By Miriam Raftery

January 16, 2016 (San Diego) –A Muslim woman and a Jewish man were forcibly removed from a speech being given by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in South Carolina last week.  They were staging a peaceful, silent protest over Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, both wearing yellow Holocaust stars of David and the word “Muslim.”  The woman also wore a hijab head scarf and a shirt that read, “Salam. I come in peace.”  She stood up after Trump suggested refugees fleeing Syria are affiliated with ISIS terrorists.  Hecklers shouted hateful remarks at the pair and Trump later backed their ouster.

By contrast, Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, speaking at a rally in Virginia five days later, stepped from behind the podium to embrace a Muslim woman student who voiced concerns over “Islamophobia” and bigotry voiced by some candidates.  Sanders, stood hand in hand with the woman, then spoke of his father’s family who died in concentration camps and gave an impassioned speech, vowing to stand against racism of all forms.

Refugees in Europe, most fleeing ISIS, risk death with winter approaching if not enough places will accept them. But fear of potential terrorism has led some nations to bar entry.

Photo: Refugees marching across Europe arrive in Slovenia; source: Slovenia Ministry of Defense.

By Miriam Raftery

November 16, 2015 (San Diego’s East County) – After Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris, for which the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed responsibility, President Barack Obama reaffirmed his commitment to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. over the next year.

But governors in half of all states nationwide have reportedly said that they oppose taking any Syrian refugees in their states, or want to postpone admitting them until screen procedures are approved, according to reports by Associated Press, CNN and USA Today.

East County News Service

Devoreo Bell, Juwan Armstrong and Miriam Raftery contributed to this series.

Part 1:  Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton (most prominent political pedigrees) and Donald Trump (the show horse)

August 3, 2015 (Washington D.C.) -- The 2016 presidential candidates are off and running. It’s a crowded race, with over two dozen contenders vying for the ultimate winner’s circle.  Over the next couple of weeks, East County Magazine will run a “Race for the White House” series profiling the candidates.

Our series opens with frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, two seasoned entries with long political pedigrees, and “show horse” Donald Trump who’s been grabbing media headlines and moving up in the polls. Later we’ll highlight mavericks such as Rand Paul and  Bernie Sanders,  each drawing populist followings for talking about issues like civil liberties and the wealth gap largely ignored by party power-brokers.  Finally, we’ll have coverage of the pack of other prominent contenders, plus some dark horses hoping to pull off an upset win.  For each candidate, we’ll give you  biographical highlights, stances on key issues, controversies, and fascinating facts as these contenders bolt out of the starting gate and run for the roses—the White House rose garden, that is.  Plus, we’ll check with pollsters and odds makers to see how they’re handicapping this important race—so keep an eye out for each installment in our “Race for the Whitehouse” 2016 coverage.

Click "read more" and scroll down to learn more about Bush, Clinton and Trump.