USA Softball announced the selection of Iwakuni, Japan as the host of the USA Softball Women’s National Team (WNT) pre-Olympic training camp. Teaming up with the city of Iwakuni and Marine Corp Air Station (MCAS) Iwakuni, this partnership will provide support and assistance to the WNT in their preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 

Alongside Mayor of Iwakuni, Yoshihiko Fukuda, Principal Officer of U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka, Joy Michiko Sakurai, and MCAS Iwakuni Commanding Officer Richard Fuerst welcomed USA Softball President John Gouveia and Director of National Teams Chris Sebren to share the announcement at a ceremony celebrating the partnership.

“USA Softball is honored to return to Iwakuni for our pre-Olympic training,” said USA Softball Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Craig Cress.  “The hospitality and training facilities provided to the 2018 World Championship delegation were second-to-none.  It is crucial to have the opportunity to acclimate to the weather and time difference while ensuring a high-level training environment for our athletes prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and we are confident that Iwakuni will once again step up to the plate next summer.”

The City of Iwakuni is located 436 miles from Tokyo and houses the Atago Sports Complex, which will serve as the site for the training camp.

“The Atago Sports Complex has been a symbol of friendship between Japan and the U.S.,” said Fukuda. “I couldn’t be prouder to be able to host Team USA again for Tokyo 2020. Iwakuni city continues to be committed to welcoming Team USA with the spirit of ‘Omotenashi’ (hospitality) and to giving all the support to help the team win the Gold Medal.”

During the team’s stay in Iwakuni, the city is also committed to offering opportunities for team members to experience the culture and traditions of Iwakuni, and to exchange with locals through softball-related events.

“All the people in Iwakuni will be prepared to welcome the team open-heartedly and to give everything they have to cheer and support Team USA,” continued Fukuda.

Previously, the City of Iwakuni and MCAS Iwakuni hosted the WNT in July 2018 prior to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Women’s World Championship in Chiba, Japan. The six-day training camp provided the squad the opportunity to conduct rigorous workouts and practices prior to the Olympic-qualifying tournament. Practices were made public for citizens of Iwakuni, service members and family at MCAS Iwakuni, while members of the WNT also participated in a local clinic for students. The U.S. ended their stay by playing a doubleheader against Japanese professional team, Toyota Red Terriers, before going on to win Gold and qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

— Courtesy of USA Softball

(DETROIT) — Mazda is recalling nearly 190,000 Mazda 3 compact cars in the U.S. because the windshield wipers can fail.

The company says in documents posted Saturday by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that the recall covers cars from the 2016 through 2018 model years.

The Japanese automaker traced the problem to metal deposits that can cause a wiper relay to stick, knocking out the wipers and limiting driver visibility. The company says it has no reports of crashes or injuries due to the problem.

Dealers will replace the front wiper control module at no cost to owners starting June 3.

(SAN FRANCISCO) — Disney raised the curtain on a hotly anticipated video steaming service that’s aiming to topple industry pioneer Netflix, once a valuable ally of the Magic Kingdom.

The service, called Disney Plus, has been in the works for more than year, but Thursday marked the first time that the longtime entertainment powerhouse has laid out plans for its attack on Netflix and a formidable cast of competitors, including Amazon, HBO Go and Showtime Anytime.

Disney Plus will roll out in the U.S. on November 12 at a price of $6.99 per month, or $69.99 per year. That’s well below the $13 monthly fee Netflix charges for its most popular streaming plan, signaling Disney’s determination to woo subscribers as it vies to become a major player in a field that has turned “binge watching” into a common ritual.

Like Netflix, Disney Plus will be free of ads. Subscribers will be able to download all of the shows and movies on Disney’s service to watch offline.

Netflix will still have a far deeper video programming lineup after spending tens of billions of dollars during the past six years on original shows such as “House of Cards,” ”Stranger Things” and “The Crown.”

But Disney Plus will be able to draw upon a library of revered films dating back several decades while it also forges into original programming. Its animated classics, including “Aladdin” and “The Jungle Book” will be available on the service when it launches.

New shows already on tap include “The Mandalorian,” the first live action “Star Wars” series, created by Jon Favreau; a prequel to the “Star Wars” film “Rogue One,” starring Diego Luna; a series about the Marvel character Loki, starring Tom Hiddleston; a rebooted “High School Musical” series; and a new documentary series focused on Disney.

Disney is approaching the streaming industry from a “position of strength, confidence and unbridled optimism,” CEO Bob Iger said Thursday. Iger has led the company since 2005 and expects to step down when his contract ends in 2021.

The service’s entire lineup will cover five categories: Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National Geographic.

Although Disney has an enviable track record of producing shows and films that attract huge audiences, its attempt to build its own Netflix is risky. To make the leap, Disney ended a lucrative licensing relationship with Netflix, which had become the video streaming home for its latest films after their theatrical release, as well as many of its TV series and classic movies.

But now movies that came out in 2019, and going forward, will be streamed only on Disney Plus. That includes “Captain Marvel,” which came out earlier this year; “Avengers: Endgame,” which debuts in late April; and the upcoming “Toy Story 4,” live-action movies “The Lion King” and “Aladdin;” and “Star Wars Episode IX.”

In many ways, it’s hard to compare Netflix with Disney because of the widely different types of shows each offers, said eMarketer analyst Paul Verna.

“The interesting thing is both companies have ended up in the same place, but they’ve come to it from vastly different backgrounds,” he said.

Disney will also contend with a new streaming service from Apple, which is expected to be released in the fall. Apple has not yet said how much its service will cost or when exactly it will launch.

Last month, Disney completed its biggest deal yet with its $71 billion acquisition of Fox’s entertainment business. The first 30 seasons of “The Simpsons” will now stream exclusively on Disney Plus.

The Fox takeover helps Disney tighten its control over TV shows and movies from start to finish — from creating the programs to distributing them though television channels, movie theaters, streaming services and other avenues. Disney will also get valuable data on customers and their entertainment-viewing habits, which it can then use to sell advertising.

The Fox deal also gave Disney a controlling stake in Hulu. Iger has said Hulu will continue to offer general entertainment programming while Disney Plus will be focused on family fare.

Along with its strong brand, Disney has the advantage of having a clear strategy for each of its streaming services, Verna said, including Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus. Disney executives hinted the company would “likely” bundle the three at a discounted price, but declined to give more details.

Terminating its deal with Netflix will cost Disney about $150 million in licensing revenue alone during its current fiscal year ending in September.

Disney is betting its new service will quickly offset that. By dangling a mix of familiar franchises and beloved animated classics, along with original programming, it figures the new service will be irresistible to families, even if they already subscribe to other services. It expects Disney Plus to be profitable during its 2024 fiscal year.

The plunge into video streaming is likely to confront Disney with new challenges. One of the biggest dilemmas will center on how long Disney waits after a new film’s theatrical release to make it available on its new streaming service.

Disney said movies would become available on its streaming service only after the traditional theatrical release period and home movie debut, which includes DVDs and purchasing streaming videos. That puts its schedule behind that of some competitors. Netflix films such as the award-winning “Roma” and “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” have either become available for streaming on the same day or just a few days after their short runs in theaters.

With nearly 140 million worldwide subscribers, Netflix already has proven its mettle while warding off one competitive threat after another in the 12 years since it pivoted from DVD-by-mail rentals to video streaming.

Now, Netflix is locking horns with a company that has been steadily expanding upon its Disney franchise during a shopping spree that has seen it snap up other major studios.

President Donald Trump said Monday that Boeing should “rebrand” its 737 Max airplane, which has been taken out of passenger service worldwide following two high-profile fatal crashes in recent months.

“What do I know about branding, maybe nothing (but I did become President!),” Trump tweeted at 6.29 a.m. ET. “But if I were Boeing, I would FIX the Boeing 737 MAX, add some additional great features, & REBRAND the plane with a new name. No product has suffered like this one. But again, what the hell do I know?”

The U.S. decision to ground all 737 Max aircraft came after several other countries around the world made the same move, and followed the crashes of Lion Air flight 610 (which came down off Indonesia last October, killing all 189 people on board) and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 (which crashed on March 10 outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing all 157 on board). Both flights involved American planemaker Boeing’s new 737 Max model; the crashes appear to involve the model’s anti-stalling software.

The 737 Max was the fastest-selling plane in Boeing’s history, but the company’s stock dropped some 11% after the Ethiopian Airlines crash. With airlines continuing to cancel flights because of the ongoing grounding, it’s unclear how Boeing, or the air carriers that rely on the 737 Max, will resume normal operations.

(Bloomberg) — Netflix Inc. lost as much as $8 billion in market capitalization in a few minutes of trading on Walt Disney Co.’s news of its upcoming — and cheaper — rival streaming service.

Disney unveiled details of the service on Thursday after the close, saying it would launch Nov. 12 at a price of $7 a month or $70 a year. That undercuts Netflix, whose most popular U.S. plan costs about $11 a month.

Netflix shares fell as much as 5 percent to $349.36 shortly after the open in New York Friday, sending its market as low as $152.5 billion.

Analysts have been sanguine about Netflix’s rising subscription prices, which haven’t seriously dented its 60 million-strong U.S. customer base. Still, the company has rarely faced a challenge like the deep-pocketed Disney, which is willing to lose money for years on Disney+ as it moves to grab market share.

Disney went the opposite way. Its shares jumped to a record high, adding as much as $25 billion in market value, for a total of about $235 billion.

The entertainment giant presented Disney+ on a sound stage used to make the original “Mary Poppins,” delivering an Apple-style presentation of the online product. The service will live or die based on its content — and that’s where Disney made a big statement. Disney+ will feature an arsenal of kid-friendly programming, including 13 classic animated movies, 21 Pixar features, original series, and material from its Marvel and Star Wars franchises.