Border Patrol frequently seizes international travelers’ money
September 11th, 20150 TSA agents check a passenger's bags, Secaucus, New Jersey Jan. 31, 2014.DETROIT - Border Patrol agents often seize large sums of money from individuals and families who are penalized for failing to declare the amount of cash they’re carrying when traveling outside of the United States. When traveling outside the U.S., people...
Sterling Heights rejects mosque proposal amid escalating tensions
September 11th, 20150 Hundreds of residents gathered outside of Sterling Heights to protest the mosque.STERLING HEIGHTS — The City Planning Commission voted unanimously to reject a proposed mosque on 15 Mile Road on Thursday, September 10, as hundreds of residents packed inside and outside of City Hall in opposition to the center. The proposal...Bishop on leave, under investigation for sexual misconduct
DEARBORN HEIGHTS — An Orthodox bishop has been placed on leave after allegations of sexual misconduct. Dearborn Heights Archbishop Nathaniel Popp announced on Tuesday that his auxiliary bishop the Right Rev Irineu Duvlea, is under investigation. In a statement, Popp said Duvlea, 53, is presumed innocent but will remain on leave and...
Local imam meets American citizen in Iranian prison
September 10th, 20150 Amir HekmatiDEARBORN HEIGHTS – Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, the spiritual leader of the Islamic House of Wisdom, visited imprisoned American veteran Amir Hekmati in Tehran last month and lobbied Iranian officials to release him. Hekmati, 32, a former U.S. marine from Flint, is one of four Americans detained in Iran. He was arrested...
Snyder leads investment mission to Japan, Germany
September 10th, 20150 LANSING – Gov. Rick Snyder is leading an investment mission to Japan and Germany to strengthen trade relationships between Michigan and the two nations. Snyder aims to attract business investments that will create jobs and expand markets for Michigan-made goods.Snyder will meet with government and business leaders in both...
Local man raises $10,000 for Syria’s refugees
September 9th, 20150 A graffiti depicting the drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi in Sorocaba, BrazilDETROIT – The photo of Aylan Kurdi's lifeless body on the shores of Turkey last week has moved the community to wish that we could do something about the plight of the Syrian people. But a Detroit man actually started an initiative to help...
Sen. Peters to vote in favor of the Iran agreement
September 8th, 20150 Peters meets Arab American activists, Sept. 1WASHINGTON – Sen. Gary Peters announced on Tuesday that he will vote in favor of the Iran nuclear agreement. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed in Vienna in July between Iran, the United States and the other leading world powers in the P5+1. The deal decreases...
FBI names new top agent in Detroit
September 4th, 20150 David P. GeliosDETROIT — FBI director James B. Comey has named David P. Gelios as the special agent in charge of the Detroit division. Gelios, 53, started his FBI career in 1995. He has served in Kentucky, California, Connecticut, Alaska and Washington, D.C., mostly focusing on combating crime. The new special agent in charge, who...
Yemenis get TPS designation
September 4th, 20150 DEARBORN — The Department of Homeland Security designated Yemen for Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for 18 months due to the ongoing armed conflict within that country. The designation, announced on Wednesday, grants Yemenis who are on temporary basis in the United States the right to stay and apply for work authorization after...
Dearborn schools a national model for halal options
September 4th, 20151 DEARBORN — The Dearborn School District reflects the increasing demand for products prepared in accordance with Muslim religious guidelines. Halal meat and poultry options were first introduced to one Dearborn public school in 2001. In recent years, more schools in the district have followed suit. Twenty-two of the 32 Dearborn...
Passionate school counselor pushes students to pursue higher education
September 4th, 20150 Hamadeh, a high school counselor at Crestwood High School stands with students.DEARBORN HEIGHTS — Yusra Hamadeh, a guidance counselor for seniors at Crestwood High School (CHS), pushed many of the students who earned scholarships this past school year to pursue higher education. The class of 2015 received almost $10 million in...
Sen. Peters meets community leaders before Middle East trip
September 4th, 20150 Community activists with PetersDEARBORN — Senator Gary Peters (D- Mich.) met with Arab American activists and heads of organizations at the offices of The Arab American News, on Monday, Aug. 31, before leaving on an official visit to the Middle East. The senator listened to Arab Americans' concerns about civil rights, immigration,...
Sterling Heights mosque controversy spills across Chaldean and Muslim communities
September 4th, 20150 STERLING HEIGHTS — The mosque controversy took an ugly turn this week after Mayor Michael Taylor publicly proclaimed his stance against the project, following concerns from residents that he and other city officials were leading an agenda against Chaldean residents. Residents came out in droves in recent weeks to oppose the mosque at...
Detroit gas station owners to join organization to safeguard interests
September 4th, 20150 Shaker Aoun addresses Detroit gas station owners at Byblos Banquet HallDEARBORN — More than 50 Detroit business owners, representing about 100 gas stations, decided to join a coalition to aggregate their efforts against what they consider unfair treatment by the city. At a meeting at Byblos Banquet Hall on Monday, Aug. 31, the...Chinese auto supplier to build headquarters in Northville
NORTHVILLE TOWNSHIP — Gov. Snyder has announced an advanced manufacturing technical center will be built by a Chinese auto supplier. On Monday, Snyder announced that the auto supplier, CW Bearing USA Inc., will spend about $26 million on a Northville Township facility that will include an engineering and technical center and advanced......
Detroit police seek four teens who fled treatment facility
Detroit — Police are searching for four teens who escaped Aug. 27 from a treatment program at a facility on the city’s east side. The teens were residents in a program at the DePaul Youth Treatment Center in the 600 block of East Grand Boulevard, said Sgt. Cassandra Lewis, a spokeswoman for the Detroit Police Department. The...
Oral arguments for Odeh’s appeal set for Oct. 14
September 4th, 20150 Odeh outside the federal courthouse in Detroit after her conviction CINCINNATI — Palestinian community leader Rasmea Odeh will challenge her immigration fraud conviction Wednesday, Oct. 14 in the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. In November 2014, Odeh was convicted for failing to disclose on a U.S. naturalization application...Backlogged rape kits in Detroit leads to further investigation
DETROIT — Most of the 11,000 rape-evidence kits left languishing in a Detroit warehouse have been analyzed since they turned up several years ago, with DNA matches leading to further investigation in 35 states, Gov. Snyder said on Wednesday. The rape kits, which were found abandoned on a storage shelf in 2009, contain DNA samples from...
Complaint filed against airline for placing Muslim flight attendant on leave of absence
September 2nd, 20150 The Council on American-Islamic Relations of Michigan (CAIR-MI) filed a complaint with the the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission this week after ExpressJet Airlines placed a Detroit-based flight attendant on a leave of absence for objecting to serve alcohol based on her religious beliefs as a Muslim. The complaint......
Arab Americans demonstrate in support of “You Stink” protesters
August 31st, 20150 DETROIT — Dozens of Arab Americans gathered in front of the Lebanese Consulate in Detroit, in solidarity with the anti-corruption "#YouStink" protesters in Lebanon.The Detroit demonstration on Saturday coincided with a massive protest in Beirut, where thousands poured into a main square, defying heightened presence of...
Local matchmaker offers dating tips
August 30th, 20151 Sitto Here is a compilation of dating tips offered by metro Detroit based Chaldean Matchmaker Theresa Sitto: Phone Etiquette Remember that your phone greeting leaves an impression on your caller. Set up that mailbox; it's not that hard. Leave a clear, concise greeting that does not include work related prompts or......
Hundreds of Sterling Heights residents turn out to protest Mosque
August 29th, 20150 STERLING HEIGHTS - Hundreds of residents turned out to protest a proposed controversial mosque that religious leaders plan on building on 15 mile and Ryan Rd, near a residential area.The proposal garnered massive backlash in recent weeks by local residents. While many have continued to argue that building the mosque at the site...
Dearborn Police seeking larceny suspects
August 28th, 20150 DEARBORN — On Aug. 26 Dearborn Police responded to the 2900 Block of Cornell to investigate several larcenies from vehicle reports. One victim was able to obtain surveillance video of the suspects entering his unlocked vehicle. The video shows a second suspect attempting to enter a second......
