May 17th, 20190WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump said on Thursday he hoped the United States was not heading to war with Iran as he met with Swiss President Ueli Maurer, whose nation has served as a diplomatic conduit between the two countries.
Asked by reporters if Washington was going to war with Tehran, Trump responded, “Hope not” as he...
May 10th, 20190WASHINGTON, DC — On Thursday, President Trump urged Iran’s leadership to sit down and talk with him about giving up Tehran’s nuclear program and said he could not rule out a military confrontation given the heightened tensions between the two countries.
At an impromptu news conference at the White House, Trump declined to say...
May 6th, 20190WASHINGTON, DC - The Trump administration is deploying a carrier strike group and bombers to the Middle East in response to troubling “indications and warnings” from Iran and to show the United States will retaliate with “unrelenting force” to any attack, national security adviser John Bolton said on Sunday. Though Bolton cited...
May 3rd, 20190LONDON — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani signed a bill into law on Tuesday declaring all U.S. forces in the Middle East terrorists and calling the U.S. government a sponsor of terrorism.
The bill was passed by parliament last week in retaliation against President Trump’s decision this month to designate Iran’s elite...
April 30th, 20190WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump is working to designate the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization, the White House said on Tuesday, which would bring sanctions against Egypt’s oldest Islamist movement.
“The president has consulted with his national security team and leaders in the region who share his concern...
April 29th, 20190NEW YORK — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif does not believe President Trump wants war with Iran, but he told Reuters on Wednesday that Trump could be lured into a conflict.
“I don’t think he wants war,” Zarif said in an interview at the Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York. “But that doesn’t...
April 23rd, 20190OCCUPIED GOLAN HEIGHTS - Israel said on Tuesday it would name a new community on the occupied Golan Heights after President Trump as an expression of gratitude for his recognition of its claim of sovereignty over the strategic plateau.
Israel captured the Golan from Syria in a 1967 war and annexed it, against international law. The...
April 12th, 20190WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump phoned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to congratulate him on his re-election, and Netanyahu said he thanked his ally for “tremendous support for Israel.”
Netanyahu tweeted that Trump had called him from Air Force One. The president was on a flight to Texas.
Netanyahu...
April 12th, 20190WASHINGTON D.C. — Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) cosponsors of the National Origin-Based Anti-discrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act. The bill, introduced on April 10, repeals the three versions of President Trump’s Muslim ban and intends to clarify and strengthen the Immigrant and Nationality...
April 12th, 20190RIYADH/WASHINGTON, DC — Egypt has pulled out of the U.S. effort to forge an “Arab NATO” with key Arab allies, according to four sources familiar with the decision, in a blow to the Trump administration’s strategy to contain Iranian power.
Egypt conveyed its decision to the United States and other participants in the proposed...
March 15th, 20190WASHINGTON, DC — On Thursday, the Senate rebuked President Trump by voting to end his border emergency declaration, as 12 Republicans joined Democrats to deliver a second blow in as many days to the president, who quickly pledged a veto.
The 59-41 vote was a bipartisan repudiation of Trump’s decision to circumvent Congress and...
March 15th, 20190WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Senate voted 54-46 on Wednesday to end America’s involvement in the Saudi-led war in Yemen, potentially setting the stage for President Trump to use veto powers for the first time.
The resolution to end American aid in a war that has been largely invisible to most U.S. taxpayers places the president in a...
February 15th, 20190WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following in the footsteps of her colleague, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MINN) sparked controversy this week with stark comments about the country's most prominent pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).
“It's all about the Benjamins...
February 15th, 20190WASHINGTON, DC — The Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution on Wednesday that would end U.S. support for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition in the war in Yemen, as many lawmakers sought to push President Trump to toughen his policy toward the kingdom.
It was the first time the House of Representatives has...
February 8th, 20190WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump said on Wednesday he expected a formal announcement as early as next week that the coalition fighting ISIS militants has reclaimed all of the territory previously held by the extremist group.
“Their land is gone. It’s a big factor — their land is gone,” Trump told foreign ministers and other...
February 8th, 20190WASHINGTON, DC — Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers renewed their push on Thursday to penalize Saudi Arabia for the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, introducing legislation to bar some arms sales and impose sanctions on those responsible for his death.
Democrats Bob...
February 1st, 20190DEARBORN HEIGHTS — On January 27, the Islamic Institute of America (IIA) hosted an interfaith dialogue about “the voice of human justice” as part of a tribute to the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream of unity and equality.
The event, which drew a capacity crowd, had the theme of “One Nation Under God.”...
January 31st, 20190WASHINGTON, DC - In a rebuke of President Trump, the Republican-led U.S. Senate advanced largely symbolic legislation on Thursday opposing plans for any abrupt withdrawal of troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
The Senate voted 68-23 in favor of a non-binding amendment, drafted by Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying it...
January 25th, 20190Let us assume that you are a federal government employee who is about to miss his second paycheck because of the government shutdown. That’s one month without pay. Also, let's say that you are a Democrat and a staunch anti-Trump individual.
You should be asking the Democrats on Capitol Hill to give Trump the money for his wall and...
January 25th, 20190WASHINGTON, D.C. — A splintered Senate swatted down competing Democratic and Republican plans for ending the 34-day partial government shutdown on Thursday, but the twin setbacks prompted a burst of bipartisan talks aimed at temporarily halting the longest-ever closure of federal agencies and the damage it’s inflicting around the...
December 24th, 20180NEW YORK — On Thursday, a federal appeals court backed the Trump administration in its attempt to deport about 100 Iraqi immigrants who'd been convicted of crimes years ago.
A divided Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked President Trump’s bid to send the immigrants back to Iraq....
December 21st, 20180WASHINGTON — Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis abruptly said he was quitting on Thursday after falling out with President Trump over his foreign policies, one day after Trump rebuffed top advisers and decided to pull all U.S. troops out of Syria.
Mattis announced plans to resign in a candid resignation letter to Trump that laid bare...
December 21st, 20180WASHINGTON — President Trump has begun what will be a total withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, declaring on Wednesday they have succeeded in their mission to defeat ISIS and were no longer needed in the country.
A decision to pull out completely, confirmed by U.S. officials, coincides with the roughly 2,000 U.S. troops finishing...
December 14th, 20180WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate delivered a rare double rebuke to President Trump on Saudi Arabia on Thursday, voting to end U.S. military support for the war in Yemen and blaming the Saudi crown prince for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The votes were largely symbolic because to become law the resolutions would have to pass...
December 10th, 20180Watching the ongoing debate between U.S. liberal and right-wing pundits in U.S. mainstream media, one rarely gets the impression that Washington is responsible for the unfolding crisis in Central America.
In fact, no other country is as accountable as the United States for the Central American bedlam and resulting refugee...
December 1st, 20180WASHINGTON — The population of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. fell to 10.7 million in 2016, its lowest level since 2004, due largely to a decline in the number of people coming from Mexico, a study released on Tuesday said.
The report from the Pew Research Center, pewrsr.ch/2Qptbid, based on U.S. Census data and other figures...
November 30th, 20180WASHINGTON — While Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was lobbying senators on Capitol Hill not to "pack up and abandon" the U.S. role in the Saudi-led coalition war on Yemen, the Senate voted 63-37 to consider a measure that would do just that, ending U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen.
The vote was a...
November 23rd, 20180WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, President Trump praised Saudi Arabia for helping to lower oil prices as pressure intensified for the U.S. to impose tougher sanctions on its Arab ally over dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.
In a tweet, Trump thanked Riyadh for the recent drop in oil prices and called for prices to go...
