Hello, everyone!
 

Asian American candidates were a standout in this midterm election. 
 

Several of them made history on election night: 

• Shri Thanedar (D) will be the first Indian American representative for Michigan.
• Aruna Miller (D) will be the first Asian American and first immigrant elected to statewide office in Maryland.
• Rhode Island saw both Chinese American Victoria Gu (D) and Japanese American Linda Ujifusa (D) as the first Asians elected to state legislature positions.  
• Salman Bhojani and Suleman Lalani, both Democrats, will be the first Muslim Americans representatives in Texas’ state legislature. 
   

This continues the trend of Asian Americans in U.S. politics. As of now, AAPI elected officials comprise 0.9% of elected leaders in the U.S., but AAPIs count for around 6% of the U.S. population. On a federal level, AAPIs make up 2.8% of elected officials.  

• Mei Lum is the fifth-generation owner of Wing on Wo, the oldest operating business in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Lum is not only pushing e-commerce for the porcelain shop, but also leading initiatives to teach others about art or address issues like gentrification. 

• Colors of Asia in Savannah: The Savannah Asian Festival returned on Saturday. This year’s particular theme was “Colors of Asia” and celebrated cultural foods, music and dance from China, the Philippines, India and more. The festival was discontinued back in 2017 but was revived by the Savannah for AAPI Task Force. 

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• NYC’s most romantic restaurant comes with a recipe for racism?: Architectural Digest has called NYC restaurant One if by Land, Two if by Sea one of “The Most Romantic Restaurants in the World,” but a TikToker is alleging the restaurant of Asian discrimination, separating Asians from white people by putting them in the less aesthetically pleasing areas of the dining room. Other Yelp reviews seem to corroborate the TikToker’s claims.  

• A graduation in tragedy: The lives lost in the Itaewon incident may be honored with posthumous graduation certificates. The Ministry of Education met with various universities to discuss awarding graduation degrees to the university students who died in the crowd crush. The universities are also looking into means to excuse students and accept leaves of absence if they were injured in the event.  

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• Job alert in Saudi Arabia?: The Philippines has lifted a ban on deploying workers such as maids and construction workers to Saudi Arabia. A ban was initially put in place due to multiple abuses including unpaid wages to thousands of construction workers.  

• Not on track for Netflix: Netflix’s legal rom-drama “Partner Track” starring Arden Cho did not receive the green light for season two.

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• “About Damn Time” he arrived: Korean American rapper pH-1 has announced his “About Damn Time” world tour. The tour will kick off in San Francisco in January and wrap up in Seattle on Feb. 7, hitting up seven other spots along the way.

• A history of butter chicken, the dish that has become a staple in Indian restaurants. 
   
• Former Twitter employee Shennan Lu was one of many employees laid off. She is six-months pregnant and now aims to take Twitter to court over discrimination.  
   
• A mystery buyer in Asia bought The Fortune Pink diamond for $28.5 million.
   
• A profile on some of the artisans in Tajikistan helping preserve their country’s cultural legacy. 
   
• Some friends dressed in “Sailor Moon” costumes helped quash a drunken brawl in Hong Kong. Moon power.