The Tokyo High Court’s decision to dissolve the Unification Church last week marks the final chapter of a controversial religious organization that has “exerted significant influence in Japan since the 1960s,” said The New Yorker. Its end was sealed not long after Japanese Navy veteran Tetsuya Yamagami, who assassinated former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 because of Abe’s affiliation with the church, was given a life sentence in January.

Founded in South Korea by Sun Myung Moon, the church and its followers, called Moonies, has promoted a “theological mix of Christian Messianism, Cold War anti-Communism, pro-natalism and self-adulation,” said The New Yorker. Around the same time that the church was founded, Moon “befriended” Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, a “war criminal who later served as prime minister” and head of the Liberal Democrats, Abe’s future party. 

Forced compensation 
The church has used “coercive tactics to solicit large donations” from its members, said The Japan Times. And a lower court ruled last year that it had “committed acts in violation of laws and regulations that can be recognized as significantly harming the public welfare.” There has been “intense societal focus on the rulings” due to the “scope of harm” the organization has caused across the country. Under the Religious Corporations Act, the church will be forced to compensate about 1,500 people with “damage fees totalling approximately ¥20.4 billion” ($130 million). 

The church will also lose its title as a religious organization and can continue only as a “voluntary organization,” so it will lose tax benefits. Even if it appeals the decision to the Supreme Court, the liquidation process can proceed immediately. 

‘Exploiting fears’ 
The Unification Church has faced global scrutiny since the “shock assassination” of Abe, said the BBC. Yamagami, who has appealed his sentence for the killing, “held a grudge” against the prime minister over his links to the organization because it “bankrupted his family.” 

Investigators revealed “close ties with many conservative lawmakers” and found that the church “coerced” followers into “buying expensive items” by “exploiting fears about their spiritual well-being.” To combat the “universal threat” of cults like the Unification Church, Japan should “draw on foreign legal frameworks like France’s anti-cult laws,” said Nippon.com. This is an “ongoing human rights crisis that can no longer be ignored.”

Artificial intelligence is losing its stock. More investors are opting to put their money into industries that are less likely to be affected by the technology and selling off shares of companies that are more likely to be impacted by AI. While this may not become a long-term investment choice, it points to skepticism about whether artificial intelligence truly benefits the economy.

What’s HALO trading?
“HALO” stands for “heavy assets, low obsolescence.” This means investing in businesses “less vulnerable to being supplanted by AI,” including companies operating “pipelines, utilities, transportation infrastructure, factories and ports,” said Bloomberg. These are companies that “you cannot type something in a prompt and disrupt,” Josh Brown, the chief executive at Ritholtz Wealth Management who coined the term, said to The Wall Street Journal.

HALO trading also goes hand-in-hand with AI scare trading, defined as selling “all things AI-linked,” said Bloomberg. AI scare trading has “been on a bender this year, steamrolling entire industries based on the flimsiest of evidence that the technology is coming for them,” said Axios. HALO trading, on the other hand, is a more recent occurrence and is “why many real-world sectors are outperforming this year, even as the overall market and especially tech stocks have floundered,” said CNBC. 

What’s the future of investing?
HALO trading may be a temporary trend or “another iteration of the jitters that have periodically rippled through markets since the AI investing boom began,” said the Journal. Still, there are some recent signs that it has been decreasing. Tech shares have already “regained some ground this past week, with the Nasdaq besting the Dow industrials,” and stock values went up “after the news that the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down” President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.

“We are in a new chapter, and I think that chapter is going to be defined by companies proving” their longevity, Jed Ellerbroek, a portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, said to the Journal. “Hype isn’t cutting it anymore.”

Christoph Gloetzner of Germany competes in the men’s alpine skiing combined standing super-G event at the 2026 Winter Paralympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. China leads in the medal count with 23, while the U.S., Germany and Ukraine are tied for second with 10.  
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP

In a world that’s more connected than ever, loneliness persists and is on the rise. It’s easier to make friends as a child, teen or young adult in college, due to shared activities and forced proximity. But making new friends as a grown-up can be daunting if you are unsure where to start. These steps will assist you on your journey to building lasting connections in adulthood.

Invest in weak ties
When looking for new friends, “don’t expect big relationships to start immediately,” said Psychology Today. Start by building relationships with people you already know who you “might want to spend a little more time with.” Investing in these “weak ties” can lead to “big improvements in social health and well-being,” said Gillian M. Sandstrom and Elizabeth W. Dunn in a 2014 paper.

Optimize your calendar
As adults, we become busier than ever. “Despite your best intentions,” if you don’t schedule it, you “likely won’t do anything about making more friends,” said Verywell Mind. Instead, “set aside time to call the person from your book club that you really connect with.” 

Be vulnerable
It can be difficult to share personal information with virtual strangers, but doing so could be the key to building lasting relationships. When you talk about the things that are “actually on your mind, everyone can relate,” Dorothy Li, the CEO and co-founder of RealRoots, a startup aimed at making people less lonely, said to The Washington Post. “Vulnerability invites vulnerability,” said the Post.