The Trump Administration is Picking AAPI Lawyers for Circuit Court Positions

Patrick Bumatay is an AAPI Lawyers for Circuit Court picked by the Trump Administration

Patrick Bumatay

Bloomberg Law reports that the Trump Administration is Picking AAPI Lawyers for Circuit Court Positions.  While overall diversity is going down, recent judicial nominations include a notable number of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. These include Eric Tung for the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California. Tom Lee, Fordham Law School Professor and co-director of its Center on Asian Americans and the Law, commented the following:

There’s actually a large pool of ideologically conservative Asian Americans with the sufficient experience and credentials to make plausible appellate court picks.

This continues a trend started in Trump’s first term.  Trump appointed 7 of the 11 active circuit judges who identify as Asian American or Pacific Islander during his first term. In contract, George W. Bush appointed zero AAPIs to life-long appellate bench positions. Trump’s choices have been surprising diverse, including Patrick Bumatay, a Filipino American who is openly gay.

You can see more information on AAPI Federal judicial appointments in the article, including the track records of previous administrations.

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Another Asian American City tops a Best City List

Another Asian American City tops a Best City List - John's Creek Georgia City Hall

Johns Creek City Hall

I was surprised to find another Asian American City that tops a US Best City List, especially one that wasn’t on any of the previous lists that I discussed in the past.  This year, Johns Creek in Georgia was number 1 in US News and World Reports 2025 list of best small cities.  It did even better than that – Johns Creek was the number 1 city for all cities of all sizes. Johns Creek reports its demographics as being 33.2% Asian.

Long time readers of Asian might remember us doing a story on Johns Creek.  We wrote about  white flight from the city as it grew steadily more and more Asian.  This is something common to other heavily Asian American cities that are ranked highly.  The book Tresspassers?: Asian Americans and the Battle for Surburbia talked about this phenomenon in Fremont.

You might wonder why some of the cities that were tops in the WalletHub list (Fremont, Irvine, and San Jose) did not make it onto US News and World Reports’ list.  City selection criteria made the difference. US News and World Report’s selection methodology includes affordability and value.  “Affordable” doesn’t really apply to Fremont, San Jose, or Irvine! In any case, a different Asian American City tops a Best City List!

 

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Guide to A Filipino American Funeral

Filipino American FuneralWhat do all-you-can-eat buffets, butterflies, and taking the long way home have to do with death?  They are all part of the Filipino American funeral practices, at least from what I have seen practiced here in my Silicon Valley ethnoburb.  I am documenting these practices to record what Filipino Americans often do when one of their family members die.  This post is intended to be a guide for people to know what expect at or what they are expected to do for a Filipino American funeral.

One of the first things that typically happens when a Filipino American dies is that their family starts a Novena that evening. Most Filipinos are Roman Catholic, and the prayer sessions starts with the Rosary Prayer.  There is usually a Litany too, in which the petitions are made to Saints and other Holy entities to intercede on behalf of the deceased. It feels like this process is nagging the Saints to help out. This nagging continues for eight more days for good measure.

Food and Drink

The family of the deceased that is hosting the Novena sessions provides food and drink for the attendees. That process can be tiring and a drain on resources.  One thing that has changed over the years is that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the Novena sometimes is shared on Zoom.  In this way, relatives and friends all over the world can take part.

Before the actual burial, the bereaved family often conducts a viewing. This way, friends and family can see the deceased before they are buried. Again, the family of the deceased is expected to provide food for friends and family. In Silicon Valley, funeral homes understand this and usually provide a room or other places in the funeral home for storing the food and where the food can be eaten.

Burial Day

On the burial day or final disposition of the ashes if the deceased is cremated, there is usually a funeral mass. The deceased is often buried with rosary beads.  The rosary must be cut before closing the casket as this is believed to prevent any more deaths in the family. After burial, there is a final obligation for the family to feed friends and relatives.  This is often done at all you can eat Asian buffets! The World Gourmet Buffet is a popular place to host after-funeral meals. Most of the times that I go to an all you can eat Asian buffet is for an after-funeral meal.  I was once happy that I went to the World Gourmet Buffet for a birthday party, but then again, after a few years, the birthday celebrant died and it was back to the buffet restaurant for the after-funeral meal.

Mourners often provide an “abuloy,” which is a donation to the family to offset the costs of the funeral and the costs of providing all of the food that I just mentioned.  When going home after the burial, one should take a longer and not the usual route home, so the deceased spirit will not follow them home. This does not always work, though. Butterflies that are seen afterward are associated with the spirits coming to visit.

40 Days and After

Tradition has it that the spirit of the deceased wanders on earth for 40 days.  At the end of 40 days, another prayer session is held. After that, every year on All Saints day a celebration call “undas” is held. It is similar to the Chinese Tomb-Sweeping Day or the Mexican Day of the Dead. Filipinos go back to the graves or their loved ones to clean up the graves and spend the day there, often as a picnic.  Cemeteries in the Bay Area who have many Filipino Americans interred there can get jammed on those days. Sometimes special events are planned by the cemeteries on those days. We often see people we know when we go on those days to cemeteries where our families are buried, as many people in our ethnoburb have family buried there.

You might want to compare how these funeral rituals and customers compare to Chinese American ones. Tim gives a pretty good description. I hope that people find this useful for holding a Filipino American funeral.  If there is anything I missed or got wrong, please let me know in the comments.

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Kaitlyn Chen Remains on the Valkyries (at least for now)

After being signed by the Golden State Valkyries, getting waived, and then re-signed, we expected that Kaitlyn Chen would be waived yet again when players returned back from the Eurobasket tournament.  As it turns out, Kaitlyn Chen remains on the Valkyries, at least for now.  Her retention also came with some controversy.

While keeping Chen, the Valkyries waived players Julie Vanloo, Chloe Bibby, and Bree Hall. Letting Julie Vanloo go was painful for fans and especially Vanloo.  She had won the Eurobasket tournament with Belgium and was a starter.  She missed the Belgium team’s victory parade as she flew 18 hours to get back to the Bay Area, only to learn that she lost her job. The Valkyries ended up being heavily criticized for this move – here is one example:

Fortunately for her,  Julie Vansoo managed to land with the LA Sparks.

Some point to this incident as a key problem with the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement with its players. The NBA has 15 players on its roster in addition to spaces for players on two way contracts (they switch between the NBA and its development league). WNBA teams have a maximum of 12 players.

WNBA first round draft pick, French Center Iliana Rupert, is said to finally join the Valkyries in mid-July.  To make room for her, the Valkyries need to waive one more player.  While Kaitlyn Chen Remains on the Valkyries, it remains to be seen how long that is the case.

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Asian American Sports Fans becoming attractive Marketing Targets

Asian American sports fans are becoming attractive marketing targets. Asian Americans spend 15% more time viewing live sports than the general public according to a Nielsen report. Given that most sports marketing efforts are targeted at live sports and that Asian Americans have an estimated $1.4 trillion in buying power, marketing to Asian American sports fans can be potentially very lucrative. This attention sounds great – the opposite of invisibility.  Still, some Asian American sports marketing efforts have met with controversy.

The Nielsen report says that increased representation in high visibility sports is one driver for increased sports viewership. Examples include Shohei Ohtani in the World Series, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Champion, and the WNBA Draft. Kaitlyn Chen played on the NCAA Women’s champion team Connecticut, and along with Te-Hina Paopao, was drafted in the 2025 WNBA draft.

Some sports teams like the Golden State Warriors market heavily to Asian Americans.  John covered many Asian Heritage nights at Warriors’ games, along with a Japanese Heritage night and even a Lunar New Celebration. The Warriors have held not one but two Filipino Heritage nights this year! The Warriors’ and Golden State Valkyries‘ home arena at Chase features Filipino food such as Senor Sisig and The Sarap Shop.

Asian American marketing efforts can generate controversy. Some fans are unhappy that the Golden State Valkyries used the draft of Kaitlyn Chen for marketing purposes and then cut her. Valkyries, with the same ownership as the Golden State Warriors, have been outrageously successful by most standards. Joe Lacob’s $50 million buy-in for the expansion has bloomed into a franchise valued at $500 million.  The Valkyries have already blown away expansion team win records and their ticket sale goals. Chen has returned to the Valkyries for the moment.  When she finally did play and went to the bench, the crowd chanted  “put Chen back in.”

The 2025 Nielsen report also discusses how Asian Americans are tech trends leaders and significant retail influencers. Access the whole report here.

(photo credit: UCinternational licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.)

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Kaitlyn Chen Plays in Her First WNBA Regular Season Game

GSV vs. Indiana Fever, photo courtesy of 8Asians

We had blogged recently that the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries had signed Kaitlyn Chen to a short-term contract after they had initially let her go prior to the regular season starting. Chen’s first game in the regular WNBA season was an away game against the Dallas Wings, but she didn’t play any minutes. Her second game was at home in San Francisco against the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark. Again, Chen didn’t get any playing time.  You can see her on the bench in this picture that I took at the game.

She finally got off the bench this past Sunday, June 22nd playing against the Connecticut Sun.   In that game, Kaitlyn Chen plays for 21 minutes, scoring 2 of 3 from the field and 1 free throw to score 5 points! Unfortunately, I didn’t happen to attend that home game. Hope to see her in action soon as we mentioned that she is likely to get waived again after the Eurobasket Women Tournament concludes.

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FOREVER WE ARE YOUNG Documentary honors BTS’s ARMY

Love them or hate them, you can’t deny BTS’s success. Five Grammy nominations and six Billboard Hot 100-topping singles later, the seven-member act has captured the hearts of millions worldwide. Still, fandom is just as important as the artist it adores. The documentary FOREVER WE ARE YOUNG shines a light on the BTS Army’s multifaceted fandom, focusing on how their collective action and organization contributed to BTS’s worldwide domination.

When I saw the title, a familiar melody played in my head from Epilogue: Young Forever, which couldn’t be a coincidence. To my relief, co-directors Grace Lee and Patty Ahn frame the project as being “made BY ARMY FOR ARMY.” I’d trust only the fandom itself to offer “an unprecedented look at the deep emotional connection between the band and their fans through the lens of personal stories, global fan movements, and unforgettable concert memories,” as the press release for the movie states.

As a researcher and lover of expertise, I appreciate an educated producer. Seeing that one of Ahn’s academic focuses has been on the cross-cultural influence of K-Pop and its globalization has only made me more excited about the project. Not to mention executive producer and “cultural documentarian” Oscar-winning Morgan Neville’s work on intriguing projects like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (which I’m still dying to see) and Piece by Piece (which I did see but deeply baffled me). The FOREVER WE ARE YOUNG was first screened at the 2025 SXSW, “with sold out audiences earning standing ovations and high praise from BTS fans and film lovers alike.” per the movie’s press release.

Continue reading

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Maybe Happy Ending Almost Did not Open

"Maybe Happy Ending" nominated for 10 Tony AwardsWe have talked about how the musical Maybe Happy Ending was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won 6 of them.  As this New York Time article discusses, Maybe Happy Ending almost did not open! It faced many obstacles in its path to becoming a multiple Tony winner, from before it opened to the initial weeks and months after its Broadway premiere.

The lighting for the show was particularly complex.  Ben Stanton said here that this was one of the most complex designs he had ever done.  The design required video tiles that were delayed, and that pushed back the opening date by a month. The show had to layoff workers because of the delay.

When Maybe Happy Ending did open, it left 20% of seats unfilled. It was grossing less than half of the income that it needed to cover costs.  Part of the problem wasits unique story that was not relying on previous IP, such as a revival of a previous show or the movie. The story about two robots in Seoul was not an easy concept for people to grasp.  “Just trust me,” was lead Helen J. Shen’s main argument to people for getting to see it.

While Maybe Happy Ending almost did not open, it eventually did so in November 2024 to excellent reviews.  With those reviews and word of mouth, ticket sales took off. After the Tony Award nominations, the shows sold out consistently. Darren Criss has extended his run on the show through August 31.  Tickets are available at the show’s website here.

 

 

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New York State Bill on Diagnosing Asian American Diabetes

With more than half of Asian American Diabetes cases going undetected, a bill in the New York State legislature tries to reduce that rate.  Specifically, it asks insurance companies to pay for diabetes diagnostic tests for people who have a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 23.  Says NY State Senator John Liu:

Diabetes is an increasingly silent killer in Asian American communities that often goes unnoticed until it’s too late. Lowering the BMI threshold for screening will help identify and treat at-risk individuals faster before serious damage is done and save lives. It’s time for the insurance industry to catch up with nationally recognized best practices by making these screenings accessible and free so everyone can get the care they need before complications arise.

You might wonder why this focus on BMI and diabetes.  Diabetes  in Asian Americans occurs at a lower BMI than the general American population. The Asian American Diabetes Initiative at the Joslin Diabetes Center is promoting the Screen at 23 campaign. Liu’s bill aligns neatly with this effort.

Excellent information and resources on Diabetes and Asian American can be found here.  The Joslin Center makes the information available in a number of Asian languages.

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Kaitlyn Chen Returns to the WNBA

After getting winning a national championship, getting drafted by the WNBA, and then being released by a WNBA team, Kaitlyn Chen returns to the WNBA.  With many players in the WNBA going to Europe to play in the Eurobasket tournament, roster spots have opened. The Golden State Valkyries reaction has been to add Chen. A lot for her in just two months!

While she will probably be waived after the Eurobasket tournament is over, I think that when Kaitlyn Chen returns to the WNBA, the experience will be valuable for her.  As the SBNation article points out, there will be many more spots opening in the WNBA with two expansion teams being added next year.

Chen will be available to play on June 17 when the Valkyries play the Dallas Wings.

(h/t: John)

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Heart Disease and Stroke Risks Vary significantly among Asian American Subgroups

Heart Disease and Stroke Risk vary widely among Asian American Subgroups

Stroke is a medical hazard for Asian Americans. It can even strike Asian Americans as young as 33.  Which Asian Americans are the most vulnerable? The American Heart Association reports that heart disease and stroke risks vary significantly among Asian American subgroups. A study outlined in this press release has found that prevalence of risk factors like high blood pressure ranges widely between these groups.  As an example, Filipino Americans have 30% incidence of high blood pressure compared to only 12% in Chinese Americans.

The PANACHE (Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian and Asian American Cardiovascular Health Epidemiology) study looked at the health records of 700,000 AAPI enrolled in large private health systems.  Diabetes prevalence was another area of variation. It is much more prevalent in Pacific Islanders (14%) vs Chinese Americans (5%). Generally, Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders, Filipinos, and other Southeast Asian populations had the highest 10 year risk for cardiovascular disease.

You can find out more details in the links we have provided.  The actual posters for what was presented at the American Heart Association conference can be found here (search for PANACHE). As mentioned above, we reviewed a book about an Asian American who had a stroke at 33 (written by former 8Asians writer Christine Hyung-Oak Lee) called Tell Me Everything You Don’t Remember.

 

 

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Maybe Happy Ending and Yellow Face win Tony Awards

 

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"Maybe Happy Ending" nominated for 10 Tony AwardsThe 2025 Tony Award show saw Maybe Happy Ending and Yellow Face win 2025 Tony Awards! Maybe Happy Ending won 6 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Performance by An Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical (Darren Criss).  Yellow Face actor Francis Jue won the award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play. Another notable Asian American award winner was Nicole Scherzinger, who won Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for her role in Sunset Blvd.

The growth of Asian Americans on Broadway has taken off this past year. It is more than just actors and actresses winning awards but about Asian American themed and originated material. Although they don’t mention Maybe Happy Ending, Francis Jue and Daniel Dae Kim talk about this progress in an interview in Playbill. Helen J. Shen and Nicole Scherzinger deserve extra recognition as being in award winning productions in their Broadway Debut.

For Broadway tickets to see Maybe Happy Ending, see the musical’s official website. In addition, a North American tour is coming!  You can see Yellow Face on PBS here. Sunset Blvd tickets can be found here, but you had better hurry as the show closes on July 20.

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