"To pay for the journey, he said, he had sold an acre of land for $30,000 and raised $6,000 more by mortgaging two other acres..."

"... and borrowing money from relatives. On a recent day back home in India’s Haryana state, he opened Snapchat on his phone. It was filled with images of friends who have reached the United States, dancing at the Mexican border while their families back home set off fireworks and cut a cake in the shape of an American flag. 'I feel, let me go, too,' he said."

From "Ever more undocumented Indian migrants follow ‘donkey’ route to America" (WaPo)(free access link).

I just want to say that "a cake in the shape of an American flag" is a rectangular cake. That cake was in the shape of every country's flag (save Nepal's). Perhaps the icing nailed it down as a U.S. flag. 

Anyway, I'm a bit touched at the celebrations displaying the Indian's idea of America. It's a terrible shame that we've allowed the process of immigration to become so degraded that people this enthusiastic about our beautiful country can't pursue a legal option.

“The mug shot did good for him. They’re just grasping at straws to try and get him to stop running. And he’s running anyway.”

Said Lydia Lozano of Summerset, S.D., "who wore Mr. Trump’s mug shot on a blue T-shirt with the outline of an American flag," quoted in "‘I’m Being Indicted for You,’ Trump Tells South Dakota Rally/In his first rally since his fourth indictment, the former president focused on his Republican rivals and President Biden, as some in the crowd wore Mr. Trump’s mug shot on their T-shirts" (NYT).

Also, Josh Haeder, South Dakota’s treasurer, proffered a riddle: "How many indictments does it take to steal the presidential election in 2024? Here’s the answer: There’s not enough, because Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States of America."

By the way, how would "the outline of an American flag" look different from the outline of any other flag (I mean, excluding Nepal, etc.)?

Meanwhile, in The Washington Post, there's this modest note from Aaron Blake — "A reminder of how one juror could save Trump."

"It’s all for education. Both my dad and mom were deprived of education, so he worked hard in the mountains."

Said Tenzing Sherpa, the eldest son of the famed Everest guide Apa Sherpa, quoted in "'I See No Future': Sherpas Leave the Job They Made Famous/Perils of the job and a scant safety net are pushing climbing guides to leave the industry and ensure the next generation has other options" (NYT).

Apa Sherpa, 63, moved, with his family, to Utah in 2006. Tenzing Sherpa is an accountant at a biotech firm.

How many young Utahns dream of working as mountain guides and would never consider becoming an accountant?

I enjoyed Arthur Gunn — born in Kathmandu — singing "Girl From North Country" on "American Idol."

The set is the Milwaukee Art Museum. I don't know if they ever mentioned where they were, but it's an unmistakably distinctive building.

"Arthur Gunn" is a stage name, adopted somewhere along the line, after his family moved to Wichita, Kansas. He has a little trouble keeping his eyes from rolling back in his head, but responds well to the advice to keep his eyes open, and is even better with his second song, "Who'll Stop the Rain?" CORRECTION: That is, “have You Ever Seen the Rain?” AND: Despite the title of the video, there right spelling of the last name is Gunn, so I’ve fixed that.

Why shouldn't Nepal take their money?

I'm reading "After Deadly Season On Everest, Nepal Has No Plans To Issue Fewer Permits" at NPR.

Nepal's government doesn't put a specific limit on permits. This year 381 people were permitted to climb – a number the AP says is the highest ever. Foreign climbers must pay a fee of $11,000 for a spring summit of Everest, and provide a doctor's note attesting to their fitness....

In a statement Monday, the tourism board expressed condolences to the bereaved family and friends of those who died, and added that it takes the matter seriously and was "disturbed" by the news.... "As is known, climbing Everest is a hardcore adventure activity, a daunting experience even for the most trained and professional climbers," it said in the statement....

Nice/smart of them to be polite, but it doesn't bother me that Nepal cashes in on this tourism. This is something I thought before I read the headline in The Onion: "World Populace Actually Fine With Rich People Dying On Mount Everest." Nepal might want to think about whether it's getting hurt by tourists or whether the image of crowds is undermining the prestige of climbing the mountain. Maybe just raise the fee. $11,000 isn't enough.

Funchu Tamang, 101 years old, pulled alive from the wreckage of his collapsed house...

... 7 days after the earthquake in Nepal.

"I don’t think the government is doing anything... You can see how many humans are in need."

"This is the corruption and laziness in government... We look at the news, and every country gives us something, but the Nepal government doesn’t give to us."

"A powerful earthquake shook Nepal on Saturday near its capital, Katmandu, flattening sections of the city’s historic center..."

"... and trapping dozens of sightseers in a 200-foot watchtower that came crashing down into a pile of bricks."

Officials in Nepal put the preliminary death toll at 1053, nearly all of them in the valley around Katmandu... The quake set off avalanches around Mount Everest, where several hikers were reported to have died... [T]he most terrible damage on Saturday was to the oldest part of the city, which is studded with temples and palaces made of wood and unmortared brick.

For many, the most breathtaking loss was the nine-story Dharahara Tower, which was built in 1832 on the orders of the queen. The tower had recently reopened to the public, which could ascend a narrow spiral staircase to a viewing platform around 200 feet above the city.... The police on Saturday said they had pulled around 60 bodies from the rubble of the tower....

"A Nepali girl shut off from her family and peers during her decade as a living goddess..."

"... says she's happy to have settled back into normal life..."