Midwest
Dearborn’s anti-Biden activists won’t rubber-stamp president’s Harris endorsement
Activists in Dearborn, Michigan, who led the resistance against President Biden in response to his support for Israel won’t so easily come back to the Democratic Party now that he has dropped out of the race.
“There is not an automatic endorsement by the community of Harris just because Biden stepped down,” Samraa Luqman, who has served as co-chair for the Abandon Biden campaign, said of her personal feelings on the state of the race. “She was part of the Biden administration, so she’s going to be associated with all of his policies and all of his rhetoric. She might come with a $100 million war chest, but she comes with his baggage as well.”
Luqman’s comments come after Biden announced on social media Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 race, a decision that was made after weeks of increasing pressure from fellow Democrats to pass the torch amid fears over his physical and mental ability to continue the campaign.
Such a decision was cause for celebration in Dearborn, Luqman said, noting that she believes Biden’s unpopularity among members of her community played a role in the president’s decision.
DEARBORN ‘UNCOMMITTEDS’ PLAN TO MAKE ‘EXAMPLE’ OF BIDEN, TURN PARTY AGAINST JEWISH STATE
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks with members of the press before boarding Air Force Two at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, May 28, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit that has the highest per capita Muslim population in the country, became the center of the resistance to Biden during Michigan’s primary in March, with more than 100,000 voters marking “uncommitted” on their ballots instead of supporting the president’s re-election bid. The vast majority of those who turned on Biden in March were longtime Democrats who had voted for the president in 2020, but his handling of the conflict in Gaza had caused many in Dearborn to reach their breaking point.
“This is absolutely phenomenal and historical,” Luqman said of Biden’s decision to drop out. “And I want it to absolutely be known and give credit where credit is due. It is not due to the fact that Biden had a bad performance in the debate… it is due to his bad polling numbers.”
Biden’s outlook in the polls had continued to deteriorate over July, with most national polls showing the president trailing former President Trump. Worse for Biden, most polls also showed him behind in almost every important swing state, including Michigan.
A new Detroit Free Press poll released just hours before Biden announced his decision showed the president trailing Trump by seven points in the crucial swing state of Michigan, a devastating deficit in an almost must-win state for Democrats.
Luqman credits her community for contributing to that deficit, making the path to victory for Biden too difficult to remain in the race.
‘DEATH TO AMERICA,’ ‘DEATH TO ISRAEL’ CHANTS POUR OUT OF MUSLIM PROTESTERS IN MICHIGAN ON LAST DAY OF RAMADAN
But Luqman made clear that people in the community won’t easily run back to Democrats, with many planning to support a third-party candidate or even Trump in November instead of Biden’s handpicked successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“You’re hearing a lot of people who are so upset and so burned by Biden, that there is a rejection of the Democratic Party altogether, who are still saying, even if it were Harris, we will not vote for the Democratic nominee,” Luqman said, adding that some members of the community may for vote Green Party candidate Jill Stein or “go with a Republican out of spite.”
A Detroit Free Press poll released just hours before Biden announced his decision showed the president trailing Trump by seven points in the crucial swing state of Michigan. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“We saw this kind of shift… right after the Iraq War 20 years ago, where the entire Arab Muslim community shifted to the Democratic Party and stayed that way for two decades now,” Luqman added. “It looks like that pendulum is swinging again toward the Republican side now.”
Abed Ayoub, the national executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, echoed a similar sentiment, saying that for the Muslim community in Dearborn and elsewhere, Biden’s decision to step down was a welcome “relief.”
Nevertheless, Ayoub made clear that the issue just wasn’t with “Biden himself,” but the administration’s policy on the Middle East and around the globe.
BIDEN CAMPAIGN: WE DON’T WANT THE VOTES OF ‘DEATH TO AMERICA’ PROTESTERS IN MICHIGAN
“These are serious issues for the Arab community and how different is Harris going to be on that? What can she bring to the tale that’s different?” Ayoub asked.
Ayoub made clear that many in the community will listen to what Harris has to say but that earning their support will not be automatic, noting that both the Stein and Trump campaigns have done good outreach to local voters.
President Biden speaks at a campaign event at Pullman Yards on March 9, 2024, in Atlanta. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
“It opens the door wide open for Democrats to win back many of the ones that Biden has lost,” Ayoub said, while noting that many will still support Stein or even Trump.
“His outreach now is much better, much different than it was in 2016 and 2020,” Ayoub said of Trump.
Steven Stalinsky, the executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, told Fox News Digital that while it is unlikely many of the activists who turned on Biden will back Harris, it is also unlikely the Dearborn and Muslim community will see a major candidate that fits the profile they are demanding.
“I think most of the Arab and Muslim leadership and Islamist activists in Dearborn and in Michigan have constantly reiterated that Harris is no better than Biden and that they see no difference between them. Early comments indicate that she would have to be more anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian, including in her VP pick, for them to reconsider their stance,” Stalinsky said. “In their celebrations of Biden’s announcement over the past day, they take credit for his retirement. They also do not realize that average Americans are much more pro-Israel than their own vocal groups of supporters in a handful of states are. Furthermore, they mistakenly believe that everyone who did not vote for Biden in the primary was rejecting him because he was pro-Israel.”
Steven Stalinsky, the executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, told Fox News Digital that it is unlikely many of the activists who turned on Biden will back Harris. (Reuters/Hannah Beier)
Meanwhile, frustration with the Democratic Party’s process for replacing Biden on the ticket has already started for many in the Muslim community, Ayoub noted, arguing that allowing the president to handpick his replacement is “not democratic.”
“You knew Biden was sick, he went through a whole primary process, and then told him to step aside and put your own candidate,” Ayoub said. “There’s anger there that this is happening… and I think it’s important to point out that this is not a great candidate. This is not a democratically elected nominee for the Democratic Party.”
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
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Detroit, MI
Where to watch Houston Astros vs Detroit Tigers: TV channel, start time, streaming for June 26
What to know about MLB’s ABS robot umpire strike zone system
MLB launches ABS challenge system as players test robot umpire calls in a groundbreaking season.
The 2026 MLB season has surpassed the quarter mark, and after each team’s first 40 games, there’s plenty of reasons to tune in all summer long.
Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami has already proven doubters wrong by launching 17 home runs, Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes consistently looks like the best version of himself on the mound and Milwaukee ace Jacob Misiorowski is throwing harder than any starter in the majors.
The MLB action continues on Friday as the Houston Astros visit the Detroit Tigers.
Here’s everything you need to know to tune in for the first pitch.
See USA TODAY’s sortable MLB schedule to filter by team or division.
What time is Houston Astros vs Detroit Tigers?
First pitch between the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. (ET) on Friday, June 26.
How to watch Houston Astros vs Detroit Tigers on Friday
All times Eastern and accurate as of Friday, June 26, 2026, at 6:34 a.m.
Watch MLB all season long with Fubo
MLB regional blackout restrictions apply
MLB scores, results
MLB scores for June 26 games are available on usatoday.com . Here’s how to access today’s results:
See scores, results for all of today’s games.
Milwaukee, WI
We must have answers before awarding new wastewater contract | Opinion
Milwaukee’s current wastewater treatment contract holder, Veolia Water Milwaukee, is under fire, with some calling for an audit.
A look at MMSD’s South Shore and Jones Island wastewater plants
A look at MMSD’s South Shore and Jones Island plants as leaders weigh a contested $700M, 10-year operations contract in Milwaukee.
It goes without saying that Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is an essential community asset.
Recently, MMSD has been in the news and not in a good way. The MMSD Commission voted to approve an audit of the district’s private wastewater operator. This is less than six weeks after the community organization Common Ground launched a public campaign calling for an audit of Veolia Water Milwaukee, alleging mismanagement of the Jones Island and South Shore wastewater treatment facilities.
I was briefly on a six-member MMSD advisory committee for the 1998 United Water Services contract. Now 28 years, and 2008, 2018, contracts later, the question is what firm to hire for the 2028 contract. I read Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Urban Milwaukee articles, whistle-blower letters and other materials and jotted down concerns listed below (there are others):
- Veolia cut corners on treatment time and process chemicals
- Veolia allowed MMSD assets — buildings and process equipment — to deteriorate
- Veolia provided inadequate staffing
- Employees, particularly those who questioned management, were treated poorly
- Reversing these conditions will be very expensive, if it is even possible to do so
Aren’t these issues sufficient to disqualify Veolia from future consideration?
MMSD has an innovative civil engineering history.
The national American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) designated the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark when they honored Milwaukee in 1974 for developing the waste-activated sludge treatment process and pioneering a beneficial reuse of biosolids (Milorganite). MMSD has also been recognized for the Deep Tunnel and many innovative infrastructure and flood management projects over the years.
Wisconsin has a strong civil engineering community, which includes the American Society of Civil Engineers-Wisconsin Section (ASCE-WI); five civil engineering university programs with three —Marquette, MSOE and UW-Milwaukee — in Milwaukee); as well as many technical school and apprenticeship programs. Civil engineering projects require many types of expertise and skills.
Is anyone asking questions such as what should be the future of wastewater treatment in Milwaukee? Or what do citizens know about wastewater treatment? Or what do citizens need to know about treatment options to make informed decisions about parameters such as feasibility, public health, environmental protection, costs and financing?
Before the next contract is decided and awarded, shouldn’t human waste generators (citizens), civil engineers and the wastewater industry be asking some of these important questions?
Carol Diggelman, PhD, Emerita Professor, Milwaukee School of Engineering, where she taught for over 30 years, has since retiring, resumed volunteer activities with the League of Women Voters and organized many programs at the intersection of infrastructure and natural resources.
Minneapolis, MN
Reform, money and trust: Council members’ key criteria for Minneapolis’ next police chief
Minneapolis leaders agree the next police chief is a critical choice, but it remains unclear whether the mayor and City Council can align on a candidate.
Mayor Jacob Frey declined an interview on the topic after announcing the hiring process and timeline earlier in the week. But 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with City Council Member and Public Health, Safety & Equity Committee Chair Jason Chavez and Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw, the prior Public Health, Safety & Equity Committee Chair.
All agree the police chief is one of the most important roles in Minneapolis.
Asked what it would take to get enough members on board with a candidate so that they can be confirmed, Council Member Vetaw said, “I think we’re figuring some of those things out, but what I hear from all council members is someone who’s strong on reform and wants to actually get reforms done right.”
Vetaw added that the next permanent chief should also have a strong record on slowing overspending.
“We need somebody who’s really going to reel that in and handle our money with care. I think those are two things that I hear from all of my colleagues,” she said.
Brian O’Hara resigns as Minneapolis police chief after report shows he interfered with investigation into his conduct
Asked the same question, Council Member Chavez agreed on key candidate criteria, but he expressed less confidence in the hiring process.
“Well, I mean, I’ve cleared out — I’ve laid out some of the things that I would like to see in a candidate,” Chavez said. “And then I want us to feel included in this process, so they can hear our feedback, and I want there to be robust community engagement. I don’t think that it’s oppositional to this plan. I guess my only thing is I want to make sure that all 13 members are included in this process.”
“I really care about community engagement, I really care about the criteria, and I want to make sure that the police chief that comes into Minneapolis is strongly committed to police accountability,” he continued.
“People want transparency and accountability. They want someone who can speak to the community, and it’s truthful,” Vetaw said.
“Like, we’re all looking for the same kind of leader.”
The question comes as Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette, as the head of the department overseeing MPD and nominated by Mayor Frey in April, remains without enough City Council votes to be reappointed. Vetaw supports Barnette, while Chavez does not.
Vetaw said the lack of agreement over Commissioner Barnette is not an omen for the process of hiring a new MPD chief.
“I don’t believe that what’s happening with the commissioner is a direct reflection on the process for searching for a new chief. I think this council certainly separates those two,” she said.
“Do I want to move fast? Absolutely not. I want to move at a pace where we get the best person for the job … and I think we all want that. This is one of the most important roles in the city of Minneapolis.”
Chavez said he hopes the process leads to a chief he can support.
Asked if he believes he’ll be able to put his vote behind the candidate ultimately nominated by the mayor at the end of the process, Chavez said, “I would hope so.”
“And I want to be able to vote for a chief,” he continued. “I just think that we have to make sure that there’s a robust process that includes all council members, and that ensures that the voices of our community are not being left out.”
Former Chief Brian O’Hara was unanimously confirmed in 2022, though the council had a few different members at the time.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Mayor Frey said, “Mayor Frey has been very clear that the search for a new police chief will be a collaborative process that includes community, City staff, and Council Members.”
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS will continue tracking the selection process, including its cost to taxpayers.
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