US: Syrians built crematorium at prison to dispose of bodies, Syria denies accusations
May 16th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.-The United States has evidence Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government has built a crematorium at a large military prison outside the capital Damascus, a State Department official said on Monday. Stuart Jones, acting assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern Affairs, said U.S. officials believe the...
Trump defends his ‘absolute right’ to share information with Russians
May 16th, 20170 WASHINGTON- Facing a deluge of criticism over his handling of highly classified information, U.S. President Donald Trump defended having shared "facts" with senior Russian officials, saying on Tuesday he had an "absolute right" to do so and had been trying to get Moscow to be more active in combating ISIS militants. Trump's...
Trump to create panel to study voter fraud, suppression: official
May 11th, 20170 WASHINGTON-President Donald Trump plans to create a commission on Thursday to investigate voter fraud and voter suppression, a White House official said, a move that follows Trump's unsubstantiated claims of massive voter fraud in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump planned to sign an executive order creating the Presidential Commission on...
Bronx substitute fired after ripping 8-year-olds hijab off
May 10th, 20170 NEW YORK CITY-A substitute teacher received a scolding by Education Department officials after he ripped a hijab off the head of a Bronx second-grader last Tuesday. Police sources said on 1 p.m. on that day, Oghenetega Edah, 31, demanded that Safa Alzockary, 8 take off her religious scarf around 1 p.m. last Tuesday, cops said. The...
U.S. anti-Muslim bias incidents increased in 2016, group says
May 9th, 20170 BOSTON- When the Masjid Al-Kareem mosque in Providence, Rhode Island, received a threatening letter in November calling Muslims a "vile and filthy people," its members were frightened enough they asked for and got extra police protection. The 42-year-old mosque was far from alone. The letter it received was one of 2,213 anti-Muslim...
Muslim shopper harassed at Trader Joe’s
May 8th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― A video of a woman appearing to tell off a Muslim shopper went viral, in which the woman told her, “I wish they didn’t let you in the country." The encounter allegedly took place at a Trader Joe’s in northern Virginia over the weekend, according to a South Carolina-based comedian who posted the video and claimed...
Federal reserve keeps interest rate unchanged at .75 to 1 percent
May 5th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, but downplayed weak first-quarter economic growth and emphasized the strength of the labor market, in a sign it could tighten monetary policy as early as June. In a bullish statement following the end of a two-day policy meeting, the central bank also...
CNN won’t air Trump’s ‘100 days’ ad
May 5th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C. — An ad by Donald Trump's campaign that featured the president jeering at the mainstream media network CNN for being "fake news" will not be aired by the station, sources said Tuesday. In a statement addressing the ad, CNN said that they "requested that the advertiser remove the false graphic that says the...
Illinois village attains welcoming status
May 5th, 20170 SUMMIT, IL — The Village of Summit, in Illinois attained welcoming community status following a unanimous vote at a village hall meeting. The meeting, taking place on Monday night at 7 p.m. central time, passed an ordinance that would restrict local police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials with...
Lebanese army chief visits Washington, meets officials
May 5th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Newly-appointed army commander General Joseph Aoun arrived in Washington, D.C. April 29 on an official visit, the first since assuming his post in March. The visit, which runs through May 6, is part of the ongoing Lebanese-U.S. military cooperation. Aoun received the invitation "through the established...
Trump signs order allowing tax-exempt churches to be involved in politics
May 4th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.-U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday that allows tax-exempt centers of worship to participate actively in politics, freeing religious institutions to deny their employees insurance for birth-control pills. The order fulfills an oft-repeated campaign promise by Trump, who appealed to...
U.S House passes healthcare bill in big win for Trump
May 4th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.-The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan, handing President Donald Trump his biggest legislative victory but setting up a tough fight in the Senate. With the 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support...
CNN won’t air Trump’s ‘100 days’ ad
May 4th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.-AN ad by Trump's campaign that featured the President jeering at the mainstream media network CNN for being "fake news" will not be aired by the station, sources said Tuesday. In a statement addressing the ad, CNN said that they “requested that the advertiser remove the false graphic that says the mainstream media...
New Yorkers to greet Trump’s first visit home with protests
May 4th, 20170 NEW YORK- President Trump returns to New York on Thursday for the first time since taking office, planning a bit of diplomacy as city officials brace for protests in the city where he built his name and fortune. Trump's departure for his Jan. 20 inauguration ended a 2-1/2-month period following his Nov. 8 election that was marked by...
Anti-immigration group leader named Citizenship and Immigration Services Official
May 3rd, 20170 WAHINGTON, D.C.-Before Julie Kirchner was appointed by President Donald Trump to Citizenship and Immigration Services Investigator, she served as the executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an anti-immigrant hate group, for 10 years before leaving the position in 2015. Kirchner previously served......
Trump questions why U.S. Civil War had to happen
May 2nd, 20170 Donald Trump has shown a fascination with populist 19th-century U.S. president Andrew Jackson since he has occupied the Oval Office, hanging "Old Hickory's" portrait in the Oval Office, visiting his plantation in Tennessee and placing a wreath at his tomb. In an interview that aired on Sirius XM satellite radio on Monday, Trump...
Illinois village attains welcoming status
May 1st, 20170 SUMMIT, IL- The Village of Summit, in Illinois attained welcoming community status following a unanimous vote at a village hall meeting. The meeting, taking place at Monday night at 7 p.m. central time, passed an ordinance that would restrict local police cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials with......
More Americans say race relations deteriorating
April 28th, 20170 WASHINGTON- Tiffany Cartagena said she was eating with her mixed-race girlfriend at a restaurant in Ohio last month when she heard nearby diners remark about the "monkey" at the next table. Denver resident Gwendolyn Mami, an African-American, was on a January flight when another passenger proclaimed President Donald Trump's proposed...
‘I had no choice:’ Odeh accepts plea deal, resists admission of guilt
April 27th, 20170 DETROIT— Hours before Rasmea Odeh entered her plea in court on Tuesday, dozens of supporters, ranging from organizers and Chicago-based defense team members, rallied outside the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in opposition to the parameters set around her conviction. Groups in attendance included the U.S....
Top Navy commander: U.S. may need stronger defense against North Korea missiles
April 26th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― The United States may need to strengthen its missile defenses, particularly in Hawaii, given the advancing threat from North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons programs, the top U.S. commander in the Pacific told Congress on Wednesday. Just hours before the entire U.S. Senate was due to receive a top-level briefing on...
Federal judge blocks Trump order to restrict funding for ‘sanctuary cities’
April 25th, 20170 SAN FRANCISCO ― A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Trump's executive order that sought to withhold federal funds from so-called sanctuary cities, dealing another legal blow to the administration's efforts to toughen immigration enforcement. The ruling from U.S. District Judge William Orrick III in San Francisco said......
Officer says ‘minimal but necessary force’ used on United passenger
April 25th, 20170 One of the police officers who forcibly removed a United Airlines customer in an incident that became a public relations disaster for the carrier said "minimal but necessary force" was used after the passenger acted aggressively, according to an incident report. Video recorded by other passengers showed David Dao, a 69-year-old...
BREAKING: Federal government drop charges against AMP staffers
April 24th, 20170 WASHINGTON, D.C.- Federal authorities have dropped charges against AMP (American Muslims for Palestine) staffers Taher Herzallah and Kareem El-Hosseiny. The two men, both employees for the group, faced charges for disrupting David Freidman's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing, vocalizing opposition to the U.S. Ambassador to......
U.S. sanctions hundreds of Syrian research center employees
April 24th, 20170 WASHINGTON ― The Treasury Department sanctioned 271 employees of Syria's Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), an agency that Washington says develops chemical weapons for the government of Bashar al-Assad, the Treasury said in a statement. Some of the people blacklisted had worked on Syria's chemical weapons program for...
Literary journal ‘Mizna’ proves Arab art is timely and alive
April 21st, 20170 TWIN CITIES, MN — Since its inception in 1999, the literary journal Mizna has been a platform for the arts and free expression of a multitude of writers and artists from an Arab and Arab American nexus. The journal, published by Mizna.org, a non-profit arts organization that promotes contemporary expressions of Arab American......
