Latest news with #EncyclopediaBritannica
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scripps National Spelling Bee finals air Thursday night
May 29 (UPI) -- The final round of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday with nine contestants vying for the title. The event pits 243 spelling champions from every state and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands to determine which one earns the Scripps Cup during the spelling competition's 100th year. Contestants from Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria also compete for the title. National Spelling Bee contestants must not be older than age 15 or have progressed beyond the eighth grade. They advance to the National Spelling Bee by competing in regional competitions. This year's nine finalists are between the ages of 11 and 14. Last year's runner-up, Faizan Zaki, 13, from Allen, Texas, is among the nine finalists. He lost in a tie-breaking spell-off to last year's winner, Bruhat Soma. The winner receives a custom trophy, $52,500 in cash prizes, a commemorative medal and a one-year subscription to reference works from Merriam-Webster and the Encyclopedia Britannica. All finalists receive at least $2,000, with the second-place finisher winning $25,000. More than one person can tie for the championship. When two or more contestants tie for the title, each receives the $50,000 grand prize from the National Spelling Bee. The finals will be aired live on ion, which is available via streaming and many television cable and satellite subscription services. This year's National Spelling Bee began on Tuesday, when 60 contestants were eliminated during a preliminary spelling and vocabulary round. Another 84 spellers were eliminated later on Tuesday after completing a written spelling and vocabulary test. Three quarterfinal rounds held narrowed the field to 57 semifinalists on Wednesday, and four semifinal rounds produced the nine contestants who qualified for Thursday night's final round. The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been held annually since 1925, when nine students competed for the title. It was suspended from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition has created a historical archive to celebrate the spelling competition's centennial year. This year's competition is its 97th and is being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., which has hosted the event since 2011.
UPI
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- UPI
Scripps National Spelling Bee finals air Thursday night
Dev Shah, 14, from Largo, Fla., won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling the word "psammophile" on June 1, 2023. File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo May 29 (UPI) -- The final round of the prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee gets underway at 8 p.m. EDT on Thursday with nine contestants vying for the title. The event pits 243 spelling champions from every state and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands to determine which one earns the Scripps Cup during the spelling competition's 100th year. Contestants from Canada, the Bahamas, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria also compete for the title. National Spelling Bee contestants must not be older than age 15 or have progressed beyond the eighth grade. They advance to the National Spelling Bee by competing in regional competitions. This year's nine finalists are between the ages of 11 and 14. Last year's runner-up, Faizan Zaki, 13, from Allen, Texas, is among the nine finalists. He lost in a tie-breaking spell-off to last year's winner, Bruhat Soma. The winner receives a custom trophy, $52,500 in cash prizes, a commemorative medal and a one-year subscription to reference works from Merriam-Webster and the Encyclopedia Britannica. All finalists receive at least $2,000, with the second-place finisher winning $25,000. More than one person can tie for the championship. When two or more contestants tie for the title, each receives the $50,000 grand prize from the National Spelling Bee. The finals will be aired live on ion, which is available via streaming and many television cable and satellite subscription services. This year's National Spelling Bee began on Tuesday, when 60 contestants were eliminated during a preliminary spelling and vocabulary round. Another 84 spellers were eliminated later on Tuesday after completing a written spelling and vocabulary test. Three quarterfinal rounds held narrowed the field to 57 semifinalists on Wednesday, and four semifinal rounds produced the nine contestants who qualified for Thursday night's final round. The Scripps National Spelling Bee has been held annually since 1925, when nine students competed for the title. It was suspended from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The competition has created a historical archive to celebrate the spelling competition's centennial year. This year's competition is its 97th and is being held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., which has hosted the event since 2011.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scripps National Spelling Bee: DeKalb County student advances to the finals
The Scripps National Spelling Bee celebrates its 100th anniversary this year and a metro Atlanta student made it to the finals! Sarv Dharavane, an 11-year-old from Austin Elementary School in DeKalb County, will be one of nine finalists competing for the title Thursday night. Sarv made the semifinals last year and tied for 22nd place. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The other finalists are from Arizona, California, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. The winner receives $52,500 in cash, reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster, and a $1,000 donation to a school of the champion's choice. Second through sixth place's winnings range from $25,000 down to $2,500. The other finalists will receive $2,000. TRENDING STORIES: Cobb County student wins prestigious Coke Scholar Award Want a driverless ride? Hail a Waymo in Atlanta Orphaned bear cubs find new home at Georgia wildlife reserve The bee started off with 243 spellers with at least one from every state, Washington, D.C. Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. There were also international spellers from the Bahamas, Canada, Germany, Ghana, Kuwait and Nigeria. In addition to Sarv, another Georgia student also competed. Sara Daoud, a seventh grade from Greenbrier Middle School in Columbia County, made it to the seventh round during the semifinals on Wednesday. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scripps National Spelling Bee: what are the rules?
OXON HILL, Md. (WSAV) — The best young spellers in the English language are competing at the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year. The event is held at a convention center just outside the nation's capital in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Here is a primer on the rules: Spellers qualify by advancing through regional bees around the country. In order to compete, spellers must not have advanced beyond the eighth grade or be older than 15. Spellers must get through two preliminary rounds, quizzing them on words from a list provided in advance: one spelling round and one multiple-choice vocabulary round. Those who make it through the preliminaries sit for a written spelling and vocabulary test, with the top 100 or so finishers advancing to the quarterfinals. The words for the test, and for all subsequent rounds, are taken from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary. Throughout the quarterfinals and semifinals, spellers are eliminated at the microphone through oral spelling or vocabulary questions. About a dozen spellers advance to the finals. When only two spellers remain, Scripps has the option to use a lightning-round tiebreaker known as a 'spell-off' to determine the champion. The winner receives a custom trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. Here are the prize payouts: First place: $52,500 in cash, reference works from Encyclopedia Britannica and Merriam-Webster and a $1,000 contribution to a school of the champion's choice Second place: $25,000 Third place: $15,000 Fourth place: $10,000 Fifth place: $5,000 Sixth place: $2,500 All other finalists: $2,000 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The elite Swiss Guard watching over conclave have a dramatic role as papal bodyguards
Armor like a knight on horseback. A helmet with bright-colored plumes sticking out. Wide blue and gold-striped pants that can seem almost clown-like. The Swiss Guard, the pope's iconic bodyguards, look ceremonial but in the pageantry of the Renaissance-style uniform lies the answer to why they will be protecting the Sistine Chapel on May 7 as cardinals assemble to choose the successor to Pope Francis. Their uniform is an homage to the epic last stand the guards once made to defend the pope. It's a declaration that they are willing to do so again, according to Bry Jensen, a historian and host of a podcast about the papacy. 'The reason is the sack of Rome in 1527,' Jensen, host of the Pontifacts show, told USA TODAY. 'One hundred forty-seven of the 189 Swiss Guards, including their commander, died and were torn apart to give Pope Clement VII time enough to escape.' Renegade soldiers from the Holy Roman Empire decided to attack the city. They were indignant over not being paid and directed their anger against the church, which was seen as corrupt then, according to the Encyclopedia of European History. The attack came amid burgeoning anti-church sentiment in Europe. Questions about the museum-piece-looking guards and their capabilities come as the conclave begins within the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The guards have no part in the process. But they are there to ensure it happens uninterrupted. The earliest conclaves in the 1400s predate the founding of the Swiss Guard, but since being established in 1506, they have been expected to protect the pope and, in turn, the college of cardinals during periods between church leaders. Swiss soldiers were originally picked for the position because of their fighting prowess, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Fighters from the alpine nation were renowned throughout Europe dating back to Roman times, the encyclopedia says, and they proved themselves in 1527. Their level of readiness has risen and fallen over the centuries. At points, the guards were largely ceremonial. They even mutinied in 1913 when one commander of the troops tried to turn them back into a lethal force again, according to a history of the guards titled The Pope's Soldiers: A Military History of the Modern Vatican by David Alvarez. But today, they are a force fit to look after the head of the church with 1.4 billion followers worldwide. Their antique-looking uniforms belie the elite training in counterintelligence, close-quarters combat and bomb disposal that they receive. But for those who know the story, it's a clue to the lengths they are willing to go. 'I swear that I will faithfully, loyally and honorably serve the Supreme Pontiff and his legitimate successors,' the guards say when they are sworn in, 'and dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing, if necessary, my life to defend them.' Here's what else to know about the elite guards protecting the cardinals throughout the conclave: The last stand of the Swiss Guard happened in 1527 when soldiers from the Holy Roman Empire invaded Rome, looking to sack the city. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, they "embarked on an orgy of destruction and massacre, terrorizing the population and humiliating Pope Clement VII." "The mercenaries, many of them are protestant, so they're really keen to kill some church men, especially the pope," Jensen said. "They're eager to string him up." Pope Clement VII was saying mass at St. Peter's at that time and had to be whisked away along a special passage connecting the heart of the Vatican to the Castel Sant'Angelo, the longtime fortress of the papacy near St. Peter's, according to the Oxford University Press. Of 189 guards, 42 went with the pope, according to Jensen. The rest stayed protecting the entrance to the passage, the Passetto di Borgo. 'The rest literally know they are standing there to die, but they last long enough to let the pope get out of dodge,' Jensen said. Swiss soldiers had already been picked to guard the pope in 1506 by Pope Julius II, known as the 'Warrior Pope.' He chose them because the Swiss were renowned fighters throughout Europe then. They sealed their place as the pope's official guard for the ages just a few decades later. There will be 25 more Swiss Guards protecting the Sistine Chapel during the conclave than when Pope Francis was elected in 2013. At the time, there were 110 Swiss Guards. Today, there are 135. The change dates back to 2018. Vatican officials cited threats of terrorism during a particularly active year for the papacy. Unofficially, fans of Pope Francis say it's because the church leader who championed the poor had a habit of sneaking out of the Vatican to spend time with people on the streets of Rome, according to Jensen. Jules Repond, a Swiss Guard commander in the early 1900s, was the leader who aimed to turn his troops back into a fighting force after years of serving a more ceremonial role, according to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland. In 1913, Swiss Guards mutinied for a week in response but eventually received military training as Repond wanted, Alvarez wrote in The Pope's Soldiers: A Military History of the Modern Vatican. Over 50 years later, their readiness was put to the test when Mehmet Ali Ağca shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in Saint Peter's Square in 1981. Swiss Guards failed to stop the Turkish national from hitting the Polish pope, though he survived. The event was a wake-up call for the papal bodyguards. Today, they are all still Swiss citizens. Other requirements are that candidates must be a man between the ages of 19 and 30 and a practicing Catholic, according to the official Swiss Guard website. They must also be single when joining the guard, although they can marry after serving for five years if they are at least 25 years old and commit to serving another three years, the official Swiss Guard website states. Training begins with two months of basic training. For the first month, recruits train with the Ticino Cantonal Police at the Swiss Police and Army Training Center in Isone, Switzerland. There, the recruits learn firefighting, first aid, shooting, personal safety, self-defense, tactical behavior and the notions of law, the official Swiss Guard website states. For the second month, recruits train at the Pontifical Swiss Guard Headquarters in Vatican City. They learn proper saluting, individual and group formations, guard changes and how to handle the halberd, a weapon used throughout the 13th to 16th centuries that combines an axe blade with a spike or hook. Recruits also learn Italian, if they aren't already fluent. Contributing: Greta Cross and Kim Hjelmgaard. (This story has been updated to correct a misspelling/typo.) This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How the Swiss Guard became the chosen force at the conclave
