Kelly Yoshimura is an 11th grader from San Pedro, California, and comes from a Japanese-Mexican-American background. She has a special interest in sociology and political science and is a member of the Asian Hispanic Empowerment Organization. During Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we celebrate Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States and pay tribute to the generations who have enriched and strengthened our nation. #UnidosSomosUno

Feeding America, the nation's largest food bank network, is reporting a 60% increase in demand at food banks over the last year. “Never in our history as a network have we seen something that has impacted so many food banks across the country so quickly,” says Zuani Villarreal, director of communications at Feeding America.

There are reassuring words from doctors about the new covid strain in the UK. “We know that social distancing and wearing a mask still work. And there is evidence that the vaccines will work with this new mutation as well,” says Dr. Payal Patel, an infectious disease physician at the University of Michigan.

The U.S. has more covid-19 patients now than ever before. Los Angeles county is in crisis and New York is taking measures to prevent the new strain in the UK from reaching its borders. Meanwhile vaccinations continue, the first doses of the Moderna vaccine are already being administered.

President Trump is downplaying a massive cyberattack on the government after Secretary of State Mike Pompeo linked the attack to Russia. To talk about this massive data breach we spoke to Max Bergmann, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

The UK is under an emergency lockdown for the holidays as a new more contagious strain of covid-19 spreads. Meanwhile, in the U.S. an average of 250,000 cases is being reported daily with hopes the newly approved Moderna vaccine helps accelerate the inoculation process.