US kills senior military leader of terrorist organization in precision airstrike
A senior military leader of the terrorist organization Hurras al-Din, an Al-Qaeda affiliate, was killed in a precision airstrike in Syria carried out by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces, according to a press release.
Muhammed Yusuf Ziya Talay was killed in an airstrike that CENTCOM says is part of its efforts to “disrupt and degrade” terrorists’ plans to harm civilians or military personnel from the U.S. and its allies.
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“As we have said in the past, we will continue to pursue relentlessly these terrorists in order to defend our homeland, and U.S., allied, and partner personnel in the region,” Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, commander, U.S. Central Command, said in a press release.
This announcement comes just after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed a CBS News report that President Donald Trump had eased restrictions on American commanders authorizing airstrikes and raids. Hegseth tweeted out a link to the report on Friday morning with the caption, “Correct.”
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Since January, CENTCOM has taken out multiple senior Hurras al-Din leaders.
On Jan. 30, CENTCOM announced that it killed senior Hurras al-Din operative Muhammad Salah al-Za’bir in a similar precision airstrike in Syria. In the press release announcing the strike, Gen. Kurilla vowed “CENTCOM will continue to hunt and kill or capture terrorists.”
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CENTCOM also killed an unnamed operative, who was a senior finance and logistics official in Hurras al-Din on Feb. 16. Additionally, on Feb. 22, CENTCOM said it killed Wasim Tahsin Bayraqdar, who they describe as “a senior leadership facilitator” of Hurras al-Din.
After the strike in mid-February, President Trump congratulated CENTCOM and Gen. Kurilla, saying that they “dealt justice to another jihadi threatening America and our allies and partners.”
Close US ally enthusiastically greets Zelenskyy day after White House clash with Trump
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was warmly greeted by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer outside 10 Downing St. in London on Saturday, a day after Zelenskyy’s tense exchange with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.
Zelemskyy and Starmer, who met with Trump in Washington on Thursday, embraced, shook hands, waved and gave a thumbs up to reporters before heading inside the prime minister’s residence for their meeting.
The scheduled London visit comes after Zelenskyy’s blowup with Trump and Vice President JD Vance during Friday’s televised meeting in the Oval Office.
Zelenskyy was peppered with questions from shouting reporters about Trump outside the prime minister’s residence, but remained tight-lipped.
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Starmer told Zelenskyy when he greeted him: “Well, let me just say that you’re very, very welcome here in Downing Street. And as you heard from the cheers on the street outside, you have full backing across the United Kingdom, and we stand with you with Ukraine for as long as it may take.”
He added, “And I hope you’ve heard some of that cheering in the street. That is the people of the United Kingdom coming out to demonstrate how much they support you, how much they support Ukraine, and our absolute determination to stand with unwavering determination and to achieve what we both want to achieve, which is a lasting peace, a lasting peace for Ukraine based on sovereignty and security for Ukraine, so important for Ukraine, so important for Europe, and so for the United Kingdom. So I’m much looking forward to discussions here this afternoon. Thank you very much for taking the time to chat.”
Zelenskyy answered: “With pleasure. Thank you very much.”
He added that the British people have given Ukraine “big support from the very beginning of this war.”
Zelenskyy said that he is also “very happy” to be meeting with King Charles III at his residence in Sandringham on Sunday.
TRUMP SAYS ZELENSKYY CAN ‘COME BACK WHEN HE IS READY FOR PEACE’ AFTER FIERY WHITE HOUSE EXCHANGE
Tensions increased during the Oval Office meeting on Friday over a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine after Zelenskyy said Russian President Vladimir Putin couldn’t be trusted and had breached other agreements.
Trump and Vance then accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful for the support the U.S. has provided over the years and said the Ukrainian leader was in a “bad position” at the negotiating table.
“You’re playing cards,” Trump said. “You’re gambling with the lives of millions of people. You’re gambling with World War III. You’re gambling with World War III. And what you’re doing is very disrespectful to the country, this country.”
After Vance told Zelenskyy Ukraine had manpower and military recruiting problems, Zelenskyy said war means “everybody has problems, even you,” adding the U.S. would feel the war “in the future.”
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel,” Trump responded. “We’re trying to solve a problem. Don’t tell us what we’re going to feel.”
Zelenskyy was asked to leave the White House after the exchange, a scheduled news conference was canceled and a deal for Ukraine to give the U.S. its rare earth minerals was left unsigned.
Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude for America’s help after the meeting.
“Thank you America, thank you for your support, thank you for this visit,” he wrote on X. “Thank you @POTUS, Congress, and the American people. Ukraine needs just and lasting peace, and we are working exactly for that.”
The Ukrainian president told Fox News chief political anchor Bret Baier in an interview after the meeting on “Special Report” that he believes Ukrainian-U.S. ties can be salvaged.
“Yes, of course, because it’s relations more than two presidents,” he said in the exclusive interview. “It’s the historical relations, strong relations between our people. And that’s why I always began … to thank your people from our people.
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“Of course, thankful to the president and, of course, to Congress,” Zelenskyy added, “But, first of all, to your people … we wanted very much to have all this strong relations and where it counted. We will have it.”
Zelenskyy said he was “not sure we did something bad” when asked about the heated exchange but conceded the dustup was “bad for both sides.”
Teen girls skip Team USA track event, giving 21-year-old trans athlete victory by default
Transgender track and field athlete Sadie Schreiner took first place at the USA Track and Field (USATF) Open Masters Championships in the women’s 400-meter dash in New York Saturday
The other participants in the event, Anna Vidolova and Amaris Hiatt, have no recorded times and are listed as DNS, did not start.
Schreiner is 21 years old, while Vidolova is just 17, and Hiatt is 16.
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After the 400-meter race, Schreiner competed in the women’s 200-meter dash and also won first place. Schreiner defeated 14-year-old runner-up Zwange Edwards, 16-year-old third-place finisher Zariah Hargrove, 15-year-old Leah Walker and 18-year-old Ainsley Rausch.
That event also had multiple participants listed as DNS, including 18-year-old Jordan Carr, 46-year-old Amanda Taylor, Vidolova again and 16-year-old Paula Damiens.
USATF policy allows trans athletes to compete in the women’s category in compliance with Internatonal Olympic Committee (IOC) policy. However, USATF “requires that certain medical benchmarks be achieved before an athlete may compete as the opposite gender for medals, prize money and other benefits.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to USATF for comment.
Schreiner previously competed for Rochester Institute of Technology’s (RIT) women’s track and field team and gained national notoriety for dominating female opponents and frequent social media videos boasting about it as an openly transgender competitor.
However, Schreiner was ruled ineligible to compete for RIT after the NCAA revised its gender eligibility policy Feb. 6, one day after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to ban trans athletes from women’s and girls sports.
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RIT provided a statement to Fox News Digital confirming this Feb. 12.
“We continue to follow the NCAA participation policy for transgender student-athletes following the Trump administration’s executive order. Sadie is not participating in the next meet,” the statement said.
Later in February, Schreiner posted a video claiming the athlete’s running speed became slower after taking medication to increase estrogen. Schreiner spoke of wanting to speak to policymakers at the NCAA to discuss the policy before it went into effect.
“They could have seen the results of their previous policy and how it made me equitable, but they didn’t,” Schreiner said. “And I would still love to have that conversation. I would still love to educate more people if I was properly allowed to.”
Despite no longer competing for RIT, Schreiner still has a profile page on the school’s website and holds multiple school records as RIT’s women’s indoor track record holder in the 200-, 300- and 400-meter dashes, and RIT’s women’s outdoor record holder in the 200- and 400-meter dash.
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Schreiner has been a controversial figure in women’s track and field in the past year, especially after an appearance at the 2024 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in May.
Earlier that month, Schreiner competed at the Liberty League Championship and won both the women’s 200- and 400-meter, breaking the 400-meter record in the process. Schreiner would have finished last by more than two seconds in the men’s competition.
In late January, Schreiner bragged after winning an event against female opponents.
“Not the race I was looking for at all this week, my spikes nearly fell off on the turn and with a poor start my time wasn’t nearly what I wanted,” the RIT runner wrote in an Instagram post.
“The good news is that the season just started, and I’m going to leave everything on the track at nationals,” Schreiner added with a transgender pride flag emoji.
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On Jan. 17, Schreiner took first place in the 200- and 400-meter dashes at the Brockport Friday Night Rust Buster, taking top spots over two female seniors. In the 200-meter dash, Schreiner beat RIT teammate Caroline Hill by 1.5 seconds and took first-place honors in the 400-meter dash from Brockport’s Marissa Wise by nearly 3.5 seconds. Schreiner’s results achieved automatic qualification for the All-Atlantic Regional Track and Field Championships.
On Jan. 24, Schreiner took first place in the 200-meter dash at the RIT Friday Meet, beating out Liberty League junior Lexi Rodriguez of Brockport with an even faster time. On Jan. 30, Schreiner took first place in the 200- and 400-meter dashes against Liberty League opponents.
Schreiner also spoke out against states and colleges that were not offering the trans athlete a full scholarship when Schreiner wanted to transfer in December. The athlete blamed laws in 25 states that prohibit trans athletes from competing with girls and women.
“Among all the hurdles transfers usually have, there is an extra layer because it is trans, 50% of the country banned me from participating and that meant I couldn’t attend any of those colleges even if they reached out to me with a full ride,” Schreiner said.
“It also became clear that states that did, no matter how adamant the coaches were to have me on their teams, the college administrations would usually stop them from allowing me to participate.”
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star shares warning signs that led to brain tumor diagnosis
“Grey’s Anatomy” star Kate Walsh is opening up about a health scare she faced years ago.
During a recent appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” the 57-year-old actress recalled being diagnosed with a noncancerous brain tumor in 2015 and shared how the experience changed her approach to health.
“Thankfully, it turned out to be benign, so I was very, very fortunate,” Walsh said.
The “Private Practice” alum explained she noticed “very subtle” warning signs ahead of her diagnosis.
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“It was like, ‘Hey, I’m really tired,'” Walsh recalled. “And then it’s like, ‘Oh, the right side of my body is dipping.’”
Walsh told Clarkson she was uncertain if she had a health problem at the time, since people around her were initially dismissive of her concerns.
“They’re like, ‘Oh, you’re off.’ I’m like, ‘No,'” she said. “And then, walking the dog, I’m like, ‘It must be a little bit of a windy street.’
“It was just sort of very subtle and then very kind of, ‘Oh it’s ADD. I can’t really focus. Oh, I’ve been scrolling too much.’ That kind of stuff.”
Walsh continued to worry about her symptoms and decided to seek medical attention.
Looking back, the California native shared that she learned a valuable lesson from the experience.
“I know how important it is to advocate for one’s own health because people were like, ‘You’re just depressed.’ It was right after [my TV show] ‘Bad Judge’ got canceled,'” Walsh recalled.
“Your show got canceled. You’re just depressed,'” she remembered people telling her. “I’m like, ‘No, something’s off.'”
Walsh first revealed her brain tumor diagnosis in a September 2017 interview with Cosmopolitan.
The “Emily in Paris” actress told the outlet she had physical and cognitive problems before doctors discovered a tumor in her brain the size of a small lemon. Walsh told the outlet she initially believed her symptoms were due to menopause, noting “there are a lot of the same markers.”
“I know how important it is to advocate for one’s own health because people were like, ‘You’re just depressed.'”
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“I really pushed to see a neurologist. I just had an instinct,” she recalled. “I had to really advocate because they don’t hand out MRIs so easily. But I got an MRI and, thank God I did, because it turned out I had a very sizable brain tumor in my left frontal lobe.”
Walsh told the outlet she was stunned after receiving her diagnosis.
“I just left my body,” she said. “My assistant had driven me there, and I had to go get him so that he could take notes because I was gone. It was never anything I would have imagined.”
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Three days later, Walsh had surgery to remove the growth, and it was later determined to be a benign meningioma.
According to the Mayo Clinic, meningiomas are “brain tumors that start in the membranes around the brain and spinal cord” and they are the most common type of benign brain tumors.
While appearing on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” Walsh shared that she has a family history of cancer. Her father died due to complications from lung cancer, and her mother was a breast cancer survivor.
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The actress emphasized the importance of early detection and screening but acknowledged that it can be difficult for people to speak out about their health concerns.
“It’s a hard thing when you have everybody looking at you going, ‘Hmm, I think you’re just this or that. You’re tired.'”
NFL team reportedly acquires star wide receiver in first major trade of the offseason
The San Francisco 49ers have reportedly reached an agreement on the first major trade of the NFL offseason. According to ESPN, All-Pro Deebo Samuel will head east and play for the Washington Commanders in 2025.
The 49ers are expected to receive a fifth-round draft pick in exchange for the star wide receiver, per the report.
Earlier this week at the NFL Scouting Combine, 49ers general manager John Lynch confirmed reports stating Samuel requested a trade. Lynch said the team planned to “honor” the request.
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“He’s asked for a fresh start, and I think we’re going to honor that,” Lynch said Wednesday.
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Samuel spent the first six seasons of his NFL career with the 49ers after the team selected him in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft.
He earned first-team All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl selection after he finished the 2021 season with a career-high 1,405 receiving yards. Samuel and the Niners reached an agreement on a three-year contract extension after that standout season.
Samuel missed two games during the 2024 season, but he experienced a noticeable drop-off in production when he did play. He finished the year with 670 receiving yards and 136 rushing yards as San Francisco stumbled to a disappointing 6-11 record.
Samuel spoke to 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan about being traded during the offseason and later had a conversation with Lynch.
“Then, he came up and talked with me, and we had a very honest and frank conversation,” Lynch said. “He told us his reasons. I asked him to sit on it, sleep on it and we’d do the same. We did, and we told him he could go talk to people.”
The deal cannot become official until March 12, the start of the new league year.
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While Samuel has likely played his last game in a 49ers uniform, San Francisco’s wide receiver room could soon lose another key player. Lynch admitted other teams have contacted the 49ers about Brandon Aiyuk, who missed 10 games this past season due to a torn ACL.
Lynch added that San Francisco is listening to the inquires about the All-Pro receiver.
“Yeah, that typically happens with really good players,” Lynch said earlier this week, via 49ers Webzone. “I remember, I think two years ago, having similar conversations. You get calls, and you always listen to calls.”
Aiyuk and the 49ers reached an agreement on a four-year contract extension shortly before the start of the 2024 regular season. If Aiyuk does ultimately leave, Jauan Jennings, Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing would be the 49ers top remaining receivers.
Condo crisis brewing as developers cite rising costs to prevent disaster in red haven
High-rise condominium owners along the sunny and serene Florida coastlines are facing a costly reality, but prominent developers in the state argue surges in HOA fees and maintenance reserves are necessary to prevent a future tragedy.
“A lot of people have seen their maintenances double. They’ve seen some of the assessments become extremely unaffordable. It’s definitely impacted many residents here in Florida,” Gutman Development Marketing President Phil Gutman told Fox News Digital.
“There is a conflict, and the conflict is a bit complicated, and it’s a bit complex because you have three competing issues. One, you have the issue of safety. Two, you have older buildings,” Ian Bruce Eichner, The Continuum Company founder, also told Digital. “The last issue that comes from [the Condo 3.0 law] is a requirement that unless the condominium’s declaration, what the original offering said 50 years ago provides otherwise, you need 90% of the residents to agree to terminate the condominium.”
“We have the state, cities, city officials, code enforcement, city managers more involved in buildings. I think it’s important to prevent the next disaster, God forbid, the next catastrophe. Let’s not forget that there [are] thousands of old buildings, and thank God we didn’t see any other catastrophe except the Surfside building,” BH Group CEO and founder Isaac Toledano added.
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“I think the fact that you have more inspections, more regulations, I think it’s good for everybody and for everybody’s safety.”
The higher condo fees are a result of the state’s “Condo 3.0” bill, passed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in early 2024, less than three years after the Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside. The new bill dictates a new set of reforms, including how a building is maintained to how condo associations are governed. The oldest buildings and their residents are likely to see the most costly impending assessments.
“Any rational person has to be supportive of the legislation because it goes to the issue of safety. So while it may have a financial burden, we have an obligation – the state, the city, everybody has an obligation to keep people safe,” Eichner said. “So there’s no question that the law is something that, unfortunately, was a consequence of an event, but certainly it’s something everyone supports.”
According to recent data from Redfin, multiple Florida cities on the east and west coasts have year-over-year double-digit increases on condo fees. Tampa saw the sharpest rise at 16.7%; Fort Lauderdale had a 16.2% increase; the average median condo cost in Miami is $835 per month; and Key West has the highest median HOA fee at $1,063.
In some high-demand markets like Miami, unit owners at the 16-year-old 1060 Brickell Avenue building are required to split $21 million in special assessments after the board of directors reportedly identified areas of damage.
Many condo buildings that are 40 to 60 years old are more likely to be demolished and rebuilt as newer, luxury real estate projects, according to the developers.
“I think we’re going to see more and more of this transaction of prime real estate, older product getting replaced with the new product,” Toledano noted.
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“The shift that we see in the market is the appetite of older product, older units, many other owners willing to work with the developers, and they understand that if you live in a three-story building that was built in the 1960s, this building will probably have some serious assessments, a lot of improvements, and sometimes it doesn’t make any sense to go and replace the roof, the electrical, the mechanical, something that will cost millions of dollars,” the BH Group lead also said. “[You’re] better off [to] sell the unit.”
Florida’s dubbed “Condo 3.0” bill requires yearly maintenance and reserve evaluations for buildings that are three stories or higher. | iStock
“Some of these buildings that are 50, 60 years old that really can’t be fixed anymore. Those buildings do need to come down,” Gutman explained. “If somebody has an apartment there that was worth $300,000 in the open market, and we come in at $750 [to] $800,000, I believe those people are in a much better position than they were, to be quite honest with you. But people will have to find possibly another area to live in, something that’s more affordable, something that’s newer, something that’s safer.”
While state lawmakers argue the Condo 3.0 law will improve the longevity and quality of high-rise buildings, there are fears that luxury mixed-use developers strip residents of deciding powers, add costly fees and price them out of their long-term homes – especially for retired or fixed-income owners.
Gov. DeSantis’ office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Eichner posed an example: “You have a building that is 62 years old, has $12 million in deferred maintenance, has a population of 20 or 25% of the building that’s retired, and that 20 or 25% either doesn’t want to move, doesn’t have the resources to move, need help to move.”
“So what you have is building after building facing assessments that they really can’t afford. They do not have the will, i.e. the 90% that can require a termination, and so they sit now in this ‘Never-Never Land’ in which they attempt to have some partial assessment, deferred assessment. Where is this going to go? I don’t know,” Eichner continued. “But for sure, there are hundreds of buildings that are in this situation as we wind our way out of year one of the post-assessment requirement. I suspect that this is going to be a real issue in 2025, 2026.”
In February, new leaders in the Florida legislature said their next sessions will include potential changes to condo laws, but will not involve talks around direct financial assistance for condo owners.
The three developers insist they’re here to help those concerned residents.
“I think that after all, developer or not, we’re all human being[s]. And if the stronger person can help the weaker person, or the smarter person can help the person with less knowledge or less experience, I think this is something that it’s good to see, and we should all help each other if we can,” Toledano said.
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“We don’t go in to try to take over buildings and don’t prefer a hostile environment. When we approach a building, we approach it and we move forward because everybody in the building wants to sell. And they don’t want the assessments, they don’t want the hiked-up maintenance fees,” Gutman chimed in. “That’s just our approach. We’re not fighters, we’re trying to help.”
“Part of the offer that we made was, to the extent that you are interested, we will help move you. To the extent that you’re not sure where you want to go, we will recommend some brokers to work with you,” Eichner said. “So it’s an attempt to have a more holistic, full-service approach rather than simply say: We’re offering you ‘x’ million dollars for your apartment, and that’s that, thank you, goodbye.”
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Protesters crash VP Vance’s weekend getaway over how he handled Zelenskyy meeting
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Vermont Saturday to protest Vice President JD Vance’s visit to a local ski resort, less than 24 hours after his explosive exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Vance, who brought his family to Sugarbush Resort in Warren, Vermont, was greeted by a half-mile gauntlet of protesters holding pro-Ukraine signs Saturday. There appeared to be hundreds in the crowd.
The protesters carried signs calling Vance “Nazi scum,” accusing him of being a “traitor” and telling him to “go ski in Russia.”
Other signs said “Trump serves Putin,” “Theocracy is not freedom” and “Stand with Ukraine.”
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But not all Green Mountain State skiers were upset with Vance’s visit, and one local skier complained about the demonstrations to Fox News Digital.
“Those people protesting Vance are f—ing morons,” the skier said.
A source also told Fox News that the Vances initially intended to stay at a four-star inn near the resort, but that they moved to an undisclosed location instead, though that decision preceded the protests.
Protesters also gathered near the slopes the Vance family skied on, the source said, but it is unclear how close they got to the Second Family.
“Those people protesting Vance are f—ing morons,” one local skier remarked.
The demonstrations came less than a day after Vance and Zelenskyy had a tense argument in the White House, which began when the Ukrainian leader balked at signing a mineral rights deal that President Trump said would pave the way for a peace deal.
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“Mr. President, with respect, I think it’s disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Vance told Zelenskyy. “Right now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems. You should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
Later, Vance implied that Zelenskyy, who was visiting Washington, D.C., to sign a rare earth minerals deal that has since been dropped, was ungrateful again and asked if he’d “said ‘thank you’ once this entire meeting.”
“You went to Pennsylvania and campaigned for the opposition in October. Offer some words of appreciation for the United States of America and the president who’s trying to save your country,” the former Ohio senator said.
The Ukrainian leader replied that Vance was speaking “loudly” before President Donald Trump jumped in to support Vance, telling Zelenskyy that his country was “in trouble.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Sugarbush Resort for comment.
Man who found Gene Hackman, wife releases statement as he swears himself to secrecy
SANTA FE, New Mexico – Jesse Kesler, the man who made the urgent 911 call after finding the bodies of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, is still distraught over the couple’s mysterious deaths.
Kesler, who knew the couple well, declined to describe what he saw when he arrived at the actor’s home and made the grisly discovery on Feb. 26, but told Fox News Digital that he is “heartbroken.” The owner of MudCity Builders in Santa Fe, he served as a personal contractor for Hackman and Arakawa for over 16 years.
Kesler issued an official statement on Saturday, sharing that he will “never” comment on the “tragic event” that led to the deaths of Gene and Betsy due to their privacy. However, he did want to share a few words about the couple.
“Gene and Betsy, Thank you for the 16 plus years of opportunity, friendship and trust. Gene Hackman, thank you for lending a hand on projects over the years. I could not believe at the time I was actually working side by side with a legend. Thank you for treating my sons and employees so well and as equals. When on the job you were just another one of the guys. Thank you for all the stories which I will always remember and will cherish forever,” he began.
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“Betsy Hackman, thank you for the years of friendship, generosity, opportunity and trust. Thank you for your love for dogs, including my own. Thank you for all the advice and consoling. Thank you for being such a beautiful person.
“You both will always be near and dear to my heart and greatly missed.
Love you Both!” Kesler concluded.
Authorities believe Hackman, who was 95, and Arakawa, who was 63, had been dead for more than a week, but have not yet determined the cause of either’s death.
Audio of Kesler’s 911 call was obtained by Fox News Channel on Wednesday. In it, Kesler frantically pleaded for police to immediately rush to the New Mexico residence. In the recording, he can be heard telling the operator that he “found two or one deceased person[s] inside a house.”
“Please send somebody really quick,” Kesler urged.
Kesler said Hackman and Arakawa treated people “like gold,” and that he, his son and all of his employees remembered only pleasant encounters with the couple.
Leading up to the strange death, Kesler said he never noticed anything unusual and he want people to remember Hackman and Arakawa as “beautiful people, kind-hearted and generous.”
Hackman and Arakawa were “beautiful people, kind-hearted and generous.”
A criminal investigation into the death of Hackman and his wife was launched Wednesday after New Mexico authorities deemed the deaths, and that of one of their dogs, suspicious. Officials confirmed no external trauma was seen on either Hackman or Arakawa, and the case remains open pending autopsy and toxicology results.
The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa tested negative for carbon monoxide poisoning and the Oscar-winning actor likely died about nine days before his body was discovered by authorities, officials have revealed.
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During a news conference Friday, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza confirmed the last event noted on Hackman’s pacemaker was Feb. 17. When asked if Feb. 17 — nine days before his body was found — could be the day Hackman died, Mendoza noted that was a logical conclusion.
“According to the pathologist, I think that is a very good assumption that that was his last day of life,” Mendoza said. He also confirmed after a discussion with the medical examiner that Hackman and his wife “tested negative for carbon monoxide.”
“The manner and cause of death has not been determined,” Mendoza said.
LISTEN: Gene Hackman 911 call
Although Kesler declined to elaborate on what he saw, he was heard on audio crying and repeatedly saying, “Damn,” as the dispatcher spoke to paramedics.
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“[The house] is closed. It’s locked. I can’t go in,” he said. “But I see that she is lying down on the floor from the window.”
The caller told the dispatcher that Hackman and his wife were not “awake” or “alert.”
“No, dude, they’re not moving! Just send somebody out here really quick!” the man on the 911 call said with urgency.
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