Soft-spoken but brimming with confidence, Dev Shah asked precise questions about obscure Greek roots, rushed through his second-to-last word and rolled to the Scripps National Spelling Bee title Thursday night.
Dev, a 14-year-old from Largo, Florida, had his spelling career interrupted by the pandemic, then didn't make it out of his regional bee last year. He got through his highly competitive regional this year for his third and final try at the national title, and he ended up holding the trophy over his head as confetti fell.
His winning word was “psammophile,” a layup for a speller of his caliber.
“Psammo meaning sand, Greek?” he asked. “Phile, meaning love, Greek?”
He soaked up the moment by asking for the word to be used in a sentence, something he described a day earlier as a stalling tactic. Then he put his hands over his face as he was declared the winner.
Charlotte Walsh, a 14-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, was the runner-up.
Multiple sources confirm to Cheddar News' sister station News 12 Long Island that Suffolk County police have arrested a suspect in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders.
Leaders of SAG-AFTRA, the union that represents the actors, voted Thursday to strike after contract talks collapsed with the studios and streaming services that hire them.
Murder-mystery comedy series, 'The Afterparty,' is back for its second season, and Cheddar News' West Coast correspondent Azia Celestino caught up with the cast and creators.
