“State of the Swamp” will provide live rebuttal to the State of the Union
February 24th, 20260 On February 24, while President Trump delivers his State of the Union address, DEFIANCE.org, the Portland Frog Brigade and COURIER will host State of the Swamp: The Rebuttal to the State of the Union from 7 –11 p.m. EST at the National Press Club. The event will bring together elected officials, cultural figures, journalists,...
ICE expands footprint in Metro Detroit with Romulus detention facility purchase and Southfield office lease
February 20th, 20260 ROMULUS / SOUTHFIELD — Federal preparations in the Detroit area signal a major expansion of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Southeast Michigan, including the purchase of a large detention facility near Detroit Metropolitan Airport and the leasing of administrative office space in Southfield. The...
Detroit Yemenis face deportation as Syrian TPS fight continues in federal court
February 20th, 20260 DETROIT — Thousands of Yemeni and Syrian nationals who have built their lives in the United States under Temporary Protected Status (TPS) now face legal uncertainty after the Trump administration moved to terminate their protections, citing improved conditions in their home countries. For Yemeni TPS holders, the deadline is fast...
“Regime cleavage”: How the “language of humiliation” is engineering a second American civil war
February 20th, 20260 A January 2026 Gallup poll showed that 89 percent of all Americans expect high levels of political conflict this year, as the country heads toward one of its most decisive midterm elections ever. Gallup, however, was stating the obvious. It is a surprise that not all Americans feel this way, judging by the coarse, often outright racist...
Rev. Jesse Jackson, civil rights icon and two-time presidential contender, dies at 84
February 17th, 20260 CHICAGO — The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., the fiery preacher-turned-power broker who carried the civil rights movement into the post–Martin Luther King Jr. era and reshaped modern Democratic politics with two groundbreaking presidential campaigns, died Tuesday, February 17, at 84, according to multiple news reports citing family and...
Republican Rep. Randy Fine faces resignation calls after post suggesting he’d choose dogs over Muslims
February 17th, 20260 Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) prompted calls for his resignation from Democrats and a major Islamic civil rights group after suggesting in a social media post that he'd choose dogs over Muslims. "If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one," Fine posted to the social media platform X on...
Trump plans to announce Gaza funding plan, troops at first Board of Peace meeting, U.S. officials say
February 13th, 20260 WASHINGTON — President Trump will announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a U.N.-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave at the first formal meeting of his Board of Peace next week, two senior U.S. officials said on Thursday. Delegations from at least 20 countries,...
Netanyahu says Trump may be creating conditions for Iran deal
February 13th, 20260 on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped that President Trump was creating the conditions to reach a deal with Iran that would avoid military action. Netanyahu, who met Trump for talks in Washington on Wednesday, said he had expressed "general skepticism" and said that if an agreement was reached, "it must...
Understanding Donald Trump
February 13th, 20260 To understand how President Donald Trump promotes his presidency and policies, especially when challenged, one must understand the impact of Roy Cohn, the late New York attorney, on his approach to politics and power. Cohn was a behind-the-scenes player, a ruthless practitioner of “dirty tricks” and power politics who attached...
“Paying more, getting less” — America’s flailing health system
February 6th, 20260 By Sunita Sohrabji Millions of Americans are facing soaring health insurance premiums and rising out-of-pocket costs. Advocates warn large numbers of people will be priced out of coverage as a result, straining the broader health care system. More than 20 million people enrolled in Affordable Care Act marketplace plans are seeing...
Former U.S. Rep. Lee H. Hamilton, a respected foreign policy maker, dies at 94
February 4th, 20260 Former U.S. Representative Lee H. Hamilton, a former Democratic member of Congress from Indiana and a widely respected authority on U.S. foreign policy whose column appeared regularly in The Arab American News for more than a decade, passed away peacefully late Tuesday night at his home in Bloomington, Indiana. He was 94. Over a 34-year...
Trump’s “Board of Peace” and the reinvention of American power in Gaza and beyond
January 30th, 20260 The history of American power is, in many ways, the history of reinventing rules, or designing new ones, to fit U.S. strategic interests. This may sound harsh, but it is a necessary realization, particularly in light of President Trump’s latest political invention: the so-called Board of Peace. Some have hastily concluded that...
Trump’s Board of Peace is dividing countries in Europe and the Middle East
January 23rd, 20260 Divisions emerged Wednesday over U.S. President Trump’s Board of Peace as its ambitions have grown beyond Gaza, with some Western European countries declining to join, others remaining noncommittal and a group of Muslim countries agreeing to sign on. The developments underscored European concerns over the expanded and divisive scope...
Trump’s authoritarian dream is crumbling and America is paying the price
January 23rd, 20260 By Mohamad Ozeir This week marked the first anniversary of President Trump’s return to the White House for a second term, after a forced four-year interruption. That comeback was loaded — during those loud and turbulent years — with authoritarian promises, racist delusions, totalitarian programs, distorted ideas and hotheaded...
Trump’s military assault on Venezuela may not end well
January 23rd, 20260 President Trump might be popping corks, toasting “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.” Celebrations, however, are premature. In reality, the assault on Venezuela and kidnapping and transfer of President Maduro to stand trial in U.S. court are by no......
Five takeaways from the Reuters interview with President Trump
January 16th, 20260 In a Reuters Oval Office interview, President Trump dismissed concerns about Greenland, the economy and a probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, offered limited clarity on Iran, acknowledged obstacles in the Gaza and Ukraine peace efforts, defended ICE operations and warned Republicans could lose seats in the midterms. Here are some...
Let’s resolve to strengthen Congress
January 16th, 20261 The start of a new year is traditionally a time to reflect on past failures and make resolutions for doing better. Here’s a suggestion for members of Congress: They should resolve to start asserting their rightful role as a separate and coequal branch of government. Such a resolution will need to extend well past 2026. Congress has......
U.S. tells U.N. Security Council all options on table, Iran warns it will respond to any aggression
January 16th, 20260 The United States stands by the “brave people of Iran” and President Trump "has made it clear all options are on the table to stop the slaughter," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the U.N. Security Council on Thursday. Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in support of protesters in Iran, where...
When laughter becomes a crime: Amer Zahr speaks about his detention by the Israeli police after comedy show in Nazareth
January 9th, 20260 DETROIT / NAZARETH — Amer Zahr did not expect to be questioned about laughter. It never crossed his mind that a joke — one he had delivered on the same stages for years — would be treated that night as if it were a document requiring interpretation, or a position warranting investigation. He arrived in Nazareth carrying what he...
ICE kills legal observer in cold blood in Minneapolis
January 9th, 20260 A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday. The woman, a legal observer identified as Renee Nicole Good, was in her vehicle, apparently attempting to leave the scene. As she did so, an agent emerged, aimed his gun, and shot her in the...
America First or Israel First: Owen Shroyer’s break with Trump and the cost of dissent
January 9th, 20260 Owen Shroyer has never been a figure built for quiet loyalty. His rise came inside the loud and confrontational universe of populist media, a space where certainty is prized and compromise is treated as weakness. Yet in recent months, Shroyer has turned that confrontational style inward, directing it not at liberals or the political......
U.S. media coverage of Gaza continues to be disconnected from realities
January 8th, 20260 After more than two years of Israel’s assault on Gaza, one might think that there would be appreciable improvement in the way the Israeli/Palestinian issue is understood and presented. But U.S. press treatment of last week’s meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear we still have a...
Participating in civic life is our duty as American citizens
January 7th, 20260 It’s a fundamental premise of American democracy that our elected representatives will do what we expect them to do. That doesn’t mean we can dictate every action they take. Overall, however, their job is to represent their constituents, not anyone else. But here’s the catch. Politicians can only do what we want if they know what......
National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard fuels anti-Muslim rhetoric, targets Muslim-majority cities led by Dearborn
December 26th, 20251 As anti-Muslim rhetoric intensifies across the United States, particularly toward American Muslim communities led by the city of Dearborn, National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard rode what critics describe as a wave of incitement this week, through a highly charged speech at the Americafest Conference, amplifying narratives that...
Why Zohran Mamdani won: Demographics, grassroots power and Gaza
December 26th, 20250 Analysts are still working to understand Zohran Mamdani’s decisive victory in last month’s New York mayoral race. Like the blind men in the old Indian story of the “Blind Men and the Elephant”, the explanations offered have been mostly accurate but incomplete. Mamdani’s focus on affordability was appealing, as was his......
