Jill Biden's policy director Mala Adiga has roots in Udupi
Mangaluru: The appointment of Mala Adiga as policy director of Jill Biden, the first lady of US president-elect Joe Biden, has brought joy to Kakkunje village in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district.
She belongs to the family of K Suryanarayana Adiga, founder of the erstwhile undivided Dakshina Kannada districts private sector Karnataka Bank Limited, and Aravind Adiga, who won theMan Booker prize in 2008.
Mala Adiga is the niece of Nirmala Upadhya who is her fathers elder sister. She told reporters in Kundapur that Mala is an affectionate and lovely girl. She treasures relationships and has her roots firmly in India, Nirmala said.
Nirmala, 87, said Mala had called her up on Saturday to share the news of being made a senior staffer at White House when Biden takes office as President of the USA in January. She had congratulated on the new responsibility.
Malas father Dr Ramesh Adiga (84) is the second among three siblings. He had left for the US when he was 25 to hone his skills as a vascular surgeon. Malas mother Jaya Adiga had studied medicine in Vellore.
Nirmala recalled meeting Mala at a family get-together in Bengaluru in 2019. Nirmala had then travelled with her daughter Sujatha Nakkatthaya and family to Bengaluru in November 2019.
Mala had come to Bengaluru with husband Charles and daughter Asha to attend the event with her parents. They had come to Kundapur seven years ago and had fallen in love with the beaches there.
She had offered puja at the Kakkunje temple and they visited their ancestral house in Babbarianakatte.
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8 children between ages of 1 and 14 dead after mass shooting in Louisiana, police say
Shreveport(US) (AP): A gunman in Louisiana killed eight children in shootings at two different homes early Sunday in the nation's deadliest mass shooting in more than two years, police in Shreveport said.
The victims ranged in age from one to about 14 years old, said Shreveport police spokesperson Chris Bordelon. A total of 10 were shot and some of the children were related to the suspect, Bordelon said.
The gunman later died after a chase with officers who fired at the suspect, Bordelon said. The suspect stole a car while leaving the scene of the shootings and was followed by police, according to Bordelon.
Police did not release the name of the suspect but did say he was an adult male. The shootings were the result of a “domestic disturbance,” Bordelon said.
Officials said they were still gathering details at the crime scenes south of downtown Shreveport — the two homes and a third location.
“This is an extensive scene unlike anything most of us have ever seen,” he said.
It was the deadliest mass shooting in the US since eight people were killed in a Chicago suburb in January 2024, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.
At a news conference outside the residence where one of the shootings occurred, officials appeared stunned, requesting patience and prayers from the community as they sorted through multiple crime scenes.
“I just don't know what to say, my heart is just taken aback,” Shreveport Police Chief Wayne Smith said. “I cannot begin to imagine how such an event could occur.”
“This is a tragic situation — maybe the worst tragic situation we've ever had,” said Tom Arceneaux, mayor of the city in northwestern Louisiana with about 180,000 residents. “It's a terrible morning.”
Louisiana State Police say their detectives have been asked by Shreveport police to investigate. In a statement, state police say no officers were harmed in the shooting that involved an officer after a police pursuit into Bossier City on Sunday morning.
State police are asking anyone with pictures, video or information to share it with state police detectives.
Louisiana Gov Jeff Landry said in a statement that he and his wife were heartbroken. “We're deeply grateful to the law enforcement officers and first responders working tirelessly on the scene,” he added.
