acting while taking public speaking at the University of Chicago. Local theater stints led to a Broadway production of Golden Boy.

After appearing in dramatic films The Ox Box Incident and High Noon, he began a TV career in December Bride and Dragnet, before appearing in M*A*S*H.

Patrice O'Neal, who suffered a serious stroke in late October, has passed away from complications related to that incident. He was 41.

Patrice O'Neal Stand-Up Act

The death was first reported by O'Neal's pals at the Opie and Anthony radio show, as Opie Tweeted this morning: "Yes it's true that our pal Patrice O'Neal has passed away. The funniest and best thinker I've ever known PERIOD."

O'Neal recently worked the Charlie Sheen Roast on Comedy Central and appeared on programs such as Chappelle's Show, The Office and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. our thoughts go out to his friends and family.

Greg Halman, a Dutch baseball player with the MLB's Seattle Mariners in 2010 and 2011, was stabbed to death in his native country of The Netherlands today.

His brother has been arrested in connection with the crime, according to reports.

"A 24-year-old was killed this morning in a stabbing and authorities have arrested the 22-year-old brother of the victim," a Rotterdam police spokesman said.

News organizations later identified the deceased as Greg Halman.

Of the brother, a police spokesman told the AP: "He is under arrest and right now he is being questioned. It will take some time to figure out what exactly happened."

Police found Greg Halman bleeding from a stab wound at a home in Rotterdam after responding to a call early today. They were unable to revive the baseball player.

Halman hit .230 for the Mariners in 2011, with two home runs and six RBI. The outfielder appeared in 44 career games with the club in a reserve role.

R.I.P.