Suni Lee returns to gymnastics with eyes on Los Angeles 2028
Issue #235 covers Suni Lee’s return to elite gymnastics, Trump’s backing of ICE traffic stops and an electricity auction that could push AI data center costs onto millions of Asian American households
Today’s stories open with Suni Lee announcing her return to elite gymnastics, with her eyes set on Los Angeles 2028. It’s something hopeful during these hard days. See, after immigration officers fatally shot unarmed motorists, President Donald Trump declared traffic stops are staying. Meanwhile, his latest disclosure shows his holding company took $2 million from the lead investor in a South Korean firm at odds with his own Commerce Department.
Overseas, a Boston seismologist charged with espionage has been held in China for nearly two years … and his family has stopped waiting quietly. In San Francisco, a foundation is suing the school district over a controversial ethnic studies curriculum. And across 13 states and Washington, D.C., an electricity auction has cleared at its price cap, with data centers driving the new demand and the cost still working its way toward customers.
Finally, we look at Austin as it breaks ground this month on wetlands and begins construction of its Asian American Resource Center. And to all fans, Gemma Chan says the Anna May Wong script is done.
Featured
Suni Lee sets sights on 2028 Los Angeles Olympics with return to elite gymnastics
Suni Lee, the first Hmong American Olympic gold medalist, has announced her return to elite gymnastics, with her sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The 23-year-old has six Olympic medals, with three won in Paris a year after two rare kidney diseases forced her out of training. A spot on the team would mean a third Olympics, her first at home. Her announcement closes on a line that says the comeback is not the whole story.
What else we’re tracking
Trump backs ICE traffic stops after deadly week for immigrants
Immigration officers fatally shot two unarmed motorists, neither of them the man they had come for. The administration paused most vehicle stops for a day … until the president kickstarted them on Truth Social. As we have been stressing, the standard that lets them continue does not stop at Latino drivers.
Trump company took $2 million from investor tied to Korean firm facing US tariffs
The president’s holding company accepted $2 million last year from the lead investor in a South Korean aluminum company fighting evasion penalties at his Commerce Department. The disclosure reportedly calls it a development fee. Meanwhile, the Trump Organization said it concerns an unannounced golf project.
Boston seismologist’s family breaks silence after 2 years of secret detention in China
Youlin Chen was visiting his parents in Beijing when state security agents detained him. Nearly two years later, the U.S. citizen faces an espionage charge and no public trial. His wife says authorities questioned him more than 100 times about the same research.
SFUSD sued over ethnic studies course, enrichment fund spending
A fresh lawsuit alleges that San Francisco’s school district kept a roughly $7.3 million ethnic studies curriculum from public review, then used restricted voter-approved funds to help cover it. Objections center on a section about whiteness and where it reportedly places Asian Americans.
AI data centers could drive up electricity bills for millions of Asian Americans
An auction covering 13 states cleared at its federal price cap, with PJM’s monitor estimating billions of that cost stemmed from projected data center demand. Four of those states are home to large Asian American populations. One California city has banned new data centers.
Austin begins $5.7 million improvements around Asian American Resource Center
A year of construction will put wetlands, two bridges and a trail behind the center, the first major changes to the grounds since it opened in 2013. Here’s what to expect.
Gemma Chan says Anna May Wong biopic script is complete
Chan has revealed that the screenplay is finished, moving a film about Hollywood’s first Chinese American movie star closer to production. As it makes progress, it’s worth remembering how Wong was passed over for a role that won a white actor an Oscar.
Why read Issue #235?
In this issue, we see that the biggest decisions arrive as filings. A capacity auction clears at its price cap and households in New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Illinois may not learn what it cost them until a bill says so. A curriculum becomes a graduation requirement under an agenda heading the suit alleges was broad enough to hide it. A seismologist is charged with espionage and held while Beijing says wrongful detention does not exist. Each works because it is legible only from inside the room. Suni Lee got to announce her plans. That should not be the rare thing.
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