LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The leader of Iraq will travel to Michigan on Thursday following a sit-down with President Joe Biden to meet with the state’s large Iraqi community and update them on escalating tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s weekend aerial assault on Israel.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s trip to both Washington and Michigan to discuss U.S.-Iraq relations had been planned well before Saturday’s drone and missile launches from Iran-backed groups. The visit has been thrust into the spotlight as tensions in the region escalate following the strike, which included drone and missile launches that overflew Iraqi airspace and others that were launched from Iraq by Iran-backed groups.
BIDEN TO HOST IRAQ’S LEADER AFTER IRAN’S ATTACK ON ISRAEL SPURS CHAOS ACROSS THE MIDDLE EAST
Michigan holds one of the largest populations of Iraqis in the nation and many local Democrats have pushed back against U.S. support for Israel’s war in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7. The state holds the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country.
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Iraq’s Prime Minister Shia al-Sudani listens during a meeting with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, April 15, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
The Iraqi prime minister is expected to land in the Detroit area Thursday evening and be met by local leaders, including Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and Assad I. Turfe, a deputy Wayne County executive. He will then travel to a mosque in Dearborn Heights to meet with Iraqi community members and officials to give an update on his meeting with Biden talking about the economic relations between Iraq and the U.S., according to Mohammed Al-mawla, a community member involved in the planning.
There are just over 90,000 residents in Michigan of Iraqi descent, the largest of any state, according to the most recent U.S. Census. In Wayne County, home to the cities of Detroit and Dearborn, 7.8% of residents identified of Middle Eastern and North African ancestry, alone or in any combination, the highest percentage of any U.S. county.
The concentration of those residents in the outskirts of Detroit has led to multiple visits to the area from officials engaged in Middle Eastern relations.
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Amos Hochstein, a senior adviser to Biden, traveled to metro Detroit in March to meet with Lebanese Americans and discuss efforts to prevent the conflict from expanding along Israel’s northern border, where Hezbollah operates. Multiple White House officials also traveled to Dearborn in February to meet with Arab American leaders to discuss the conflict.
Fears over the war expanding grew over the weekend following the strikes and the developments have raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq. However, a U.S. Patriot battery in Irbil, Iraq, which is designed to protect against missiles, did shoot down at least one Iranian ballistic missile, according to American officials — one of dozens of missiles and drones destroyed by U.S. forces alongside Israeli efforts to defeat the attack.
Moore was released on a $25,000 bond on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A new report has shed more light on the alleged relationship between former Michigan Wolverines football head coach Sherrone Moore and an alleged staff member.
Moore was fired on Wednesday (Dec. 10) due to the inappropriate relationship, and afterward, he reportedly went to the woman’s home and threatened to take his own life.
According to The Athletic, the woman was on the phone with her lawyer when Moore allegedly broke into her apartment.
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The lawyer told police she could hear screaming over the phone.
The report also stated the woman allegedly ended the relationship two days before Moore was fired, but he continued to call and send dozens of texts over the following days.
That behavior prompted the woman to come forward to the university, leading to his dismissal and subsequent arrest.
Moore was released on a $25,000 bond on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025.
–> Michigan football interim head coach Biff Poggi talks team’s emotional state following Sherrone Moore saga
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–> President Trump appears to take jab at Michigan football while talking about NIL
–> Jim Harbaugh talks Sherrone Moore’s firing, arrest after former Michigan football understudy posts bond
–> Warde Manuel still athletic director after U of M Regents meet, per reports
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Brandon Carr
Brandon Carr is a digital content producer for ClickOnDetroit and has been with WDIV Local 4 since November 2021. Brandon is the 2015 Solomon Kinloch Humanitarian award recipient for Community Service.
On Tuesday, multiple reports began to surface about Washington coach Jedd Fisch no longer being considered by the Wolverines as a candidate for the open head football coaching position at Michigan.
Although it’s still unclear as to why Michigan is seemingly moving off of him as a consideration, college football analyst Josh Pate seemed to confirm the reports on his show that Fisch is unlikely to be a factor in the Wolverines’ search moving forward.
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Dec 13, 2025; Inglewood, CA, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Jedd Fisch in the first half of the LA Bowl against the Boise State Broncos at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
“There’s been some sentiment about Jedd Fisch,” Pate said. “There’s been some though this week—and granted, it’s only Tuesday (at the time of his show). But there’s been some thought this week that Jedd Fisch’s name may be climbing. And that’s because Michigan was taking a hard look at him.
“There’s been some sentiment today that maybe Jedd Fisch’s name has cooled. I think that’s accurate. And I think they’ve done a fairly good job, especially if you’re on The Fort (On3’s The Wolverine) on the message boards over there, I think they’ve done a fairly good job of detailing that. Not necessarily details that I think it’s important for us to dive into—it’s more minutiae based.
“The critical take home points here are—I don’t know that Jedd Fisch is going to be a factor in the Michigan search moving forward. He’s got himself a good job at Washington. It’s one of the better jobs in the Big Ten. In fact, Jedd Fisch may have one of the more underrated jobs in the country. So, it’s not like he needs to be desperate to leave Washington. But I think his name was a factor, I’m not so sure it’s going to be a factor moving forward.”
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Fisch’s history at Michigan and where Wolverines go from here
Fisch was considered a quality candidate for the job due to his extensive background in coaching, which includes four different NFL stops and coaching at seven different college programs.
He was the head coach at Arizona from 2021-23 and led a turnaround for the Wildcats under his watch before becoming the head coach of the Huskies in 2024.
In the 2015-16 season, Fisch served as Michigan’s passing game coordinator while also helping with the quarterbacks and wide receivers in his only year with the Wolverines under former head coach Jim Harbaugh.
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With Fisch apparently now likely off the board, it looks like the Wolverines will turn to other names of interest.
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Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham and Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer still seem to be the names that are being thrown around the most during Michigan’s search.
During his show, Pate discussed Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz as a name that is involved.
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Nov 29, 2025; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Missouri Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz greets players and staff as they enter the locker room prior to the game against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images
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Former Michigan defensive coordinator Jesse Minter, who is now in the same role with Harbaugh’s LA Chargers, also seems like a possibility, but the NFL Chargers likely making the playoffs could make things tricky timeline wise to make that happen. Plus, Minter is very likely to be considered for an NFL job in the near future, meaning the Wolverines would likely have to compete against other NFL teams to hire him.
The clock is ticking with the winter transfer portal window beginning on Jan. 2, so whoever Michigan hires, ideally it would be done before that date comes up.
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Jim Harbaugh discusses texts to Sherrone Moore after firing from Michigan
Michigan football interim head coach says players feel ‘very betrayed’
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