The Arab American News
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Major reconstruction, expansion of I-75 to begin in July
Reconstruction of I-75 will begin this summer, with added lanes and smoother roads starting through Bloomfield Township, Auburn Hills and Troy.The project is part of an eight-phase endeavor to rebuild approximately 18 miles of the freeway between South Boulevard and 8 Mile Road in Oakland County, according to a Michigan Department of...Man pleads not guilty for planned mass shooting in Milwaukee
Samy Mohamed HamzehMILWAUKEE - A Milwaukee man who authorities say planned to kill dozens of people in a mass shooting at a local Masonic temple pleaded not guilty to weapons charges in federal court on Tuesday. Samy Mohamed Hamzeh, 23, appeared in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, where he is...Justice Dept. sues Ferguson, Missouri, to force police reforms
FERGUSON, MO./WASHINGTON - The U.S. Justice Department sued Ferguson, Missouri, on Wednesday to force the city to change its police department and court system after the federal government found both to be biased against minorities.The St. Louis suburb, a symbol of problems with policing and race in the United States, earlier...Israel returns 134 goats to south Lebanon in ‘bad condition’
Lebanese farmers demonstrate in front of UNIFIL office in Kfar Shuba village over Israeli abduction of goats, Feb. 11. Photo: The Daily StarBEIRUT — Israeli forces returned 134 goats to Lebanese farmers. The animals were in "bad condition," and Israeli authorities are still holding another 91, the state-run National News Agency...
A year after Chapel Hill tragedy, community still traumatized
February 12th, 20160 A makeshift memorial for Deah the victims in the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry, Feb. 11, 2015. Photo: ReutersDEARBORN — Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha were model citizens — students, activists, volunteers. An evil neighbor invaded their home and shot all three of them in the head. Their friends...The cases of Abu-Rayyan and Hamdan: Words matter
This should be a reminder to all Arab and Muslim Americans that what each member of the community does or says can affect and reflect on all of us.Whether or not Khalil Abu-Rayyan meant what he said when he told an FBI informant he wanted to "shoot up" a church in Detroit, the comments, which expressed criminal intentions, are...State Sen. Smith may step down, serve 10 months in plea deal
Virgil SmithDETROIT — State Sen. Virgil Smith (D-Detroit) may resign his post and go to jail for 10 months as a part of a guilty plea in connection to shooting at his ex-wife last year. In May of 2015, Smith, 35, was charged with domestic violence assault and felony firearm after firing his gun at his ex-wife's car when she was...Ellen Degeneres donates $500,000 to Detroit Public Schools
DETROIT – Daytime talk show host Ellen Degeneres surprised Detroit Public Schools with a donation of $500,000 with the help of Lowes and pop superstar Justin Bieber.Degeneres and Bieber presented Spain Elementary-Middle School with the check via a live video feed during her show. The revelations of dangerous conditions at...
Russia: Syria conflict could unleash World War III
February 11th, 20160 A destroyed neighborhood in AleppoMOSCOW — Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said all powers must sit at the negotiating table to forge an end to the war in Syria "instead of unleashing a new world war.""The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war?" Medvedev told Germany's Handelsblatt...Property values rise in Dearborn
Dearborn homes near Warren AvenueDEARBORN — The value of residential property rose 6.7 percent in Dearborn from 2015 to 2016 as the city completed a detailed, multi-year reassessment of properties. However, residents will see only a negligible increase in property taxes due to the reassessment."The 6.7 percent increase in assessed...Mohammed Assaf to perform at charity concert in Dearborn
Mohammed AssafDEARBORN — Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf will perform in a charity concert at Fordson High School on Friday, March 4.The profit from the event will go to Gaza hospitals, according to Palestinian American activist Daad Katato. Assaf rose to popularity after wining TV talent show Arab Idol in 2013. He garnered...
In Yemen war, hospitals bombed to rubble, starvation spreads
February 10th, 20160 A man reacts at the site of a Saudi-led air strike in Yemen's capital Sanaa, Feb. 10SANAA — Elderly Hamama Yousif was rushed to the main hospital in one of Yemen's largest cities after an artillery round lashed her chest with shrapnel, only to find that the doctors there had run out of the oxygen tanks needed to save her life.In a...Trump, Sanders win in New Hampshire: networks
NEW HAMPSHERE - Billionaire businessman Donald Trump won New Hampshire's Republican presidential nominating contest on Tuesday, while U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont won the Democratic primary over Hillary Clinton, U.S. television networks said after early results. Trump's win solidifies his front-runner status in the...U.S. judge deports Qatari military officer accused of enslaving servants
Hassan al-Homoud and his wifeSAN ANTONIO — A U.S. judge ordered on Tuesday the immediate deportation of a Qatari military officer and his wife after they were accused of holding two female servants in slave-like conditions in their upscale San Antonio home.Hassan al-Homoud, 46, who received military training at San Antonio's Camp...U.S. general: ISIS unlikely to be pushed out of Mosul this year
ISIS militants in MosulWASHINGTON — An Iraqi-led operation to retake the ISIS stronghold of Mosul is unlikely to take place this year, a top U.S. intelligence official told Congress on Tuesday.The comments by Marine Corps Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart were more pessimistic than some recent predictions by U.S. and Iraqi officials......
U.S. intelligence chief warns of ‘homegrown’ security threat
In his annual assessment of threats to the United States, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper warned that fast-moving cyber and technological advances "could lead to widespread vulnerabilities in civilian infrastructures and U.S. government systems."Terrorism remains a top concern in President Barack Obama's last year in...
Dearborn Heights man allegedly supported ISIS, planned to attack a church
February 6th, 20160 Khalil Abu-RayyanDETROIT — A Dearborn Heights man told an undercover FBI agent he planned to attack a church in Detroit and made several violent threats online on behalf of ISIS, according to legal documents.Khalil Abu-Rayyan, 21, was arrested by Detroit Police last October for having marijuana and carrying a gun in his car without a......
Muslim Americans weigh in on Obama’s mosque visit
February 5th, 20160 Obama delivers remarks at the Islamic Society of Baltimore mosque in Catonsville, Maryland Feb. 3DEARBORN — President Obama finally visited an American mosque as president. U.S. Muslim activists praised the president for the speech he delivered at the Islamic Society of Baltimore, but many criticized him for taking seven years before...Drug addiction: Denial prevents the cure
This community has a problem. And the first step toward solving it is to acknowledge it. Prescription drug addiction is at an alarming level. But as it is with many taboo subjects in this community, the stigma is preventing Arab Americans from facing the dangerous reality. Addiction is a disease. There is no shame in seeking...Lebanese army kills 6, arrests 16 ISIS members
BEIRUT — The Lebanese army said its troops killed six extremists and arrested 16 others near the Syrian border on Wednesday, in its largest operation against ISIS. The soldiers launched the raid, in which local ISIS chief Anas Zaarour was killed, at dawn in the Arsal region of eastern Lebanon, a military spokesman said. A "most...Law enforcement officials tighten security at Super bowl following Paris, San Bernardino
SAN FRANSICO — Law enforcement officials preparing for Super Bowl 50 have worked with their French counterparts to learn from last year's deadly attacks in Paris, as they plan safety for Sunday's big game, the Secretary of Homeland Security said on Wednesday. Secretary Jeh Johnson said he and his team have been "constantly" in......
Clinton, Sanders take new combative tone ahead of New Hampshire primary
February 5th, 20160 NEW HAMPSHIRE — Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders take an increasingly combative tone into their first one-on-one debate on Thursday, cranking up a fight over who is best suited to lead the party's liberal agenda on the economy and healthcare. Five days before New Hampshire voters render a...Hunger striking Palestinians: When starvation is a weapon
Protesters demonstrating in support of Palestinian prisoners, at the al-Aroub Palestinian refugee camp By Friday, Jan. 29, Palestinian journalist Mohammed al-Qeq had spent 66 days on hunger strike in Israeli jails. Just before he fell into his third coma, a day earlier, he sent a public message through his lawyers, the gist of which......
Shooting near Masonic Temple disrupts homeless feeding
February 5th, 20160 Volunteers help pass out food for Detroit's homeless - Photo by Nahid AyoubDETROIT — A shootout broke out near the Masonic Temple Theater on Sunday, Jan. 24 while local activists and State Rep. Julie Plawecki were volunteering to feed the homeless. At around 2:30 p.m., volunteers were mingling with homeless friends after passing out...
Fighting over the tab: Is Arab generosity at odds with mainstream culture?
February 5th, 20160 Three local males fight over the check at Mango's Cafe in Dearborn - The Arab American NewsDEARBORN — The waitress brings the check to a table full of Arabs at the La Pita restaurant and chaos erupts. "Someone will automatically snatch the bill out of my hand or they'll snatch it out of each others hands," said Jessica......