June 12th, 20260WASHINGTON / TEHRAN / BEIRUT — After a week marked by military confrontation and intense diplomacy, President Trump announced what he described as a “great settlement” with Iran, signaling a potential turning point in a conflict that had threatened to engulf the broader Middle East.
The announcement followed two nights of military...
June 5th, 20260Despite repeated statements by President Trump predicting an imminent agreement to end the conflict with Iran, developments over the past week offered little indication of a genuine breakthrough. Instead, regional tensions remained high amid what political observers describe as determined Israeli efforts to undermine any potential deal...
May 29th, 20260WASHINGTON, D.C. — “The road to the White House runs directly through our state.”
That was the message delivered by Curtis Hertel, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, as he formally presented the state’s bid to become one of the nation’s earliest presidential primary contests in the 2028 election cycle.
Party Chair Curtis...
May 29th, 20260WASHINGTON, D.C. — Signs of a potential diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran gained momentum over the past week, despite limited military exchanges between the two sides that remained below the threshold of a broader conflict and appeared designed to strengthen negotiating positions rather than derail ongoing...
May 22nd, 20260Since returning from China, President Trump has gradually adopted a noticeably softer tone toward Iran, tempering his rhetoric day after day while still keeping military threats as an option on the table.
Only days earlier, Trump claimed he had been “one hour away” from authorizing renewed military strikes against the Islamic...
May 15th, 20260Against the backdrop of President Trump’s visit to China, the Middle East remained trapped in a temporary status quo, with Iran still caught in a state of neither war nor peace with the United States, while resistance forces in southern Lebanon continued targeting invading Israeli troops using fiber-optic drones, whose documented...
May 8th, 20260FORT LAUDERDALE — Spirit Airlines announced Sunday that it has ceased operations entirely after failing to secure a proposed $500 million federal rescue package, bringing an end to one of the most recognizable low-cost airlines in the United States.
Its parent company, Spirit Aviation Holdings, confirmed that it has begun implementing...
May 7th, 20260Much of the current discourse on the Middle East remains fixated on the U.S. midterm congressional elections in November. This vote, in particular, is being framed as a pivotal turning point for everything from the survival of Gaza and Lebanon to the future of Iran and beyond.
To a large extent, one can understand why U.S. corporate...
May 1st, 20260The language of war has once again overtaken all other discourse in the escalating U.S.–Iran confrontation, as President Trump renewed his call for Tehran to “surrender” after reviewing newly proposed military options targeting the Islamic Republic. This comes as Iranian forces continue to maintain effective control over the Strait...
April 17th, 20260A rare and escalating confrontation between President Trump and Pope Leo XIV has exposed deep global divisions over the ongoing war on Iran, placing political power and moral authority on a direct collision course.
At the center of the dispute is a fundamental disagreement over war, diplomacy and the role of religion in global...
April 17th, 20260A fragile 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon took effect Thursday evening, offering a temporary halt to more than a month of devastating war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah, even as the broader U.S.–Israel confrontation with Iran continues to expand militarily, diplomatically and economically across multiple fronts.
The...
April 10th, 20260Washington, D.C. – President Trump’s threat to wipe out Iran — warning that “an entire civilization” could be destroyed — has triggered one of the most intense waves of Democratic backlash in his second term, reigniting calls for his removal from office.
Within hours of the remarks, dozens of Democratic lawmakers publicly...
April 10th, 20261Forty days after refusing to negotiate with the United States, and amid President Trump’s escalating rhetoric and foul language, which reached the level of threatening to erase an entire civilization from the face of the earth, Iran agreed to begin indirect talks with the Americans in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, setting 10 key...
April 10th, 20260The knives are out — and this time they are not aimed at Tehran, but at Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu.
Even the ever morally flexible Chris Christie moved quickly. The former New Jersey governor and longtime Republican insider, speaking on CNN, did not merely criticize Trump; he used the moment to indict establishment...
March 27th, 20260The war being waged by the United States and Israel against Iran has entered its fifth week, with no real prospect of a near end, amid the high thresholds set by Washington, Tel Aviv and Tehran. Meanwhile, the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon continues to confront Israeli ground incursions south of the Litani River, inflicting heavy losses...
March 27th, 20260DETROIT — As the funding crisis at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) continues, the Trump administration began deploying agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Monday to some of the busiest airports in the country to assist Transportation Security Administration (TSA) staff in managing passenger lines at...
March 20th, 20260U.S. "War Secretary" Pete Hegseth appears to have little patience for questions that do not conform to his preferred style of declaring unsubstantiated victories, whether against South Americans or in the Middle East.
In a charged press conference on March 13, Hegseth did more than attack journalists for questioning his unverified...
February 27th, 20261ROMULUS — During its regular meeting on Monday, the Romulus City Council unanimously issued a formal declaration opposing the opening of a detention center for undocumented immigrants within city limits, as protesters clashed outside City Hall between supporters and opponents.
Although the resolution carries no legal authority to...
February 27th, 20260“Tonight, as we watched our nations lawmakers gather for a join session of Congress, we did not hear the truth from our president,” said Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who gave a 13-minute Democratic response to the State of the Union from Colonial Williamsburg. “So, let’s speak plainly and honestly. And let me ask you, the...
February 27th, 20260President Trump said in his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress that his administration inherited a “very bad” economic and security situation from the previous administration, asserting that in just one year it had achieved what he described as an “unprecedented transformation.”
Trump said in his...
February 24th, 20260
On February 24, while President Trump delivers his State of the Union address, DEFIANCE.org, the Portland Frog Brigade and COURIER will host State of the Swamp: The Rebuttal to the State of the Union from 7 –11 p.m. EST at the National Press Club.
The event will bring together elected officials, cultural figures, journalists,...
February 13th, 20260WASHINGTON — President Trump will announce a multi-billion dollar reconstruction plan for Gaza and detail plans for a U.N.-authorized stabilization force for the Palestinian enclave at the first formal meeting of his Board of Peace next week, two senior U.S. officials said on Thursday.
Delegations from at least 20 countries,...
February 13th, 20260on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hoped that President Trump was creating the conditions to reach a deal with Iran that would avoid military action.
Netanyahu, who met Trump for talks in Washington on Wednesday, said he had expressed "general skepticism" and said that if an agreement was reached, "it must...
February 13th, 20260To understand how President Donald Trump promotes his presidency and policies, especially when challenged, one must understand the impact of Roy Cohn, the late New York attorney, on his approach to politics and power.
Cohn was a behind-the-scenes player, a ruthless practitioner of “dirty tricks” and power politics who attached...
January 30th, 20260WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Monday, former Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib —whose nomination as U.S. ambassador to Kuwait had encountered broad opposition in the United States Senate in October — officially began a new federal role in Washington, D.C.. He is now serving as senior advisor for strategic partnerships at AmeriCorps, following...
January 23rd, 20260By Mohamad Ozeir
This week marked the first anniversary of President Trump’s return to the White House for a second term, after a forced four-year interruption. That comeback was loaded — during those loud and turbulent years — with authoritarian promises, racist delusions, totalitarian programs, distorted ideas and hotheaded...
January 23rd, 20260President Trump might be popping corks, toasting “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history.” Celebrations, however, are premature. In reality, the assault on Venezuela and kidnapping and transfer of President Maduro to stand trial in U.S. court are by no...
January 16th, 20260In a Reuters Oval Office interview, President Trump dismissed concerns about Greenland, the economy and a probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell, offered limited clarity on Iran, acknowledged obstacles in the Gaza and Ukraine peace efforts, defended ICE operations and warned Republicans could lose seats in the midterms.
Here are some...
