The Arab American News
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State Senate bill to double fuel tax for road funding
LANSING — Earlier this month a bill passed in the state senate that would roughly double Michigan's fuel tax to raise around $1 billion to repair roads. According to retailers, the bill could make Michigan the state with the highest gas prices in the country. Many argue a different approach is needed to raise money to fix...Steps to prepare for severe winter
LANSING — With the arrival of winter weather, Michigan residents are encouraged to make emergency preparedness a priority.Severe winter weather poses health and safety concerns with extremely cold temperatures, freezing pipes, potential propane shortages and power outages. The Michigan State Police Emergency Management and Homeland...FBI tracking 150 Americans who traveled to Syria, perhaps to fight
BOSTON — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is tracking close to 150 Americans it believes traveled to Syria in recent months, potentially to join armed groups, FBI Director James Comey said on Tuesday.He said Americans fighting with foreign jihadist groups are a top concern for the FBI because of the possibility they could return...Marine who vanished twice to face trial on desertion charge
WASHINGTON — A U.S. Marine accused of deserting the military after disappearing in Iraq and then again failing to report for duty in North Carolina nearly 10 years ago will face a court martial in December, the Marine Corps said on Wednesday.Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun, an Arabic interpreter, was listed as a deserter for almost a...
Obama announces action on sweeping immigration reform
November 21st, 20140 WASHINGTON — President Obama imposed the most sweeping immigration reform in a generation on Thursday, easing the threat of deportation for about 4.7 million undocumented immigrants and setting up a clash with Republicans.In a White House speech, Obama rejected Republican critics who say his decision to bypass Congress and take...Letters against the Islamic Center lack credibility
Last month, anonymous letters attacking the leadership of the Islamic Center of America were mailed to Dearborn households. The letters contain unsubstantiated accusations of corruption, adultery and lack of religiosity against the spiritual leader of the ICA, Imam Hassan Qazwini, and the chairperson of its board, Ron Amen. Upon...Talk of a third intifada: Only Palestinians can decide
When a journalist tries to do a historian’s job, the outcome can be quite interesting. Using history as a side note in a brief news report or political analysis often does more harm than good. Now imagine if that journalist was not dependable to begin with, even more than it being “interesting”, the outcome runs the risk of...Closing of Egypt’s Rafah crossing leaves thousands of Gazans stranded
CAIRO — Egypt's decision to shut its border with the Gaza Strip has stranded thousands of Palestinians on the Egyptian side of the border, while around a thousand people in Gaza are desperate to get out for medical treatment in Egypt, officials in Gaza say.Egypt closed Rafah, the only crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Trip,...Aoun proposes face off with Geagea for president
BEIRUT — Member of Parliament Michel Aoun said Wednesday he was ready to face off with his Christian rival, Lebanese Forces chief Samir Geagea, in a presidential vote in Parliament if there was no third candidate, an unexpected stance that was quickly rebuffed by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt.Jumblatt said he would not withdraw his...Egypt arrests Brotherhood leader as crackdown intensifies
Ali Bishr.CAIRO — Egyptian police on Thursday detained Mohamed Ali Bishr, one of the few Muslim Brotherhood leaders to escape jail after last year's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, extending a sweeping crackdown on political dissent.Bishr, a veteran politician who served as a cabinet minister under Morsi, was accused of...“Islamic State” beheads American aid worker
Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig is pictured collecting bread for a delivery to refugee populations in this undated handout photo.DAMASCUS — "Islamic State" militants have beheaded another American hostage, Peter Kassig, issuing a video claiming the killing on Sunday and warning the United States they would kill other U.S. citizens "on...Jerusalem tense amid house demolitions
JERUSALEM — Israeli security forces fired tear gas at protesters in occupied East Jerusalem as tensions remain high over home demolitions ordered by the Israeli prime minister after a deadly attack by two Palestinians on a synagogue earlier this week.Palestinian youths on Friday threw stones at trucks and cars waiting to cross a...U.S. Attorney charges two with identity theft of more than 1,400 people
DETROIT — Two individuals were charged with running an identity theft and false income tax return scheme on Tuesday. Barbara McQuade, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, was joined in the announcement by Jeffrey Frost, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Detroit Field Office; Jarod Koopman,...Detroit Public Schools expands bilingual offerings to students
DETROIT — To meet the needs of its diverse body of students and families, The Detroit Public Schools System is expanding its bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) offerings to students and parents and has announced a new opportunity for teachers to seek tuition reimbursement if they obtain a Bilingual Endorsement....
‘Project Dignity’ and HYPE join hands to feed Detroit’s homeless
November 21st, 20140 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — On Wednesday, Nov. 26, Project Dignity and HYPE Athletics Community will host its annual Thanksgiving Day Feed Detroit Campaign, presented by Fast Splash Car Wash, which plans to feed 1,000 Metro Detroit families. The event will be hosted from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the NSO (Neighborhood Services Organization)......
Attorney Nabih Ayad appointed to Wayne County Airport Authority Board
November 21st, 20140 Nabih AyadDETROIT — Nabih Ayad, an attorney and chairman of the Arab American Civil Rights League, has been appointed to serve on the Wayne County Airport Authority Board of Directors.Ayad was appointed to a six-year term by Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano. The Wayne County Airport Authority consists of seven independent...
Islamic House of Wisdom honors four community leaders at fundraiser
November 21st, 20140 Dignitaries pose for a group photo at IHW in Dearborn Heights.DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Hundreds of guests gathered at the Islamic House of Wisdom (IHW) in Dearborn Heights on Sunday, November 16 for a fundraising dinner that honored four community dignitaries. Those in attendance included Dearborn Heights Mayor Daniel Paletko, Wayne......
Immigrant advocates applaud Macomb Community College Tuition Equality vote
MACOMB COUNTY — Immigrants’ rights activists praised the vote to approve Tuition Equality by the Macomb Community College board of trustees. The new policy moves away from asking about immigration status and citizenship to a policy that uses address verification to designate a student as in-district or out-of-district. Students must...
$100 million fund to assist minority businesses in Detroit
November 21st, 20140 DETROIT — A $100 million fund that will help provide capital for minority owned businesses in Detroit and throughout southeast Michigan was recently announced. The Minority Business Access Fund will provide loans from $100,000 to $20 million. The fund is supported by four private equity and investment firms. Detroit Mayor Mike...$1,000 prize for best success story of Immigrant entrepreneurs
Immigrant entrepreneurs and immigrant-owned small businesses in the Metro Detroit region are invited to enter a contest offering a $1,000 prize for the best success story describing their experience. Deadline for entries is 11:59 p.m. on November 26.Called “A Day in the Life of an Immigrant Entrepreneur”, the contest is sponsored by...Changing how Michigan votes for president might render your vote meaningless
Voters beware—your vote for the president and the vice president – may become meaningless if the Legislature adopts a proposed bill that would change how Electoral College votes are allocated.The League of Women Voters of Dearborn – Dearborn Heights urges you to contact your legislator, opposing HB 5974, which would change the way......
Saudi Arabia beheads Turkish man, marking 70th execution of 2014
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia beheaded a Turkish man convicted of drug trafficking in Riyadh, the interior ministry said on Thursday, in the latest execution in the ultra-conservative Gulf kingdom.Ali Agridas was convicted of receiving a "large amount of drugs", the ministry said in a statement.His execution brings to 70 the number of Saudis...
Minister: Half of Yemen’s children are malnourished
November 21st, 20140 SANAA — Nearly half the children in Yemen are suffering from malnutrition, the agriculture minister has said, as insurgencies, water scarcity and climate change exacerbate sectarian strife in the Arabian Peninsula's poorest state."More than half the population of Yemen suffers from food insecurity... 48 percent of the children suffer......
“Islamic State” commander killed in Mosul
BAGHDAD — An "Islamic State" leader has been killed in an air strike in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, residents and a local medical source said on Thursday.Radwan Taleb al-Hamdouni, whom the sources described as the extremist group's leader in Mosul, was killed with his driver when their car was hit in a western district of the...PLO: Israel detained 10,000 Palestinian children since 2000
RAMALLAH — More than 10,000 Palestinian minors in the occupied West Bank and annexed Jerusalem have been held by the Israeli army for varying periods since 2000, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official said Wednesday, adding that 20 percent of those detained since June of this year are minors."Israel does not provide any......