UIC report examines experiences, racial justice for Chicagoland’s Arab Americans
March 12th, 20230 According to U.S. Census data, more than 100,000 Arab Americans reside in the Chicago metropolitan area, representing about 90 percent of all Arab Americans in Illinois. Many scholars and community leaders contend this is an undercount due to Arab Americans not having a racial category of their own on the Census. They note that this not...
Dingell, colleagues introduce legislation to make home care coverage mandatory under Medicaid
March 12th, 20230 WASHINGTON – On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D- Ann Arbor), Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman Ed.D. (D-NY) introduced the HCBS Access Act to make HCBS a mandatory benefit within Medicaid and ensure eligible older adults and people with disabilities have the option to choose between home care and institutional...
House hawks kill bipartisan effort to end the war in Syria
March 12th, 20230 Ahead of a vote on his resolution to force congressional oversight on the continuation of U.S. military operations in Syria, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was feeling bullish. “Hope springs eternal,” he told The Intercept when asked whether the measure would pass. The resolution was ultimately voted down on Wednesday night, March 8, with 47...
Bill requiring Arab Americans be counted in state data progresses to Illinois House vote
March 11th, 20230 CHICAGO – On Wednesday, a bill that would ensure those who identify themselves as Middle Eastern or North African are counted in state data progressed in the Illinois House of Representatives. The legislation, House Bill 3768, passed the State Government Administration Committee. It will go to the House floor for a vote, and then...
Biden’s $6.8 trillion budget challenges Republicans, raises taxes on rich
March 10th, 20230 PHILADELPHIA – On Thursday, President Biden unveiled plans for government spending and higher taxes on the wealthy, choosing the swing state of Pennsylvania to reveal his playbook for an expected 2024 re-election bid. Speaking at a Philadelphia union hall, the Democratic president challenged his Republican opposition on fiscal...
U.S. rights groups call on the Biden administration to ban Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country
March 10th, 20230 Several advocacy and rights groups throughout the United States are calling for the U.S. government to issue an entry ban on Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, after Smotrich called for Huwwara to be “wiped out” earlier this week. Through multiple statements, several groups, including rabbinical groups and...
Syria condemns U.S. top general’s “illegal” visit to American army base
March 10th, 20230 Syria’s foreign ministry has condemned a surprise visit by the United States’ top military officer to an army base in the Kurdish-held northeast, dubbing it “illegal,” state media reported. In his snap visit last Saturday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Mark Milley met U.S. troops stationed in areas of war-torn Syria...
Man caught on camera vandalizing Philadelphia mosque
March 4th, 20230 PHILADELPHIA - The man believed to be responsible for vandalizing a mosque in East Mount Airy over the weekend has been arrested and charged, according to the District Attorney's Office. Police launched an investigation after a man was caught on camera vandalizing the Masjidullah mosque on Limekiln Pike around midnight Saturday, the...
Israeli minister’s call to “erase” Palestinian village an incitement to violence, U.S. says
March 4th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's call for a Palestinian village to be "erased" amounted to incitement to violence and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must publicly disavow it, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday. An ultranationalist in Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, Smotrich made the comments...
James Abourezk, first Arab American U.S. senator and founder of the ADC, dies at 92
March 3rd, 20230 James Abourezk, a South Dakota Democrat who grew up on the Rosebud Indian Reservation, became the first Arab American U.S. senator and was known for his quick wit as he advocated for populist causes, died Friday. He was 92. Abourezk died at his home in Sioux Falls on his birthday after entering hospice care earlier this...
Father and son charged for kidnapping, attempting to force daughter/sister to marry in Yemen
February 27th, 20230 BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced on Feb. 16 that Khaled Abughanem, 50, and Waleed Abughanem, 32, both of Lackawanna, NY, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with conspiracy to kidnap persons in a foreign country. The charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles...
Biden administration proposes new restrictions on asylum
February 27th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, the Biden administration announced its new plan to restrict which migrants can apply for asylum at the border, likely setting off a flurry of court battles. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rolled out the new rule, which would limit some migrants arriving by land from requesting asylum...
Former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, founder of the ADC, enters hospice care
February 24th, 20230 James Abourezk, who served as a Democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, representing South Dakota, is entering hospice care, according to a release from the family. The family said Abourezk, who will turn 92 on Friday, was released from a Sioux Falls hospital and will enter the care of a hospice team, along with...
Oak Lawn, IL police officer facing criminal charges after punching Arab American teen during arrest
February 24th, 20231 OAK LAWN, IL — A police officer is facing criminal charges following a video that surfaced showing him and several other police officers punching a 17-year-old boy while trying to arrest him. The arrest took place last summer. According to reports, officer Patrick O'Donnell was indicted by a grand jury in Cook County on Tuesday. He...
Michigan is home to the top-ranked public square in the entire U.S.
February 24th, 20230 DETROIT — It’s home to an urban beach surrounded by skyscrapers in the summer and an ice skating rink in the winter. Campus Martius Park in downtown Detroit just took home the top-ranking for best public square in the country in the 2023 USA Today 10 Best Readers’ Choice Awards contest. The results of the USA Today contest were......
Here are the top scams of 2022, totaling $8.8 billion in losses
February 24th, 20230 What are scammers up to these days? Every day, people just like you tell the FTC what they’ve spotted, and maybe even lost money to. Then, every year, the FTC rolls up all those millions of reports about fraud, scams and bad business practices to tell the story: what ARE scammers up to these days? The 2022 headline is this: scammers...
Arab American teen charged with stabbing his father to death at convenience store in Indiana, then going to school
February 24th, 20230 FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Ahmed Al-Malahi, 16, was arrested in Indiana and charged for the Feb. 7 murder of his father, Tawfika Al-Malahi. The Al-Malachi family moved recently from Dearborn to Indiana to open a store in Fort Wayne. The Coroner’s Office in Allen County, Indiana confirmed that Fort Wayne Police found Tawfika......
San Francisco reverses decision to recognize major Muslim holidays in schools, sparking outrage
February 24th, 20230 SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco School District has backtracked on a decision to make Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha school holidays, sparking backlash from the local Muslim and Arab community, who say the move gives in to racist opposition. Late last month, the San Francisco Unified School District issued a number of recommendations...
Opinion: Syria held hostage by the U.S. and its allies
February 17th, 20230 By Nimri Aziz Perhaps the most agonizing experience for a family, for any bystander, even for humanitarian professionals, is a double tragedy —a death or calamity where they are refused access, where they are forced to helplessly witness suffering, unable to offer succor. This is surely what faces millions of able-bodied Syrians...
Biden withdraws candidate’s nomination to human rights post for criticizing Israel
February 17th, 20230 The Biden administration has withdrawn the nomination of a leading law professor to an international human rights post, for describing Israel as an “apartheid state” and accusing the top Democrat in Congress of being “bought” by pro-Israel groups. James Cavallaro, of Wesleyan and Yale universities, said he was told by the...
Nasrallah warns U.S.: If you push Lebanon into chaos, we will retaliate against your “protégé” Israel
February 17th, 20231 BEIRUT – Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is threatening the Israeli Karish gas field with warnings that if there is “procrastination” with gas extraction from Lebanese waters for Lebanon, operations will be stopped at the Israeli Karish field. “If there is an intentional procrastination regarding the issue......
Two cheers for Matt Gaetz’s Ukraine war resolution
February 16th, 20230 By Thomas L. Knapp On February 9, U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and 10 Republican co-sponsors introduced a resolution "expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States must end its military and financial aid to Ukraine, and urges all combatants to reach a peace agreement." When Matt Gaetz is...
Dearborn man arrested for Santa Monica stabbing death of his friend
February 4th, 20230 DEARBORN – On November 2, at approximately 2:43 p.m., Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) officers were dispatched to the Lot 1 North Parking Lot at 1550 Pacific Coast Highway to check the status of a male inside a vehicle that appeared to be deceased. When officers arrived on scene, they confirmed the subject to be......
New York woman charged with financing terrorist groups in Syria through cryptocurrency
February 4th, 20230 A New York City woman has been charged with using cryptocurrency to provide financial support to terrorist groups in Syria, a rare prosecution involving virtual currency to fund terrorism. The 11-count indictment charged Victoria Jacobs, 43, who was known as Bakhrom Talipov, with providing support for an act of terrorism, money...
Michigan doctor sentenced to 16.5 years in prison for his part in a fraudulent health care scheme
February 3rd, 20230 A Michigan doctor, Francisco Patino, M.D., was sentenced to 16.5 years in prison for his role in a fraudulent health care scheme. This scheme generated more than $250 million in false and counterfeit claims that were submitted to Medicare, Medicaid and other health insurance programs, as well exploited patients suffering from addiction......
