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5.14.2008

people stories

Hmong Hip-Hop Heritage: The New York Times has a really interesting video segment on Hmong American history/culture and Tou Saiko Lee, a Hmong American rapper out of Minnesota who shares and keeps his heritage alive through a mix of hip hop and ancient traditions.

Gen. Vang Pao's Last War: Half a century ago, Vang Pao led the Hmong to help the United States battle Communism in the jungles of Southeast Asia. Last the year, the Justice Department indicted him as a terrorist, accusing him of plotting to overthrow the Communist government of Laos. So what happened?

Stories to Explore Someone Else's Skin: Nam Le's debut book of stories The Boat, just released this week, has been receiving an extraordinary level of praise usually reserved for far more accomplished writers, including from highly influential New York Times book critick Michiko Kakutani.

Singer Minh Tuyet dreams big in Little Saigon: Minh Tuyet and her sister once were among the thousands of Vietnamese singers who arrive in Little Saigon in Westminster every year in search of fame and fortune. Now, she's among the top-selling artists on the thriving Vietnamese music scene.

In Custody, In Pain: Yong Sun Harvill has been struggling to obtain care for a long list of medical problems... all while fighting deportation and in the custody of in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE).

10-Year-Old Calif. College Sophomore Avoids Term 'Genius,' Says It Is Just Hard Work: Moshe Kai Cavalin is just your average 10-year-old college sophomore, just trying to get through final exams and working towards transferring to a four-year school to study astrophysics. You know, no big deal.

Kim named to head DONE: Last week in Los Angeles, the mayor named BongHwan Kim General Manager of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment, making him the first Korean American GM in the city's history. He'll be in charge of improving the workings of the city's system of neighborhood councils.

Dice-K 2.0: ESPN.com has a cool feature story on 21-year-old Japanese phenom pitcher Yu Darvish of the Nippon Ham Fighters, a talented, extraordinarily popular player and a very likely candidate to eventually make his way over to the States to play for the Major Leagues. The question is not if, but when.

Kosuke Fukudome Tastes Good: Sports Illustrated recently ran a cover story on this year's big Japanese baseball import, Kosuke Fukudome, who has quickly won the hearts of Chicago Cubs fans—many of whom are hoping he'll help finally break the team's 100 years without a championship.