Latest news with #PrestonCook
Time of India
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Meet Preston Cook, the man who fought for the bald eagle and ensured America got its national bird
After nearly 250 years, the bald eagle has been officially declared the national bird of the United States through bipartisan legislation signed by former President Joe Biden. This corrects a historical oversight, thanks to the decade-long efforts of Preston Cook, an Army veteran and eagle enthusiast, who transformed his passion into a national legislative triumph by lobbying and building coalitions. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Journey of Preston Cook Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Bald eagle: The icon of America It took nearly 250 years, but the bald eagle , the white-crowned raptor long seen as a symbol of American freedom, has officially been declared the national bird of the United States . While in popular notion the bald eagle was embossed as America's national bird, in reality and on paper, it was not. Now, many knew about it, and for nearly two-and-a-half centuries, the bald eagle was projected as the US national President Joe Biden signed the bipartisan legislation into law on December 24, 2024, correcting what many considered a strange oversight in US history. While the bald eagle has adorned seals, currency, passports, and military insignia since 1782, it was never formally recognized in federal law. Preston Cook stands at the centre of this long overdue recognition as the man who gave America its national bird. An 82-year-old Army veteran and self-taught eagle historian, Cook transformed a lifelong obsession into a national legislative passion began in 1966, during his service in the US Army. His brass uniform buttons bore the eagle emblem. 'That symbol was powerful. It stuck with me,' Cook told CNN, seated amid the artifacts of his vast eagle collection at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, spent years collecting everything bearing the eagle's image, military patches, government documents, flags, coins, stamps, even corporate logos. What began as a hobby evolved into a historical archive of over 40,000 items, now considered one of the world's largest eagle-themed even sold his real estate holdings and downsized his life to fund his quest. 'It wasn't just about collecting,' he said. 'It was about documenting how Americans saw themselves through this bird.'Now a retired real estate investor, he lives with his wife in Wabasha, Minnesota, along the banks of the Mississippi River. It is also the home to the National Eagle Centre, where his life's work is now cataloguing eagle references in US law in 2010, Cook made a startling discovery that although the bald eagle was symbolically revered, no statute had ever made it the official national bird.'I couldn't believe it,' he said. 'It was on our passports, our seals, our military uniforms, and yet, not in our laws.'Cook launched the National Bird Initiative, self-financing a modest but persistent lobbying campaign. Over the next decade, he knocked on congressional doors, built coalitions with tribal leaders, veterans' groups, zoos, and conservationists, and drafted the very language that would become across the aisle took notice, and in July 2024, the US Senate unanimously passed the bill. The House approved it by voice vote in December.'He did what the federal government never thought to do,' said Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN), one of the bill's sponsors. 'He gave the bald eagle its rightful place in history.'Many tribes regard the eagle as sacred, and its feathers are used in religious ceremonies and cultural Thunder Hawk, a Dakota elder from the Prairie Island Indian Community, praised the legislation: 'It gives honor to what we've always known. The eagle watches over us. Maybe when the nation sees it that way, we'll see each other differently, too.'Cook made sure the bill included recognition of the eagle's cultural significance to Native communities. 'This had to be more than a patriotic stamp,' he said. 'It had to represent everyone.'Once nearing extinction due to hunting and pesticides like DDT, the bald eagle has made a stunning comeback. There were just 417 nesting pairs in the Lower 48 in 1963. Today, there are more than 300,000 eagles nationwide, according to US Fish and Wildlife.'This legal recognition is more than symbolic,' said Audubon biologist Dr. Maria Delgado. 'It's a chance to recommit to protecting the ecosystems the eagle depends on.'Cook's contributions are immortalized in the National Eagle Center's $27 million expansion, where veterans, schoolchildren, and tourists view his collection. Now in his 80s, he has no plans to slow down and is hoping for a White House ceremony.'I never did this for attention,' he said. 'I did it because the eagle deserved it. And because America needs a unifying symbol, now more than ever.'
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Julia Stiles reveals her secret struggle with disordered eating after industry pressures left her worried about weight gain
Julia Stiles has revealed she secretly struggled with disordered eating and body image issues for years as a result of relentless society and industry pressures. The 10 Things I Hate About You star, 44, who has three children with her husband Preston Cook, adds that only since becoming a mother did she start to heal her relationship with food - and herself. 'In my twenties and early thirties, being an actress, there was so much focus on your appearance and how you're going to fit into certain clothes,' she said. 'I'm not the first person to say this - and even coming from a mother who never emphasised those things - food and all that stuff was so stressful.' Speaking on the latest episode of How to Fail With Elizabeth Day, Julia explained: 'I couldn't help but have a disordered relationship with it all.' From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. She added: 'I'm not talking about an eating disorder - it was just restrictive, regimented, stressful. I always worried that it was going to be out of my control. Like, what if I gain weight? 'There was stress around what your body looks like and trying to mould your body into a certain size. 'As an actress, we go and promote on a red carpet, and we have to wear sample sizes from fashion designers. So it's always, "Are we going to fit into the sample size?"' Julia added that she was once given useful advice from fellow actress Julia Roberts, 57, while they were filming the 2003 movie, Mona Lisa Smile. 'She was an amazing example for us, and she was so maternal with all the young women on that set. She was coming from a lot of experience of being not just a woman, but also a woman where your appearance is focused on so heavily. 'She said to us, "You're going to look back on these photos of you in your twenties and be like, I was beautiful - why didn't I see that?" And she's totally right!' Julia now has three children - Strummer, seven, Arlo, three, and Henry, two - with her husband Preston, a camera assistant whom she met on the set of Blackway. They married in 2017 after a two-year engagement. 'I think my relationship with my body and food and diet and exercise and my appearance radically changed when I had kids,' she continued. Speaking on the latest episode of How to Fail With Elizabeth Day , Julia explained: 'As an actress we have to wear sample sizes. So it's always, "Are we going to fit into it"' (pictured in February 2025) Julia added: 'Being pregnant, nourishing a baby, growing a baby, all that stuff - and then also directing a movie, which is similar to having a baby in some ways - creatively and spiritually. 'When I decided I wanted to have kids, I started looking at things differently: I need this machine to work, so I need to fuel my body and I need to nourish it and I need to fuel this baby and nourish it. And everything just fell into place. I relaxed. 'I naturally wanted to eat the things that were going to make me feel better and help me grow. It all just became easier. 'And having a baby - three babies now - I'm like, woah, my body can do magical, wonderful, amazing things. And when I relaxed and I started to trust it more, everything fell into place. It's doing totally what it's supposed to do.' She has just directed her first feature film, Wish You Were Here, which she says also helped transform her attitude to diet and her body. 'It was the first time I was on a film set - seeing cameras, grips and electrics, hair, makeup, and the costume department - and I wasn't stressed about the snack table,' she said. 'With directing, I'm not focused on every little detail of my appearance. I'm focused outward on the task at hand. So I don't have time to think about all the imperfections. 'I actually need to fuel my body so that I can get through the 15-hour workday... If I have the afternoon to get through and I'm losing energy, I'm going to have some M&M's and I don't care. Or I need this egg sandwich in the morning because I need my brain to focus and I need energy.' Declaring her past body image issues 'a waste of f***ing time', Julia added that, sadly, she believes a lot of women silently struggle with similar problems. 'I've moved on,' she said. 'I've learned to be kinder in the way I think about my body and look at my body - to be kinder to myself but also trust your body... When I got pregnant, had children - even going into labour - trusting my body that it would know what to do just changed everything on a cellular level. And the same thing with directing a movie. 'I would be running on fumes, like, no sleep having just had a five-month-old baby. I didn't have time to think about, am I going to get back in shape to fit into those sample sizes?'
