Sunisa Lee Helps U.S. Women Gymnastics Team Win Silver

She received 15.4 -- the highest score on the uneven bars so far at the Tokyo Olympics.



With Russia's women"s gymnastics team leading by more than a point and Simone Biles abruptly out of the competition in Tuesday's team final, it fell to Sunisa Lee, anchoring the United States on the uneven bars, to keep the Americans' gold medal hopes alive. It was, Lee said afterward, "the most pressure I’ve ever felt in my life." It didn’t show. Lee received a score of 15.4 on the uneven bars, the highest mark anyone has received on bars at the Olympics so far.

More here: Sunisa Lee Stepped Up When Simone Biles Stepped Back

Suspect Pleads Guilty in Atlanta Spa Shootings

Robert Aaron Long faces four other murder charges in a neighboring county.



The man accused of killing eight people at a string of Atlanta-area spas pleaded guilty on Tuesday to four counts of murder in suburban Cherokee County and will serve four consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole plus 35 years in prison. Robert Aaron Long, who already admitted to investigators that he was responsible for the March 16 shooting spree, still faces four other murder charges in nearby Fulton County, where the prosecutor is seeking the death penalty.

More here: Suspect in Atlanta-Area Spa Shootings Pleads Guilty to 4 Counts of Murder

Read These Blogs

'We Have To Speak Up': Japanese American Activists Call For Reparations For Black Americans
Japanese Americans who fought for reparations for being incarcerated during World War II are now lending their support to Blacks who want redress for the nation's history of slavery and discrimination.

* * *
Asians Are Represented in Classical Music. But Are They Seen?
The success of some artists of Asian descent obscures the fact that many face routine racism and discrimination. U.S. gymnastics star Sunisa Lee's long, winding journey to Olympics 2021
"Maybe because of Sunisa, people might know us." The amazing story of Olympic gymnast Sunisa Lee.

* * *
At 101, judo coaching great Yosh Uchida still isn't done helping Olympians
Prolific judo coach Yosh Uchida still heads San Jose State’s storied program 70 years after assuming the post.

* * *
Mindy Kaling Responds to Backlash Over South Asian 'Velma'
Mindy Kaling, who will produce and star in an animated Scooby-Doo spinoff, Velma, questions why people couldn't imagine "a smart, nerdy girl with terrible eyesight" as Indian.

* * *
‘Crazy Rich Asians’ made Henry Golding a star. Now he’s showing Hollywood everything he can do
Henry Golding became an overnight sensation thanks to the runaway success of Crazy Rich Asians. Now he's starring in the title of role of the G.I. Joe spinoff Snake Eyes and it feels like he's only begun to show the full spectrum of his range.

* * *
Snake Eyes star Andrew Koji is so much more than Hollywood's Warrior
Andrew Koji was never pursuing action. But now that it's his main niche these days, he's taking full advantage.

* * *
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan On How to Pronounce Her Name: "I'm Asking For Basic Respect"
"I'm asking for basic respect when I want people to say my name right."

They Call Us Bruce 129: They Call Us Seoul Sausage

Jeff Yang and Phil Yu present an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America.



What's up, podcast listeners? We've got another episode of our podcast They Call Us Bruce. (Almost) each week, my good friend, writer/columnist Jeff Yang and I host an unfiltered conversation about what's happening in Asian America, with a strong focus on media, entertainment and popular culture.

In this episode, we welcome Ted Kim, Yong Kim and Han Hwang, aka Seoul Sausage Co., fresh from the finale of Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race All Stars. They talk about returning to reality TV, how gamesmanship took the competition to the next level, and the bowl of egg rice that made a grown man cry.

Read These Blogs

Fear, and Discord, Among Asian Americans Over Attacks in San Francisco
In San Francisco, a string of attacks against older people of Asian descent has led to calls for more police officers, an idea rejected by the city's Asian American leaders.

* * *
'No Vaccine for Racism’: Asian New Yorkers Still Live in Fear of Attacks
In New York, patrols aimed at stopping anti-Asian violence have been cut back even as anxiety lingers.

* * *
'She's one of the brave ones.' Yuh-Line Niou's outspoken leadership style
Yuh-Line Niou came to the New York state legislature as an insurgent, and she hasn't lost that attitude.

* * *
Asian-American history comes alive on No-No Boy's '1975'
A deeply personal new recording from songwriter and scholar Julian Saporiti reexamines a neglected history and challenges what it means to be an American.

* * *
Thuy Is in Her Bag
Vietnamese American songstress Thuy has carved out a space for herself both within and beyond the community of self-made Asian American musical artists that have emerged in the streaming era.

* * *
What Indian American Kumar Rocker’s historic MLB pick means for South Asians
Star college pitcher Kumar Rocker, who was drafted by the New York Mets, will inspire "legions of little Indian and Pakistani kids with that name on their jerseys," one expert said.

* * *
'Never Have I Ever' Complicates Its Asian American Characters. That's The Whole Point
The second season of the Netflix comedy Never Have I Ever assigns more depth to the Indian American female characters by complicating their storylines -- which is exactly the point.

Read These Blogs

Justin Chon Confronts a Broken American Dream in Blue Bayou
In his first interview about his buzzy Cannes premiere Blue Bayou, acclaimed writer/director/star Justin Chon says his film "represents what America feels like and looks like."

* * *
Why won't American radio play more K-pop?
BTS was supposed to usher in the K-pop invasion. Where is it?

* * *
The Joy of Being a Bad Asian
What is it like to be Asian American when you're invisible within it?

* * *
It's Time to Pronounce Asian Names Correctly
Andrea Y Wang wrote her middle grade novel The Many Meanings of Meilan to explore the feeling of otherness when someone renames you without your consent.

* * *
Research on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Is Being Stifled
Funders and peer reviewers are contributing to systemic racism through their biases about AAPI populations.

* * *
Advice for Artists Whose Parents Want Them to Be Engineers
Viet Thanh Nguyen gives advice to people who want to pursue a dream different from their parents' wishes.

* * *
St. Lenox's American Songs
Singer/songwriter Andrew Choi, who makes music as St. Lenox, writes richly evocative songs about religion, death, and society when he's not working his day job as a Manhattan attorney.

* * *
The story behind the iconic Vietnam episode of 'Hey Arnold!'
For the 25th anniversary of the “Hey Arnold!" pilot, show creator Craig Bartlett talked to NBC Asian America about the storyline surrounding Mr. Hyunh, a Vietnamese refugee.

* * *
Lou Diamond Phillips Has Worked His Whole Life to Play a Filipino-American Character
The actor, director, and writer had to take matters into his own hands to play someone with his background.

* * *
George Takei, Danny Pudi, more reflect on Hollywood's portrayal of Asian men
The future of Hollywood representation according to Asian and Asian American actors.

Adele Lim to Direct Ashley Park in R-rated Comedy

Follows four Asian American women on a journey of "no-holds-barred wild debauchery."


Adele Lim, co-writer of Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon, will make her directorial debut helming an untitled R-rated comedy for Lionsgate and Point Grey Pictures.

Starring Tony and Grammy-nominated actress Ashley Park, the project follows four Asian American women as they travel through Asia in search of one of their birth mothers. Along the way, their experience becomes one of bonding, friendship, belonging, and no-holds-barred wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are. The film will be written by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, from a story by Chevapravatdumrong, Hsiao and Lim.

"This journey began with me, Cherry and Teresa -- my friends and comedy writing heroes -- wanting to tell a story with characters who look like us, about women who are messy and thirsty, but have so much heart," Lim said. "Point Grey and Lionsgate have been incredible allies and partners from day one, and I am thrilled to be making my directing debut with them on a story that’s so special to me."

More here: Adele Lim Directing Ashley Park in Untitled R-Rated Comedy for Lionsgate, Point Grey

Anonymous Letter Threatens to "Shoot Cambodians"

"I want to take a gun and go down there and kill these individuals."

Last week in Philadelphia, someone sent an anonymous letter to community leaders threatening to "shoot Cambodians." The typed, one-page letter, reportedly sent last week to the office of the Cambodian Association of Greater Philadelphia, accuses Cambodian residents of setting off fireworks at all hours in Mifflin Square Park.

The letter's author claims to be a Marine suffering from traumatic stress disorder after serving tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He also claims to own several guns. "I want to take a gun and go down there and kill these individuals," the letter reads. "I am writing you to let you know when I do freak out and try to kill these people that it is your fault for not going to them and encouraging them (it is in their best interest) to stop doing this and remain alive!"

The association, which believes the letter is blatant, targeted racial intimidation, plans to address the incident during a news conference on Friday at the park. The letter has been reported to Philadelphia police and other investigative agencies.

More here: Amid anti-Asian hate, letter-writer threatens to shoot Philly Cambodians over park fireworks