Taiwan’s top military official was among eight people killed on Thursday, after a helicopter carrying them to visit soldiers crashed in a mountainous area near the capital Taipei, the defense ministry said. The main portion of the helicopter lay in a northern forest wreathed in mist, its blades shattered, as dozens of rescuers combed the wreck for survivors, pictures released by emergency authorities showed, Reuters reports. The reasons for the crash, in the wake of a forced landing, were unknown, the military said in a statement, adding that the chief of general staff, Air Force General Shen Yi-ming, had died, while five of the 13 aboard survived.

A New York City teenager, who was caught on camera allegedly mugging a 60-year-old man – who later died – of $1 dollar on Christmas Eve, has been arrested, police said. Abu Conteh, 18, of the Bronx, was arrested Tuesday morning, just days after the brutal overnight assault, the New York Post reported. Juan Fresnda, 60, died three days after the $1 robbery outside a McDonald's in the Bronx. He was trying to protect his boyfriend. Officials said detectives know the names of Conteh’s accomplices and are looking for them. Conteh was charged with second-degree murder, gang assault, and robbery, according to the paper. #NYPD

😂 #facepalm

Meanwhile in Brazil ... Copacabana beach 2020

A man was taken into custody at a North Hollywood supermarket Tuesday afternoon after a chase through the San Fernando Valley ended in a crash. The pursuit made its way along surface streets in Burbank shortly before 12:30 p.m. and then headed toward the intersection of Magnolia Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, where the reportedly stolen SUV slammed into the driver's side of another SUV. The suspect continued on even after the collision sheared off the front end of the vehicle. The car limped into the parking lot of a nearby Ralph's supermarket, where the driver jumped out of the still-moving vehicle in an apparent attempt to flee on foot. Los Angeles police officers took him into custody without incident moments later. He did not appear to be seriously injured. 👮🏻‍♂️ #LAPD #pursuit

Amid the epidemic levels of youth use of e-cigarettes and the popularity of certain products among children, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration today issued a policy prioritizing enforcement against certain unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to kids, including fruit and mint flavors, reported Breaking 911. Under this policy, companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions. “The United States has never seen an epidemic of substance use arise as quickly as our current epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes. HHS is taking a comprehensive, aggressive approach to enforcing the law passed by Congress, under which no e-cigarettes are currently on the market legally,” said HHS Secretary Alex Azar.