Shohei Ohtani is a three-time MVP and a World Series champion . Now he’s about to add another title. Daddy. Ohtani posted to his Instagram account Saturday, announcing the upcoming birth of his and wife Mamiko’s first child. “Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!” he posted under a photo of a pink onesie and baby shoes – with the family dog, Decoy, lying next to the baby gear. A post shared by Shohei Ohtani | 大谷翔平 (@shoheiohtani) Ohtani offered no more details about the baby’s expected arrival – in keeping with the way he guards his private life. In February, Ohtani announced his marriage on Instagram without including any details about the wedding, not even the date, nor his wife’s name, referring to her only as “a normal Japanese woman.” “She is a Japanese woman,” Ohtani said through an interpreter when he announced the marriage during spring training. “I don’t really feel comfortable talking about when I got married exactly, but she’s a normal Japanese woman.” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts joked at the time that Ohtani had kept the marriage such a secret even from his teammates that no one had a chance to shop for wedding gifts. Mamiko Tanaka’s identity was eventually uncovered by the media and she was photographed with Ohtani during the Dodgers’ March trip to South Korea. The couple made occasional appearances together at events throughout the season and were recently spotted together at a Lakers game. Tanaka turned 28 earlier this month and has an athletic background of her own. She played college basketball in Japan and played four seasons professionally for the Fujitsu Red Wave. Ohtani underwent surgery on his left shoulder shortly after the end of the World Series. He partially dislocated the shoulder on a slide during Game 2 against the Yankees. The injury is not expected to prevent him from opening the 2025 season in the Dodgers’ lineup as their designated hitter. But the interruption of his throwing program necessitated by the shoulder rehab will prevent him from being ready to return to pitching until after the season starts. The Dodgers are again scheduled to start the season overseas. They will play two games against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome on March 18 and 19. The domestic opener is scheduled for March 27 at Dodger Stadium against the Detroit Tigers.gettyimagesbank By Lee Gyu-lee In Korea, Christmas has usually been a holiday for people to dine out, with restaurants rolling out holiday-exclusive meals just for the occasion. However, amid rising inflation and the ongoing political turmoil from the recent martial law fiasco, many decided to take the gatherings indoors for more economical and comfortable celebrations, cozying up with loved ones. Amy Kim, 32, decided to host a house party for Christmas this year, seeing it as an opportunity to share a selection of her favorite foods with her friends in a more cost-effective and convenient way, all within the comforts of her home. “I’m planning to celebrate Christmas this year with a party at my house. In that way, I can decorate the house however to my liking and put together all the food and drinks that I want to have at home,” she told The Korea Times. “Franchise bakeries’ Christmas cakes are on sale so I’m going to buy one of them and go to town on it, and for drinks, we’re going to open the bottles of liquor I’ve brought as souvenirs while traveling overseas.” With consumers seeking to plan home gatherings in time for Christmas and the year-end holidays, the food and retail industries are eager to cater to the changing trend. Dessert brand NUDAKE collaborated with K-pop star Jennie for special Christmas desserts. Captured from NUDAKE's Instagram Zigzag, one of the country's major online shopping platforms, reported a dramatic rise in Christmas party-related purchases last month, seeing an increase of 257 percent in sales compared to the previous year. Christmas tree sales jumped by 53 percent, while ornament purchases skyrocketed by almost 10 times, or around 924 percent. The platform has launched a special sale for Christmas party supplies, offering discounts up to 89 percent on Christmas home party-related items until Dec 25. Other e-commerce platforms like Naver and Coupang are also running holiday special campaigns, featuring sales on decorations from Christmas trees and lights to gourmet foods. “We’ve prepared various items to help customers complete their Christmas preparations and hope that through this, you can create warm memories with your family, friends and loved ones at the end of the year,” said Helen Yoon, the head of retail business at Coupang. Festive cakes take center stage Local bakeries and franchises are competing to win over consumers’ hearts with Christmas cakes. Local dessert cafe NUDAKE rolled out special Christmas desserts, in collaboration with K-pop star Jennie of BLACKPINK. The special lineup includes two types of cakes — Jennierubyjane, a white three-tiered cake layered with rose and berry cream, and Rouge Heel, a hazelnut chocolate layered cake designed to look like a red high heel — along with confections like the cookie Cameo, adorned with Jennie's image, and a panna cotta named Cotta. Starbucks Korea collaborated with the hotel chain Josun Hotels and Resorts to introduce the holiday special Josun Deli Noel Tree Cake, a 22-centimeter-high cake layered with ganache and black velvet sheets in the shape of a Christmas tree. Priced at 89,000 won ($63), it is the most expensive Christmas cake Starbucks has released, yet it garnered huge popularity, selling out just 13 minutes after opening for preorders last month. Paris Baguette released a variety of seasonal Christmas cakes. Courtesy of SPC Group Major bakery franchise chains Paris Baguette and Tous les Jours are showcasing Christmas-themed cakes as well, offering discounts on preorders. Under the theme “Wish you a Happy Holiday,” Paris Baguette has begun promotions on seasonal cakes, showcasing a fur hat-shaped Wish Cake and a white tree-shaped Wishing Tree Cake. Tous les Jours presented a Holiday Wish Candle cake, made with strawberry compote, and the fruit-flavored Christmas tree-themed Twinkle Mango Tree cake. Retail chains are also in the play with more affordable options for cakes under 10,000 won. GS25 partnered with local dessert brand AUFGLET and animation character brand Gaspard & Lisa to release mini cakes, priced at 7,500 won. Shinsegae Food collaborated with popular characters Maltese & Retriever to present a mini strawberry cream roll cake. Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas' Christmas meal Holiday To-go / Courtesy of Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Gourmet options Culinary brands are offering holiday meal kits and takeout, targeting those spending Christmas within the comfort of their homes. Hotel chains like JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square and Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas have introduced special meals for takeout or delivery. Parnas released Holiday To-go, available through Dec. 31, providing one of three main dishes — turkey, pork rib or prime rib — with an assortment of 12 side dishes. Catering brand All Day Plating rolled out its Holiday Pack, a year-end limited edition of its boxed-catering meal, available until Jan. 31, comprised of chopped steak skewers, grilled sausages and smoked duck with pumpkin, adding a touch of the holiday mood with a colorful bocconcini salad. "Through the Holiday Pack, we've expanded choices by offering everything from sophisticated traditional cuisine to trendy items, with easily transportable and storable box packaging,” the company said. "We aim to help make the moments of spending time with precious people at year-end gatherings, sending off the current year and welcoming the New Year, even more special." Convenience store chains are opening alcohol stocks for holiday promotions, so consumers can keep the festive mood at house parties with CU and GS25 offering discounts on alcohol selections, including wine and hard liquor. Emart24 is holding a promotion throughout this month, offering up to 50 percent off on 26 different alcohol brands, under “Super Home Party Festa,” which also includes food products like frozen meal kits and snacks. gettyimagesbank Stress-free cleanup For those looking forward to hosting parties, but not so much the aftermath, cleaning service startups like Cleaning Lab and Miso offer assistance in dealing with preparing and cleaning up before and after the party. The platforms offer services for clients who need help with party preparations and cleanup with hourly rates as low as about 16,000 won, depending on the hours of service. Kim, who has previously used Miso from time to time, shared she is definitely planning on using the service for this year’s holiday party. “Usually after parties, I don’t know where to start with cleaning the mess. So I’m planning to leave it to the professionals’ hands to take care of the cleaning and just enjoy the party,” she said.
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Willis Group Stock Soars to All-Time High of $320.99The Electoral Commission has been made aware of a fake Fine Gael account on social media platform Bluesky, as a number of parties confirmed they were the targets of fake accounts. Several parties previously said that fake party accounts were being proliferated on Bluesky, including for Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Social Democrats, and Aontú. On Wednesday, several fake Bluesky accounts appear to have been suspended by the social media firm, including fake accounts for Micheál Martin, Simon Harris, the Social Democrats, and Aontú. Others, including those for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, were deleted entirely. Bluesky, which started as a research initiative within Twitter in 2019, is a social media website similar to X, with users able to share short posts, photos, and videos. It has become more popular in recent weeks, with millions of users joining the platform in the wake of the US presidential election. On Wednesday, Fine Gael alleged that members of Ógra Shinn Féin were involved in the setting up of such fake accounts, with a statement on the since deleted Fine Gael Bluesky alleging Ógra Shinn Féin involvement. However, a Sinn Féin spokesperson strongly rejected any assertions that the party’s youth wing were involved. “This story is a fabrication. No Ógra Shinn Féin members were involved in this,” the spokesperson said. Fine Gael’s Emer Higgins said she hoped that nobody in Sinn Féin was involved, and that senior party figures were not aware. “In this era of increasing misinformation and declining public trust in media, the operation of fake accounts during an election is extremely disconcerting,” Ms Higgins said. A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission confirmed that Fine Gael brought a fake Bluesky account to its attention but said that no formal complaint had been made to the regulator. The commission has a voluntary framework on online electoral process information, political advertising and deceptive AI content that is specific to this general election. The framework has been agreed with a number of social media platforms but Bluesky is not one of these. "We have no formal legislative powers in this area so currently there is no legislative basis for us to deal with complaints," it said. The commission does not have the legal power to order social media platforms to take down misinformation or material that is damaging to the election system.
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