SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) – Indian American Sowmyanarayan Sampath has been named executive vice president and chief executive officer for Verizon Consumer Group, serving the largest consumer customer base in the United States. Sampath has spent years in the telecom space and previously served as CEO of Verizon Business.

An Indian student, who allegedly urinated on a fellow passenger during a flight from New York to New Delhi has been banned by American Airlines for his unruly behavior. Authorities say Arya Vohra was heavily intoxicated and repeatedly disregarded crew instructions, endangering the safety of the aircraft and fellow passengers.

Republican State Senator Greg Rothman and Democratic state Senator Nikil Saval introduced legislation to make Diwali an official state holiday in Pennsylvania. Nearly 200,000 South Asian residents live in the state and celebrate Diwali as a time of reflection and gathering.

Ravi Kapur contributed to this report.