White supremacists and the far right are the real threat to America’s security
January 31st, 20250 By Peter Schurmann Donald Trump has ridden the xenophobic political tiger into the White House once again, convincing Americans that immigrants in this country are an existential threat to our safety and the well-being of the nation. It’s a politically effective trope that in practice diverts attention and, critically, resources from...
Trump administration to cancel student visas of pro-Palestinian protesters, likely to draw legal challenges
January 31st, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, President Trump signed an executive order to combat anti-Semitism and pledged to deport non-citizen college students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests. A fact sheet on the order promises "immediate action" by the Justice Department to prosecute "terroristic threats, arson, vandalism...
Carter was our “best ex-president”
January 26th, 20250 Jimmy Carter spent four years as president of the United States and 44 years as ex-president. It’s his extraordinary career as our former president that we are most likely to celebrate. Prior to Carter, former presidents were likely to go off to a comfortable retirement. Carter, who died last month at 100, changed the pattern. He...
Trump escalates campaign against diversity, threatens private sector probes
January 26th, 20250 President Trump escalated his campaign against diversity programs on Tuesday by pressuring the private sector to join the initiative and telling government employees in offices administering such programs they would be placed on paid leave. On his first day in office Trump issued a series of executive...
Judge temporarily blocks Trump’s order restricting birthright citizenship
January 26th, 20250 SEATTLE — On Thursday, a federal judge blocked Donald Trump's administration from implementing the Republican president's executive order curtailing the right to automatic birthright citizenship in the United States, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional." Seattle-based U.S. District Judge John...
Trump’s war on immigrants a threat to public health
January 26th, 20250 By Edward Kissam President Trump’s inaugural speech Monday signaled his continued commitment to characterizing immigrants as criminal invaders and an impediment to his campaign mantra of “making America great again.” Following his speech, Trump signed a slew of executive orders — declaring a national emergency...
As Trump shapes up his presidency, a fight is looming on his birthright citizenship executive order
January 26th, 20250 By Amjad Khan On the first day of his second term, the nation stood watch as President Trump issued a plethora of controversial executive orders that disrupt all corners of American life. From his pardoning of violent January 6 rioters to his withdrawal from the near decade long Paris Climate Agreement, it is clear that the...
Rights groups warn Trump executive order would restore Muslim “travel ban”
January 26th, 20250 Immigration activists rally against the Trump administration's new ban against travelers from six Muslim-majority nations, in Washington, U.S., March 7, 2017. - File Photo by Reuters WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. civil rights groups are warning that an executive order signed by President Trump on...
Senate confirms Marco Rubio as secretary of state
January 21st, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Republican Senator Marco Rubio, a China hawk and staunch backer of Israel, as President Trump’s secretary of state. The Senate backed Rubio by a vote of 99-0, days after the long-term member of the Senate foreign relations and...
Special counsel report found Trump engaged in “criminal effort” to overturn 2020 election
January 17th, 20250 By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON, Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith concluded that Donald Trump engaged in an "unprecedented criminal effort" to hold on to power after losing the 2020 election, but was thwarted in bringing the case to trial by the president-elect's November election...
Former President Carter remembered for rising above politics
January 9th, 20250 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Jimmy Carter, a president who served only one term but was widely admired for his humanitarian work after leaving the White House, was remembered during his state funeral on Thursday as a man who put honesty and kindness above partisan politics. Hundreds of mourners, including all five living current and former...
Credit card defaults skyrocket as Americans are unable to pay their debts
January 4th, 20250 Defaults on credit cards in the U.S. have spiked significantly in the last year, according to a new report. Credit card lenders wrote off $46 billion in seriously delinquent loan balances in the first nine months of the year, the Financial Times reported, citing industry data collated by BankRegData. The amount is up 50 percent...
Soldier shot self in head before Cybertruck exploded outside Trump’s Las Vegas hotel, officials say
January 4th, 20250 The highly decorated Army soldier inside a Tesla Cybertruck packed with fireworks that exploded outside Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas shot himself in the head just before detonation, authorities said Thursday. The explosion caused minor injuries to seven people, but virtually no damage to the hotel. Clark County Sheriff Kevin...
Jimmy Carter was a true American hero
January 4th, 20250 By Tom Watkins Former President Jimmy Carter has died after a remarkable 100 years of life. He is the longest-lived ex-commander in chief. His life is not measured in years or even his ascent to the presidency, but by the kindness and human decency he shared here at home and around the globe. The humble president from Plains,...
FBI: New Orleans rampage driver acted alone, was inspired “100 percent” by ISIS group
January 4th, 20250 The Army veteran who drove a pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s revelers in New Orleans acted alone, the FBI said Thursday, reversing its position from a day earlier that he likely worked with others in the deadly attack that officials said was inspired by the ISIS group. The FBI also revealed that the driver, Shamsud-Din......
Trump’s picks of pro-Israel “dream team” worry some Arab and Muslim Americans who voted for him
December 13th, 20240 Just weeks after winning several of the nation’s largest Arab-majority cities, President-elect Trump has filled top administration posts with staunch Israel supporters, including an ambassador to Israel who has claimed “there is no such thing as Palestinians.” The selections have prompted mixed reactions among Arab Americans and...
FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign following Trump’s nomination of Patel
December 13th, 20240 WASHINGTON, D. C. – FBI Director Christopher Wray will step down from his post early next year, he said on Wednesday, after President-elect Trump signaled his intent to fire the veteran official and replace him with firebrand Kash Patel. His resignation makes him the second straight FBI director driven......
White House releases U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate
December 13th, 20240 On Thursday, the White House released the first-ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Islamophobia and Anti-Arab Hate. The Strategy was developed through a whole-of-government collaboration with a broad range of civil society partners to describe and address the bias, discrimination and threats Muslim and Arab Americans have long faced....
From applause to arrest warrants: The distance between the U.S. Congress and the ICC
December 6th, 20240 The way the U.S. Congress and the International Criminal Court (ICC) view and handle matters involving the Israeli prime minister is significantly different. The U.S. Congress demonstrates unwavering support for the Israeli prime minister despite widespread international concerns over potential criminal actions. On the other hand, the...
Who is Massad Boulos, Trump’s advisor for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs?
December 6th, 20240 On Sunday, President-elect Trump announced his selection of Lebanese American businessman Massad Boulos as his senior advisor for Arab and Middle Eastern affairs. This appointment has garnered significant attention from media outlets both within and outside the United States, including in the Arab world and in Boulos' homeland,...
Most Americans aren’t obsessed with politics
December 6th, 20240 The 2024 election is over, but the arguments about what it means are continuing. Did Donald Trump and the Republican Party win a mandate to govern as they wish? Did Democrats try too hard to appeal to their political base? Or not hard enough? But drawing conclusions about the meaning of an election, especially about what it says about......
Amir Ali makes history as the first Arab American Muslim appointed to the federal bench
November 29th, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Egyptian American lawyer Amir Ali recently made U.S. history by becoming the first Arab American Muslim appointed to the federal bench. This milestone comes as part of a broader push by Senate Democrats to finalize judicial appointments before losing control of the chamber in January. On November 20, the U.S....
From Dearborn to Washington: Calls to expedite implementation of a national law preventing drunk drivers from operating vehicles
November 22nd, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a push to expedite the implementation of new legislation aimed at preventing drunk drivers from operating vehicles, activist Rana Abbas Taylor from Michigan joined a sit-in alongside members of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and U.S. lawmakers. The group urged swift enforcement of the new law, set to take......
Don’t expect predictable foreign policy in Trump’s second term
November 22nd, 20240 The voters have spoken, and Donald J. Trump will be the 47th president of the United States. With a Republican-controlled Senate and strong backing in the House, Trump will be in position to implement his agenda, starting in January. What does that mean for foreign policy? It’s hard to say with certainty. In Trump’s first term, from...
Trump appoints loyalists to his new administration as his attorney general nominee dropout under pressure
November 22nd, 20240 WASHINGTON, D.C. – President-elect Trump moved quickly after his victory on November 5, to select members of his new administration who will oversee federal departments, agencies and other offices requiring Senate approval. Meanwhile, Trump’s opponents wasted no time in criticizing his selections, leading to the swift withdrawal......
