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AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - DFW Airport abandons Islamic washing station plan after Gov. Abbott orders grant review

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport scrapped a proposal to install Islamic ablution washing stations after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed a review of state grants to the airport and referred it to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. Abbott announced the move Friday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, calling the planned […] The post DFW Airport abandons Islamic washing station plan after Gov. Abbott orders grant review appeared first on American Almanac .

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport scrapped a proposal to install Islamic ablution washing stations after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directed a review of state grants to the airport and referred it to the U.S. Department of Transportation for investigation. Abbott announced the move Friday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, calling the planned facilities at the government-owned airport unconstitutional. He ordered a review of all state grants to entities operating both DFW and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, warning that funding could be revoked and future grants denied. He also referred both airports to the USDOT for a federal probe. Hours later, DFW reversed course. The airport said it had "accelerated its…Open

What facilities related to Islamic prayer already exist at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport?
George Bush Intercontinental Airport already operates an ablution station with an adjoining prayer room. The facility is reported to be furnished with Qurans, prayer rugs, prayer beads, and a turbah, which is a small clay tablet used in Islamic prayer.
Q&A ID 58bc1e83-ef1d-4863-9ee0-df7d55957d33
What actions did Governor Greg Abbott take regarding the funding of DFW Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston?
Governor Abbott directed a review of all state grants to both DFW Airport and George Bush Intercontinental Airport, warning that funding could be revoked and future grants denied. He also referred both airports to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a federal probe.
Q&A ID 13d5ca3a-2c64-400c-b9e3-1a10399a94a9
What legal argument did Governor Greg Abbott use to oppose the installation of the washing stations at DFW Airport?
Governor Abbott argued that the facilities were unconstitutional because they appeared to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion. He stated that because the airports are government-owned, the federal and state constitutions prohibit the government from facilitating such discrimination or favoring one religious view over others.
Q&A ID 48f7d694-0fae-4ca5-94e0-69bceb6046ad
What were the specific details regarding the cost and location of the proposed ablution stations at DFW Airport?
A regulatory filing from an outside design firm on July 31 estimated the cost at $300,000 with a target completion by year's end, though a DFW spokesperson later stated the actual cost would have been closer to $120,000. The stations were proposed for the pre-security side of Terminal D, which is the airport's international terminal.
Q&A ID f08e5720-a38e-4d7c-8da1-2491d6b19c64

AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed set to share stage with Pakistani cleric who admitted marrying off his 13-year-old niece

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat, is scheduled to headline an Islamic convention in Detroit that also features a Pakistani cleric who admitted arranging the marriage of his teenage niece, and whose anti-Jewish rhetoric prompted Canadian activists to seek a visa ban. El-Sayed is listed on the convention itinerary for the […] The post Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed set to share stage with Pakistani cleric who admitted marrying off his 13-year-old niece appeared first on American Almanac .

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat, is scheduled to headline an Islamic convention in Detroit that also features a Pakistani cleric who admitted arranging the marriage of his teenage niece, and whose anti-Jewish rhetoric prompted Canadian activists to seek a visa ban. El-Sayed is listed on the convention itinerary for the Islamic Society of North America's 63rd annual gathering, set for September 4, 7 in Detroit. His panel, titled "Cultivating God Awareness in a Turmoiled America," is scheduled for September 5. Also on the convention roster: Tariq Masood, a Pakistani mufti, a cleric qualified to issue religious rulings, who in a 2021 sermon admitted to the marriage of his 13-year-old niece, according to…Open

What financial connections exist between Abdul El-Sayed and ISNA-related entities?
El-Sayed's father-in-law, Tayeb Jukaku, has served on ISNA's founding committee since 2007 and has contributed $300,000 to a political action committee supporting El-Sayed's Senate bid. Additionally, El-Sayed has a mortgage through University Bank (University Islamic Financial), a convention sponsor, and owns between $150,000 and $425,000 in Amana Funds, another convention sponsor.
Q&A ID 4ddb0ff2-3d02-4f1c-a108-beda1ceec295
What are some of the other controversial speakers listed on the ISNA convention roster?
Other speakers include Siraj Wahhaj, a New York-based imam described as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; Yasir Qadhi, a Texas-based imam who has called the Holocaust a "hoax"; and Hussam Ayloush, a CAIR official who stated after October 7 that "Israel should be attacked."
Q&A ID a9c22632-d182-4bd9-ac9f-f3f31783a32d
What is the history of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) regarding federal legal cases?
ISNA was founded as an American arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2008 Holy Land Foundation terrorism-funding case, a designation that has not been lifted.
Q&A ID 194d8b84-0399-4c57-9c81-f6eea177045d
Which Pakistani cleric, scheduled to speak at the ISNA convention, has been criticized for his views on child marriage and antisemitism?
Tariq Masood, a Pakistani mufti and cleric, is scheduled to speak. He admitted in a 2021 sermon to arranging the marriage of his 13-year-old niece and has faced criticism for antisemitic rhetoric, including a 2024 sermon titled "The Final Humiliation of the Jews."
Q&A ID e16b6e67-c1a9-4a47-8cdb-bcc05099d3ff

AMERICANALMANAC (Alex Tanzer) - Lindsay Clancy searched 'how to slit throat to die' before killing her three children, trial testimony reveals

A Massachusetts jury heard testimony that Lindsay Clancy's cellphone contained searches for lethal self-harm methods and psychiatric terms in the days before she strangled her three young children, evidence both sides are now fighting to frame. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington confronted Massachusetts State Trooper Timothy Chiappini on the witness stand Thursday during day 13 of […] The post Lindsay Clancy searched 'how to slit throat to die' before killing her three children, trial testimony reveals appeared first on American Almanac .

A Massachusetts jury heard testimony that Lindsay Clancy's cellphone contained searches for lethal self-harm methods and psychiatric terms in the days before she strangled her three young children, evidence both sides are now fighting to frame. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington confronted Massachusetts State Trooper Timothy Chiappini on the witness stand Thursday during day 13 of Clancy's murder trial in a Plymouth County courtroom, pressing the forensic analyst on a series of Google searches recovered from Clancy's phone. Among them: "How to slit throat to die" and "Where is the carotid artery?" Reddington held up posters displaying each search for the courtroom to see, the New York Post reported . Clancy, a former nurse, is accused of…Open

AMERICANALMANAC (Alan Benson) - Former ABC News correspondent says network sent his COVID lab-leak script to Fauci, then gutted it

Terry Moran, a veteran ABC News correspondent who left the network in 2025, alleges his 2021 report on COVID's possible lab origins was rendered "incomprehensible" after the script was routed through Dr. Anthony Fauci. Moran laid out the accusation in an interview with "The Fifth Column" podcast, describing a day-of-air review that stripped his roughly […] The post Former ABC News correspondent says network sent his COVID lab-leak script to Fauci, then gutted it appeared first on American Almanac .

Terry Moran, a veteran ABC News correspondent who left the network in 2025, alleges his 2021 report on COVID's possible lab origins was rendered "incomprehensible" after the script was routed through Dr. Anthony Fauci. Moran laid out the accusation in an interview with "The Fifth Column" podcast, describing a day-of-air review that stripped his roughly 15-minute "Nightline" segment of its editorial spine and buried it under legal hedging. The two-part piece, which aired in June 2021, had examined whether COVID might have leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a question that multiple U.S. intelligence agencies, including the CIA, FBI, and Department of Energy, have since assessed as the most likely explanation for the pandemic's…Open

What actions have Senate Republicans taken regarding Dr. Anthony Fauci following his Fifth Amendment invocations?
Senate Republicans on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee voted to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress and referred the matter to the Department of Justice for criminal review.
Q&A ID 26299b95-6fdb-4097-b32e-3d7de3692729
What did Senator Rand Paul reveal through published entries from Dr. Anthony Fauci's personal diary?
The diary entries revealed behind-the-scenes relationships between Dr. Fauci and prominent media figures, including CNN anchors Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, and ABC's George Stephanopoulos, and suggested his private thoughts about COVID may have contradicted his public health statements.
Q&A ID 77acba79-c93e-4860-9e35-9e50b5efefd9
How did Terry Moran describe his personal assessment of the origins of COVID-19 at the time of the reporting?
Moran stated that his personal feeling at the time leaned slightly toward a natural origin, though he noted that if it had leaked from the lab, he did not believe it was a "Frankenvirus."
Q&A ID 6a2f0c4a-db26-4cbd-9aae-3f9807da6cc1
What specific news did Moran's reporting team claim to have broken regarding the Wuhan lab?
The team claimed to have broken news that the Wuhan lab had received funding from the Chinese military, despite denials from Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli, often referred to as the "Bat Lady."
Q&A ID fe194ce9-200b-44a1-beda-8c4a4107b62d

AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - NOAA forecast puts odds of record-shattering El Niño above 90 percent

Federal scientists now say there is a greater than 90 percent chance this El Niño becomes "very strong" by winter, and a 69 percent chance it surpasses every El Niño event on record, a prospect one economist warns could make it the costliest ever. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center released an updated forecast on Aug. 13 […] The post NOAA forecast puts odds of record-shattering El Niño above 90 percent appeared first on American Almanac .

Federal scientists now say there is a greater than 90 percent chance this El Niño becomes "very strong" by winter, and a 69 percent chance it surpasses every El Niño event on record, a prospect one economist warns could make it the costliest ever. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center released an updated forecast on Aug. 13 reporting that sea-surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean have climbed more than 3.6 degrees above average, a reading that multiple climate models from North America and abroad agree points toward a historic event. The agency's report projects the warming will continue to strengthen through the end of 2026, with impacts rippling across weather patterns from the American heartland to Southeast Asia.…Open

What are the projected precipitation patterns for the continental United States during this El Niño event according to the Climate Prediction Center?
The Climate Prediction Center projects wetter-than-average conditions across the southern third of the country and enhanced chances of below-normal precipitation in the northern third.
Q&A ID f3a2eb7b-0a26-454d-991a-935c26bdda81
According to Matthew Rosencrans of NOAA, what is the typical winter weather outlook for the continental United States during an El Niño?
El Niño winters are typically warmer across the continental United States, particularly from the Pacific Northwest to the Great Lakes, though warmth may also extend to the West Coast and Southeast with less certainty.
Q&A ID 2f5264a7-82fe-4b76-a9cc-99063a390973
What specific weather patterns are currently being observed in Indonesia, India, Central America, and the Horn of Africa due to the El Niño development?
These regions are experiencing drier-than-average conditions, which Michelle L'Heureux of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center describes as consistent with textbook El Niño behavior.
Q&A ID 2b54fb21-89cf-41d8-9811-b9b18c266f6d
Based on the August 13 NOAA forecast, how have sea-surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean changed?
Sea-surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean have climbed more than 3.6 degrees above average.
Q&A ID 38890762-3cae-4eb7-ba74-e35f9f1b4944

AMERICANALMANAC (Sadie Smith) - Sophie Cunningham reportedly shopping tell-all book after standing firm on transgender athletes in women's sports

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is reportedly shopping a tell-all book after weeks of backlash, including physical confrontations on the court, over her public stance against biological men competing in women's basketball. Cunningham, 29, drew national attention after sitting down with ESPN and saying plainly what millions of parents and fans already believe: women's sports […] The post Sophie Cunningham reportedly shopping tell-all book after standing firm on transgender athletes in women's sports appeared first on American Almanac .

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is reportedly shopping a tell-all book after weeks of backlash, including physical confrontations on the court, over her public stance against biological men competing in women's basketball. Cunningham, 29, drew national attention after sitting down with ESPN and saying plainly what millions of parents and fans already believe: women's sports should be for women. The interview set off a firestorm inside the WNBA, where Cunningham has faced boos from hostile crowds, elbows to the face from opponents, and accusations of "white privilege" on social media. Now, Page Six Hollywood reports she is taking her story to publishers. The report, published August 10, 2026, offered no details about a specific…Open