Hi there.

It's time for an all-new episode of News Bites.

I'm Nancy Sun.

And I'm Brody Halverson.

In today's news:

Changing times for the next president, and changing genders for a surprising hippo.

And in today's Tasty Tidbit:

We've got students ready to give you a major case of the giggles!

Stay tuned for all that, coming up next.

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賴清德獲選時代雜誌百大影響力人物

President-elect Makes TIME's 100 Most Influential People List

Taiwan's incoming president has landed on a special list.

Lai Ching-te is one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

美國TIME雜誌將總統當選人賴清德列為2024年百大最具影響力人物。

TIME is an American news magazine.

Every year, the company puts together a list.

It chooses 100 people for this list.

They are people that are changing the world.

The magazine thinks these are the 100 people who were the most influential that year.

If someone is "influential", it means they have the power to make a big difference.

And Taiwan's next president Lai Ching-te is on the list for 2024!

An introduction is written for every person on the list.

Lai's introduction was written by Jon Huntsman.

He is a former U.S. ambassador to China, and was also the governor of Utah.

美國前駐中國及駐俄羅斯大使、前猶他州長Jon Huntsman寫了推薦撰文。

Huntsman described Lai as a public-health expert who was trained at Harvard.

He says Lai cares about trust, and solving problems.

But he says Lai is also facing a lot of pressure.

Huntsman says Lai's choices will be important.

And they will change the future of democracy in Asia.

Lai Ching-te is not the only Taiwanese person to make the list.

President Tsai Ing-wen was on the list in 2016 when she was first elected, and again in 2020 when she was re-elected.

Award-winning director Ang Lee was also on the list for his work in cinema.

And basketball star Jeremy Lin and golfer Yani Tseng have also been on the list before.

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日本動物園公河馬變女兒身

Japan Zoo's Male Hippo is Ahem…a Female

Gen-chan was just an ordinary hippo.

He lives in Japan, at Osaka Tennoji Zoo.

Living at the zoo, Gen-chan did hippo things.

He swims in his pool…

He eats grass…

He poops….

But something was off…

Something about Gen-chan left zookeepers scratching their heads.

12-year-old Gen-chan did not do some of the things that male hippos usually do.

He didn't make the special sounds that male hippos use to attract (吸引) females.

Gen-chan also didn't scatter ((撒，分散) ) his poop.

This is something that male hippos do.

They poop in the water.

Then they spin their tail like a fan.

This makes their poop fly out all over the place!

This sounds a little gross.

But male hippos do this for a reason.

Their poop marks their territory (領土).

And it's also important for the environment.

That poop can help plants in the water grow.

But keepers at Tennoji Zoo never saw Gen-chan do this.

飼養員發現Gen-chan從來沒有發出求偶叫聲，也沒有甩尾巴把排泄物噴到處標出地盤。

What's going on here?

Gen-chan came to Tennoji Zoo from Mexico, when he was just 5 years old.

At that time, paperwork for Gen-chan said he was male.

Gen-chan 2017年從墨西哥進口的時候，文件上說它是一隻公河馬。

But now zookeepers wondered if there might be a mistake (錯誤).

So they tested Gen-chan's DNA.

And he is actually a SHE!

The zoo says knowing that Gen-chan is female, is very important.

They say this will help them take better care of her.

And they do not want to make this mistake again.

But they say that Gen-chan will not be getting a name change.

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So in today's News Bites,

Lai Ching-te is one of TIME magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World".

Lai's introduction was written by former U.S. ambassador to China and former governor of Utah Jon Huntsman.

Huntsman says Lai's choices will be important.

And they will change the future of democracy in Asia.

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And

Something about 12-year old hippo Gen-chan left keepers at Tennoji Zoo scratching their heads.

He did not do some of the things that male hippos usually do.

They tested Gen-chan's DNA, and found out that he is actually a SHE!

The zoo says knowing that Gen-chan is female will help them take better care of her.

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趣味小點

Tasty Tidbit

In today's Tasty Tidbit,

Where do cows go on Friday nights?

They go to the "moo-vies"!

And boy oh boy…

Today, we've got a school from Yunlin County, with all the jokes.

These teens from Wen-chang Elementary School had us in stitches!

Here's one from 6th graders 劉睿辰 and 李奇恩.

You ready?

…

And here's another zinger from 6th graders 柳羽捷 and 林品秀

…

And that's it for today's episode of News Bites!

If you have a fun fact, a joke or interesting news story you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [email protected], and you might hear it at the end of an episode.

We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!