The Daily Populous

Sunday February 8th, 2026 evening edition

image for Japan's Sanae Takaichi wins a supermajority after gambling on a snap election

Japan’s conservative prime minister Sanae Takaichi has won a landslide victory after she gambled on a high-stakes snap election.

An NHK exit poll as voting ended earlier on Sunday projected the LDP would win between 274 and 326 seats.

The scale of the win was visible on a board behind Takaichi filled with red paper roses for LDP candidates.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Feb. 8.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate Takaichi, saying he looked forward to promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

Trump endorsed Takaichi in a Truth Social post on Thursday, calling her “a strong, powerful, and wise” leader.

Takaichi’s support was especially high among young people — more than 80%, according to some polls. »

Something supercharged Uranus when Voyager 2 flew past

Authored by sciencedaily.com

When NASA's Voyager 2 spacecraft flew past Uranus in 1986, it made a surprising discovery.

Comparisons with other planets suggested Uranus should not have been able to sustain radiation levels anywhere near what Voyager recorded.

Scientists now believe the conditions Voyager 2 encountered at Uranus may have resembled the powerful solar driven events sometimes seen near Earth. »

California introduces bill to cap ticket re-sale prices

Authored by nme.com
image for

California has introduced a bill to put a limit on ticket re-sale prices.

On Thursday (February 5), California state assemblyman Matt Haney introduced a spot bill titled the California Fans First Act, which would cap the price of a resold concert ticket at no more than 10 per cent above the ticket’s original face value.

If successful, California will follow Maine as the only other US state to have passed a re-sale cap. »

Pro-Ukrainian partisans disable military communication infrastructure in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, group claims

Authored by kyivindependent.com
image for

The pro-Ukrainian Atesh partisan group disabled communication infrastructure in Russia's Belgorod Oblast, the group claimed early on Feb. 8.

"An agent of our movement set fire to a hardware module at the base of a communication tower.

As a result of the destruction of the ground equipment, all the infrastructure installed on the mast was completely de-energized and put out of action," the Atesh group announced. »

Twin Cities tow truck driver returns abandoned vehicles to families after ICE arrests

Authored by cbsnews.com

Juan Leon had only been running his Twin Cities tow truck business, Leo's Towing, for a few months when he noticed a pattern that kept repeating itself.

"Seeing there was a need for someone to help out, help clear the streets and get the people back their vehicles.

Leo's Tow actively tries to locate family members on their Facebook page and hosts podcasts recapping their weeks returning vehicles. »