The News Caravan

Tag: IndianAmerican

  • Tesla crash: Indian-American who drove family off cliff pleads not guilty

    Tesla crash: Indian-American who drove family off cliff pleads not guilty

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    New York: An Indian-American, who was accused of deliberately driving his Tesla off a California cliff with his wife and children inside, has pleaded not guilty to attempted murder.

    Dharmesh A. Patel, 41, of Pasadena has been charged with “attempted first-degree murder and child abuse, as well as enhancements for great bodily injury and domestic abuse”.

    Appearing before a Redwood City courthouse last week, Patel, a radiologist at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Los Angeles, entered his not-guilty plea.

    If convicted on the three counts of murder charges, Patel could get a life sentence in prison.

    According to The New York Post, Patel has tapped a prominent California attorney, Joshua Bentley, to defend his case, and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 20.

    San Mateo District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said that statement from Patel’s wife as well as witness accounts from other motorists and video of the roadway gave enough evidence to frame charges against him.

    A San Mateo judge had ordered to hold Patel without bail at the Maguire Correctional Facility, citing the danger he poses to his family.

    Patel’s car was travelling south on State Route 1 on January 2 when it went over a 250-foot cliff at Devil’s Slide, south of the Tom Lantos Tunnels, and flipped and landed on its wheels near the water’s edge.

    Firefighters had to cut the vehicle to pull Patel’s two children — a seven-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy — from the vehicle. The daughter suffered a serious injury, while the boy escaped with just bruises.

    The couple was pulled out of the vehicle’s windows.

    Investigators are yet to establish Patel’s motive behind the act.

    “We’re looking into what led up to this. Was there depression or anything else? It wasn’t just that he was trying to kill them, he was trying to kill himself too,” Wagstaffe had said in a late January press conference.

    Patel has been ordered not to contact his wife or their children.

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    #Tesla #crash #IndianAmerican #drove #family #cliff #pleads #guilty

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Indian-American judge slaps $1 mn fine on Facebook

    Indian-American judge slaps $1 mn fine on Facebook

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    New York: Indian-American judge Vince Chhabria has slapped a fine of almost $1 million on Meta, Facebook’s parent company, and its law firm for creating obstacles for court and users in a data breach trial.

    According to a Bloomberg report, District Judge Chhabria wrote in an order that the fine is “loose change” for Facebook and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP for deceitfully denying that it shared users’ private information with third parties.

    The San Francisco judge said that Facebook relied on “delay, misdirection, and frivolous arguments” to make the litigation unfairly difficult and expensive. “Perhaps realising they had no real argument for withholding these documents, Facebook and Gibson Dunn contorted various statements” of opposing lawyers and the court acebeyond recognition,” Chhabria wrote, according to Bloomberg.

    “And again, after being told repeatedly that these arguments made no sense, Facebook and Gibson Dunn insisted on pressing them,” he said.

    The judge added that Facebook also attempted to push the users, who had filed a complaint against it, into settling for a lesser compensation.

    The lawsuit was filed in a California court on behalf of Facebook users impacted by Meta’s partnership with research firm Cambridge Analytica.

    The $925,078.51 penalty comes after Meta had agreed a $725 million settlement in December 2022 to resolve a class-action lawsuit, which claimed that Facebook illegally shared user data with Cambridge Analytica.

    In March 2018, whistleblower Christopher Wylie publicly revealed that Cambridge Analytica exfiltrated personal data of 87 million Facebook users in the US in order to influence the results of the 2016 US presidential election.

    This data trove included Facebook users’ ages, interests, pages they liked, groups they followed, physical locations, political and religious affiliations, relationships, and photos, as well as their full names, phone numbers, and email addresses.

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    #IndianAmerican #judge #slaps #fine #Facebook

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • ‘My parents didn’t pressure me’ says Indian-American prodigy named in ‘world’s brightest’ students list

    ‘My parents didn’t pressure me’ says Indian-American prodigy named in ‘world’s brightest’ students list

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    New York: Natasha Perianayagam, a 13-year-old Indian-American prodigy named in the “world’s brightest” students list, has said that her parents gave her the “best support” by not putting pressure on her to excel in her studies.

    Perianayagam, a student at Florence M Gaudineer Middle School, in New Jersey was named in the “world’s brightest” students list for the second consecutive year by Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth, based on the results of above-grade-level tests of over 15,000 students across 76 countries.

    “I know that my parents are happy about it and my elder sister too,” Perianayagam told PTI in an interview on Tuesday.

    This was the second time that the young girl made it to the list of brightest students in the world by The Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY).

    In 2021, Perianayagam was one of nearly 19,000 students from 84 countries who joined CTY in the 2020-21 Talent Search. Less than 20 per cent of CTY Talent Search participants qualified for CTY High Honours Awards.

    According to the university press release, Perianayagam was among the 15,300 students from 76 countries who joined CTY in the 2021-22 Talent Search year.

    Less than 27 per cent of those participants qualified for the CTY ceremony, receiving either high or grand honours based on their test scores. In her latest attempt, Perianayagam scored the highest grades among all candidates.

    In response to a question on the support and encouragement she received from her parents, Perianayagam said “I think the best support they gave me was not pressuring me to do it” or “saying ‘You have to do this’.” She said her parents, who hail from Chennai, did not force her into taking the tests. “There was no external pressure. They just left it up to me. I waited until the day of the deadline to do (the test). I just woke up and was like, ‘Okay, sure, I’ll do it.” Perianayagam said the fact that she had taken the Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth (CTY) test in the Spring of 2021 when she was a Grade 5 student, motivated her to take the test for the next level in 2022.

    “There are two types of awards you can get for taking the test. One is High Honours and another is Grand Honours. So last year, I got High Honours and I knew there was another level that I could reach. I decided maybe I’ll get Grand Honours this time. I took (the test) and this time, I did get the Grand Honours,” she said.

    Perianayagam said she “didn’t really prepare” separately for the tests since in school she is already enrolled in a few advanced classes. “So that prepared me well for it. And I also did some extra practice outside of school,” she said.

    With her achievement sure to serve as an inspiration for other students, Perianayagam said her message to other youngsters is that “if you want to achieve something like this, just try it first…you never know what your actual potential is until you do something that can measure it. So just take a chance.” The middle-schooler is yet to firm up her plans for the future and said that architecture and science are two subjects that interest her tremendously.

    “Initially for a long time, I thought I wanted to be an architect because I like building things and I like maths. And those two things go into it… But then I realised that science is very interesting to me. So maybe I’ll do something in science or maybe with art,” she said.

    She said that in terms of engineering or architecture, she would like to pursue her higher studies at colleges such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

    “I haven’t really thought about it because I haven’t decided what I want to do yet. When I figure out what I want to do, there’ll be a good college that I can go to,” she said.

    Perianayagam said that when she is not studying, she likes music and plays the guitar, violin and piano. “I also like to read and draw. And sometimes, friends will come over or I’ll be doing something with my sister so that’s how I spend my free time,” she said.

    In 2021, Perianayagam’s results in the verbal and quantitative sections levelled with the 90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance, which catapulted her into the honours list that year. This year, she was honoured for her exceptional performance on the SAT, ACT, School and College Ability Test, or similar assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search, the university said in a press release on Monday.

    CTY used above-grade-level testing to identify advanced students from around the world and provide a clear picture of their academic abilities. “This is not just recognition of our student’s success on one test, but a salute to their love of discovery and learning, and all the knowledge they have accumulated in their young lives so far,” said CTY’s executive director Dr Amy Shelton.

    “It is exciting to think about all the ways in which they will use that potential to discover their passions, engage in rewarding and enriching experiences, and achieve remarkable things — in their communities and in the world,” she added.

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    #parents #didnt #pressure #IndianAmerican #prodigy #named #worlds #brightest #students #list

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Indian-American teen in Johns Hopkins’ world’s ‘brightest’ list

    Indian-American teen in Johns Hopkins’ world’s ‘brightest’ list

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    New York: An Indian-American teenager has been named in the “world’s brightest” students list for a second year in a row by the US-based Johns Hopkins Center For Talented Youth (CTY), based on the results of above-grade-level tests of more than 15,000 students across 76 countries.

    Natasha Perianayagam, 13, is a student of Florence M Gaudineer Middle School in New Jersey.

    She has been recognised for her exceptional performance on the SAT, ACT, School and College Ability Test, or similar assessment taken as part of the CTY Talent Search, a university press release said.

    Natasha, whose parents hail from Chennai, also took the Johns Hopkins Talent Search test in Spring of 2021 when she was in class 5.

    Her results in the verbal and quantitative sections levelled with the 90th percentile of advanced Grade 8 performance.

    “This motivates me to do more,” she had then said, adding that doodling and reading JRR Tolkien’s novels may have worked for her.

    Natasha scored the highest grades among all candidates. In her latest attempt, the university statement said adding that she “was among the 15,300 students from 76 countries who joined CTY in the 2021-22 Talent Search year”.

    “This is not just recognition of our students’ success on one test, but a salute to their love of discovery and learning, and all the knowledge they have accumulated in their young lives so far,” CTY’s executive director Dr Amy Shelton said.

    “It is exciting to think about all the ways in which they will use that potential to discover their passions, engage in rewarding and enriching experiences, and achieve remarkable things — in their communities and in the world,” Shelton added.

    CTY uses above-grade-level testing to identify advanced students from around the world and provide a clear picture of their true academic abilities.

    The quantitative section of the Johns Hopkins CTY test measures the ability to see relationships between quantities expressed in mathematical terms, the verbal section measures understanding of the meaning of words and the relationships between them.

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    #IndianAmerican #teen #Johns #Hopkins #worlds #brightest #list

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Four Indian-American lawmakers appointed as members of key US House Committees

    Four Indian-American lawmakers appointed as members of key US House Committees

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    Washington: Four Indian-American lawmakers– Raja Krishnamoorthi, Pramila Jayapal, Ami Bera and Ro Khanna– have been appointed as members of key US House Committees, reflecting the growing influence of the community in American politics.

    Congressman Krishnamoorthi was appointed on Wednesday (local time) to serve as Ranking Member on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

    “I’m grateful to Leader Jeffries for appointing me to serve as Ranking Member on the House Select Committee on Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party,” said Krishnamoorthi.

    Krishnamoorthi further stated that China poses serious economic and security threats to the United States and to democracy and prosperity across the globe, illustrated by its threats against Taiwan’s democracy, its weaponization of TikTok, and its theft of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of American intellectual property.

    “I look forward to working with my colleagues in both parties on this committee to counteract the CCP’s escalating aggression and ensure that our nation is prepared to overcome the economic and security challenges that the CCP presents to our country,” said Krishnamoorthi.

    Another Indian-American Congressman Khanna has also been made a member of this new committee, formed in the 118th Congress by Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the specific purpose of investigating and developing policy to address the United States’ economic, technological and security competition with the CCP.

    “I am honored to be appointed to the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party,” said Khanna. “I plan to use my seat on the committee to bring attention to our trade deficit with China while also working to address the security risk China poses to Taiwan.”

    “I take my role as the representative for the only majority Asian American community in the continental United States very seriously. We can be tough on the Chinese Communist Party while unequivocally condemning anti-Asian racism and the increase in hate crimes targeting the Asian American community,” said Khanna.

    Indian-American US Representative Pramila Jayapal has been named Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement, making her the first immigrant to serve in a leadership role for the subcommittee.

    “As the first South Asian woman elected to the US House of Representatives and one of only two dozen naturalized citizens in Congress, I am honoured and humbled to serve as the Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement,” Jayapal said in a press release.

    Jayapal is the first immigrant in recorded committee history to serve as either Ranking Member or Chair of this Subcommittee, the media release said.

    Calling it “extremely meaningful”, Jayapal said in the media release that she will now be in a position to better move the needle and recenter broken immigration system around dignity, humanity, and justice.

    The Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement will be chaired by Tom McClintock and has jurisdiction over immigration law and policy, naturalization, border security, refugee admissions, non-border immigration enforcement and other various issues.

    While Indian-American Congressman Ami Bera was appointed as a member of the influential US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence for the 118th Congress.

    The Intelligence Committee is charged with providing oversight of the nation’s intelligence activities, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the National Security Agency (NSA) and military intelligence programmes.

    “I am honored to be appointed by Leader Jeffries to serve on the House Intelligence Committee, which plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety and national security of the United States,” Bera said in the press release.

    He further said, “At a time of increased threats, both at home and abroad, I take seriously this new role and the responsibility entrusted to me to protect and defend American families.”

    Bera stressed that he looks forward to working with committee members to ensure that intelligence agencies of US operate effectively to keep the nation safe.

    “With my decade of experience working on critical national security issues, I look forward to working with Committee members from both sides of the aisle to ensure our intelligence agencies are operating effectively to keep our nation safe,” Bera further said.

    US Congressman Ami Bera also serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

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    #IndianAmerican #lawmakers #appointed #members #key #House #Committees

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Indian-American Nikki Haley expected to announce US Prez bid

    Indian-American Nikki Haley expected to announce US Prez bid

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    Washington: Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley is expected to announce her bid for the 2024 US election run as she sent out invitations for a ‘special announcement’.

    Taking to Twitter, Haley wrote, “My family and I have a big announcement to share with you on February 15th! And yes, it’s definitely going to be a Great Day in South Carolina!”

    She has sent out invitations for a “special announcement” on February 15 when she is expected to declare her 2024 US presidential run.

    Earlier, Fox News reported that Haley feels that she could be the ‘new leader’ to take the country in a new direction and that Joe Biden may not get a second term as US President.

    The former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations said she plans to run for the presidency in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.

    “Well, when you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things. Your first look at, ‘does the current situation push for new?’ The second question is, ‘am I that person that could be that new leader?’ You know, on the first question, you can look all across the board, domestic, and foreign policy. You can look at, you know, inflation going up, the economy shrinking, government getting bigger, you know, small business owners not being able to pay their rent. Big businesses getting these bailouts, all of these things warrant that, yes, we need to go in a new direction,” said Haley.

    “So do I think I could be that leader? Yes, But we are still working through things and we’ll figure it out. I’ve never lost a race. I said that then I still say that now. I’m not going to lose now,” she added.

    Haley, 51, then listed her accomplishments in her career, saying that as governor, she took on a state that was hurting and made it “the beast of the Southeast.” Then, she said, as ambassador to the United Nations, she “took on the world when they tried to disrespect us.”

    Haley served as ambassador to the UN under President Donald Trump for the first two years of his presidency, from 2017 through 2018.

    If she launches a presidential bid, Haley will face her former boss in the GOP primary. Trump, the only president impeached twice, announced a third presidential campaign in November.

    Haley, who resigned from the Trump administration in October 2018, said she had done a great job as governor and ambassador.

    Haley, the second Indian-origin governor of Louisiana after fellow Republican Bobby Jindal, said it was time for new leadership in the Republican Party. During the interview, Haley also emphasized that President Biden, a Democrat, should not be given a second term. The next US presidential election will be held on November 5, 2024.

    Before serving in the federal government, Haley was the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. She had previously served as a member of the state House of Representatives.

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    #IndianAmerican #Nikki #Haley #expected #announce #Prez #bid

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Indian-American named chair of Washington state Democrats

    Indian-American named chair of Washington state Democrats

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    Washington: The Washington State Democratic Party has chosen Shasti Conrad as its new chair, making her the youngest and first Indian-American woman to serve as a state party chair anywhere in the country.

    Conrad, 38, a political consultant and former leader of the King County Democrats, takes over from Tina Podlodowski, who had served as party chair since 2017.

    “I’m so honored to have the opportunity to serve as Chair of our state party and build on the outstanding success Washington Democrats have earned at the ballot box for the last six years,” she said in a statement.

    “I’m excited to work with Democratic leaders from every community to build an unprecedented field operation that will carry the message of how Washington Democrats are delivering for working families to each and every voter.”

    Conrad assumes leadership of an organization whose voter contact operation has played a key role in Democrats’ statewide electoral dominance since the 2016 election, the Washington State Democratic Party said in a statement.

    She has worked on political campaigns since 2008 when she got her start as a field organizer working for then-Senator Obama’s primary campaign.

    Since then, she’s worked on three more presidential races and concluded the 2020 cycle as Senator Bernie Sanders’ National Director of Surrogates.

    Locally, Conrad served as Chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr County Democrats from 2018 to 2022, where she raised nearly $300,000 for a county party organization mired in debt when she first took office.

    Under her leadership, the King County Democrats’ field operation helped flip six city councils and a County Council seat held by Republicans for 20 years, the party statement read.

    “After six years serving as the Chair of the Washington Democrats, I’m thrilled to pass on the torch to my friend Shasti Conrad. Shasti has been a force in Washington Democratic politics for over a decade as a staffer on three presidential campaigns and a successful chair of the largest county party organization in the state,” said Podlodowski, the outgoing party chair.

    Conrad was named as one of the “40 Under 40” by the American Association of Political Consultants, and one of the most influential people in Seattle Politics by Seattle Met Magazine.She received her Master’s in Public Affairs from Princeton University and her B.A. with Honors distinction from Seattle University.

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    #IndianAmerican #named #chair #Washington #state #Democrats

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Indian-American councillor faces heat from anti-drag protesters

    Indian-American councillor faces heat from anti-drag protesters

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    New York: Indian-American New York City Councillor Shekar Krishnan is facing the ire of protesters for supporting drag queens reading out to children in public libraries.

    Krishnan, who is the Council Member for District 25, came home last week to find anti-drag protesters shouting slurs and vandalizing the sidewalk outside his home in Jackson Heights.

    “…after a meaningful day of reflection on Dr (Martin Luther) King, I came home to homophobic and transphobic protesters outside my door, again, vandalizing the sidewalk & shouting slurs with my children inside,” Krishnan wrote on his Twitter handle.

    The protesters screamed “Shekar is a pedophile, he is a groomer” when his wife and children were inside the house.

    “This disgusting behavior is another reminder of the work ahead of us,” Krishnan, the first Indian-American ever elected to the City Council in history, tweeted.

    A civil rights lawyer and a long-time community activist, he stated that the New York City Council is committed to Drag Story Hour and to LGBTQIA+ communities across the city.

    “This @NYCCouncil is committed to Drag Story Hour. With every display of hate, our commitment to love and inclusivity only grows,” Shekar wrote in his tweet.

    The next Drag Story Hour in Jackson Heights is on February 24.

    Krishnan was also targeted in October last year when Drag Story Hour protesters defaced his district office with spiteful graffiti.

    He told CBS News that vile messages also clog his social media and phone lines because he supports Drag Story Hours, activity parents can choose for their kids or they can avoid.

    Last week, drag opponents vandalized Councilman Erik Bottcher’s office and home for supporting the Drag Story Hour event in Manhattan.

    Drag Story Hour protests have been on a rise in the US for the past few weeks, with demonstrators calling it “inappropriate” and that “it should not exist”.

    These Drag Story Hour events usually hosted at public libraries and bookshops — are aimed at children aged between three and 11 years, to introduce them to diverse role models and LGBTQ+ people.

    The first event was founded in San Francisco by LGBTQ+ author and activist Michelle Tea in 2015, who said she came up with the concept as a child-friendly way to introduce her young son to LGBTQ+ culture.

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    #IndianAmerican #councillor #faces #heat #antidrag #protesters

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )

  • Indian-American Nikki Haley hints at exploring 2024 US presidential run

    Indian-American Nikki Haley hints at exploring 2024 US presidential run

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    Washington: Indian-American Republican leader Nikki Haley has said that she feels she could be the “new leader” to take the country in a new direction and that Joe Biden may not get a second term as US President, reported Fox News.

    The former South Carolina governor and US ambassador to the United Nations said she plans to run for the presidency in an interview with Fox News on Thursday.

    “Well, when you’re looking at a run for president, you look at two things. You first look at, ‘does the current situation push for new?’ The second question is, ‘am I that person that could be that new leader?’ You know, on the first question, you can look all across the board, domestic, and foreign policy. You can look at, you know, inflation going up, the economy shrinking, government getting bigger, you know, small business owners not being able to pay their rent. Big businesses getting these bailouts, all of these things warrant that, yes, we need to go in a new direction,” said Haley.

    “So do I think I could be that leader? Yes, But we are still working through things and we’ll figure it out. I’ve never lost a race. I said that then I still say that now. I’m not going to lose now,” she added.

    Haley, 51, then listed her accomplishments in her career, saying that as governor, she took on a state that was hurting and made it “the beast of the Southeast.” Then, she said, as ambassador to the United Nations, she “took on the world when they tried to disrespect us.”

    Haley served as ambassador to the UN under President Donald Trump for the first two years of his presidency, from 2017 through 2018.

    If she launches a presidential bid, Haley will face her former boss in the GOP primary. Trump, the only president impeached twice, announced a third presidential campaign in November.

    Haley, who resigned from the Trump administration in October 2018, said she had done a great job as governor and ambassador.

    Haley, the second Indian-origin governor of Louisiana after fellow Republican Bobby Jindal, said it was time for new leadership in the Republican Party. During the interview, Haley also emphasized that President Biden, a Democrat, should not be given a second term. The next US presidential election will be held on November 5, 2024.

    Before serving in the federal government, Haley was the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. She had previously served as a member of the state House of Representatives.

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    #IndianAmerican #Nikki #Haley #hints #exploring #presidential #run

    ( With inputs from www.siasat.com )