Government reviewing reports of Chinese forced labor goods in U.S. market
December 21st, 20180 WASHINGTON— The U.S. government said Tuesday it is reviewing reports of forced labor at a Chinese internment camp where ethnic minorities are sewing clothes being shipped to the U.S. market. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that reports from the AP and other media “appears to link the internment camps...
Texas mother sentenced for leaving daughters in car overnight while partying
December 21st, 20180 KERRVILLE, Texas — A Texas mother was sentenced Wednesday for leaving her two daughters in a car overnight while she was at a party, resulting in their deaths. Amanda Hawkins was sentenced to 40 years in prison. In September, Hawkins plead guilty to two felony counts of abandoning or endangering a child causing imminent danger...
Bahia Amawi and the strangest loyalty oath Americans are forced to take
December 21st, 20181 Bahia Amawi works as children's speech pathologist for the Pflugerville Independent School District in Texas. Or, rather, she used to work as a children's speech pathologist for the district. After nine years, Glenn Greenwald reports at The Intercept, the district's administration declined to renew her contract because she refused to...
Defense Secretary Mattis quits after clashing with Trump on policies
December 21st, 20180 WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis abruptly said he was quitting on Thursday after falling out with President Trump over his foreign policies, one day after Trump rebuffed top advisers and decided to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria. Mattis announced plans to resign in a candid resignation letter to Trump that laid bare...
Senators Sanders and Feinstein oppose pending bill criminalizing boycotts of Israel
December 21st, 20180 WASHINGTON — The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS) has been gaining steam over the past several years as activists worldwide have sought to put pressure on an Israeli government that has continuously acted with impunity against Palestinians in occupied territories. But a pending bill titled the Israel Anti-Boycott Act...
Texas speech pathologist loses her job after refusing to sign pro-Israel pledge
December 21st, 20180 AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin public school district told a children’s speech pathologist she cannot renew her contract because she refused to sign a statement pledging not to boycott Israel. Bahia Amawi said that the no-boycott requirement is a violation of her First Amendment right of free speech. Amawi, a child language...
Trump orders withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syria, claims victory against ISIS
December 21st, 20180 WASHINGTON — President Trump has begun what will be a total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, declaring on Wednesday they have succeeded in their mission to defeat ISIS and were no longer needed in the country. A decision to pull out completely, confirmed by U.S. officials, coincides with the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops finishing...
We must fix our priorities as a nation
December 15th, 20180 Let us talk about the future, our priorities and what we are facing in this country today. Mohamad Osman passed away after a long and hard fought battle against cancer and left us with a monumental task to complete. His passing wasn’t an accident, it was of illness that could have been healed, if we had invested soundly in the...
Among my biggest disappointments in politics
December 14th, 20180 The other day, a friend asked what surprised me most about politics. This may seem strange, but I’d never really thought about the question. My response was off-the-cuff but heartfelt. The biggest surprise is also among my biggest disappointments with American political life: The ongoing effort by politicians to suppress...
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell: Congress has a moral responsibility to end the war in Yemen
December 14th, 20180 WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D- Dearborn) has released an official statement highly critical of continued U.S. military action in Yemen, based in large part on feedback from constituents in her hometown of Dearborn. “Families in my hometown are telling me about horrific conditions," Dingell said in a statement released...
Senator Gary Peters to serve as ranking member on Homeland Security Committee
December 14th, 20181 WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) will serve as ranking member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate’s principal oversight committee, in the 116th Congress. The committee is responsible for ensuring all federal departments and agencies are operating effectively and also oversees the...
U.S. Senate deals Trump double rebuke on Saudi Arabia
December 14th, 20180 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate delivered a rare double rebuke to President Trump on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, voting to end U.S. military support for the war in Yemen and blaming the Saudi crown prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The votes were largely symbolic because to become law the resolutions would have to pass...
ACLU files lawsuit against Florida sheriff over ICE collaboration
December 11th, 20180 KEY WEST, FLA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Southern Poverty Law Center and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP filed a federal lawsuit Monday Dec. 3 on behalf of a natural-born U.S. citizen who was detained as a result of a Florida sheriff’s collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The ACLU...
Man charged with felony for pulling gun on Muslim teens at McDonald’s in Minnesota
December 10th, 20180 HENNEPIN COUNTY, MN — A harrowing incident at a Minnesota McDonald's captured on videotape and viewed more than 2 million times on Twitter has led to charges of felony terroristic threats against 55-year-old Lloyd Edward Johnson of Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Johnson was also charged with carrying a pistol without a permit, a gross...
Senators working behind the scenes to pass anti-Israel boycott law during lame duck session
December 9th, 20180 WASHINGTON — Boycott movements have long been an effective tool for protesters, but a new bill being pushed through Congress aims to penalize people speaking in favor of one of the most popular worldwide boycott movements today: The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) is among......
Congresswoman-elect Rashida Tlaib to lead delegation to Israeli-occupied West Bank
December 9th, 20180 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Due in large part to the abundance of pro-Israel lobbying from organizations like AIPAC, Congressmen and Congresswomen in the United States have largely avoided pledging any support for Palestinians, vocal or otherwise. But newly-elected Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from the 13th District,...
Local attorney helps Dearborn Heights man gets citizenship after 50 years of denial
December 8th, 20180 DEARBORN HEIGHTS — For Jim Pawlukiewicz, a Vietnam veteran who has lived in the U.S. since childhood, the immigration and citizenship process was a 50-year nightmare of never-ending bureaucracy, red tape and roadblocks. However, Pawlukiewicz, 72, finally had his breakthrough this May thanks in large part to his simple refusal to......
U.S. fails to win enough support at U.N. to condemn Hamas
December 7th, 20180 UNITED NATIONS — A U.S. attempt to get the United Nations to condemn the Palestinian militant group Hamas for the first time failed on Thursday because the draft resolution fell short of votes needed in the General Assembly. The resolution required two-thirds support and while Assembly resolutions are non-binding, they can carry...
America mourns the 41st president, George H. W. Bush
December 7th, 20180 WASHINGTON, D.C. — St. Martin's Episcopal Church was the site of Wednesday's memorial service for former President George H. W. Bush, a Republican and father of six, including his eldest son, President George W. Bush. Bush, 94, the nation's 41st president, had been battling several diseases in recent years, including vascular...
More than 12 million pounds of raw beef recalled due to possible salmonella contamination
December 7th, 20180 WASHINGTON — According to the USDA, Arizona-based meat producer JBS Tolleson, Inc. has recalled almost 6 million more pounds of raw beef products. This is an expansion of another recall that happened in October, when more than 6 million pounds of raw beef were declared potentially contaminated. Overall, JBS is recalling approximately...
Lebanese man fined $50 million, sent to prison for helping Hezbollah
December 7th, 20180 WASHINGTON — A Lebanese businessman sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury Department for being an important financial supporter of Hezbollah pleaded guilty on Thursday to charges associated with evading U.S. sanctions imposed on him, the U.S. Justice Department said. Kassim Tajideen, 63, pleaded guilty to conspiring with at least five......
Study: Illegal immigrants in U.S. at lowest level since 2004
December 1st, 20180 WASHINGTON — The population of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. fell to 10.7 million in 2016, its lowest level since 2004, due largely to a decline in the number of people coming from Mexico, a study released on Tuesday said. The report from the Pew Research Center, pewrsr.ch/2Qptbid, based on U.S. Census data and other figures...
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell elected to leadership position, appoints new chief of staff
December 1st, 20180 WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D- Dearborn) was voted by her colleagues on Nov. 29 to serve as co-chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Dingell will work with DPCC Chair David Cicilline (D-RI) and fellow Co-Chairs Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and Ted Lieu (D-CA) to develop the communications strategy......
Muslim police recruit settles discrimination lawsuit with city of Memphis
November 30th, 20180 MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A settlement has been reached between a young Muslim man who filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Mayor Jim Strickland in his official capacity and the Memphis Police Department Training Academy — but it's unknown what the terms of the settlement are. Tareq Elkhayyat, an Arab American of Palestinian...
FBI: Surge in hate crimes in 2017 the largest since 9/11
November 25th, 20180 WASHINGTON — Hate crimes in the United States in 2017 saw the largest increase — to more than 7,000 — since a period immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, new FBI data said Tuesday. The 2017 data is the latest uniform crime reporting compilation of bias-motivated incidents from more than 16,100 U.S. law......
