The Arab American News
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Dearborn, Crestwood School Districts tighten student cell phone rules under new Michigan law
August 21st, 20260 DEARBORN / DEARBORN HEIGHTS— Dearborn Public Schools updated its policy governing student use of cell phones and other wireless communication devices this summer in preparation for the new school year, bringing the district into compliance with a new Michigan law prohibiting students from using such devices during instructional...
Rising back-to-school expenses squeeze Dearborn-area families
August 21st, 20260 DEARBORN / DEARBORN HEIGHTS— With the new academic year approaching, backpacks, notebooks, pens, clothes and shoes are returning to family shopping lists. This year, however, preparations come amid rising living costs that are forcing many households to cut spending, particularly those with several children and mounting expenses. Not...
University of Michigan selects C. Cybele Raver as 17th president
August 21st, 20260 ANN ARBOR — The University of Michigan Board of Regents has selected Dr. C. Cybele Raver as the university’s 17th president and the second woman to hold the institution’s highest leadership position. The Board of Regents is expected to formally vote on Raver’s appointment during a special meeting Sept. 1. If approved, she will...
CAIR-MI sues Oak Park over alleged hostile workplace for Muslim employee
August 21st, 20260 OAK PARK — The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations filed a lawsuit in Oakland County Circuit Court on behalf of a Muslim former municipal employee who alleges that the city of Oak Park and three of its employees subjected her to religious and national-origin discrimination, sexual harassment, privacy...
No coming back from Genocide: Israel’s global counter-offensive has begun
August 20th, 20260 Colombia's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Syrian Golan Heights marks a dangerous turning point. By becoming only the second country in the world — after the United States — to endorse Israel's illegal annexation of Syrian territory, Bogotá has signaled a complete reversal of Gustavo Petro's foreign...
UIA warns of phone scam promising unpaid benefits for a fee
August 19th, 20260 Be cautious and report random calls that claim to be from state agency The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) alerted residents to be aware of scam calls trying to get you to pay a fee to retrieve money owed to you by the unemployment agency. Anyone who receives such a call should hang up right away and report it to the...
Dearborn-area Arab American voters proved decisive in El-Sayed’s historic victory
August 14th, 20260 Once again, Arab American voters in the Dearborn area demonstrated their growing electoral importance across Michigan. After helping Donald Trump carry the state in the 2024 presidential election, the August Democratic primary for U.S. Senate provided further evidence that Arab American voters in Dearborn and Dearborn Heights can serve...
Dearborn Schools launches campaign for historic $1.51 billion bond proposal on the ballot in November
August 14th, 20260 DEARBORN — About three months before voters decide its fate in the November election, Dearborn Public Schools launched an informational campaign promoting a “transformational” $1.51 billion bond proposal that would construct new schools and modernize every building in the district, which serves all of Dearborn and a portion of...
ACRL, Lebanese Americans sue Rubio, U.S. defense companies over destruction of homes and properties in Lebanon
August 14th, 20260 DETROIT — The Arab American Civil Rights League (ACRL) held a news conference outside the federal courthouse in Detroit on Tuesday to announce a proposed class-action lawsuit against U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and three American companies accused of helping enable the Israeli military’s destruction of properties belonging to...
ICE detains Iraqi man charged in alleged assault on Jake Lang as Dearborn braces for far-right agitator’s return
August 14th, 20260 DEARBORN — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has detained an Iraqi immigrant who was among three men charged in connection with the alleged assault of far-right agitator Jake Lang during Dearborn’s annual Arbaeen march on August 2. The development comes as Lang, an anti-Muslim agitator who has repeatedly targeted Dearborn, is...
Nearly 40 percent of Michiganders struggle to afford basic needs, U-M analysis finds
August 14th, 20260 ANN ARBOR — Nearly 40 percent of Michigan households struggle to afford basic necessities, according to a new analysis by Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan, highlighting the widening gap between traditional economic measures and the everyday realities families face in paying for housing, food and health care. The figure...
Family of four earning up to $61,050 may now qualify for Michigan WIC
August 14th, 20260 LANSING — Responding to inflation and updated federal guidelines, Michigan’s Women, Infants and Children program, commonly known as WIC, has raised its income eligibility limit for monthly food assistance. Under the updated guidelines, a family of four may now qualify for the program with an annual household income of up to $61,050...
Alaska man federally charged with threatening Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud
August 14th, 20260 DEARBORN — Federal authorities have charged an Alaska man with making a series of violent and Islamophobic threats against Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud through telephone calls, social media and the city’s website. A federal grand jury indicted James Lawhorn, 54, of Wasilla, Alaska, on seven counts of making threats in interstate...
Shelby Township man charged in stabbing at Lake St. Clair’s Raft Off
August 14th, 20260 MARINE CITY — A Macomb County man could face up to 20 years in prison after allegedly stabbing another man during the annual Raft Off gathering on Lake St. Clair last weekend. Salem Asmar, 26, of Shelby Township was arraigned Monday in 72nd District Court in Marine City on one count of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less...
Rising health costs are forcing more Americans to forego care
August 14th, 20260 By Sunita Sohrabji While Susan Alleman thought surviving breast cancer would mean putting the hardest chapter of her life behind her, it turns out that was just the start of her travails. Alleman is among millions of Americans who are now seeing their health care premiums rise. Many are being forced to choose between needed care......
Michigan expands free community college program to residents 21 and older
August 14th, 20260 LANSING — More Michigan adults will be eligible for tuition-free community college this fall after the state temporarily lowered the minimum age for the Michigan Reconnect scholarship program from 25 to 21. The expansion was included in Michigan’s fiscal year 2026–27 education budget, with lawmakers allocating an additional $25...
Abbas Alawieh wins Democratic primary, coming one step closer to an historic election to the State Senate
August 7th, 20260 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Abbas Alawieh achieved an unprecedented milestone for Arab and Muslim Americans in Michigan, moving closer to becoming the first Arab American and first Muslim to serve in the State Senate following his decisive victory in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Alawieh won the Democratic nomination in the Second State......
Wayne County voters approve countywide public transit millage
August 7th, 20260 Wayne County voters overwhelmingly approved a property tax proposal Tuesday that renews public transportation funding and expands transit service across the entire county, bringing it in line with neighboring Oakland and Macomb Counties. Several Wayne County communities, including Canton, Livonia, Plymouth and Northville, had...
Arab American representation poised to double in the State House
August 7th, 20260 DEARBORN/DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Arab American representation in the State House of Representatives is poised to double, with incumbent State Rep. Alabas Farhat moving closer to retaining his Third District seat and Jalal Abdallah emerging as the favorite to capture the open 15th District seat following their victories in Tuesday’s...
Tlaib, McKinney and Lawrence lead strong showing for Michigan progressives in primary election
August 7th, 20260 DETROIT — On Tuesday, Michigan’s U.S. House primaries delivered two major victories for the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. In the 13th Congressional District, which covers most of Detroit, state Rep. Donavan McKinney unseated incumbent U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, while in the state’s Seventh District, progressive candidate...
Historic victory: Abdul El-Sayed wins Michigan Democratic Senate primary, defeats Stevens and pro-Israel spending machine
August 7th, 20260 Progressive Arab American candidate Abdul El-Sayed pulled off a remarkable electoral upset Tuesday, scoring a historic victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate after defeating establishment-backed U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, whose campaign benefited from unprecedented spending by pro-Israel groups. Following the......
Michigan governor’s race set: Benson to face James in November
August 7th, 20260 LANSING — On Tuesday, Michigan voters decided the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial primaries, handing their parties’ nominations to Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and U.S. Rep. John James. Benson and James will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election to determine who succeeds term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. On...
Democratic progressive Yousef Rabhi defeats longtime Ann Arbor mayor
August 7th, 20260 ANN ARBOR — Ann Arbor appears poised to move further toward progressive policies after democratic socialist Yousef Rabhi defeated longtime Mayor Christopher Taylor in Tuesday’s Democratic primary. Rabhi, a former state representative and current Washtenaw County commissioner, received 18,746 votes, or approximately 55 percent,......
Three men charged after far-right provocateur Jake Lang attacked during Dearborn Arbaeen procession
August 7th, 20260 DEARBORN — Dearborn police initially announced the arrest of one person in connection with the assault on far-right provocateur Jake Lang during Sunday’s annual Arbaeen procession, while asking the public for help identifying others involved in the attack. Police subsequently announced that three men had been charged in connection...
Michigan Cyclospora outbreak tops 12,000 cases, kills two
August 7th, 20260 LANSING — Michigan’s unprecedented cyclosporiasis outbreak has sickened 12,485 people since June, hospitalized at least 279 and contributed to the deaths of two residents, according to the latest figures from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. The Aug. 6 figures fall slightly below earlier projections that the......
