South Asians could soon lead America’s 2 biggest cities
Read and share the stories of Issue #208 today, May 8, 2026.
Today’s stories open with a South Asian council member who could rewrite Los Angeles history within weeks, a San Francisco Chinese American supervisor aiming for Congress and a Queens organizing push that together test how far AAPI political power has actually traveled. From there, two Texas tragedies cut against the optimism, raising hard questions about a community at home in places that don’t always feel safe. We close on a Pulitzer-winning podcast, a familiar voice taking the spelling bee mic and a conversation about what “Asian values” might offer a country that increasingly seems to need them.
Featured
Could LA’s next mayor be its first South Asian one? Nithya Raman is betting on it
With less than a month until the June 2 primary, Los Angeles Councilmember Nithya Raman is mounting a serious challenge to incumbent Mayor Karen Bass that could put a South Asian leader at the head of the U.S.’ second-largest city.
Should she prevail, Raman would join New York’s Zohran Mamdani at the helm of the country’s two largest cities, a pairing that would reshape how South Asian political power is understood nationally.
What else we’re tracking
Can Connie Chan make political history for Chinese Americans in San Francisco?
San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan is running to become the first Chinese American to represent the city in Congress, but two well-funded rivals are spending heavily to compete for the same voters her campaign considers its base.
How South Asian voters in New York are turning numbers into political power
South Asians for America (SAFA) has rallied Queens behind two candidates who could each make history if elected. But not every South Asian organizer in the borough is backing the South Asian name on the ballot, and the reasons are sharpening a debate the community hasn’t settled.
Texas community grieves after elderly man fatally shoots 2 in Koreatown
A 69-year-old man is in custody after a pair of attacks in Carrollton that left two dead and three wounded near the city’s Korean American business district. Police said it wasn’t a hate crime. Court records suggest the gunman had a different grievance entirely.
Vietnamese American restaurateur and 2 children killed in Houston home, husband identified as suspect
Police found four members of a prominent Houston restaurant family dead inside their River Oaks home Monday, including a pregnant mother and two young children. Investigators have named a suspect but have not released a motive.
Filipino American journalist Pablo Torre wins Pulitzer for podcast probe on Clippers
Pablo Torre’s independent sports podcast just won one of journalism’s most prestigious awards, beating out finalists from the Times and the Journal. The reporting that earned it centered on a $28 million question the NBA is still trying to answer.
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes to host 2026 National Spelling Bee finals
ESPN’s Mina Kimes is taking the mic at this month’s Scripps National Spelling Bee finals, a competition long shaped by Indian American contestants. The Korean American broadcaster says she has a particular vision for what the telecast should feel like.
Andrew Yang, Fung Bros’ Andrew Fung discuss why America could use more ‘Asian values’
Andrew Yang and Fung Bros co-founder Andrew Fung sat down to ask whether American public life could use a dose of Eastern principles. Their conversation lands on humility, pragmatism and a possible book Fung is already calling “Think Like an Asian.”
Why read Issue #208?
Political power, public grief, professional recognition and cultural self-reflection are all moving for Asian Americans right now … and they are not moving in the same direction. The community is closer than ever to representation in offices that have never held someone who looks like its members, but it is also burying neighbors killed in places meant to be safe. Both things are true in this issue. Reading only the wins gives an incomplete account of where Asian America actually stands. Needless to say, reading only the losses gives an incomplete picture, too.
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The Rebel Yellow is supported in part by funding from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Funders do not influence story selection, reporting, or editorial decisions. All editorial content is independently produced by The Rebel Yellow team.