A political commentator said journalists are canaries in a coal mine at a lecture in Schoenberg Hall on Wednesday. “Press plays an absolutely vital role,” said Fareed Zakaria, a Washington Post columnist and the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS. Read more...

Photo: Fareed Zakaria, the host of CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS and a Washington Post columnist, was this year’s speaker at the Daniel Pearl Memorial Lecture Series. He talked about government attacks on the press, U.S. relations with China and North Korea and the state of democracies in the world. (Emma Skinner/Daily Bruin)

UCLA said it has no plans to shut down a Chinese language and culture center affiliated with the Chinese government, despite comments from federal authorities who believe the center expands China’s political influence. Read more...

Photo: The UCLA Confucius Institute will continue to operate, the university said, despite concerns from federal authorities that the institutes expand China’s political influence. (Liz Ketcham/Daily Bruin)