Hello, Everyone!

A Republican state representative from Texas, Tony Tinderholt, proposed a bill on Friday that would prevent individuals without legal permission to be in the U.S., as well as citizens from China, Iran, North Korea and Russia, from attending public colleges and universities in Texas.

The legislation has minimal chances of passing this session as it was filed on the last day of the session. The proposal mirrors another bill that garnered significant backlash in the state Senate. Republican lawmakers in the Senate are seeking to bar citizens of the same countries from owning land in Texas.

Although the Senate made amendments to the legislation to allow dual citizens and anyone with a green card to buy property in Texas, Asian Americans continue to express their opposition. Dozens testified against the bill in a Senate committee, fearing it would contribute to anti-Asian sentiment while punishing those who have been living and working in Texas for years on employment visas.

• Erika Moritsugu, the White House senior liaison to Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities, will accompany President Biden on his visit to Monterey Park, California after an attack left 11 people dead. As a representative of the Asian American community during a period of increasing concern about racism and hate crimes, tensions with China, and the coronavirus pandemic, Moritsugu has a vital job serving as Biden’s Chinese and Vietnamese language translator, among other tasks.

• The 95th Academy Awards were criticized by the South Asian American arts community for hiring non-Indian choreographers Napoleon and Tabitha Dumo, together known as Nappytabs, who then cast dancers of no apparent South Asian descent for the performance of the eventual Best Song winner “Naatu Naatu” from the Indian movie “RRR.”

• China is reopening its borders to tourists and resuming all types of visas, including visa-free entry for destinations such as Hainan island and cruise ships entering Shanghai without visa requirements before COVID-19. The announcement comes after China declared victory over COVID-19 in February and that foreigners holding valid visas issued before March 28, 2020 will be allowed to enter. It is unclear if vaccination certificates or negative COVID-19 tests will be required, but pre-boarding antigen testing instead of nucleic acid testing will be allowed.

• Music company 88rising recently announced the dates, venue, and lineup for its inaugural Head in the Clouds New York festival. The event will take place on May 20 and May 21 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens. Headliners include K-pop girl group ITZY, Indonesian musicians NIKI and Rich Brian, Japanese girl group XG, Thai artist MILLI, singer-songwriter beabadoobee, DPR Ian and DPR Live. Other performers include DUMBFOUNDEAD, Raveena, Atarashii Gakko!, Dabin, and THEBLACKLABEL’s LØREN, among others. 88rising will also donate $1 per ticket to nonprofit Heart of Dinner which addresses food insecurity and isolation experienced by Asian seniors. 

• A live-action fan film inspired by “Avatar: The Last Airbender” has raised expectations for Netflix’s own adaptation of the beloved series.
   
• Simu Liu sang a medley of Avril Lavigne hits at the Juno Awards. 
   
• “Creed” might be getting its own Amazon universe with Michael B. Jordan potentially behind an anime spin-off.
   
• A Japanese YouTuber and Senate member may be booted out after not showing up to work for several months. 
   
• Masatoshi Ito, who helped 7-11 in Japan become a global juggernaut, has died at age 98.