Archive: The Week

Air India opened the Maharaja Lounge at San Francisco International on May 23, the airline's second signature lounge after the Delhi flagship. The 3,300 square foot space near Gate A1 in the International Terminal accommodates 80 guests, designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates with a champagne, ivory, and deep-red palette that mirrors the Delhi flagship. The Aviator's Bar features a Maharaja Manhattan among its signature cocktails. Access is for First Class, Business Class, and elite Maharaja Club passengers.

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Indian American attorney Rakhi Israni filed for California's 14th Congressional District before the April 23 deadline. She is president of Excel Test Prep and Vice President of Government and Public Relations at Sewa International USA. Her campaign has out-raised all CD-14 competitors combined this cycle, aided by a personal loan. If elected she would be the first Indian American woman in Congress from California and the second ever in the US House. Primary is June 2; the special election for the rest of 2026 is June 16, with a candidate above 50% seated immediately.

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Shrey Parikh, an eighth-grader from Rancho Cucamonga, California, won the 98th Scripps National Spelling Bee with the word bromocriptine, defeating Ishaan Gupta in a record 32-word spell-off. The prize package includes $50,000, the Scripps Cup, a commemorative medal, and $2,500 plus a Merriam-Webster reference library. Parikh finished third in 2024 and missed his school bee in 2025 to a fever; he has dominated the online bee circuit since.

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Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket exploded around 9 PM EDT on May 28 during a brief test firing of its seven methane-fueled BE-4 first-stage engines at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The blast destroyed both the rocket and the company's sole orbital launch pad, suspending Amazon Kuiper's 24-launch deployment manifest. No personnel were injured. Blue Origin had only just received FAA clearance to resume flights on May 22 after fixing an upper-stage malfunction from April's mission. Knock-on risk to Blue Moon landers and the Artemis 3 demo timeline.

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Siddaramaiah formally resigned at Lok Bhavan Thursday afternoon, declined a Rajya Sabha seat offer, and said he stays in active politics. Deputy CM DK Shivakumar succeeds him, with the oath scheduled Saturday May 30. The transition was driven by back-to-back Congress high command meetings in Delhi this week involving Rahul Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, K C Venugopal, and Surjewala. The Karnataka cabinet was briefed at a breakfast at Siddaramaiah's residence before the move.

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Ambassador Sergio Gor hosted the US Embassy's 250th National Day celebration in New Delhi on May 24, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and EAM S Jaishankar in attendance. Oscar winner AR Rahman performed Jai Ho as the centerpiece, with a medley of Dil Se, Muqabla, and Fanaa. President Donald Trump joined the room by surprise phone call. The Village People also performed. Memorial Day window ties the event to the start of the US semiquincentennial year.

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The Reserve Bank of India has revived the polymer banknote plan, discussed at the last two board meetings in Patna and Mumbai. Lower denominations like Rs 10 and Rs 20 are likely to be tested first because they wear out fastest. India would join roughly 60 countries already using polymer notes. The trigger: 23.8 billion soiled notes were disposed in FY25, up 12.3 percent from 21.24 billion the prior year.

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Maneesh Bidaye, the Toronto-based producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and DJ, has tallied 178 collaborations with Drake as of April 2026, ranking in the top 0.1% of songwriters and top 1% of producers on the credit-tracking platform muso.ai. His credits with Drake include Views, For All the Dogs, Too Good with Rihanna, Shabang co-produced with Noah 40 Shebib, and What's Next co-produced with Supah Mario. A South Asian name sitting on the credits of a generational American chart act.

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The video version of Jay Shetty's motivational podcast On Purpose moves exclusively to Netflix and Spotify in a multi-year deal valued at up to $100 million, beating three other nine-figure bids. The show launches on both platforms July 13, with Spotify selling the ads. Shetty's previous home was the iHeartPodcast Network for three years. On Purpose has surpassed 1 billion listens to date, placing Shetty in the Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper deal-stratosphere.

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HubSpot CEO Yamini Rangan, Haas MBA 2003, delivered the joint Full-Time and Evening and Weekend MBA commencement address at the Greek Theatre on Saturday May 23. Rangan told the class of 2026 that the choices that will define your career have nothing to do with the technology and everything to do with who you choose to be. The world needs leaders who care, leaders who grow, and leaders who give.

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US and Iranian negotiators reached a tentative memorandum of understanding Thursday May 28 to extend the ceasefire in the three-month-old war by 60 days and open a new round of nuclear talks. Vice President JD Vance confirmed the tentative deal but said it remains unclear whether President Trump will sign: 'It's hard to say exactly when or if the president's going to sign. We're going back and forth on a couple of language points.' Key terms: Iran cannot impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran must remove all mines from the strait within 30 days. The first negotiation item during the 60-day window will be Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile. Israeli concerns and final language remain hurdles.

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