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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., surfaced a range of fresh opinions on the future of AI policy from economic and academic experts this week as he is working on possible legislation that could provide tax credits to companies developing AI tech as an inducement to give their employees more of a stake in the success of those firms.

SAN JOSE -- Communities across the Bay Area continue their efforts to try and address the homelessness crisis and Santa Clara County just received some help from the federal government.

"Every day, I hear from people – and I see it myself – people living in tents. It's really unacceptable," said Rep. Zoe Lofgren, CA-18.

The artificial intelligence craze has swept through Washington this past year, with lawmakers increasingly paying attention to the ways the tool can be harnessed — or cause harm. 

But according to Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who represents parts of Silicon Valley, a critical voice is getting short shrift in those talks: academics who have spent their lives studying AI. 

Many told him that “academic expertise was being ignored in Washington,” he said during an interview this week. 

A bipartisan group of more than two dozen House lawmakers plans to send a letter to President Biden on Friday arguing that he must seek authorization from Congress before launching additional strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

While the signatories comprise a small portion of the House of Representatives, their letter marks some of the strongest opposition to date to Biden’s handling of the widening hostilities in the Middle East. It follows a letter from four senators of both parties earlier this week questioning the strategic and legal rationale for the strikes.

Antisemitic incidents have exploded on college campuses (and elsewhere) since Oct. 7. For the first time since the war in Gaza began, a bipartisan group of congressmen, with a stalwart progressive leading the charge, has come up with a constructive response. And boy, do we need one.

Today, I’m talking with Representative Ro Khanna. He’s a Democrat from California, and he’s been in Congress for about eight years now, representing California’s 17th District. It’s arguably the highest-tech district in the entire country.

You’ll hear him say a couple times that there’s $10 trillion of tech market value in his district, and that’s not an exaggeration: Apple, Intel, and Nvidia are all headquartered there. He’s also got a big chunk of Google’s offices. So, you know, no big deal.

As members of Congress return to Capitol Hill next week, U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna will continue his fight for a lasting cease-fire in Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 22,600 Palestinians.

"We need this war to stop. It is a humanitarian catastrophe," the California Democrat told Common Dreams in an interview Friday, as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his fourth trip to the Middle East in three months.

Most modern Democrats (and a handful of Republicans) have their personal story of coming around to support LGBTQ+ rights. Their child came out and told them about being bullied. One of their friends was discriminated against. A family member had a heart-to-heart with them about the violence they’ve faced. A staff member with a “wonderful” partner couldn’t get married. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) doesn’t. He didn’t need one.