Detroit City Council approves $34.5 million for Pistons move
June 23rd, 20170 DETROIT— The Detroit City Council has approved $34.5 million in public funding bonds toward modification of the Little Caesars Arena that would permit the Detroit Pistons to play there in the fall, despite pleas from residents to abandon the deal or reconsider. The 7-2 measure passed after six months of negotiations between the city...
Dearborn School Board appoints new trustee despite bitter process
June 23rd, 20171 DEARBORN — The process to appoint a successor to replace former Dearborn Board of Education President Mariam Bazzi, who resigned on May 22 after she was appointed by Gov. Snyder as a Wayne County Circuit Court Judge, took a dramatic turn Monday night. At the beginning of a packed meeting held at Henry Ford College, Board President...
Video of killing released after Minnesota officer acquitted of manslaughter
June 22nd, 20170 Video footage of the fatal shooting of a black motorist by a Minnesota police officer released on Tuesday showed how quickly the incident unfolded but shed no light on whether the victim had reached for the gun he told the officer he was carrying. The video footage is from the dashboard camera of the police cruiser of St. Anthony...
FBI investigating Flint airport stabbing as terror attack, suspect shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’
June 21st, 20170 FLINT ― The FBI is investigating an attack at a Flint airport Wednesday as an "act of terror," after a man stabbed a police officer in the neck while he shouted "Allahu Akbar." The suspect, identified as Canadian resident Amor Ftouhi, is charged by the U.S. District Court with committing a violent act in an airport after allegedly...
Officer stabbed at Flint airport
June 21st, 20170 FLINT ― Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, was evacuated on Wednesday after a police officer was stabbed in the neck in what a government official familiar with the situation said was being investigated as a possible act of terrorism. All passengers were safe, the airport said in a brief statement on its Facebook page....
Journalism, history and war: Sit, type and bleed
June 19th, 20170 The typical newsroom set-up, where journalists chase after news headlines dictated by some centralized news gathering agency — often based in some Western capital — does not suffice any more. In the case of the Middle East, the news narrative has been defined by others and dictated to Arab journalists and audiences for far too...
Dearborn Heights City Council votes to buy golf course
June 19th, 20170 DEARBORN HEIGHTS—The Dearborn Heights City Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday, June 13, to have the city buy the Warren Valley Golf Course for $1.8 million. The decision follows a four month long standoff between residents and county officials who wanted to sell the land to developers to build a subdivision of luxury homes on the...
Dearborn launches downtown bike share program
June 19th, 20170 DEARBORN — On Tuesday, the city launched a new bikeshare program in partnership with Beaumont Health and Zagster Inc. — a provider of bike-sharing systems countrywide— installing 50 bikes across 10 stations in the city's east and west downtown areas. "Bike sharing is another great way for visitors to experience Dearborn, either...
Non-Muslims reflect on fasting during Ramadan
June 18th, 20170 DETROIT — Each Ramadan, many non-Muslims admire their friends, neighbors and co-workers' willingness to fast. The communal effect fasting has on Muslim populations is another dimension of Ramadan to which many have become attuned. Even Hyundai CEO Mong Hyun Yoon, amazed at his Muslim workers' ability to abstain from food and...
Fasting across faiths: Seasons of reflection and growing closer to God
June 18th, 20170 DEARBORN — The practice of fasting may differ across the Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, but these faiths share a bond at their spiritual core— their efforts to grow closer to God. A few months before the holy month of Ramadan started this year, Christians of various denominations observed their own season...Anti-sharia law rallies in Michigan draw counter-protests
LANSING — Around 100 people gathered in south Lansing and about 200 rallied in Southfield on Saturday morning as part of the national protest planned by ACT for America called the "March Against Sharia." However, not all in attendance came for that reason. In Lansing, police placed a partition between two groups of protesters as...
Students’ art on display at local gallery
June 18th, 20170 By Stephen Martin The Arab American News intern DEARBORN — Artwork from local students, ranging from kindergarten to high school, are on display alongside art from the Artists Society of Dearborn at the Padzieski Art Gallery throughout the month of June. The students' artwork is chosen from the annual Dearborn Public Schools...
Dearborn native to become Navy commander
June 18th, 20171 By Adeeje Chamas CHESAPEAKE, VA — Lieutenant Commander Houssain "Sam" Sareini of the U.S. Navy has been selected to command his own ship by the year 2020. Born and raised in Dearborn to Lebanese parents, Sareini graduated from Fordson high school in 1993 and decided to join the Navy a year later at 18-years-old. He said he was...
ACLU files a lawsuit to stop the deportation of Iraqis
June 16th, 20170 DETROIT — On Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a lawsuit to stop federal immigration officials from deporting more than 100 Iraqis from Detroit. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court states that it’s illegal to deport the detainees without giving them a chance to prove that they would be...
Dearborn Board of Education postpones trustee selection after deadlock
June 16th, 20170 DEARBORN — Despite expectations from the community at large and more than 100 people in attendance, the Dearborn Board of Education did not appoint a new trustee on Monday, June 12. Instead, the board tabled the decision until the June 19 meeting at Henry Ford College. The board recently interviewed candidates to replace......
Activists, officials slam State House committee for passing anti-sanctuary bills
June 16th, 20170 LANSING — Activists and local officials made their final impassioned plea before a Michigan House committee passed bills on Wednesday, June 7 that prevents any city or county from passing "sanctuary" laws. The two bills, introduced by State Reps. Pamela Hornberger (R-Chesterfield Twp.) and Beau LaFave (R-Iron Mountain), passed in...
Six Michigan officials charged with manslaughter in Flint water crisis
June 14th, 20170 FLINT ― Six current and former Michigan and Flint officials were criminally charged on Wednesday for their roles in the city's water crisis that was linked to an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that caused at least 12 deaths, the state's attorney general said. Five of the officials, including Michigan Health and Human Services......
Top Republican among wounded as gunman fires on U.S. lawmakers
June 14th, 20170 A gunman opened fire on Wednesday on Republican U.S. lawmakers practicing near Washington for a charity baseball game, wounding senior Republican leader Steve Scalise and several others before being fatally shot by police. The shooter fired repeatedly with a rifle at the baseball field in Alexandria, Virginia, before being wounded in...
Minnesota man sentenced to 39 years in prison for hate crime
June 13th, 20170 DINKYTOWN-Anthony Sawina, the Minnesota man who shot at a group of Somali-American men in a car on their way to prayers in Dinkytown in June of 2016 Sawina's hate crime, wounding two, earned him a sentencing of nearly 4o years in prison on Monday. The sentence, issued by Hennepin County District Judge Kathryn Quaintance, was longer...
COVFEFE Act would preserve Trump’s tweets as official statements
June 13th, 20170 From the incomprehensible "covfefe" to a post labeling fired FBI director James Comey a "leaker," President Donald Trump's tweets would be preserved as presidential records if a Democratic lawmaker's proposed COVFEFE Act becomes law. Representative Mike Quigley of Illinois introduced on Monday the "Communications Over Various Feeds...
Interfaith leaders, officials and community display unity at mayor’s iftar
June 13th, 20170 DEARBORN — Elected officials, candidates, community members and organization and religious leaders of different faiths broke bread together at an iftar dinner hosted by Mayor Jack O'Reilly at Byblos Banquet Hall on Wednesday, June 7. The dinner's standing-room-only attendance was a testament to solidarity amid the trying times......
Two killed in motorcycle crash in Dearborn
June 12th, 20170 DEARBORN- Dearborn police are investigating a motorcycle accident that claimed the lives of two people early Sunday. The accident happened on Ford Road near Wyoming at about 1 a.m. According to police, the 22-year-old motorcycle driver, Muhammed Al-Dairawi, crashed into a Ford F-150 on Ford Road as the vehicle exited the Ford...
Up to 100 girls may have been victims of female genital mutilation in Metro Detroit
June 11th, 20171 DETROIT —Up to 100 girls may have been genitally mutilated in the Metro Detroit area during a 12-year conspiracy. Three Metro Detroit doctors have been accused in the case. There is evidence showing that eight girls were mutilated, according to U.S. Assistant Attorney Sara Woodward. The country's first female genital mutilation......
Hamtramck sides with Paris Agreement
June 11th, 20170 HAMTRAMCK — On Sunday, June 4, Mayor Karen Majewski joined a group of 210 mayors from around the U.S. who have pledged to uphold the Paris Agreement, also known as the Paris climate accord. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of the accord last week. The group Climate Mayors (Mayors National Climate Action Agenda or MNCAA) is an...
Carrying concealed guns without permit passes State House, awaits Senate approval
June 11th, 20170 LANSING — Concealed weapons may now be carried without a permit or mandatory training under a controversial plan the State House approved on Wednesday, June 7. The House passed the four-bill package after a series of votes, prompting a debate about gun safety. Supporters said it would extend Constitutional rights to gun owners,......
