Spirit under fire after removing four Middle Eastern passengers from plane
BALTIMORE — An investigation is underway after four passengers - reportedly of “Middle-Eastern descent” - were forced to leave a plane after a fellow passenger reported so-called suspicious activity and alerted the crew.On Tuesday, Nov. 17, Spirit Airlines confirmed that an early morning flight from Baltimore to Chicago was...Mosque in Canada set on fire, two Florida mosques threatened
ONTARIO - A Muslim congregation in Canada said a fire that burnt down its mosque over the weekend appears to be a hate crime.The fire at the Kawartha Muslim Religious Association’s mosque in Peterborough, Ontario, broke out Saturday evening and caused up $80,000 in damage; no one was inside at the time. Officials confirmed Sunday...Uber driver beaten after drunk passenger mistakens him for a Muslim
NORTH CAROLINA - An Uber driver from North Carolina said he was attacked by a passenger and threatened that he would be shot after the man said he believed he was a Muslim.Samson Woldemichael, a Christian Ethiopian who came to the US eight years ago, picked up the passenger early on Sunday morning from a bar in Charlotte and was...
Police say no terror tie seen in attempt to open door on Boston-bound flight
November 17th, 20150 The passenger was apparently intoxicatedBOSTON — A female passenger who was apparently intoxicated attempted to open an exit door on a Boston-bound British Airways flight on Tuesday, prompting people on the plane to restrain her, the Massachusetts State Police said.Troopers took the woman, who is about 30 years old, into custody after...NSA to end bulk call data collection by end November
WASHINGTON - The U.S. National Security Agency is ready to end later this month collecting Americans' domestic call records in bulk and move to a more targeted system, meeting a legislative deadline imposed earlier this year, according to a government memo seen by Reuters. The memo, sent on Monday from the NSA to relevant...Clinton says would not support war declaration against ISIS
DERRY, N.H. - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday, November 10 she was not ready to support a formal declaration of war against Islamic State militants, although she said the United States needs to improve its efforts to fight the group. To have a declaration of war, she said, requires...U.S. campuses hold race protests after Missouri resignations
NEW YORK - Students will hold events to highlight racial issues at a handful of U.S. college campuses this week, spurred by the impact of protests at the University of Missouri that culminated in the resignation of the school's president and chancellor.Peaceful marches or walkouts have been held, or are planned, at Yale University,...Salaita reaches $876,000 settlement with University of Illinois
Steven SalaitaCHICAGO — Steven Salaita reached a $875,000 settlement with the University of Illinois after he sued the school for firing him because of his tweets during the war on Gaza last year.The university fired Salaita before he started in a tenured position he was offered.Salaita has described his tweets as "passionate and...U.S. charges three Israelis in “breathtaking” cyberfraud breach
Gery Shalon (C)WASHINGTON — U.S. prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled criminal charges against three men accused of running a sprawling computer hacking and fraud scheme that included a huge attack against JPMorgan Chase & Co and generated hundreds of millions of dollars of illegal profit.Gery Shalon, Joshua Samuel Aaron and Ziv...
Muslim woman attacked by customer at Minnesota Applebee’s
November 11th, 20150 MINNEAPOLIS — A Muslim advocacy group is calling for hate crime charges to be added after a customer was attacked at an Applebee's restaurant. Asma Jama suffered deep cuts to her mouth, chin, and eyebrow after a customer struck her when she wasn't speaking English to her relatives.Jodie Burchard-Risch is accused of hitting...
Obama’s immigration action blocked again
November 10th, 20150 Anti-deportation protest in front of the White House, July 31, 2014. Photo: ReutersWASHINGTON — President Obama's executive action to shield millions of undocumented immigrants from deportation suffered a legal setback on Monday with an appeal to the Supreme Court now the administration's only option.The 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S....University of Missouri president resigns amid race protest
The Tigers football team. Coach Gary Pinkel/Twitter COLUMBIA, Mo.— The University of Missouri's president announced he would step down on Monday after protests over his handling of racial tensions on campus.The high-profile resignation is the latest shock to the state of Missouri, which has been riled by racial tensions for the past...Sinkhole swallows more than a dozen cars in Mississippi IHOP parking lot
Photo: WTOKMERIDIAN, Miss. — Police say at least 14 vehicles were swallowed by a sinkhole that opened up Saturday in the parking lot of a newly-opened International House of Pancakes in Meridian, Miss.Customers inside the restaurant at the time of the incident told WTOK they heard a series of booms before the electricity went...One dead, two injured in shooting near Manhattan’s Penn Station
NYPD officers stand guard near the Penn Station following an early morning shooting in Manhattan, Nov. 9NEW YORK — A 43-year-old man was killed and two men, aged 45 and 48, were wounded in a shooting early Monday at an entrance to New York City's Penn Station transportation hub in Manhattan, police said.Police said they were searching...Poll: Americans becoming less religious, especially young adults
WASHINGTON - Americans are becoming less religious, judging by such markers as church attendance, prayer and belief in God, and the trend is more pronounced among young adults, according to a poll released on Tuesday. The share of U.S. adults who say they believe in God, while still high compared with other advanced industrial......
Pentagon spends $43 million to build Afghanistan gas station
WASHINGTON -The U.S. Department of Defense spent nearly $43 million on a gas station in northern Afghanistan and has been unable to explain why it cost so much, a U.S. special inspector reported on Monday. The Pentagon “charged the American taxpayers $43 million for what is likely to be the world’s most expensive gas...Pastor faked own assault by blaming Muslims
NEW JERSEY - The pastor of a Somerset County church tied himself up, wrote misspelled Muslim words on paper taped to his body, and lied about being assaulted inside his own church last week, Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano announced.On Friday, Oct. 30 around 11:20 a.m., Somerville police responded to New Covenant Missionary......
Army post prohibits vendor from selling anti-Islamic T-shirt
November 5th, 20150 DENVER - U.S. military authorities told a vendor on a Colorado Army post to stop selling T-shirts depicting the Statue of Liberty clad in a head-to-toe Muslim covering after a shopper complained that they were anti-Islamic, an official said on Wednesday.The gray T-shirts feature the words "Don't let this happen to America" along with a...Ohio voters reject measure legalizing recreational marijuana use
Photo: yesonohio3.comOhio voters soundly rejected on Tuesday a measure that would have made it the first Midwest state to legalize marijuana for recreational use.Issue 3, which would have added an amendment to the state constitution that legalizes both the personal and medical use of marijuana for those over 21, was defeated by nearly a...GM says auto industry headed for record sales in 2015
Photo: GMThe U.S. auto industry is on track for a record year of sales, General Motors Company said Tuesday, as the country’s top automaker and its rivals reported October sales that far exceeded expectations.GM said the six-month rolling average for U.S. auto sales is 17.8 million on an annualized basis, which means the industry is...New FBI program accused of telling teachers, students to spy on Muslims
WASHINGTON - The FBI is postponing the debut of an unusual game-style website aimed at preventing young people from joining terrorist groups–because Muslim and Arab groups are complaining.The program “Don’t Be a Puppet,” scheduled to be released Nov. 9., is now on hold. The program targets young people with information......
U.S. police chiefs call for background checks for all gun purchases
CHICAGO - Police chiefs from across the United States called on Monday for universal background checks for firearms purchases, saying opinion polls consistently show that most Americans support such restrictions. The proliferation of firearms is one of the factors behind a rise in homicide rates in many U.S. cities this year,...As U.S. braces for Syrian refugees, mental health services lag
WASHINGTON - More than 20 years after Saddam Hussein's soldiers in Iraq killed his brother in front of him, Ali Alghazally still suffers from night terrors he blames on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a common problem among refugees often left untreated. As the United States prepares to take in 10,000 or more......
Bernie Sanders invites Muslim student to the stage, attacks racism
"If we stand for anything, we have got to stand together and end all forms of racism."FAIRFAX, Va— Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders brought a Muslim student to the stage during a speech in Fairfax, Virginia to highlight the divisive history behind bigotry and racism.The student had told Sanders that the...Sheriff fires officer who dragged female student across classroom
A screengrab from a video of the incident RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — School resource officer Ben Fields, who slammed and dragged a female student in a Spring Valley High School classroom Monday, has been fired after videos of the incident went viral. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Wednesday he fired Fields following an......