OCTOBER 4, 2022
 

Hello, everyone!

For the first time ever, the Miss America and Miss USA pageants in Texas have Asian American title holders, and both will go on to represent the state at the national level.

At the end of June, Averie Bishop, the current Miss Texas America, made history as the first Asian American to hold the title; just a week later in July, R’Bonney Gabriel became the first Asian American to win the title of Miss Texas USA. Both women, who are of Filipino descent, work to give back to the community through various projects involving diversity, the law, sustainable fashion design and more.

Gabriel is currently in Reno, Nevada competing for the national title of Miss USA to advance to the international competition for Miss Universe. Bishop will compete in December in Connecticut for Miss America, of which the winning prize is a scholarship.

Spotlight 💡

Pro-wrestling icon-turned-politician Kanji “Antonio” Inoki died last week at age 79.

At the height of his wrestling career in the 1960s, Inoki represented the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance and even competed against Muhammad Ali in 1976, which at the time was marketed as the “The War of the Worlds.”

In 1972, Inoki founded the New Japan Pro-Wrestling and owned the company until 2005. Simultaneously, in 1989, Inoki entered politics after winning a seat in the upper house of the Japanese parliament, heading the Sports and Peace party. He remained in politics until 2019.

Race in America 🌎

New research from the University of California San Francisco showed that fewer Asian patients were eligible for drugs that delay alzheimers, creating yet another disparity within the healthcare system.

Currently, U.S. healthcare focuses on developing and potentially administering anti-amyloid monoclonal antibodies, which break down amyloid plaques, one of the hallmarks of alzheimers. This newest study recorded 17,000 Asian, Black, Hispanic and white patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a common precursor to dementia, and studied the amyloid plaques in their bodies. However, along with Black and Hispanic patients, Asian patients showed a lower percentage toward developing alzheimers from amyloid plaques compared to white patients. Because primary testing standards and medication are based on the presence of amyloid plaque, many Asian Americans fall through the cracks of proper and early diagnosis.

Researchers highlighted the need to also prioritize other factors that contribute to alzhiemers, especially in non-white communities as “lack of access to diagnosis and care at an early stage of disease could further exacerbate disparities in dementia care and outcome.”
 

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In Minnesota’s Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Asian Americans in theater are growing on stage and behind the scenes.

Asian theater has existed since the 1920s, but recently there has been a boom in recognition and demand. Both The Guthrie and Theater Mu have productions underway with the most recent of which being “Vietgone,” a story about two Vietnamese refugees falling in love at a resettlement camp in 1970s Arkansas.

In Other Asian News 🗞

In Indonesia, a stampede broke out after a soccer match, killing 125 people, including 32 minors.

Dozens of local police are under investigation for sparking spectators’ panic after authorities attempted to disperse the crowd that piled into the pitch. Indonesian police fired tear gas on the crowd, which in turn created a chaotic exodus that became one of the deadliest stadium disasters.

Police spokesperson Dedi Prasetyo explained that as of right now the local police chief has transferred, nine members of the police have been stripped of their positions and 28 others are under investigation.
 

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Vietnamese health officials reported their first case of monkeypox on Monday.

The case was registered in Ho Chi Minh City, but details about the patient have not been released. 

Food and Music 🎶

Legendary restaurateur Madame Sylvia Wu died on Sep. 29 at the age of 106.

Wu’s restaurant, Madame Wu’s Garden, served an array of A-list celebrities including Tom Cruise, Steven Speilberg, Elizabeth Talor, Robert Redford and Frank Sinatra, among many more. Moving from New York to Los Angeles with her husband and their three kids, Wu couldn’t find authentic Cantonse cooking in the city, leading her to open her first restaurant in Santa Monica in 1959.
 

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Indonesian singer-songwriter NIKI announced she’s extending her solo “NICOLE” tour to Asia.

She is currently still touring around the U.S. for the month, but in December will head to Jakarta, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Taipei. For Jakarta and the Philippines, NIKI will be performing as part of 88rising’s Head In The Clouds Jakarta music festival and Manila music festival, respectively.

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• The infamous #MeToo case of Chinese billionaire Liu Qiangdong has been settled out of court in the U.S. 

• Baseball star Shohei Ohtani has signed a record $30 million one-year contract with the Los Angeles Angels. 

• A Chinese vase valued at less than $2,000 has sold for nearly $8 million after a bidding war at an auction in Europe. 

• Protests in Iran continue as police clashed with students at Sharif University, using tear gas on them. 

• Japanese company Gilco, best known for their snacks like Pocky, are focusing on AI to make healthier foods.