As Democrats march impeachment articles to the Senate, Republicans prepare for partisan brawl
January 16th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C.— House Democrats set the stage for the impeachment trial of President Trump, only the third trial of its kind in U.S. history, as they carried articles of impeachment to the Senate chambers in a hand-off which takes impeachment proceedings from the Democratic-run House to the Republican-majority Senate. House...
Jeopardy! producers apologize for ruling that Israel, not Palestine, is the birthplace of Jesus
January 15th, 20200 Producers of the iconic game show Jeopardy!, hosted by Alex Trebek, have apologized for a recent incorrect ruling on the birthplace of Jesus that it has chalked up to “human error in post-production.” The show mistakenly ruled that his birthplace was at the Church of the Nativity in Israel, when the correct answer should have the...
Fixing the system is up to all of us
January 15th, 20200 You no doubt remember the old line attributed to Ben Franklin when he was asked what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had created: “A republic, if you can keep it!” Well, I’ve noticed an interesting thing in recent years: It’s got bi-partisan appeal. Last fall, for instance, within a few weeks of each other,...
New report shows killing of Soleimani had been an option for seven months
January 14th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C — A new report by NBC News claims President Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani seven months ago with the condition that Trump would have final signoff on any specific plans to kill the general. The information was provided by five current and former senior...
After Florida killings, Saudis withdraw 21 cadets from the United States
January 13th, 20200 WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Saudi Arabia will withdraw 21 cadets receiving military training in the United States following a U.S. investigation into a Saudi officer’s fatal shooting of three Americans at a Florida naval base that Attorney General William Barr branded an act of terrorism on Monday. The Dec. 6 attack further complicated...
Pentagon admits there was no specific evidence of attack on four U.S. embassies
January 12th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Defense Secretary Mark Esper contradicted President Trump on Sunday, saying he did not see any specific evidence from intelligence officials that Iran had plans to attack four U.S. embassies. Trump has used these purported plans to justify the Jan. 2 killing of Iran Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani in...
U.S. House votes to rein in Trump’s war powers against Iran
January 10th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Thursday to stop President Trump from further military action against Iran as the Middle East remained tense after the U.S. killing of a top Iranian commander and Iran’s retaliatory missile strikes. The resolution passed 224-194 along party lines in the...
Washington rebuffs Iraqi request to pull out troops
January 10th, 20200 BAGHDAD/WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has rebuffed an Iraqi request on Friday to prepare to pull out its troops, amid heightened U.S.-Iranian tensions following the U.S. killing of an Iranian commander in Baghdad. Iraq looks set to bear the brunt of any further violence between its neighbor Iran and the United States, its...
Egyptian American actor Ramy Youssef wins first major film award of 2020
January 10th, 20200 BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Egyptian American actor Ramy Youssef took home the first major film award of 2020 this past Sunday, winning the Golden Globe award for best actor in a comedy TV series for his role in "Ramy", a comedy-drama that premiered on Hulu in 2019. Youssef, who plays the eponymous character, also served as its co-creator...
U.S. flirts with war in the Middle East: A looming military conflict with Iran
January 10th, 20200 The world has been in the grips of an uncertain fear since it woke up to news of the Jan. 2 assassination of a top Iranian general at the hands of the U.S.. Images from recent memory of endless, expensive and insane military ventures in the Middle East became vivid once more as Tehran promised revenge and President Trump goaded the...
Woman accused of hate crime after allegedly trying to choke a Muslim student with her headscarf
January 9th, 20200 PORTLAND, OR — A 23-year-old Oregon woman has been charged with hate crimes after she allegedly attempted to choke a Muslim student with her headscarf. The woman, Jasmine Renee Campbell, has been indicted on hate crime, attempted strangulation, harassment and criminal mischief charges following an attack that occurred in November on...
Trump indicates deescalation with Iran, promises further economic sanctions
January 8th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. - At the White House on Wednesday, President Trump seemed to simmer down days of heated rhetoric and said the U.S. would not respond to early morning missile attacks on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops with military force. Early Wednesday, both Iranian authorities and U.S officials confirmed Tehran launched a series of...
Senators Rand Paul, Mike Lee rip administration after “overinsulting and demeaning” Iran briefing
January 8th, 20200 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) ripped the Trump administration over a closed-door briefing on Iran on Wednesday, announcing they will now support a resolution attempting to rein in the president's use of military powers. Lee called it “the worst briefing I've ever seen, at least on a...
Iran responds with missile attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq
January 7th, 20200 TEHRAN - Tensions came to a head on early Wednesday as Iran retaliated against the U.S. killing of Iran Revolutionary Guard General Qassem Soleimani by launching a series of surface-to-surface missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. Reuters reports the firing of more than a dozen ballistic missiles from Iranian...
Marvel Comics to debut new Arab American superhero from Dearborn in March
December 31st, 20190 DEARBORN — A new Arab American superhero named Amulet (AKA Fadi Fadlallah) is expected to debut in March, bringing diversity and intrigue to the country's most famous line of comics. The character, who is set to make his debut in the 13th issue of Magnificent Ms. Marvel is the creation of the book's current author Saladin Ahmed and......
Year in review 2019: National controversies involving Trump, the BDS movement and Tlaib take center stage
December 31st, 20190 It's been a eventful 2019 in regards to national stories involving or affecting the Arab American community, with President Trump, U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) among those making headlines along with a series of controversies involving the BDS movement, Israel's occupation of Palestine and more. The...
Ann Arbor city officials and anti-Israeli protesters sued in federal court
December 30th, 20190 ANN ARBOR — A civil suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on December 20 names as defendants members of the Jewish Witnesses for Peace and Friends as well as several Ann Arbor city officials. The plaintiff in the case, Marvin Gerber, is an Ann Arbor resident and a long time member of the Beth......
U.S. Postal Service to Issue new priority mail and priority mail express stamps
December 26th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C — The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has revealed two additions to the 2020 Stamp Program: Big Bend and Grand Island Ice Caves. Both stamps will be released on Saturday, Jan. 18. There will be no national first-day-of-issue ceremony for these stamps. Details on obtaining first-day-of-issue cancellations will be announced in...
Trump manipulates civil rights protections to crack down on BDS on college campuses
December 26th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C – In an extraordinary move that flies in the face of civil rights protections, President Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday to interpret Judaism as a nationality. The order expands Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protections against discrimination to prosecute cases of perceived anti-Semitism on...
DACA beneficiaries could stay in the U.S. for years
December 26th, 20191 LOS ANGELES — While hundreds of thousands of immigrants with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) permits await the decision of the Supreme Court on the future of the program, lawyers and immigrant advocates argue that the vast majority of them have sufficient legal rights to remain in this country for several years and maybe...
United States government sues CVS for fraudulently billing Medicare and Medicaid
December 24th, 20190 NEW YORK — The CVS Health Corporation and its Omnicare unit were sued on Tuesday of last week by the U.S. government, which accused them of violating the federal False Claims Act. The allegations state that CVS illegally dispensed drugs to tens of thousands of patients in assisted living facilities, group homes for people with......
What happens next? President Trump impeached on abuse of power and obstruction of congress charges
December 24th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The 45th president of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump, was officially impeached by the House of Representatives this past Wednesday for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, making him the third president in history to face the possibility of removal by the Senate. The other two presidents...
Former Moroccan ambassador to the U.S., two others charged with visa fraud
December 24th, 20190 NEW YORK — Former Moroccan ambassador to the United States Abdeslam Jaidi, his ex-wife Maria Luisa Estrella and her brother Ramon Singson have been charged by prosecutors in New York with visa fraud, a report from Voice of America said. The defendants have accused of bringing of bringing workers to the United States using fake......
Reuters/Ipsos poll: Less than half of Americans want Trump ousted post-impeachment
December 21st, 20190 NEW YORK — Less than half of Americans polled say President Trump should be removed from office following his impeachment by the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on Thursday, presenting a challenge for Democrats who will seek his ouster in a U.S. Senate trial. The poll was conducted...
House passes resolution supporting a two-state solution to Israel-Palestinian conflict
December 13th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C — Congress approved a resolution supporting a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict last Friday, December 6. The vote was 226-188. The resolution, “H.Res.326 — Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding United States efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through......
