Whitmer files lawsuit to stop state’s abortion law, in case U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe V. Wade
April 8th, 20220 LANSING — Governor Whitmer became the first governor to file a lawsuit to protect abortion rights, in anticipation of a possible overturning of an overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. Whitmer filed the suit using her executive authority to ask the Michigan Supreme Court to immediately resolve whether Michigan’s...
Congress members urge Biden to ensure “free and fair” Lebanese election
April 8th, 20220 U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) is joining a group of two dozen U.S. House members to urge the Biden administration to work with Lebanese officials to ensure that the upcoming parliamentary elections on May 15 are carried out on time, transparently and free of corruption. The group sent out a letter to Secretary of State Antony...
President Biden issues letter celebrating Arab American Heritage Month
April 4th, 20220 WASHINGTON D.C. — President Biden sent out a message commemorating National Arab American Heritage Month over the weekend, reproduced here in full. On Friday, the president tweeted, "The history and story of the Arab American community is deeply woven into the diverse tapestry of America. This National Arab American Heritage...
Organizations call for Ramadan boycott of Israeli dates grown and packaged in illegal settlements
April 1st, 20220 A rights organization is relaunching a Ramadan boycott of Israeli dates grown on illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, and harvested through abusive treatment of Palestinian workers. American Muslims for Palestine’s (AMP) National Israeli Date Boycott Campaign 2022 is a nationwide boycott of dates produced in Israeli...
The billion dollar deal that made Google and Amazon partners in the Israeli occupation of Palestine
March 26th, 20220 “We are anonymous because we fear retaliation.” This sentence was part of a letter signed by 500 Google employees last October, in which they decried their company’s direct support for the Israeli government and military. In their letter, the signatories protested a $1.2 billion contract between Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS)...
What time is it? U.S. Senate vote sets off debate on daylight saving time
March 18th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a bitterly divided Washington, Republicans and Democrats apparently agree on one thing: The twice-yearly ritual of changing clocks needs to end. Even with that rare show of bipartisan consensus, it is less clear whether the county will be able to agree on a common time standard. On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate...
Californian Chaldean community’s lawsuit provides interesting example in redistricting disputes
March 12th, 20220 SAN DIEGO — San Diego County’s deep rooted Chaldean community says it is being disenfranchised by the County’s redistricting of the area in which most of this ethnic and religious minority group resides. A group representing the concentrated Chaldean community in the East County has said the county's redistricting efforts have...
Biden administration misses big chance to reduce prescription drug costs
March 12th, 20220 By Carl Schmid President Biden has repeatedly promised to make health care more affordable. And his administration has taken some important steps. But sadly, officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just passed up an opportunity to save patients millions at the pharmacy. In December, the CMS released a draft of...
U.S. accused of hypocrisy for supporting sanctions against Russia, but not Israel
March 11th, 20220 By Chris McGreal The U.S. and some of its European allies are facing accusations of double standards for supporting sanctions and international war crimes investigations against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine while blocking them over Israeli military actions in the occupied Palestinian territories. But pro-Israel groups in the...
Gas prices hit record highs in the U.S.
March 9th, 20220 Americans are now experiencing soaring gas prices, surging more than 30 percent since Russia invaded Ukraine and the U.S. and other countries imposed a raft of sanctions. The Biden administration has already begun looking at scenarios in which oil tops $200 a barrel, with gas stations already topping $4 a gallon in many...
U.S. to resume Iraqi refugee program after fraud investigation
March 6th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. said on Tuesday it has reopened a refugee program for Iraqis that was placed on hold for more than a year during an investigation into fraud. Officials will resume processing applications that were suspended during the probe and accepting new petitions for resettlement as part of the Iraqi "Direct Access"...
Russia invades Ukraine in biggest attack on another state in Europe since WW2; U.S. imposes sanctions on Moscow
February 25th, 20220 News of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday shored up global anxieties over a conflict that has the potential to drag in regional powers and the U.S., marking the biggest attack by one state against another in Europe since World War Two. The invasion began Thursday morning with attacks by land, sea and air, with missiles...
Arab, female-founded “relationship” app sees growing global success
February 22nd, 20220 DETROIT — A U.S.-based, Arab female-owned dating app has seen a massive increase in users around the world and growing popularity in international app markets. Baklava, an "Arab relationship app for dating, marriage and friendships", announced last week that it is now at 160,000 plus downloads and growing. The app is now seeing...
Key U.S.-Canada bridge reopens as Ottawa protest persists
February 14th, 20220 WINDSOR — The busiest U.S.-Canada border crossing was open Monday after protesters demonstrating against COVID-19 measures blocked it for nearly a week, but a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa, persisted as city residents seethed over authorities’ inability to reclaim the streets. Demonstrations against virus restrictions and...
Report shows millennials, desperate for home ownership, take risks, face remorse amid inflation
February 8th, 20220 A new real estate report reveals the desperation and anxieties behind millennial home ownership in the pandemic-era home market. The report, published by Clever, a real estate data company, says it surveyed millennials to get insight into the economic reality of their home buying habits and preferences. In popular understanding, a......
ISIS leader Quraishi kills himself during Syria raid, U.S. says
February 3rd, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The leader of ISIS died when he blew himself and family members up during a U.S. military raid in Syria, President Biden said on Thursday, dealing a blow to the jihadist group's efforts to reorganize as a guerrilla force after losing large swathes of territory. Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Quraishi had led ISIS...
DOJ says Kansas woman led all-female ISIS battalion
February 1st, 20220 The U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has alleged an American woman, Allison Fluke-Ekren, 42, of organizing and leading an all-female military battalion on behalf of ISIS. The DOJ has charged Fluke-Ekren with providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, which the U.S has designated a foreign terrorist......
U.S. doesn’t care for China’s Muslims: Boycotting the Olympics is about global competition
January 28th, 20220 The diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games may go down in history as the official start of the cold war between the U.S., a handful of its allies and China. The American strategy, however, of using boycotts to pressure Beijing in the name of “human rights”, may prove costly in the future. On December...
Bengali American could become first Muslim woman federal judge
January 19th, 20220 NEW YORK — Nusrat Jahan Choudhury, a Bengali American, has been nominated by President Biden to serve as federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Choudhury would become the first Muslim woman and the first Bangladeshi American to serve as a federal judge and the...
MLK Day and the legacy of spying on activists
January 17th, 20220 MLK Day, since being signed into law as a national holiday by President Reagan, has come to symbolize a moment of national reflection on the state of race relations in America. Although Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the end of his life was a staunch champion against militarism and economic exploitation, seminal moments such as his...
Schools nationwide to receive 5 million COVID tests from the federal government
January 14th, 20220 Schools in the U.S. can expect additional COVID-19 tests, being made available by the federal government, in about two weeks. The additional tests are part of a Biden administration strategy to keep schools open during a nationwide coronavirus surge, accelerated by the highly contagious Omicron variant. The White House has said the......
Palestinian American man, 80, found dead after being held in Israeli raid
January 13th, 20220 OCCUPIED West Bank — An 80-year-old Palestinian American man was found dead after being detained and handcuffed during an Israeli raid on an occupied West Bank village, Palestinian officials and relatives said on Wednesday. The U.S. State Department said that Omar Abdalmajeed As'ad was a U.S. citizen and that it had sought...
No Visa waiver for Israel until Arab American rights are protected
January 12th, 20220 Last week the Jerusalem Post ran a story under the headline “Palestinian Americans to be allowed to land at Ben Gurion Airport.” Israeli officials are now saying that instead of only permitting Palestinian Americans to cross over the Allenby Bridge from Jordan, they will allow them to fly into Israel’s airport and proceed from......
New books by American Muslims: Muslims have stories to tell; are Americans ready to listen?
January 11th, 20220 — This article was contributed by Joseph Richard Preville to The Arab American News. It has been edited for style. Al Qaeda’s terrorist attack on America on September 11, 2001 was horrific, but what came next was far worse. The U.S. responded by unleashing a 20-year campaign of surveillance and harassment against its own Muslim...
U.S., Iran tensions at a high point over sanctions, 2020 Soleimani killing
January 11th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House and Tehran have exchanged harsh words this month, as Iran symbolically sanctioned a list of Americans in connection with the 2020 killing of General Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike. "We will work with our allies and partners to deter and respond to any attacks carried out by Iran," said White......
