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👋 Welcome to AAPI Nation—a roundup of the stories impacting Asian American + Pacific Islander communities across the states.
Happy Filipino American History Month! As Carlos Bulosan, one of my all-time favorite writers, once said: “We cannot repair what we cannot reconcile; we cannot truly know what we will not truly see.”
Kaohly Her, mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, is facing scrutiny over sexual harassment allegations. Photo: City of St. Paul
🔎︎ An independent investigation found that St. Paul, Minnesota Mayor Kaohly Her violated workplace conduct policies and “created an uncomfortable work environment” for subordinates but did not substantiate claims of sexual harassment, Sahan Journal reports.
The report was made public after the city’s police chief filed a lawsuit alleging that Her touched him nonconsensually and made innuendos about his genitals. Her, who is Hmong and the first Asian American to lead St. Paul, has denied the sexual misconduct claims.
📈 The monthly volume of anti-South Asian hate online has spiked 240% since January 2024, according to a new report from the Center for the Study of Organized Hate.
That includes an expanding network of social media accounts that harass South Asians at their homes and workplaces, and post the encounters online, the report found.
🚨 Winston Lee has been identified as one of the seven men alleged to have gang raped an intoxicated woman at a Cornell University frat house in 2024, per the Cornell Daily Sun.
The case made national headlines after the woman filed a lawsuit and included screenshots of a Snapchat conversation in which one defendant allegedly told frat members there was “free p*ssy” upstairs.
📞 Suicide prevention hotline 988 reinstated the “Press 3” option connecting LGBTQ youth with specialized counselors, more than a year after the Trump administration deactivated it, the Bay Area Reporter notes.
A 2022 Trevor Project study revealed that 40% of AAPI LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year.
🪪 AAPI advocates are urging Californians to vote no on Proposition 39, which would require government-issued IDs when casting a ballot in person, AsAmNews notes. While proponents say the measure protects against fraud, opponents counter that it could dissuade marginalized communities from showing up to polls.
🤖 Both Kalshi and Stanford University caught flack after confirming they published promotional materials that distorted images of Asian people using AI—Kalshi’s ad replaced an Asian YouTuber with a white man entirely.
📍 AAPI voters in Texas remain a competitive electorate, according to an Asian Texans for Justice survey. The share of AAPIs who identify as Democrat fell from 42% in 2022 to 31% in 2026 while the share of those who identify as Republican jumped from 29% to 40%.
Roughly 1 in 3 believe their interests are well represented by the government, however.
📊 39% of likely Los Angeles voters favor challenger Nithya Raman compared to 28% for Mayor Karen Bass, per a new Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll.
🎓 AAPI congressional leaders celebrated Sept. 27-Oct. 3 as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving-Institutions (AANAPISI) Week, honoring their role in expanding access to higher education.
🕊️ Pat Saiki, who represented Hawai‘i in the U.S. House and advocated for reparations for World War II Japanese American incarceration, has died at 96, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reports.
🌺 Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai‘i) introduced a resolution designating September 2026 as Hawaiian History Month to celebrate Native Hawaiian history, culture, and contributions.
💃 Netflix comedy “Best of the Best,” starring Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, has cast a spotlight on Bollywood dance culture in America, the New York Times notes.
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Founded in 2018, The Yappie is an independent, nonprofit news organization reporting on Asian American + Pacific Islander power, politics, and influence. Learn more.
