E.W. Scripps Company president and CEO Adam Symson presents the trophy to Faizan Zaki, 13, of Dallas, the winner of the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Holden Connor Good, 13, left, reacts after spelling a word correctly as Aishwarya Kallakuri, 14, of Charlotte, N.C., right, looks on during the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)Chilaka Timothy Ugobi, 13, of Bismarck, N.D., competes in the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Chilaka Timothy Ugobi, 13, of Bismarck, N.D., competes in the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Wednesday, May 28, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)Harini Murali, 13, of Edison, N.J., competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)Harini Murali, 13, of Edison, N.J., competes in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Audience members watch as spellers compete in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)Audience members watch as spellers compete in the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Participants stretch as they compete during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Participants stretch as they compete during the first preliminary round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Md. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)NEW YORK (AP) — When Angelina Rivera was a third grader, she wanted to
and was excited by bugs, rocks and everything in the natural world.But a family trip to visit relatives
changed her perspective.stopped her family’s car and aggressively questioned her father about a crime someone else committed the night before. The experience left Rivera, then 8, shaken but also realizing that people