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AAPI politicians, advocates and celebrities are demanding justice for Tyre Nichols who was killed by a group of Memphis police officers.

The brutal beating was recorded in a video that has been widely distributed, reigniting calls to address police brutality and racism in America. San Francisco-based civil rights organization Chinese for Affirmative Action expressed their grief over the “vicious murder” of Nichols in a statement: “Whether it is gun violence or police violence, we live in a country steeped in violence, normalized by lawmakers unwilling to fix the problem.”

Representatives Grace Meng (D-NY) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, also issued statements regarding Nichols’ death. Meng expressed her condolences to Nichols’ mother and called for justice, while Jayapal stated that the anger generated by the incident was justified and must be directed towards demanding accountability and reform of law enforcement. The caucus emphasized the need for an end to the police culture of excessive force and for reimagining public safety in the country. They called for ending qualified immunity, reducing police-community interactions, and passing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the Mental Health Justice Act to end this tragedy.

• Raja Chari, a U.S. astronaut of Indian descent and U.S. Air Force member, has been nominated for a senior position in the U.S. Air Force. President Biden has nominated Chari for the rank of Brigadier General, which requires Senate approval. The Brigadier General is a one-star general rank that serves as a high-level staff officer.

• Texas’ racist real estate bills?: Hundreds of people from North Texas rallied in Dallas to protest against two Texas Senate bills that they believe unfairly target Chinese Americans. The Texas Senate bills 147 and 552, both authored by Republican lawmakers, aim to regulate the purchase of real estate or property by people or companies with ties to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. The legislation has drawn criticism from the Chinese American community and elected officials who have described it as racist and unconstitutional. State representatives Carl Sherman and Rafael Anchía joined attendees in speaking out against the bills and participated in the Sunday rally in JFK Memorial Plaza.

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• Chinese New Year in New Mexico: Nearly 500 people celebrated the Lunar New Year at the Chinese Culture Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The event marked the 33rd annual Chinese New Year celebration at the center, which was established in 1988 by Master Charles Chang-wei Lin and his wife Synthia Lin. The center is dedicated to preserving Chinese arts, language, and culture and is involved in community events throughout the year. In addition to the celebration at the Chinese Culture Center, other Lunar New Year events were held throughout the Albuquerque area, including one at the University of New Mexico and another at Talin Market, a local Asian supermarket.

• Sichuan’s birth restrictions: Sichuan province in China will lift restrictions on unmarried people having children and remove caps on the number of babies in a national effort to increase the country's birth rate. This comes as the country's government is introducing measures to encourage more people to have children, as the population fell for the first time in six decades in 2022, causing concern over the impact of an aging population on the economy.

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• Adani fraud response: Adani Group, a conglomerate run by Asia's wealthiest man, Gautam Adani, has responded to a report by U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research that called the group "malicious," "baseless" and full of "selective misinformation." Adani has accused Hindenburg of attacking India and breaking securities and foreign exchange laws, and has also accused Hindenburg of trying to derail a share sale expected to bring in about $2.5 billion. Hindenburg has denied the accusations, saying Adani's response confirmed its findings and failed to address key questions. The company says it believes India's future is being held back by the Adani Group and that fraud is fraud even when committed by wealthy individuals.

• TWICE Billboard Awards: K-pop girl group TWICE will be honored with the Breakthrough Award at the 2023 Billboard Women in Music Awards. The awards will take place on Mar. 1 at the YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles. This year’s host is Emmy Award-winning “Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson. Tickets for the awards will be available to the public on Feb. 3 at 1:00 p.m. ET/10:00 a.m. PT. American Express card members can access presale tickets on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Ticket prices range from $85 to $275.

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• Song Joong-Ki’s big announcements: South Korean actor Song Joong-ki recently announced that he is married and expecting his first child with wife Katy Louise Saunders. The “Vincenzo” actor, 37, made the announcement on his official fan cafe on Monday. The start of his letter gushes about the 37-year-old Saunders, a British actress, and mentions their aspirations to start a family. Song was confirmed to be in a relationship with Saunders in December 2022. The couple have reportedly been together for over a year.

• The six remaining members of K-pop girl group Momoland have left their agency after seven years. 
   
• The Pokémon Company will finally print its first Kadabra card in over two decades after a lawsuit from an illusionist prevented them from doing so.  
   
• Seattle grad student Jaahnavi Kandula was hit and killed by a speeding police car as she crossed a crosswalk. 
   
• A 29-year-old Asian American woman and Rutgers University graduate tried to enroll in a New Jersey high school. 
   
• A Chinese food blogger was fined over $18,000 for cooking and eating a shark. 

GoFundMe Monterey Park: Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California (AJSOCAL), in partnership with The Asian American Foundation (TAAF), Asian Pacific Community Fund (APCF), Stop AAPI Hate, Gold House, Stand with Asian Americans and Chinatown Service Center, has organized a GoFundMe page for the benefit of the victims. As of this writing, the campaign has raised over $904,000. 

GoFundMe Half Moon Bay: The GoFundMe for the victims and surviving families of the Half Moon Bay Mass shooting. The funds are organized by several Bay Area organizations and others including Stop AAPI Hate, The Asian American Foundation, Hate Is A Virus, and Stand with Asian Americans. It has over $16,000 raised at the time of writing.  

GoFundMe for Tyre Nichols Memorial Fund: The memorial funds for Tyre Nichols. It has raised over 1 million at the time of writing. 

Mymy Nhan’s GoFundMe: Individual page for Mymy Nhan’s funeral funds. 

Xiujuan Yu’s GoFundMe: Individual page for Xiujuan Yu’s funeral funds.  

Ming Wei Ma’s GoFundMe: Individual page for Ming Wei Ma’s funeral funds. 

Memorial and resource center: A memorial honoring the lives lost and survivors has been established at Monterey Park City Hall located on 320 W. Newmark Avenue. A resource center is open at the Langley Senior Citizen Center in Monterey Park.  

Asian Mental Health Collective: A list of mental health and other great resources. 

Yellow Chair Collective Therapy Sessions: Yellow Chair Collective are offering six free trauma-informed therapy sessions available in English, Mandarin Chinese and Korean.  

Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California hotline: Confidential hotline available in seven Asian languages.