Senator Andy Kim Pepper Sprayed by ICE Agents

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

ICE agents pepper-spray protesters, N.J. senator in clash outside Delaney Hall in Newark

U.S. Senator Andy Kim was pepper sprayed by ICE agents during a protest outside the Delaney Hall immigrant detention facility in New Jersey. He was part of crowd of demonstrators responding to a hunger strike inside the Newark facility, organized by inmates in an effort to stop inhumane conditions, including poor-quality food and subpar medical care. Kim said he had trouble breathing after being caught in the cloud of pepper spray deployed by federal agents. "What we saw here is unfortunately just what we see all over the country," the senator said. "It's a sad day."

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BTS is releasing limited edition hotteok-flavored Oreos

So I guess this is happening! Global music stars BTS are partnering with Oreo, the world's #1 cookie, to create a limited edition Oreo & BTS cookie. Paying homage to the band's Korean roots, the cookie features a brown sugar pancake creme inspired by the street snack hotteok, on an original purple wafer (a first for Oreo) with 13 unique cookie embossments. Rolling out across more than 80+ countries, the Limited Edition OREO & BTS Cookies will be available for presale starting on June 1 before hitting retailers in the U.S. starting on June 8.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 2 | Official Trailer

In case you missed it, here's the official trailer for season two of Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. We see the Aang Gaang is back, plus the introduction of fan-favorite Earthbender, Toph (Miyako). Season two continues Avatar Aang's quest to master the four elements to restore balance to a world threatened by the terrifying Fire Nation. The highlight for me? Live action Joo Dee, assuring us that "there is no war in Ba Sing Se." (If you know, you know.)

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Feds say Colombian crew targeted Asian Americans in series of Oregon, Washington burglaries

Last week in Oregon, two men pleaded guilty in federal court for their roles in a sophisticated burglary ring which targeted the homes of Asian American business owners in the Northwest. 34-year-old Derinson Martinez-Grandas and 27-year-old Steven Alexander Quiroga-Solano each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen goods. They were part of a group of at least suspects who burglarized four homes in early October 2025, staying in short-term rentals as they moved between cities and looked for potential victims, all of them Asian American small business owners in Oregon and Washington.

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MC Jin, Pacific Music Group Launch Family Style Records Imprint

Pacific Music Group has launched Family Style Records, a new hip hop imprint led by MC Jin, debuting alongside Jin’s new single, "Humble Flex," in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. The label launches with a four-act roster: MC Jin alongside Korean sibling duo Lil Cherry and Goldbuuda, 13-year-old Indonesian rapper Nada (Nada Askana), and Brooklyn-bred Chinese-American rapper Khantrast.

Surprise! MAGA Indians Face Racism From the Right

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

MAGA Indians Went All In on Trump. Many Right-Wingers Can't Stand Them

South Asians are a powerful, visible minority with top roles in the overwhelmingly white Trump administration. They’re also facing a racist backlash, fueled in part by the white nationalist Groyper movement.

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Street Fighter | Official Trailer

Behold, the insane trailer for Street Fighter, the upcoming latest movie adaptation of the hit video game. "Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!" It looks chaos, and I'm digging it. In theaters everywhere on October 16.

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Behind the Hacker Leak of 'Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender'

The highly anticipated animated feature Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender leaked online months ahead of its premiere on Paramount+. An anonymous X account claimed that a Nickelodeon employee emailed him the entire film, though that appears not to be the case. The fallout has sparked a discussion over Paramount's decision to forgo a traditional theatrical release for a valuable franchise.

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Charles Melton on Beef Season 2, New Fatherhood, and Life as a Zillennial

After going from Riverdale heartthrob to art-house breakout with May December, actor Charles Melton put his own life story into his latest role on the second season of Netflix anthology series Beef.

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My Strange Dysphoria

Supirya Ganesh, who plays Dr. Samira Mohan on The Pitt, opens up about conforming to notions of Western, white beauty standards before finding her queer community. In this essay for Vulture, she writes about the gender dysphoria she experienced when she moved from India to the US as an 18-year-old to attend Columbia University. She details a specific moment at a New York bar when someone directly asked her if she was a man or a woman.

Oh Shit: The New Last Airbender Movie Got Leaked Online

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

The Last Airbender Leaked Online

Over the weekend, a full version of the highly anticipated animated feature Avatar: Aang, The Last Airbender leaked online -- about six months before the film was scheduled to officially premiere on Paramount+.

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Bao Nguyen - "BTS: The Return" | The Daily Show

Acclaimed filmmaker Bao Nguyen sits down with Ronny Chieng on The Daily Show to discuss his latest documentary, BTS: The Return. They talk about following BTS' creative process as a fly on the wall, the big reunion after the band completed their national military service, the documentary narrative around honesty rather than facts, and the band's vulnerable moments when living out their normal lives.

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Valarie Kaur’s Sage Warrior Reframes Love As A Tool For Justice In A Divided America

"Revolutionary Love is not passive. It is disciplined and asks us to see no stranger, be brave with grief, harness rage as information and not as destruction, listen across difference, and reimagine institutions that were never designed to hold all of us. Through tools designed for classrooms, homes, and communities, the movement translates these ideas into practice and invites individuals not just to believe in love, but to operationalize it."

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How An NFL Cheerleader Became One Of America's Most Exciting New Chefs

As executive chef at Perry's, an award-winning Japanese fusion restaurant in Washington, DC, Masako Morishita has made it her mission to introduce diners to a broader range of Japanese cuisine. But her path into the culinary world was far from traditional -- including corporate jobs and a five-year stint as a cheerleader for the Washington Commanders.

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THE BLADE (1995): The Edges of Wuxia

In this video essay, Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou, the filmmakers behind Every Frame a Painting, reveal how Tsui Hark radically reimagines the wuxia genre in the 1995 tour-de-force martial arts movie The Blade.

Mayor Mamdani Tells New Yorkers to Stop Catcalling

And Other Items of Note From Angry Asian America.

Mamdani tells New Yorkers to stop catcalling people in new anti-street harassment campaign

Keep your thoughts to yourself! Mayor Zohran Mamdani wants construction workers and others around the Big Apple to stop catcalling and making unwanted verbal advances to passersby on NYC streets, announcing his demand through a new ad campaign launching Wednesday.

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'Where Would I Go If I Am Denaturalized?'

"This executive order, if it should come to pass, it has no backward barrier. It could also look at anybody who is the child of people who are undocumented. And all of those people, no matter when or how old they are or when they were born in America, could have their citizenship removed. Where would I go? Would I be deported to an El Salvadoran prison?"

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Detained by ICE, he missed multiple cancer treatments. Now he’s in hospice.

Some immigrants with chronic health problems were swept up by ICE, leading to untreated injuries, denial of life-sustaining medications and, for one man, missed chemotherapy sessions. Critics say the Department of Homeland Security is shirking federal standards that require detainees to have access to basic medicine.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender: Season 2 | Date Announcement

Season two of Netflix's live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender will drop on June 25th. Here's a behind-the-scenes featurette catching up with Gordon Cormier (Aang), Kiawentiio (Katara), Ian Ousley (Sokka), Dallas Liu (Zuko), Elizabeth Yu (Azula) and Miyako (Toph), and a preview of what’s in store for fans.

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In Jesa, Jeena Yi Wrote the Asian American Family Drama She Always Wanted to Be In

"As an actor, the one lament I had was there was never a show that I could be in. If it's about a family, you have to kind of look like the family. Often the families are white, so I could never be a member of the family unless it was specifically written in a certain way or somebody was doing a very specific take." So Jeena Yi wrote her own Korean American family drama.

They Call Us Bruce 234: They Call Us Avatar: The Last Airbender

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 Albert Kim, showrunner of Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. He talks about the epic challenge of adapting the beloved animated series, "remixing" the original show's story elements for the streaming format, the cultural considerations that go into building an Asian-inspired fantasy world (does Iroh have an accent?) and casting Asian and Indigenous actors for these iconic roles. Plus: Jeff divulges Albert's personal email address. Also: The Good, The Bad, and The WTF of making the live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender.

'Avatar: The Last Airbender' live-action series in the works

Original show creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko will helm the adaptation at Netflix.



This is happening. This is happening. Netflix is working on a live-action series based on the beloved Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, with the show's original creators involved.

Live-Action 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Series Coming to Netflix

Netflix's See What Next Twitter account announced that a "reimagined" live-action Avatar was in the works. The tweet included some pretty sweet concept art from the reboot, featuring Appa the sky bison.

The company also confirmed that Avatar's original creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko will serve as executive producers and showrunners. And fans cried big soppy wet tears of jubilation.

Finally, a hip hop track dedicated to Appa the Sky Bison

"Yip Yip." From the new Avatar: The Last Airbender mixtape by Adam WarRock.



Geeks gather 'round. This hip hop is for you. Known for his brand of internet pop cultural hip hip, rapper Adam WarRock has released Sozin's Comet, a new mixtape based on the popular Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The free 7-song EP ranges on topics from specific characters in the show, the universe and lore around them, to a certain sky bison. Airbender fans, you know what I'm talking about.

You can preview one of tracks, "Yip Yip," below: