Four Kansas City-area students participate in National Spelling Bee
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The best spellers in the country are in Washington, D.C., for the Scripps National Spelling Bee, including four contestants from the Kansas City area.
Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV
Here are this year's local contestants:
Adele Gibbens is an eighth grader at Indian Trail Middle School in Olathe, Kansas. She is being sponsored by Olathe Public Schools.
Beckett Griffin is a fifth grader at Underwood Elementary School in Independence, Missouri. She is sponsored by the Mid-Continent Public Library.
William Henley is a sixth grader from Peculiar, Missouri. He attends Pleasant Hill Intermediate School and is sponsored by the Raymore-Peculiar School District.
Natalie Linthicum is an eighth grader at North Daviess R-III School in St. Joseph, Missouri. She is sponsored by the Mosaic Life Care Foundation.
View the latest headlines from Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas at fox4kc.com
The preliminary rounds of the competition started Tuesday morning. The final winner will be named Thursday night.
You can watch the semifinals Wednesday and finals Thursday on the ION Television channel. For more information on how to watch the spelling bee, click here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Taylor Swift seeks restraining order against Adams County man: ‘Fear for my safety'
DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado man is subject to a temporary restraining order from music industry giant Taylor Swift after she filed for the protective measure on Friday. Swift alleged in court documents filed in Los Angeles County Court that Brian Jason Wagner, 45, of Henderson, has repeatedly come to her Los Angeles home over the past year or so. Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Swift said that the first visit from Wagner was on July 9, 2024, and security personnel told the singer that Wagner had returned at least three times during the same month, and on one occasion, Wagner was allegedly carrying a glass bottle 'that could have been used as a weapon.' 'During each of these visits, I am informed that Mr. Wagner made various statements about living at my property (not true), being in a relationship with me (not true), believing I am the mother of his son (not true), and needing to see me in person, all of which are untrue and disconnected from reality,' Swift told the court. Swift, 35, said that her security told her that Wagner had visited her L.A. home again on May 21 and May 22 this year, asking to see the singer and saying he was there to check on a friend. 'My security team ran a criminal history report on Mr. Wagner which resulted in me learning that he was previously incarcerated. My security team and others on my staff alerted me that Mr. Wagner has a history of sending lengthy communications to me while he was incarcerated,' Swift told the court. Those communications reportedly included details of Wagner's infatuation with Swift, a fictional romantic relationship and other 'fabricated stories,' according to Swift. 'Mr. Wagner has also sent my staff hundreds of emails with similarly concerning and threatening language, tried to divert mail from my residence to his attention, and even lied to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to somehow change the address on his driver's license to my Los Angeles home,' Swift told the court. She noted that her LA address is not public information, and said that his repeated visits and refusal to leave while claiming to need access 'makes me fear for my safety and the safety of my family.' 'The fact that both of these recent visits and Mr. Wagner's inappropriate and threatening communications to my staff about me have escalated in recent weeks creates a fear of imminent harm,' Swift added. Colorado court records show that Wagner pleaded guilty in a Clear Creek County case to one count of forgery and one count of theft and was sentenced to a two-year deferred sentence on Aug. 16, 2023, and 129 days in jail, which he had already served at the time of the sentencing. Taylor Swift has regained control of her music, buys back first 6 albums A member of Taylor Swift's security team also provided a declaration to the court, noting that he's worked for her for 14 years. He said that Wagner began trying to contact Swift in 2023 while incarcerated. The security team member said that in 2024, his team learned that Wagner had allegedly attempted to stop mail service to Swift's home after being alerted by the Postal Service. He said that Wagner then attempted to get a California driver's license that listed Swift's address as his, and the team learned of the matter when the ID was shipped to the property. The security professional said that when Wagner tried to visit Swift's home in May of this year, he also sent over 26 emails to her staff during the same time. He's now subject to the temporary restraining order, preventing him from legally trying to contact or harass Swift and requiring that he stay at least 100 yards away from her until June 30, when a hearing on the matter will be held. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Proposal would provide more public transit options to Red Rocks and other area parks
DENVER (KDVR) — Getting to Red Rocks Amphitheatre and other parks in that area is not always easy. Under a new proposal, shuttles could be added to the public transportation mix, and those could be tested starting in August or September. Full list of concerts at Red Rocks in 2025 'The pilot will be a daytime pilot through the cities of Morrison and Golden, including Red Rocks,' said Denver City Council Member Darrell Watson. He says RTD's W line runs from Denver to Golden. Under the proposal, daytime shuttles would then be available to take people from there to Red Rocks, which is about three miles away, and to other parks in the area. The test run could happen over two weekends in August or September. Watson is working with Jefferson County Commissioner Andy Kerr and others to apply for a grant from RTD. 'That could provide up to $1,000,000 to make sure that this pilot that we are doing this summer, that we can actually extend that to the entire summer for 2026,' Watson said. The city council member hopes that this will lay the groundwork to expand the service to nighttime hours in order to accommodate concertgoers at Red Rocks. Free on Your TV • New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV 'There are over a million concertgoers that go to Red Rocks every year, and most of those folks are driving from Denver,' he said. Public transportation, Watson said, could help address many issues. 'We believe it's a safety issue. We believe it's an environmental impact issue, and we see it as a great opportunity with the W line already going there,' he said. RTD says they will announce the latest round of grant recipients in August. The group is also looking for additional funding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘Harry Potter' Star, 66, Turns Heads in Optical Illusion Suit
'Harry Potter' Star, 66, Turns Heads in Optical Illusion Suit originally appeared on Parade. Fiona Shaw turned heads at the European premiere of Echo Valley at BFI Southbank in London. The Harry Potter actress, 66, arrived on the red carpet on Tuesday, June 10, wearing a navy three-piece suit with a dizzying pattern. Shaw completed the look with a pair of platform sandals. Echo Valley is an Apple TV+ psychological thriller starring Julianne Moore and Sydney Sweeney. The film, written by Brad Ingelsby and directed by Michael Pearce features a supporting cast that includes Shaw, alongside Domhnall Gleeson and Kyle MacLachlan. Echo Valley debuted in select North American theaters on June 6, and will be available for streaming on Apple TV+ starting on June 13. While many may recognize Shaw from playing the stern Aunt Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter film series, her career spans decades. Some of her other notable roles include Medea and Richard II on stage, Marnie Stonebrook in True Blood, Carolyn Martens in Killing Eve, and Grace Williams in Bad a 1989 interview with The New York Times, Shaw, who was 31 years old at the time, admitted she was fearful about the future of her career. 'All I know is that I awake every morning thinking the hourglass is running out,' she said. 'It's not that I feel old, but that I think there is something I must say, something I must do before I die.' Looking back on that interview in a 2024 conversation with Vanity Fair, Shaw said, 'Aren't you glad you're not meeting that woman now? Maybe at that time, the careers for men were so much better that I was so pleased to have one ... so I suspect the intensity came from that. That and: 'When you're being interviewed, you want to say very important things. I've stopped trying to do that.'" 'Harry Potter' Star, 66, Turns Heads in Optical Illusion Suit first appeared on Parade on Jun 10, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.
