An emotional video showing a Hmong American child describing racist bullying at school has gone viral as attention grows around the persistence of a mocking gesture targeting Asians. In the clip, elementary school student Adi tells her mother that her classmates would pull their eyes back when they see other Asian kids. The video has sparked discussion about how gestures normalized by adults can filter down to children.

Federal records show U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement expanding its enforcement toolkit with more than $300 million earmarked across planned and active contracts for surveillance technology under President Donald Trump’s administration. The spending covers social media monitoring, facial recognition, license plate readers and data services commonly used to locate where people live and work. The effort relies heavily on private contractors to provide both surveillance platforms and analysts.

The staff judge advocate at Joint Special Operations Command, Col. Cara Hamaguchi, advised that a second strike against shipwrecked survivors would be lawful before Adm. Frank Bradley ordered the Sept. 2 attack that killed two men in Caribbean waters, according to a new investigation by The Intercept.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has abandoned efforts to send Guan Heng to Uganda, reversing course after growing calls to protect the Chinese whistleblower who filmed detention camps in Xinjiang.

A Chinese father and his 6-year-old son who were separated for weeks after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest in New York City have been deported to China following their reunion.

Federal immigration authorities detained more than 68,400 people as of Dec. 14, marking the highest number ever recorded, according to data published by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Half of scientific peer reviewers now rely on artificial intelligence to evaluate manuscripts, yet 75% of researchers report they cannot tell if journals use the technology themselves. A survey of 1,600 academics recently conducted by the open-access publisher Frontiers found that 53% of reviewers have incorporated AI into their workflow, with 24% increasing use over the past year. Among early-career researchers, 87% reported using AI for manuscript evaluation.

Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy used a speech at AmericaFest in Phoenix on Dec. 20 to condemn rising intolerance within the Republican Party, including ethnic attacks aimed at Indian Americans and Second Lady Usha Vance. The remarks marked one of Ramaswamy’s strongest rebukes of far-right rhetoric, though his decision to speak out came only after similar language had been directed at him personally months earlier.

Hikaru Sulu will appear in the series finale of “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds,” bringing one of television’s most consequential Asian American characters into the franchise’s current era. Actor Kai Murakami has been cast for the fifth and final season, which recently wrapped production. The move places Sulu at the center of the show’s transition toward the timeline of the original 1960s series.

Only 10% of U.S. adults described 2025 as a “great” year, according to a Talker Research survey of 2,000 Americans. Another 39% rated it “just okay,” 19% said “bad” and 10% called it “awful.” Respondents cited financial struggles, work dissatisfaction and health concerns, while 45% listed saving money and 45% increasing exercise as top goals for 2026.