Month: June 2022

Harini Logan was eliminated from the Scripps National Spelling Bee once, then reinstated. She missed four words in a grueling standoff against Vikram Raju, including one that would have given her the title.

In the first-ever lightning-round tiebreaker, Harini finally claimed the trophy.

The 13-year-old eighth grade student from San Antonio, Texas, who competed in the last fully in-person bee three years ago and endured the pandemic to make it back, spelled 21 words correctly during a 90-second spell-off, beating Vikram by six.

Harini, one of the best-known spellers entering the bee and a crowd favorite for her poise and positivity, wins more than $50,000 in cash and prizes.

Perhaps no champion has ever had more final-round flubs, but Harini was no less deserving.

She is the fifth Scripps champion to be coached by Grace Walters, a former speller, fellow Texan and student at Rice University who is considering bowing out of the coaching business. If so, she will depart on top.

The key moment came during the bee’s much-debated multiple-choice vocabulary round, when Harini defined the word “pullulation” as the nesting of mating birds. Scripps said the correct answer was the swarming of bees.

But wait!

“We did a little sleuthing after you finished, which is what our job is, to make sure we’ve made the right decision,” head judge Mary Brooks said to Harini. “We (did) a little deep dive in that word and actually the answer you gave to that word is considered correct, so we’re going to reinstate you.”

From there, Harini breezed into the finals against Vikram. They each spelled two words correctly. Then Scripps brought out the toughest words of the night.

Both misspelled. Then Vikram missed again and Harini got “sereh” right, putting her one word away from the title. The word was “drimys,” and she got it wrong.

Two more rounds, two more misspelled words by each, and Scripps brought out the podium and buzzer for the lightning round that all the finalists had practiced for in the mostly empty ballroom hours earlier.

Harini was faster and sharper throughout, and the judges’ final tally confirmed her victory.

The last fully in-person version of the bee had no tiebreaker and ended in an eight-way tie. The 2020 bee was canceled because of the pandemic, and in 2021 it was mostly virtual, with only 11 finalists gathering in Florida as Zaila Avant-garde became the first Black American champion.

The changes continued this year with Scripps ending its deal with longtime partner ESPN and producing its own telecast for its networks ION and Bounce, with actor and literacy advocate LeVar Burton as host. The transition was bumpy at times, with long and uneven commercial breaks that broke up the action and audio glitches that exposed the inner workings of the broadcast to the in-person crowd.

The bee itself was leaner, with fewer than half the participants it had in 2019 because of sponsors dropping out and the end of a wild-card program. And spellers had to answer vocabulary questions live on stage for the first time, resulting in several surprising eliminations during the semifinals.

Harini bowing out on a vocabulary word was briefly the biggest shock of all. Then she was back on stage, and at the end, she was still there.
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In Mogadishu, a group of young filmmakers are hoping to take their vision to the world. VOA’s Abdulkadir Zubeyr reports.
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Queen Elizabeth II will make two appearances on the Buckingham Palace balcony on Thursday, kicking off four days of public events to mark her historic Platinum Jubilee.

The extent of the 96-year-old monarch’s involvement in the celebrations for her record-breaking 70 years on the throne has been a source of speculation for months.

She has cut back drastically on her public appearances since last year because of difficulties standing and walking — and a bout of COVID-19.

But royal officials confirmed that she would take the salute of mounted troops from the balcony after a military parade called Trooping the Colour.

The centuries-old ceremony to officially mark the sovereign’s birthday has previously seen the queen take the salute on horseback herself.

Her 73-year-old son and heir, Prince Charles, will step in this year, supported by his sister, Princess Anne, 71, and his eldest son, Prince William, 39.

Joining senior royals watching the display of military precision will be Charles’ younger son, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan, on a rare visit from California, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

But the queen’s disgraced second son, Prince Andrew, 62, is not expected to join them.

She will return to the balcony later to watch a flyby of military aircraft, including iconic models from World War II, the palace said.

At nightfall, the queen will be at Windsor Castle, west of London, to take part in a ceremony to light more than 3,000 beacons across the country and the Commonwealth of 54 nations that she heads.

Parties, parades, concerts

 

Elizabeth was a 25-year-old princess when she succeeded her father, King George VI in 1952, bringing a rare touch of glamour to a battered nation still enduring food rations after World War II.

Seventy years on, she is now the only monarch most Britons have ever known, becoming an enduring figurehead through often troubled times.

Britain’s first and very likely only Platinum Jubilee will see street parties, pop concerts and parades until Sunday in potentially the last major public celebration of the queen’s long reign.

It has not yet been confirmed if she will attend a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, while her planned attendance at horse racing showcase The Derby on Saturday is off.

She could yet put in a final appearance — again from the palace balcony — on Sunday, at the climax of a huge public pageant involving 6,000 performers.

In a message, the queen thanked everyone involved in organizing the community events in Britain and around the world.

“I know that many happy memories will be created at these festive occasions,” she said.

“I continue to be inspired by the goodwill shown to me, and hope that the coming days will provide an opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved during the last 70, as we look to the future with confidence and enthusiasm.”

Attention turning to succession

The jubilee, held against a backdrop of rising inflation that has left many Britons struggling, is being seen not just as respite for the public after two years scarred by the pandemic but also for the royals.

Harry, 37, and Meghan, 40, caused shockwaves in early 2020 by moving to North America, from where they have publicly criticized royal life.

In April last year, she lost her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, and was forced to sit alone at his funeral because of coronavirus restrictions.

Since then, she has struggled with her health and also the fallout from Andrew’s links to the convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Andrew, who in February settled a U.S. civil claim for sexual assault, has effectively been fired from his royal duties.

Attention is increasingly turning to the succession, and the monarchy’s future at home and in the 14 other Commonwealth countries where the queen is also head of state.

Her approval rating among Britons remains high at 75%, according to a poll by YouGov published Wednesday, but Charles is only at 50%.

A total of 62% still want a monarchy, although younger people are split, with 33% in favor, and 31% wanting a republic.

Only 39% said they thought there would still be a monarch in 100 years’ time.
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A jury on Wednesday ruled in favor of Johnny Depp in his libel lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard, vindicating his stance that Heard fabricated claims that she was abused by Depp before and during their brief marriage. 

The jury also found in favor of Heard, who said she was defamed by Depp’s lawyer when he called her abuse allegations a hoax. 

Jury members found Depp should be awarded $10.35 million in damages, while Heard should receive $2 million. 

The verdicts bring an end to a televised trial that Depp had hoped would help restore his reputation, though it turned into a spectacle of a vicious marriage. Throughout the trial, fans — overwhelmingly on Depp’s side — lined up overnight for coveted courtroom seats. Spectators who couldn’t get in gathered on the street to cheer Depp and jeer Heard whenever either appeared outside. 

Depp sued Heard for libel in Fairfax County Circuit Court over a December 2018 op-ed she wrote in The Washington Post describing herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse.” His lawyers said he was defamed by the article even though it never mentioned his name. 

While the case was ostensibly about libel, most of the testimony focused on whether Heard had been physically and sexually abused, as she claimed. Heard enumerated more than a dozen alleged assaults, including a fight in Australia — where Depp was shooting a “Pirates of the Caribbean” sequel — in which Depp lost the tip of his middle finger, and Heard said she was sexually assaulted with a liquor bottle. 

Depp said he never hit Heard and that she was the abuser, though Heard’s attorneys highlighted years-old text messages Depp sent apologizing to Heard for his behavior, as well as profane texts he sent to a friend in which Depp said he wanted to kill Heard and defile her dead body. 

In some ways, the trial was a replay of a lawsuit Depp filed in Britain against a British tabloid after he was described as a “wife beater.” The judge in that case ruled in the newspaper’s favor after finding that Heard was telling the truth in her descriptions of abuse. 

In the Virginia case, Depp had to prove not only that he never assaulted Heard, but that Heard’s article — which focused primarily on public policy related to domestic violence — defamed him. He also had to prove that Heard wrote the article with actual malice. And to claim damages he had to prove that her article caused damage to his reputation as opposed to any number of articles before and after Heard’s piece that detailed the allegations against him. 

Depp, in his final testimony to the jury, said the trial gave him a chance to clear his name in a way the British trial never allowed. 

“No matter what happens, I did get here, and I did tell the truth, and I have spoken up for what I’ve been carrying on my back, reluctantly, for six years.” Depp said. 

Heard, on the other hand, said the trial has been an ordeal inflicted by an orchestrated smear campaign led by Depp. 

“Johnny promised me — promised me — that he’d ruin my life, that he’d ruin my career. He’d take my life from me,” Heard said in her final testimony. 

The case captivated millions through its gavel-to-gavel television coverage and impassioned followers on social media who dissected everything from the actors’ mannerisms to the possible symbolism of what they were wearing. Both performers emerge from the trial with reputations in tatters with unclear prospects for their careers. 

Eric Rose, a crisis management and communications expert in Los Angeles, called the trial a “classic murder-suicide.” 

“From a reputation management perspective, there can be no winners,” he said. “They’ve bloodied each other up. It becomes more difficult now for studios to hire either actor because you’re potentially alienating a large segment of your audience who may not like the fact that you have retained either Johnny or Amber for a specific project because feelings are so strong now.” 

Depp, a three-time best actor Oscar nominee, had until recent years been a bankable star. His turn as Captain Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” film helped turn it into a global franchise, but he’s lost that role. (Heard’s and Depp’s teams each blame the other.) He was also replaced as the title character in the third “Fantastic Beasts” spin-off film, “The Crimes of Grindelwald.” 

Despite testimony at the trial that he could be violent, abusive and out of control, Depp received a standing ovation Tuesday night in London after performing for about 40 minutes with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall. He has previously toured with Joe Perry and Alice Cooper as the group Hollywood Vampires. 

Heard’s acting career has been more modest, and her only two upcoming roles are in a small film and the upcoming “Aquaman” sequel due out next year. 

Depp’s lawyers fought to keep the case in Virginia, in part because state law provided some legal advantages compared with California, where the two reside. A judge ruled that Virginia was an acceptable forum for the case because The Washington Post’s printing presses and online servers are in the county. 

 
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President Joe Biden hosted K-pop supergroup BTS on May 31, 2022, to raise awareness of anti-Asian discrimination. Members of the Grammy-nominated South Korean group also serve as U.N. ambassadors. VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell reports from the White House.
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President Joe Biden hosted K-pop supergroup BTS Tuesday to raise awareness of anti-Asian discrimination. The septet is South Korea’s most prominent crossover act, bagging two Grammy nominations and an armful of American music awards and garnering widespread appeal among American teens. They’re also U.N. ambassadors. VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell reports from the White House. 
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