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Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Faizan Zaki wins Spelling Bee 2025: Where is 13-year old from?
Faizan Zaki, a 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, claimed victory at the 100th Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night, edging out eight other finalists to take home more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. Zaki, last year's runner-up and a favourite going into the competition, triumphed after a tense and dramatic final round. The contest narrowed down to three finalists — Faizan, 11-year-old Sarv Dharavane, and 14-year-old Sarvadnya Kadam. All three initially misspelled their words, forcing an additional sudden-death round. 'It's rare to see this level of late-round drama at the Spelling Bee,' said Paul Loeffler, the Bee's television analyst. In the decisive moment, Zaki correctly spelled éclaircissement, a noun meaning 'a clearing up of something obscure.' FAIZAN ZAKI FINALLY NAILED ÉCLAIRCISSEMENT FTW 🔥🙌 CONGRATS!!! And that's after surviving Chaldee in R20, but before that... #spellingbee — ruletheword335 // TS 🐝 (@ruletheword335) May 30, 2025 Impressively, he spelled the word without asking any clarifying questions, then pumped his fists and collapsed to the floor in celebration. 'I'm really happy,' Zaki said after his win. This year's competition began with 243 young spellers aged 11 to 14, who advanced from local and regional bees across the United States. The event was held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, just outside Washington, D.C. Next year, the competition will move to Constitution Hall in the nation's capital. The Scripps National Spelling Bee, first held in 1925, has crowned 110 champions due to a number of ties in recent years, including an eight-way tie in 2019. The 100th Champion in @ScrippsBee history, Faizan Zaki 🐝 In his fourth time competing at Scripps, Faizan broke through in the championship round spelling éclaircissement to bring home the trophy🏆 Congrats Faizan, well deserved🙌#DallasBIGWins — Dallas Sports Commission (@dallas_sports) May 30, 2025
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
North Texan, 13, wins $50,000 grand prize in Scripps National Spelling Bee
The Brief North Texas teenager Faizan Zaki won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday night, correctly spelling "éclaircissement." The 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, secured the $50,000 grand prize. Last year, Zaki placed second overall in the event. DALLAS - A teenager from North Texas has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee, securing the $50,000 grand prize and bragging rights for his hometown of Allen. The Latest Faizan Zaki spelled "éclaircissement" correctly to win the final round of the competition on Thursday night. The word, appropriately enough, means "a clearing up of something obscure." Zaki, 13, will take home the grand prize of $50,000 for the win. The backstory Zaki is a seventh-grader at C.M. Rice Middle School in Plano, and is sponsored by the Dallas Sports Commission. Last season, the student placed second in the contest, only losing during a "spell-off" tiebreaker. He still beat out more than 240 other spellers and went home with $25,000. What they're saying Plano ISD proudly spoke out on X after Zaki's win: "Faizan's extraordinary achievement reflects the excellence, perseverance and passion for learning that define our students across Plano ISD. We are incredibly proud to see one of our own rise to the top on the national stage!" The Source Information in this story comes from the Scripps National Spelling Bee website and past news coverage.
Business Journals
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
2025 Women in Business winners revealed
Honorees in the 2025 Women in Business Awards include execs from MYCON General Contractors, the Dallas Sports Commission and Wells Fargo. Check out the full list and celebrate the 2025 class in this annual Dallas Business Journal program.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dallas leaders raise concerns with 2026 World Cup approaching
The Brief City of Dallas council members are raising concerns that they'd like to clean up ahead of Dallas hosting the FIFA World Cup. A Deloitte study estimates the economic impact for the region will be between $1.5 and $2.5 billion. The city manager said she will be sharing an updated plan on the city's plan to address homeless monitoring and enforcement later this week. The city of Dallas is working to make sure it's ready for the FIFA 2026 World Cup. Big picture view The city of Dallas was recently chosen to host the International Broadcast Center. Dallas will also be home to fan festivals and training camps. The city needs to focus on everything, from tackling homelessness to improving public transportation. Several city council members said their constituents want to know more about how they can be ready to step up. There is also concern about nuisance activity that could come along with an increase in tourists. The Executive Director of the Dallas Sports Commission says a Deloitte study estimates the economic impact for the region will be between $1.5 and $2.5 billion. What they're saying "Our goal is very simple: to make the FIFA World Cup in Dallas the most successful and safest World Cup ever," said Dallas City Manager, Kimberly Tolbert. Rosa Fleming, the Convention and Event Services Director for the City of Dallas, expressed the city council's need to inform constituents ahead of this global event. "The next meeting with FIFA will see if additional information we can get to help constituents get prepared," she said. Dallas City Councilman Jesse Moreno expresses the importance of businesses in the Dallas area being well-informed when it comes to doing business with FIFA. "I understand we don't know the needs currently. I want to make sure our businesses are equipped with the accreditations, with the process on knowing how to do business with FIFA," said Moreno. "We have a lot of restaurants acting as clubs and bars in our entertainment districts. I know our city attorney's office is reviewing that to curtail some of that activity." Another member of Dallas City Council Gay Donnell Willis expressed how the huge honor that comes with hosting the FIFA World Cup, also brings the downside of crime. "[There is] a lot of glory that comes with hosting these games and also upside for what it can mean for our community with all these global visitors, but it also brings a side that involves labor trafficking, sex trafficking," said Willis. Willis said she's also concerned about homes being turned into short-term rentals, like Airbnb and Vrbo, as the city's ordinance remains held up in court. "People who could be evicted so a home could be used as a short-term rental because of the exorbitant rent that could be gotten," said Willis. Dallas City Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn wants the city to better tackle its homeless problem. "All of us could see scenes downtown that we would not want broadcast around the world, but what I would ask of you is that whatever is done is actually done citywide, that it's not only downtown, because these same scenes are available all over our city," said Mendelsohn. Mayor Pro Tem Tennel Atkins says DART must be prepared. "If we don't get the DART situation under control, we're going to be a failure because we cannot get people to the hotel, we cannot get people to the restaurant, we cannot get them to the game, we cannot get to the practices, to the shopping center. You will be a failure," said Atkins. While the Dallas Police Department announced no discretionary time off during the month of July. The interim Dallas fire chief, Justin Ball, said he will allow for time off as he believes Dallas Fire and Rescue will be prepared. Ball cites the October 2019 tornado that damaged 904 buildings stretching for 13 miles as a reference to his department's ability to prepare for the worst. "We were ready with our on-duty folks. We were prepared and didn't know it was coming. We will be good," said Ball. What's next The city manager said she will be sharing an updated plan on the city's plan to address homeless monitoring and enforcement later this week. The Source Information in this article comes from an April 2, 2025 Dallas City Council meeting.
Axios
13-03-2025
- Business
- Axios
Becoming D-FW AF
Our Big Dallas Energy has become more D-FW AF — to include Arlington and Frisco. Why it matters: For a long time, the region has been described by its two most populous cities, but some leaders have suggested the name "Dallas-Fort Worth" should be more inclusive of the region's explosive growth. State of play: Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney recently made a reference to"DFFW," a term used to describe North Texas as Dallas, Frisco and Fort Worth. "We're well on our way to being like an Austin, bringing these startups. We're becoming kind of the epicenter for that. Certainly, we're a global city," the mayor said at an event where he talked about the city's growth. The Dallas Sports Commission refers to the region as "DFW-AF" as it prepares for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, executive director Monica Paul said at a separate event hosted by D Magazine last month. "It takes everybody and every city — but it's also the conferences, the universities, our corporations, the facilities, and our leagues and teams here," Paul said. Flashback: Last year, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross disagreed with FIFA's decision to rename AT&T Stadium to Dallas Stadium for the nine World Cup matches that will be hosted there. "Dallas is the big boy in the metroplex, and we love and appreciate everything Dallas does, but Arlington brings millions of millions of people here. To come in and call this Dallas Stadium doesn't do justice for who we are," Ross told the DMN. Reality check: Plano could use more love, too. The city has hundreds of corporate and regional company headquarters.
