Twenty-six crosses stand in a field on the edge of town to honor the 26 victims killed at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Nov. 6, in Sutherland Springs, Texas. A gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, shot and killed the 26 people and wounded 20 others when he opened fire during a Sunday service, Nov. 5. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

America is a strong nation, that has and continues to welcome diversity, but then, senseless killings like the one in New York, Oct. 31, or in Colorado, or the more-recent Texas small town killing of 26 people inside a church, is hurting. The wounds, these incidents – whether acts of terror, or due to someone acting in desperation – leave behind, are deep. The loss, irreplaceable!

A domestically radicalized Uzbek man yelling ‘God is great’ plowed a pickup truck down a crowded bicycle path in New York, Oct. 31, killing eight people and injuring 12 others in the deadliest terror attack on the city since 9/11. President Donald Trump vowed that he will terminate the popular Green Card lottery after the deadly terror attack, writes Lalit K Jha.

The herald of winters and pleasant temperatures has left India gasping for quality air. As per the air quality standards fixed by the World Health Organization, not even a single city in the country qualifies in the bracket of “healthy air.” Yet the nation is askance on how to grapple with this serious issue that has turned fatal in recent years, writes Priyanka Bhardwaj.

India has jumped 30 places to rank 100th in the World Bank’s “ease of doing business.” No doubt, the achievement has been made possible due to series of reforms in taxation, licensing, investor protection and bankruptcy resolution that the Modi government has implemented, writes Siddharth Srivastava.

A notification came though the Interfaith Council of Greater Sacramento that the Gurdwara Sahib Sikh Temple from across the river in West Sacramento had sent out an invitation for the first 500 Non-Sikhs to come to their place of worship and become familiar with their faith, on Sept. 29, writes Ras H. Siddiqui.

Just-retired India pacer Ashish Nehra has made it clear that his farewell from cricket was not decided by the selectors and he was the one who took a call on bidding adieu to the game, writes Abhishek Hore.

In other developments, India set a Guinness world record by cooking 918 kg ‘khichdi,’ a traditional multi-grain dish, at the ongoing global food event, Nov. 4, organized by the Government of India, in New Delhi.

North Texas Food Bank’s newly-formed Indo-American Council, led by local philanthropists Anna and Raj Asava, is launching a signature campaign, the ‘Million Meal March,’ to raise awareness and funds to benefit the North Texas Food Bank. The Council has set a goal of providing access to 1 million nutritious meals via this campaign.

In a recent interaction with visiting Members of Parliament from India, GOPIO brought some of the current issues faced by the Indian American diaspora with respect to the initiatives of the Indian government that included demonetization, Aadhaar, and real estate, among others.

Some Indian companies have already begun providing financial services through blockchain technology, a digital platform secured by cryptography, amid an ongoing debate on the usage of cryptocurrency.

Under updated policy guidance, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is instructing its officers to apply the same level of scrutiny to both initial petitions and extension requests for certain nonimmigrant visa categories. The guidance applies to nearly all nonimmigrant classifications filed using Form I-129, Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker.