Osaka, Pegula advance while the US Open ends for Raducanu and Fernandez

Korean American Jessica Pegula makes the round of 16 at the US Open.

Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka advanced to the round of 16 while Emma Raducanu's and Leylah Fernandez's dreams of once again playing in the US Open finals will have to wait.

It only took an hour and a half for No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula to defeat three-time US Open runner-up Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 7-5 Friday at the US Open in Flushing, NY.

“I thought I moved really well. I thought I scrambled really well,” said Pegula. “I really wanted to make the match physical. We train together a lot in Florida, so we know each other’s games so well. We’ve played a lot. I could tell she was struggling a little bit physically, so I wanted to keep her moving, keep going after my shots and playing aggressively.”

FYI: Former US Open champion Naomi Osaka is playing Daria Kasatkina right now. Check back later for updates:

Pegula, a Korean American born in Buffalo, N.Y., moves on to play against fellow American, 25-year old Ann Li from Pennsylvania.

Friday’s win marked Pegula’s 14th straight victory against an opponent ranked outside the Top 50 at the US Open. Her last loss came against Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in 2019.

On Saturday, Naomi Osaka, playing for Japan where she was born, showed that when she's focused, she can be pretty intimidating. 

After easily winning her first set against Australia's Daria Kasatkin, 6-0, she lost concentration and dropped the second set, 4-6. She finally put it all together in the third set with her strong baseline volleys, winning 6-3.

She'll face American Coco Gauff., ranked No. 4, in the next round Monday, where Osaka, No. 23 will be the underdog.

When asked about facing Gauff, Osaka said, “Can somebody come to the match and cheer for me? It’s kinda tough playing an American here but I feel like you guys have adopted me as well," as the crowd applauded in agreement. 

Osaka and Gauff are well acquainted with each other. "I kind of see her as a little sister," said the older Osaka. They've met seven times in tournaments around the world and "little sister" holds a slight edge, 4-3.

Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez did not fare as well as Pegula. and Osaka.

Before her match with Filipino Canadian Leylah Fernandez , No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka feined disinterest and said she couldn't remember her 2021 game when Fernandez beat her on her way to the 2021 US Open finals.

After beating Fernandez, she revealed her true feelings. "I really wanted this revenge," she said after beating the 22-year old Filipino, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).

Fernandez gave her a game, though, finding her rhythem in the second set.

The team of Venus Williams and Leylah Fernandez are surprising an formidable on the court.

Fernandez's time at the US Open is not over, however. She can now concentrate on her doubles match with her teammate, 45-year old Venus Williams.

The pair teamed up only two days before the tournament began but they are surprising the doubles' specialists. They advanced to the round of 16 Saturday, after defeating doubles specialists Ulrike Eikeri and Eri Hozumi with a 7-6(1), 6-1 victory.

Originally Fernandez was supposed to play with Marie Bouzkova. But had to scramble to find a new partner as the Czech ace withdrew with injury. “Why not just ask Venus Williams? I mean, you know, the worst she can say is no, right?" Fernandez told the NY Post.

Britain's Emma Raducanu's revival came to a screeching halt Friday when was ousted from the US Open as she was overwhelmed by fKazhakstan's Elena Rybakina in the third round.

Raducanu, 22, was hoping for a statement win over an elite player as evidence of her recent progress, but wound up with a 6-1 6-2 defeat in just 62 minutes.

"It was a difficult experience facing her when‘s she playing so well. I just feel that in every department she was better," Raducanu told BBC Sport.

"I need to try my best to not let this match overshadow all the good work I've been doing," said the Brit Chinese.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

UPDATED: Leylah Fernandez, Jessica Pegula, Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka advance in US Open

US OPEN

Venus Williams, left, congratulates her doubles partner Leylah Fernadez, who advances
in singles and doubles

UPDATED: Added results of Jessica Pegula.

With the US Open's favorite underdog, the Philippines Alex Eala, out in the second round, other women of Asian descent advanced to the third round.

With only two-days before the start of doubles competition, Filipino Canadian Leylah Fernandez, the 2021 US Open finalist, teamed up with the legendary Venus Williams to win their match against sixth-seed pair of Lyudmyla Kichenok and Ellen Perez 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Although they’barely had time to practice together having agreed to play with each other two days earlier, they showed excellent teamwork, with Venus zinging winners from the baseline and Fernandez using her quick hands to deliver kill shots at the net. 

Up 5-3 in the second set, it was Fernandez’s turn to serve. The Filipino Canadian showed her competitive spirt, winning the game at 40-0 and, with Williams, winning the set, 6-3.

The day before, 22-year old Fernandez won her second round singles match against No. 11 seed Karolina Muchova. In the third round, Fernandez will face off against the top-seeded defending champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Playing with two-time US Open champion Williams was a thrill for Fernandez. "I was like a kid on Christmas day just jumping around," said the No. 31 seed Fernandez. "I was so happy. I don't think I stopped smiling for the whole night and even in the morning. I was just super happy and excited."

"She's the best partner I ever played with besides (sister) Serena (Williams)," said Venus Williams in interviews after their match. "We play the same style. I'm just a little bit bigger."

Fernandez was visibly moved by the praise, calling it “probably the biggest compliment I ever got.”

“Thank you, Venus,” she added. “Oh, man. I feel like those are big shoes to fill at the moment.”

Fernandez's match against  Sabalenka today will be a challenge but not impossible. Perhaps playing mind games, the  Belarusian said she doesn't recall the only time the two faced each other. Fernandez took three sets in a thrilling smi-final even though  fiercely fought Sabalenka, ranked No. 2 in 2021 when Fernandez was the underdog favorite and marched to the finals.

Jessica Pegula

Jessica Pegula

No. 4 ranked Jessica Pegula perhaps has the best chance of the Asian players making it to the finals. The Korean American has been there before. In 2024, she lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the finals.

Pegula owns a tour-best three singles titles on the season and shows signs of hitting her stride in time for the US Open. On Wednesday, she beat Anna Blinkova 6-1, 6-3.

On Friday, the 31-year old New Yorker will face two-time Australian Open champion and former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, who is unseeded for the tournament.

Emma Raducanu

If Fernandez upsets Sabalenka, she very well could face Emma Raducanu of Great Britain in a rematch. They ahven't played each other since the 2021 fnials, which was won by unranked Raducanu.

Playing the best tennis of her career since she shocked the tennis world by winning the 2021 US Open. The unranked Raducanu easily dispatched Janice Tjen 6-2, 6-1. That sets up a the third round contest against No 9 seed Elena Rybakina. The Raducanu-Rybakina match be on Friday.

“I think I’ve had some tough draws but that also comes with the ranking I’m at. I have to accept it, I’m not seeded,” Raducanu told the PA news agency.

Naomi Osaka

No. 23 ranked Naomi Osaka has struggled since she won the US Open in 2020. Playing for Japan where she was born, Osaka has made it to the third round by liminating the United State's Hailey Baptiste 6-3, 6-1 in the second round Thursday.

Osaka, who had mental health struggles, left the tournament circuit after winning four Grand Slam tourneys. The 27-year old Osaka is regaining her competitive spirit but with a new outlook. 

"For me, I realize that I've done everything that I could. I've trained really hard. I practiced really hard. If it happens, it happens," said Osaka, who lives and trains in Los Angeles.

At the top of her game, Osaka was once ranked No. 1 in the world. She next plays Australian No. 15 seed Daria Kasatkina in the third round on Saturday.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Alex Eala's dream run hits a bump at the US Open

US OPEN

The Philippines' Alex Eala loses in the US Open's second round.

Filipino tennis player Alex Eala's historic run at the US Open came to a halt Wednesday losing to Spain's Cristina Bucsa, 6-4, 6-3.

Eala had hoped her match against No. 95 Bucsa, whom she had defeated earlier in her career, would continue but she lost on the courts in Flushing, New York.

In her loss, the No..70 ranked Eala could not overcome 21 unforced errors compared to her opponent’s 12.

Still, the 20-year old Eala had already made history in her first round victory over No. 14 ranked Clara Tauson of Denmark as the first player from the Philippines to win at the US Open.

With a raucous crowd of Filipino Americans behind her, she defeated 14th ranked  Tauson Sunday.

“Although I'm at the start of my WTA career, I've played so many matches, and tight matches and tense moments can happen at any level,” she told reporters. “I've been playing since I was four. I'm 20 now, so that's 16 years of experience, whether it's at the junior level, 10-and-under level, professional level.

“I think that mental strength and that focus are the keys to coming out victorious in those moments.”

Eala, meanwhile, knows all too well the dangers of underestimation as she had made a worldwide name for herself after beating Grand Slam champions like Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys, and former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in her iconic 2025 Miami Open giant-killing run.

The US Open is in Flushing, NY, a few subway stops from Little Manila in Queens. Filipino Americans made their presence felt during Eala's first-round victory over Tuasun. The partisan crowd gave Eala a homecourt advantage and made her "feel like home," she said.

"To be Filipino is something I take so much pride in," Eala said after the first-round match. "And you know, I don’t have a home tournament, so to be able to have this community here at the U.S. Open, I’m so grateful that they made me feel like I’m home."

Rising star Eala is a 2023 graduate of the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, Spain. She arrived in 2018 to train with her brother, according to the facility's website. She began training as a 12-year-old

Eala was already the first Filipino player to win a junior Grand Slam singles title at the US Open girls’ championship in 2022, and she became the first Filipino to be ranked inside the top 100 in the world earlier this year. She made her professional debut in 2020. After her first-round win, she was ranked No. 70. After her loss, she dropped to No. 75.

Eala's next tournament is the Sao Paulo Open in Brazil, a WTA 250 event starting on September 8. Following that, she is expected to participate in a series of tournaments in Asia. Her long-term goal is to reach the world No. 1 ranking in the WTA and to qualify for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. 

“I'm so blessed to be the first to do this,” Eala said after her coming back from a 1-5 deficit in the third and final set Sunday. “I take so much pride in representing my country. It makes what I do bigger than myself, and it adds meaning to what I do.

“I'm very ambitious. Although there was no one from my country who did this before or was successful in tennis, I took inspiration from anyone I could; from my family, from my brother.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. 

Ruth Asawa and Jeremy Lin at SF museum

 A funny thing happened to me on the way to an exhibit of the late Ruth Asawa's work.

Taking time off before  going through San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art's (SFMOMA) exhibit of the Asian American artists work, I stumbled upon this art work featuring basketball star Jeremy Lin.

It was part of a huge panel under a large art piece SFMOMA had commissioned for cartoonist and writer Gene Luen Yang,. 

Titled Bay Area Wall series, features a mural inspired by three  basketball legends with a tie to the Bay Area: Fran Belibi, Stephen Curry and Jeremy Lin.

The baskeball mural can be found on the second floor next to the snack bar and will be on exhibit through the month of August.

*. * *

SFMOMA is home for the first posthumous retrospective of Ruth Asawa’s work and its inspirations over six decades of her career. As an artist, Asawa forged a groundbreaking practice through her ceaseless exploration of materials and forms. As an educator and civic leader, Asawa’s impact on San Francisco can still be felt today.

The late Ruth Asawa ,literally, in one of her creations.

The Ruth Asawa exhibit features many of the scullptor's signature suspended looped- and tied-wire sculptures alongside lesser-known works, including a selection of her sculptural “miniatures” — the smallest measuring just over one inch in diameter. From vibrant drawings and paintings to clay masks and cast bronze sculptures, more than 300 works give insight into Asawa’s relentlessly experimental vision.

        RELATED: Ruth Asawa inducted into California's Hall of Fame

The Japanesse American artist had a deep connection to San Francisco, her adopted home. One of the galleries evokes the living room of Asawa’s longtime Noe Valley home opens with the artist’s hand-carved redwood doors, and features cases of her sketchbooks, art by friends that she kept on display, and a rich array of the sculptures that once hung from her ceiling. 

Archival materials show how Asawa shaped her adopted hometown through numerous public commissions and her dedication to arts education.

The exhibit included photos of her numerous works of art scattered throughout the SF Bay Area, from her famous mermaid fountain at Ghiradelli Square to her Wall of Internment at San Jose's Japantown.

If you want to view the exhibit, you better hurry. It lasts until August 31, 2025.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X, BlueSky or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.

High-end Filipino cuisine introduced to the food-and-wine-centric Napa Valley

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Mathew and Jade Cunningham open Napa Valley's first Filipino restaurant.

REVIEW

A mixture of curiosity and excitement got the best of me: What happens when a classically-trained chef cooks Filipino food?

For the answer, I made the trek to the Napa Valley, California, home of best wines in the country and the center of some an increasing number of James Beard quality restaurants. My visit to Carabao Eatery, a restaurant that opened recently featuring Filipino-inspired cuisine.

Carabao, breaks new ground as Napa Valley's first Filipino restaurant. It is owned by French Laundry alums Jade and Mathew Cunningham. Jade Cunningham, born in the Philippines, trained at the Michelin-starred French Laundry (several minutes drive away) and you can see how their time there has influenced the restaurant's modern take on Filipino cuisine. 

A word of caution: Don't expect to find dishes like your lola made. Carabao is not a carinderia or turo-turo (point-point). Carabalo's mission is not to replicate those time-honored and nostalgic plates but to present them in a way that is worthy of a five-star restaurant, with fine ingredients and by so doing, make them new again.

Don't get me wrong. The Filipino flavor profile is still there, evoking those same familiar tastes of lola's kitchen, but the lessons learned at the French Laundry carry over to Carabao's dishes in a new way with perhaps different elements than lola is used to.

Take my favorite dish, for example - dinaguan, an ultra-savory pork stew with pig's blood, vinegar and chili. Just hearing that might be off-putting for those unfamiliar with the dish but put those cultural biases aside for a real treat. You'll be talking about it for days.

In Carabao's version, a slice of lechon kawili (crispy pork belly) is used instead of the usual chunks of pork shoulder. It is sliced and topped with colorful edible flowers and thin slices crispy pig skin. This meaty element is ten placed in a bowl of cooked pig's blood that in my mind, was a good as my mom's homecooked recipe. I had to use my spoon to get all of the remaining dark, savory sauce. It is accompanied with garlic rice. This dish can be shared for two.

Carabao''s dinaguan, deeply surprising yet satisfying.

Another pleasant surprise was the adobo deviled egg. You may be familiar with the taste of adobo (soy sauce, vinegar, chicken stock and garlic) and you must have had a creamy deviled egg. You would think the combination would be improbable, but Carabao makes it work. It was delicious.

We also shared the Kinilaw, fish with chilled citrus cured sliced hamachi with smoked coconut cream, pickled red onion gel and calamansi (a cross of a lemon, orange and lime)  vinaigrette, which helped familiarize and open the palate for the flavors to come.

Tortang Talong, stuffed eggplant.

Filipino cuisine is often criticized by non-Filipinos  for being too meat-centric. The vegetable dishes are there. You just have to know what to order beyond the more familiar adobo and pancit. For us, we tried the Tortang Talong,stuffed charred eggplant, marinated cherry tomato and smoked coconut bechamel. Cooked over an open grill gives it an added smoky flavor. This a great example of using French technique with Filipino ingredients.

Leave room for dessert. Carabao's overall excellence and innovation extended to dessert where the halo-halo and mango tort with mango sorbet were standouts. Serving the hallo-halo in a bowl instead of tall glass makes it easiser to mix all the ingredientw and to share.

There is a bar and I was tempted but I reallly wanted to have the calamansi juice. Calamansi is a small citrus, a cross between a lime, lemon and orange. It made for an ideal refresher and palate cleanser between the exotic flavors of the other dishes. 

In summary, Carabao presents Filipino food in innovative ways that offers excellent Filipino cuisine in a casual atmosphere. The young multi-racial servers are attentive without being overbearing and are more than eagar to share their knowledge of the dishes, which may be unfamiliar to some.

ED DIOKNO

Refreshing halo-halo tops off the Filipino cuisine of Carabao Eatery.

Other reviewers praised the kare-kare, a meat based stew with vegetables and peanut sauce, and sigsig, pork, citrus, onion, chili peppers topped with a fried egg. These are dishes that merit a revisit. Also, just because the Filipino dishes have humble origins, don't expect lola-style prices either.

Some advice: Order dishes to share. Instead of having one after another,  order them together so you can compare, praise and recall those sensory memories of nanay's kitchen. Eating, sharing stories, comparing, praising, savoring, being present and communing wth each other is the Filipino way. Mealtime is a time for connecting with each other and not just an energy boost.

The eatery takes its name from the the hard working, dependable and silent water buffalo used throughout the Philippines for plowing rice fields, hauling cartloads of goods and people. It symbolizes resilience, a connection to the land and Filipino hospitality.

With only 12 tables, the restaurant was crowded from the moment it opened its doors for dinner. The room has a airy light-filled tropical ambiance without resorting to the cliche's. (No rattan furniture here.) In the two months since it opened, they have served 4,500 diners, but, sadly, have had to turn away 5,000 walk-ins. Presently, Carabao is open for dinner only. Reservations are a must.

        RELATED: Filipino cuisine is the Rodney Dangerfield of Asian food scene

Carabao is a welcome addition to the wave of Filipino American fine-dining restaurants in Seattle, San Francisco, Southern California, Hawaii and New York making Philippine cuisine more accessible to the diverse American clientele. 

The trend is led by Chicago's Kasama, the first Filipino American restaurant to earn  a Michelin star (but, probably not the last). On the verge of discovery are extraordinary FilAm chefs like the Cunninghams, Tim Flores, Nicole Ponseco and Lord Maynard Lara , who are redefining and refining what Filipino cuisine is and can be. At the same time, the customer base of Filipino Americans are more adventurous and accepting of food that goes beyond the boundaries of lola's comforting creations.

The combination creates a simmering stew of expectations and fulfilling the prediction of the late Anthony Bourdain that  Filipino food deserves a place in the American food scene.

I estimate that 85% of Carabao's clientele were Filipino Americans, which says a lot about the FilAms in northern California, hungry not only for flavors and memories of the motherland but also hopeful to support businesses like Carabao because acceptance of one's food opens thte doors to the entire often-misunderstood and underestimated culture of the Philippines.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.

Asian American lawmaker in the middle of fray of Texas' gerrymandering scheme

Texas Rep. Gene Wu leads Democratic walkout

In the middle of the Texas gerrymandering scheme and the partisan war is lawmaker Gene Wu, who led the Texas Democratic legislators' walkout as a tactic to prevent the Republicans from further reconfiguring the state's congressional districts to give Republicans five new seats.

Donald Trump's order for Texas to create five more GOP-majority districts
has triggered signal an extraordinarily dangerous period for American democracy.

Texas State Rep. Wu says the push to redraw political maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections is designed to protect Trump and the Republican-majority Congress from the expected midterm voter backlash, particularly from Asian, Black and Hispanic communities.

Speaking at the Aug.14 news conference — jointly organized by American Community Media and Houston Ethnic Media — Wu said: “What they’re trying to do is rewrite the rules in the middle of the game because they know they know they’re going to lose. Everything that’s happening is so incredibly unpopular, not just what President Trump is doing, but also what Republicans are doing in Congress.”

Wu contnued: “Trump’s big, beautiful bill makes massive cuts to communities all across Texas, not just in liberal cities, but also in rural communities. It also affects farmers, also affects workers, affects everybody. And people are starting to wake up to that and they know this. Republicans know this and they know that people are gonna blame them for going along with Trump. And so they’re trying to cut it off preemptively."

The gerrymandered maps easily passed the GOP-dominated state Senate on a 19-2 vote. The proposal then moved to the House which couldn't act on the motion because they couldn't muster a quorum beecause 50 Texas House Democrats fled the state two weeks ago.

The Texas Democrats announced Aug. 14 that they plan to return Aug. 18, after the end of a special session imposed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. The governor will have to call another special session to get the redistricted maps passed.

The gerrymandering effort was instigated by Trump but put into motion by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott who wants to produce five new seats for Republicans, mid-decade (long after the census taken every 10 years). Texas already has one of the most gerrymandered states but this motion where Democrats have only a smidgen of input. The new effort will further erode the representation of Asian, Black and Hispanice voters.

The Asian American population in Texas has grown fast. From 2022 to 2023, the population of Asian Texans increased more than any other racial group in the state and outpaced overall state growth, driven by a population surge of South Asians, the largest Asian American group in the state, according to the US Census Bureau.

If the new maps are adopted, the influence of Black and Hispanic voters will be weakened or diluted. In addition, the growing Asian American populations in Fort Bend County and Southwest Houston would be cut apart and reassigned to districts that are geographically distanced, reducing their power as a voting bloc.

Wu, an immigrant from China, was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2012 and has been a leader of the Texas Democrats for years. He has endured racist insults for his entire political career. His prominent role in the walkout unleashed another round of hate from conservatives, including the state's Republican leaders, accusing him of an allegiance to the Peoples' Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party.

One of the worst offenders is state Sen. Mayes Middleton. “Is Gene Wu back in China?” the Texas Tribune reports.

The media outlet quotes Middleton saying. “If he wants a refresher course on Marxism, I’m sure the CCP will take him back.”

Middleton's office did not respond to the Texas Tribune's request for a comment.

Wu, for his part, has refused to take the racist remarks and red-baiting and respond to the allegations. However, other Democrats have criticized the overt racism.

“Gene has strength and grace that not a lot of us probably would have if we were tested in similar ways,” says Rep. Chris Turner, who sits next to Wu on the House floor. He told the Texas Tribune: “That said, it’s infuriating, it’s unacceptable and the people who are responsible for it ought to be ashamed. But again, in today’s Republican party, there is no shame.”

“There was a time where someone made a racist comment — especially in a community setting or in a testimony — we would have our elected officials move swiftly to correct them, to correct the record, to defend our elected officials,” said Amatullah Contractor, of the Asian American Democrats of Texas, who was interviewed by the Texas Tribune. “When our elected officials start making these comments, then it is a free for all.”

As the Texas Democrats filter back to their state, they will most likely face retaliatory actions from the Republicans.

In retaliation to Wu's leadership, Gov. Abbott is seekingt to remove Wu from his seat because the Chinese American politician was not fulfilling his "constitutional" duty while he was out of state. The Texas Republican Attorney General has asked the Texas Supreme Court to remove all of the absent Democrats from office.

“If our voices no longer matter, if what we say no longer matters, then there is no democracy left,” responded Wu, saying he will contest any attempt to remove the Democrats from their elected positions.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom launches effort to counter Trump's electoral scheme.

The Texas Democrats'  unusual action brought national attention to Trump's scheme to subvert the democratic process in favor of the Republicans because the GOP is afraid it would lose in a straight-up election. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would fight fire with fire. If the Trump scheme is passed in Texs, He would seek to gerrymander his state's district to remove California's few Congressional Republicans from their districts.

“California will not sit idle as Trump and his Republican lapdogs shred our country’s democracy before our very eyes. In just six months, Trump’s unchecked power has cost Americans billions and taken an ax to the greatest democracy we’ve ever known," Newsom said in a press statement. "This moment calls for urgency and action – that is what we are putting before voters this November, a chance to fight back against his anti-American ways.”

“Texas House Democrats broke quorum and successfully mobilized the nation against Trump's assault on minority voting rights," Wu said in his Aug. 14 statement. “Facing threats of arrest, lawfare, financial penalties, harassment, and bomb threats, we have stood firm in our fight against a proposed Jim Crow congressional district map.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, BlueSky,on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.

California argues against Trump's use of troops against L.A. demonstrators

California's Attorney General Rob Bonta.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta expressed confidence that the state's legal team presented the best argument that Donald Trump's use of the US Marines and the California National Guard in Los Angeles was illegal.

“Before the trial began, I issued a statement  August 13 expressing confidence that the evidence would show that the Trump Administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act. Now that the trial has ended, I remain confident. Our legal team did a great job,” said the Filipino American attorney general in a press statement.

“We asked the court to grant a permanent injunction to stop the Administration from using the military for domestic law enforcement and maintaining a standing army in Southern California. We made a compelling case — backed by facts and specifics — and we look forward to getting a decision in the near future.”

RELATED: Respond and network when agents against agents

The Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits members of the military from engaging in civilian law enforcement activities. During the three-day trial, California showed that, in its orders to the federalized California National Guard and Marines, the Trump Administration violated the three applicable tests under the Act: 

• The Trump Administration is making direct, active use of military personnel to execute the law, including through the provision of armed perimeter support and blockades, apprehension and detention of civilians, and — in the weeks following the June mobilization orders — participating in an estimated three out of every four immigration raids in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.

• The Trump Administration’s use of military personnel clearly pervades the activities of civilian law enforcement.

• Under the Trump Administration’s command, federalized National Guard members have subjected civilians to the exercise of proscriptive military power

Last Spring, up to 4,000 federal troops and National Guard members were sent to Los Angeles, ostensibly to quell the so-called "riots." Around 300 National Guard members remain.

In his first term (2017-2021), California filed 123 lawsuits against the Trump administration.In the first six months of his second term, which began in January 2025, Bonta representing California has filed 37 lawsuits against the Trump administration and filed more than 40 amicus briefs in support of other litigation, including defending birthright citizenship, banning diversity initiatives in government agencies, implementation of tariffs, cuts in federal funding to schools and mass firings at federal agencies 

California has had a high success rate in these early cases, succeeding in 17 of the 19 cases where the state sought and a district court ruled on early relief, with 13 orders blocking Trump's actions still in effect. California's litigation efforts have also led to the restoration of an estimated $168 billion in federal funding and the protection of an estimated $11.1 billion in federal grant funding.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.

Man hangs himself while in an immigration detention facility

The Moshannon Valley Processing Center

While in ICE custody at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania, Chaofeng Ge, a 32-year-old citizen of China, was found hanging by the neck in the shower.

Ge was pronounced deceased by the Clearfield County coroner at approximately 6:03 a.m. on Aug. 5.

He had been in ICE custody for five days and was awaiting a hearing before the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. MVPC staff discovered Ge hanging by the neck and unresponsive in the shower room of his detention pod at 5:21 a.m. They reportedly immediately "cut down" Ge to the ground, began CPR and contacted Phillipsburg Emergency Medical Services, the Pennsylvania State Police and the coroner’s office.

Chaofeng Ge

According to a police report from Lower Paxton Township, Ge was arrested Jan. 23 after allegedly using a stolen credit card to buy gift cards. The next day, Philadelphia’s Enforcement and Removal Operations York sub-office lodged an immigration detainer with the Dauphin County Prison.

Ge pleaded guilty to the original charges on July 31. He was sentenced to six to 12 months for each count and granted immediate release to the ICE detainer.

Privately-run detention centers

Moshannon Valley Processing Center, is a privately run immigration jail operated by the GEO Group in a rural area about 300 miles west of New York City. Since  Donald Trump began his second term, the detention center has become a major warehouse for immigrants apprehended by ICE in and around New York and Philadelphia.

Before Ge's death, the detention center was already the subject of scores of complaints about abusive conditions. Among other complaints, detainees and civil rights advocates noted a serious lack of language services and an oppressive environment that seemed more like a prison for convicted criminals than a temporary holding center for immigrants.

FYI: ICE makes official notifications to Congress, nongovernmental organization stakeholders, and the media upon an official report of a detained illegal alien’s death and posts a news release with relevant details on the ICE public website within two business days per agency policy. This information may be accessed in the ICE.gov Newsroom. Additionally, congressional requirements described in the DHS Appropriations Bill of 2018 require ICE to make public all reports regarding an in-custody death within 90 days.These reports may be accessed on the Detainee Death Reporting page.

Apparently, the suicide of Chaofeng Ge, is not an isolated incident it’s a sign of deeperand larger issues mainstream media has not focused on.

From last October 2024 to late June of this year, 12 people nationwide have died in ICE facilities — more than the total deaths in all of the last fiscal year, with three months remaining in this cycle, according to The Intercept. It was the highest number of ICE detainee deaths since the Covid pandemic in 2020.

Among the 12 deaths were at least two suicides. Ge’s death at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center was the third.

ICE is good for business

Detainee populations nationwide have risen at least 25% since Trump was inaugurated and are major beneficiaries of the Trump immigration crackdown. The Moshannon jail is now the largest immigration detention center in the Northeast. Critics say the speed of its growth risks creating dangerous conditions for detainees, including crowding and lack of sufficient medical and mental health resources.

The cost of housing a detainee in the private detention centers on average  runs about $160 per day per detainee.The cost of privately run ICE detention centers involves billions of taxpayer dollars, with concerns centering around contractual arrangements that include bed quotas and a lack of transparency and oversight, potentially leading to wasteful spending and concerns about the quality of care provided to detainees, reports The Intercept.

Private prison companies, particularly the GEO Group, are major beneficiaries of the Trump administrations' immigration policies and, not surprisngly, have significantly contributed to Donald Trump's political campaigns and related entities.

Here's a summary breakdown of their contributions to Trump and Republicans:

• Altogether, private prison companies - that includes the GEO Group - their PACs, subsidiaries, and CEOs donated nearly $2.8 million to Trump's 2024 election efforts and inaugural fund.

• GEO Group and its affiliated PACs donated heavily to Trump PACs and Republican congressional campaigns, including $1 million to Trump's Make America Great Again PAC and over $1.2 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund and Senate Leadership Fund.

• GEO also contributed $500,000 to Trump's inauguration.

• GEO Group's PAC became the first to max out donations to Trump's campaign in February 2024.

The modest investment by the private prison companies net billions of federal dollars annually under contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

In 2022 alone, The GEO Group made $1.05 billion, and CoreCivic made $552.2 million from these contracts, according to The New York Times. 

RELATED: FilAm charges medical abuse at Georgia detention facility

These companies are actively expanding their capacity to meet the growing demand for detention beds, with some expecting to more than double their revenue through increased capacity by building new facilities such as the so-called Alligator Alcatraz in Florida's Everglades,  those being built on military bases such as Texas' Fort Bliss and reopening idle facilities such as Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay,  further boosting the profitability of these companies.

One company CEO estimated that reopening idle facilities could generate an additional $500-600 million in revenue, according to the Idaho Capital Sun.

The shadowy world of profit-making private prisons needs to be more transparent because it is taxpayers' money being used that benefits no one except the corporate executives and investors in a business model that prefers to remain outside of public scrutiny.

While Chaofeng Ge's death, which is still being investigate as a suicide, is tragic, it helps to shed light on a profitable business model that most Americans do not know exist.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and chismis from an AANHPI perspective, follow me on Threads, on X or at the blog Views From the Edge. Now on BlueSky.