Vice President JD Vance said at a CBS town hall that "to the extent my rhetoric has been imperfect, that's on me" after calling H-1B workers "indentured servants." India's Ministry of External Affairs had called the term "deeply offensive." Vance said his criticism targeted US companies and the visa system, not H-1B holders.
Read more →Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi led 105 members of Congress in an Oct. 20 letter to FBI Director Kash Patel about the alleged plot at the Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora, Illinois. The letter asks the FBI to determine whether federal hate crime laws were violated and requests written answers by Oct. 29.
Read more →Cloudera settled with the Justice and Labor departments over allegations that it discriminated against qualified US workers while filing PERM green card applications. The settlement includes a $1.4 million back-pay fund, $600,000 in civil penalties and a two-year bar from the PERM program. Cloudera said it does not discriminate in hiring.
Read more →About 12,700 tech professionals returned to India from the US in 2026 through September, according to Xpheno data reported by The Economic Times. That puts 2026 on pace to pass last year's record of 15,100. The report cites visa uncertainty, layoffs and tighter immigration rules.
Read more →Prosecutors are investigating whether the former Homeland Security adviser profited from his role, according to The New York Times. His attorney says he has not been contacted and denies wrongdoing.
Read more →The Oct. 22 order clears up to $150 million in Energy Department funding to expand refining as diesel averaged $6.30 a gallon and regular gasoline $4.27.
Read more →The Council voted 40-7 on Oct. 22 to ban horse-drawn carriages from city streets and Central Park from June 2028. The law is named for Romanch Mahajan, 18, an Indian tourist who died in June trying to save his mother after a carriage horse bolted.
Read more →Trump defended Vivek Ramaswamy's ad attacking Democrat Amy Acton and criticized Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for opposing it.
Read more →Carnegie Mellon named the computer scientist founding dean and vice president of its Miami campus on Oct. 20. The campus, funded by Ken Griffin's $3 billion gift, expects to enroll students in 2028.
Read more →The pediatric endocrinologist becomes chair of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine and pediatrician-in-chief at St. Louis Children's Hospital on Jan. 4. She now chairs pediatrics at the University of Virginia.
Read more →The quake struck at 10:33 p.m. local time on Oct. 22, about 390 km northeast of Lhasa, according to the US Geological Survey. Xinhua reported 16 dead and 32 injured in Nagqu, and IANS reported more than 300 houses collapsed.
Read more →Vladimir Putin met US envoy Steve Witkoff for three hours in St. Petersburg on Oct. 21, and Russia released detained US teacher Stephen Hubbard. A Kremlin aide said trilateral talks could take place in mid-November, possibly in Abu Dhabi. Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants the meeting held no later than early November.
Read more →The Forever stamp, issued Oct. 21 at the Embassy of India in Washington, is the second USPS Diwali stamp after the 2016 diya design.
Read more →Field Marshal Asim Munir met President Masoud Pezeshkian in Tehran as Pakistan acts as a mediator. Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Washington must meet seven conditions Iran set for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including ending the US blockade of Iranian ports.
Read more →About 2,400 people were arrested and almost 1,000 police officers and gendarmes were injured during weekend protests across France, according to the interior ministry. About 1,500 businesses were damaged in Paris, Marseille, Bordeaux and other cities.
Read more →Turkey submitted the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in August, to parliament. The pact states that "an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all." A Turkish official said Ankara's role is expected to be limited to equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems.
Read more →UN Ambassador Mike Waltz told the Financial Times the US Navy can maintain its blockade of Iranian ports for the foreseeable future. Brent crude briefly topped $117 a barrel on Friday, its highest of the war.
Read more →About two dozen UN-appointed experts called on India to end "excessive force" against protesters and to lift blanket assembly bans. The protesters demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after about 130 million names were removed from voter lists. The Election Commission says it removed duplicate, deceased and ineligible voters.
Read more →Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Mumbai on Oct. 20 for a three-day India visit, met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and planned a stop at Reliance's Jamnagar refining complex. He told reporters the US is "very close" to finalizing a trade agreement with India. Ahead of the visit, the administration suspended a Graham Act sanctions measure that could have imposed tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas.
Read more →A Peshawar High Court bench issued notice to the Attorney General's Office on PTI petitions challenging the governor's rule and emergency imposed on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Oct. 11. The next hearing is set for Nov. 10.
Read more →A fire at a beach resort in Cox's Bazar killed 10 people, six of them from the same family. Authorities said the resort was operating without a fire safety license despite an official warning in June.
Read more →The Ranbir Kapoor and Yash epic released its final trailer Oct. 15, and North American presales reached $558,000 as of Oct. 19.
Read more →The 11th edition features Kanika Kapoor, Raja Kumari and Rishi Singh, with a gala at Tribeca 360 on Oct. 23.
Read more →The playback singer is now a Grammy voting member and recently joined an Academy panel on South Asian music.
Read more →The eight-episode Hindi crime drama about four Mumbai friends streams Oct. 23 in more than 240 countries and territories.
Read more →Manoj Bajpayee plays a police officer facing one decisive night in this Friday Film Works thriller, streaming Oct. 23.
Read more →The singer performed the national anthem at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 16, dedicating it to immigrants and their children.
Read more →The British Indian model walked the Oct. 18 show for a third straight year, and Kerala model Ravleen Varghese made her debut.
Read more →Shriyam Bhagnani plays Hetal Dave, India's first professional female sumo wrestler, in the biopic premiering Oct. 23.
Read more →Virtual Bharat films screen Oct. 24 at AMC New Brunswick 18, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
Read more →The actor wore a black Chanel Fall-Winter 2026 gown to her first Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles on Oct. 17. Priyanka Chopra Jonas also attended.
Read more →Jay Puri, Raghu Kulkarni, Taposh Dutta Roy, Priya Donti, Vipin Kumar, Anima Anandkumar named to H2O.ai's AI 100. Honorees appeared on the Nasdaq tower in Times Square on Oct. 21 and 22.
Read more →The newcomer, who has Mumbai roots, is one of six new faces in Season 15, which Bravo is expected to premiere in December.
Read more →The 10-episode thriller with Liev Schreiber, Zazie Beetz and Stephen Graham premieres Oct. 30 with two episodes, then new episodes every Friday through Dec. 25.
Read more →The South Asian Mental Health Initiative and Network brings mental health awareness to the free Diwali event at the Middlesex County Fair Grounds on Oct. 24, starting at 12:30 p.m. On Oct. 29 it holds a free talk on depression in the South Asian community at the East Brunswick Public Library.
Read more →In 1960, an Indian astrophysicist brings his wife to America. Their marriage crosses caste lines, and their three daughters come to see their parents' flaws. Out Oct. 20 from University of Wisconsin Press.
Read more →The Oct. 17 ball at the Ambassadors Clubhouse benefited South Asian Youth Action. Guests included Mira Nair, Bela Bajaria, Reshma Saujani, Jay Sean and Poorna Jagannathan.
Read more →The Oct. 22 gala at HK Hall in Manhattan supported the foundation's health, livelihood and menstrual equity programs for women and children in rural India.
Read more →Founder Deepica Mutyala and Ulta CEO Kecia Steelman hosted more than 100 guests, including Jay Shetty and Tracee Ellis Ross. Live Tinted became the first South Asian-founded makeup brand at Ulta in 2021.
Read more →Passing the Light centers on an installation of 4,500 hand-sculpted terracotta pieces by artist Doyel Joshi at the Jaipur Centre for Art. Twinkle Khanna spoke at the opening.
Read more →The designer, who moved from India to New Jersey months before the show, closed a deal with Mindy Kaling and Lori Greiner for Polygons, his flat, magnetic measuring spoons. ThePrint reports 8% equity plus 2% advisory equity.
Read more →Kiran Musunuru (Penn), Ashutosh Chilkoti (Duke), Vish Viswanath (Harvard and Dana-Farber), Vikhyat Bebarta (Colorado) and Maryland Health Secretary Meena Seshamani are among 100 new members.
Read more →The Federal Reserve announces its next rate decision on Oct. 28, with the fed funds range at 3.75% to 4%. CME FedWatch puts the chance of a hold at about 8 in 10, and markets expect a hike at the Dec. 9 meeting. Energy prices are keeping inflation above the Fed's 2% target.
Read more →Anthropic will publicly file its S-1 prospectus as soon as Friday, Oct. 23, according to people familiar with the plans, ahead of a potential November listing. Reported expectations of a raise up to $100 billion and a $2 trillion valuation are not filed terms. Anthropic makes Claude, used to help draft this newsletter.
Read more →The S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Dow was flat on Oct. 22. Meta closed down 7% after earnings, Tesla fell 3%, and chip stocks slid as Brent crude rose to about $113.
Read more →By 3 p.m. IST on Oct. 23, the final day, institutions bid 32.77 times their quota, wealthy individuals 13.38 times and retail investors 2.51 times. Shares are set to list Oct. 28 on BSE and NSE.
Read more →Investors bid for 59.55 crore shares against 19.75 crore on offer on Oct. 21, per BSE data. The QIB portion was subscribed 9.02 times and the retail portion 0.69 times. The price band is Rs 1,065 to Rs 1,119, the minimum bid is 12 shares, and bidding closes Oct. 23.
Read more →The Sensex fell 125.56 points to 73,123.83 and the Nifty 87.65 points to 22,600 on Oct. 23, after a weak Wall Street session and higher oil prices. Metal and realty stocks led losses.
Read more →India won by four wickets with two balls left in Christchurch on Oct. 22, a record chase led by Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer and Dhir. The five-match series runs through Nov. 1.
Read more →The fifth T20I in Bengaluru on Oct. 17 was cut to nine overs a side, then abandoned with India at 118/5 in 7.4 overs. The five-match series ended level at 2-2.
Read more →India beat Zimbabwe by 92 runs in Raipur on Oct. 20, posting 216/7 behind Harmanpreet Kaur's 91 off 41 balls and Shafali Verma's 69. India extended their T20I winning streak to 11 matches.
Read more →Shreyas Iyer leads India in a five-match T20I series that began Oct. 22 in Christchurch and runs through Nov. 1 in Hamilton. India's women open an ODI series against Zimbabwe on Oct. 23 in Vadodara.
Read more →Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli leads with 340 points, 102 ahead of teammate George Russell, with six races left. The race at Circuit of the Americas starts Sunday, Oct. 25 at 4 p.m. ET on Apple TV.
Read more →In his Philadelphia debut on Oct. 20, LeBron James had 14 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists to begin his 24th NBA season. Tyrese Maxey scored 28 and Jaylen Brown added 19 in his 76ers debut.
Read more →Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 32 points for Oklahoma City in San Antonio on Oct. 20. Victor Wembanyama had 13 rebounds and 6 blocks but made one of 13 shots.
Read more →Philadelphia signed quarterback Joe Milton off the Cowboys' practice squad on Oct. 16 after Hurts was diagnosed with a blood clot. NFL.com lists Hurts out for the rest of the season, and Tanner McKee takes over as the starter.
Read more →Steelers vs. Saints kicks off Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET at Stade de France on NFL Network. Sunday night brings the 5-0 Chiefs against the Seahawks on NBC.
Read more →Caleb Williams threw for 308 yards and two touchdowns, and Luther Burden III had 130 receiving yards at Soldier Field on Oct. 22.
Read more →Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Rafael Jodar 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the Oct. 18 final for his first ATP Masters 1000 title. He rises to a career-high No. 13.
Read more →The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Cleveland Guardians 4-2 in the ALCS, clinching with a 7-3 win on Oct. 19, and face the Milwaukee Brewers, who swept the Dodgers 4-0 in the NLCS. Game 1 is Friday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX at American Family Field, the Brewers' first World Series game since 1982.
Read more →The Karva Chauth Edition: The Moon and the Lantern
Oct 23, 2026
Three stories from the Karva Chauth circle, and a little Halloween magic.
News, money, culture, and a dash of cosmic. For people who grew up between countries.
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