Three Children, Grandmother Killed in Texas House Fire

The family had lost power and were using their fireplace to keep warm.



Three generations were trying to stay warm in the blackout. Then a fire erupted.
This is tragedy upon tragedy. Last week in Sugar Land, Texas, a 75-year-old woman and her three grandchildren were killed in a house fire. The victims, identified as 5-year-old Colette, 8-year-old Edison and 11-year-old Olivia Nguyen, and their grandmotehr Loan Le, were found dead in the home on Tuesday morning. Their neighborhood had been without power for about eight hours, the family had been using their fireplace to keep warm. An online fundraiser has been set up in memory of the children.

Texas father charged in 3-year-old's death

Wesley Mathews initially claimed his daughter Sherin was missing.



In the Dallas area, the father of a 3-year-old girl, who had initially declared his daughter missing, has admitted to forcing milk down his daughter's throat until she started choking and later died.

A father reported his 3-year-old missing. Then he told police he'd watched her die.

Wesley Mathews had previously claimed that his daughter Sherin, who was adopted from India, went missing on October 7 after he sent her alone into an alley as punishment for refusing to drink her milk.

But on Monday, he changed his story. After authorities had found the girl's body in a nearby culvert, Mathews provided investigators in Richardson, Texas with an "alternate statement of events."

Proof of Belonging: My Grandpa in Texas

By Michelle Lim, Voting Rights Policy Advocate. Cross-Posted from Asian Americans Advancing Justice-LA.



My grandpa and me cheering on the Houston Astros -- our last home game before I moved to Los Angeles.

On Monday night, at the dinner table, my 79-year-old grandpa asked my mom if he will be safe driving around since SB4 was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Sunday, May 7th. I was speechless when my mom told me this over the phone. My family lives in Katy, Texas, a city within the Houston metropolitan area. I did not know what to tell her, and I couldn't make any promises that SB4 would not affect our family.

Texas lawmaker takes a stand against immigration bill

"I am an immigrant. My parents are immigrants. I represent a district filled with immigrants."



A Texas lawmaker is making headlines after making an emotional speech to his colleagues, speaking out and opposing a bill banning "sanctuary city" policies. A video of his impassioned remarks has gone viral.

Immigrant Legislator Breaks Down While Speaking Out Against Texas Immigration Bill

Rep. Gene Wu (D-TX) addressed the state's House of Representatives last Wednesday during a debate about Senate Bill 4, which would force law enforcement officials to cooperate with deportation efforts by threatening jail time among other punishments. It would also allow police to question the immigration status of anyone they stop, including children. Unfortunately, the bill was approved by the House the next day.

But not before Wu, who represents District 137 in Houston, threw down and explained -- through tears -- why fighting the controversial immigration enforcement bill was such a painful, personal issue for him.

"This topic is painful for me," said Wu, who is Chinese American. "I am an immigrant. My parents are immigrants. I represent a district filled with immigrants."

Wu invoked the discriminatory policies of America's past, including the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which restricted the immigration of Chinese immigration into the United States, and the unjust mass incarceration of Japanese American citizens during World War II. In both instances, "The people who voted for that, the people who supported that, thought they were doing the right thing," Wu said.

Dogs in a Chinese restaurant? It's not what you think.

But the San Antonio Express-News led many to believe a Chinese eatery was serving up something gross.


Over the weekend, the San Antonio Express-News posted a bland weekly roundup on local restaurant inspections. One of them included an area Chinese restaurant, Lee's Garden Chinese Restaurant, where an inspector saw a dog on the premises. Like, somebody's pet. Perhaps not particularly sanitary, depending on where the dog was hanging out, but whatever. It got the necessary citation.

However, when the restaurant inspection report was posted to the San Antonio Express-News' Facebook page on Saturday, they used the headline "Inspectors Find Dogs in Chinese Restaurant" accompanied by a photo of food. The insinuation, of course, is that the Chinese restaurant was caught serving dog meat.

When you click through to the article, the actual headline on mysanantonio.com simply reads "San Antonio restaurant inspections: February 17, 2017." The report notes that "roaches and dogs were seen in the establishment." And that's it. (Okay, the roaches are gross.) That was apparently all they needed to put together a racist, misleading Facebook post. Guaranteed to get some clicks.

Of course, nobody actually reads anything. The misleading headline inspired a deluge of Facebook comments along the lines of "Ooh hell no I just had Chinese last night... Mfs trynna kill us" and "Fuck Chinese lol."

40 civil rights groups demand accountability in Texas profiling case

Daljeet Singh was profiled and falsely arrested while traveling aboard a Greyhound bus.



A coalition of 40 civil rights organizations are demanding accountability after two brown-skinned men were profiled, falsely arrested and mistreated by authorities in Texas while traveling aboard a Greyhound bus.

In February, the two men -- Mr. Daljeet Singh and Mr. Mohammed Chotri, asylum applicants from India and Pakistan respectively -- were falsely accused of terrorism, harshly interrogated and arrested at gunpoint by authorities in Potter County, Texas. More than one month after the Sikh Coalition filed a complaint demanding an investigation into the profiling of the Sikh passenger, authorities have failed to address the case.

Daljeet Singh, who wears a turban and beard in observance of his Sikh faith, was a passenger on a Greyhound bus traveling through Amarillo on February 21, 2016 when he was falsely accused by a fellow passenger of making a terroristic threat.

"I was arrested at gunpoint and wrongfully detained for nearly 30 hours without question, but nobody seems to care that this was the wrong thing to do," said Mr. Singh. "My hope is that something like this never happens to another innocent person."

Sikh man falsely accused of terrorism on Greyhound bus

Daljeet Singh is demanding accountability after being falsely accused and imprisoned by fellow passengers.


In Texas, a Sikh man has filed an official complaint demanding that criminal charges be brought against individuals who falsely accused him of making a bomb threat and unlawfully restrained him on a bus.

Daljeet Singh, who wears a turban and beard in observance of his Sikh faith, was a passenger on a Greyhound bus traveling through Amarillo on February 21, 2016 when he was falsely accused by a fellow passenger of making a terroristic threat.

"The only crime I committed was wearing a turban, having a beard, and speaking in a different language to another brown man on a bus," said Mr. Singh. "I still cannot believe that this happened to me in America."

During the bus trip from Phoenix to Indianapolis, Mr. Singh met another Punjabi-speaking man, Mohammad Chotri from Pakistan, who invited Singh to sit with him. The two men were strangers and had never met before, but shared a dialect of Punjabi. Neither man could speak or understand English fluently.

Shortly after departing from Amarillo, the bus stopped on the side of the road. According to Mr. Singh, two passengers restrained him and prevented him moving or using his phone to call an English-speaking family remember. When authorities arrived, Mr. Singh was arrested, searched, made to remove his religious turban, handcuffed and detained.

Later, Mr. Singh found out that another passenger had complained to the bus driver and to the police that he and Mr. Chotri had made a terroristic threat and that they were "acting suspicious."

"Actually, she called it 'acting weird.'" Singh says.

There is a food truck actually called "White Girl Asian Food"

Serving up "deliciousness from all over Asia."



People. Is this a real thing? This can't be real.

White Girl Asian Food appears to be an actual food trailer operating in Austin, Texas. True to its branding and concept, the proprietor is a white girl serving "Asian food." Also known as "Com Bun Yeu" ("Rice Noodle Love" in Vietnamese), they claim to "serve up deliciousness from all over Asia."

You guys, I can't do this today. The oblivious tone-deaf white privilege here is astounding.


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Indian American student arrested over alleged bomb threat

12-year-old Armaan Singh Sarai says his classmate falsely accused him of having a bomb in his backpack.



Aw, hell. Is this another Clock Kid? In Texas, a 12-year-old Indian American middle school student spent three days in a juvenile detention center after a bully allegedly told teachers he had a bomb hidden in his backpack.

Arlington police say boy made hoax bomb threat; family blames classmate's prank

Armaan Singh Sarai, a seventh grader at Nichols Junior High School in Arlington, was arrested last Friday on a charge of making a terroristic threat after a classmate reported he had threatened to blow up the school.

Arlington police say Armaan admitted that he had mentioned a bomb and insisted he was only joking, but making a terror threat, even in jest, warranted taking him into custody.

But Armaan's family says it's the classmate who was behind the prank that got Armaan handcuffed, detained and suspended from school.

Disoriented Comedy Goes South: Texas Tour 2015

May 7-10 in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio



Get ready for some laughs, Texas. Disoriented Comedy is coming to get you! This week, the first-ever nationally-touring stand-up comedy showcase featuring the fresh and diverse voices of Asian American female-identified comedians is embarking on the "Disoriented Comedy Goes South" Texas Tour. Four cities, five shows, all Texas. It's happening May 7-10, with stops in Dallas, Austin, Houston and San Antonio.

Here are some more details. Follow the links:

Suspects arrested in home invasions targeting Asian families

Crew connected to robberies in New Jersey, Texas, Georgia, Michigan and New York



Last week Houston, four people were arrested and charged in connection with a recent series of New Jersey home invasion robberies that targeted Indian American families in Middlesex County.

4 charged in Middlesex County home invasions

Chaka Castro, 39, Juan Olaya, 34, Octavius Scott, 22, and Johnisha Williams, 19 -- all from Houston -- were charged in connection with five home invasions in which families were restrained, robbed at gunpoint and assaulted. They were arrested last week for robberies in Texas, and are believed to be involved in home invasions -- also targeting Asians -- in Georgia, Michigan and New York.

First known U.S. Ebola patient identified as Dallas nurse

26-year-old Nina Pham contracted the virus while treating 'patient zero.'



The first person known to contract Ebola within the United States has been identified as Nina Pham, a 26-year-old Texas nurse who was infected while caring for the first person to die of the virus.

Dallas Nurse With Ebola Identified

Pham, a critical care nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, is one of at least fifty people who treated Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who contracted the disease in Liberia and then traveled to the U.S., where he first started showing symptoms. He died last Wednesday.

Pham is reportedly in stable condition. It's possible that there may be additional cases among the health care workers who treated Duncan.

Sign up to help defend voting rights for Asian Americans

Volunteer as a poll monitor on Election Day

Do you want to help defend voting rights for Asian Americans?

The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund is looking for volunteers to help monitor upcoming midterm elections for bilingual ballots under the federal Voting Rights Act and to document instances of anti-Asian voter disenfranchisement.

Volunteers Needed On Election Day, Nov. 4, 2014

They're looking for volunteers in to work 3-hour shifts on Election Day at polls in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. There will be a 90-minute training session for all volunteers.

Here's schedule of AALDEF's poll monitoring trainings:

Army promotes first Vietnamese American General

Fort Hood's Viet X. Luong receives his brigadier general's stars



Last week at a ceremony at Fort Hood, hundreds gathered as soldier Viet Xuan Luong became the first Vietnamese American to reach the rank of general in the United States Army.

Army Promotes First Vietnamese-American General

On Wednesday, Luong received his brigadier general's stars from Fort Hood commander Lt. Gen. Mark Milley. Among the hundreds attending the ceremony were Luong's seven sisters, his mother, wife and three children.

Luong was 10 when he came to the United States with his family as refugees from Vietnam in 1975.

Jose Antonio Vargas detained at Texas airport

Undocumented journalist and immigration activist taken into custody by Border Patrol



Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, filmmaker and immigrant rights activist Jose Antonio Vargas -- arguably the most visible undocumented immigrant in the country -- was detained at a Texas airport this morning.

Reporter Jose Vargas, symbol of immigration debate, detained at airport

Vargas, who started the campaign Define American and has been outspoken about being undocumented, was detained in McAllen, Texas while trying to go through airport security. He was in McAllen to cover the children migrant crisis and show solidarity for the youth who have been recently crossing the border from Central America.

Only after arriving in McAllen, where the security procedures are much stricter, did he realize how challenging it might be to return home. As an undocumented immigrant, Vargas does not have a U.S. government-issued ID, and expressed uncertainty about getting through the numerous Customs and Border Protection checkpoints.

This morning, Vargas tweeted that he was about to go through airport security:

If you needed a reason to lock your windows and doors...

Surveillance video captures burglar hovering over sleeping toddler's crib in the middle of the night



Here's a creepy story that will have you double-checking your locks at night... In Katy, Texas, a family's security cameras caught a burglar breaking in and creeping through their house undetected -- stopping to hang out in the bedroom of a toddler -- while everyone was sound asleep.

Intruder creeps through toddler's room, hovers over crib

The teenage burglar, who slipped through an unlocked first-story window, is seen in surveillance footage sneaking through the house, going room to room, and spending five minutes walking in and out of the bedroom of the family's 2-year-old boy. Thinh Le and the rest of the family slept through the whole thing.

Here's the surveillance video:

Secret recording catches politician's anti-gay rant

"Personally, I think it's just disgusting just to even think about."



Tell us how you really feel, Elisa. In San Antonio, a city councilwoman is under fire after a secret audio recording of her making hateful, homophobic comments with her staff was leaked to the press last week: Elisa Chan, San Antonio Politician, In Hot Water Over Alleged Anti-Gay Rant.

The recording, secretly captured behind closed doors in the City Hall office of Elisa Chan last May, reveals the councilwoman and some of her staff expressing intolerant, derogatory views about the LGBT community. Unbeknownst to the councilwoman, a former aide was secretly recording the meeting on his iPhone.

The staff was gathered in her office to discuss the city's proposal to update its nondiscrimination ordinance, adding protections for sexual orientation and gender identity. Chan used it as opportunity to make sure everyone in the room was aware how "disgusting" she finds homosexuality.

Here's the audio, released to the San Antonio Express-News:

If you weren't following the Texas Senate filibuster, you missed explosions, a fire-breathing dinosaur, and the ghost of Ann Richards.

I'm generally not a big fan of NMA's videos. The Taiwanese animation studio's work is sometimes trying just little too hard to be off-the-wall crazy for the sake crazy. Personally, their antics wear a little thin.

But NMA's epic take on State Senator Wendy Davis and the Texas Senate filibuster is too insane not to share. It includes, among other things, the "urbanization" of Texas, a fire-breathing tyrannosaurus rex, and -- I kid you not -- the Ghost of Ann Richards:

Texas Asian American Pacific Islander Regional Conference, February 23

What's up, Houston. This Saturday, February 23 is the White House Initiative on AAPIs Texas Regional Conference at the University of Houston.

Join senior Obama Administration officials for a day of open dialogue, where the community and government will work together to empower the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in Texas.

Plenty of White House representatives will be there, including Kiran Ahuja, the Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and a keynote from outgoing Cabinet Secretary Chris Lu. Here's more information:

Missing: Trung Ngo, last seen January 15

In Texas, family and friends are asking for the public's help in locating 23-year-old Trung Quang Ngo, who has been missing since January 15. Their only lead has come from a stranger who found Trung's cell phone on the side of Fry Road in Katy, Texas. Just passing along this information in case anyone out there might know something and is able to help: