Hello, everyone!
 

Japanese American Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has cut funds to prevent AAPI hate crimes by about half, from $333,000 to $166,000.  
 

Last year, the funds went toward local organizations that focused on preventing crimes in the AAPI community. An example is API Chaya, which supports AAPI survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence and human trafficking. 
 

The slashing of funds comes in response to addressing a $140 million deficit, but Stop AAPI Hate co-founder Manjusha Kulkarni says, “Unfortunately, it sends a message that our community's needs are not important. And that investing in community-based organizations is not a priority for the Mayor and for local government.” 

• Prolific anti-Vietnam War activist and scholar Ngo Vinh Long passed away on Oct. 12 from liver cancer - he was 78.  

• Designer Toru Tanaka has redesigned the Japanese Garden in Ashland, Oregon’s Lithia Park.

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• Some N.Y.C. middle schools are opting to get rid of selective admissions, processes that have been criticized for widening racial and economic disparities among students.

• Shanghai Communist Party Secretary Li Qiang will soon be China’s second most powerful person, responsible for the economy in the role of premier. 

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• A new global poll indicates strong international support for Taiwan should China use force against the island. 

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• An airstrike from Myanmar’s military regime on an outdoor concert has left at least 80 people dead.

• A new Japanese crime-thriller series “Elpis” on Kansai TV is hoping to be the next global hit. 

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• Acting icon Donnie Yen is producing, directing and starring in the martial arts film “Sakra,” an adaption of the Chinese novel “Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.”

• A new study from Greenpeace has found plastic recycling to be a “failed concept.”
   
• The 50th anniversary of Filipino American studies in U.S. colleges is this year, another thing to  celebrate this Filipino History American month.  
   
• For the first time in seven years, the U.S. has issued a visa for a student from North Korea. 
   
• Former Japanese soccer player Masato Kudo has died at age 32. 
   
• Chinese archaeologist Shi Xingbang, who helped excavate the Terracotta Warriors, has died at age 99.