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The Oregon Zoo welcomes a new baby elephant

The Oregon Zoo welcomes a new baby elephant

Washington Post04-02-2025
PORTLAND, Ore. —
The Oregon Zoo in Portland has welcomed its newest addition, a baby elephant.
Thirty-year-old Asian elephant Rose-Tu gave birth on Saturday after 20 months of pregnancy, the zoo said in a news release. The calf appeared to be a 200-pound (90-kilogram) female, but zoo staff are giving the pair time to bond before conducting a first checkup to confirm weight and sex.
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Alibaba.com Announces Star-Studded Judging Panel for $1 Million CoCreate Pitch Competition's U.S. Final
Alibaba.com Announces Star-Studded Judging Panel for $1 Million CoCreate Pitch Competition's U.S. Final

Yahoo

time4 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Alibaba.com Announces Star-Studded Judging Panel for $1 Million CoCreate Pitch Competition's U.S. Final

70 semi-finalists selected from 20,000+ entries will pitch their product ideas live to Daymond John, Lori Greiner, Simu Liu, Stephanie Mehta and Everette Taylor NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- a leading business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce platform, today announced the celebrity host and judging panel for the U.S. final of its $1 million CoCreate Pitch competition. Slated to take place during CoCreate 2025 Las Vegas on September 4–5, the U.S. final will be hosted by renowned entrepreneur and Shark Tank icon Daymond John. He will be joined by an all-star panel of judges including: Lori Greiner, Star of Shark Tank, Prolific Inventor, Distinguished Entrepreneur & Brand Builder Extraordinaire Simu Liu, Actor best known as the first Asian superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Writer, investor; Chief Content Officer of MiLa; Stephanie Mehta, CEO and Chief Content Officer of Mansueto Ventures, publisher of Inc. and Fast Company; Everette Taylor, CEO of Kickstarter. Meet the Host and Judges Daymond John will serve as the emcee for the U.S. final round of this world's largest product-focused pitch competition. John is the founder and CEO of the iconic lifestyle brand FUBU, growing the global fashion company into an empire generating over $6 billion in sales. For 17 seasons, he has been a staple of ABC's multiple Emmy Award-winning Shark Tank where he is also an original Shark. John has been recognized worldwide for advancing economic opportunity and innovation. Beyond television, he leads The Shark Group, helping businesses craft authentic brand strategies and unlock growth, and is a New York Times Best Selling author for multiple books dedicated to financial education. Lori Greiner, beloved Shark on Shark Tank, holds over 120 U.S. and international patents and has created and marketed over 1,000 products with a 90% success rate on new items launched, making her one of the most prolific inventors of retail and consumer products. Honored with the Sherry Lansing 'Woman of the Year' Award and listed as one of Success Magazine's Top 25 Personal and Professional Development Influencers to Follow. She has earned the nickname "Queen of QVC" for her unmatched success in televised product sales, and will bring her sharp eye for consumer potential and scalability to CoCreate Pitch US Final. Simu Liu made history as the star of the first Asian-fronted movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings". He is also a rising investor, and the Chief Content Officer of MiLa. His Homecoming Fund supports Asian-led startups, and he recently appeared as a guest Dragon on Canada's Dragons' Den. With over 5 million followers, Simu bridges East and West, culture and commerce. Stephanie Mehta, CEO and Chief Content Officer of Mansueto Ventures, publisher of Fast Company and Inc., is one of the most respected leaders in business journalism. 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In ‘Where Are You Really From,' Elaine Hsieh Chou stretches herself outside of satire
In ‘Where Are You Really From,' Elaine Hsieh Chou stretches herself outside of satire

San Francisco Chronicle​

time12 hours ago

  • San Francisco Chronicle​

In ‘Where Are You Really From,' Elaine Hsieh Chou stretches herself outside of satire

Elaine Hsieh Chou loves to write messy, imperfect characters. That's clear to anyone who read her 2022 debut novel, 'Disorientation,' a biting satire about academia, Asian fetishism and the many missteps people take when presenting themselves to the world. For her second book, an edgy story collection called 'Where Are You Really From,' Chou goes one step further in showing readers her range through complex characters in scenarios that cross the lines of genre. In one story that blends elements of science fiction and horror, a sex tourist visits the Hong Kong of the future and finds himself testing the bounds of virtual reality. In another, a mail-order bride is quite literally shipped to the United States, packing peanuts and all, to skirt an immigration ban. 'People just tend to think of you as a writer based on your debut novel, so I was just called a satirist' after the publication of 'Disorientation,' she told the Chronicle in a recent interview. 'But the whole time, I was writing all these other stories in different genres that feed into the same concerns and obsessions.' The result is a collection that surprises readers at every turn of the page. Chou, who grew up partly in the East Bay, draws readers into a diverse array of settings, from the normalcy of the California suburbs to an off-kilter version of Paris that offers a glimpse into an alternate reality. As a writer, Chou makes it clear that she was never solely a satirist. After working concurrently on both manuscripts during her graduate studies at New York University, she sold both books together to Penguin Press in 2020. 'It was a gift to be able to read 'Where Are You Really From' on the heels of 'Disorientation' for the first time,' Chou's editor, Casey Denis, told the Chronicle. 'In this collection, she pushes humor, surrealism, anger and confusion all the way to the edge.' While Denis acquired both books five years ago, 'Where Are You Really From' seems to meet the present in 2025 to an almost uncanny degree with its interest in futuristic themes and its handling of political subjects like immigration and xenophobia. 'The reason her fiction will always meet the moment in this way is because she stretches it just past what's comfortable,' Denis said. 'She's looking behind the walls, and she has an eye on what's coming. She isn't hiding or shrouding reality in any way, which makes it so brave.' Chou said that when putting her second book together, she knew her stories weren't centered around a particular theme or subject. 'I made a lot of cuts and wrote new stories while asking myself what would cohere and make sense for the collection,' she said. 'Ultimately, so much of these stories are about someone's version of the truth based on their own hangups, fears and desires butting up against someone else's perspective of what happened.' For example, well into the sex tourist story, 'Happy Endings,' Chou offers a critical perspective shift from the male client (who, laughably, considers himself morally upright) to the woman who is operating the VR technology in use: 'Some might call her actions a form of revenge, but Eden prefers the word consequence,' she writes. ''Revenge' is amateurish, melodramatic in its very conception, whereas her actions are no different from cleaning up a spill, ironing out a wrinkle, righting a book that's tipped over.' Examining differing perspectives and perceptions of others has been a preoccupation in Chou's work for decades, said one of the author's earliest creative writing instructors, Kim O'Neil. The author of 'Fever Dogs,' O'Neil first encountered Chou as one of her undergraduate students at UC Irvine. 'From the first story I read of hers through today, there's an astuteness and sensitivity she has to complications and how people self-present in the world,' O'Neil said. Now a senior lecturer at University of Illinois Chicago, O'Neil said that she's excited to teach Chou's collection to her students, who are interested in cross-over genres like feminist horror and speculative fiction that surface in 'Where Are You Really From.' Meanwhile, Chou is continuing to push the boundaries of her craft as a storyteller, expanding into the world of screenwriting, which she began teaching herself after turning in her first book. 'And when the writing is good, you're in a trance state. That's when the characters come alive on their own.'

Luke Macfarlane on Developing a Queer Hallmark Christmas Movie and Playing a Straight Character in ‘Platonic': ‘I'm Very Versatile'
Luke Macfarlane on Developing a Queer Hallmark Christmas Movie and Playing a Straight Character in ‘Platonic': ‘I'm Very Versatile'

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Luke Macfarlane on Developing a Queer Hallmark Christmas Movie and Playing a Straight Character in ‘Platonic': ‘I'm Very Versatile'

For many years, Luke Macfarlane was one of only a handful of gay actors who never shied away from playing queer roles. His coming out during a newspaper interview in 2008 coincided with him playing Matthew Rhys' husband on the ABC family drama 'Brothers & Sisters.' But in his latest work, Apple TV+'s 'Platonic,' Macfarlane plays a straight character, Rose Byrne's husband. More from Variety 'Butterfly' Star Piper Perabo on Why Playing the Villain Was 'Relaxing' and Hoping for a Second Season: 'I Want Even More Guns' 'Smoke' Star Jurnee Smollett on Killing [SPOILER] and Filming That Harrowing Car Scene With Taron Egerton 'Surrounded by Fire': 'Your Adrenaline Is Rushing' Daniel Dae Kim on 'Butterfly,' the One Stunt He Wasn't Allowed to Do and the Success of 'KPop Demon Hunters': It Wouldn't Have Been 'Made Even 10 Years Ago' 'Quite simply, like most actors, gay actors, straight actors, we just need someone to say, 'I'm gonna give you a shot,'' Macfarlane told me at the 'Platonic' premiere in Los Angeles. 'The fact is somebody said, 'That guy who just did this movie 'Bros,' where he gets into a lot of very gay stuff, can play a straight guy,' and that's truly because somebody said somebody in power said, 'I'm going to give you a shot.' I'm so grateful to Nick for that opportunity.' Nick is Nicholas Stoller, the director of 'Bros' and co-creator of 'Platonic.' Currently in its second season, 'Platonic' follows the lives — the ups, the downs, and the very hysterical — of best friends Will (Seth Rogen) and Sylvia (Byrne). I joked with Macfarlane about the possibility of not playing gay again. 'I love playing gay,' he said. 'I'll play gay. I'll play straight. I'll do anything. I am very versatile.' In fact, Macfarlane is not only a regular in Hallmark Channel movies with both gay and straight roles, but he's developing an LGBTQ Christmas movie for the network. 'Hallmark is definitely telling queer stories, so I've been trying to find a queer story that would make sense for them…It's very long development,' he said. Macfarlane says queer Hallmark movies offer a break from the very real-world political attacks on the LGBTQ community. 'I think what's interesting with Hallmark is their brand is so intact and part of their brand has never been to be overtly political, at least all the time that I've worked there,' he said. 'For them, it's just continuing to tell stories that really resonate with people that can still be an escape from the difficulties of our current situation.' He added, 'We all have a queer friend, we all have a queer neighbor, we all have a queer brother or sister….It's actually just part of life.' 'Platonic' Season 2, episode 4 premieres on Apple TV+ on Aug. 20. Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: 'The Studio' Poised to Tie Comedy Win Record — and Why Drama is a Two-Horse Race for 'Severance' and 'The Pitt' What's Coming to Disney+ in August 2025 Solve the daily Crossword

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