Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Bernie Sanders kicks off billionaires tax campaign with choice words for the'oligarchs' Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks Wednesday night at the Wiltern at the formal kickoff of the campaign for the California billionaires tax. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . Populist Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday formally kicked off the campaign to place a billionaires tax on the November ballot, framing the proposal as something larger than a debate about economic and tax policy as he appeared at a storied Los Angeles venue.

Foreign workers in Japan became one of the main topics of all parties in the Feb. 8 Lower House election, which took place just after a Jan. 23 Cabinet decision calling for 1,231,900 foreign workers by March 2029 in 19 sectors facing acute labor shortages. While some parties argued for strictly monitoring foreign nationals or setting quotas on their numbers, especially at the local level, an artificial-intelligence engineer-led party that went into the election with no seats and emerged with 11 proportional representation seats proposed the increased use of AI to replace workers, including foreign nationals, as a solution to concerns about more foreign workers. Team Mirai, founded in May and led by Takahiro Anno, won four seats in the Tokyo block and three in the South Kanto block, along with one seat each in the Tohoku, North Kanto, Tokai, and Kyushu blocks. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories.

In the United States, health insurance is a critical component of individuals' ability to access health care.

Commuters walk along a street on the eve of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi on Sunday. New Delhi - A global artificial intelligence summit kicks off in New Delhi on Monday with big issues on the agenda, from job disruption to child safety, but some attendees warn the broad focus could diminish the chance of concrete commitments from world leaders. While frenzied demand for generative AI has turbocharged profits for many tech companies, anxiety is growing over the risks that it poses to society and the environment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Monday afternoon inaugurate the five-day AI Impact Summit, which aims to declare a shared roadmap for global AI governance and collaboration. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

India plans AI'data city' on staggering scale Information technology minister for India's Andhra Pradesh state, Nara Lokesh, speaks during an interview in New Delhi in January. New Delhi - As India races to narrow the artificial intelligence gap with the United States and China, it is planning a vast new data city to power digital growth on a staggering scale, the man spearheading the project says. The AI revolution is here, no second thoughts about it, said Nara Lokesh, information technology minister for Andhra Pradesh state, which is positioning the city of Visakhapatnam as a cornerstone of India's AI push. And as a nation ... we have taken a stand that we've got to embrace it, he said ahead of an international AI summit this week in New Delhi. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich on Friday. Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi reiterated the importance of the rules-based global order during a speech at the Munich Security Conference while linking the security of the Indo-Pacific to the Euro-Atlantic, as Japan keeps a nervous eye on Chinese military moves in Asia. "The very foundations that have underpinned the international order are being tested by real world actions," Koizumi said Friday "Attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force must never be tolerated. That is why Japan does not view Ukraine as a distant European problem." Following the eruption of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Japan began drawing a link between the two regions, with leaders repeatedly stressing that "Ukraine today could be East Asia tomorrow" -- a not-so-oblique hint at the possibility of a similar regional conflict in the Indo-Pacific, especially one involving China attacking democratic Taiwan.

Risk of missteps hangs over U.S.-backed ceasefire deal in northeast Syria A U.S.-backed ceasefire agreement in northeastern Syria leaves thorny questions unresolved, as Kurds seek to retain some authority despite a much weakened hand following the rapid advance of central government forces. The progress of the deal tests the ability of Syria's new leaders to stabilize a nation fractured by 14 years of war, following several bouts of violence pitting it against minority groups who are suspicious of the Islamist-led government. The struggle for Syria's northeast has brought the biggest shift in control since former leader Bashar Assad was ousted in December 2024. After months of deadlock, Damascus seized swathes of territory from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) before agreeing to the plan that foresees its remaining enclave being integrated into the state. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Advertising promoting ByteDance's cloud and AI service platform Volcano Engine and chatbot Doubao hangs at the Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing on Feb. 5. | AFP-JIJI Beijing - After soaring to global attention with its hugely popular TikTok app, Chinese tech giant ByteDance is now positioning itself as a major player in the fast-evolving AI arena. While the Beijing-based company has been embroiled in a range of legal and privacy rows linked to the social media app for years, its team has been busy branching out developing new cutting-edge products. Among them is China's most popular artificial intelligence chatbot, Doubao, which has built up more than 100 million daily users since its inception in 2023. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son (left) and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman attend an event in Tokyo in February 2025. SoftBank's investment gain on OpenAI stood at an estimated $19.8 billion as of December. SoftBank Group sprang back to a quarterly profit after investment gains from OpenAI neared $20 billion, a promising start for one of CEO Masayoshi Son's signature gambles alongside ByteDance and Alibaba Group Holding. The Tokyo-based company has invested about $34.6 billion in OpenAI, accumulating an 11% stake as of December, and has been in talks to invest as much as $30 billion more in a round that would value the startup at about $750 billion to $830 billion. As of December, SoftBank's investment gain on OpenAI stood at $19.8 billion, the company said Thursday.