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Muslim Dearborn mayor weighs in on residents’ complaints about mosque’s call to prayer

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Muslim Dearborn mayor weighs in on residents’ complaints about mosque’s call to prayer

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Dearborn, Michigan, Mayor Abdullah Hammoud responded to noise complaints about a mosque’s call to prayer, saying it’s “not an issue.”

Hammoud discussed the concern on the Nov. 3 episode of the “Not From Here” podcast. Local Dearborn citizens have complained in recent months that a nearby mosque has been broadcasting the call to prayer on loudspeakers multiple times a day, beginning as early as 5:30 a.m.

Though residents raised concerns during a September city council meeting, Hammoud insisted that the call to prayer under a certain decibel level is allowed under city ordinances and has been part of Dearborn life for decades.

DEARBORN’S MUSLIM MAYOR TELLS CHRISTIAN HE’S ‘NOT WELCOME’ IN DEBATE ON HONORING PRO-TERROR ARAB LEADER

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Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud dismissed complaints against a local mosque’s call to prayer. (City of Dearborn screenshot)

“I would tell you is, you know, those complaining about the call to prayer, I mean it’s a very, very few, you still want to respect the wishes and, if you have a serious concern, I have to uphold the law across all boards,” Hammoud said. “But we’ve done decibel readings at these mosques, all within threshold, all within legal limit. And so for me, it’s not an issue.”

He continued, “We also have to uphold our constitutional rights to freedom of religion. And I would say this, you know, that’s the thing. I’m saying this as a Muslim. People, of course, are going to say this is a call to prayer, but like, you know, why are these complaints just coming forward now?”

“Yeah, elections are coming up,” host Jaafar Issa remarked.

DEARBORN MAYOR REFUSES TO APOLOGIZE FOR TELLING CHRISTIAN MINISTER HE WAS ‘NOT WELCOME HERE’

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Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud said the mosque’s call to prayer did not violate city ordnance on noise levels. (Charly Triballeau/Getty Images)

Hammoud didn’t directly respond to that comment but shrugged and repeated, “Call to prayer has been happening since the 1970s in Dearborn.”

The city ordinance states that noise in residential areas cannot exceed 55 decibels at night (after 10 p.m.) or 60 decibels during the day (7 a.m. to 10 p.m.). Loudspeakers are prohibited between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.

Hammoud also said that most mosques in the city do not make a call to prayer at “Fajr” or dawn and compared the sound to church bells.

Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.

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DEARBORN HEIGHTS POLICE DEPARTMENT TROTS OUT ‘OPTIONAL PATCH’ FEATURING ARABIC AND ENGLISH TEXT

Dearborn, Michigan resident Andrea Unger started a petition to pressure the city council to enforce a noise ordinance after two years of a local mosque broadcasting its calls to prayer over a loudspeaker. (Dearborn City Council via YouTube Screenshot)

Dearborn resident Andrea Unger, who has lived in the city for 40 years, told Fox News Digital last month that she had recorded the call to prayer for 30 consecutive days and found it consistently exceeded 70 decibels. She said she raised concerns with the police department and city council for the past two years, but the problem continued.

She added that some of her neighbors were hesitant to speak out, fearing they would be labeled anti-Muslim.

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“I have heard a lot of people say, ‘I’m glad you said something,’ because people are afraid they’ll get called names like ‘Islamophobic,’ like our mayor [Abdullah H. Hammoud] called [Dearborn resident and Christian minister] Ted Barham, because you disagree,” she said. “We’re not Islamophobic, we’re not anti-Muslim, we are not anti-Jewish. We just want to live in the community that it’s always been [before] something changed two years ago to allow this.”

Fox News’ Kristine Parks contributed to this report.

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Milwaukee, WI

16-year-old shot in Milwaukee; police seek suspects

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16-year-old shot in Milwaukee; police seek suspects


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A teen was shot in Milwaukee on the afternoon of July 14, and the Milwaukee Police Department is asking the public for information about the incident.

Police said a 16-year-old was shot in the 2700 block of North 44th Street around 4:23 p.m., according to a news release. The circumstances leading up to the shooting remain under investigation.

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Milwaukee police are looking for unknown suspects.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Milwaukee Police Department at 414-935-7360 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 414-224-TIPS or submit a tip through the P3 Tips app.

Adrienne Davis is a general assignment and breaking news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Got any tips or stories to share? Contact Adrienne at amdavis@gannett.com. Follow her on X at @AdriReportss.



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Minneapolis, MN

Feds release key evidence in Minnesota ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti

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Feds release key evidence in Minnesota ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti


Federal prosecutors have turned over key evidence in the fatal ICE shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti to Minnesota investigators after months of legal battles, marking a major breakthrough in the state’s effort to investigate the deaths.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Monday that the evidence was released by U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Daniel Rosen’s office after a lengthy dispute over access to the materials. The transfer includes previously withheld hard drives containing witness statements, police body-camera footage and Good’s damaged SUV.

“The wonderful thing now is we have all the evidence,” Moriarty said in a video statement. “Any time the government is responsible in whatever way for taking the life of a community member, we need to have a full and thorough investigation.”

The Minneapolis immigration crackdown, dubbed “Operation Metro Surge,” ended in February after being billed as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever.

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A private autopsy found that Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was shot three times by a federal immigration agent during a Jan. 7 traffic stop, including a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, was shot and killed during a Jan. 24 protest. The medical examiner ruled he died after being struck multiple times by federal agents.

At least nine people have been killed nationwide in encounters involving ICE agents since the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign began last year. No one has been charged in connection with the deaths, and the federal government has argued that state prosecutors lack jurisdiction to investigate federal officers.

The latest development also comes as questions continue to surround other recent fatal ICE shootings. An ICE agent fatally shot a motorist in Maine on Monday, while prosecutors in Houston said federal officials are still withholding key evidence in their investigation into another deadly shooting involving an ICE officer last week.

New video of Minneapolis ICE shooting from agent’s perspective (CNN Newsource)

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Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration in March, accusing federal authorities of refusing to provide evidence needed for the state investigation.

Court filings suggest the breakthrough came after federal prosecutors sought evidence gathered by state investigators in a separate case involving ICE agent Christian Castro.

Castro, 52, has been charged with assault and falsely reporting a crime in connection with the Jan. 14 nonfatal shooting of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis. Prosecutors allege Castro fired through the front door of a Minneapolis home while pursuing another man, striking Sosa-Celis in the thigh.

State and local prosecutors told federal officials they would share evidence in Castro’s case only if the federal government agreed to reciprocate in the investigations into the deaths of Good and Pretti.

“We are willing to share evidence with you if the exchange is reciprocal,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans wrote in a court filing.

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Lawyers for Good’s family called the evidence transfer “an important and meaningful step toward justice and accountability.” The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which has taken custody of the materials, said “great strides have been made” to ensure a “thorough and complete review” of both shootings.

But an attorney for Pretti’s family said Rosen’s office still declined during a Monday meeting to confirm whether any formal cooperation agreement exists between state and federal investigators.

“No family should be required to beg federal authorities to do their job,” attorney Steve Schleicher said in a statement. “Without a public commitment by federal authorities to cooperate with the state, it is difficult—if not impossible—to pursue justice that holds the individuals accountable for Alex’s death.”

The evidence transfer marks the first significant cooperation between state and federal investigators since Minnesota filed its lawsuit, potentially allowing the long-stalled investigations into both fatal shootings to move forward.

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Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.



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Indianapolis, IN

Indianapolis church hosts community sessions to revitalize 32nd Street corridor

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Indianapolis church hosts community sessions to revitalize 32nd Street corridor


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Residents of Indianapolis’s near north side have a chance to help shape the future of their neighborhood.

Crossroads AME Church is hosting two community listening sessions to gather input on revitalizing the 32nd Street and Capitol Avenue corridor in the Crown Hill neighborhood.

The first session is 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at Community Action of Greater Indianapolis, 3266 N. Meridian St. A second session is scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at the same location.

“We as a congregation do not want to undertake that initiative without getting input from the community,” said Reverend Jerry E. Davis III of Crossroads AME Church.

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The corridor, located two blocks west of the Children’s Museum, has long been identified as an area in need of resources. Davis said the church’s research and conversations with community leaders have already surfaced concerns about access to food and pharmacy services. The area has been described by some as both a food desert and a pharmacy desert — a situation that worsened when a CVS near 38th Street and Illinois Street was replaced by a car wash.

“There is one less resource where perhaps within walking distance we can get the pharmaceutical needs that we have satisfied,” Davis said.

The July 14 session is designed as an open forum, with no limits placed on what residents can raise. Davis said the church wants to hear ideas that go beyond what research has already uncovered.

“We want to hear even beyond the numbers,” he said.

The July 30 session will give attendees a chance to return and prioritize the ideas and needs shared at the first gathering. Davis called the two sessions a “both and” opportunity, encouraging residents to attend both.

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Both sessions offer in-person and virtual participation options. A free dinner will be provided at both in-person gatherings.

For more information, contact Crossroads AME Church.



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