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Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Final Word At the National Spelling Bee Has Everyone Scratching Their Heads
The Final Word At the National Spelling Bee Has Everyone Scratching Their Heads originally appeared on Parade. Are you smarter than a 5th grader? Well, probably not smarter the 5th graders who competed in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The weeklong event began with 243 eager underage spellers from all over the United States and its territories. By the end of the preliminary rounds, only nine spellers remained. Of them, 13-year-old Faizan Zaki of Plano, Tex. emerged victorious, earning a cash prize of $50,000. The final word the competition came down to? "Éclaircissement." Huh? Is that like an éclair pastry that got stuck in cement? According to Merriam-Webster, an éclaircissement is "a clearing up of something obscure." To use it in a sentence: "Learning the definition of éclaircissement was an éclaircissement." This wasn't Zaki's first spelling rodeo. According to The New York Times, he was actually last year's runner up, and came back this year ready to win it all. It wasn't a straight sail to victory, though. Zaki had the opportunity to wrap up the competition sooner, but jumped the gun misspelling the uncommon word "commelina" with a K. "I was stunned, but still cautiously optimistic," Zaki's coach, Scott Remer, said. When he was given a second shot at victory, Zaki didn't even flinch. As he finished spelling the winning word, he became audibly choked up. When they told him he was correct, he fell to the floor in triumph. The spelling bee's executive director, Corrie Loeffler, called it "about the most exciting ending I've ever seen." This year's bee was a particularly special one, as it marked the competition's 100th anniversary. 11-year-old Frank Neuhauser won the first spelling bee in 1925 with the word "gladiolus." Per The Los Angeles Times, he won a trip to the White House to meet then-President Calvin Coolidge, and $500—in gold! Not bad for 1925. 'It was a lot easier back then,' Neuhauser said at the 2008 bee. 'There were only eight competitors instead of 288. I'd never make it now.' The Final Word At the National Spelling Bee Has Everyone Scratching Their Heads first appeared on Parade on May 30, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Ezra Miller Books Next Role After Scandals in Movie from 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' Director
Following multiple controversies and arrests, Ezra Miller has booked another film role The Flash star will star in Lynne Ramsay's upcoming vampire movie, the director said in an interview Miller last worked with Ramsay on 2011's We Need to Talk About KevinEzra Miller has booked another screen role years after making headlines for various scandals. Director Lynne Ramsay said in an interview earlier this month with The Los Angeles Times that The Flash star will play the main character in her next movie. Miller, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, last worked with Ramsay in the 2011 drama We Need to Talk About Kevin. 'I'm making a vampire movie,' Ramsay, 55, said when asked about making horror films. 'I can't tell you much. It's with Ezra Miller who was in Kevin. He's the main character. That's in development.' Laughing, she added that production on that project is further along than audiences might think: 'You won't wait for 10 years. I don't have 10 years. I've got to do it quicker than that.' Miller, 32, made their Hollywood breakout in 2008's Afterschool and 2012's The Perks of Being a Wallflower before landing the role of Barry Allen in several DC Extended Universe movies, most recently leading 2023's The Flash. That superhero movie's release was overshadowed by controversies surrounding Miller, who in 2022 faced a series of arrests for disorderly conduct and assault charges. In Hawaii, the actor pled no contest to a disorderly conduct charge over incidents at a karaoke bar, and was later arrested and charged with second-degree assault after allegedly throwing a chair. Later in 2022, Miller was accused of grooming two children and of burglarizing a home in Vermont. In August of that year, Miller publicly addressed their troubling behavior in a statement to PEOPLE. "Having recently gone through a time of intense crisis, I now understand that I am suffering complex mental health issues and have begun ongoing treatment," the star said. "I want to apologize to everyone that I have alarmed and upset with my past behavior. I am committed to doing the necessary work to get back to a healthy, safe and productive stage in my life.' Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. On May 17, Ramsay, whose last feature film was 2017's You Were Never Really Here, premiered Die, My Love at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. An adaptation of Ariana Harwicz's novel of the same name, it stars Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson and LaKeith Stanfield and counts Martin Scorsese and Lawrence among its producers. Distributor Mubi has not yet announced a release date. Read the original article on People
Graziadaily
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Graziadaily
Everything You Need To Know About The Handmaid's Tale Season Finale
It's been eight-years since The Handmaid's Tale first graced our screens, and introduced us to the world of Gilead. Now, after six incredible seasons the much-loved show has come to an emotional end. The TV series, which is an adaptation from a best-selling feminist book, Margaret Atwood's 1986 book of the same name, follows June, renamed Offred, as she navigates life in the totalitarian theocracy of Gilead, a former part of the United States. In Gilead, fertile women are forced into sex as Handmaids to have children for the elite. The show's finale this week has got everyone talking. While many loose ends are tied together and relationships are fixed, but there is one moment fans were hoping for that never truly materialised. June is not definitively reunited with her daughter Hannah. In an interview, Yahlin Chang, who took over as co-showrunner for Season 6, explained this was because of the planned sequel, The Testaments, which is currently in the works with Hulu. In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, Chang said: 'Our hands were tied, unfortunately, and we could not bring June and Hannah together because of 'The Testaments,' which was something that we really struggled with. I struggled with, speaking for myself, not giving people what they wanted or what I wanted.' The episode begins in the aftermath of episode nine, which saw Gilead's leadership destroyed and Massachusetts being freed. Next, the Mayday group focuses on liberating New York City. In the final episode of The Handmaid's Tale, we see June released from Gilead, wrapping up loose ends as she prepared to find her daughter. We see June and Luke decide to end their relationship, but they both vow to stay part of the resistance movement. June also says goodbye to Serena, who will go and live in a refugee camp with Noah, her baby son, with Serena admitting she is 'ashamed' of the torture that she put June through. June finally accepts Serena's apology. 'I forgive you, Serena,' she says. The episode ends with June revisiting her former home in old Waterford, where she first served as a handmaid. We see June start to write a book about her experiences, recording a tape recorder, with her reciting the first page of Margaret Atwood's novel. 'A chair. A table. A lamp. There's a window with white curtains, and the glass is shatterproof, but it isn't running away they're afraid of. A handmaid wouldn't get far. It's those other escapes. The ones you can open in yourself, given a cutting edge. Or a twisted sheet and a chandelier. I try not to think about those escapes. It's harder on ceremony days but thinking can hurt your chances. My name is Offred,' she said. Fans of the show don't have to be too disappointed it's coming to an end. The Testaments is Margaret Atwood's 2019 sequel to The Handmaid's Tale, and takes place over a decade after the original story. The show, which is currently in its production stage with Hulu, is described by the platform as 'a coming-of-age story that finds a new generation of young women in Gilead grappling with the bleak future that awaits them.' It will pick up more than 15 years after the events of "The Handmaid's Tale."' The show is set to document the journeys of Agnes and Hannah, June's daughter, and a fresh generation of young women. 'For these young women, growing up in Gilead is all they have ever known, having no tangible memories of the outside world prior to their indoctrination into this life,' Hulu said about the series. 'Facing the prospect of being married off and living a life of servitude, they will be forced to search for allies, both new and old, to help in their fight for freedom and the life they deserve.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trump has ordered a critically ill four-year-old Mexican girl to leave the country. She could die within days, experts say
A critically ill Mexican girl who could die within days if her treatment is paused has been ordered by the Trump administration to leave the U.S., according to her family and doctor. Deysi Vargas's 4-year-old daughter, named only as Sofia in a GoFundMe page, urgently required better medical care for a life-threatening condition and was granted temporary humanitarian permission to enter the U.S. from her home country of Mexico in 2023, The Los Angeles Times reports. Sofia has short bowel syndrome, a rare condition that stops her from absorbing nutrients in food. When she was born in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, she had to be attached to feeding tubes 24 hours a day. Since moving to the U.S., her condition has significantly improved, but she still requires treatment every day. Now the Trump administration has ordered Sofia's deportation, leaving her at risk of death, an attorney representing the family said. 'This is a textbook example of medical need,' Rebecca Brown of the pro bono firm Public Counsel told the paper. 'This child will die and there's no sense for that to happen. It would just be a cruel sacrifice.' The family is currently living in Bakersfield, California, just over 100 miles north of Los Angeles. The threat to Sofia's life was confirmed by Dr. John Arsenault of the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, where she receives regular treatment every six weeks. Arsenault said in a letter seen by The Los Angeles Times that if there is an interruption to administering nutrition to her system, 'it could be fatal within a matter of days.' The doctor added that patients who receive the treatment, called Total Parenteral Nutrition, at home 'are not allowed to leave the country.' 'The infrastructure to provide TPN or provide immediate intervention if there is a problem with IV access depends on our program's utilization of U.S.-based healthcare resources and does not transfer across borders,' Arsenault explained in the letter. The Independent has contacted the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for comment. Sofia was reportedly born one month premature and had to undergo six surgeries due to an intestinal blockage, as medics struggled to get the condition under control in Mexico. During one surgery, Vargas, 28, told the newspaper that doctors cut out too much, leaving Sofia with short bowels. One blood infection she suffered as a result nearly killed her. While she was being kept alive in Mexico, her condition was no better by the age of two and Vargas knew the family would have to move to get her better care. Vargas signed up to the Biden administration's CBP One app to book an appointment with border agents in Tijuana to receive two-year protection from deportation. The app is now used by the Trump administration to notify migrants to self-deport or face the consequences. At the appointment on July 31, 2023, agents could tell that Sofia was seriously unwell just by taking one look at her. 'God knew she needed better treatment,' Vargas told The Los Angeles Times. 'When we got to the entrance, they saw her and asked us if we needed medical help.' That same day, the family was taken to Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego and her condition improved quickly. A year later, Sofia was referred to the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, which has one of the highest-ranked programs for gastroenterology in the U.S. Under their care, by September 2024, Sofia was discharged and could receive treatment in the comfort of her home. Meanwhile, her parents were working hard to hold down odd jobs in Bakersfield. 'It was incredible,' Vargas, who found a steady job as a cleaner at a restaurant, told the outlet. 'I had waited so long for doctors to tell me, 'Ma'am, your daughter is OK now. She can go home.'' Sofia's care is still gruelling. She must still spend 14 hours a night hooked up to the intravenous feeding system and Vargas also has to administer different medication that goes into her stomach through a gastric tube four times a day. At preschool, a school nurse has to administer nutrition daily. As things were beginning to look up, the notice from immigration arrived, swiftly followed by a notice terminating her employment authorization. Their attorney believes the family's legal status was terminated by mistake and has submitted a petition for a continuation of temporary humanitarian legal status because of Sofia's medical condition. 'This is the intended purpose — to help the most vulnerable who need attention here,' Brown said. 'We can avoid having harmed the child and the family.' Vargas added that they only intend to stay for as long as Sofia requires treatment, which is unclear.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
That Time L.A.'s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Called in a Bomb Threat on His Own City Hall
"False flags" are a staple of conspiracy theories. Many infamous attacks and threats, the theory goes, were cooked up by the government itself to spread fear and justify crackdowns. But a bomb threat against Los Angeles City Hall turned out to be exactly that kind of scheme—albeit a poorly cooked up one. Brian K. Williams, former deputy mayor for public safety, pleaded guilty on Thursday to calling in a bomb threat during a meeting on October 3, 2024. According to his plea deal, Williams used Google Voice to place a call to his work phone, then told the Los Angeles Police Department chief of staff and texted other officials that the "caller" had threatened to blow up city hall. Williams implied that the threat was sent in by a pro-Palestinian activist. "I'm tired of the city support of Israel. I have decided to place a bomb in City Hall. It might be in the Rotunda," he quoted the non-existent caller as saying. The meeting was during Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and a few days before the anniversary of the October 2023 attacks on Israel. After police searched city hall and found no bomb, Williams showed them the call record from the Google Voice number. He then texted other officials to say "There is no need for us to evacuate the building." But the investigation of the threat didn't end there. The Los Angeles Times reports that detectives "conducted surveillance that led them to conclude that Williams was responsible for the bomb threat." They then turned over the investigation to the FBI, which raided Williams' house in December 2024. He was placed on administrative leave immediately after. As deputy mayor for public safety, Williams oversaw the Los Angeles Police Department as well as the Fire Department, Emergency Management Department, airport police, and seaport police. He was promoted to the job in February 2023 from his previous post as executive director of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission. Williams "not only betrayed the residents of Los Angeles, but responding officers, and the integrity of the office itself, by fabricating a bomb threat," Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in a press release. "Government officials are held to a heightened standard as we rely on them to safeguard the city. I'm relieved that Mr. Williams has taken responsibility for his inexplicable actions." Inexplicable indeed. The plea agreement didn't explain William's motive, and his lawyer Dmitry Gorin simply told the Los Angeles Times that the "aberrational incident was the product of personal issues which Mr. Williams is addressing appropriately, and is not representative of his character or dedication to the city of Los Angeles." It's one thing for the government to exaggerate dangers, mix up different kinds of threats, or get swept up in mass panic. It's another for a government official to make up a lie from scratch. Yet that's what really happened in Los Angeles. The post That Time L.A.'s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Called in a Bomb Threat on His Own City Hall appeared first on
