Pentagon: U.S. carries out airstrikes against Iraqi militia facilities in eastern Syria
February 26th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, President Biden ordered U.S. military airstrikes in eastern Syria, on the border with Iraq, against facilities belonging to what the Pentagon described as "Iran-backed militia", in a calibrated response to recent rocket attacks against U.S. targets in Iraq. The strikes appeared to be limited in scope,...
Vaccines begin showing results, new COVID-19 cases decline and flatten
February 26th, 20210 With a third COVID-19 vaccine around the corner, current vaccination efforts have already begun proving effective in curbing the pandemic in the U.S. and the world. A peer-reviewed Israeli study of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine showed the vaccine to be highly effective in preventing symptomatic coronavirus infections under real-world...
D.C. Police chief: Trump supporters want to “blow up” Capitol at State of the Union
February 25th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The acting chief of the U.S. Capitol Police in D.C. testified this week that Trump supporters want to “blow up” the building and kill “as many members as possible” when President Biden delivers his State of the Union address to Congress. The threat come from groups whose members were part of the deadly...
Dingell, dozens of law makers ask Biden for more transparency on U.S. involvement in Yemen war
February 25th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) is joining dozens of lawmakers in urging transparency from the Biden administration regarding U.S. involvement in the Saudi/UAE-led coalition’s war in Yemen as the U.S. ends its support for "offensive" operations. In a letter expressing their strong support for President...
U.S. Senate confirms former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm as secretary of energy
February 25th, 20210 WASHINGTON D.C. — In a vote of 64-35, the Senate confirmed former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm to be secretary of energy. Granholm was President Biden’s nominee for the role. In recent years, Granholm has taken a deep interest in energy issues and was even considered to be a top candidate for the role had Hillary...
U.S. Supreme Court paves way for release of Trump’s tax returns
February 22nd, 20210 NEW YORK — Donald Trump suffered a major setback on Monday in his long quest to conceal details of his finances as the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for a New York City prosecutor to obtain the former president's tax returns and other records as part of an accelerating criminal investigation. The justices without comment rebuffed...
Yemenis in the San Joaquin Valley: The embodiment of pride, duty and loyalty
February 22nd, 20210 By Nikhil Misra-Bhambri Most visitors to California, “The Golden State”, are unfamiliar with the large swath of barren farmland covering the state’s entire interior. Among the hardy immigrant laborers working the farms in the interior are a group of men from Yemen who started arriving in the 1950s to flee their nation’s...
Peters, others, call on postmaster general to restore on-time mail delivery
February 19th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is leading 33 of his colleagues to press the U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to take action on persistent mail delays and ask what he is doing to restore on-time mail delivery. Peters previously released a...
Biden ready to return to Iran nuclear deal; lifts Trump-era sanctions
February 19th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Biden administration, through Secretary of State Antony Blinken, affirmed on Thursday it is willing to come to the negotiation table with Iran over a return to a nuclear accord, if Tehran came into full compliance with the deal. The Iran Nuclear Deal, first struck in 2015, is aimed at preventing the country...
Biden proposes immigration overhaul with new legislation
February 18th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — After promising sweeping reforms to the country's immigration system, the Biden administration announced a proposed immigration bill on Thursday that would give an eight-year path to citizenship for millions of migrants in the U.S. and fast track citizenship for undocumented individuals who came to the U.S. as...
Israel indicates it may not engage with Biden on Iran nuclear deal
February 16th, 20210 TEL AVIV — The Biden administration and Israel seem to have embarked on an uncertain and rocky relationship, in contrast to what the country's right-wing government enjoyed with former President Trump. More friction arose this week, with Israel throwing cold water on U.S. hopes to engage with the country on the topic of Iran and its...
Trump, Giuliani accused in lawsuit of conspiring to incite Capitol riot
February 16th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Democratic congressman accused former president Trump, his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, and two right-wing groups of conspiring to incite the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol in a lawsuit on Tuesday. The civil lawsuit accuses the duo of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act, an 1871 law passed to crack down on the...
Arab Americans continue their efforts for Little Arabia designation in Anaheim
February 13th, 20210 ANAHEIM, CA — There is a roughly four-to-five-mile stretch in Anaheim where you can get Egyptian food, Syrian ice cream, Lebanese cuisine and many flavors from Arab-speaking countries — it is an area that business owners and organizers are hoping to get a special designation. One of the businesses on Brookhurst owned by an...
Toni Breidinger: First Arab American female driver to compete at NASCAR
February 12th, 20211 NORTH CAROLINA — Toni Breidinger, 21, a rising star in the car racing world, is set to become the first Arab American female driver to compete in a NASCAR national series. Breidinger, who is also a successful model, hails from the Bay Area in California. Her mother was born in Beirut and Breidinger currently has family in...
No phone call: Some speculate Netanyahu “ghosted” by Biden
February 12th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — Though it took former President Trump a mere two days after his inauguration to call Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, President Biden is yet to do so. Biden has called many world leaders in the first three weeks of his presidency, including leaders of Russia, China, France, Japan and more. Israeli diplomats and......
Blinken stops short of endorsing Trump’s recognition of the Golan Heights as Israel
February 12th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopped short of endorsing the Trump administration’s recognition of the occupied Golan Heights as part of Israel, instead noting that the territory was important for Israel’s security. Former President Trump officially granted U.S. recognition of the Golan as Israeli...
“He can do this again”: Conviction remains uphill battle in Trump impeachment
February 12th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, Democratic impeachment managers urged Republican Senators to see the danger of a possible second election run by Donald Trump, in the historic second impeachment trial of the former president. Through three days of the ongoing trial, Democrats have run patched-together video evidence to make the case...
Census bureau admits problems arose in 2020 count, but confident in data quality
February 10th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Census Bureau Acting Director Dr. Ron Jarmin recently issued an update about last year’s census count. The update is on the quality of the data procured in the census count. “We cannot (analyze the quality of our data) in detail until we complete the Post-Enumeration Survey later this year,” he said...
Travelers could be fined $1,500 or more for violating mask order
February 9th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says travelers who violate President Biden’s latest mask order for domestic and international travel could be charged $1,500 or more. The TSA recently made an update to its original bulletin regarding Biden’s executive order on promoting COVID-19 safety in......
Dems point to “overwhelming” evidence of Trump’s misconduct ahead of impeachment trial
February 8th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a preview of what could be expected during the second impeachment trial of former President Trump, House impeachment mangers said there was “overwhelming” evidence of misconduct by Trump that led the deadly events at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. "The evidence of President Trump's conduct is overwhelming,"...
Harvard Law Review elects first Muslim president
February 8th, 20210 BOSTON — The Harvard Law Review has named a Los Angeles-born Egyptian American as what it believes is the first Muslim president in its 134-year history, elevating him to the top of one of the most prestigious U.S. law journals. Harvard Law School student Hassaan Shahawy said he hoped his election represented “legal academia’s......
Paul M. Abbate named FBI deputy director
February 6th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. – FBI Director Christopher Wray has named Paul M. Abbate as deputy director. As deputy, he oversees all FBI domestic and international investigative and intelligence activities. Abbate most recently served as the associate deputy director. Abbate joined the FBI as a special agent in 1996 and was assigned to the...
Biden seeks to raise refugee cap to 125,000
February 4th, 20210 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, President Biden said he seeks to raise the annual refugee cap to 125,000, an increase that will take place in the beginning of October. Biden made the announcement during a speech at the U.S. State Department. Biden also said he would approve an executive order that would restore the U.S. refugee......
