President Obama recently signed a bill striking the term "Oriental" from federal law. It was a reminder for NPR's Kat Chow of the fact that her father still uses the word — to describe himself.

Police believe the man leaped from the top of the ritzy Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Columbus Circle shortly after 9 p.m., police and sources said. The unidentified man was pronounced dead at the scene.

To the editor: Objections to “Oriental” can be traced to Edward W. Said’s 1978 book “Orientalism,” in which he analyzes how European intellectuals imagined the “Orient” to stretch ...