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Different generations are sharing what they did before they could look stuff up on the internet

What did people do before they could look something up on the internet? That’s what comedian Sarah Adelman, 26, wanted to know after she found herself with a dead cellphone trying to navigate her way home from Brooklyn, New York. So she turned to TikTok and decided to ask her elders. “If you saw someone and you were like, ‘Oh, they remind me of that actor. What’s his name?’ and none of your friends knew, would you go to a library?” Adelman asked in her video, which has been viewed over 300,000

Why Hasan Minhaj’s fabrications could invalidate real accounts of racism and Islamophobia

After stand-up comedian Hasan Minhaj said he fabricated routines about the racial and political injustices Muslim and Indian Americans face, some comedians and experts say he’s done a disservice to the South Asian diaspora and Muslim Americans. Many are saying they are worried Minhaj’s fabrications could invalidate people’s accounts of actual racism and Islamophobia. “There’s so much anti-immigrant sentiment out there. People can stereotype and say, ‘Oh, look, that South Asian comedian lied. W

South Asian New York Fashion Week showcases how region's fashion influences current trends

South Asian clothing and accessories have been in the spotlight this week at the second South Asian New York Fashion Week, highlighting how styles from the region are both influencing and embracing current trends. From textiles and patterns to beading and silhouettes, South Asian fashion has been impactful in the industry for centuries. Designers are now drawing further inspiration from the subcontinent, using brocade silk in Y2K and cottage-core trends, and tapping into the widely used draped

MTV VMAs 2023 highlights: Taylor Swift ties record for most VMA wins in one night

The VMAs are struggling to keep up with changing times This year’s VMAs felt particularly bloated, jamming over 20 performances into the broadcast. At times, it felt like there was very little room to breathe between sets, awards and the many, many ads. Which raises a question — how does the show feel simultaneously too fast and too slow? The show has seemingly lost the ability to edit itself down. The VMAs is tasked with curating a night that brings in the hottest acts, highlights the most exci

New York adds Lunar New Year as public school holiday

The Lunar New Year will now be observed in all public schools in the state of New York, following legislation signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Hochul said the new law is important because it recognizes New York’s Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. “It is not just a day off from school — it is an opportunity for our children to learn about and celebrate their own or different cultures and traditions,” Hochul said in a news release. The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festiva

California school district offers unique Korean American studies class

Anaheim Union High School District in Orange County, California, is offering for the first time this fall an ethnic studies course focusing on the history and experiences of Korean Americans. Forty-one students from ninth to 12th grade across the district enrolled in the virtual class, titled Korean American Stories, Experience & Studies. “The Korean American story is a great American story. But if I were to, as a young person, ask myself, ‘Could I name one Korean American who made a differenc

Mother who was arrested after son criticized Bangladesh government online is released on bail

The mother of a Ph.D. student at Michigan State University, who was arrested by the national Bangladesh Police and charged with “sabotage” against the government, according to court documents, was released on bail after having been detained for over a week. Anisa Siddika, 58, was arrested three days after her son, Tanzilur Rahman, posted his thoughts on Facebook about the government’s role in the war crimes trials of a prominent preacher and controversial leader, Delwar Hossain Sayedee, who rec

Mother is arrested in Bangladesh after son in the U.S. criticizes government online

A Ph.D. student at Michigan State University said his mother was arrested in Bangladesh after he criticized the country's government in a Facebook post. Tanzilur Rahman, who is pursuing his doctorate in materials science and engineering, said his mother, 58, was arrested by the Bangladesh Police on Sunday. Three days before, he posted his thoughts on the Bangladesh government’s role in the war crime trials of a prominent preacher and leader in the Jamaat-e-Islami party, a major Islamist politic

‘Only Murders in the Building’ composer says theme song was influenced by ‘old Hindi music’

Composer Siddhartha Khosla broke down the creation of the catchy opening theme song for Hulu’s original series “Only Murders in the Building” in a recent podcast interview, detailing his influences from Hindi music and New York City culture. In an episode of “Song Exploder,” a podcast where musicians share how their songs are made, Khosla said he wrote the theme song for the murder-mystery series during the thick of the pandemic with inspiration from his childhood. “Old Hindi music, music my p

Man sentenced to 50 months for burglarizing Asian Americans in 4 states

A New Jersey man was sentenced to 50 months in prison for burglarizing Asian and Asian American homes across four states. Randi Barr, 42, along with seven co-conspirators, identified Asian small-business owners by targeting heavily populated Asian communities in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to court documents. The group stole large sums of money, jewelry and other items, typically from the homes of restaurant owners, to sell across state lines from about December

Man indicted on a charge of anti-Asian hate crime in NYC Koreatown attack

A Massachusetts man was indicted on hate crime charges this week after prosecutors said he assaulted an Asian couple in Manhattan’s Koreatown neighborhood. Marc Jensen, 33, allegedly approached the unnamed couple, who are both of Korean descent, while they were waiting for an Uber around 1:30 a.m. on May 23, according to a press release from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. Jensen allegedly made anti-Chinese comments and yelled at the woman before spitting on her face. He then pulled

The British Museum reaches settlement with translator whose work was used without permission

A translator has reached a settlement and received an apology from the British Museum months after her work was used in a temporary exhibit without her permission or credit. Translations by Yilin Wang, a Chinese-to-English translator, writer and editor, of poetry by the Chinese revolutionary and poet Qiu Jin were used in the museum’s exhibit “China’s Hidden Century,” which runs from May 18 to Oct. 8 and focuses on life in the country during the 19th century. “I am happy to announce that the Br

DIY creators' feud is the most recent niche drama to unfold on TikTok

Another niche TikTok controversy is ramping up online after a maximalist interior design TikToker accused another of copying designs and DIY — do it yourself — content for videos. TayBeepBoop, a TikToker with over 1.9 million followers, went viral last week after she made a video calling out a TikToker known as KaarinJoy for projects she believes were copied, including a mirror decorated with moss, an art gallery featuring a green painted squiggle on the wall and the use of blue and green as a

A souvenir slammed as 'white savior Barbie' has some Chinese adoptees reconnecting

Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster “Barbie” has many buzzing about untraditional, off-beat versions of the dolls, from Video Girl Barbie to Growing Up Skipper, Barbie’s little sister whose chest inflates when you lift her arm. Enter the scene “Going Home Barbie,” a white doll holding a small Asian baby made to help Chinese adoptees transition to their new, presumably Western, families. It’s real and it has some adoptees digging through their attics and connecting with others with similar stories. In a

Supporters rally around Vietnamese American City Council member who was called ‘un-American’

A Georgia community is rallying around a Vietnamese American City Council member after a colleague said she was “un-American” and “failed as a citizen of this country” for backing a petition for multilingual voting ballots during city-level elections. Dozens of residents of Morrow, which is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, and neighboring cities filled the room during the council’s meeting Tuesday to support council member Van Tran and denounce the comments made by council member Dorothy

Are people turning on Twitter's 'menswear guy'? He doesn’t care either way

James Bond may be known for his suave suits — but even one of the famous actors behind the spy is not immune to criticism from Twitter’s “menswear guy.” Derek Guy, who runs a men’s style website called Die, Workwear!, has become a known figure on Twitter, where some are impressed by his long-form threads with fashion commentary and others feel like they can’t get away from his tweets. “sometimes i worry that im being annoying but then i see bigger accts that are WAY more annoying,” Guy tweeted

Miranda Lambert fan says she was called out for taking a photo during concert

A woman said she is "appalled" after she and her friends were called out by Miranda Lambert on Saturday at the country singer's Las Vegas show for taking a group photo. Adela Calin said the country singer stopped midway through her performance of “Tin Man” after spotting her and five of her friends posing for a photo. "It was 30 seconds at most," Calin, a social media influencer from Las Vegas, said in a phone interview. "We took the picture quickly and were going to sit back down." A video c

Why so many U.S. schools are adding Sikhism to their curriculum

As a student in New Jersey in 2017, Gurjap Kaur Kohli, now 17, was proud to be a resident of the first state to mandate teaching about Sikhism in schools. Fast forward six years and she’s happy to see more schools adopting the curriculum. Now, a total of 18 states and Washington, D.C., have passed bills to teach Sikhism in K-12, with the district being the latest to join the growing list. New Jersey began the trend in 2009. Some of the reasons behind the education push include that Sikhs are a

'The Summer I Turned Pretty' takes on heavier emotions in a season marked by grief

Summer at Cousins Beach is different this year as the Conklins and the Fischers, the families at the center of “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” grieve the loss of matriarch Susannah Fischer, whose magnetic energy brought the families closer together. The show follows the families as they spend their summer vacations at the Fischers’ beach house every year because their mothers, Laurel (Jackie Chung) and Susannah (Rachel Blanchard), were best friends. In season two of the Amazon Prime series, which

YouTube star Grace Helbig shares breast cancer diagnosis

YouTube star Grace Helbig shared news that she was diagnosed with breast cancer last month. In an emotional eight-minute video uploaded to her YouTube and Instagram pages, Helbig called the news both "shocking" and "surreal." "It doesn't sound real but it's real," said Helbig, who rose to fame in the early YouTube days for her quirky videos on viral challenges and her comedic "reactions" vlogs. The creator, who has over 2.6 million subscribers on YouTube, said she was diagnosed with triple-po
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