Kuwaiti American gunman kills four marines in Tennessee
July 16th, 20150 TENNESSEE - Five people were killed on Thursday, July 16, including suspected gunman Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, who opened fire at two military-related facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee in an attack local officials described as brazen, brutal and an act of domestic terrorism. No motive has yet been given. 24-year-old...
FBI chief: encryption emboldens would-be ISIS attackers
July 10th, 20150 James CorneyWASHINGTON — Barring law enforcement authorities' access to encrypted communications would make it easier for ISIS sympathizers to attack the United States, FBI Chief James Comey told Senate lawmakers on Wednesday. Comey testified during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on "Going Dark: Encryption, Technology, and the...Relatives of Charleston victims urge Congress to vote on gun law
WASHINGTON — Relatives and friends of the victims of last month's shooting in a Charleston, South Carolina church traveled to Washington on Wednesday to demand that lawmakers vote on legislation to expand background checks on gun sales. But their chances of success are at best considered slim. Similar legislation failed a Senate...South Carolina Senate votes to banish Confederate flag to museum
South Carolina's Senate passed legislation Tuesday to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state capitol's grounds, where it has flown for five decades despite being viewed by many as a symbol of slavery.A bill to banish the flag from the State House grounds to a museum easily passed a third and final 36-3 vote in the Senate. It...Muslim organizations raise money for burned Black churches
Eight Black churches have been set on fire by arsonists and burned down since the Charleston shootings at a historic Black church, Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, which is the oldest AME church in the South. A group of Muslim charities has vowed to help the congregants rebuild their houses of worship.The network of Muslim...President Obama’s approval rating climbs to about 50 percent
WASHINGTON - After a historic week of victories on health care and same-sex marriage, along with a searing tragedy, President Barack Obama’s approval rating has climbed to 50 percent.The result came in a CNN/ORC tracking poll released Tuesday. Overall, 50 percent of respondents expressed approval of the president, compared with 47...U.S. charges fifth man in alleged N.Y.-N.J. Islamic State plot
WASHINGTON - A New Jersey man was arrested on Monday on charges of conspiring to provide support to the militant group Islamic State, the fifth man to be arrested in recent weeks as part of a broader probe in the New York City region.Alaa Saadeh, 23, of West New York, New Jersey, was expected to appear in Newark federal court...U.S. court rules NSA can temporarily resume bulk phone data collection
WASHINGTON - A U.S. court has ruled that the eavesdropping National Security Agency can temporarily resume its bulk collection of Americans' telephone records, according to documents made public on Tuesday.The controversial program, exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, was rocked in May by an appeals court ruling that...Obama signs anti-BDS bill into law
WASHINGTON — After a grueling legislative battle, US President Barack Obama signed into law a controversial trade measure that also contains landmark legislation combating the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement in Europe.The broader legislation faced an uphill battle after Obama’s usual allies — Democrats in the House...Baltimore to put cameras in police vans, review riot gear
BALTIMORE - Cameras that can record will be installed in Baltimore police vans like the one in which Freddie Gray suffered a fatal injury, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said on Wednesday.She said the cameras were among steps the city was taking after protests and rioting following Gray's death in April."We're working through a process...
U.S., Cuba restoring diplomatic ties after 54 years
July 1st, 20150 HAVANA/WASHINGTON - The United States and Cuba formally agreed on Wednesday to restore diplomatic relations on July 20, setting up a trip to Havana by John Kerry, who would become the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the country in 70 years.Sealed by an exchange of letters between U.S. President Barack...U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling legalizes gay marriage nationwide
The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the U.S. Constitution provides same-sex couples the right to marry, handing a historic triumph to the American gay rights movement. The court ruled 5-4 that the Constitution's guarantees of due process and equal protection under the law mean that states cannot...
Non Muslims share Ramadan fasting experiences
June 26th, 20150 Steven Urenda and Lauren UrendaWith the holy month of Ramadan now into its second week, Muslims throughout the U.S. are well into their daily fasts. But they’re not alone. A number of non Muslims have decided to participate in fasting as well.These individuals decided to partake in Ramadan for different reasons and...
Obama hosts Iftar dinner to mark Ramadan
June 26th, 20150 WASHINGTON — President Obama hosted an Iftar dinner on Monday, June 22 to mark Ramadan and to reach out to the roughly 1.5 billion Muslims around the world. The president said that the holiday dinner "is also a reminder of the freedoms that bind us together as Americans, including the freedom of religion — that inviolable...White nationalists condemn church killings, identify with shooter
WASHINGTON — Leaders of America’s core white supremacist groups have a laundry list of perceived grievances. They say the media ignore black on white crime; that desegregation has led to poorer schools for white students; that white people in the United States have lost power to black people. And while they don’t condone last......
Study finds White Supremacists a bigger danger to Americans than foreign terrorists
WASHINGTON — Nine people were added to a long list of lives taken by domestic terrorism when a 21-year old allegedly began shooting inside a historic Black church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17. Since Sept. 11, 2001, nearly twice as many people have been killed by White supremacists, antigovernment fanatics and other...
Google launches “Ramadan Companion”
June 19th, 20150 Google has released a personal "companion" to help Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan.The world's 1.6 billion Muslims are mandated Muslims to refrain from consuming food and drinks from sunset to sunrise and encouraged to be charitable and pious during the month.On Thursday morning, Google released My Ramadan Companion, a web......
Arabs, Muslims can sue U.S. officials over post-9/11 jail treatment
NEW YORK — A divided U.S. appeals court said the federal government's top law enforcers can be sued by former inmates who claim their civil rights were violated while jailed after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks because they were Arab, Muslim or stereotyped that way. Wednesday's 2-1 decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals...City probe finds Washington state ex-NAACP official violated ethics rules
Rachel DolezalWASHINGTON — Former Washington state NAACP leader Rachel Dolezal, who drew national attention after being accused of lying about her racial background, has violated ethics rules while heading a police oversight commission, a senior city official said on Wednesday. Investigators hired by the city of Spokane to probe a...
White suspect arrested in killing of nine at black U.S. church
June 19th, 20150 CHARLESTON, S.C. — A white man suspected of killing nine people in a Bible-study group at a historic African-American church in Charleston, South Carolina was arrested on Thursday and U.S. officials are investigating the attack as a hate crime. Law enforcement officials detained alleged gunman Dylann Roof, 21, after a...New York man attacks FBI agent in “Islamic State” tied probe
NEW YORK — A New York City man was arrested on Wednesday after authorities said he tried to stab an FBI agent executing a search warrant in connection with an alleged plot to carry out an attack in support of the militant group "Islamic State." Fareed Mumuni, 21, was charged with attempting to murder a federal officer after......
Police identify gunman in south Carolina church attack
Booking photo of Dylann Storm Roof, April 26WASHINGTON — The FBI has identified the gunman in the shooting that killed nine people at a Charleston, South Carolina, church as 21-year-old Dylann Roof.An uncle of Roof's said he recognized the man in the surveillance photo as his nephew."The more I look at him, the more I'm convinced,...American teenager pleads guilty to charges of helping ISIS
WASHINGTON — on Thursday, June 12, a 17-year-old from Virginia pleaded guilty in court to charges of conspiring to help Islamic State militants, the first time the United States has prosecuted a minor as an adult in such a case. Ali Amin, of Manassas, Virginia, used Twitter and his blog to provide instructions on how to use......
Obama orders more troops to Iraq to guide fightback against “Islamic State”
WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, President Barack Obama ordered the deployment of 450 more U.S. troops to Iraq's Sunni heartland to advise and assist fragile Iraqi forces being built up to try to retake territory lost to "Islamic State." The plan to expand the 3,100-strong U.S. contingent in Iraq and open a new operations center closer to...U.S. top court backs Obama, invalidates Jerusalem passport law
WASHINGTON — On Monday, June 8, the Supreme Court struck down a law that would let American citizens born in Jerusalem have Israel listed in passports as their country of birth, saying it encroached on the president's exclusive power to recognize foreign governments. The 6-3 ruling, a victory for President Obama, comes at a time......
