Teen uses AI to spot heart issues in 7 seconds
Siddharth Nandyala, a 14-year-old Indian American student from Frisco, Texas, has developed an artificial intelligence-powered app called CircadiaV that can detect heart disease in 7 seconds
The Rebel Yellow - Issue #68
The U.S. says it’s making “substantial progress” with China on trade, but Asian American businesses are still feeling the sting of tariffs. Yale is under fire over Asian American admissions. A judge just blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to deport Southeast Asian immigrants to Libya. And Seattle author Tessa Hulls made history — with a Pulitzer and a graphic memoir about three generations of Chinese women.
Trump officials say “substantial progress” made in China trade talks
Trump administration officials announced on Sunday that “substantial progress” was made in trade negotiations with China after two days of talks in Switzerland, potentially easing tensions in a trade war that threatens to disrupt $660 billion in annual commerce between the world’s two largest economies.
Catch up
The apparent breakthrough follows President Donald Trump’s April executive order imposing sweeping 145% tariffs on Chinese imports, which China countered with 125% retaliatory tariffs.
The weekend meetings at Geneva’s Villa Saladin marked the first face-to-face talks between top U.S. and Chinese officials since the tariff escalation began, with Trump suggesting that “80% Tariff on China seems right” ahead of the negotiations.
Projecting confidence
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who led the U.S. delegation, told reporters, “I’m happy to report that we made substantial progress between the United States and China in the very important trade talks.” He also promised a “complete briefing” with full details today.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer suggested an agreement came together surprisingly quickly, saying “perhaps the differences were not so large as maybe thought.” He also expressed confidence that the “deal” would help resolve what Trump has called a “national emergency” regarding the trade deficit, which hit $263 billion last year.
What’s next
Both sides have promised to issue a joint statement with complete details today. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng described the meetings as “candid, in-depth and constructive” and announced the establishment of a “consultation mechanism” for economic issues for future discussions.
Meanwhile, financial markets reacted positively, with Asian stocks gaining early Monday and S&P 500 futures pointing to a 1% increase when trading begins in New York. The deal would continue progress for the Trump administration after reaching a preliminary trade agreement with the U.K. — the first of over 170 countries — last week.
Asian American group sues Yale for alleged discrimination
The Asian American Coalition for Education (AACE), a nonprofit focused on Asian American equal rights in education, filed a federal civil rights complaint against Yale University on April 22, alleging the school used racial proxies to discriminate against Asian American applicants in their 2023-24 admissions cycle.
The allegations
Following the Supreme Court’s landmark 2023 Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) ruling, Yale’s Asian student enrollment decreased by approximately 20% from 2023 to 2024, according to the complaint. This contrasts sharply with other selective universities such as MIT and Johns Hopkins University, where Asian enrollment reportedly rose 15% and 43% during the same period. “Compelling evidence indicated that Yale University may have unlawfully employed race proxies to circumvent the Supreme Court’s SFFA rulings,” AACE President Yukong Zhao said in a statement. The complaint asks the federal government to suspend funding to Yale if the university does not comply with the law and “remove all race-based admission preferences and practices.”
AACE reportedly reviewed Yale’s published admissions policy changes, including its Sept. 7, 2023 statement that admission reviewers would “not have access to applicants’ self-identified race and/or ethnicity” or “aggregate data on the racial or ethnic composition” of applicants. Despite these claims, AACE alleges Yale employed racial proxies in its admissions process.
The big picture
The coalition’s action follows its previous 2016 civil suit against Yale on behalf of more than 130 Asian American groups that later resulted in a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit in 2020. The recent complaint was encouraged by the Department of Education’s Feb. 14 “Dear Colleague” letter, which stated that “treating students differently on the basis of race to achieve nebulous goals such as diversity, racial balancing, social justice or equity is illegal under controlling Supreme Court precedent.”
The complaint argues that Yale’s enrollment decline “strongly suggests that the institution remains committed to its DEI ideology and race-based admissions” despite the Supreme Court ruling. The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights is expected to investigate whether Yale’s admissions practices violate civil rights laws.
NextShark/The Rebel Yellow has reached out to Yale University for comment.
Trump’s attempt to deport Asian immigrants to Libya blocked
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration’s plan to deport Asian immigrants to Libya would violate an existing court order requiring due process before sending migrants to countries other than their place of origin.
About the deportation plan
The government had prepared to transport immigrants from Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines on a C-17 aircraft from Kelly Field in San Antonio to Misrata Airport in Libya, according to flight plans. Immigration officials allegedly pressured detainees to sign deportation documents. Those who refused were placed in separate rooms and handcuffed “in order to get them to sign it,” immigration lawyer Trina Realmuto noted. On Wednesday morning, migrants were bused from a detention center in Pearsall, Texas, to an airfield where they waited for hours before being returned without explanation, attorney Tin Thanh Nguyen told Reuters.
Order blocked
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy emphasized that the proposed deportations “would clearly violate” the preliminary injunction he issued in April requiring the government to provide migrants with adequate notice and opportunity to contest removal to third countries. The lawyers argued in their filing that migrants sent to Libya would face “a strong likelihood of imprisonment followed by torture and even disappearance or death.”
The big picture
The attempted deportations mark an escalation of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Libya’s competing governments both rejected the deportation plan, with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh stating that Libya “refuses to be a destination for the deportation of migrants under any pretext.” Following the judge’s ruling, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller criticized the decision as a “judicial coup” on social media.
Officials have yet to announce whether they still plan to pursue deportations to Libya or other third countries.
Kash Patel cuts briefings, flip-flops on budget at FBI
Concerns are reportedly mounting among current and former FBI officials that Kash Patel is not taking his role as director seriously enough, focusing more on travel and celebrity appearances than on the agency’s critical mission of national security.
Less work, more fun?
Patel, for one, has reportedly reduced a daily 8:30 a.m. “director’s brief” to just two days a week. Unidentified current and former officials told NBC News that the change came because he “couldn’t make it in on time,” though his spokesperson denied the claim. Patel has also eliminated a weekly Wednesday video teleconference with field office leaders across the country that his predecessors maintained. In his first week, he reportedly told regional offices that he “didn’t like meetings” and suggested holding calls just once monthly instead of weekly.
Meanwhile, he has made appearances at sporting events, including NHL games and UFC matches. Since taking office on Feb. 20, Patel has reportedly used government aircraft to fly at least three times to Nashville, where his country singer girlfriend lives, twice to Las Vegas, where he owns a home, and once to New York for a hockey game.
No budget plan
Patel’s leadership has also drawn bipartisan criticism for failing to submit statutorily-required budget documentation. At a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) pressed Patel about the missing FY25 spend plan that was due a week earlier. To this, he responded, “I will get you an answer ma’am. I don’t have a timeline on that.” Asked when Congress would receive the full FY26 budget request, Patel simply stated it was “being worked on” with no timeline, leading Murray to call his response “insufficient and deeply disturbing.”
Adding to the confusion, Patel said at a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday that the FBI had actually requested $1 billion more than the White House’s proposed $545 million cut, stating “we can’t do the mission on those 2011 budget levels.” Yet he reversed course the very next day when Murray asked if he disagreed with Trump’s proposal to slash the FBI’s $10.7 billion budget by about 5%, saying, “No, I agree that we can sustain the mission with the proposed budget.”
Congress is expected to continue pressing Patel for the legally required budget documentation in the coming weeks as scrutiny of his leadership intensifies.
Big differences among Asian Americans by language, education and religion: Pew data
New data released by the Pew Research Center on May 1 highlights major internal differences among Asian Americans in language use, educational attainment, household income and religious affiliation. The nationally representative study draws on U.S. Census Bureau and American Community Survey data, as well as Pew surveys conducted between 2022 and 2023, and sheds light on the complexity of a population often mischaracterized as a single, uniform group.
Language use and English proficiency
While 74% of Asian Americans ages 5 and older were proficient in English in 2023, proficiency varied sharply by nativity. Nearly all U.S.-born Asians (95%) were proficient, compared with 59% of Asian immigrants. Language spoken at home also differed: 68% of U.S.-born Asians spoke only English at home, while only 14% of immigrants did.
Among those who spoke a non-English language at home, Chinese (13%) and Filipino or Tagalog (12%) were most common among immigrants. Overall, 63% of Asian Americans spoke a language other than English at home, underscoring the community’s multilingual nature.
Education levels vary widely
More than half of Asian Americans ages 25 and older (56%) held at least a bachelor’s degree as of 2023, far above the national average. However, levels of education varied considerably among origin groups. Taiwanese Americans had the highest rate, with 83% holding at least a bachelor’s degree, while Laotian Americans had the lowest, at 18%.
Despite the differences among groups, similar shares of U.S.-born (57%) and immigrant Asians (56%) held college degrees, both significantly higher than the national average for U.S.-born individuals (36%) and immigrants overall (35%).
Income disparities across origin groups
The median income for Asian-headed households was $105,600 in 2023, surpassing the U.S. household median of $75,500. But this figure conceals large disparities across Asian origin groups.
Indian ($151,200) and Taiwanese ($133,300) households reported the highest median incomes. In contrast, Mongolian ($54,300) and Burmese ($67,600) households had among the lowest, highlighting economic gaps within the broader Asian American population.
Religious identities show diversity
Religious affiliation among Asian American adults was highly varied. Christianity was the most common religion, with 34% identifying as Christian. Eleven percent each identified as Buddhist or Hindu, 6% as Muslim, and 4% as adhering to another faith. Nearly one-third (32%) reported no religious affiliation.
Religious identities also differed by origin group. Most Filipino Americans (74%) identified as Christian, mainly Catholic, while nearly half of Indian Americans (48%) identified as Hindu. Among Chinese and Japanese Americans, the largest share — 57% and 47%, respectively — reported no religious affiliation. Vietnamese Americans had the highest share of Buddhists, at 37%.
Seattle author Tessa Hulls wins Pulitzer for debut graphic memoir
Seattle-based Chinese American author Tessa Hulls has won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for memoir or autobiography for her graphic memoir “Feeding Ghosts.”
About Hulls and her book
“Feeding Ghosts,” which reportedly took Hulls nearly a decade to complete, chronicles three generations of Chinese women in her family, beginning with her grandmother Sun Yi, a persecuted journalist who fled China’s communist government with her daughter Rose — Hulls’ mother — to Hong Kong. The book details how Sun Yi wrote a bestselling memoir before suffering a mental breakdown, and examines the trauma passed through generations. The Pulitzer committee described it as “an affecting work of literary art and discovery whose illustrations bring to life three generations of Chinese women.”
“Shocked and grateful”
In an Instagram post on Sunday, Hulls said she felt “shocked and grateful” while acknowledging the emotional toll of creating the work. “The nine years I spent living within my family’s story nearly broke me with their isolation,” she noted. Hulls also reflected on her creative journey through a literary reference, writing, “When magic dies, it sometimes dies forever; but new and different magic grows when you view what fell as a nurse log, ready to feed new life.”
Hulls, who also recently won the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize among other accolades, has stepped back from public life temporarily. “If you need me, I’ll be in the mountains; I’ll come back down when I’m ready,” she wrote.
Henry Golding teases “larger, longer-running” “Crazy Rich Asians” TV series format
Henry Golding has confirmed new details about the long-rumored “Crazy Rich Asians” television adaptation, describing the project as a “larger, longer-run format” in active development at Max.
Speaking on NBC’s “Today” show, the Malaysian British actor revealed that conversations with fellow cast members and creatives have recently reignited enthusiasm for expanding the 2018 film’s world.
“Everyone is excited,” Golding said. “I was with Nora [Awkwafina] last night and we were discussing. They visited me in London not too long ago to discuss as to where we're heading. But we have a larger, longer-run format. We're doing a series, so we have so much more runway to really share with the world that you kind of had a glimpse of in Crazy Rich, but we’re excited to share more.”
The series, based on Kevin Kwan's trilogy, is being developed by Warner Bros. Television for Max. Adele Lim returns as executive producer, writer and showrunner, alongside executive producers Jon M. Chu and Kevin Kwan. While casting details remain unconfirmed, Golding's comments suggest enthusiasm among original cast members to revisit their roles.
The original "Crazy Rich Asians" film was a critical and commercial success, grossing nearly $240 million worldwide and marking a significant moment for Asian representation in Hollywood.
Manny Jacinto: “Freaky Friday” depiction of Asians “did not age very well”
Filipino Canadian star Manny Jacinto, who stars in the upcoming sequel “Freakier Friday,” expressed concerns over the portrayal of Asian characters in the 2003 film “Freaky Friday” in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Jacinto, who plays Lindsay Lohan’s fiance in the sequel, shared his initial reservations about joining the project due to the original film's depiction of Asian characters, particularly the use of a magical fortune cookie from a Chinese restaurant as a plot device.
“I remember watching the first ‘Freaky Friday’ and being like, this did not age very well, regarding the diverse characters," he said. "Knowing Nisha and speaking to other people within our circles, I knew we had a captain who was very much aware of those archetypes, or those issues presented in the first one. I felt very well taken care of."
Director Nisha Ganatra, also of Asian descent, acknowledged the problematic aspects of the original film and made it a priority to address them in the sequel. The new film replaces the fortune cookie plot device with a humorous psychic character and includes reimagined roles for the original Chinese actresses, Rosalind Chao and Lucille Soong. “Freakier Friday” is scheduled for theatrical release on August 8.
First K-pop concert in mainland China in 9 years is postponed
An upcoming concert by K-pop boy group Epex in Fuzhou, China, has been “canceled due to issues in the local region,” label C9 Entertainment announced on Friday.
What happened
The concert, originally scheduled for May 31 at MAAQUU x CH8 LIVEHOUSE, was reportedly axed after a surge of scams involving Korean artists’ performances spiked in the country, prompting authorities to request a delay. The event had drawn significant attention as the first full-scale K-pop concert approved in mainland China in nine years, since the “Hallyu ban” was imposed in 2016 following South Korea’s deployment of the THAAD missile defense system.
Reschedule plan
In its statement, C9 Entertainment said they are “in talks to choose another date and venue for a new concert schedule.” The label vowed to share details “as soon as they are decided,” adding that they are coordinating with Chinese authorities.
For now, the postponement raises questions about China’s latest position on Korean cultural content. Beijing might be reconsidering its stance on K-pop, with smaller appearances by NCT members, Ive and Twice taking place in various locations in recent months.
Kaitlyn Chen makes WNBA history as 1st Taiwanese player to take the court
On Tuesday night, Kaitlyn Chen became the first player of Taiwanese descent to officially take to the WNBA court. The 23-year-old guard debuted for the Golden State Valkyries during their inaugural preseason game at Chase Center in San Francisco.
Chen received cheers and applause as she entered the game in the fourth quarter. In eight minutes of play, she recorded two points on 1-for-3 shooting and grabbed three rebounds. Her first basket, a transition layup, was met with a standing ovation from many in the crowd of 17,428.
Spark off the bench
Natalie Nakase, who also made history as the WNBA’s first Asian American head coach, highlighted Chen’s energy and impact despite limited minutes.
“She just leaves everything out on the floor,” Valkyries head coach Nakase said after the game. “She plays 94 feet pickup … she's fearless. She’s someone that you can trust.”
Rising through the ranks
Born in San Marino, California, to Taiwanese immigrant parents, Chen starred at Princeton University, where she earned Ivy League Player of the Year honors in 2023. She transferred to the University of Connecticut for her final collegiate season, helping the Huskies secure their 12th national championship.
Chen was selected 30th overall in the third round of the 2025 WNBA Draft, joining the Valkyries as part of the league’s first expansion team since 2008. The Valkyries will open their regular season at home on Friday, May 16, facing the Los Angeles Sparks.
Scientists map genome of “Asian unicorn” last seen in 2013
Scientists have sequenced the genome of the (“Pseudoryx nghetinhensis”), one of the world's rarest mammals, offering new hope for its conservation. Known as the "Asian unicorn" due to its rarity and distinctive appearance, the saola was last seen in the wild in Vietnam in 2013.
Genetic divergence revealed: An international research team analyzed DNA from 26 saola specimens, revealing two genetically distinct populations that diverged between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago. Each group has lost different genetic variations, suggesting that combining individuals from both could enhance genetic diversity in a potential breeding program.
Cautious optimism: Despite the lack of recent sightings, researchers remain hopeful. "Right now, the existence of live saolas can neither be proven nor disproven," said Nguyen Quoc Dung of Vietnam's Forest Inventory and Planning Institute. "There are some signs and indications that still give us hope."
A tool for detection: The newly mapped genome provides tools to detect saola DNA in environmental samples, potentially aiding in locating surviving individuals. Even if the species is extinct, the genetic data could support future de-extinction efforts.
Teen tech prodigy uses AI to detect heart issues in just 7 seconds
Siddharth Nandyala, a 14-year-old Indian American student from Frisco, Texas, has developed an artificial intelligence-powered app called CircadiaV that can detect heart disease in as little as seven seconds using heart sound recordings from a smartphone. The innovation, which boasts over 96% accuracy, has already been tested on more than 15,000 patients in the U.S. and 700 patients in India. The award has since drawn recognition from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during Siddharth’s recent visit to the state.
Cardiac care: CircadiaV utilizes machine learning algorithms to analyze heart sounds captured through a smartphone, offering a fast and cost-effective method for early cardiovascular disease detection. Siddharth, who is the world’s youngest AI-certified professional with certifications from both Oracle and ARM, developed the technology to address the need for accessible heart health diagnostics in underserved areas. “This 14-year-old has made detecting heart-related problems easier!” Naidu wrote on X. “Siddharth’s app, CircadiaV, is a medical breakthrough that can detect heart-related issues within seconds.”
Global impact: The AI model behind CircadiaV has been validated through thousands of clinical trials, including tests conducted at Guntur Government General Hospital (GGH) in Andhra Pradesh. The app’s accuracy and portability make it a promising tool for deployment in regions with limited access to specialized medical equipment. “CircadiaV is revolutionizing early cardiovascular disease detection,” Naidu added, praising Siddharth’s vision to scale the solution globally.
STEM advocate: Beyond CircadiaV, Siddharth is the founder and CEO of STEM IT, a nonprofit initiative promoting global STEM education. Through this platform, he teaches coding, robotics, and AI to students around the world, aiming to empower the next generation of innovators. “At such a young age, he is an inspiration to us all,” Naidu said. “I wholeheartedly encourage him to pursue his passion for healthcare technology and assure him of our full support in all his endeavours.”