Congresswoman Debbie Dingell introduces the “Abbas Stop Drunk Driving Act”
January 11th, 20190 WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Debbie Dingell has introduced the Abbas Stop Drunk Driving Act. The legislation would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to set a federal motor vehicle safety standard that would require all new vehicles to be equipped with an ignition interlock device. DOT would have to complete this standard...
Syrian refugee’s falafel restaurant named ‘The Nicest Place in America’
January 10th, 20190 KNOXVILLE, TN — The restaurant Yassin's Falafel House here has officially been named 'The Nicest Place in America' by Reader's Digest and Good Morning America. Good Morning America host Robin Roberts made the announcement on Thursday to owner Yassin Terou, who traveled to New York in hopes of winning. Nearly 500 people submitted...
Minnesota congresswoman becomes first to don hijab after 181 year-old law is changed
January 9th, 20190 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Newly elected Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar was sworn in on Thursday, January 3, the same day as fellow American Muslim Rashida Tlaib of Michigan. While the soft-spoken Omar did not grab as many headlines as Tlaib did with her comments in the past month, she did usher in a new rule change that will have a...
116th Congress most diverse in U.S. history
January 8th, 20190 WASHINGTON - A record number of women, 126, took the oath of office in the Thursday swearing-in of the 116th U.S. Congress. It is the most diverse group of lawmakers to assemble on Capitol Hill, with the first two Muslim American women, the first two Native American women, the first two Latinas from Texas, the first Black woman from...
Latino-Arab American Ammar Campa-Najjar narrowly lost in midterms, plans to run in 2020
January 7th, 20190 SAN DIEGO - In November, Ammar Campa-Najjar hoped to become the first Latino Arab-American member of Congress. Though he was facing off against Rep. Duncan Hunter – who with an ongoing finance scandal is embroiled in controversy – he faced an uphill battle. The 50th Congressional District in California – which encompasses parts of...
Amazon pulls offensive doormats with Islamic religious text after several complaints
January 4th, 20191 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, CAIR, welcomed a decision from retailer Amazon to removal numerous doormats, bath mats and other items imprinted with Islamic calligraphy, references to the Prophet Muhammad and verses from the Qu'ran, Islam's holy book, according to a press...
Iran rejects U.S. warning against space launches, ballistic missiles
January 3rd, 20190 Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif rejected a U.S. warning against carrying out space vehicle launches and missile tests, saying on Thursday they did not violate a U.N. resolution. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a pre-emptive warning to Iran earlier on Thursday against pursuing three planned space rocket...
Survey finds many Americans lack basic knowledge about the Holocaust
January 3rd, 20191 The conference on Jewish Material Claims against Germany released survey findings that show one-third of Americans think “substantially less" than 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust. The survey, which highlights a lack of basic knowledge about the World War II genocide, showed a notable lack of understanding among...
FDA approves two new cancer treatments after fast tracked reviews
December 30th, 20180 The new cancer drugs Vitrakvi and Xospata were approved this past week after expedited reviews according to a report from CNN, with one expected to make an impact on the treatment options for childhood patients and the other for adults. Vitrakvi, which was approved this past Monday, was approved for both adult and pediatric cancer...
Snyder vetoes controversial GOP power play proposal, 40 other lame-duck bills
December 30th, 20180 LANSING — Governor Rick Snyder rejected 41 lame-duck bills on Friday according to a report from the Detroit Free Press, including a measure that would have given Republican-led lawmakers more authority to intervene in legal battles next year, in anticipation of Democrats taking over top posts within the state. The proposal was...
Immigrants to high-income countries may be healthier than native-born people
December 29th, 20180 A new research review has suggested that international migrants who come to high income countries to work, study or join families are less likely to die prematurely than people born in their new homelands, according to a report from Reuters. “Migrants to rich countries have lower rates of death due to most major disease areas...
4 tips for a good, safe online shopping experience
December 24th, 20180 Unless you enjoy the bustle of traditional holiday shopping, you’re probably thankful for being able to get what you need online. Unfortunately, the Federal Trade Commission has gotten reports from consumers who didn’t get their orders as expected — or never got them at all. Here are tips to have a good online shopping...
Federal appeals court reverses lower court ruling, backs Trump administration bid to deport some Iraqis
December 24th, 20180 NEW YORK — On Thursday, a federal appeals court backed the Trump administration in its attempt to deport about 100 Iraqi immigrants who'd been convicted of crimes years ago. A divided Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked President Trump’s bid to send the immigrants back to Iraq....
Florida man tries to pay for McDonalds order with bag of marijuana
December 24th, 20180 PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Police said a 23-year-old man went through a McDonald's drive-thru and attempted to pay for his order with a bag of marijuana. News outlets report that Port St. Lucie, Florida police say the fast food worker declined the trade and Anthony Andrew Gallagher drove off, only to return again a short time...
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......
