Indian Americans Vivek Murthy, Arun Majumdar among likely in Joe Biden Cabinet

Agencies
November 18, 2020

Washington, Nov 18: Two eminent India-Americans, including former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, are among the potential Cabinet picks in the next Biden-Harris Administration, according to media reports.

Murthy, who currently is the top Indian-American advisor to President-elect Joe Biden on Covid-19, is a potential pick for the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services and Stanford University Professor Arun Majumdar for the post of Secretary of Energy, The Washington Post and Politico said in their reports on Tuesday that mentions a list of potential picks for various Cabinet-level positions in the Biden administration.

Murthy, 43, is currently one of the co-chairs of the Covid-19 advisory board of the transition. He has been a close associate of Biden on coronavirus issues.

Similarly, Majumdar, a professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford who served as the first director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, has been a top advisor to Biden on energy related issues, the reports said.

“The office, which is an incubator for nascent energy technologies, has enjoyed bipartisan support in Congress, which may bode well for his chances of being confirmed by the Senate,” reported The Washington Post.

Among other potential names for energy secretary are Ernest Moniz, former secretary of energy; Dan Reicher, Stanford University scholar and Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, former deputy secretary of energy.

For replacing Alex Azar as Secretary of Health and Human Services, two other potential names are Mandy Cohen, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and Michelle Lujan Grisham, New Mexico governor.

Murthy was one of the public health experts who briefed Biden frequently about the pandemic during the campaign, the reports said.

Murthy became the 19th US Surgeon General at the end of 2014, slightly more than a year after his nomination by President Barack Obama.

His nomination had been held up in the Senate for just over a year, largely because of his view that gun violence poses a public health threat.

During his tenure, he issued a landmark report on drug and alcohol addiction, calling it “a moral test for America” and placing it among reports his predecessors had produced to draw attention to other major public health threats, such as tobacco use, AIDS, the need for physical activity.

Since leaving the government, he has written and spoken out about loneliness.

He was a vice admiral in the US Public Health Service’s commissioned corps and is trained in internal medicine.

Majumdar is the Jay Precourt Provostial Chair Professor at Stanford University, a faculty member of the Departments of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering (by courtesy) and co-Director of the Precourt Institute for Energy, which integrates and coordinates research and education activities across all seven Schools and the Hoover Institution at Stanford.

He is also a faculty in Department of Photon Science at SLAC.

In October 2009, Majumdar was nominated by President Obama and confirmed by the Senate to become the Founding Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E), where he served till June 2012 and helped ARPA-E become a model of excellence and innovation for the government with bipartisan support from Congress and other stakeholders.

After leaving Washington, DC and before joining Stanford, Majumdar was the Vice President for Energy at Google, where he created several energy technology initiatives, especially at the intersection of data, computing and electricity grid.

President-elect Joe Biden has said that his Cabinet would be the most diverse ever.  

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News Network
November 22,2025

gaza.jpg

The Israeli regime’s forces have killed two Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip every day since the ceasefire began in early October, UNICEF has warned.

The UN children’s agency said on Friday that Israeli forces continue to attack Palestinians in Gaza even though the agreement was meant to stop the killing.

“Since 11 October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more have been injured. That is an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said in Geneva, reminding that each number in the statistics represents a child whose life had ended violently.

“These are not statistics,” he said. “Each child had a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them.”

Data from Palestinian factions, human rights groups, and government bodies recorded since the US-brokered ceasefire deal went into effect on October 10 show that Israeli forces have carried out numerous attacks, each constituting a separate ceasefire violation.

UNICEF teams say they repeatedly continue to witness heart-wrenching scenes of fearful Palestinian children sleeping outdoors with amputated limbs, while others live as orphans in flooded, makeshift shelters.

“I saw this myself in August. There is no safe place for them. The world cannot normalize their suffering,” Pires said, lamenting that the UN could “do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster.”

The UNICEF spokesperson warned that with the advent of winter, the risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children will increase.

He warned, “The stakes are incredibly high” for children as winter acts as a threat multiplier, where children have no heating, no insulation, and few blankets. He said respiratory infections rise.

“Too many children have already paid the highest price,” Pires said. “Too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it would stop and that we would protect them.”

“Now we must act like it,” the UNICEF spokesperson added.

Since the Israeli regime launched its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023, it has killed nearly 70,000 people in the territory, most of them women and children, and injured over 170,000 more, while reducing most of the structures in the enclave to rubble.

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News Network
November 21,2025

Bantwal: A domestic dispute appears to have led to a violent confrontation in BC Road area, where the owner of a textile shop was allegedly attacked with a knife by his wife on Wednesday evening.

Krishna Kumar Somayaji, the owner of Somayaji Textiles, sustained serious injuries in the incident and was immediately taken to a hospital for treatment. He is currently receiving care in the intensive care unit and is reported to have survived the assault, according to police.

The Bantwal Town police have registered a case against Somayaji's wife, Jyothi KT, who has since been taken into custody.

Police stated that the complainant, Namita, an employee at the shop, reported the sequence of events. She stated that around 7 p.m. on Wednesday, the suspect entered the shop, wearing a burqa and disguised as a customer, before attacking Somayaji with a knife. The employee then transported the injured owner to a local hospital via an autorickshaw.

Superintendent of Police Arun K confirmed that an ongoing domestic dispute between Somayaji and his wife reportedly preceded the attack. Police noted that Jyothi KT had previously visited the shop and issued threats.

Based on the complaint, Bantwal Town police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Indian Arms Act-1959. An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

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News Network
November 24,2025

Mangaluru, Nov 24: The original departure time of 11.10 pm was a distant memory for scores of Dammam-bound passengers at Mangaluru International Airport last Friday night, as their Air India Express flight was abruptly cancelled at the eleventh hour, sparking hours of frustration and chaos.

The flight, IX 885, initially scheduled to depart at 11.10 pm on November 22, was subject to two back-to-back reschedules—first pushed to 11.45 pm and then significantly postponed to 1.40 am—before the final, crushing announcement of cancellation was made. For the travellers, many of whom are likely expatriate workers with tight schedules, the last-minute change marked the beginning of a distressing ordeal.

"There was no drinking water, no food, and absolutely no proper guidance. We were left stranded like refugees," complained a stranded passenger.

According to multiple passenger accounts, the airline's ground staff failed to provide adequate support or essential amenities following the cancellation. Complaints poured in about the total absence of drinking water, food provisions, and any reliable guidance from the carrier's representatives. Travellers alleged they were left stranded for a considerable period, with no immediate arrangements or clear communication offered regarding accommodation or alternative travel to send them back home.

The incident has highlighted serious concerns over the carrier's contingency planning and customer service protocols during flight disruptions at one of India's key international gateways. The airline is yet to issue a comprehensive statement addressing the alleged lapse in passenger care.
 

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