Pro-Israel, pro-corporate outside funds thrown at campaign opposing Talib in 12th District primary
June 5th, 20220 A new political action committee, raising funds from wealthy, pro-Israeli occupation groups and individuals, is mounting attacks against U.S. Rep. Rashida Talib (D-Detroit), in her bid to represent the newly formed 12th District. Urban Empowerment Action is planning to spend upwards of $1 million in campaign funds on one of Tlaib’s...
Maker of Pillsbury products divests from Israel, after multi-year boycott campaign
June 3rd, 20220 After two years of calls by human rights campaigners, General Mills, the company that produces the popular Pillsbury brand of products, has divested its Israeli business. The calls came from a diverse set of organizations and interests, including the Quaker organization American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which promotes "a...
Muslim family intentionally given bacon by McDonald’s employee files discrimination complaint
June 2nd, 20222 CHICOPEE, MASS — A Muslim woman in Massachusetts has filed a legal complaint against a McDonald’s restaurant whose employees purposefully stuffed bacon into a fish sandwich she and her son bought. "McDonald's made my children and me feel unwanted and worthless by intentionally stuffing a fish sandwich full of bacon for no other...
Biden administration seeks Lebanese intelligence chief’s help in freeing Americans held in Syria
May 28th, 20220 BEIRUT — Lebanon’s intelligence chief said Thursday that he met with Biden administration officials this week to discuss ways he could help secure the release of six Americans who are being held prisoner or are missing in Syria, including Austin Tice, a freelance journalist who contributed to The Washington Post. Maj. Gen. Abbas...
Police waited an hour outside Texas school, restraining parents, before tactical team took out gunman
May 27th, 20220 UVALDE, TEXAS — New details emerged this week about a horrific Texas school massacre that left 19 children and two teachers dead. Videos from Tuesday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde show desperate parents outside pleading with officers to storm the building, and some fathers restrained by police brandishing...
Ohio man charged in foiled plot to kill former President George W. Bush
May 27th, 20220 An Iraqi asylum seeker living in Ohio was arrested and charged by federal authorities for aiding and abetting a failed plot to assassinate former President George W. Bush. According to authorities, Shihab Ahmed Shihab, 52, told an FBI informant in November that he wanted to target Bush because he was “responsible for killing many...
New book details the story of Arab Americans in Indianapolis
May 26th, 20220 Arab Indianapolis is an accessible, intimate look at the oft-neglected history of Arab Americans in Greater Indianapolis who have made a remarkable impact on the region since the late 1800s. Written by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis Professor Edward E. Curtis IV, the 160-page Arab Indianapolis features the stories of...
Nine cases of monkeypox confirmed in seven states
May 26th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) said it has identified nine monkeypox cases in seven states across the country as of Wednesday. Symptoms include fever and a distinctive bumpy rash. Cases were confirmed in Massachusetts, Florida, Utah, Washington, California, Virginia and New York. As of...
People in the U.S. don’t support the Gaza blockade. Why won’t congress take action?
May 20th, 20220 By Michael Merryman-Lotze, Truthout Jamea Shalout’s home in Rafah, Gaza consists of two rooms built of cinder blocks and cement. In the room where I met her in late 2019, the only personal belongings visible were the sleeping mats that the family lays out at night and a pile of blankets. Across a dirt courtyard, there is a small...
Biden invokes Defense Production Act to increase infant formula supply
May 19th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Biden took steps on Wednesday to address the shortage of infant formula in the U.S., invoking the Defense Production Act to help manufacturers obtain the ingredients needed to ramp up supply, the White House said. Biden also directed U.S. agencies to use Defense Department commercial aircraft to bring ...
Tlaib introduces congressional bill recognizing, commemorating the Nakba
May 17th, 20221 On Monday, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) introduced a resolution in the U.S. House commemorating and recognizing the 74th anniversary of the Nakba this past Sunday. The Nakba, or “catastrophe” in Arabic, refers to the mass expulsion of Palestinian Arabs from British Mandate Palestine to make way for Israel’s creation...
CUNY Law faculty, several law organizations, endorse students’ BDS resolution against Israel
May 17th, 20222 NEW YORK — Law school faculty at a major university in New York have joined the ranks of educational and professional organizations supporting the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) and recognition of Palestinian rights. Last week, the City University of New York (CUNY) Law Faculty unanimously endorsed a CUNY Law Student...
Free and reduced-cost high speed Internet available to many: Here’s what to know
May 14th, 20220 The Biden administration, Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress have created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible households $30 per month off their Internet bills. The government has secured commitments from 20 leading Internet providers to offer ACP-eligible households a high-speed Internet...
Israeli occupation forces murder renowned Palestinian journalist Shireen Abu Akleh
May 12th, 20220 OCCUPIED WEST BANK — Israel drew international condemnation over its forces' targeted killing of prominent Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. The 51-year-old Palestinian journalist had been with the news organization since 1997 and had covered numerous notable events in the region, like the Second Intifada between the...
Seeking change, Lebanese living abroad cast 142,000 ballots for May 15 parliamentary elections
May 10th, 20220 Lebanese living abroad cast 142,041 ballots for parliamentary elections on Friday and Sunday, many backing political newcomers after the worst crisis since Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war led to widespread poverty and a wave of emigration. Only 225,277 Lebanese living overseas were eligible to participate in the elections in more than 50......
Andy Levin’s opponent, Haley Stevens, has received biggest support from right-wing, pro-Israeli lobby AIPAC
May 7th, 20220 As primary races for Congressional seats in Michigan ramp up, U.S. Reps. Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township) and Haley Stevens (D-Livonia) are in a rare contest to represent the same district. Michigan lost a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives after the latest Census revealed its population has declined over the last 10 years....
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden host Eid al-Fitr reception at the White House
May 5th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, May 2, President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden hosted a reception to celebrate Eid al-Fitr at the White House. The reception welcomed Muslim community members from across the country, including from Michigan, like U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Wayne County Commissioner Sam......
ISIS “Beatle” sentenced to life for murdering U.S. hostages
May 3rd, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, a U.S. judge imposed a lifetime prison sentence on a member of an ISIS militant group nicknamed "The Beatles" who beheaded American hostages, at a hearing where one victim's mother told the defendant, "I will not hate you." U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis in Alexandria, Virginia, held an emotionally...
International medical graduates ease the U.S. doctor shortage
April 28th, 20220 By Dr. G Richard Olds Thousands of young doctors recently learned where they'll be spending the next few years of their lives in residency. A significant number of them will be U.S. citizens who completed medical school abroad. This corps of internationally educated doctors has become increasingly important to the U.S. healthcare...
Bill seeks to include Mid East and North African category in minority-serving health programs
April 27th, 20220 DEARBORN — U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) have joined colleagues to introduce a bill that includes people who identify as Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) as a racial and ethnic minority group in the U.S. Public Health Service Act. The MENA population is categorized as White or "other"...
Tracing Toledo’s Arab American roots for Arab American Heritage Month
April 23rd, 20220 By Zeinab Cheaib April is Arab American Heritage Month, which is particularly special in Toledo, where a vital Arab-American community has contributed to the city's rich history for more than a century. Samir Abu Absi, a professor emeritus at the University of Toledo, said some of the first Arab immigrants came to north......
Muslim American giving aimed at poor totaled $1.8 billion last year, study shows
April 23rd, 20220 By Dan Parks Muslim Americans gave $1.8 billion last year to meet their religious obligation to help the poor, according to a new study by the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. The study counted only giving related to the religious principle known as zakat, which...
BA.2 and its offshoot account for majority of U.S. cases, as travel mask mandate is lifted
April 20th, 20220 With the mutations of Omicron now making up more than 90 percent of COVID-19 cases in the U.S., travelers in the country were suddenly informed that a court order had blocked the Biden administration’s mask mandate on public transportation this week. That ruling from a federal judge on Monday came as COVID-19 infections are......
Six charged, including two from Dearborn, with tax conspiracy and wire fraud
April 15th, 20221 A federal grand jury in Flint returned an indictment on Wednesday, charging Michael Angelo (Angelo), Hassan Kamal Fayad, Mirna Kamal Fayad, Cory Justin Mann, Thomas Reed Quartz and Rosina Angelo with conspiring to defraud the IRS and other crimes. According to the indictment, from approximately 2011 to 2022, Angelo owned and operated...
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......
