Author's Posts
20 Palestinians, including nine children, killed by Israeli air strikes in Gaza, amid days of violence
May 10th, 20210 PALESTINE — Israel directed military operations to Gaza, killing 20 Palestinians, including nine children, in airstrikes as violence and crackdowns by Israeli forces continued on Palestinians over protests stemming from threatened eviction of families from Sheikh Jarrah. Days of violence in Jerusalem, including the multiple raids...
Dearborn Council candidate Jon Akkari looks to increase services through public safety reform
May 8th, 20211 DEARBORN — Jon Akkari, an attorney born and raised in Dearborn, is vying for a position on the City Council this year. A primary election is set for Aug. 3, with a crowded field of Council and mayoral candidates. Akkari is the son of a Lebanese immigrant father and third-generation Dearbornite mother. His father has been a blue...
Mike Jaafar promoted to undersheriff of Wayne County
May 4th, 20210 WAYNE COUNTY — Mike Jaafar has been promoted to undersheriff of Wayne County, making him second in command at the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, under current Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Ray Washington. Jaafar was previously appointed to chief of operations in 2016, following his previous position as deputy chief. Jaafar...
NYT sources say Pfizer vaccine could be authorized for adolescents by next week
May 4th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine could get approval for use in adolescents as early as next week. The New York Times reported federal officials as saying that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is expected to grant expanded emergency use authorization to allow children as young as 12 to receive the coronavirus...
Experts warn vaccine hesitancy will delay herd immunity this year
May 3rd, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Even though more than 44 percent of the U.S. population has had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with about 2.4 million people receiving shots daily, medical experts are warning that it could take the country even longer to get back to normal if more people aren’t willing to take a vaccine. Over the...
Canadian comedy duo talk “first Arab superhero” sketch
May 2nd, 20210 TORONTO — When Arab Canadian duo Rob Michaels and Fady Ghali noticed a lack of representation of Arabs in the superhero films, they decided to do what they do best: Create a comedic sketch. Michaels and Ghali have been creating amusing sketches for their Wishful Genies YouTube and social media pages for adoring audiences for...
Ann Arbor council member proposes community conversation on Palestinian rights
April 30th, 20210 ANN ARBOR — A member of the Ann Arbor City Council has sponsored a resolution to hold a community conversation regarding Palestine. The resolution, titled “Resolution for the City of Ann Arbor to Hold a Community Conversation about the Palestinian People and Palestinian-Americans”, seeks to hold a community forum on the topic...
Michigan lays out plan to open up state tied to vaccine numbers
April 29th, 20210 LANSING — Michiganders can look forward to coming months of normalcy, if they are willing to get an appointment to get a COVID-19 vaccine to help the state get to its 70 percent vaccination goal. Governor Whitmer has laid out a plan for the state to return to normal based on vaccination rates. The "MI Vacc to Normal" plan will use...
Michigan loses congressional seat as census data shows slow population growth
April 29th, 20210 The U.S. Census Bureau unveiled its first wave of data from the 2020 Census on Monday, April 29, showing Michigan’s population has grown by 2 percent since 2010’s count. The population growth means more federal funding for the state, an approximately $250 million a year increase, which will be spread across state programs, grants...
REAL ID enforcement deadline once again extended, to May 2023
April 28th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is once again extending its enforcement date for requiring people to have REAL ID-compliant driver's licenses to fly in the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic safety protocols have limited activities at license issuing offices across the country, leading the DHS to announce...
Report shows Muslim advocacy group received more than 6,000 complaints in past year
April 26th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has released a report detailing nationwide incidents of civil rights complaints by Muslim Americans that the group received over the past year. The 2021 report is named Resilience in the Face of Hate. The country’s “largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy...
Hamtramck elections: Eight candidates file for Council; four candidates for mayor
April 22nd, 20210 HAMTRAMCK — After Tuesday’s filing deadline for the upcoming races for Hamtramck mayor and three Council seats, the city now has a tentative list of candidates for an important 2021 election. The following candidate list is up to date as of Saturday, as candidates had the option to drop out by Friday, April 23. Hamtramck City...
Senate overwhelmingly passes bill to target hate crimes against Asian Americans
April 22nd, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill that targets hate crimes directed towards Asian Americans on Thursday. The legislation comes amid an increase in discrimination and violence against Asian communities in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. Officially titled the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, the...
House passes NO BAN act, seeking to limit presidential ability to impose discriminatory travel bans
April 21st, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Wednesday, the U.S. House passed the NO BAN act, or H.R. 1333, which would limit presidents’ authority to suspend or restrict people from entering the country. The act also prohibits religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions, such as whether to issue an immigrant or nonimmigrant visa,...
U.S. continues vaccinations at “accelerated pace”, but cases, hospitalization still up
April 20th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Though increased vaccination efforts in the U.S. continue giving hope, some parts of the county are still in the grip of COVID-19 surges, hospitalizations and deaths. Public health officials say there are several factors for the continuing surge, even though COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to Americans’......
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald marks 100 days with key reforms
April 16th, 20210 PONTIAC — Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald marked her first 100 days in office last week. In those 100 days, McDonald has been busy bringing the office closer to the progressive objectives she ran her campaign on. Her many policy initiative and reforms include an attempt at a modern and conscientiousness approach to...
Hamtramck students win speech competition with hopeful messages
April 14th, 20210 HAMTRAMCK — Five Hamtramck Public Schools students recently competed in the Optimist Club of Downtown Detroit's Annual Oratorical Virtual Competition on March 17, with three students placing in first, second and third place. First-place winner Nura Uddin will be advancing to the next level of the competition, along with......
CDC advisers delay decision on J&J vaccine pause
April 14th, 20210 Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) met Wednesday to review blood clot cases among people who received the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine. But the committee of experts declined to vote on whether use of the vaccine should resume, meaning the "pause" on the vaccine's use will remain at...
Cases surge in Michigan, but Biden administration reluctant to increase vaccines
April 8th, 20210 With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise to dangerous levels, Michigan officials have asked the Biden administration to increase supplies of life-savings vaccines, though a positive response has not come from the White House. On Thursday alone, Michigan recorded 7,819 new cases, pushing officials, including U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell...
Allied Media Projects to continue arts, liberation, justice work at new LOVE Building
April 8th, 20210 DETROIT — Allied Media Projects (AMP), a renowned Detroit organization that has strong ties with the region’s Arab arts and activism community, is gearing up to transition to a new collaborative space in the city. AMP is best described as a network of people and projects that utilize media-based organizing towards it’s goal of...
In Geiger, Geoff Johns pens another Arab character into the comics world
April 6th, 20211 There’s no doubt, comic book fans are well aware of Geoff Johns' illustrious career. Whether writing for some of the DC Comics' most iconic series, being the creative force behind some of the company’s biggest movie hits or serving in various executive capacities, Johns’ time in the industry is nothing short of......
Michigan leads the country in certain COVID stats; possible vaccine for kids adds hope
April 2nd, 20210 After Pfizer recorded positive results for a vaccine study among young people, experts in Michigan are hopeful vaccinating adolescents against COVID-19 may be a critical step towards herd immunity. Hopeful news, considering the state has recently seen a surge in cases among residents 19 and younger. But that’s not all; Michigan...Appeals court rules “terror watchlist” doesn’t violate constitutional rights
April 2nd, 20210 A panel of appeals court judges ruled this week that the “terror watchlist” does not violate the constitutional rights of American citizens, even if they are not notified or allowed to defend themselves against the government’s underlying reason for adding their names to the list. The legal news website Law & Crime reported......
Michigan continues to expand vaccinations efforts
March 31st, 20210 LANSING — Michigan will continue its upward trajectory in getting more and more residents vaccinated against the dangerous COVID-19 virus, as positive news came down the pipeline from Lansing in recent days. On Wednesday, Governor Whitmer raised the state’s vaccination goal from 50,000 to 100,000 shots per day. The new...
Stuck ship partially freed in the Suez Canal
March 29th, 20210 EGYPT — Ever Given, the 224,000-ton container ship that has captured the world's attention in recent days as it remained stuck in the Suez Canal for nearly a week, has been partially dislodged, though more work is required before it is fully afloat. The Suez Canal in Egypt is one of the world's busiest trade-ways. It is estimated......
