Text messages become a gold mine for scammers, FTC officials warn
July 8th, 20230 By Anthony Advincula A few days ago, Christian Amador received a text message on his smartphone. It wasn’t from someone he knew. He thought he just received a missent text message. “It was lovely meeting you. I enjoyed our dinner together, and I’m looking forward to getting to know you,” said the text, pointing him to a web...
New study finds PFAS “forever chemicals” in half of the tap water across the U.S.
July 8th, 20230 Almost half of the United States' tap water is estimated to have one or more PFAS, known as "forever chemicals", according to a new study. The U.S. Geological Survey tested tap water from 716 locations, including 269 private wells and 447 public supply sites, in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the District of...
What the Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action means for colleges
July 3rd, 20230 On Thursday the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-conscious policies in college admissions, ending decades of precedent that had allowed schools nationwide to use such programs to increase the diversity of their student bodies. Here is an explanation of the policies commonly known as affirmative action, their history and the...
U.S. Supreme Court rejects affirmative action in university admissions
July 3rd, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina, effectively prohibiting affirmative action policies long used to raise the number of Black, Hispanic and other underrepresented minority students on American campuses. In...
China surpasses U.S. in popularity among Arab youth as Beijing expands Middle East footprint
June 25th, 20230 More young Arabs see China as an ally of their countries than the United States, a survey of regional youth has found. The U.S. ranks seventh among nations considered as friendly, compared to China, which ranked second in the Arab Youth Survey conducted by Dubai-based public relations firm ASDA’A BCW. The findings show that support...
Dearborn man sentenced to 14 years in prison for providing material support to ISIS
June 25th, 20230 DETROIT — On Thursday, June 15, a Dearborn resident was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after having been convicted at trial earlier this year on charges of providing and conspiring to provide material support to ISIS, a designated foreign terrorist organization, and attending an ISIS training camp. Prosecutors sought a...
FBI’s secret “watchlist” revealed 98 percent of names are Muslim
June 25th, 20231 In a recent disclosure by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Muslim American advocacy group, alarming statistics have emerged regarding the FBI’s secret watchlist. The report titled “Twenty Years Too Many, A Call to Stop the FBI’s Secret Watchlist” sheds light on the disproportionate targeting of Muslims, with...
Building trust when cultural differences and society biases impact healthcare for minority groups
June 16th, 20230 By Linda Perkins Health disparities continue to disproportionately affect minority populations despite improvements in overall health for most Americans. In Michigan, minority groups have a higher rate of chronic disease than average, so improving healthcare for these groups is critical. Unfortunately, cultural differences and...
Israeli soldiers will not face criminal charges over death of Palestinian American
June 16th, 20230 Israel's military advocate general said on Tuesday that soldiers who left a Palestinian American man outside overnight after detaining him and who was later found dead will not be criminally prosecuted, but will face disciplinary measures. Israeli forces detained 78-year-old Omar As'ad at a makeshift checkpoint in his West Bank hometown...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection provides travel tips for Hajj travelers
June 16th, 20230 DETROIT – U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Field Operations reminds travelers preparing for their pilgrimage to the Hajj to be aware of important travel tips to help ensure a smooth return into the United States. Travelers should familiarize themselves with regulations regarding traveling with currency over...
First Muslim woman confirmed as a U.S. federal judge
June 16th, 20231 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. will have its first Bangladeshi American and first Muslim woman federal judge after the Senate confirmed Nusrat Choudhury on Thursday. The vote in the Democratic-led Senate narrowly passed along party lines. President Biden nominated the civil rights attorney to the United States District Court for the...
Prophets of doom: Kissinger and the “intellectual” decline of the West
June 9th, 20230 It is unclear why 100-year-old Henry Kissinger has been elevated by Western intelligentsia to serve the role of the visionary in how the West should behave in response to the Russia-Ukraine war. But does the centenarian politician have the answers? Every major global conflict that involved the U.S. and its NATO allies in the past had...
Arab American law graduate speaks up for Palestine, slams Israel at commencement
June 9th, 20232 NEW YORK – Fatima Mousa Mohammed, a City University of New York (CUNY) graduate from Queens of Yemeni origin, created ripples after she gave a speech on “confronting the systems of oppression… created to feed an empire with a ravenous appetite for destruction and violence” at her graduation ceremony, pointing her finger straight...
Senate confirms highest-ranking Muslim in government after earlier GOP blockade
June 9th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Thursday the Senate confirmed Dilawar Syed as deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration, ending more than two years of delays after a blockade by Republicans in the last Congress. Syed will be the highest-ranking Muslim official in the U.S. government. Republicans on the Small Business...
What health experts say wildfire smoke novices need to know
June 9th, 20230 Wildfires are increasingly causing destruction and illness around the world, but the smoke drifting southward from eastern Canada this week is a new experience for the tens of millions who live in the U.S. Northeast. Many in those states are wondering what they need to know about a first-time wildfire smoke event. Are health risks......
Illinois to add “Arab American” as ethnicity option on registration forms
June 9th, 20230 CHICAGO – Illinois has one of the largest populations of Arab Americans in the country, according to community leaders. Yet, on most registration forms, where you are asked about your ethnic background, Arab American is not an option. "It's really important," said Jeanine A. "There isn't a way for me to represent my ethnicity. I have...
Biden administration wants Congress to mandate flight delay compensation
June 9th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Biden administration has submitted draft legislation to Congress that would mandate airlines pay cash compensation for delays of three hours or more when carriers are responsible. The proposal sent earlier this week and seen by Reuters would require "cash compensation in an amount commensurate with the...
Trump faces criminal charges for mishandling documents, obstruction
June 9th, 20230 Former President Trump has been indicted by a federal grand jury for retaining classified government documents and obstruction of justice, according to a source familiar with the matter. The criminal case, brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, amounts to another legal setback for Trump as he seeks to regain the U.S. presidency next...
Avoiding scams that target immigrants
May 26th, 20230 By Jennifer Leach When there are big changes that lead to confusion, scammers prosper. Pretty much always. So, as Title 42, the pandemic-era law related to immigration, expired last week, the resulting “what happens next” will almost certainly lead to notarios hoping to ride that question all the way to the bank. So how do......
Dialect discrimination: 1-in-3 Michiganders fear an “accent wage penalty”, study reveals
May 26th, 20230 In a 2015 interview, Stephen Colbert was quoted as saying: “At a very young age, I decided I was not gonna have a Southern accent”, adding that as he thought it would hold him back professionally. He noted that it is difficult to determine a newscaster's regional origin based on their accent. Research from the University of...
Five facts about Arabic speakers in the U.S.
May 26th, 20230 By Mohamad Moslimani Arabic has become a much more widely spoken language in the United States in recent decades. The number of people ages 5 and older who speak Arabic at home in the U.S. rose from 215,000 in 1980 to 1.4 million in 2021, making it the nation’s seventh-most common non-English language spoken at home. Arabic speakers......
Tlaib, Khanna lead letter urging President Biden to support ending war in Yemen
May 26th, 20230 WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D- Detroit) and U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) led 39 of their colleagues in a letter to President Biden and his Yemen policy team in support of ongoing diplomacy to end the 8-year long war in Yemen. “We write to applaud the recent diplomatic progress made by the warring parties...
The White House is urged not to adopt a definition of anti-Semitism that includes criticism of Israel
May 26th, 20231 WASHINGTON, D.C. – "The Biden administration is close to completing a national anti-Semitic strategy, but the question of how it defines anti-Semitism remains fluid," Jewish Insider revealed. According to the site, "As the White House prepares to launch a national strategy to combat anti-Semitism in the coming weeks, the question of......
