How to apply for your share of Facebook’s $725 million settlement in privacy suit
May 1st, 20230 Facebook users have until August to claim their share of a $725 million class-action settlement of a lawsuit alleging privacy violations by the social media company, a new website reveals. The lawsuit was prompted in 2018 after Facebook disclosed that the information of 87 million users was improperly shared with Cambridge...
U.S. Reps. Tlaib and Dingell lead Congressional effort on adding MENA category to Census
May 1st, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On April 27, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) led 20 of their colleagues in a joint congressional public comment letter to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to end the systemic erasure of the Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) community. The...
Free speech vs. national security in proposed TikTok ban
May 1st, 20230 By Peter White With a billion users worldwide and 150 million in the U.S., Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok is facing a possible ban here amid growing concerns around data privacy and rising geopolitical tensions with Beijing. Opponents of the ban say it ignores wider data concerns around social media and potentially raises...
Minneapolis authorities investigating two mosque fires on consecutive days
May 1st, 20230 Emergency crews responded to fires at two mosques in south Minneapolis over two consecutive days and authorities are asking for help identifying a man believed to be involved in one of the fires. According to the Minneapolis Fire Department, the first fire happened Sunday evening at the Masjid Omar Islamic Center inside the 24 Somali...
Biden, 80, makes 2024 presidential run official as Trump fight looms
May 1st, 20230 President Biden launched his re-election bid on Tuesday with a promise to protect American liberties from "extremists" linked to former President Trump, whom he beat in 2020 and might face again in 2024. Biden made his announcement in a video released by his new campaign team that opens with imagery from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the...
U.S. Reps Rashida Tlaib and Debbie Dingell introduce resolution recognizing Eid al-Fitr
April 21st, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. — This week, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Ann Arbor) introduced a resolution recognizing Eid al-Fitr, the observance of the conclusion of Ramadan, and offering best wishes and support to all Muslims for a joyous and meaningful celebration. “Ramadan is a time for us to renew...
$4.7 million available to help Michigan businesses address talent shortages
April 21st, 20230 LANSING — The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) has released a competitive Request for Proposals to support the development of new, or the enhancement of existing, employer-led collaboratives throughout the state. $4.7 million in grant awards are available to organizations through the Sector Strategies...
Suspect arrested in stabbing of imam while praying at mosque in New Jersey
April 20th, 20230 PATERSON, NJ — An imam at a mosque in Paterson, New Jersey was stabbed while leading prayers. Around 5:30 a.m. last Sunday, Imam Sayed Elnakib was stabbed several times while praying at the Omar Mosque, according to reports. The alleged attacker, Serif Zorba, was restrained by the other individuals praying in the mosque. The...
FBI arrests 21-year-old National Guardsman for “criminal” U.S. intelligence leaks
April 15th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Thursday, the FBI arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard, over the leaks online of classified documents that embarrassed Washington with allies around the world. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested Teixeira "in connection...
Muslim Americans strive across the U.S. to make Eid Al Fitr a school holiday
April 14th, 20230 By Jihan Abdalla It all started last year, when Saamih Bashir’s eldest son, Kareem, a ninth grade pupil in the U.S. state of Michigan, started complaining about never having the day off from school during Eid Al Fitr. Instead of being able to enjoy the celebrations and time with his family, Kareem said he was stressed out. “He...
Israeli company’s malware used to hack dissidents, activists across 10 countries
April 14th, 20230 An Israeli firm's hacking tools have been used against journalists, opposition figures and advocacy organizations across at least 10 countries — including people in North America and Europe — according to new research published Tuesday by Microsoft Corp and the Internet watchdog Citizen Lab. Citizen Lab said in its report that it...
Biden says he plans on running in 2024
April 14th, 20230 On Monday, President Biden said he plans on running for reelection in 2024, but he’s not yet ready to make an official announcement. Biden spoke with NBC’s Al Roker for a “Today” show segment on the White House Easter egg roll. Roker asked the president if he had plans to host more of the events in the future, a nod to his...
Classified docs leak: Who should go to prison
April 13th, 20230 by Thomas L. Knapp As I write this, Politico reports that the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has made an arrest in the matter of “classified” government documents found circulating on social media after allegedly being posted on an Internet game chat server over a period of weeks or months. The New York Times reports that...President Biden issues a proclamation declaring April 2023 Arab American Heritage Month
April 8th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Friday, March 31, President Biden issued the following proclamation declaring April 2023 as the Arab American Heritage month: "The Arab American story is the American story — one of diverse backgrounds and faiths, vibrant tradition, bold innovation, hard work, commitment to community and stalwart patriotism,...
U.S. citizen gets 20 years for joining ISIS
April 8th, 20230 MIAMI — A U.S. citizen who moved his family to Syria to join the ISIS terrorist group has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Emraan Ali, 55, a U.S. citizen born in Trinidad and Tobago, was sentenced Tuesday in Miami federal court, according to court records. He pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to provide material......
Chicago-based organization launches campaign to educate the community about Ramadan
April 8th, 20230 CHICAGO — GainPeace, in partnership with the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago (CIOGC) and the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA) proudly announces the launch of a four-week joint campaign aimed at educating the broader community about the significance of Ramadan and promoting humanitarian...
Robert Kennedy Jr. to make 2024 Democratic presidential bid
April 8th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a lawyer and vaccine skeptic, will make a bid for the White House in 2024, becoming the second long-shot Democratic candidate to challenge President Biden in his expected run for re-election. Kennedy, 69, the son of assassinated 1968 presidential candidate U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, filed......
Poll: Americans divided over criminal charges against Trump
April 8th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The prosecution of former President Trump has evenly divided Americans, but appears to have boosted his chances of winning the Republican nomination for the 2024 election, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday. The poll was conducted on Wednesday and Thursday, following Tuesday's indictment of...
U.S sanctions Lebanese brothers who sold “compromised fuel”
April 8th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Tuesday, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned two Lebanese brothers accused of selling “dangerously compromised fuel” to Lebanon’s state utility company. The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control blocked Raymond Zina Rahme and Teddy Zina Rahme from accessing U.S. bank accounts and the larger U.S....
U.S. blocks Security Council statement condemning Israeli raids on the Al Aqsa Mosque
April 8th, 20230 NEW YORK – On Thursday, the U.S. blocked the adoption of a U.N. Security Council press statement condemning recent Israeli police raids on the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, diplomats said. A U.N. official told The National that there was initial widespread agreement among the 15 council members to issue a statement following Israel's...
Lying about lying: Why we must revisit the definition of “fake news”
April 4th, 20230 The phrase “fake news” continues to be deployed routinely in U.S. politics. In a polarized political atmosphere, both Republicans and Democrats distrust media organizations affiliated with opposing parties. This means that most of what is uttered or written by CNN is “fake news” for Republicans, and much of what appears in......
Senate votes to repeal Iraq War approval many see now as mistake
March 31st, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate voted Wednesday to repeal the resolution that gave a green light for the 2003 invasion of Iraq, a bipartisan effort to return a basic war power to Congress 20 years after an authorization many now view as a mistake. Iraqi deaths are estimated in the hundreds of thousands, and nearly 5,000 U.S. troops were...
Georgetown opens first-of-its-kind mosque on a U.S. college campus
March 31st, 20230 Every day, Tabshir Forkan walks to Georgetown’s masjid, or mosque, on campus for its daily prayer services. He steps into the sunlit, open worship space to pray. Afterward, he often finds himself in the masjid’s community space, attending spiritual discussions and dinners, studying, meeting with friends. “It’s a space I......
Walmart faces second lawsuit this week over treatment of workers
March 31st, 20230 The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sued Walmart Inc. on Thursday, the agency's second lawsuit in one week accusing the largest U.S. retailer of discrimination against workers with disabilities. The EEOC said Walmart illegally demoted Calvin Hagan for missing too much work at a Raleigh, North Carolina store because...
Trump indicted by Manhattan grand jury on criminal charges
March 31st, 20230 NEW YORK — Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury after a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges even as he makes another run for the White House, a law enforcement source said on Thursday. The charges, arising from an investigation......
