Former President Carter remembered for rising above politics
January 9th, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jimmy Carter, a president who served only one term but was widely admired for his humanitarian work after leaving the White House, was remembered during his state funeral on Thursday as a man who put honesty and kindness above partisan politics. Hundreds of mourners, including all five living current and former...
Credit card defaults skyrocket as Americans are unable to pay their debts
January 4th, 20250 Defaults on credit cards in the U.S. have spiked significantly in the last year, according to a new report. Credit card lenders wrote off $46 billion in seriously delinquent loan balances in the first nine months of the year, the Financial Times reported, citing industry data collated by BankRegData. The amount is up 50 percent...
Soldier shot self in head before Cybertruck exploded outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, officials say
January 4th, 20250 The highly decorated Army soldier inside a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head just before detonation, authorities said Thursday. The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people, but virtually no damage to the hotel. Clark County Sheriff Kevin...
Jimmy Carter was a true American hero
January 4th, 20250 By Tom Watkins Former President Jimmy Carter has died after a remarkable 100 years of life. He is the longest-lived ex-commander in chief. His life is not measured in years or even his ascent to the presidency, but by the kindness and human decency he shared here at home and around the globe. The humble president from Plains,...
FBI: New Orleans rampage driver acted alone, was inspired “100 percent” by ISIS group
January 4th, 20250 The Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans acted alone, the FBI said Thursday, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others in the deadly attack that officials said was inspired by the ISIS group. The FBI also revealed that the driver, Shamsud-Din...
Trump’s picks of pro-Israel “dream team” worry some Arab and Muslim Americans who voted for him
December 13th, 20240 Just weeks after winning several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters, including an ambassador to Israel who has claimed “there is no such thing as Palestinians.” The selections have prompted mixed reactions among Arab Americans and...
FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign following Trump’s nomination of Patel
December 13th, 20240 WASHINGTON, D. C. – FBI Director Christopher Wray will step down from his post early next year, he said on Wednesday, after President-elect Trump signaled his intent to fire the veteran official and replace him with firebrand Kash Patel. His resignation makes him the second straight FBI director driven...
White House releases U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate
December 13th, 20240 On Thursday, the White House released the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate. The Strategy was developed through a whole-of-government collaboration with a broad range of civil society partners to describe and address the bias, discrimination and threats Muslim and Arab Americans have long faced....
From applause to arrest warrants: The distance between the U.S. Congress and the ICC
December 6th, 20240 The way the U.S. Congress and the International Criminal Court (ICC) view and handle matters involving the Israeli prime minister is significantly different. The U.S. Congress demonstrates unwavering support for the Israeli prime minister despite widespread international concerns over potential criminal actions. On the other hand, the...
Who is Massad Boulos, Trump’s advisor for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs?
December 6th, 20240 On Sunday, President-elect Trump announced his selection of Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos as his senior advisor for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. This appointment has garnered significant attention from media outlets both within and outside the United States, including in the Arab world and in Boulos' homeland,...
Most Americans aren’t obsessed with politics
December 6th, 20240 The 2024 election is over, but the arguments about what it means are continuing. Did Donald Trump and the Republican Party win a mandate to govern as they wish? Did Democrats try too hard to appeal to their political base? Or not hard enough? But drawing conclusions about the meaning of an election, especially about what it says about...
Amir Ali makes history as the first Arab American Muslim appointed to the federal bench
November 29th, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Egyptian American lawyer Amir Ali recently made U.S. history by becoming the first Arab American Muslim appointed to the federal bench. This milestone comes as part of a broader push by Senate Democrats to finalize judicial appointments before losing control of the chamber in January. On November 20, the U.S....
From Dearborn to Washington: Calls to expedite implementation of a national law preventing drunk drivers from operating vehicles
November 22nd, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a push to expedite the implementation of new legislation aimed at preventing drunk drivers from operating vehicles, activist Rana Abbas Taylor from Michigan joined a sit-in alongside members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and U.S. lawmakers. The group urged swift enforcement of the new law, set to take...
Don’t expect predictable foreign policy in Trump’s second term
November 22nd, 20240 The voters have spoken, and Donald J. Trump will be the 47th president of the United States. With a Republican-controlled Senate and strong backing in the House, Trump will be in position to implement his agenda, starting in January. What does that mean for foreign policy? It’s hard to say with certainty. In Trump’s first term, from...
Trump appoints loyalists to his new administration as his attorney general nominee dropout under pressure
November 22nd, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – President-elect Trump moved quickly after his victory on November 5, to select members of his new administration who will oversee federal departments, agencies and other offices requiring Senate approval. Meanwhile, Trump’s opponents wasted no time in criticizing his selections, leading to the swift withdrawal......
Columbia settles with Israeli student suspended for using “fart spray” on pro-Palestinian protesters
November 15th, 20240 NEW YORK CITY — Columbia University has agreed to pay $395,000 to one of two Jewish students who were suspended in January after spraying student demonstrators with a foul-smelling substance during a pro-Palestine campus protest. The incident occurred during a Jan. 19 rally organized by Columbia University Apartheid Divest, a...
Trump’s promise to deport undocumented immigrants threatens Michigan’s agriculture sector, signals higher prices for fruits and vegetables
November 15th, 20240 The return of former President Trump to the White House in January has raised growing concerns over his plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants from the United States. Immigration advocates have sounded the alarm, warning of social and economic repercussions across various states, including Michigan. According to the Pew......
Voting against genocide — How Gaza defeated the Democratic establishment
November 15th, 20243 Arab and Muslim American voters did not remove Democrats from office, nor did they cost Kamala Harris the Oval Office. They merely sent a strong message that Palestine matters, not only to Arabs and Muslims but to many Americans as well. The ones who cost the Democrats the elections are the Democrats themselves. Their humiliating...
Arab Americans’ perspectives on the Middle East crisis
November 15th, 20241 It is time to realign our compass with the values that we and this nation stand for and reshape our narrative to leave a heroic and meaningful legacy for future generations. For months, countless children, women and the elderly have lost their lives or severely injured. An immeasurable number of children are now orphans, women have lost...
Arab American lawyer convinces U.S. jury to award $42 million to former abused Abu Ghraib Iraqi prisoners
November 14th, 20240 On Tuesday, a U.S. jury awarded $42 million to three former detainees at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, who were tortured and mistreated while detained two decades ago. This marks a first, as a federal jury in Virginia has ordered a U.S. company to compensate individuals who suffered abuse in a foreign prison. The plaintiffs were not...
Congressional elections: Republicans win additional seat in Michigan, moving toward retaining majority in U.S. House
November 9th, 20240 Alongside the presidential race, elections for all 13 of Michigan’s U.S. Congressional Districts were held Tuesday. The results favored the Republican Party, which increased its share of Michigan seats in the House of Representatives to seven members after Republican candidate Tom Barrett in District 7 (Lansing area) defeated his......
Trump wins presidential election; Arab American voters speak: turning points in Michigan’s general election as Harris loses the state
November 9th, 20243 Donald Trump has been elected the 47th president of the United States after receiving 295 electoral college votes, while Vice President Harris won 226. A candidate needs 270 votes to win the presidency. Winning in several swing states, including Michigan, Trump will begin his second presidential term Jan. 20. As of press time, with...
Where Harris and Trump stand on key issues of importance to Arab Americans
November 1st, 20241 Here is a brief look at some of their policies as published by Reuters: Vice President Harris, a Democrat, faces former President Trump, a Republican, in the 2024 U.S. presidential election race that may be decided by a thin sliver of votes in seven battleground states. The two are sharply divided on the role the U.S. government should......
DHS offers protections for Lebanese nationals currently in the United States
October 18th, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is announcing new actions to provide temporary immigration reprieves to eligible Lebanese nationals currently in the United States and allowing them the opportunity to request work authorizations. Included in the announcement are details related to the Deferred Enforced...
U.S. organizing flights to evacuate American citizens out of Lebanon as Israeli airstrikes intensify
October 14th, 20240 WASHINGTON D.C. — The U.S. State Department continues its efforts to evacuate American citizens out of Lebanon amid escalations between Israel and Hezbollah. During State Department press briefings with spokesperson Matthew Miller on October 8 and 9, discussion regarding the U.S.' efforts to evacuate American citizens out of Lebanon......
