The Rebel Yellow

AAPI voters courted in Texas, Asian students lose funding and Cornell 7 controversies

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 12:04:27 GMT

Democrat James Talarico is vying for Asian American votes in his Texas Senate race. This comes a month after a Republican nominee’s comments about foreigners, which student leaders at UT Austin have now formally condemned. In Washington, the Education Department has taken money from a program for AAPI-serving colleges.

Allegations of abuse then play out both in court and on the internet. Prosecutors have charged a California couple in the alleged abuse of surrogate-born children. Online, a Korean American influencer has defended the men accused in the Cornell sexual assault case, while Megyn Kelly has criticized Olivia Rodrigo for backing their accuser.

Rodrigo’s own industry is debating labels, as the Grammys add an Asian pop category whose rules, we argue, need fixing. In Hollywood, HBO has ordered a “Crazy Rich Asians” series, and Simu Liu has married Allison Hsu.

Featured

Image via James Talarico

Talarico courts Asian Texans with ad push before early voting

Democrat James Talarico’s Senate campaign plans to run ads in Vietnamese, Chinese and South Asian outlets after launching an AAPI coalition next week, just before early voting opens.

AAPI voters make up about 6% of the Texas electorate, and one poll has his race against Republican Ken Paxton within two points.

What else we’re tracking

UT Student Government passes resolution supporting South Asian students

UT Austin’s Student Government unanimously passed a resolution backing South Asian students after Republican railroad commissioner nominee Bo French’s xenophobic remarks about students pictured at a Longhorns game.

Trump admin’s $235 million college shuffle takes away from AAPI-serving fund

The Department of Education invested $235 million in historically Black and tribal colleges, with some money coming from a program for AAPI-serving schools. This was the second such move in two years, and the chairs of the Asian Pacific American, Black and Hispanic congressional caucuses are objecting.

California couple arrested for abuse of over a dozen surrogate-born children

An Arcadia, California, couple allegedly conspired to abuse more than a dozen surrogate-born children in their sprawling mansion. Both pleaded not guilty, and their attorney said they were unfair targets. A nanny charged separately allegedly fled the country.

Korean American influencer’s defense of the Cornell 7 courts controversy

In what looked like a comedy sketch, influencer Read Choi defended seven former Cornell fraternity members accused of sexual assault, citing what he called the accuser’s original police report. His account leaves out part of what she told police.

Olivia Rodrigo told to ‘shut up and stick to singing’ after publicly supporting Cornell 7 accuser

Podcast host Megyn Kelly criticized Olivia Rodrigo a day after the Filipino American singer backed the Cornell accuser on Instagram. Kelly also took aim at the woman herself.

Asian-language pop is Asian pop, wherever it’s made

The Grammys will award their first Asian pop trophy in February. In this opinion piece, we weigh BTS’ objection to regional labels and ask who the rules leave out.

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ has found its next chapter in TV

HBO has ordered an eight-episode series that picks up after the 2018 film. Four of its stars are returning, but other original cast members remain unconfirmed.

Simu Liu and Allison Hsu marry after over 4 years together

“Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu married music executive Allison Hsu in France last weekend, following a 2025 Paris proposal for which he contacted a pop star’s publicist. Liu has also shared what surprised him about planning the wedding.

Why read Issue #269?

Some, if not most, disputes in this issue appear to begin outside our community. A Republican nominee in Texas disparaged South Asian students in September, the same month the Education Department moved money from a program for AAPI-serving colleges. Now, it’s fallout season.

Community members are also taking sides. Here, we see a Filipino American singer and a Korean American influencer split publicly over the Cornell allegations, while Republican identification among AAPI Texans has risen since 2022. Some of these disputes, including the one in our op-ed, come to a head soon. And so as always, be sure to check out these stories to stay on top of Asian America.

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The Rebel Yellow is supported in part by funding from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Funders do not influence story selection, reporting, or editorial decisions. All editorial content is independently produced by The Rebel Yellow team.

Asian-language pop is Asian pop, wherever it’s made

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 09:02:32 GMT

Cover Art via Carl Samson

The Grammys will give Asian pop its own trophy for the first time next February, under rules that tie the genre partly to Asian markets. If you’ve been following the Recording Academy for a while, this should bring back memories of 2020, when it dropped the label “world music” over the same “non-American” framing these new rules…

UT Student Government passes resolution supporting South Asian students

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 07:32:05 GMT

Image via The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin’s Student Government unanimously approved a resolution backing South Asian students after Republican railroad commissioner nominee Bo French claimed that Americans are being “displaced by foreigners.”

Resolution and campus response

The nonbinding measure, titled “In Support of So…

Talarico courts Asian Texans with ad push before early voting

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 07:06:36 GMT

Image via James Talarico

Asian American voters in Texas will see television, radio and print ads for Democrat James Talarico in 17 Vietnamese, Chinese and South Asian outlets after his Senate campaign launches a coalition on Oct. 13.

Aiming for turnout

Talarico’s campaign reportedly announced the plan Monday, as per the Dallas Morning News, with hopes that…

Trump admin’s $235 million college shuffle takes away from AAPI-serving fund

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 06:45:06 GMT

Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Image via C-SPAN

Federal funds for colleges serving Asian American and Pacific Islander students helped cover the $235 million the Trump administration moved to historically Black and tribal colleges last month.

Money trail

The Department of Education on Sept. 22 announced that Historically Black Colleges and Universities…

Simu Liu and Allison Hsu marry after over 4 years together

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 06:34:25 GMT

Photo via @Allison Hsu (Instagram)

Marvel star Simu Liu married fiance Allison Hsu over the weekend in France, where the 37-year-old “Shang-Chi” actor popped the question last year. The wedding comes nearly four years after Hsu, 30, first made their relationship public with an Instagram post.

What we know

While the newlyweds have shared little about it so …

Korean American influencer's defense of the Cornell 7 courts controversy

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 06:26:12 GMT

Photo via readchoi (Instagram)

Popular Korean American influencer Read Choi has come to the defense of seven former Cornell University fraternity members accused of sexually assaulting a female student.

In his Instagram video uploaded Oct. 3, Choi argues that the evidence is too contradictory to justify ruining the men’s lives before a trial. The clip, se…

California couple arrested for abuse of over a dozen surrogate-born children

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 06:10:28 GMT

Image via CBS LA, FOX | YouTube

An Arcadia, California, couple was arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiring to abuse more than a dozen surrogate-born children in their 10,287-square-foot mansion.

The allegations

Guojun Xuan, 66, and Silvia Zhang, 39, ran a surrogacy company and misled at least two surrogates by claiming Zhang had trouble conceiving, accor…

‘Crazy Rich Asians’ has found its next chapter in TV

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:59:33 GMT

Photo via HBO (YouTube)

Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh and Ronny Chieng have all been confirmed to reprise their roles in the upcoming “Crazy Rich Asians” television series. HBO has ordered eight hour-long episodes of the show, which will serve as a direct follow-up to the 2018 box-office hit.

Who’s confirmed to return

The project has been in d…

Olivia Rodrigo told to ‘shut up and stick to singing’ after publicly supporting Cornell 7 accuser

The Rebel Yellow — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:25:42 GMT

Photo via Mix with the Masters, News24 (Youtube)

Right-wing podcast host Megyn Kelly told Olivia Rodrigo to “shut up and stick to singing” after the Filipino American pop star publicly supported a woman accusing seven former Cornell University fraternity members of sexual assault.

Taking sides

Rodrigo took to Instagram on Oct. 4 to express her opinion on t…

Asian American Votes at Risk, Grammy Asian Pop to Stay, Irvine Woman Accused of Espionage

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:10:28 GMT

Today’s stories open with SAVE. In case you missed it, it’s an immigration database the Supreme Court recently cleared for voter checks. Its history of flagging naturalized Americans as noncitizens should be highlighted, and in case you didn’t know, most Asian American eligible voters are naturalized. This is crucial because, at least in battleground Georgia, their turnout could decide the midterms.

Beyond the ballot, we’re looking at a couple of arrests. ICE held a Pennsylvania nurse for more than two weeks after she landed in Los Angeles for a Disneyland trip. The FBI also arrested an Irvine real estate agent who allegedly surveilled the U.S.-based son of Taiwan’s president. Meanwhile in Okinawa, U.S. commanders ordered a 48-hour lockdown after police arrested a Marine in the death of a 39-year-old Japanese woman.

We close the issue with the Grammys, which are keeping their new Asian pop category, and San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper, who now has the Philippine flag’s sun and stars inked on his arm.

Featured

Image via Pexels

Asian Americans face a revived citizenship check with a record of errors

The Supreme Court voted 6-3 on Sept. 25 to pause a lower-court order barring the government from vetting voters through SAVE, a federal immigration database. The database has flagged naturalized citizens as noncitizens, and most eligible Asian American voters are naturalized.

Texas and Missouri offer an early look at its error rate. Certain names are reportedly more prone to matching errors, while states differ in how they handle flagged voters.

What else we’re tracking

Asian American turnout could decide Georgia’s midterms, lawmakers say

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth called embracing one’s culture a “superpower” at a Friday event for Asian American and Pacific Islander community members in Georgia. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval reduced the turnout math to a single ratio.

A nurse’s family trip to Disneyland ended with 15 days in ICE detention

ICE detained Monica Ryadi after she landed in Los Angeles with her husband and 3-year-old son. In 2010, an immigration judge shielded the nurse from removal to Indonesia. The DHS now calls her an “illegal alien.”

Irvine real estate agent arrested at LAX over alleged surveillance of Taiwan’s president’s son

The case against Wanying “Heather” Zhang, a naturalized U.S. citizen, includes a message she allegedly sent a Chinese official. Taipei has responded, but more broadly, the arrest could revive suspicion of Chinese Americans.

A Japanese woman’s murder puts US troops in Okinawa on lockdown

Police arrested a 20-year-old Marine in Anna Yagi’s death, and he has denied the allegations. Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja said the prefecture has concluded that the U.S. military’s discipline measures and human-rights education have failed.

Grammys CEO: ‘Asian pop’ category is here to stay

The Recording Academy reconsidered its new award for best Asian pop music performance after online backlash and BTS’ withdrawal from 2027 Grammy consideration. CEO Harvey Mason Jr. said one side of the debate was louder.

Dylan Harper is wearing his Filipino roots on his sleeve

Ahead of his second NBA season, San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper added a tattoo drawn from the Philippine flag. It follows other public tributes to his Filipino heritage, including one he wore during the playoffs.

Why read Issue #268?

To be specific, nearly two-thirds of eligible Asian American voters are naturalized citizens. But federal records do not always show it. Social Security files, for one, are not automatically updated after naturalization, and a flagged voter has to prove citizenship. Legal protection does not always prevent detention either, as a Pennsylvania nurse found out in Los Angeles.

As we can see, some people answer on their own terms. Dylan Harper wears his heritage on his arm, and BTS is sitting out the 2027 Grammys over a category that divides music by region or language. Voters get a say, too. In Georgia, AAPI voters are at least 3% of the electorate, and they could swing a race as close as 2020’s.

Read this issue with Nov. 3 in mind, because we’re getting closer.

Support independent Asian diaspora journalism. Become a paid subscriber to read the full stories and help sustain The Rebel Yellow.

Irvine real estate agent arrested at LAX over alleged surveillance of Taiwan president’s son

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:51:56 GMT

Image via FBI Los Angeles, F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli | X

A real estate agent from Irvine, California, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport before a planned flight to China on Sunday, with authorities alleging that she surveilled the U.S.-based son of Taiwan’s president.

The allegations

Wanying “Heather” Zhang, 34, faces a single…

Asian American turnout could decide Georgia’s midterms, lawmakers say

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:31:27 GMT

Image via AAPI Victory Fund | Instagram

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval encouraged Asian American and Pacific Islander community members in Dunwoody, Georgia, on Friday, saying their turnout could decide the state’s midterms next month.

Defining power

In her address, Duckworth, the Senate’s first Thai American member, empha…

Asian Americans face a revived citizenship check with a record of errors

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:03:11 GMT

Image via Pexels

The Supreme Court late last month cleared the way for states to screen voters with a federal database that has repeatedly misidentified naturalized citizens as noncitizens, who make up most of the Asian American electorate.

What the court allowed

The justices on Sept. 25 voted 6-3 to stay a district court order that had kept the Department…

A nurse’s family trip to Disneyland ended with 15 days in ICE detention

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:07:13 GMT

Photo via Steven Sary (Facebook)

A Pennsylvania nurse was traveling to Disneyland with her husband and their 3-year-old son when ICE agents apprehended her at LAX on Sept. 15.

Monica Ryadi, 30, has lived in the U.S. since she was a child and has been protected from removal to Indonesia since 2010 under a legal protection known as withholding of removal. S…

A Japanese woman’s murder puts US troops in Okinawa on lockdown

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:04:36 GMT

Photo via CRUX (Youtube)

U.S. troops across Okinawa have been ordered to stay on base after a Marine was arrested in the alleged killing of 39-year-old Anna Yagi at a hotel in Naha. Lance Cpl. Devin Jacob Ballard, 20, who is accused of killing Yagi and taking her belongings on Oct. 3, has denied the allegations.

The night Yagi died

Yagi was last seen enter…

Grammys CEO: ‘Asian pop’ category is here to stay

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:02:36 GMT

Photo via Firstpost (Youtube)

The Grammys have decided to proceed with their new Asian pop category after reconsidering it following intense backlash online.

International supergroup BTS had objected to the award for dividing music by “region or language” and decided to withdraw from the 2027 awards, putting pressure on the Recording Academy to revisit it…

Dylan Harper is wearing his Filipino roots on his sleeve

The Rebel Yellow — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 06:01:22 GMT

Photo via San Antonio Spurs (Youtube)

NBA rising star Dylan Harper is heading into his second NBA season with a new tribute to his Filipino roots inked on his left arm. The 20-year-old San Antonio Spurs guard added the iconic sun and three stars from the Philippine flag to his growing collection of tattoos, the latest public nod to his heritage as his pr…

He said Asians pissed him off when he was 15. Now he’s fired

The Rebel Yellow — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:04:33 GMT

Today’s stories begin in Portland. There, the Trail Blazers fired their new announcer over posts from his teens … including one targeting Asian people. Race also comes in admissions disputes at UCLA Law and Stuyvesant High School, one of which reached the Supreme Court’s emergency docket. The 2030 census also faces its own fight over race, with New York officials opposing plans to bar ethnicity questions and exclude some noncitizens from House apportionment.

Still, noncitizens face new limits beyond the census, from Japan’s steeper permanent residency fee to tighter surrogacy rules in some U.S. states. One American surrogate carrying a Chinese billionaire’s child says she was never told the size of his family. A Bay Area couple in their 70s face murder charges in their son-in-law’s shooting death. Another attack, this one aboard a Flydubai jet, turned on a wounded Indian pilot’s last move.

Featured

Image via Portland Trail Blazers, @braidenbellpxp | X

New Trail Blazers announcer fired over anti-Asian post he made in 2012

The Portland Trail Blazers fired newly hired TV play-by-play announcer Braiden Bell on Oct. 1, hours after KGW-TV contacted the team about posts he wrote as a teenager.

One of them targeted Asian people. The team says its own hiring process fell short, and Bell, now 29, has responded with a statement of his own.

What else we’re tracking

UCLA Law discriminated against Asian and white applicants, DOJ says

The Justice Department points to LSAT scores and the application itself in findings covering three UCLA Law entering classes. The school, which happens to be the ninth the department has accused since May, stands by its process.

Supreme Court denies emergency bid in NYC high school admissions case

Without explanation, Justice Sonia Sotomayor denied a Brooklyn mother’s request to get her son into Stuyvesant pending her appeal. He missed the cutoff by three points, and she blames the city for raising it.

New York leaders oppose census proposal affecting Asian Americans, some noncitizens

State Atty. Gen. Letitia James and City Council Speaker Julie Menin are rallying against a Trump administration plan to bar race and ethnicity questions from the census. Both worked on the 2019 case that blocked a citizenship question.

Japan is drawing a harder line on which foreigners get to stay for good

Japan’s permanent residency fee rose twentyfold on Oct. 1, after a deadline rush left some applicants waiting hours. The fee is only one of the changes, and a 2024 study projects Japan will fall short of the foreign workers it needs.

US surrogate says she wasn’t told Chinese billionaire already had 100-plus children

An American surrogate says she learned the intended father was Chinese gaming billionaire Xu Bo the night before her embryo transfer and was never told how many children he already had. Other wealthy Chinese clients have sought large families through U.S. surrogacy, too.

Bay Area couple in their 70s charged with murder of their son-in-law

Shouyong Zhang and Shili Chen, both 77, are charged with murder in the Sept. 26 shooting of their son-in-law, an engineering director at The New York Times. A hearing in his divorce from their daughter was days away.

This Indian pilot’s split-second decision helped save 182 people aboard the Flydubai flight attack

Capt. Smit Machchhar was bleeding, his vision blurring, after his co-pilot attacked him with a crash axe midflight. As the jet plunged, the Mumbai native found the strength for one more try. He credits the passengers for what came next.

Why read Issue #267?

Once again, Asian Americans are at the center of several fights in this issue, and without control as to how they end. Race is at issue in two admissions disputes and a federal census proposal, while Japan and some U.S. states are tightening residency and surrogacy rules for foreign nationals. Our community itself remains split as some members warn against using Asian Americans as a wedge in admissions fights, while others believe there is active discrimination against our students.

Beyond policy fights, two criminal matters in this issue are now under investigation or prosecution. Most of today’s stories remain unresolved, but those looking to take immediate action can still comment on the census plan.

Support independent Asian diaspora journalism. Become a paid subscriber to read the full stories and help sustain The Rebel Yellow.

New York leaders oppose census proposal affecting Asian Americans, some noncitizens

The Rebel Yellow — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 09:51:17 GMT

Image via New York City Council

New York officials and civic groups have announced a joint initiative against a Trump administration proposal on the 2030 census that bars race and ethnicity questions and exclude some noncitizens from the count used for House seats.

What they’re saying

City Council Speaker Julie Menin and New York State Attorney General Let…