New York City’s Democratic Mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani does not consider himself to be black — but that did not stop him from checking the “African-American” box in addition to the “Asian” box on his application to attend Columbia University.

The New York Times revealed the information — discovered through a hack of the university and then shared with the outlet — in a report published on Thursday afternoon, just ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend.

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SCOOP: Mamdani Identified as Asian and African American on College Application

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Though both of his parents are of Indian descent, Mamdani was born in Uganda and spent his early childhood there. He has said that he considers himself “an American who was born in Africa,” not black or African American — and instead, he has leaned in to his South Asian ancestry and his Muslim faith.

“As the first South Asian elected official, the first Muslim elected official to ever run for mayor, the turnout in those same communities has been incredible to see,” he said after besting disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo in the primary.

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But, as the hacked data revealed, he did consider himself African American for the purpose of his application to Columbia — and he admitted he’d done the same on other college applications. His explanation was that the available selections did not paint a complete picture of who he was.

“Most college applications don’t have a box for Indian-Ugandans, so I checked multiple boxes trying to capture the fullness of my background,” he said. “Even though these boxes are constraining, I wanted my college application to reflect who I was.”

The Times even appeared to cast doubt on Mamdani’s motivation:

Columbia, like many elite universities, used a race-conscious affirmative action admissions program at the time. Reporting that his race was Black or African American in addition to Asian could have given an advantage to Mr. Mamdani, who was born in Uganda and spent his earliest years there.

In addition, the Times pressed Mamdani on whether he’d ever identified as African American on any other occasion: “The Times could not find any speeches or interviews in which Mr. Mamdani referred to himself as Black or African American.” Mamdani said that outside of college applications, he could not recall ever doing so.

Actor Michael Madsen, best known for appearing in popular Quentin Tarantino films such as “Reservoir Dogs,” “Kill Bill,” and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” has died at the age of 67.

His reps made a joint statement noting that the Hollywood star had been found unresponsive in his Malibu home Thursday morning.

“In the last two years Michael Madsen has been doing some incredible work with independent film including upcoming feature films ‘Resurrection Road’, ‘Concessions’ and ‘Cookbook for Southern Housewives,’ and was really looking forward to this next chapter in his life,” his managers and publicist said in a joint statement, per Variety. 

“Michael was also preparing to release a new book called ‘Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts and Poems’ currently being edited,” it went on. “Michael Madsen was one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors, who will be missed by many.”

Madsen was born in Chicago in 1957 and got his start in the theater. He appeared in hundreds of projects over the course of his career, including  “Donnie Brasco,” “Thelma & Louise,” “Sin City,” “The Doors,” “Species,” “Mulholland Falls,” and “Once Upon a Time in Mexico.”

Besides acting, Madsen also wrote poetry and had several books published. He was married a total of three times. Madsen was arrested for domestic battery in 2024, the outlet noted, following an altercation with his estranged wife. He has one son who died by suicide and six other children, People reported. 

Madsen’s sister is Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen. She released a statement on the occasion of his death, saying, “My brother Michael has left the stage. He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother — etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”

“We’re not mourning a public figure,” the statement continued. “We’re not mourning a myth — but flesh and blood and ferocious heart. Who stormed through life loud, brilliant, and half on fire. Who leaves us echoes — gruff, brilliant, unrepeatable — half legend, half lullaby.”

“I’ll miss our inside jokes, the sudden laughter, the sound of him,” Virginia’s statement concluded. “I’ll miss the boy he was before the legend; I miss my big brother. Thank you to everyone reaching out with love and memory. In time, we’ll share how we plan to celebrate his life — but for now, we stay close, and let the silence say what words can’t.”