Gas prices, AI data centers and Trump's long shadow: Top takeaways from the governor's race debate

Los Angeles Times - Oct 1, 2026

The two candidates to become California's next governor painted vastly different portraits of the state they want to lead during a televised CNN debate Wednesday night — though they both agreed the state faces tremendous challenges.

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Oct 1, 2026

P3.4-M ‘shabu’ seized, suspect arrested in Tawi-Tawi buy-bust

COTABATO CITY – Anti-narcotics operatives arrested a high-value target, seizing P3.4 million worth of suspected shabu from him during a drug buy-bust operation in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi on Wednesday night. Abraham Solon Kalim, head of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM) Tawi-Tawi provincial office, identified the suspect as Mahadir Arabani Udja,

Oct 1, 2026

GenZennial Tour brings nat’l issues, vote discussions to GenSan youth

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — A nationwide campus tour is reaching out to young Filipinos to discuss the West Philippine Sea, government accountability and the 2028 elections, as organizers seek to encourage Gen Z voters to take a more active interest in national affairs. Team Pinas brought its “GenZennial Tour” to Mindanao State University-General Santos City

Oct 1, 2026

What to expect from weather, tropical cyclone formations in October

MANILA, Philippines — The state weather bureau has issued the weather conditions and tropical cyclone formations expected for October this year. In the 5 a.m. weather forecast of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) on Thursday, weather specialist Leanne Loreto discussed the looming termination of the southwest monsoon or habagat, the prevailing

Oct 1, 2026

2 crew members injured in tanker fire at Batangas port

LUCENA CITY – Two crew members were injured after a fire of still undetermined origin broke out aboard a motor tanker at a port at Calaca City in Batangas on Wednesday night (Sept. 30). In a report, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) – Southern Tagalog District said the fire started in the engine room of

Oct 1, 2026

UNHCR official to discuss global forced displacement for RAS Korea lecture

Stefan Maier hopes to see millions of refugees in long-term displacement move beyond dependence on humanitarian assistance over the next nine years, under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) "50 by 35" vision. "By 2035, we want to halve the number of refugees who have been displaced for prolonged periods and remain unable to meet their basic needs without humanitarian assistance," Maier, deputy representative for the UNHCR in Korea, told The Korea Times in a recent written interview. "We live in an intensely interconnected world," the Austrian national said. "Forced displacement may begin locally, but its consequences rarely remain local. Conflicts and persecution can uproot millions of people and have repercussions far beyond the countries and regions in which they originate." He cited the arrival of around 550 Yemenis on Jeju in 2018. "I relate to that episode quite personally because I worked in Yemen from 2015 to 2017, at the height of a devastating war and humanitarian crisis," he said. "It illustrates how a conflict that may initially seem geographically dist

Oct 1, 2026

Sungshin Women's University pushes flexible education to meet changing social needs

Sungshin Women's University is rethinking how it responds to the demands of the era of artificial intelligence (AI) — not by endlessly adding new departments, but by tearing down the walls between existing ones. President Yi Seong-keun said universities face constant pressure to keep pace with rapidly changing social and industrial needs, but warned that the reflexive response of creating new departments for every emerging field can simply replace old academic boundaries with new ones. “Society is constantly asking universities to respond to changing needs, but we cannot do that with rigid ways of thinking,” Yi told The Korea Times in a recent interview. “Just as students must adapt to a changing world, universities must evolve with them.” That approach is already reshaping Sungshin’s academic structure. The university has expanded into AI and other advanced fields through its AI Convergence Department and College of IT Convergence, while a new Department of AI Convergence and Semiconductor Engineering will begin admitting students in 2027. Enrollment in advanced fields unde

Oct 1, 2026

Trump announces Alaska LNG project as part of Korea's investment plans

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled South Korea's U.S. investment projects under last year's bilateral trade agreement: the construction of a gas-fired power plant in Texas, eight large-scale nuclear power plants and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Alaska. The announcement followed protracted negotiations over major energy infrastructure projects under the agreement that committed South Korea to investing US$350 billion in the United States -- $150 billion for the shipbuilding sector and the remainder for strategic investments -- in return for lower U.S. tariffs on Korean goods. Trump's explanation of the first investment package under the agreement suggested apparent differences with Seoul's position that the two countries have largely agreed on the Texas and nuclear projects, while Korea's participation in the Alaska project has yet to be finalized. Trump highlighted the investment projects as he has underscored his economic achievements ahead of the November midterm elections amid public concerns over the monthslong war with Iran that has resulted in high energ

Oct 1, 2026

Beyond sponsorship, companies provide technology to sports

Behind Korea’s medal-winning athletes are companies that have been in the sports realm for decades, turning sponsorship into technology, training and long-term support. The approach reflects a major shift in how conglomerates are shaping their support for athletics: Sponsorship is increasingly being used to build a long-term relationship with a sport, rather than simply gaining exposure around major competitions. At the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Korean fencing once again showed the value of that commitment. The national team won 10 medals across men’s and women’s sabre, epee and foil, including four golds. SK Telecom has been backing Korean fencing for 24 years, but its role has evolved far beyond financial support. As the Korean Fencing Federation’s lead sponsor since 2003, the telecom operator has invested 36 billion won ($26.5 million) in the sport, supporting training equipment, overseas competitions and international events. This year, it added artificial intelligence (AI) to that partnership. The Fencing AI Nexus system, developed by the company, uses computer vision an

Oct 1, 2026

Korea, US unveil 3 investments in energy projects

Seoul and Washington unveiled plans for three investment projects in the United States — a $22.3 billion Texas gas-fired power plant for data centers, a framework to build eight large nuclear reactors and a review of an Alaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) project. The projects are part of a $200 billion investment commitment under a Korea-U.S. agreement signed in November 2025, with the two governments seeking to expand cooperation in energy and other strategic industries while creating new openings for Korean suppliers in the U.S. market. "The colossal package of investments we are announcing today is a major step toward securing our critical energy supply chain, ensuring American energy dominance, and making our partnership with South Korea and the entire Pacific region stronger than ever before," U.S. President Donald Trump said during a press conference in Washington, Wednesday (local time). The Texas power plant project, dubbed Project Star, calls for a 6,472-megawatt combined-cycle gas power plant in Encinal to supply electricity directly to artificial intelligence (AI) data cent

Oct 1, 2026

Seoul, Washington pick Texas power plant as 1st project under strategic investment

Korea and the United States have formally selected a gas-fired power plant project in Texas as the first project under Seoul's $350 billion investment commitment to the U.S., the industry ministry said Thursday. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources announced the three projects, including the Texas plant, after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in November last year, under which Korea pledged to invest in the U.S. in return for lower U.S. tariffs on Korean imports. The formal announcement comes after U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday (U.S. time) announced Korea's investment plans at the White House. The investment will comprise $150 billion for shipbuilding cooperation and $200 billion for projects in various strategic sectors. "As taxpayers' money will be injected into the initiative, we have placed top priority on the commercial viability of the projects and the national interest to ensure that not a penny goes to waste," Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan told reporters during a briefing. "We held consultations with the U.S. side while carefully exami

Oct 1, 2026

Unification minister says response to DMZ blast should not derail peace efforts

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has said South Korea's response to the recent North Korean land mine explosion inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) should not undermine efforts to build peace on the Korean Peninsula. In a Facebook post from Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday (local time), Chung said the government should conduct a "thorough investigation" and "truth finding" into the Sept. 21 DMZ blast caused by mines planted by the North and respond accordingly. He said, however, those responses should not "be used as an excuse to belittle or distort our efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula." "We should reflect on why this tragic event repeats and seek more fundamental answers," he added. "In Northern Island, which has turned past tragedy into today's hope, I reaffirm my resolve to end the long-running war on the Korean Peninsula and build a lasting peace regime," he wrote. The minister cut short his trip to Europe after a military investigation found North Korea responsible for last week's land mine explosion inside the DMZ that injured three South Korean soldiers. He had be

Oct 1, 2026

2 US lawmakers welcome Trump's efforts to restart dialogue with N. Korea's Kim

WASHINGTON—Two U.S. Democratic lawmakers have welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's recent efforts to restart talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying dialogue and diplomacy are the "most effective" tools for protecting U.S. national security interests. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) issued a joint statement on Tuesday, underlining their belief that diplomacy with Pyongyang would help address nuclear proliferation concerns and achieve "durable" peace on the Korean Peninsula. Trump has recently expressed his intention to meet Kim later this year, with the White House reiterating that Trump remains open to talks with the North Korean leader "without any preconditions." "We sincerely hope that President Trump will direct the State Department to take steps to lay a foundation for successful, meaningful discussions with North Korea," they said. Those steps could include revisiting the ban on U.S. citizen travel to North Korea; pursuing a formal treaty, legally ending the 1950-53 Korean War; and starting negotiations with North Korea to establish liaison offices

Gas prices, AI data centers and Trump's long shadow: Top takeaways from the governor's race debate

MORE NEWS

P3.4-M ‘shabu’ seized, suspect arrested in Tawi-Tawi buy-bust

GenZennial Tour brings nat’l issues, vote discussions to GenSan youth

What to expect from weather, tropical cyclone formations in October

2 crew members injured in tanker fire at Batangas port

UNHCR official to discuss global forced displacement for RAS Korea lecture

Sungshin Women's University pushes flexible education to meet changing social needs

Trump announces Alaska LNG project as part of Korea's investment plans

Beyond sponsorship, companies provide technology to sports

Korea, US unveil 3 investments in energy projects

Seoul, Washington pick Texas power plant as 1st project under strategic investment

Unification minister says response to DMZ blast should not derail peace efforts

2 US lawmakers welcome Trump's efforts to restart dialogue with N. Korea's Kim

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