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Scripps National Spelling Bee welcomes 243 spellers for historic 100th anniversary

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CINCINNATI, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A field of 243 top young spellers will converge on National Harbor, Maryland, from May 27-29 to compete in a historic Scripps National Spelling Bee. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the iconic American competition, which was first held on June 17, 1925, with just nine participants.

“Reaching 100 years is more than a milestone – it’s a testament to the enduring power of words, learning and the human spirit,” said Corrie Loeffler, executive director of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. “For a century, this competition has brought people together through eras of profound change – from world wars to the digital age – and still, the Bee continues to inspire excellence, curiosity and connection. It’s a living piece of American history, and we’re honored to celebrate its legacy.”

This year’s 243 national qualifiers advanced through local and regional bees that took place through the end of March. All rounds of this year’s national competition – preliminaries, quarterfinals, semifinals and finals – will take place at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center.

Highlights of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee field:

The spellers range in age from 8 to 14.Only 53 spellers return from the 2024 field and 178 spellers – 73% – are competing in their first Scripps National Spelling Bee.Only one 2024 finalist advanced to the 2025 national competition: Faizan Zaki, who finished second last year behind Bruhat Soma following his record-breaking spell-off.Tarini Nandakumar is competing in her fifth consecutive Scripps National Spelling Bee. She was a finalist and finished ninth in 2023. Navtaj Singh, Micah Sterling and Avinav Prem Anand are competing in their fourth straight national competition. Harini Murali is in her fourth Bee overall, as is Zaki.There are spellers from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Texas has the largest representation with 22 national competitors. California is next with 20, followed by Ohio with 15 and Illinois with 13. Florida and New York have 12 each.There are 13 competitors from outside the 50 United States, representing the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Guam, Kuwait, Nigeria, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Here is the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee Media Guide.
Find more information on the national competitors at spellingbee.com.

Celebrating a 100-year tradition
The Bee has launched several 100th anniversary initiatives for both spellers and the public:

A historical microsite, capturing news, names and fun facts of the first 100 years of the Bee will launch in the coming weeks at history.spellingbee.com. Content will be added to the site, which will remain live after 2025.A special limited-edition coffee-table book capturing 100 years of the Bee’s history will be published in August and is available for preorder at Bee100Book.com.A museum-quality exhibit will be on display at the Gaylord during Bee Week, showcasing the Bee’s wealth of historical memorabilia, highlighting key milestones in the competition’s history and examining the Bee’s place in popular culture and the American experience.

The Bee on Scripps Networks (All times Eastern)
The 2025 broadcast/livestream of onstage competition follows this schedule (all times Eastern and end times approximate):

The preliminaries will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com from 8 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. on Tuesday, May 27.The quarterfinals will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday, May 28.

Two-night ION special event:The semifinals broadcast will air 8-10 p.m. on ION on Wednesday, May 28. (The live semifinals will be streamed on Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. earlier that day.)The finals will air live in primetime on ION from 8-10 p.m. on Thursday, May 29.

In addition to ION, the semifinals and finals will also air on Scripps’ other popular national entertainment networks, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery and Laff, as well as its free, ad-supported streaming channels ION Plus, Scripps News, Bounce XL, Grit Xtra, Laff More and spellingbee.com. Scripps News will stream an encore of the semifinals on Thursday, May 29, from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. and the finals on May 29 from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. The Scripps Networks can be found free over-the-air as well as on cable, satellite and streaming platforms.

If you are watching the Bee over the air with an antenna,
check out Tablo, which allows you to record over-the-air programs.

The 2025 Bee also will celebrate three special recognitions:

2025 Educator of the Year, presented by Teach For America: Nikki Montana, teacher leader at Edwin Forrest Elementary School in Philadelphia. Montana, who serves as the school’s bee coordinator, grew the school’s bee program from a sixth grade-level bee to a school-wide event that today includes students from grades 1-5.2025 Regional Partner of the Year: Akron Beacon Journal, which has remained a steadfast regional partner of the National Spelling Bee since its inception in 1925.2025 Regional Volunteer of the Year: Tom Wadsworth, pronouncer for the Regional Office of Education No. 47’s Spelling Bee in Sterling, Illinois, has helped prepare and inspire spellers for 43 years.

Introducing the “Beelieve” program 
In partnership with the Scripps Howard Fund, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has created a new fund to help increase access to the Bee at every level. The first year of the Beelieve program will focus on funding the participation of Teach For America schools interested in enrolling in the 2025-26 Bee program. The Bee and Fund received a $100,000 per year donation from the Adam R. Scripps Foundation for the next five years to support the Beelieve program and the Fund’s “If You Give a Child a Book …” campaign, which provides books to children at low-income schools across the U.S. This year, the Adam R. Scripps Foundation is also matching donations to both programs up to $500,000. Visit spellingbee.com/give to learn more about the program or to donate. 

For media covering the Bee:

Media can submit a request for credentials to cover the national competition in person at the Gaylord here.Media interested in following the action remotely should contact media@spellingbee.com to receive updates during the competition.

Media contact: Becca McCarter, 513-410-2425, Rebecca.mccarter@scripps.com

About the Scripps National Spelling Bee:  
The Scripps National Spelling Bee is the nation’s largest and longest-running educational program, having launched in 1925. By inspiring the exploration of words, the Scripps National Spelling Bee illuminates pathways to lifelong curiosity, celebrates academic achievement and enriches communities.
Visit spellingbee.com for more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which is administered on a not-for-profit basis by The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).

About Scripps
The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP) is a diversified media company focused on creating connection. As one of the nation’s largest local TV broadcasters, Scripps serves communities with quality, objective local journalism and operates a portfolio of more than 60 stations in 40+ markets. Scripps reaches households across the U.S. with national news outlets Scripps News and Court TV and popular entertainment brands ION, Bounce, Grit, ION Mystery, ION Plus and Laff. Scripps is the nation’s largest holder of broadcast spectrum. Its Scripps Sports division serves professional and college sports leagues, conferences and teams with local market depth and national broadcast reach of up to 100% of TV households. Founded in 1878, Scripps is the steward of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, and its longtime motto is: “Give light and the people will find their own way.”

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SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company

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Fangzhou CEO Honored at 2025 VBEF Conference as Company Showcases AI Medical Innovations

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SUZHOU, China, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Fangzhou Inc. (“Fangzhou” or the “Company”) (06086.HK), a leader in Internet healthcare solutions, participated in the prestigious 2025 VBEF Future Healthcare and Medicine Conference hosted by VCBeat at the Suzhou International Expo Centre May 9-10th. Fangzhou’s founder, chairman, and CEO Dr. Xie Fangmin was named “Most Influential Healthcare Entrepreneur” as part of the 2025 Annual Future Healthcare Awards. The recognition highlights Fangzhou’s decade-long evolution as a pioneer in online medical services, including its latest advancements in large language models and safeguards against AI hallucination risks.

Dr. Xie Fangmin commented, “I am privileged to accept this award, and this recognition underscores Fangzhou’s commitment to developing innovative healthcare solutions that prioritize both safety and intelligence. Looking ahead, we remain dedicated to our mission of leveraging AI technologies to broaden healthcare accessibility, improve patient outcomes, and drive the next generation of intelligent healthcare services.”

Policy Alignment

Fangzhou’s growth strategy aligns with China’s AI regulatory framework for healthcare, including the recent 2025-2030 Pharmaceutical Industry Digital Transformation Implementation Plan which emerged from a collaborative effort among seven regulatory bodies, comprising the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (“MIIT”), the National Health Commission, the Ministry of Commerce, and other key ministries. The integration of generative AI with traditional machine-learning systems creates a foundation for widespread AI deployment, catalyzing tremendous potential opportunities in China’s healthcare industry.

AI Innovation

Since launching its H2H (Hospital to Home) Smart Healthcare Ecosystem, Fangzhou has implemented an AI integration roadmap, initially addressing chronic disease management features before progressing to more advanced applications. In 2022, the Company expanded its AI medical application research efforts, followed by the 2023 rollout of an intelligent customer service assistant. In 2024, Fangzhou incorporated DeepSeek-V2 into its platform to optimize its knowledge base and enhance content generation capabilities, and more recently in 2025, the company deployed DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-R1 models through strategic partnerships with Tencent Cloud and Tencent Health. To ensure the highest standards of safety and reliability, Fangzhou’s R&D team developed safeguards to address “hallucination” risks in large language models through a multifaceted approach, including knowledge base enhancements, model architecture refinement, and implementation of rigorous supervision protocols.

About Fangzhou Inc.

Fangzhou Inc. (06086.HK) is China’s leading online chronic disease management platform, serving 49.2 million registered users and 223,000 physicians (as of December 31, 2024). The Company specializes in delivering tailored medical care and precision medicine solutions. For more information, visit https://investors.jianke.com.

About VBEF Future Healthcare and Medicine Conference

The VBEF Future Healthcare and Medicine Conference convenes industry leaders, academics, and investors to address critical trends in healthcare. The 2025 forum emphasized AI applications and digital transformation.

Media Contact
For further inquiries or interviews, please reach out to:
Xingwei Zhao Associate Director of Public Relations Email: pr@jianke.com 

Disclaimer: This press release contains forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated due to various factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements

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SOURCE Fangzhou Inc.

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ChipMOS ANNOUNCES NT$525 MILLION SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM

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HSINCHU, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (“ChipMOS” or the “Company”) (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 8150 and Nasdaq: IMOS), an industry leading provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services (“OSAT”), today announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program with the total amount up to NT$525 million (approximately US$16.4 million, based on the exchange rate of NT$31.96 to US$1.00 as of April 30, 2025).

Under the program, the company will repurchase up to 15 million shares from the open market on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, approximately 2.06% of its issued share capital. The shares will be repurchased within a price range of NT$18.87 to NT$35.00 per share, while the buyback will still be carried out if the stock price falls lower than the aforementioned range. The authorization repurchase program period is from May 14 to July 13, 2025.

S.J. Cheng, Chairman and President of ChipMOS, said, “Our strong balance sheet and long-term fundamentals give us confidence in our business, which is reflected in the new share repurchase authorization by the Board of Directors. This is in-line with our capital allocation strategy and view that our shares represent a highly compelling investment opportunity given the recent share price dislocation in the market. We continue focus on supporting our customers and executing on the longer-term, strategic initiatives that will help drive our growth and leadership success.”

About ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC.:

ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. (“ChipMOS” or the “Company”) (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 8150 and Nasdaq: IMOS) (www.chipmos.com) is an industry leading provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services. With advanced facilities in Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu Industrial Park and Southern Taiwan Science Park in Taiwan, ChipMOS is known for its track record of excellence and history of innovation. The Company provides end-to-end assembly and test services to leading fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and independent semiconductor foundries serving virtually all end markets worldwide.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as ‘believes,’ ‘expects,’ ‘anticipates,’ ‘projects,’ ‘intends,’ ‘should,’ ‘seeks,’ ‘estimates,’ ‘future’ or similar expressions or by discussion of, among other things, strategies, goals, plans or intentions. These statements may include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding tariffs, government policies, global trade environments, pricing, plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Actual results may differ materially in the future from those reflected in forward-looking statements contained in this document, due to various factors. Further information regarding these risks, uncertainties and other factors are included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and in the Company’s other filings with the SEC.

Contacts:

In Taiwan

Jesse Huang

ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC.

+886-6-5052388 ext. 7715

IR@chipmos.com 

In the U.S.

David Pasquale

Global IR Partners

+1-914-337-8801

dpasquale@globalirpartners.com 

 

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SOURCE ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC.

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Ogury Accelerates Net Zero Strategy with 51toCarbonZero Partnership

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The global adtech leader sets new standards in sustainable advertising with deeper data, measurable reductions, and product innovation.

NEW YORK, May 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Ogury, the leader in advertising solutions fueled by exclusive data and grounded in privacy, today announced a strategic partnership with 51toCarbonZero (51-0), the only net zero platform powering growth for marketing and advertising leaders. This marks a pivotal step in Ogury’s sustainability journey, as the company accelerates its path toward net zero.

Following Ogury’s signing of The Climate Pledge in 2021 – and the completion of three comprehensive Greenhouse Gas (GHG) assessments – the company has a clear understanding of its carbon footprint and is taking bold steps to minimize its environmental impact. With a mature emissions baseline and an established reduction roadmap, Ogury turned to 51-0 to leverage its advanced AI data automation capabilities and its tailored expertise in adtech sustainability – driving greater emissions visibility and faster progress toward the company’s net zero goal.

Nathalie Pannequin, Senior Culture Lead at Ogury, said: “Environmental responsibility is not an add-on for us—it’s embedded in how we operate, innovate, and grow. As we advance toward net zero, it’s critical we pair our strong foundations with targeted expertise that understands the unique emissions profile of digital advertising. 51-0 brings the deep industry knowledge and pioneering solutions we need to lead responsibly in this space. Through this partnership, we aim to set new benchmarks and share best practices for sustainability within adtech while tackling climate change head-on.”

51-0 will support Ogury’s fourth GHG assessment and help refine its global reduction roadmap, providing more granular emissions measurement and analysis across Scopes 1, 2, and 3. Together, the companies will embed sustainability even deeper into Ogury’s operations and evolve its product offering to improve environmental impact, especially for ad delivery, while promoting more responsible consumption to contribute to broader industry change.

By leveraging 51-0’s platform and climate advisory, Ogury will track progress more effectively and make data-driven decisions around operational efficiencies, which create opportunities for cost saving. The partnership underscores Ogury’s belief that environmental action is not just about ethics, but a strategic business opportunity that builds trust and long-term value with clients, suppliers, investors, and employees.

Richard Davis, CEO & Co-founder at 51toCarbonZero, said: “Ogury is a brilliant example of how climate leadership can evolve with integrity. Moving from measurement to impactful action, Ogury is now opening up opportunities to create additional revenue lines and generate operational efficiencies in a complex, fast-moving sector. We’re excited to support the team as they shape what responsible advertising looks like in a net zero future.”

This collaboration spans Ogury’s global operations across 19 countries and digital activities in 33 markets, ensuring a unified approach to sustainability. It also strengthens the environmental pillar of Ogury’s holistic ESG strategy, complementing its work to foster diversity and inclusion, responsible business practices, and long-term stakeholder impact.

Ogury and 51-0 demonstrate the power of treating climate action as both a business driver and a moral imperative—proving that with the right data, direction, and dedication decarbonizing adtech is achievable.

About Ogury
Ogury is a global adtech company that delivers Personified Advertising solutions grounded in privacy to brands, agencies and publishers by focusing on targeting personas, not people.

We deliver relevant audiences at scale and on quality publisher inventory thanks to our exclusive data, which is meticulously collected and crafted from millions of self-declared customer surveys, enriched with billions of impactful data points, and refined by AI. This results in audience insights and performance not available through any other adtech platform.

Founded in 2014, Ogury is a global organization with a diverse team of 500+ people across 19 countries.

About 51toCarbonZero
51toCarbonZero is a climate-tech company dedicated to helping organizations understand and reduce their carbon emissions. Their platform consolidates an enterprise’s entire carbon footprint, providing real-time data and actionable insights to drive carbon transformation. With a focus on industries that shape public opinion, such as media and advertising, 51-0 is expanding to serve additional sectors, including food and beverage and automotive.

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ogury-accelerates-net-zero-strategy-with-51tocarbonzero-partnership-302451125.html

SOURCE Ogury LTD

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