Dearborn, Michigan

Dearborn, Michigan Mayor Abdullah Hammoud plans to spend up to $50,000 to top off the city's municipal fuel reserves, citing concerns that renewed conflict with Iran could disrupt fuel supplies or drive up prices. Hammoud said the decision followed reports of U.S. military bases stockpiling supplies and emergency preparations abroad. The city operates its own fueling stations and aims to have reserves filled within a week, ensuring police cars, fire trucks, ambulances and public works vehicles keep running through winter. Hammoud called it a precaution, not a response to a confirmed shortage, while noting the funds otherwise could have gone toward local infrastructure projects.

Jalal Abdallah, a Dearborn attorney and Democratic candidate for Michigan's 15th House District, testified at an Attorney Discipline Board hearing that he failed to fully pay settlement funds owed to clients, including one case where a client was shorted $127,000 of a $147,000 payout. Abdallah said the money instead sat in his business account, blaming his brother, a former office manager, for mishandling distributions, while acknowledging ultimate responsibility. Clients were repaid only after the Attorney Grievance Commission subpoenaed records involving roughly 30 affected clients. A discipline hearing could follow if misconduct is found. Abdallah faces Republican Hassan Nehme in the Nov. 2 general election for the seat covering Dearborn Heights and west Dearborn.

A Trump administration proposal to remove race and ethnicity questions from the 2030 Census is alarming Arab American advocates, who had expected a new Middle Eastern or North African (MENA) category to debut after decades of organizing. The federal government approved MENA as a distinct classification in March 2024, ending a long practice of counting Arab Americans as white, with implementation expected by March 2029. Michigan, home to large Arab American communities in Dearborn, Detroit and Flint, has much at stake.

The proposal would strip race, ethnicity and sexual orientation questions from the decennial questionnaire, with the Census Bureau arguing this protects privacy and boosts participation; detailed demographics would still be gathered via the American Community Survey. Advocates, including the Arab American Heritage Council and former federal policy manager Adam Beddawi, say that survey cannot replace a full population count used for funding and civil rights advocacy. A second provision would exclude certain noncitizens from congressional apportionment counts. Public comments are open through Nov. 2, and the proposal has not been finalized.

The Libertarian Party of Michigan has formally disavowed its 2025 gubernatorial nominee, Anthony Hudson, after he used a gay slur and profanity attacking the party in campaign videos. The party's executive committee passed a resolution severing "any affiliation, support or political connection" with Hudson, who had already been censured once before. Hudson's name remains on the ballot for the November 3 election, but he will be barred from party funds, events, and mentions on official channels.

Hudson, a former Republican primary candidate, rejected the disavowal, saying he would rather "stand alone" than compromise his principles, and refused to apologize for the slur. Party officials say his positions—supporting deployment of the National Guard against immigrants, restricting transgender athletes, and backing Trump-era tariffs and foreign policy—conflict with core Libertarian values. The party is also contending with separate controversies involving its lieutenant governor nominee, facing embezzlement charges, and a Senate nominee whose policy views diverge from traditional libertarian positions, underscoring ongoing turmoil within Michigan's third-largest party ahead of the election.

A long-planned effort to convert an abandoned rail line in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood into a public trail is moving ahead, with organizers, residents and local elected officials expressing strong support at a community meeting held at King College Prep. The proposed Bronzeville Trail would repurpose the disused Kenwood branch of the city's rapid transit system into a 2-mile path for walking, running and biking, stretching from 40th Street and Dearborn Avenue to 41st Street and Lake Park Avenue. Only embankments, concrete walls and overgrown vegetation remain of the original rail infrastructure.

Backers, including Bronzeville Trail Task Force founder John Adams and Aldermen Lamont Robinson and Pat Dowell, say the roughly $100 million project would boost recreation, health and neighborhood connectivity. An environmental study is currently underway, with a design phase expected to follow. Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has voiced support for the project, canceled a planned appearance at the meeting, though senior city officials attended to field questions.

Two Michigan residents face terrorism charges in separate cases involving threats against elected officials, Attorney General Dana Nessel's office announced.

Anthony Dekinderen, 61, of Lake Orion, allegedly emailed a Michigan journalist threats to kill members of the Michigan Supreme Court, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. He faces nine counts of false report or threat of terrorism, each punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and was arraigned September 19 with bond set at $5 million, requiring GPS monitoring if posted.

Alicia Choucair, 33, of Roseville, is accused of threatening a dispatcher with violence against Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud unless "her people" were kept out of the city. She faces two counts of false report or threat of terrorism, a computer crime count, and a hate crime charge, and was arraigned September 17 with bond set at $20,000.

Nessel, who created the state's Hate Crimes and Domestic Terrorism Unit in 2019, said threats against officials are becoming more common and will be prosecuted fully. Both defendants await probable-cause conferences.

Dearborn, Michigan, publicly defended itself against a federal lawsuit accusing the city and Mayor Abdullah Hammoud of favoring Muslim holidays over Christian and Jewish observances. The suit, filed by journalist Margot Cleveland of The Federalist, alleges the city spent public funds on Ramadan banners and a crescent-moon display while failing to similarly mark Easter and Passover, and claims Hammoud's rhetoric has left Christians and Jews feeling like "second-class citizens" in the majority Arab American city of over 100,000 residents. It also says her complaints requesting recognition of other holidays were repeatedly ignored.

The complaint seeks unspecified damages and a court ruling that Dearborn violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. It revives tensions from a September 2025 City Council clash between Hammoud and pastor Ted Barham over a street named for Osama Siblani, which sparked a November rally drawing conservative figures including Cam Higby and Jake Lang. The city said it treats all residents "fairly and equitably" and attributed criticism to its "welcoming nature" and diversity. Hammoud has said his earlier comments targeted one individual, not an entire faith.