The Arab American News
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Abbas Alawieh announces bid for Michigan’s Second Senate District
December 12th, 20250 DEARBORN — Arab American political activist Abbas Alawieh announced his candidacy for the Michigan State Senate, running as a Democrat in District 2, which includes Dearborn, Dearborn Heights and parts of Allen Park and Detroit. The seat is currently held by Democratic State Senator Sylvia Santana. Michigan’s State Senate elections...
Hamtramck Clerk Rana Faraj sues city officials, alleging retaliation and election misconduct
December 12th, 20250 HAMTRAMCK — In the latest lawsuit brought against the city, suspended City Clerk Rana Faraj has accused city officials of retaliation, defamation, voter intimidation and violating Michigan’s Whistleblower Protection Act — one month after she was placed on paid administrative leave over alleged “interference” in the November...
Dearborn community celebrates Divine Child’s state championship win
December 12th, 20250 Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud joined the victory parade on Monday celebrating Divine Child High School’s state championship win in the 2025 Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division 4 football season. The Falcons of the private, Catholic Divine Child High School achieved their first state title since 1985 after...
Commissioner Sam Baydoun presents $25,000 to boost Dearborn Goodfellows mission: “No Child Without a Christmas”
December 12th, 20250 DEARBORN — In a gesture that reflects the strength of community unity and the spirit of compassion toward low-income families during the holiday season, Wayne County Commissioner Sam Baydoun succeeded last week in securing $25,000 to support the Dearborn Goodfellows, helping ensure that no child in the city goes without the joy and...
Judge declines to block Michigan’s new 24 percent marijuana wholesale tax as the MiCIA vows appeal
December 12th, 20250 LANSING — In early October, Governor Whitmer and state lawmakers turned to the state’s booming marijuana industry as a way to finalize the state budget and avert a government shutdown, approving a steep new wholesale tax on marijuana sales beginning in early 2026. The tax is intended to generate new revenue for repairing Michigan’s...
Hamtramck mayoral recount confirms Alharbi’s win as Mahmood presses legal fight over disputed ballots
December 5th, 20250 DETROIT – Although the hand recount in the Hamtramck mayoral race did not deliver the result hoped for by Bangladeshi American candidate Muhith Mahmood, the City Council member remains determined to continue his effort to overturn the outcome. Mahmood is urging the courts to count 37 absentee ballots that Wayne County election...
Trump calls Somali immigrants “garbage”: “I don’t want them in our country; they should go back where they came from”
December 5th, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – In highly hostile and openly racist remarks directed at immigrants of Somali origin, President Trump said during a lengthy administration meeting on Tuesday that he does not want any more Somali immigrants in the United States, claiming Somali Americans “do not contribute anything” and that “about 88 percent...
Michigan officials issue safety and environmental guidelines for snow and ice removal
December 5th, 20250 With the snowstorm that struck Michigan last week, local authorities across the state issued a series of guidelines to help residents avoid accidents caused by frost and ice buildup. Officials urged homeowners and business owners to follow local snow removal ordinances to avoid fines and protect pedestrians from slip-and-fall injuries,...
U of M deploys AI traffic signal system to ease congestion across Metro Detroit
December 5th, 20250 ANN ARBOR – Artificial intelligence may soon be managing traffic flow on major roads, as the University of Michigan prepares to deploy an innovative system that will adjust traffic lights at 40 key intersections across the Metro Detroit region in the coming months. The new system uses AI technology and GPS data to determine and...
Chaldean American leader Nabby Yono dies at 75
November 30th, 20250 SOUTHFIELD — The Chaldean Iraqi American community in Metro Detroit has lost one of its prominent figures with the passing of businessman and community leader Nabby Yono, who died on November 21, at the age of 75. According to the family’s obituary, Yono was, “a loving husband, father and proud grandfather. He was born in Basra,...
Pope Leo XIV to visit Turkey and Lebanon on first foreign trip, focused on peace and unity
November 30th, 20250 Pope Leo XIV’s first foreign trip, to Turkey and Lebanon, will be packed with opportunities to advance relations with two of the Catholic Church’s top priorities: Orthodox Christians and Muslims. It will also give history’s first American pope the spotlight to speak in broader terms about peace in the Middle East in languages...Three men convicted in deadly robbery of Hassan Salame outside Dearborn restaurant
DETROIT — On Tuesday, a Wayne County jury convicted three men on all charges in the September 2023 killing of Hassan Salame, a 29-year-old Arab American business owner from Dearborn, who was fatally shot during a robbery outside Xushi Ko restaurant in East Dearborn. The incident occurred late on Sept. 19, 2023, shortly after Salame...
Six votes trigger Hamtramck mayoral recount between Mahmood and Alharbi
November 27th, 20250 HAMTRAMCK – The Wayne County Board of Canvassers voted on Tuesday to authorize a recount in the Hamtramck mayoral election, at the request of City Councilman Muhith Mahmood, who lost by just six votes. The recount is scheduled for Tuesday, December 2, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Wayne County Clerk’s Office. Five teams of two people...
Lebanese Consulate in Detroit invites community to celebrate Independence Day
November 22nd, 20250 DEARBORN – In cooperation with Lebanese community organizations across Michigan, the Consulate General of Lebanon in Detroit will host an official celebration marking the 82nd anniversary of Lebanon’s Independence Day on Tuesday, November 25, at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn. Community event returns after years of...
Poll: Trump’s approval rating falls to lowest of his term over prices and the Epstein files
November 22nd, 20250 President Trump's approval rating has fallen to its lowest in his second term, largely due to discontent with the economy and his ties to notorious pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, which lasted four days and ended on Monday, saw Trump's approval rating fall to 38 percent. On Tuesday, the......
Osama Siblani: Lebanese Americans are rising in U.S. politics, Lebanon must recognize its power
November 22nd, 20251 In an extensive political appearance on Lebanon’s Al Jadeed TV channel, as part of the program Al-Hadath, journalist and anchor Samar Abu Khalil hosted Osama Siblani, publisher of The Arab American News and president of the Arab American Political Action Committee (AAPAC), in an episode that aired Sunday, November 16. The discussion...
Netanyahu manipulates Gaza ceasefire, escalates in Lebanon and roams in Syria
November 22nd, 20250 Over the past week, significant developments unfolded on multiple fronts across the Middle East. As Tel Aviv escalated its attacks on Lebanon amid growing threats of launching a full-scale war in response to Hezbollah’s refusal to lay down its arms, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu toured the occupied Syrian south, accompanied......
Far-right agitators target Dearborn, residents and leaders push back against Islamophobia
November 22nd, 20252 On Tuesday, Dearborn witnessed limited scuffles between anti-Muslim demonstrators and some local residents during a march called for by Republican gubernatorial candidate Anthony Hudson, even after he walked back his earlier negative remarks about the city, which he had accused of enforcing Islamic Sharia law, citing stereotypical images...
U of M student government passes Gaza Divestment Resolution despite fierce opposition
November 20th, 20250 ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan’s Central Student Government (CSG) narrowly passed a major divestment resolution Tuesday evening, calling on the Board of Regents to investigate and end financial investments linked to Israeli human rights abuses, including those tied to the ongoing military campaign in Gaza. The measure, known...
Palestinian deaths in Israeli custody have surged. A prison guard describes rampant abuse
November 20th, 20250 The number of Palestinians dying in Israeli custody surged to nearly 100 people since the start of the war on Gaza, according to a report published Monday by a human rights group that says systematic violence and denial of medical care at prisons and detention centers contributed to many of the deaths it examined. The picture that...
Protest outside U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens’ office in Farmington Hills over millions received from AIPAC
November 14th, 20250 FARMINGTON HILLS — Detroit’s branch of CODEPINK, the national anti-war feminist organization, held a protest on Monday outside the Farmington Hills district office of U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, a Michigan Democrat, denouncing her decision to place “foreign interests above the interests of her constituents.” The protest centered on......
Hamtramck election turmoil deepens after 37 uncounted ballots found, residency challenge filed against mayoral candidate
November 14th, 20250 HAMTRAMCK — Hours after polls closed in Hamtramck’s November 4 municipal election, internal conflict erupted as the city found itself facing a razor-thin mayoral race, administrative upheaval and allegations of election irregularities. Adam Alharbi, who leads the preliminary tally in the mayoral contest, filed a pre-emptive lawsuit...
Michigan Medical delegation brings relief to dozens of Lebanese patients with joint replacement surgeries
November 14th, 20250 BAALBEK, NABATIEH – A two-week humanitarian medical mission led by Lebanese American physicians from Michigan delivered life-changing care to dozens of patients in Baalbek and Nabatieh, performing 50 free orthopedic surgeries and providing consultations to scores of others. The mission logistics, sponsored by the Arab American......
Illinois man arrested for threatening to bomb a Dearborn Heights mosque
November 13th, 20250 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – The Dearborn Heights Police Department has announced the arrest of an Illinois resident accused of threatening a local mosque in late September. Police increased security around the Islamic Institute of America on the evening of September 29, after receiving a report about a bomb threat targeting the mosque, located...
Mayor Mo Baydoun unveils transformation plan to modernize Dearborn Heights government
November 13th, 20250 DEARBORN HEIGHTS – Less than a week after his sweeping election victory, Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun announced the launch of a “new era” in the city’s history by improving the efficiency of local government through the filling of dozens of vacant jobs and positions, and by forming a transition team and an advisory group......
