A tragic helicopter crash occurred Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of two individuals when a Fort Hood AH-64 Apache attack helicopter went down explosively in a Central Texas field. The impact ignited a wildfire that forced local evacuations and mobilized emergency responders, officials reported.

Cliff Coleman, spokesperson for the Bell County Sheriff’s Office, stated that authorities were alerted to the crash at around 1:34 p.m.

The aircraft crashed in a field located south of Salado, which is approximately a half-hour drive from Fort Hood. The location of the crash was identified by KWTX as being off Dove Hollow Lane.

Describing the incident as a violent crash, Coleman confirmed that two individuals lost their lives, though no additional injuries were reported.

Coleman identified the aircraft as an Apache helicopter and initially said it was believed to be from Fort Hood, but deferred to military officials for confirmation.

Fort Hood later confirmed the aircraft was an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter based at the installation. The identities of the two people killed have not been released.

Local emergency services, military responders and law enforcement were actively responding to the scene, Fort Hood said in a statement.

“Our immediate priority is securing the site and supporting the initial response efforts,” Brig. Gen. Ethan Diven, acting commanding general, said. “Our thoughts are with the crew and their families as we await further information.”

Fort Hood called the crash an ongoing and developing situation and said additional information would be released as it becomes available.

The crash sparked a wildfire, prompting a large emergency response, road closures and evacuations.

Coleman said the fire remained uncontrolled as of 4 p.m. ET and that some residents had been evacuated because of the flames. KWTX reported that Farm to Market Road 2843 was shut down near the crash site.

Salado Fire/Bell County ESD #1 said crews were battling a “major grass fire” along FM 2843 and warned the public that the roadway was impassable in the affected area.

“Please avoid the roadway and choose an alternate route,” the department said in a public safety alert. “This will help keep traffic clear for responding fire and emergency personnel.”

The department also urged drivers not to attempt to travel through the area or around emergency vehicles.

Coleman said Fort Hood is leading the investigation into the crash. The cause has not been released.

Abhiram Garapati, a Republican congressional candidate in Texas, offered prayers for those involved in the crash and the first responders at the scene.

“My prayers are with those aboard, the first responders responding to the scene, and any individuals affected by the fire that began as a result of the crash,” Garapati wrote on Facebook.

Fort Hood has not yet released the identities of the crew or additional details about the circumstances leading up to the crash.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Authorities have reported a disturbing act of vandalism at the University of California, San Diego, where a Jewish fraternity house fell victim to antisemitic graffiti. Perpetrators spray-painted swastikas and the letters “KKK” on the property, further fueling concerns over rising hate crimes.

The incriminating graffiti was found adorning both the interior and exterior walls of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house, situated in the University City neighborhood. The defacement occurred between August 7 and 8, according to information from the San Diego Police Department.

In addition to the swastikas and KKK symbols, racial slurs were haphazardly marked throughout the premises, as detailed by the investigators delving into the incident.

Labeling this incident as a hate crime, the San Diego Police Department has launched an intensive search for those responsible for the egregious act.

“Our investigation into this deplorable case of vandalism is ongoing. As of now, we have not yet made any arrests,” a representative from the SDPD informed the California Post, underscoring the active pursuit of justice.

“As is the motive for all hate crimes, the intent is to cause fear amongst the victim group,” police added, noting that they would not release additional details.

The university condemned the attack, with UCSD Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla calling the vandalism “abhorrent and unacceptable.”

“We condemn this vile act, and will not accept hate or antisemitism toward anyone in our community,” Khosla said in a message to the UC San Diego community.

The university said the incident had been reported to appropriate campus offices and that it was supporting the affected students.

“Anyone whose conduct violates the law or university policy” will be held accountable “to the maximum extent of our abilities,” Khosla said.

Police are asking anyone who saw suspicious people or vehicles near the residence during the two-day period to come forward.

San Diego County Crime Stoppers, a nonprofit organization that helps law enforcement solve felony crimes, is offering a reward of up to $2,000 for information leading to an arrest.

NBC News Chief Data Analyst Steve Kornacki provided a genuine on-air reaction as significant absentee vote counts from Milwaukee were unexpectedly delayed. The postponement, reported late last night, was attributed to human error by local election officials.

“They’re giving an update now—I’m trying to understand what’s happening,” shared NBC News National Politics Reporter Ben Kamisar with Kornacki, approximately six hours into the livestream around 1 a.m. ET.

This led to a 20-second pause as Kamisar scrolled anxiously to gather more information.

Kamisar later clarified that instead of election results, audit logs had been downloaded onto five of the nine flash drives transported from the city’s central count facility to Milwaukee County Courthouse.

This mishap resulted in delaying the results of the state’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The Associated Press ended up calling the race at 2:34am Wednesday, confirming that Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley upset democratic-socialist State Representative Francesca Hong.

After another ten, silent seconds, a confused Kornacki asked, ‘Are they still giving the update?’

Kamisar, still perusing his laptop, stammered that he was still reading the closed captioning and didn’t ‘have the fullest grasp of’ what was going on. Kornacki struck a bent-over recovery stance before eventually offering viewers a prolonged facepalm.

His sidekick tried to explain as he stood hunched over in disbelief.

‘It appears that there were some irregularities in the reporting process, so I think they have to go back to the city location, do some work there, and then potentially kind of restart that process,’ Kamisar said.

‘That’s what I’m gathering from the city right now. Or from the county update.’ 

Kornacki asked: ‘Really? That’s, um- so we’re back to square one on this?’

‘Potentially, I’m just going through the, uh- just trying to read the closed captioning as it’s coming,’ Kamisar replied, his eyes glued to the computer screen.

Kornacki, 46, apologized. ‘I didn’t mean to uh… it just seems like a very-‘ He cleared his throat before noting, with a slight smile, the development was a ‘significant thing.’

Another 20-second period of dead-air followed, during which Kornacki took out his cellphone. As he did, Kamisar confirmed: ‘Yeah. They have to restart that process.   

‘So, they have to go back to the city location, I think re-grab the memory sticks, or go through that vote process again, and then bring it back to the county.’ 

‘Are we talking hours?’ asked Kornacki, after another period of awkward silence. 

Kamisar explained that with the time needed for officials to drive back to the Central Count location in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood, that seemed to be the case.

‘And it’s now 1am,’ he noted, streaming live for fans on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.  

‘Uhh…’ said Kornacki, before a frustrated sniff and more silence.

‘Well, there’s no traffic at this hour – I guess that’s good,’ he joked.

The analyst let out a playful stomp before the absurdity fully got to him.

‘Are you serious? They have to… come-… Okay. Um, what are we thinking here?’ he said, before burying his face in his hand while laughing.

Kamisar responded with more silence and scrolling.

‘I guess the exact thing is, five of the USB sticks were missing results from the election, so then, they had to go an re-grab them,’ he clarified.

Kornacki couldn’t help but look down and shake his head. 

‘How do I ask this artfully: Do we still have an audience?’ he quipped, with some tongue-in-cheek distress. The ‘Kornacki Cam’ stream ended roughly 10 minutes later, before a victor was announced.

Crowley finished with 65,131 votes, or 43 percent. Hong – whom prediction market Kalshi pegged as having a 95 percent chance – finished just shy, with 62,739.

Federal immigration authorities have requested that a Kentucky jail detain an undocumented immigrant accused of serious charges, including rape, human trafficking, and sexual abuse, committed in his role as a landlord. This measure is to ensure that he is transferred into federal custody for deportation processes.

Identified as Rolando Cenobio Vasquez, the individual in question, a Mexican national, was taken into custody by Louisville police on July 29, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Vasquez reportedly started abusing a teenage girl in December 2025. She was living with her mother as tenants in Vasquez’s Kentucky residence when the alleged crimes began, law enforcement officials reported.

“ICE has lodged a detainer, requesting that Louisville officials ensure this offender remains in custody and is transferred to ICE, facilitating his removal from the United States,” stated a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security.

Vasquez allegedly threatened the mother and child but occasionally offered the teenager money to keep quiet about the sexual abuse, authorities said.

He was charged with three counts of rape, three counts of sodomy, human trafficking, promoting human trafficking with a victim under 18 and sexual abuse.

Vasquez’s criminal history includes a prior conviction for driving under the influence of liquor. ICE lodged a detainer with the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections the same day he was arrested.

Vasquez initially entered the United States illegally in August 2013 through Texas, DHS said. He was arrested by the U.S. Border Patrol and deported.

It was not clear when he illegally reentered the U.S., according to DHS.

Louisville is not a sanctuary jurisdiction. In July 2025, the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections agreed to follow a federal law requiring inmates in custody be held for up to 48 hours on what are called immigration detainers.

Kathy Hochul has garnered attention for her campaign finances, with records revealing $55,000 in contributions from social adult daycare centers in Flushing, Queens—an area beset by fraud investigations.

The source of nearly half of these funds can be traced to two influential local figures: Baoli Zhang and Jiemin Shang. Both men own major daycare operations in Flushing that appeared devoid of patients during a recent visit by The Post.

Baoli Zhang, aged 69, has contributed a total of $15,000. This includes a personal donation of $10,000 and an additional $5,000 through his business, Bao Kang Adult Day Care, according to financial disclosures. Since 2018, Zhang’s network of enterprises has reportedly secured a minimum of $32 million from Medicaid to support a vast number of patients.

Jiemin Shang, who oversees Livingwell Day Care, donated $5,000 to Hochul’s campaign in 2022, coinciding with a year when the daycare billed Medicaid $5.8 million. Another $5,000 came from Finest Adult Day Care, also managed by Shang.

In the backdrop of these donations, a source from within the industry spoke to The Post about the economic revival of social adult daycare centers, saying, “In 2021, [these centers] were on the brink of collapse due to COVID. Someone threw them a lifeline with a likely quid pro quo: ‘Support me, and I’ll support you.’ Now, they’re flourishing financially.”

Federal figures back this up. Business has exploded at Livingwell, which billed $114,000 in 2018, a number that increased to $8.05 million in 2024. Boa Kang went from claiming $1.5M in 2018 to 7.22M by 2024. Monthly revenue for daycares across Flushing overall has nearly doubled compared to pre-pandemic numbers.

Only nine of the city’s nearly 400 SADCs made contributions over $5,000 to Hochul’s first gubernatorial campaign in 2022. Those same nine businesses accounted for billing Medicaid for an eyepopping $49 million in 2022, The Post’s investigation found.

Zhang is also founder of the Asian American Adult Daycare Association (AAADA), a nonprofit formed in 2023 as an industry advocacy group, while Shang is secretary-general.

Zhang, who grew up in Beijing, is a big name in the community as he is also a world-renowned musician, described as a “master” of the erhu—a two-stringed Chinese musical instrument played with a bow—performing at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and The Julliard School, according to Chinese media.

Zhang was a child prodigy, entering a prestigious Beijing music conservatory at age nine. Before long, he was selling CDs and cassettes of his solo erhu performances to audiences across Asia and the US.

However, in recent years, he has concentrated on growing his SADC businesses.

His involvement is opaque. While he listed himself as the owner and manager of Bao Kang on campaign finance disclosure records, both local and federal Medicaid data list other individuals as the owners.

Zhang also owns Confucius Social Daycare Center in Manhattan’s Chinatown, which billed Medicaid $15.7 million between 2018 and 2024; Silver Arch Management and AA Plus Management Inc. The latter is a “point of service” Medicaid provider that has billed taxpayers $2.65 million, according to federal data.

The SADCs in this story have not been accused of wrongdoing, nor have Zhang or Shang — who did not respond to The Post’s numerous attempts at outreach for comment.

According to a 2022 Chinese language news report on the topic of recent fraud busts in Flushing, Zhang warned at an event against greed and “excessive consumption” within the community.

He said, in statements translated from Chinese: “The New York State government is very generous to its residents. Whether it’s home care, daycare, or medical assistance, it is one of the states with the best welfare in the United States.

“The elderly should cherish their current benefits and living environment; excessive consumption will only deprive their descendants of resources.”

The same Baxter Street building in Manhattan’sChinatown which Zhang lists as his business address is home to another SADC which donated to Hochul’s campaign, Cathay Adult Daycare, which sent the governor $5,000 in 2022 — the same year it billed Medicaid for $8.4 million.

Zhang is not listed as the owner of Cathay Adult Daycare and it’s unclear if he is connected to it.

The Post’s previous reporting and federal raids have shown SADCs have become epicenters for Medicaid fraud, claiming money for seniors they are not treating and in some cases giving them kickbacks of the federal money they receive.

This has happened in a number of communities, including among Coney Island’s Pakistani diaspora as well as Chinatown in Manhattan and Flushing, where 77 centers are packed into the district.

The New York State Department of Health told CBS News it has referred 387 SADCs for investigation since 2021, a third of which were then sent to the of the Attorney General for legal action.

The 2022 event where Zhang spoke was also attended by US congresswoman Grace Meng (D) of Flushing and state senator John Liu (D), Chairperson of New York City Education Committee.

Liu told The Post in a statement: “Mr. Zhang is a longtime respected leader in the community, and I am proud to have had his support for decades.

“I have made visits to several adult daycare centers in past years, each time seeing large numbers of senior citizens engaged in services and activities. If fraud and impropriety are suspected at any facilities, full investigations and prosecutions should be undertaken.”

Zhang has donated $7,800 to Meng and $4,950 to Liu, according to campaign disclosures.

The source said local politicians find the centers handy to pick up votes.  

“A lot of the local politicians are using these guys,” a source who has spent decades around the daycare industry in Flushing told The Post.

“If you get 100 people in there and you make them vote, it’s very powerful for a primary. Every politician goes to these daycares for help.”

The Empire SADC which hosted the event where the politicians spoke is another which Zhang claimed to own on campaign finance forms, and was credited as his operation in local reports, however city and federal data lists two other owners.

The other daycares to contribute to Hochul’s campaign in 2022 were: American Adult Daycare Center, Big Apple Adult Daycare, Blue Sky Adult Daycare, Greater New York Social and Health Adult Daycare — all in Flushing — and Brooklyn’s Jy Adult Social Daycare, which each cut $5,000 checks.

A spokesperson for Gov. Hochul said: “Governor Hochul has taken significant action to root out waste, fraud and abuse, resulting in billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers, reforms to New York’s Medicaid program, and the criminal prosecution of fraudsters.Any facility caught breaking the law will be held accountable.” 

The spokesperson also noted: “Political contributions have no influence on government decisions.”

A legal saga surrounding a controversial surrogacy case that has riveted national attention recently reached a pivotal moment. A baby boy central to the story was born at a Texas hospital, as confirmed by a recent report.

On Wednesday morning, McKenna West delivered the newborn, affectionately called ‘Baby Gabriel,’ in the Dallas metropolitan area. Her attorney, Lincoln Wilson, shared this news with The Dallas Morning News.

Baby Gabriel faces a significant medical hurdle, as he is set to undergo a critical surgery to treat hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition diagnosed while he was still in the womb.

This diagnosis has ignited legal disputes and controversy involving West, 28, and the child’s biological parents, Nausheen Gilkar and Omar Ahmed, intensifying the already complex case.

It was during a crucial 20-week ultrasound that the severity of the baby’s heart condition was uncovered, as a doctor informed West, an Alaskan nurse, and Baby Gabriel’s biological parents that there was a serious anomaly—no blood flow to the heart’s left side.

West was then referred to a maternal-fetal medicine doctor, who diagnosed the baby with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition that can often be remedied with surgery immediately after birth. 

But that’s when the child’s biological parents first brought up aborting the child – something West was not on board with. 

When she first met with the parents, a couple from California, the contract she signed included a clause that would require her to abort the baby in the event of an ‘anomaly.’ 

West, a mother-of-two, expressed her concern to the Connecticut-based Worldwide Surrogacy Specialist, LLC about the clause, but the agency told her that a situation like that is rare. 

She went on to ask the agency if she could help financially assist the couple regarding care for their child so they wouldn’t abort him, and told his parents that she’s heard of people surviving with the condition. 

Despite her best efforts, Ahmed told West that he and his wife had already removed the baby’s 12-week ultrasound from their fridge at home, and told her she could mail the 20-week images – but to address the envelope only to him.

Upon researching more about the heart condition, West found out that a hospital in Dallas has had a 100 percent success rate in recent years with the first of three surgeries an affected baby would need right after birth.

She then told the surrogacy agency that she would live with a friend in Texas to mitigate the costs for the couple, but a liaison for the agency said the biological parents were still concerned about the baby’s future quality of life.

West was told to officially undergo an abortion the Monday after the diagnosis. 

As she would be 24 weeks pregnant at the time of the abortion, West said in court documents that she was appalled at the idea that doctors would inject the baby with ‘a solution that will stop his heart and then he’ll be literally ripped apart and dismembered as he’s taken from [her] uterus,’ Live Action reported. 

A nurse then told West that she reached out to her friend, podcaster Ellen Fisher, who previously welcomed Live Action founder and president Lila Rose as a guest on her podcast.

Within hours, West received a text message from Fisher saying Rose would help her and her children get to Texas to meet with the doctors who could save the baby’s life.

‘I couldn’t believe that within 12 hours of talking to my brother, I was getting these screenshots of Ellen’s and Lila’s text exchanges and I finally felt hopeful,’ West said.

‘From there, it just blew up and I think the next day, I was already meeting with some of the lawyers.’

On Tuesday, just a day before the birth of ‘Baby Gabriel,’ West secured a legal victory in her case after she petitioned a family district court in Dallas to allow the child to remain in the Lone Star State and receive potentially life-saving care.

West was supported in her efforts by Texas Attorney General and Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who submitted a brief on Monday arguing that state law requires that physicians provide medically necessary treatment.

Less than 24 hours later, an associate judge issued a temporary restraining order preventing anyone from withholding or obstructing the infant’s necessary treatment when he is born early next month.

The judge also appointed a legal guardian to ensure the child receives all of the necessary treatments for his condition. 

The legal win did come with one major drawback for West, who is now forbidden from having any contact with the baby after his birth, according to Rose.