Race conscious admissions programs from Harvard and the University of North Carolina were testily debated. The six member conservative majority probed with questions indicating they were skeptical. Justice Thomas said “I’ve heard the word diversity quite a few times, and I don’t have a clue what it means” and Justice Alito asked what underrepresented minority even meant.
 

Meanwhile the three liberal justices of the court defended affirmative action programs with newest judge Ketanji Brown Jackson noting it would be peculiar to consider factors such as disability and veteran status in applications but not race.      
 

There are decades worth of legal precedent for the court upholding affirmative action programs, but its fate seems to be swinging to a new horizon

• Tennis star and Korean American adoptee Jessica Pegula is one of eight contenders for the WTA finals this week.

• A vigil honoring history: A vigil was held by The Chinese American Museum for the lives lost during the 1871 Chinese lynching Massacre in Los Angeles.  

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• Filipino Americans become landmarks: The newly christened Delano Manongs Park in the Bay Area references the Delano Grape Strike of 1965, a labor strike led by predominantly Filipinos and “Manongs” is a term of endearment meaning older brother.   

• Halloween horror in Itaewon: A stampede and overcrowding incident in Itaewon, South Korea has left over 150 dead, primarily women and young adults in their 20s. The exact causes of the tragedy are still being investigated, but thousands of people are still reported missing.   

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• Broken bridge in India: A suspension bridge carrying an estimated 500 people in India collapsed, killing at least 130 people. The bridge just recently reopened last week following seven months of repair.  

• Filmmakers given a shot: CAPE (Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment) and Janet Yang Productions unveiled the sophomore cohort of their Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge for Asian American and Pacific Islander Women and Non-Binary Filmmakers. The event starts tomorrow and with it, the announcement of year one’s winner among four filmmakers: Banbang Cheng for “Hearsay,” Liz Sargent for “Take Me Home,” Ragini Bhasin for Happy Rahki or Soma Helmi for “Full Service.”   

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• J-pop spooky tune: Japanese pop girl group ATARASHII GAKKO! released a special Halloween music video and song called “HANAKO.”

• Legendary Japanese composer and pianist Toshi Ichiyanagi died on Oct. 7 in Tokyo at age 89. 
   
• A mystery man in China has won a $30 million lottery, but has not told his wife or child because he doesn’t want them to become conceited. 
   
• Two spin off “Naruto” manga focused on the titular character and Sasuke respectively launched in Japan.   
   
• Pakistani journalist Sadaf Naeem was crushed to death by former prime minister Imran Khan’s truck during coverage of an event.  
   
• A showcase of some of the delectable dishes at the Studio Ghibli theme park.