LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — The nation’s first African American winner has breezed to victory at the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Fourteen-year-old Zaila Avant-garde of Harvey, Louisiana, didn’t show much stress on stage and only struggled with one word in Thursday’s finals. She is only the second Black champion in the bee’s 96-year history after Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica in 1998. Zaila described spelling as a side hobby, though she routinely practiced seven hours daily.
A basketball prodigy, she hopes to play in the WNBA and holds three Guinness world records for dribbling multiple balls simultaneously. Zaila leaped with excitement after spelling the winning word, “Murraya,” a genus of tropical Asiatic and Australian trees.
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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Fast-moving Tropical Storm Elsa hit the New York City region with torrential rains and high winds as it churned up the East Coast. Maximum sustained winds from the storm were near 50 mph (85 kph) as it moved through New York City and Long Island Friday morning. Heavy rains were causing potential traffic hazards in New York City and nearby suburbs, which were already reeling from […]
