After three days of competition, 18 total rounds and one nail-biting, rapid-fire "spell-off," the Scripps National Spelling Bee has crowned its champion: 14-year-old Shrey Parikh from Rancho Cucamonga.
The history: This is the 101st year of the national spelling competition, and the third time it's been decided by a rapid-fire "spell-off" since the practice was introduced in 2021.
How he got there: The 8th grader estimates he's spent about five hours a day working on spelling in the past year alone.
What's next: Parikh said he's excited to dive deeper into his other hobbies, especially tennis and math competitions. He will leave D.C. with $52,500 in cash and a slew of other perks, including hundreds of dollars' worth of reference works, flight credits and an astronaut meet-and-greet at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — After three days of competition, 18 total rounds and one nail-biting, rapid-fire "spell-off," the Scripps National Spelling Bee has crowned its champion: 14-year-old Shrey Parikh from Rancho Cucamonga.
Over the course of two hours Thursday night, the pool of nine finalists dropped to two: Parikh and 12-year-old Ishaan Gupta from Jersey City, N.J. After each nailed their eighth respective word, officials carried a sleek silver podium — with a buzzer on top — onto the stage, prompting huge gasps from the crowd. It was time for a spell-off.
"I was not excited at all because to be honest, regular spelling I feel like is a much better show of what spelling is meant to be," Parikh told reporters immediately after his win. "But I accepted the fact that there was going to be a spell-off, I calmed my mind, I got some water … and I just tried to take it all in stride and do the best I could."
As the top two finalists, Ishaan Gupta (L) and Shrey Parikh each had 90 seconds to spell as many words correctly as possible.
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Jose Luis Magana
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Parikh and Gupta each had 90 seconds at the buzzer, alone on the stage, to spell as many words correctly as possible. Then, after a few minutes of careful counting, judges made it official: Parikh had crushed 32 words to Gupta's 25, ending in "cashaw" (a type of plant) and setting a new spell-off record.
"Once I get the word I'm not really nervous anymore, because then it's all in my control," Parikh reflected from center stage at DAR Constitutional Hall, a grand concert hall a stone's throw from the White House.
Parikh will leave D.C. with $52,500 in cash and a slew of other perks, including hundreds of dollars' worth of reference works, flight credits and an astronaut meet-and-greet at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida.
He's also coming into some considerable free time: The eighth-grader estimates he's spent about five hours a day working on spelling in the past year alone. He's excited to dive deeper into his other hobbies, especially tennis and math competitions. And, even before his win set in, he knew what message he wanted it to send.
"I would say, definitely, just keep trying," he said. "Trying is the best thing you can do, and it's the most important thing you can do."
This is Parikh's third bee: He placed 89th in 2022 and third in 2024.
The bee returns to its D.C. roots
This is the first time in 15 years that the competition has been held in D.C., after a long stretch in Maryland and a year in Florida during COVID. Organizers decided to return the competition to its roots in its 101st year, citing the "prestige and honor that D.C. brings to this experience for spellers," plus access to the city's free museums and monuments.
"We think it's a fitting national-level prize to be able to go and see the nation's capital, especially now as the country celebrates 250 years," said Executive Director Corrie Loeffler.
A total of 247 competitors arrived in D.C. for "Bee Week" on Sunday, hailing from all 50 states and as far away as Guam. The competitors ranged from 9 to 15, though most were middle-school age.
Several contestants and family members told NPR they appreciated the chance to explore D.C., with many planning to tour historical sites over the weekend. Though not everyone welcomed the change: 13-year-old Harini Jayakumar of Charlotte, N.C. — who made it to the semifinals of her third and final bee — said she enjoyed the hotel and overall experience more when it was in Maryland.
Spellers who didn't make it to the final still packed into the 3,700-seat venue on Thursday, along with families, journalists and curious locals. Outside the auditorium, they wandered through a timeline of the bee's history, admired a display-case trophy and posed for photos with two human-size, costume-clad bees.
Maryland resident Christy Kim, 35, got hooked after attending a county-level spelling bee last month for fun, as she looked for free activities in the area. She even convinced her friend Maia Owens to travel two hours from Baltimore for the final, promising a wholesome evening. Owens was sold too.
"We honestly might be bee people now," Kim said with a laugh.
Erika Minor, who helped sell t-shirts at the merchandise table, said the most popular item — stuffed bee plushies — sold out on the very first day of competition. Minor, a D.C. local, who works for the venue, hadn't paid much attention to the bee in the past, quickly saw what all the buzz was about.
"It is so cool and exciting to see, and also just to talk to, the participants and hear where they came from, and then also to peek my head [in] … and just see how like the kids go through the process of remembering how to spell certain words," Minor said, adding that she will follow the contest in the future.
From nine finalists to one champion
All told, there were seven spelling rounds and one multiple-choice vocabulary round, which was added to the onstage competition in 2021 to put less emphasis on rote memorization.
Logan Bailey skips back to his seat — and the other contestants — after making it through another round at Thursday's final.
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The elimination-style spelling rounds are the bee's bread and butter. Dr. Jaques Bailly, who won in 1980 with the word "elucubrate," has been the head pronouncer for over two decades. He reads each speller one word per round.
Spellers have 90 seconds and the chance to ask for some basic information, like origin and definition. If they get it wrong, there is a heavy pause before the head judge, Mary Brooks, rings a bell, an antique family heirloom, and delivers some praise on their way out.
"You are pure joy," she told 12-year-old Logan Bailey, who had gotten the crowd on his side with his shocked, cheerful scamper back to his seat after each successful turn. "As a speller, you absolutely brought happiness to everyone in this room. You come back."
Attendees' stress and suspense was palpable with every letter — as were their relieved sighs and sympathetic gasps as each speller took the mic.
"And you also don't know how to spell these words, so you don't know if they got it right or wrong," said Kim. "So when you hear that bell, it's very discouraging because you know how hard they worked for it. But it's still great because the spellers are really encouraging to one another and the audience is really supportive of the spellers."
All of the competition words come from the Merriam-Webster Unabridged dictionary. Some of Thursday's sounded too whimsical to be real — Kadohadacho, quillai, hwyl, Quincke tube — while others sounded too straightforward to be true, like potto, Kolami and cere.
The dreaded bell didn't ring until the third round, which saw four contestants eliminated in a matter of minutes. By the end of the seventh round, only Parikh and Gupta were left — and their success in the subsequent round brought them to the dreaded spell-off.
Competitors had to hit a flashing buzzer in order to hear the next word during the spell-off rounds.
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It's the third time one has decided the spelling bee since it was introduced in 2021.
Harini Logan won the first spell-off, in 2022, by spelling 22 words in 90 seconds. In 2024, Bruhat Soma won with 29.
After his win, Parikh said the word that stumped him the most the entire night was "Bhubaneswar," a city in India.
"I was 99% sure it had a 'B,' but always doubt creeps into your head, especially in the moment," he said. "I knew I just had to stick with my gut and stick with my instincts on that word."
Just as winning spellers get their names in the history books, so too do the winning words.
Some of them may surprise modern-day listeners — like "croissant" in 1970, "luge" in 1980 and "Purim" in 1983. More recent words have been less of the household variety. In the last five years, we've seen: éclaircissement (an explanation), abseil (basically rappelling), psammophile (an organism that thrives in sand), moorhen (a type of water bird) and Murraya (a genus of plants).
Copyright 2026 NPR
Courtney Eileen Fulcher
is the apprentice news clerk for AirTalk and FilmWeek, hosted by Larry Mantle.
Published June 29, 2026 5:32 PM
A 1938 photo of KNX's studios.
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Los Angeles Public Library
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Topline:
With KNX's shift last month back to AM radio only, we asked Southern Californians to share their memories of listening to the radio.
Why now: Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced it was moving KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — off 97.1 FM, but keeping the long-running news format on 1070 AM where it's been for more than 100 years. The move officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station.
A radio time capsule: AirTalk, LAist's flagship daily news show which airs on 89.3 FM, asked listeners to share their favorite memories of listening to the radio.
Continue reading... for vintage photos from The Los Angeles Public Library's digital archive collections highlighting Southern California's rich radio history.
Southern California was built on radio.
"I can still hear the jingle KFWB News 98,” wrote Taline in Los Feliz, during a recent conversation on LAist's daily news show, AirTalk, which airs on 89.3 FM. “I grew up hearing that in my dad's minivan on the way to and from school. It has a special place in my heart.”
Back in April, broadcast company Audacy announced KNX News — one of the last-remaining all-news FM stations — was leaving the FM dial where it had simulcast on 97.1 FM since 2021. The station, which is also one of the oldest in L.A., is not budging from 1070 AM where it has been on the air for more than 100 years. The move away from FM officially happened in May to make way for a new sports talk station, which Audacy officials called an area of growth for advertisers in today’s media landscape.
The move is one in a long line of changes for radio and a reminder that before podcasts, playlists and algorithms, many Southern Californians built their days around radio broadcasts.
Radio, a daily ritual
The construction of KNX
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Herman J. Schultheis
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Michael Jackson, a well-known KNX, personality
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Larry Mantle, now in his 41st year hosting AirTalk, remembers being a kid and dreaming of what it might be like to be behind the mic at one of these radio stations.
“ I grew up with KNX," he said. “My dream job as a kid was to be an anchor on KNX or KFWB, the two local all-news radio stations, 'cause there was nothing like hosting AirTalk that even existed at that point.”
Mantle opened up the phone lines on a recent show to hear from his fellow SoCal radio lovers about the shows they miss and the memories they have. Here's what they had to say:
A love for radio, then and now
A pilot of KMPC's traffic alert helicopter pictured with his daughter and grandson.
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A 1963 picture of Valley State College (now Los Angeles Valley College) preparing to launch KVCM
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“When you'd walk down Hollywood Boulevard where the station was, you could hear it playing as you went down the street,” said Olivia in Glendale about KLAC 570 with Al Jarvis.
Larry in Yorba Linda shouted out KBCA Jazz for its 24-hour jazz, saying “When I first moved out here in '68 from Phoenix, which had like an hour a week, it was a real wonder.”
Mark in Glassell Park emailed that he loves KCRW’s Henry Rollins, writing, “I used to bristle at his unique DJ persona, but over time, I came to love him and his crazy eclectic playlists. I find his knowledge in history and punk rock fascinating. He's a gem and a legend."
"I'd like to give a shout-out to all the DJs working at KXLU, the college station at Loyola Marymount University, said Jeremy in Culver City in an email. “That station's been on the air for nearly 60 years. I believe it's one of the best examples of what's possible with radio."
"KFWB and KRLA back in the day when they were rock music stations — Dr. Demento, one of my favorite on-air personalities, also had eclectic music taste," said Carrie in Desert Edge.
“ Dr. Demento was must listening when I was a kid in junior high school at Le Conte Junior High in Hollywood,” Mantle added. “Every Sunday night on KMET, we would make sure we were listening to Dr. Demento and his funny records.”
The question remains…
An 11-year-old winning a car in a KMPC contest in 1963.
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Listener support is vital to any radio station, and it’s clear KNX has many lifelong fans. AirTalk listeners highlighted their support for household KNX names over the decades like Bill Keene, Melinda Lee, Mike Roy and Jackie Olden.
As KNX makes changes, many are watching closely and thinking about the future of radio.
Listeners like Tommy in La Quinta are left wondering if the radio dial will be the same…
“I’m a hardcore listener, but I don't know about casual listeners [and] if they'll tune to AM,” he said.
Libby Rainey
has been tracking how L.A. is preparing for the 2028 Olympic Games.
Published June 29, 2026 5:02 PM
LA28 chair Casey Wasserman speaks with L.A. Mayor Karen Bass at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on August 10, 2024.
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Topline:
After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.
What's in the deal? The private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.
What happens now: The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the city council. The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.
Concerns remain: The contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.
Read on...for more on concerns over security costs for 2028.
After months of hand-wringing, Los Angeles and LA28 have come to a tentative agreement on how Olympics organizers will reimburse the city for its expenses for the 2028 Summer Games.
According to the deal, the private Olympic organizing committee will pay upfront for the estimated cost of services that are not eligible for federal reimbursement, like trash pick-up and traffic control. Under another proposal, the city would also be able to tap an LA28 contingency fund if it isn't fully repaid by the federal government for policing costs at Olympic venues.
The agreement is nearly nine months overdue and still needs approval by Mayor Karen Bass and the City Council.
The 2028 Olympics are intended to be privately financed, and an existing city agreement with LA28 states that the Olympics organizers, not L.A., will pay for extra costs for public services in support of the Games. But L.A. is the financial back-stop for the Olympics, meaning if LA28 goes in the red, taxpayers will pick up the bill.
Beyond that, the city services agreement presents another area where L.A. could incur additional unexpected expenses for hosting the Games. L.A. City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez warned LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover earlier this year that a bad deal could "bankrupt" the city.
Jacie Prieto Lopez, an LA28 spokesperson, and Paul Krekorian, who leads the city's office of major events, said in statements that the freshly inked agreement would help deliver a fiscally responsible Games.
"Mayor Bass’ priority is that the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games be fiscally responsible, protect taxpayers, and benefit Angelenos for decades to come. This agreement helps deliver that commitment," Krekorian said.
But the contract between the two parties doesn't fully resolve one of the biggest areas of financial risk for the city: the enormous cost of security for an event as extensive and high-profile as the summer Olympics and Paralympics.
The federal government has so far allocated $1 billion for security costs for the Olympics. Exactly where those federal funds will go has not yet been determined, and there's no guarantee they will cover all of L.A.'s policing costs.
To address this, city officials have also proposed an amendment to a 2021 agreement between the city and LA28. That amendment would establish that if L.A. is not reimbursed by the federal government for all its eligible expenses, it could dip into LA28's contingency fund of $270 million before the private organizing committee could use those funds for any legacy projects.
But that bucket of money will first be used for any costs that Olympics organizers still owe if they run out of revenue — meaning if the Olympics don't turn a profit, the city's access to that money will depend on how much is left for the taking.
Civil rights attorney Connie Rice, who has been tracking the city's negotiations with LA28, told LAist the agreement was a "PR document" not a deal. She pointed out that if the federal government does not pay up for security spending as expected, L.A. could be in trouble.
" It leaves the taxpayers with a GoFundMe strategy," she said.
The city services agreement lays the groundwork for more negotiations between LA28 and the city. Each venue will require its own agreement, to be negotiated by July 1, 2027. Venues in the city of L.A. include Dodger Stadium, the L.A. Convention Center, L.A. Memorial Coliseum and the Venice Beach Boardwalk.
The City Council's ad-hoc committee on the 2028 Games will meet Tuesday afternoon to vote on the agreement.
Keep up with LAist.
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Lucas Brady Woods
covers the weather and disasters, among other climate and science topics.
Published June 29, 2026 4:54 PM
Cleanup is underway now at the Boyle Heights food storage warehouse that spewed smoke around L.A. earlier this month.
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Topline:
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass signed a pair of executive orders Monday to ramp up efforts to clean the mess left by the fire that burned for a week at a Boyle Heights warehouse.
Why now: Since the warehouse fire was put out, the 85 million pounds of frozen food stored inside is now rotting, spreading foul smells throughout surrounding neighborhoods and raising concerns about an influx of pests. Residents have also been left with worries about air and water contamination after the fire and possible long-term public health effects.
Spoiled food removal: Bass and city officials said Monday the warehouse owner, Lineage, began moving food debris on Sunday to landfills in Ventura and Riverside counties. The company predicts it will take 5,000 truckloads to remove it all.
Reducing odors: Lineage plans to apply a chemical deodorizer, likely chlorine dioxide, to the food, debris and trucks leaving the warehouse. It’s also installing devices within the warehouse that will spray mist over the food inside until it is moved.
Pest control: Lineage is responsible for pest management inside the warehouse, while the city of Los Angeles is responsible for it outside the warehouse. Both have hired private contractors to manage pest control.
Air and water testing: The South Coast Air Quality Management District is overseeing efforts to measure harmful material in the air and posting data to its online air quality map. Lineage also hired private contractor Onterris to monitor air quality in the community surrounding the warehouse, with South Coast AQMD’s oversight. The Los Angeles Department of Sanitation has been monitoring water flowing from the site since firefighting operations began. It’s using a variety of methods, including containment tanks and catch basins, to divert the runoff into the sewer and prevent it from flowing into the L.A. River.
What’s next: Bass’ two executive orders are intended to accelerate cleanup efforts, protect residents and hold accountable the companies responsible for the facility and its safety. One order directs the Fire Department to report on its investigation into the cause of the fire within 90 days. The orders also include a number of provisions to help Boyle Heights residents and businesses, including free public transit, financial assistance and expanded public health resources.
Why it matters: Officials and advocates have called for transparency around the cleanup, especially because they say the neighborhood has been historically under-resourced and disproportionately subjected to environmental burdens. One of the orders signed Monday directs city officials to compile a report within 45 days on industrial areas across Los Angeles that sit close to homes and schools. The report also must include possible zoning and land use changes that would reduce negative health effects from existing and future industrial facilities.
Aaron Schrank
has been on the ground, reporting on homelessness and other issues in L.A. for more than a decade.
Published June 29, 2026 4:36 PM
Tents in the Skid Row area of downtown Los Angeles on June 11, 2026.
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Topline:
L.A.’s lead homelessness agency, LAHSA, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Monday, asking a judge for relief from a federal funding suspension it calls unjustified.
How we got here: On June 11, HUD suspended the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority from federal grant activity pending an investigation into alleged mismanagement. The federal agency said the suspension means LAHSA cannot fulfill its role as collaborative applicant for the entire region’s application for federal homelessness dollars for the upcoming fiscal year. In its lawsuit, LAHSA says the suspension is the Trump administration’s back door attempt to eliminate the Continuum of Care program in L.A., which gives local officials discretion over homelessness projects submitted for federal funding.
LAHSA’s challenge: LAHSA says HUD has failed to identify any public agreement or transaction that LAHSA has violated or cite proper evidence of mismanagement. LAHSA also claims several inaccuracies and misrepresentations in HUD’s original suspension letter, including relying on reviews that LAHSA says were irrelevant to federal funding. “HUD supports its position with an amalgamation of uncorroborated hearsay information apparently cherry-picked from the internet,” the complaint states.
Legal argument: LAHSA's attorneys contend that HUD unlawfully suspended funding, arguing that the action violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the Constitution's separation of powers principle, and the Tenth Amendment. LAHSA is asking for a stay of the HUD suspension pending judicial review and a permanent injunction barring head from suspending LAHSA or blocking the work of the Los Angeles Continuum of Care.
Why it matters: The deadline for the L.A. region to submit its application to HUD for regional homelessness grants is Aug. 26. LAHSA says the suspension jeopardizes $241 million in federal funding that supports more than 11,000 people across L.A. County. LAHSA says the HUD suspension could prevent the agency from other activities, including releasing the findings of its 2026 homeless count conducted in January.
