The Arab American News
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Arab American DJ Refugee: Music is open to all
DEARBORN — To local Arab American DJ Ali Saad, music is not just a source of living; it is a medium of expression that creates a bond between people from different cultures and backgrounds."Music has no color," says Saad, whose stage name is DJ Refugee. Saad was recently announced as a guest DJ, on holiday weekends, for WJLB FM...Tennessee cop fired after shooting, pepper spraying squirrel
MOUNTAIN CITY, Tenn.-- Jody Putnam, a police officer in Mountain City, Tenn., was fired last after a violent run-in with an agitated squirrel.Putnam arrived at Mountain City's Dollar General, on Sept. 27, when animal control was unavailable to respond to a call about a squirrel running amok in the store.According to the city's Tomahawk...Cloning cells may be the answer to hair loss
U.S. researchers say they devised a hair restoration method with the potential to actually grow new follicles using a patient's own cells.Co-study leader Professor Angela M. Christiano and colleagues at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York said other hair restoration methods redistribute hair from one part of the scalp to...Beaumont Hospital to give away Grosse Pointe house
GROSSE POINTE — Beaumont Hospital is giving away a free historic house here and even offering $150,000 to have the house moved to another location. In 2011, the company purchased the farmhouse, located on 16939 E. Jefferson, in addition to properties that neighbor it.But now the company wants to clear the space to build an employee...Poetry corner: I love the birds of October
As a part of its continuing effort to share a portion of the literary wealth of Arabic poetry with the English reader, The Arab American News translates a poem by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani.I love the birds of October The diaries...I love to be lost, like the birds of October...From time to time...I want to search for a new...Michigan courts can treat a religious marriage contract as a prenuptial agreement
It is clear that Michigan only recognizes marriages that follow the proper legal formalities. Michigan does not give any legal recognition to a religious marriage. A relationship that does not meet the statutory requirements for a legal marriage does not give rise to property rights, personal rights, or rights to support....Fractured opposition could derail Syria talks
WASHINGTON - Despite U.S. and Western pressure on the opposition to take part in U.N.-sponsored talks aimed at halting the two-and-a-half-year-old Syrian civil war, most experts here believe the rebels are unlikely to show up any time soon. And even if they do, the results will be unlikely to change much of anything on the ground.The...Israeli-Saudi alliance slips into view
In a previous article titled “The Saudi-Israeli Superpower,” I described an emerging odd-couple alliance between those two traditional enemies. The story was met with skepticism in some quarters. But, increasingly, this secret alliance is going public.On Oct. 2, Israel’s Channel 2 TV news reported that senior Israeli security...Encouraging Iran’s readiness for peace making
If one day Iran succeeds in establishing normal relations with the Western world, it would create a sea change for the entire Middle East.On October 15 and 16, Iran resumed negotiations in Geneva with the permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany. Iranians appear keen on “closing an unnecessary crisis and opening...U.S. ‘soft power’ takes a hit over government shutdown
WASHINGTON - A picture spoke volumes about the United States' loss of global prestige and influence due to the shutdown of its government in a partisan standoff over the federal budget and debt.Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin beamed front and centre in the family photograph of Asian leaders at last...Truck bomb targets Iraqi minority, killing 15
Baghdad — A suicide bomber driving a truck packed with explosives blew himself up in a village in northern Iraq, killing at least 15 members of the country's Shabak minority early on Thursday, Oct. 17, police said.It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack, but Sunni Islamist militants have in the past targeted...Sharp increase in Israeli West Bank settlements
RAMALLAH-- Israeli construction in the West Bank increased by 70 percent, from January to June, compared to the same period in 2012, an anti-settlement advocacy group said. A report released by the group, Peace Now, said more than 340,000 settlers live in the West Bank, more than triple the number who lived there 20 years ago when the...Bomb found in south Beirut on eve of Eid
BEIRUT — Lebanese security forces defused a car bomb on Monday in the southern suburb of Beirut.The discovery of a bomb happened on the first night of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha and two months after a car bomb killed 20 people in the area and looked like the latest sign of growing sectarian tensions in Lebanon, exacerbated by...Saudi Arabia obtains UN Security Council seat for the first time
Riyadh — Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Oct. 17, won a UN Security Council seat for the first time in a new show of determination to make its voice heard, joining Chad, Chile, Lithuania and Nigeria in taking places on the key body.All five countries stood unopposed in an election by the 193 member UN General Assembly.They will replace...Qatar arrests two suspects in British teacher murder
Qatar arrests two suspects in British teacher murderDOHA — Qatar has arrested suspects over the murder of a European woman, the Interior Ministry said on Wednesday, Oct. 16, after a British school teacher was found dead in the desert of the Gulf Arab state.British media said a 24-year-old woman identified as Lauren......
Al-Qaeda: Sept. attack targeted Yemeni-U.S. drone base
SANAA — The Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda said on Monday, Oct. 14, its attack on a Yemeni army base last month targeted an operations room used by the United States to direct drone strikes against militants, and it threatened more such assaults.Dozens of militants stormed and captured the headquarters of the Yemeni army's Second...Wal-Mart shoppers empty store shelves after food stamp glitch
LOUISIANA — Managers of Walmart stores in the small, north Louisiana towns of Springhill and Mansfield alerted police on Saturday evening, October 12 that throngs of shoppers had flooded into the stores and were buying groceries, using electronic benefit cards that contained no credit limits.When word got out Saturday that the EBT......
Two charged in Fla. after bullied girl’s suicide
October 18th, 20130 Winter Haven, Fla - Two girls, ages 12 and 14, have been charged with felony aggravated stalking for the suicide of Rebecca Ann Sedwick, 12, who became so despondent that she climbed a tower at an abandoned cement plant and jumped to her death in September. Sedwick.The middle school students appeared before a judge on Tuesday and...Washington state marijuana panel to approve 334 pot stores under new regulations
WASHINTGON — After nearly a year of research, planning and public hearings, Washington state is poised to approve the rules for its new legal marijuana industry.The rules will dictate everything from the security at and size of licensed marijuana gardens, to how many pot stores can open in cities across the state.Washington and...Cleveland police to suspend 63 officers after fatal car chase
CLEVELAND — Cleveland Police Chief Mark McGrath announced this week that, following an 11-month investigation, his office will issue suspensions for 63 of the 104 officers involved in a 25-minute high-speed car chase that resulted in the fatal shooting of the driver and his passenger.The officers will serve suspensions totaling...
Overloaded boat full of illegal migrants sinks off Miami coast, kills 4
October 18th, 20130 MIAMI — At least four people died, and 11 others were rescued, after a small boat, packed with suspected migrants from Haiti and Jamaica, capsized off the coast of Miami on Wednesday, October 16.Coast Guard crew members found the survivors clinging to the hull of the 15-20 foot power boat after getting a call at about 1:00 a.m.......
Jesse Jackson urges Arab Americans to fight injustice at ACRL Gala
October 18th, 20130 LIVONIA — Civil Rights Champion Reverend Jesse Jackson urged Arab Americans to fight injustice and stand up for their rights in the face of racism at the Arab American Civil Rights League’s (ACRL) second annual “Fight for Justice” Gala on Wednesday, Oct. 16. The event, which was emceed by Channel 7/WXYZ Reporter Nima Shaffe,...Saudi students in U.S. defy stereotypes
Detroit — Despite the negative stereotypes surrounding Saudi Arabians, many Saudis in the United States are university students. Saudi presence on American campuses has grown significantly over the past seven years. Saudis amount to 4.5 percent of international students in the country.In universities throughout Michigan, Saudis rank......
Legal corner: Verbal agreements are almost always enforceable
It is generally good advice to reduce agreements to writing. For obvious reasons, a well-written, thorough agreement between contracting parties usually prevents or resolves many disputes arising out of the subsequent relationship between the parties. First and foremost, relying on the memories of the parties to determine the...Edsel Ford hires reading literacy coach in wake of “priority school” ranking
DEARBORN - During a meeting on October 14, the Dearborn Public School Board approved the appointment of a "reading literacy coach" at Edsel Ford High School, less than three months after the school was ranked one of the worst in the State by the Michigan Department of Education.The appointment of Gretchen Bajorek will aim to provide......