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Traditionally Dem leaders in key Michigan voting bloc ditch Harris, endorse Trump

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Traditionally Dem leaders in key Michigan voting bloc ditch Harris, endorse Trump

Some Arab leaders in southeast Michigan have heard enough from Vice President Kamala Harris and are now encouraging their community to throw their support behind former President Trump.

“Just look where we’re at right now and look where we were before,” Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi told reporters during an online call Monday.

Bazzi’s comments represent a growing sentiment among some Arab leaders in Michigan, where there has been increasingly negative sentiment around the Biden administration’s handling of the conflicts in the Middle East.

In Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit with the largest per capita Muslim population in the U.S., a movement bubbled up earlier this year to “Abandon Biden” during the state’s Democratic primary. While President Biden was still able to secure the nomination, leaders of the campaign against him hailed its success, noting that over 100,000 people failed to support the president and arguing they would continue to use their influence as the general election drew near.

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Former President Trump. (Andrew Leyden/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Democrats’ disconnect with many Arabs and Muslims in Dearborn has failed to improve since, even after Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and Harris’ quick ascent to the top of the ticket, leaving Democrats with a possible large hole in their typical coalition of support in a state that could make or break their chances at winning this year’s election.

However, questions remained whether members of a community who have traditionally voted Democrat for so long and where Trump was deeply unpopular could suddenly turn around and support his latest bid for the White House, something Bazzi is now encouraging them to do.

“I can tell you, a lot of people are actually swaying to voting for Trump because they really don’t like what going on,” Bazzi said. “They think their future doesn’t look bright with the administration and the way they’re heading.”

Bazzi was joined on the call by Hamtramck, Michigan, Mayor Amer Ghalib, who leads the nation’s only Muslim-run city and made waves last month by announcing his endorsement of Trump.

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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at UAW Local 652 during a campaign event in Lansing, Michigan, on Friday. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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“The current administration has done nothing, and the war is expanding to other countries, and it could be a regional war and maybe even World War III,” Ghalib said. “President Trump keeps saying that he will end the chaos in the Middle East, and I talked to him personally, I told him ‘your strength is that no wars happened during your term, so we want it to stay that way.’”

While Ghalib acknowledged that some of Trump’s past rhetoric offended those in the community, his outreach since has made a difference. That outreach has worked, the mayor argued, noting that there is a “portion of the community that’s considering supporting Trump, and historically, those people used to vote Democrat.”

One of those people is Dearborn’s Karbalaa Islamic Educational Center founder and Imam Husham Al-Hussainy, who told reporters on the call that he is now leaning towards support for Trump.

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“I lean towards Mr. Trump because I found him closer to the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran. Because I support peace, no war,” he said, adding that the country “deserves to have a strong leader where he can bring peace in this world.”

Activists with Workers Strike Back and the “Abandon Harris” campaign hold an event endorsing Green Party candidate Jill Stein at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn, Michigan, on Oct. 6. (Dominic Gwinn/Middle East Images/Middle East Images via AFP)

Meanwhile, Ghalib had a message for those in his community thinking about voting for a third party or sitting out, arguing that nothing could be worse than keeping Democrats in power.

“Some people are trying to vote for a third party because they predict that President Trump may do the same thing or even worse,” he said. “What could be worse than what’s going on now? There’s nothing worse.”

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Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis mayor responds to Noem’s shooting comments

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Minneapolis mayor responds to Noem’s shooting comments


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Minneapolis mayor responds to Noem’s shooting comments

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Indianapolis, IN

How frequent are 60-degree days in January for Indianapolis?

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How frequent are 60-degree days in January for Indianapolis?


INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Indianapolis will challenge 60 degrees multiple times to close this week. How frequent are 60-degree days in the month of January?

Over the last 5 years, Indianapolis has hit 60 degrees in January only twice. Bloomington did it four times in this same stretch.

Our last time hitting the 60-degree threshold in this month was in January 2023 in Indy. Temperature records for the city have been kept since 1872. On average, Indianapolis has around one day of making it to 60 degrees in January since record keeping began.

1880 is the year with the most January 60 degrees or higher days on record at 8 days. In 2017, Indianapolis had 4 days make it to the threshold. This is the last time we had multiple days in the 60s in January.

For the latest 7-day forecast, visit our weather blog by clicking here.

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Cleveland, OH

East Cleveland City Schools celebrate ‘We are EC Day’ marking end of state oversight

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East Cleveland City Schools celebrate ‘We are EC Day’ marking end of state oversight


EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — Classes across East Cleveland City Schools were briefly interrupted on Wednesday for a celebration.

After nearly seven years of oversight from the state’s Academic Distress Commission, the district has officially been released and is once again fully in control of its operations.

“This isn’t a Cinderella story. This is a story of a community that decided that excellence is now the standard,” said East Cleveland City Schools Superintendent and CEO Dr. Henry Pettiegrew.

He said turnarounds don’t come easily.

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“We scratch. We claw. We grind (and) we hustle to get what we need,” Pettiegrew said. “And this community deserves this recognition today. Our teachers have gotten stronger. Students are performing better. It’s really amazing where we are today.”

The state placed him in the district in 2019 with a clear mission— to improve a failing district and boost academics so all students can succeed.

In September, around the time state report cards were released, he told me the district was using data to drive decisions, providing better support to teachers and communicating more with families.

“We’re knocking on doors. We’re having those real conversations, and if parents or students need particular things, supports or items, we’re right there to help,” Pettiegrew explained then.

He said teachers, students, and families rose to the occasion, applying focus and dedication.

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Students earned a four-star rating in the progress category and an overall three-star rating on the most recent state report card. For the first time in more than a decade, the district is meeting state standards.

The district also met 16 of the 20 academic benchmarks set by the state, leading to its release from oversight. On Wednesday, a video played across the district in every classroom for what it called “We Are EC Day: Three Stars and Rising.”

In the video, Pettiegrew thanked everyone for the progress made. Congratulations also poured in from community members, business leaders, and celebrities, including Cleveland Browns player Shelby Harris.

Each student received a special school hoodie representing the mantra “Three Stars and Rising.” Staff members got a similar jersey.

“Throughout history, we commemorate when wonderful things happen and East Cleveland is no different,” Pettiegrew said.

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He added that the district can’t and won’t let up on its path to continued success.

Pettiegrew said the district will be focusing hard on improving literacy outcomes and graduation rates, among other priorities. He said the goal is to match, if not exceed, the results from the last state report card on the next one.

Here’s a link to the full video the district released.

Damon Maloney is a Cuyahoga County and We Follow Through anchor at News 5 Cleveland. Follow him on X @DMaloneyTV, on Facebook DamonMaloneyTV or email him at Damon.Maloney@wews.com.





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