Boy sneaks onto wheel well of airplane, survives trip to Hawaii
NEW YORK — A 15-year-old Somali boy who survived a nearly six-hour trip from California to Hawaii stowed away in the wheel well of an airplane has left protective custody in Hawaii, officials said this week.The teenager was "no longer in Hawaii" according to a brief statement from Hawaii's Department of Human Services. Officials would...U.S. proposes immigration rules to help skilled workers
WASHINGTON — Newly proposed rules for highly skilled immigrants to the United States, including a provision to allow their spouses to work, are aimed at making it easier to keep those talented science, technology and engineering workers in the country, officials said this week."These individuals are American families in waiting,"...Study: Professors more likely to reply to white males than women and minorities
Philadelphia — If you're a woman or minority student looking for a mentor, don't hold your breath.New research has found that university professors exhibit a bias in favor of their white male students, information that, while perhaps not unexpected, is seriously bad news for the nation's aspiring academics.According to a segment...Kerry must forge ahead, undeterred
The controversy over U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s apartheid remark about Israel has become the latest distraction from a just settlement in the Middle East. "If there’s no two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict soon, Israel risks becoming an ... apartheid state,"Ω Kerry is reported to...U.S. justices weigh limits to police cellphone searches
WASHINGTON - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday appeared to seek a compromise over whether police officers need warrants to search cellphones when a suspect is arrested.In two hours of oral arguments, the justices appeared sympathetic to the need of police officers to quickly search phones but also were wary of privacy concerns...Muslims, Sikhs object to headscarf ban at California go-kart parks
SAN FRANCISCO — Three Muslim families have filed complaints against an amusement park chain in California that they say barred them from riding go karts wearing headscarves, family advocates said Tuesday.The families claim that Boomers! Parks in two locations in the state violated their civil rights with an unfair safety policy that...Florida legislators seek to give anti Muslim parents say on school textbooks
ORLANDO — The Florida Legislature is likely to pass a bill this week giving parents more influence over school textbook choices, in a move that opponents say is rooted in anti-Muslim bias.The bill followed organized protests by parents and conservative political groups in November over a world history textbook in Volusia County on...Divestment resolution passes at U of New Mexico
NEW MEXICO - The Graduate and Professional Student Association passed a resolution calling for the University of New Mexico to divest from companies associated with human rights violations in Palestine.The resolution, which passed during a GPSA meeting last Saturday, was endorsed by members of Students for Justice in Palestine,...Two U.S. soldiers lose bid to dress according to religious custom
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Army has denied requests by two soldiers to dress and groom themselves according to their religious beliefs under a revised Pentagon policy, a spokesman said on Monday.The policy approved earlier this year was mainly expected to affect Sikhs, Muslims, Jews and other groups that wear beards, long hair or articles...
Kerry says Israel could become “apartheid state,” backs off
May 2nd, 20140 WASHINGTON - The U.S. secretary of state, John Kerry, has come under a barrage of criticism for warning that Israel risked becoming an "apartheid state" if it did not reach a peace deal with the Palestinians.In a statement, Kerry hit back at what he described as "partisan political" attacks against him, while stating that in...Barbara Boxer, AIPAC seek to codify Israel’s right to discriminate against Americans
In order for the US to permit citizens of a foreign country to enter the US without a visa, that country must agree to certain conditions. Chief among them is reciprocity: that country must allow Americans to enter without a visa as well. There are 37 countries which have been permitted entrance into America's "visa waiver"...NYPD Twitter campaign backfires, thousands of negative tweets
NEW YORK— A New York Police Department campaign to burnish its image via social media instead produced a flood of pictures of police brutality and tweets critical of the force being shared at a rate of thousands an hour.The department on Tuesday afternoon invited Twitter users to submit pictures of themselves with NYPD cops using the...Court deals blow to US administration on drone attacks
WASHINGTON — The US government must make public secret papers justifying drone attacks against suspected terrorists, including American citizens, a New York federal appeals court ordered Monday.The case was brought by The New York Times and two of its journalists in a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) case supported by the American...Lawsuit says FBI uses no-fly list in bid to recruit Muslim informants
NEW YORK CITY — Awais Sajjad, a lawful permanent U.S. resident living in the New York area, learned he was on the no-fly list in September 2012 after he tried to board a flight to Pakistan at John F. Kennedy International Airport and was turned away.At the airport, FBI agents questioned Sajjad, a Muslim, before releasing him. But they...Bridgegate’ scandal threatens next World Trade Center tower
NEW YORK — The "Bridgegate" scandal that rocked New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's administration earlier this year is threatening a deal that would allow developer Larry Silverstein to finish building the next World Trade Center skyscraper.Silverstein needs a guarantee from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to secure a......
NYPD ends Muslim surveillance program
April 18th, 20140 NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis confirmed that detectives assigned to the unit had been transferred to other duties within the department's Intelligence Division.An ongoing review of the division by new Police Commissioner William Bratton found that the same information collected by the unit could be better collected through direct...Dutch girl arrested after tweeting terror threat to American Airlines
NEW YORK — A 14-year-old Dutch girl who threatened a terrorist attack in a tweet to American Airlines was arrested in Rotterdam on Monday — but that didn't stop a copycat from tweeting a similar threat to another airline.A Twitter user named "Sarah" wrote on Twitter over the weekend that she was a member of Al Qaeda and that she......
Utah woman charged for killing six infants
UTAH — A judge set bail at $6 million on Monday for a Utah woman suspected of killing six infants after giving birth to them, then stuffing their bodies into cardboard boxes which were found at a house where she used to live.Police said Megan Huntsman, 39, admitted under questioning that she strangled or suffocated the babies...Asian Americans challenge Philadelphia’s refusal to provide language access to voters
PHILADELPHIA — On Wednesday, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) filed a complaint against the Philadelphia City Commissioners for refusing to provide language assistance to Asian American voters, in violation of the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance (FPO).Jerry Vattamala, Staff Attorney in AALDEF's...U.S. court deportations fall 43 percent over five years
WASHINGTON — Deportations through U.S. immigration courts have fallen 43 percent in the past five years as the federal government brought fewer cases before those courts, according to Justice Department data analyzed by the New York Times on Wednesday.The figures come as President Barack Obama and House Republicans clashed openly...Daughter denies wanting Iraqi-American mother dead
SAN DIEGO — The daughter of an Iraqi-American man accused of killing his wife in California in what was first investigated as a hate crime denied under cross-examination by a defense lawyer on Monday, April 7, that she ever said she wanted her mother dead.Fatima Alhimidi acknowledged telling an uncle's then-girlfriend that she......
Families of autistic kids sue Disney parks over policy on lines
LOS ANGELES — Families with autistic children have sued Walt Disney Co, alleging the company does not provide adequate access to theme park visitors with autism who have difficulty waiting in long lines for rides.In October 2013, Disney parks stopped offering autistic visitors a "guest assistance card" that let them and their families...House bill demands tougher line against Hizbullah
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan bill that demands a tougher line against Hizbullah was introduced in the House of Representatives Monday, April 7. The Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Act urges the Obama administration to turn the screws on financial institutions — including the central banks of Lebanon and other nations —......
Developer to demolish ‘Ground Zero mosque’
April 11th, 20140 NEW YORK — A New York City real estate developer has filed plans to raze the "Ground Zero mosque," a structure housing an Islamic community center just two blocks from the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks, city officials said Tuesday, April 8.The Islamic center and prayer space opened in 2011 amid protests that it could become...Knife-wielding student injures 21 in Pennsylvania school
MURRYSVILLE, Pennsylvania — A 16-year-old student wielding two knives went on a stabbing rampage in the hallways of a Pittsburgh-area high school early on Wednesday, injuring 21 people, about half of them seriously, officials said.The attacker moved stealthily through Franklin Regional High School, stabbing his victims in the torso and......