November 22nd, 20180DETROIT — A federal judge ordered the release Tuesday of roughly 100 Iraqi detainees held for more than 16 months, saying the federal government cannot indefinitely detain foreign nationals.
U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith granted two motions filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan in 2017: Release of the...
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is merging the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem into the new U.S. Embassy there, a move critics say is the latest U.S. slap at the Palestinians and one that could further undermine hopes for a two-state solution.
The U.S. Consulate General effectively functioned as a direct point of contact...
November 16th, 20180WASHINGTON — President Trump announced his intention to nominate retired general John Abizaid as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, after two years of the position being vacant.
The nomination of Abizaid, a decorated military commander who fought in six wars and served as the head of Central Command before retiring in 2007, was...
November 16th, 20180WASHINGTON — The United States imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials on Thursday for their role in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor sought the death penalty for five suspects in the murder.
The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions were the first concrete response by the...
November 12th, 20180Washington DC — Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her Supreme Court office Wednesday night according to a statement by the Supreme Court.
According to the statement, the 85-year-old Ginsburg experienced discomfort at home following the fall and was admitted to George Washington University hospital...
November 9th, 20180WASHINGTON D.C. — President Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions Wednesday and replaced him with Matthew G. Whitaker, who has complained about the special counsel investigation into Russia’s election interference.
Sessions submitted his letter of resignation at Trump's request.
Whitaker, a former United States attorney in...
November 9th, 20180WASHINGTON — Now that the Democrats have won control of the U.S. House of Representatives, they need to choose a leader and that means solving one of their toughest puzzles: Nancy Pelosi.
A contest among the Democrats for the House’s top job of speaker will play out over the next 10 weeks or so, with the formidable 78-year-old San...
November 6th, 20180WASHINGTON - American voters will decide whether Trump’s Republicans maintain their grip on the U.S. Congress, or if Democrats can slow the president’s agenda after a divisive campaign marked by clashes over race, immigration and trade.
The first national elections since Trump captured the White House in a stunning 2016 upset is a...
November 4th, 20180The next round of economic sanctions on Iran, which will start going into effect on Nov.4, will mainly target the country’s oil and gas industries. These sanctions were eased after the 2015 signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, but are being phased back in following...
November 2nd, 20180On Tuesday, November 6, the Arab American community must rise to the challenge and exercise their right and duty to vote. Now more than ever Arab American voters are needed at the polls to share history in the making. Rashida Tlaib won a historic race and was on her way to capitol Hill to be the first Arab American and Muslim woman to...
October 26th, 20180WASHINGTON — The Trump administration may send up to 1,000 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to stop a caravan of migrants, administration officials said on Thursday, as President Trump hammered away at the issue of illegal immigration ahead of the mid-term elections.
Trump’s threat was sparked by the advance of a...
October 26th, 20180WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday that would stop most U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia in response to the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, U.S. Representative James McGovern (D-MA) said on his website.
The bill said that President Trump could request...
October 16th, 20180President Trump said on Thursday that he saw no reason to cut off arms sales to Saudi Arabia because of the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, possibly setting up a clash with the U.S. Congress.
Trump also said the U.S. may be closer to finding out what happened to Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi policies who...
October 6th, 20180WASHINGTON - A deeply divided U.S. Senate on Saturday confirmed Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, as Republicans dismissed accusations of sexual misconduct against the conservative judge and delivered a major victory to President Trump.
By a vote of 50-48, the Senate gave a lifetime job to Kavanaugh, 53, after weeks of fierce...
October 6th, 20180President Trump said on Tuesday that he warned Saudi Arabia’s King Salman he would not last in power “for two weeks” without the backing of the U.S. military.
“We protect Saudi Arabia,” Trump said to cheers at a rally in Southaven, Mississippi. "Would you say they’re rich. And I love the King, King Salman. But I said...
October 5th, 20180Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman praised his relationship with Donald Trump after the U.S. president told supporters he had warned the king he would not last in power “for two weeks” without U.S. military backing.
“I love working with him. You know, you have to accept that any friend will say good things and bad...
October 5th, 20181From presidents Truman to Trump, U.S. administrations have never actually been an “honest broker” of peace between Palestinians and Israelis, regardless of all the rhetoric and official positions. On the contrary, the U.S. has provided tremendous diplomatic, economic and military support to Israel ever since its creation in...
October 1st, 20180The U.S. government’s decision to slash funds provided to the United Nations agency that cares for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is part of a new American-Israeli strategy aimed at redefining the rules of the game altogether.
As a result, UNRWA is experiencing its worst financial crisis. The gap in its budget is estimated at around...
September 30th, 20180NEW YORK — A United Nations agency that supports Palestinian refugees received contributions of $118 million on Thursday, narrowing a budget gap for this year to $68 million as it aims to fill a shortfall left by a cut in U.S. funding.
Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA),...
September 18th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump will make the final decision on the number of refugees allowed into the United States after consulting with Congress, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Tuesday.
On Monday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States proposed capping the number of refugees at 30,000 for...
September 17th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump’s administration has agreed to reconsider the asylum claims of some 1,000 immigrant parents and children who were separated at the U.S. border as part of a deal to settle lawsuits over his “zero-tolerance” immigration policy.
The settlement, detailed in court documents late on Wednesday,...
September 11th, 20180WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration on Monday threatened tough action against the International Criminal Court should it try to prosecute Americans for alleged war crimes in Afghanistan and said the PLO’s office in Washington would be closed for seeking to punish Israel through the court.
“The United States will use any...
September 7th, 20180The Trump administration has cut all funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). Created after the 1948 war which displaced 700,000 Palestinians, UNRWA works in collaboration with local governments to provide direct relief and resources aiding economic reintegration. The agency provides food...
August 22nd, 20180Iran warned on Wednesday that it would hit U.S. and Israeli targets if it were attacked by the United States after President Trump’s security adviser said Washington would exert maximum pressure on Tehran going beyond economic sanctions.
A U.S.-Iranian war of words has escalated since Trump withdrew Washington from the world...
August 20th, 20180Why are banks asking about your citizenship?
Candidate Donald Trump rode his anti-immigrant rhetoric straight to the White House. Since then, he’s banned people from heavily Muslim-populated countries, taken children from their parents upon arrival at the Mexico border, is attempting to make citizenship status a question on the...
August 13th, 20180Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyed Khamenei on Monday rejected President Trump’s offer of unconditional talks to improve bilateral ties and he also accused the Iranian government of economic mismanagement in the face of reimposed U.S. sanctions.
The Trump administration reimposed the sanctions last week after pulling out of a 2015...
August 6th, 20180Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed a U.S. call for talks on Tuesday, the eve of the imposition of new sanctions that follows Washington’s decision to pull out of an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program.
The United States is due to impose new sanctions against Iran on Tuesday intended to cripple its economy, implementing...
August 4th, 20180GAZA — Seventy members of the U.S. Congress are urging the Trump administration to immediately reinstate U.S. aid in order to alleviate the growing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Meanwhile, Israel has seized a boat and detained almost two dozen people as they were trying to reach Gaza by sea with a cargo of medical...
