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Philadelphia authorities have identified a 22-year-old man they say terrorized pedestrians while wearing a disturbing Chucky-style mask, chasing women through city streets and allegedly threatening one by asking whether she was “ready to die.” Police said Thursday that the suspect is now wanted on an active arrest warrant and may have fled Pennsylvania.

Zymire Hughes has been named as the man investigators believe was behind the frightening series of encounters in Philadelphia last week. Authorities say Hughes is actively attempting to evade law enforcement and are asking the public to help locate him.

Police confirmed Thursday that an arrest warrant has been issued for Hughes, 22, as investigators continue searching for him.

The allegations stem from the early morning hours of Aug. 12, when police say Hughes wore a creepy Chucky-style Halloween mask while confronting pedestrians. During one encounter, authorities allege, he assaulted a woman after pursuing and chasing her.

Investigators say Hughes recorded his encounters on a cellphone as he approached numerous people while masked and deliberately antagonized them.

“If Zymire Hughes was trying to scare people, make them run. Who’s scared now? Who’s running now?” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Krasner delivered an even sharper message directly to the wanted suspect.

“You think it’s funny to scare people? Well, get ready to get scared by us because we got the handcuffs,” Krasner added. “We got the jail cell. We got the Philly jury that’s going to tell you it’s not funny at all. You think it’s funny to make people run, get your sneaks? Because that’s what Zymire Hughes is doing right now.”

Police said Hughes allegedly shouted at one woman, asking whether she was “ready to die,” while also chasing other people during the bizarre episode.

According to Krasner, Hughes is already serving probation in connection with an unspecified offense committed in Montgomery County. Prosecutors expect him to face both felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the Aug. 12 incident.

Surveillance footage allegedly shows Hughes suddenly running toward people on Philadelphia streets. Authorities said he also attempted to enter a Dunkin’ Donuts but was refused service because he would not remove the mask.

In another disturbing moment captured by surveillance cameras, one victim can apparently be seen crouching down, raising his hands and seemingly begging for his life as the masked individual approaches.

“It’s readily apparent that this individual is certainly in fear of their life,” Philadelphia Police Capt. Jason Smith said.

Police said the masked man continued walking through the area and harassed more than a dozen pedestrians before pursuing a woman who was heading to an early-morning exercise class.

That woman, 25-year-old Philadelphia actress Jameka Wilson, fought back. Wilson, who has stage-combat training, described to Fox News Digital how the masked man reacted when she unexpectedly turned around and confronted him.

“He seemed surprised that I had turned around initially,” she said. “I saw his head tilt from side-to-side, like [he’s] trying to figure out what he’s supposed to be doing in the scenario.”

Wilson said the man’s positioning gave her an advantage as she prepared to defend herself.

“Essentially, what he did in defense terms was that he opened up all of the lines of attack that I could possibly make to him,” she added.

Smith said investigators suspect Hughes may have carried out the frightening encounters to generate social-media content. Because authorities say he did not actually injure anyone, police believe the motive may have been “his own sick personal amusement” or an attempt to make money from the resulting footage.

“There wasn’t an attempt by himself to lay hands on anyone,” Smith said. “He didn’t brandish any weapon, although in the case of the jogger, he did have his right arm behind his back, implying that he had a weapon. but at no point in time did he furnish a weapon.”

Authorities have identified three social-media accounts they say are associated with Hughes as they work to track his movements and determine where he may have gone.

Investigators said Hughes “has a tendency” to travel to unspecified destinations on the West Coast for work, raising the possibility that he has already left Pennsylvania.

Police said Hughes has ties to both California and Nevada.

Authorities describe Hughes as a Black male with a medium complexion, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and with a thin build. During the Philadelphia incidents, police say he wore a white Chucky-style Halloween mask with black hair and carried a black-and-blue plaid backpack.

Krasner also issued a warning to anyone considering copying the masked confrontations for attention or social-media content.

“There is nobody in the world who should be trying to imitate what this scared man who’s running is doing,” he said. “Now he’s a punk. I mean, that’s the bottom line. He’s a punk who scared a lot of people for no good reason, and we’re not going to tolerate it.”

{Matzav.com}

A dramatic medical emergency inside a shul in Kiryat Malachi ended with a remarkable recovery after a man suffered cardiac arrest in the middle of davening and was saved by a United Hatzalah volunteer who happened to be there at the critical moment.

Security camera footage released Thursday captures the frightening incident as Roni Nakash suddenly collapses and the volunteer immediately races across the shul to begin lifesaving treatment.

The incident occurred approximately six weeks ago while Nakash was davening in the shul. Without warning, he suffered cardiac arrest and his heart stopped beating.

United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Elandiv Tam was davening in the same shul at the time. Surveillance footage shows that the moment Tam noticed Nakash collapse, he immediately understood that something was seriously wrong.

Tam jumped from his seat and ran toward Nakash while simultaneously pulling out his United Hatzalah radio and calling for additional emergency responders. He immediately began CPR and used a United Hatzalah defibrillator in an effort to restart Nakash’s heart.

Within minutes, additional United Hatzalah volunteers arrived at the shul and joined Tam in the intensive resuscitation efforts.

B’chasdei Hashem, their efforts succeeded. Nakash’s heart began beating again, and, in a remarkable turn of events, he regained full consciousness and was able to speak with the medics who had just fought to save his life.

Nakash was subsequently transported to the hospital in stable condition.

B’siyata d’Shmaya, Tam’s immediate response — recognizing the collapse, beginning CPR without delay and quickly using the defibrillator — proved critical in saving Nakash’s life.

But the story did not end in the shul.

Last week, Tam was celebrating the wedding of his son when a special guest arrived to surprise him.

It was Roni.

Six weeks earlier, Nakash had been lying unconscious on the floor of the shul as Tam desperately worked to save him. Now, he walked into the wedding healthy and on his own two feet, coming specifically to meet and thank the man whose rapid response had given him another chance at life.

The reunion between the two men was deeply emotional.

For Tam, seeing Nakash standing before him served as a powerful reminder that behind every emergency call and every resuscitation effort is not merely another medical case, but a human being, a family and an entire life.

For Nakash, the wedding provided an opportunity to express his gratitude to the man who happened to be there at precisely the right moment — and who recognized what was happening, reacted without hesitation and fought to keep him alive.

The newly released surveillance footage, provided by the shul, captures those crucial moments as Nakash collapses, Tam spots him from across the room, rushes to his side and immediately begins the lifesaving actions that would ultimately help save his life.

{Matzav.com}

Israeli Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu issued a blunt warning Thursday following hours of turmoil at Ben Gurion Airport, declaring that Israel’s main international airport will remain operational and that workers who attempt to interfere with its functioning will face consequences.

“Ben Gurion Airport will remain open and continue operating as usual. Anyone who stands in the way will be sent home,” Netanyahu said.

His remarks followed widespread disruption at the airport, where check-in counters were shut down and serious delays developed in the processing of passengers and baggage.

Airport operations were halted at 2 p.m. By 3 p.m., incoming and outgoing flights began gradually resuming under a revised flight schedule as officials worked to restore normal operations.

Netanyahu’s warning came amid growing criticism on social media directed at Pinchas Idan, chairman of the Israel Airports Authority Workers’ Committee and a member of the Likud Central Committee. Critics blamed the labor action for the upheaval that affected thousands of travelers.

The crisis began when workers unexpectedly launched a work-to-rule action, with all four ground-service companies operating at Ben Gurion Airport stopping passenger-handling services. Among the most significant effects was the shutdown of check-in counters on what was already one of the airport’s busiest travel days of the year.

Ben Gurion is currently handling nearly 100,000 passengers each day aboard approximately 600 flights. The labor disruptions created extraordinary congestion throughout the terminals, with some arriving passengers waiting hours for their luggage.

Zohar Shnur, who arrived at Ben Gurion during the disruption, described an airport overwhelmed by stranded and exhausted travelers.

“There are thousands of people here, thousands of people around all the baggage carousels. Elderly people are sitting on the floor, on plastic sheets, and waiting. They’re talking here about waits of four hours for baggage on some flights.”

Shnur said multiple arriving flights were being assigned to individual baggage carousels even though passengers were still waiting for their suitcases to appear.

“Several flights are already listed on each carousel, but the bags still aren’t coming out. I fly a lot, and I have never seen anything like this,” she said, adding that both passengers and flight crews were receiving inadequate information about the unfolding situation.

Transportation Minister Miri Regev, who is currently on a private vacation in Morocco, directed Israel Airports Authority management to seek intervention from the Labor Court against the workers’ committee.

Regev denounced the action as a “bullying strike” and warned that those responsible would be held accountable.

“Whoever made the decision to take the citizens of Israel hostage will pay the price.”

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich similarly lashed out at organized labor over the airport disruptions, arguing that unions should not have the ability to bring critical national infrastructure to a standstill.

“It cannot be that forceful communist unions strand the citizens of Israel and take them hostage,” he said. “The days when a group of functionaries could paralyze an entire country are over. It is time to dismantle these organizations of anarchy.”

The Histadrut’s Transportation Workers Union pushed back against accusations that it had ordered employees to stop working, insisting that no such directive had been given.

“No instruction whatsoever was issued to stop work,” the union stated.

The union instead blamed the airport breakdown on longstanding staffing problems and inadequate preparations for the heavy summer travel period.

“The attempt to portray the chaos at Ben Gurion Airport as the result of a ‘surprise strike’ is contrary to the truth and diverts attention from the real failure: a severe and ongoing manpower shortage and inadequate preparation for the summer rush,” it added.

The Israel Airports Authority disputed that account, saying the operational disruptions had been carried out “at the instruction of the workers’ committee.”

{Matzav.com}

One of the most celebrated Jewish college basketball players in recent memory is taking his game to Eretz Yisroel.

Zevi Samet, the record-breaking Yeshiva University basketball star whose explosive scoring performances made him the face of the Maccabees, is heading to Israel to join Hapoel Jerusalem, marking a major new chapter in the 22-year-old’s remarkable basketball career.

Samet, a Monsey native and frum athlete who finished his YU career as the program’s all-time leading scorer, has already begun taking part in preseason training with Hapoel Jerusalem as he works to make the transition from American college basketball to the professional ranks.

The move places Samet with one of Israel’s most prominent basketball organizations and gives the standout shooting guard an opportunity to prove that the spectacular numbers he produced at Yeshiva University can translate to the next level.

For Samet, Israel is hardly unfamiliar territory. Before beginning his college career, he spent his gap year learning at Yeshivat Reishit in Eretz Yisroel. Now, several years later, he is returning under dramatically different circumstances — this time as a basketball player coming off one of the most accomplished careers in YU history.

Born in 2003 to David and Jenny Samet, Zevi grew up in Monsey as one of five siblings in a frum family. He attended Torah Academy of Bergen County before spending his year in Israel. He is also a nephew of Rav Zvi Sobolofsky, a rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University.

Samet enrolled at Yeshiva University in 2022 and quickly developed into one of the most dangerous offensive players in Division III basketball.

By January 2026, he had accomplished something no other YU men’s basketball player had done: Samet became the Maccabees’ all-time leading scorer, cementing his place in the university’s record books.

His senior season only added to his growing list of accomplishments. Samet repeatedly earned Skyline Conference Player of the Week honors and helped propel Yeshiva through a memorable postseason run that reached the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Division III Men’s Basketball Tournament.

And when his YU career finally came to an end, Samet went out firing.

Facing Emory in the Sweet 16, Samet poured in a staggering 43 points in his final appearance in a Maccabees uniform, putting an exclamation point on a college career defined by prolific scoring and clutch performances.

His achievements earned recognition far beyond Yeshiva University and the Skyline Conference. In March, the National Association of Basketball Coaches selected Samet to its Division III All-America First Team, placing him among the elite players in the country.

A month later, Samet was named a finalist for the prestigious Bevo Francis Award, which recognizes the top small-college basketball player in the United States.

Now comes the next challenge.

Samet had previously visited and worked out with Hapoel Jerusalem, and he has begun participating in the club’s preseason training sessions as he seeks to establish himself in Israeli professional basketball.

The move carries particular significance for a player whose basketball career has unfolded while remaining openly connected to his frum identity. From Monsey to TABC, from a year of learning in Eretz Yisroel to Yeshiva University, Samet has emerged as a rare figure in American Jewish athletics — a player who became a nationally recognized college basketball star while representing the Orthodox Jewish community.

His next stop brings that journey full circle.

After rewriting the Yeshiva University record books and ending his college career with 43 points on one of the biggest stages of his life, Zevi Samet is headed back to Eretz Yisroel — this time with an opportunity to begin making his mark in the professional game.

{Matzav.com}

Federal authorities have arrested a 35-year-old woman accused of supporting ISIS and plotting to bomb the New York State Capitol in Albany, with investigators alleging that she had already obtained materials, conducted surveillance of the building and prepared to carry out the attack.

Jessica Bowie allegedly pledged allegiance to ISIS and began developing plans for an attack on the Capitol in July, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Investigators allege that Bowie purchased materials that could be used to construct a bomb from a hardware store on Aug. 5. Over the following two weeks, she allegedly continued working on the planned attack while communicating and meeting with individuals who were secretly serving as FBI informants.

Bowie, who reportedly converted to Islam five years ago, is also accused of repeatedly conducting surveillance of the Capitol complex in preparation for the attack.

According to the complaint, she spent weeks monitoring the building and photographing it from several locations, including an “observation hall nearby.”

The alleged plot reached its final stages Wednesday, when FBI informants met with Bowie and provided her with an inert explosive device and an inoperable handgun, authorities said. She was also allegedly given instructions explaining how the supposed bomb could be detonated.

Because the explosive device and firearm were inert, neither could be used to carry out the alleged attack.

Federal agents arrested Bowie shortly afterward, bringing the purported plot to an end before anyone was harmed.

During a subsequent interview with FBI agents, Bowie appeared to partially acknowledge the seriousness of what she had done and the potential consequences she faced, according to the complaint.

“There’s no helping me, you guys know enough, there’s no helping me, I’m…going to prison for the rest of my life,” she allegedly said.

Bowie also indicated that she had researched the possible federal penalties before her arrest.

“Material support is up to 20 years in prison, I already Googled it before, I know I’m going to jail.”

{Matzav.com}

The news organizations receiving the most prominent exposure on Apple News and Google News have collectively endorsed Democratic presidential candidates 31 times since 1988 without backing a Republican even once, according to a new study raising fresh allegations of political bias in the way major technology platforms distribute news.

The analysis was conducted by the Media Research Center, a conservative media watchdog that has repeatedly scrutinized Big Tech news platforms. MRC found that newspapers and magazines appearing most frequently in prominent positions on Apple News and Google News have consistently favored Democratic presidential nominees in their editorial endorsements over the past 10 presidential elections.

On Apple News, the five outlets appearing most often were the New York Times, Washington Post, Guardian, Los Angeles Times and USA Today. Together, those publications endorsed Democratic presidential candidates 28 times dating back to 1988.

The New York Times editorial board accounted for 10 of those endorsements, supporting the Democratic nominee in every presidential election beginning with Michael Dukakis in 1988. The Washington Post endorsed Democrats eight times, while the Guardian did so five times, the Los Angeles Times four times and USA Today once.

A similar pattern emerged on Google News. Its five most frequently featured publications were the New York Times, Guardian, Washington Post, USA Today and the Atlantic. Combined, those organizations issued 27 Democratic presidential endorsements. The Atlantic accounted for three of them beginning in 2016.

When MRC combined the endorsement histories of the leading publications across Apple News and Google News without double-counting overlapping outlets, researchers arrived at a 31-0 record favoring Democratic presidential nominees.

“Big Tech executives insist their news platforms serve as objective public squares, but our findings lay bare the massive corporate tilt driving these algorithms,” MRC President David Bozell said in a statement. “Apple and Google systematically funnel tens of millions of users into media sources that have backed Democrats for president 31 times without a single Republican endorsement in 40 years.

“Silicon Valley has engineered these news feeds to quietly tilt public debate, insulating voters from conservative reporting while treating partisan, left-wing outlets as the nation’s default news authority.”

Microsoft’s MSN showed a somewhat less lopsided record, according to the study, although Democratic endorsements still overwhelmingly dominated among its most frequently featured publications.

MSN’s five leading outlets — the Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone and USA Today — collectively endorsed Democratic presidential candidates 25 times since 1988, compared with two endorsements for Republican nominees.

Both Republican endorsements came from the San Francisco Chronicle, which supported George H.W. Bush in his presidential campaigns in 1988 and 1992.

Google declined to provide a new response to the findings. The company has previously said it “refutes the methodology” used in MRC studies.

Apple and Microsoft representatives did not respond to requests for comment on the latest analysis.

MRC researchers compiled their findings by monitoring the 20 leading stories displayed on Google News at a designated time each morning between Nov. 1, 2025, and Jan. 12, 2026. Apple News was examined over a substantially longer period, with researchers recording its top 20 stories from Nov. 3, 2025, through July 31, 2026. MSN’s leading stories were tracked between Jan. 13 and July 31, 2026.

Researchers then determined which publications appeared most frequently in prominent positions on the three platforms and examined the presidential endorsement histories of outlets whose editorial boards had made such endorsements. Publications that did not endorse presidential candidates were left out of that portion of the analysis.

Using publicly available information, MRC compiled the endorsement records of the identified news organizations across all 10 presidential elections held between 1988 and 2024.

The findings come as major news aggregators face growing scrutiny in Washington over the enormous influence they wield in determining which articles millions of smartphone and computer users encounter.

That scrutiny has intensified since President Trump returned to office, with conservatives arguing that the algorithms and editorial systems used by technology companies can significantly influence which political viewpoints receive the greatest visibility.

In February, Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson sent Apple CEO Tim Cook a warning letter following an earlier MRC report alleging that Apple News disproportionately promoted left-leaning publications.

That report prompted concerns about whether political favoritism within a major news aggregation platform could potentially raise consumer-protection issues.

Additional research released in April produced similar concerns. AllSides, a nonpartisan organization that rates news organizations according to their political leanings, examined Google News, Apple News and other major aggregators and concluded that only a small share of their featured articles came from right-leaning publications such as The Post and Fox News.

{Matzav.com}