How Anthony Bourdain helped a Flushing family food stall become a New York noodle empire

Xi'an Famous Foods will donate 100% of Friday's net sales to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.



The tragic news of Anthony Bourdain's death by suicide stunned fans and colleagues of the internationally renown chef, television personality and world traveler, with a deluge of tributes to his unique life, career and legacy pouring out Friday across social media and beyond.

One such remembrance came from Jason Wang, CEO of New York City noodle chain Xi'an Famous Foods, who shared about the time Bourdain visited and ate at his family's tiny basement food stall in Flushing for Travel Channel's No Reservations in 2007. The endorsement lit a spotlight that helped propel Xi'an from a small noodle stand to a popular restaurant mini-empire boasting a dozen locations and counting.

Wang was still a college student at the time (and no idea who Bourdain was). But years later, he had the opportunity to tell Bourdain how that visit to his family's restaurant had changed their lives.

On Friday, June 8, in honor of Anthony Bourdain's memory, Xi'an Famous Foods will be donating 100 percent of all net sales to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Here's Wang's tribute, shared on social media:

Suspect in UCLA murder-suicide identified

Former doctoral student Mainak Sarkar had a "kill list"; linked to second victim in Minnesota.



The gunman who shot and killed a UCLA professor Wednesday in an apparent murder-suicide has been identified as Mainak Sarkar, a former doctoral student who had a "personal conflict" with the professor. Sarkar is also linked to the shooting death of another victim in Minnesota.

Police Identify UCLA Shooter in Murder-Suicide as Mainak Sarkar

Sarkar, a resident of Minnesota, used a 9mm semi-automatic pistol to kill 39-year-old engineering professor William Scott Klug in a small office in UCLA Engineering Building 4, before turning the gun on himself.

Based on a note found at the crime scene, authorities performed a follow-up investigation at Sarkar's residence in Minnesota, where they found an alleged "kill list" with multiple names on it, including Professor Klug's and another UCLA professor, whose name was not disclosed.

There also appears to be another victim in Minnesota. A woman's name was also on Sarkar's list, prompting investigators to go to her home. The unidentified victim was found shot dead at the residence.

According to authorities, Sarkar drove from Minnesota to the Los Angeles area with two handguns, multiple rounds of ammunition and several magazines in a backpack. Investigators are still looking for the vehicle.

As for a possible motive for the UCLA shooting, police say it was tied to a "dispute over intellectual property where Sarkar felt that he had information released by the professor that harmed him."

Teen charged in hate crime attack on Sikh man commits suicide

17-year-old Alexis Mendoza was accused of beating and running over Amrik Singh Bal.



In Fresno, a teen charged in the hate crime assault of an elderly Sikh man has committed suicide. The Fresno County Coroner's Office confirmed that 17-year-old Alexis Mendoza killed himself last week.

Teen Charged With Attacking Sikh Man Commits Suicide

Mendoza and another man, 22-year-old Daniel Coronel Wilson, were accused of beating and running over 68-year-old Amrik Singh Bal in vicious hate crime attack on the morning of December 26.

During the attack, one of the assailants reportedly asked him, "Why are you here?"

According to Fresno police, Mendoza and Wilson were driving when they spotted Bal, who was wearing a turban and traditional Sikh robes. Both men got out of the car and beat Bal with their fists, then got back into the car and intentionally ran him over. He suffered a broken collar bone and abrasions to his nose and right hand.

A security camera at a nearby home captured the suspects running over Bal.

Family sues school over bullied teen's suicide

Lawsuit alleges officials ignored ongoing bullying that led to Emilie Olsen's suicide



The family of a 13-year-old Ohio Chinese American girl says she was continually assaulted, bullied and harassed online by white students before she took her own life, according to a new lawsuit.

Family of girl who killed herself sues school

The family of Emilie Olsen has filed a federal wrongful lawsuit against he Fairfield City School District, claiming that school officials knew about the constant bullying, but did not do enough to stop it.

"Emilie and her parents tried to end the bullying and repeatedly pleaded with certain defendants to help," according to the lawsuit. "Defendants failed to stop the bullying, and it continued."

Community demands action in Cincinnati bullying incidents

Parents call on school board to address bullying on Asian American student.



On Thursday night in Cincinnati, over 150 angry community members gathered at a Fairfield Board of Education meeting to demand answers regarding ongoing bullying at a local middle school. Parents are protesting school officials inaction after a student took her own life last year, as well as another recent allegation of bullying against an Asian American student at the same school.

150 people show up at Fairfield board meeting to protest bullying

The school district has been under fire for its handling of bullying ever since Emilie Olsen, a student at Fairfield Middle School, took her own life last December. Her family contended that bullying had a hand in her death. Since then, parents say that another Asian American student has been bullied at the school -- by the same student who allegedly bullied Olsen.

One parent said this eighth grade daughter, who is Asian American, was recently the target of bullying by a while male student. The bullying resulted in a physical altercation in which the Asian American student was tripped and suffered a mild concussion and short term memory loss.

Indiana University student found dead in murder-suicide

21-year-old Yaolin Wang was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend, who killed himself.



Tragic news out of Indiana... Last week in Bloomington, an Indiana University student was found dead in her apartment, apparently stabbed by her boyfriend who then killed himself in a murder-suicide.

Bloomington police ID student, suspect in murder-suicide

21-year-old Yaolin Wang, a junior at Indiana University, was found dead from apparent stab wounds last Wednesday. Police suspect her boyfriend, 20-year-old Chuanlin Xiao, killed her before hanging himself. They had been in a relationship for about six months and lived together in the apartment building.

Just days after Wang's murder, another IU student was found dead in a separate incident. 20-year-old Joseph Smedley II was found dead in an apparent drowning. Hundreds gathered on Indiana University's campus Wednesday night for a vigil to pay tribute to Wang Smedley.

"We cannot separate the conversation between racial justice and LGBTQ justice."

Cross-posted from API Equality-LA



Content warning: suicide, transphobia

On September 28th, 2015, 16 year-old Skylar Lee of Madison, WI took his own life. Lee was a Korean American transboy who was an active and powerful voice in the LBGTQ community. As we reflect on his passing, we are reminded of the ways that racist and transphobic systems create trauma for our communities and that space must always be created in our work to honor our mental health.

If you are a queer or transgender youth and in need of support or just need someone to listen. Please reach out by visiting translifeline.org or calling 877-565-8860. For 24 hours a day help please visit thetrevorproject.org or call 866-488-7386.

Here is a shared photo from GSAFE, an LGBT organization in Madison, WI dedicated to creating school communities where LGBTQ youth and students thrive. Lee worked for GSAFE and was active in addressing the school-to-prison pipeline. We reflect on his work for intersectionality and the urgency of fighting the school-to-prison pipeline as it directly affects queer trans youth of color. He wrote on this in the Power In Partnerships Publication (full report available here.

Read his words below:

Inmate found hanging in Houston city jail cell

38-year-old Hung Do apparently used his own clothing to hang himself.



I've lost count of all disturbing recent headlines about people who have died in police custody. Last week in Texas, an inmate was found dead hanging inside his cell at the Houston city jail. [UPDATE: Four people have died while in custody of the Houston Police Department within the span of one week.]

PD: inmate hanged himself in Houston city jail

38-year-old Hung Do was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, underwent and passed physical and mental health evaluations, and was booked into the city jail on Wednesday. According to police, he was found dead in his cell on Thursday afternoon. He apparently used his own clothing to hang himself.

Man wanted in attacks on Asian women in NYC found dead

25-year-old Tyrelle Shaw, suspected in at least four assaults, apparently took his own life.



The suspect wanted in a string of recent attacks on Asian women in Manhattan has been found dead of an apparent suicide. 25-year-old Tyrelle Shaw was found dead inside a basement on the Upper East Side.

In several blog posts, Shaw had expressed an obsessive "infatuation" with Asian women, described a plan to "hit over a million Asian women in the face," and announced his intention to take his own life.

Suspect in Attacks on Asian Women in Manhattan Found Dead of Apparent Suicide: Sources

Shaw was wanted in connection with at least four separate assaults that began on June 10. In each of the attacks, he approached his victims, then hit them in the face with a plastic bag containing a hard object, and ran off. In some of the attacks, he tried speaking to the victims. All of the victims were Asian women.

According to authorities, Shaw's body was found in an elevator shaft. He apparently hanged himself.

Yale student dies in apparent suicide

20-year-old sophomore Luchang Wang was found dead in California.



At Yale University, community members are mourning a student who died in an apparent suicide. After an extensive campus-wide search, 20-year-old Luchang Wang is presumed to have died Tuesday in California.

After frantic search, community mourns Luchang Wang '17

Friends, classmates and family became concerned for Wang, a sophomore mathematics major, after she posted a "troubling Facebook message," prompting a search of various locations across the New Haven campus. They soon discovered that she had booked a flight to San Francisco.

Later that day, Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway informed students that the California Highway Patrol had been in communication with Yale Police, and Wang was presumed to have died in an "apparent suicide."

Racial bullying may have pushed teen to suicide

13-year-old Emilie Grace Olsen fatally shot herself in her bedroom.



Tragic news out of southwest Ohio, where a 13-year-old girl was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot. Her parents believe relentless racial bullying may have pushed her to take her own life.

Fairfield Twp. parents trying to sort out daughter's untimely death

Seventh grader Emilie Grace Olsen fatally shot herself in her bedroom Thursday. Her parents say that Emilie, who was adopted from China, was the target of racial bullying by her classmates at Fairfield Middle School. Starting in the fifth grade, Emilie was bullied with a range of verbal insults, cyber abuse and physical attacks.

However, school officials claim there is no evidence Emilie was being bullied. Her father disagrees:

12-year-old boy takes his own life after being bullied

Friends say Ronin Shimizu was a target of bullying for being a cheerleader.

Some terribly tragic news out of California... In Folsom, family and community members are mourning the death of a 12-year-old boy who took his own life last week because of ongoing bullying and harassment.

Friends, family say Folsom boy was bullied

Seventh grader Ronin Shimizu was found dead in his home Wednesday after he took his own life. According to his parents and friends, he was bullied for years throughout elementary and middle school. The bullying got so bad, he was taken out of school last year and had to be home-schooled.

Friends say Ronin was a target of bullying for being a cheerleader, but his parents say he was bullied for "just being Ronin," by "individuals that could not understand or accept his uniqueness."

Here's the full statement released by Ronin's family:

Grandfather accused of abuse in Seattle murder-suicide

11-year-old victim blogged about alleged abuse just hours before fatal shooting.



This is a horrifying story out of Seattle... In Ranier Beach, a 78-year-old man accused of sexual abuse fatally shot his adult daughter and 11-year-old granddaughter before turning the gun on himself.

Child's blog details abuse from suspected shooter in 'horrific' murder-suicide

39-year-old Christine Dela Isla and her daughter Anahlia Cowherd were shot and killed by Honorario Yango in their home Monday night after he was confronted about allegedly sexually abusing the 11-year-old girl. His 10-year-old grandson managed to run out of the house and call 911.

Anahlia had apparently been reaching out for help and complaining about her grandfather's abuse on her blog for some time. Her final entry was posted just hours before her death.

Family of three killed in Flushing murder-suicide

Man fatally stabs wife and son before setting home on fire



Some tragic news out of New York, where a man fatally stabbed his wife and teenage son before setting their Flushing apartment on fire and slashing his own throat in a grisly murder-suicide.

In Queens, a Triple Killing Shows Signs of Financial Strife

Firefighters discovered the bodies of Lee Joon, his wife Lee Sung and their 15-year-old son Brian Lee in the living room of their sixth-floor apartment early Tuesday morning. Mr. Lee was found with a suicide note in his pocket, hand-written in Korean, complaining of "too many problems."

Those who knew Mr. Lee, who worked as a tractor-trailer driver, were aware that his family had been dealing with serious financial setbacks.

Body of missing dental student found in Hudson River

29-year-old Jiwon Lee, last seen April 1, suffered from depression



Damn. Tragic news out of New York City, where police confirmed that a body found floating in the Hudson River has been identified as dental student Jiwon Lee, who had been missing for over a month.

Body found in Hudson River is identified as that of missing Columbia University student Jiwon Lee

Lee, a 29-year-old year student at Columbia Dental School, was last seen on April 1. She was wearing a sweater, underwear and boots when her body was found floating off of W. 86th St. on Saturday afternoon.

Lee was reportedly bi-polar, suffered from depression and had previously attempted suicide before she went missing. The investigation tracked her cell phone to the George Washington Bridge, which prompted speculation that she had jumped.

Boston University student found dead in dorm room

No indications of foul play

Damn. More tragic news out of Boston about the apparent suicide of an Asian American student... On Monday morning, a Boston University student was found dead in his dorm room. News stories aren't quite calling it a suicide yet, but reporting seems to indicate that the victim took his own life.

ENG Student Found Dead in Dorm Room

19-year-old Kevin Lee, a sophomore in the College of Engineering, was found dead in his room by a university employee during well-being check. Lee's family expressed concern when they couldn't reach him and asked Residence Life to check up on him.

According to Boston Police, there are no indications of foul play.

Harvard student dies after jumping from building

20-year-old Andrew Sun's fall from a downtown building has been ruled a suicide



Tragic news out of Boston, where a Harvard University student was critically injured and died after falling seven stories from a off-campus building early Sunday morning. The death appears to be a suicide.

Pfoho Resident Dies after Jumping from an Off-Campus Building Early Sunday Morning

20-year-old Andrew Sun, a sophomore from New Jersey studying economics, died at the hospital early Monday morning from injuries sustained after falling from a building in downtown Boston.

New York University student falls 15 stories to his death

Titan Lee-Hai was seen stark naked and apparently high on drugs before he died

Another tragic story out of New York City, where a college student, reportedly stark naked and apparently under the influence of drugs, fell 15 stories to this death from the room of a dormitory.

NYU freshman, 18, was naked, on mushrooms just before fatal fall: sources

18-year-old Titan Lee-Hai, a New York University freshman from Trinidad, fell from NYU's Third North dorm at 3:20am on Monday, the semester's first day of classes.

According to one student, Lee-Hai was tripping on mushrooms. A classmate who encountered him in the elevator just before he died says Lee-Hai -- completely naked and "not in his senses" -- punched him in the face:

Man kills wife, baby twin sons in murder-suicide

Scott and Mei Kum Jones were apparently planning to divorce

Tragic news out of the Boston area... In Arlington, a married couple and their twin baby sons were found dead inside their home on Monday afternoon in an apparent murder-suicide: Murder-suicide seen in deaths of parents, two babies, in Arlington.

According to officials, it's likely that 43-year-old Scott Jones strangled his wife, 43-year-old Mei Kum Jones, and slashed the throats of their twin sons Colt and Cameron, before taking his own life. The boys would have have turned one-year-old next week. Investigators have reportedly found the knife used in the murders.

The couple was apparently going through marital problems, and were planning to divorce. Police were previously called to the residence because Scott Jones once threatened to kill himself.

Community mourns teen who took his own life

Classmates say he was the victim of bullying.

Tragic news out of the San Diego area... In Chula Vista, friends and classmates are in shock, mourning the death of of a high school student jumped who committed suicide on Friday night: Vigil held for South Bay teen who took his own life: Friends say teen was victim of bullying.

17-year-old Steven Liu, a senior at Otay Ranch High School, jumped to his death from a pedestrian bridge near campus. According to friends, he was well-liked and was an exceptional athlete, but some say he was also often picked on, suffered from low self-esteem and could be hard on himself.

Witnesses say they saw Liu crying on the ledge of the bridge before falling to his death: