The Arab American News
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California is a killing field: 19 dead in 3 mass shootings within 44 hours
Forty-four hours in America. Three mass shootings. Nineteen lives wiped out. All in California. The victims in suburban Monterey Park included people between the ages of 57 and 76, ringing in the Lunar New Year Saturday night, Jan. 21, at a dance studio in the heart of the city’s Asian American community. Then it happened...
Chokr faces up to 10 years in prison for lying on forms to buy three guns, remains in custody
January 27th, 20230 On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Hassan Yehia Chokr on federal charges in connection with an anti-Semitic attack last month at a synagogue in Oakland County as new details emerged in court about his activity at a gun shop the day of the incident. Chokr, 35, who is accused of intimidating children and parents at Temple Beth El in...
Gov. Whitmer pushes her agenda at the State of the State address, as Democrats flex consolidated power in Lansing
January 27th, 20230 LANSING – Gov. Whitmer released a list of her administration priorities Wednesday night — an agenda that has a greater chance of becoming policy with Democrats controlling all levels of political power in the state for the first time in 40 years. “We spoke with a clear voice in November,” Whitmer said in her annual State of the...
U.S. concerned over Israeli raid against Palestinian camp ahead of Blinken visit
January 27th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington is concerned the security situation between the Israelis and Palestinians could worsen ahead of a visit to the Middle East by Secretary of State Antony Blinken starting on Sunday, a U.S. official said, after a deadly raid by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank on Thursday. The top U.S. diplomat...
New “Middle Eastern or North African” checkbox proposed for U.S. Census forms in 2030
January 27th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration is proposing major changes to forms for the 2030 Census and federal government surveys that would transform how Latinos and people of Middle Eastern or North African descent are counted in statistics across the United States. A new checkbox for "Middle Eastern or North African" and a...
WXYZ anchor Dave LewAllen announces retirement after 35 years at the station
January 27th, 20230 SOUTHFIELD – Thirty-five years to the day since he walked in the door at Broadcast House, Dave LewAllen announced he will retire from 7 Action News in April. LewAllen, a pillar of Detroit television news, first joined the station as a sports reporter in 1988. After nearly 15 years covering Detroit’s professional and college teams,...
Saudi foreign minister sees progress to end Yemen conflict
January 22nd, 20230 On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said progress was being made towards ending the Yemen conflict, in which Riyadh leads a military coalition, but more work was needed, including reinstating a truce and transitioning to a permanent ceasefire. A U.N.-brokered truce deal first agreed to last April, and which expired in...
Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter names Madiha Tariq as deputy executive to oversee health, housing and criminal justice
January 21st, 20230 PONTIAC — Oakland County Executive Dave Coulter announced that he is appointing Madiha Tariq as a deputy county executive. In that role, she will oversee the Health and Human Services and Public Services departments, two of the biggest departments in Oakland County, with more than 1,000 employees. Tariq will be the first Muslim...
Netanyahu says he and White House’s Sullivan discussed prospect of relationship with Saudi Arabia
January 20th, 20230 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, hosting his first senior member of President Biden's administration on Thursday, said they had discussed prospects for a diplomatic breakthrough between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Visiting White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also heard from the Palestinians that their hopes of...
Arab normalizers face dilemma as Israel goes to the far right
January 16th, 20230 Israel's sharp tilt to what is likely to be the most hard right government in its history puts its new Arab allies in the awkward position of having to deal with ultra-nationalists while trying to do more than just pay lip service to the Palestinian cause. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet, sworn in two weeks ago, includes...
World Cup 2022 – a promise fulfilled?
January 15th, 20230 By Duggan Flanakin The pyrotechnics have finally settled in Doha on what was a truly sensational and hard fought 2022 World Cup, the stadiums no longer emanating the joyous cheers from audiences who for weeks remained at the edges of their seats, taking in upset after upset — and in the place of pyrotechnics, today Qatar revels in...
When battling multiple infections, infants and toddlers at higher risk of severe outcomes, study suggests
January 15th, 20230 SOUTHFIELD – With COVID, flu and RSV creating what many are calling a tripledemic, new research is shedding light on the effect the different COVID-19 variants have had on the youngest of patients throughout the pandemic and the role co-infections have played on pediatric outcomes. Results of the 18-month study, published in Lancet...
Dearborn Board of Education reorganizes, elects Jim Thorpe president
January 15th, 20230 DEARBORN – The Dearborn Board of Education began the calendar year 2023 with an organizational meeting to elect new officers. During the meeting on January 10, the board members elected Trustees Jim Thorpe as president, Hussein Berry as vice president, Irene Watts as secretary and Pat D’Ambrosio as treasurer. Superintendent Dr....
Hamtramck City Council maintains the practice of animal sacrifice for religious purposes in the city
January 15th, 20232 HAMTRAMCK – After months of debate, the City Council didn't change the rules on practice of animal sacrifice, for religious purposes, in the city. The decision ultimately came down to a more than 30-year-old U.S. Supreme Court ruling that says cities cannot infringe on religious freedom under the First Amendment. The act of...
Detroit Metro Airport ranks No. 2 for on-time departures in 2022
January 15th, 20230 Air travelers faced delays and cancellations during the holidays, one of the busiest times of the year, as winter weather set in. Still, according to a recent ranking of percentage of on-time departures by an aviation analytics firm, Michigan's biggest airport ranked No. 2 nationally, and No. 4 globally. Of Detroit Metro's nearly......
Study: Vitamin D is the most searched supplement by Michiganders
January 15th, 20230 Michiganders are overwhelmingly deficient in vitamin D, according to a comprehensive study carried out by the drug and medication information site, DrugGenius.com. They analyzed Google search trends data over 2022 to identify which supplements people have searched for the most over the year, which revealed some interesting...
Former Lebanese Parliament Speaker Hussein al-Husseini, architect of Tiaf Peace Accord, dies at 86
January 14th, 20230 Lebanese Shi'a politician Hussein al-Husseini, a former parliament speaker who was an architect of the peace agreement ending the 1975-90 civil war, died on Wednesday aged 86. Husseini, speaker from 1984 to 1992, was central in asserting a larger role for a Shi'a community that was largely downtrodden at the time, including by helping......
U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison talks commitment to civil rights, close relationship with Arab American community
January 14th, 20230 DETROIT — Dawn Ison, nominated by President Biden to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, says she knows the value of community engagement. The Detroit native is the first African American woman to serve in the position. Her office currently employs approximately 221 persons in three locations — Detroit,...
These are the world’s most powerful passports, and the least, to hold in 2023
January 14th, 20230 Henley & Partners have announced the world’s most (and least) powerful passports for 2023. After analyzing exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), they developed the index based on the number of destinations passport holders can access without a prior visa. Global travel is now at around...
For a second time, Judge Sam Salamey appointed chief judge of the 19th District Court
January 8th, 20230 DEARBORN – The Michigan Supreme Court has appointed Judge Sam Salamey as chief judge of the 19th District Court, succeeding Judge Gene Hunt, who presided over the court for three terms beginning in 2018. Salamey holds the position of chief judge of the 19th District Court in Dearborn for the second time since his election as a judge...
Gov. Whitmer appoints attorney Nabih Ayad to Detroit Wayne Port Authority Board
January 7th, 20230 LANSING – On December 22, Gov. Whitmer appointed attorney and civil right advocates Nabih Ayad to the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority Board. Ayad, of New Boston, is an attorney and has been in private practice at Ayad Law for 22 years. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Wayne State University and his Juris......
Sen. Debbie Stabenow announced she won’t seek re-election in 2024, opening up the seat in key swing state
January 6th, 20230 U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow will not seek reelection in 2024, the longtime Michigan Democrat said Thursday, opening up a Senate seat in a key swing state. "Inspired by a new generation of leaders, I have decided to pass the torch in the U.S. Senate," she said in a statement on Jan. 5. "I am announcing today that I will...
Resilient Neighborhoods: A resident-led group has drastically cut vacancies on Detroit’s West Side
January 6th, 20230 By David Sands The five communities that make up Detroit's Grandmont Rosedale district found themselves confronting — and ultimately overcoming — a serious crisis during the late 2000s. Known for its historic homes and close-knit community, Grandmont Rosedale has a reputation for being a highly desirable place to live. But at......
Detroit man charged with shooting at undercover Dearborn police officer
January 6th, 20230 DETROIT – Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has charged Eshaun Phillip Blanding, 23, of Detroit, in connection with the carjacking of a Dearborn man’s car. On January 2, Dearborn undercover police officers were investigating a car that was stolen out of Dearborn. When the officers located the stolen car, it is alleged that...
Judge Sam Salamey appointed chief judge of the 19th District Court
December 29th, 20220 DEARBORN – The Michigan Supreme Court has appointed Judge Sam Salamey as chief judge of the 19th District Court, the second largest district court in Wayne County. The appointment is effective Jan. 1. Chief judges are responsible for caseload management, delegation of judicial workload and development of the court’s vision and......
