Entertainment

[ad_1] Two promising Indian-American spellers — Sarvadnya Kadam from Bossier City, Louisiana, and Sarv Dharavane from Austin, Texas — saw their dreams of clinching the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee title slip away after stumbling on one word each in the high-stakes final rounds of the competition. Kadam faltered on “meliponine,” relating to a type of stingless bee, while Dharavane was undone by “burgall,” a name for a small North American fish. Their exits briefly opened the door for Indian-American Faizan Zaki, who had advanced to the 18th round with a chance to win it all.Zaki Fazan snapped the title for 2025 Scipps National Spelling Bee by correctly spelling, "éclaircissement," which means "Clearing up of something Obscure."Faizan Zaki wins the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee But Zaki's path to triumph nearly crumbled when he misspelled “commelina,” a genus of flowering […]

[ad_1] LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman recently criticized the Trump administration’s recent move to temporarily suspend all interviews for student visas, calling it a step backward for America’s long-standing tradition of attracting global talent. Responding to the policy shift, Hoffman said, “Unfortunately, the truth. Other countries are moving to fill the gap and acquire top talent. We’ve completely forgotten how America prospered.”Hoffman quoted an X post that read: “Blowing a $50 billion hole in the budget of every state flagship and top private university in America. Gunshot wound to the head of the best education system in the world and the crown jewel of American soft power. Absolute madness.”Hoffman’s remarks highlight growing frustration among Silicon Valley leaders who say restricting educational access undermines America’s ability to compete globally. Many point to countries like Canada, the UK, and Australia, which are streamlining […]

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: Jan Suraaj chief Prashant Kishore on Friday upped the ante against Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar after he mixed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's name with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee while addressing a rally.Kishore accused Bharatiya Janata Party of "imposing" Nitish on the heads of youth by making him custodian of Bihar."I have been telling people for the last three months that Nitish Kumar's psychological and physical condition is so bad that he cannot even name his fellow members of the Council of Ministers. Now, the situation has come to the point that they do not even remember the name of the Prime Minister," kishore said."By making him the custodian of Bihar, the BJP is imposing Nitish Kumar on the heads of the youth of Bihar," he added.This comes a day after Nitish, who is already on […]

[ad_1] A theatre practitioner in Kolkata was recently denied entry to GD Birla Sabhagar for wearing a lungi, sparking a debate about dress codes in cultural venues. While the auditorium clarified it has no dress code and apologized, the incident has divided the city's cultural community. KOLKATA: On Thursday evening, a theatre practitioner was denied entry to GD Birla Sabhagar for watching a play, due to his wearing a lungi. Despite Sanskriti Sagar issuing a statement clarifying that the auditorium has no dress code and apologising to the actor, it has caused division among the city's culturati. Some advocate that shorts and lungi should be permitted, while others believe that, similar to many auditoria abroad, it is important to uphold at least a smart casual dress code.On Thursday night, Joyraj Bhattacharjee had gone for a show of Koushik Sen's ‘Marx […]

[ad_1] TOI correspondent from Washington: By his own account, graduates at Harvard University's convocation ceremony on Thursday deserved to hear from a star, a legend, a Nobel prize winner, or perhaps even the Pope. But tasked with delivering the commencement speech by the university's embattled president Alan Garber, currently locked in an epic battle with the Trump White House, Abraham Verghese, physician and author of Indian-origin, proceeded to dissect MAGA-infused USA with the precision of a surgeon, although he is an infectious disease specialist. "When legal immigrants and others who are lawfully in this country including so many of your international students worry about being wrongly detained and even deported, perhaps it’s fitting that you hear from an immigrant like me," Dr Verghese told the graduating class, recalling a journey that brought him to America from Ethiopia, where he was […]

[ad_1] PALGHAR: A 17-year-old girl accidentally shot herself in the neck with her 18-year-old boyfriend's illegal country-made gun at a homestay in Kelwa, in Palghar district, on Friday. The girl is undergoing treatment in the ICU of a hospital in Boisar, said police who have arrested the boyfriend and booked him for kidnap and attempt to murder under the BNS as well as under the Arms Act. They are also verifying if the homestay, Raut Residency, where the couple had rented a room, had followed the mandatory check-in formalities as the girl is a minor. Palghar superintendent of police Yatish Deshmukh said that when the 18-year-old was in another room, the girl got her hands on the firearm and accidentally pulled the trigger and got shot in the neck. On receiving an alert, police reached the homestay and rushed the […]

[ad_1] CHENNAI: Commuters travelling on Vande Bharat Express trains from Chennai to Nagercoil, Mysuru, Bengaluru and Tirunelveli have expressed outrage after discovering that non-vegetarian breakfast options are no longer available, despite no prior notice from Southern Railway or the catering agency.Passengers booking tickets on the IRCTC app are now greeted with a popup stating, “Non-veg option is applicable for Lunch and Dinner only” after they enter their personal details and select food preferences.Southern Railway general manager R N Singh did not respond to queries, but other officials said it was a technical glitch in the IRCTC app and that non-veg options should be available during booking. However, commuters say the reality on board is different.PM Modi Inaugurates India's First 9,000 HP Electric Locomotive Plant In GujaratPollHave you ever experienced dissatisfaction with the food quality on premium trains?David Manohar, who travelled […]

[ad_1] BHOPAL: A 20-year-old youth drowned in the swimming pool of a farmhouse during a wedding celebration in the Gunga area on Thursday evening. The deceased went to attend the wedding of a friend's sister at the farmhouse located between Harrakheda and Semri village in Gunga.SHO Gunga HS Verma said that the deceased, Ayan Ahmed, 20, a resident of Kabeetpura in Teela Jamalpura, worked as an e-rickshaw driver. He arrived at the wedding venue along with friends and assisted with the wedding preparations from morning till afternoon.Later, in an effort to beat the heat, he and his friends entered the farmhouse's swimming pool in the evening to cool off and have fun.SHO Verma said that while using the slide to enter the pool, Ayan reportedly submerged and did not surface for some time. His friends noticed his absence and pulled […]

[ad_1] Representative Image. (AP Photo/Valerie Gonzalez) Starbase, Texas, a small town closely tied to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has issued a warning to some residents that they may “lose the right to continue using” their properties as they currently do, according to a memo obtained by CNBC. The town, located in Cameron County near the Gulf Coast, is proposing a new zoning ordinance and a comprehensive citywide map, potentially reshaping the community’s landscape to accommodate SpaceX’s expanding operations.The notice, sent to property owners within a proposed “Mixed Use District,” outlines plans to permit a blend of “residential, office, retail, and small-scale service uses” in the area. This shift could transform the town, which currently spans just 1.6 square miles and serves primarily as a hub for SpaceX’s ambitious Starship rocket program. The proposed zoning changes aim to integrate commercial and service-oriented […]

[ad_1] BHUBANESWAR/KENDRAPADA: Odisha BJP Mahila Morcha secretary Itishree Jena (42) and her elder son are among eight tourists missing after the vehicle in which they were travelling plummeted nearly 1,000 feet into the Teesta river in Sikkim on Thursday evening. One person died in the accident which took place between Chungthang and Munshithang.Of the 11 people in the ill-fated vehicle, six were Itishree's family members and four were from Tripura. The driver was a local. Besides Itishree and her son Sahil (20), her brother Ajit Nayak (45) and his wife Sunita (43) are also missing along with those from Tripura. The identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained. Itishree's younger son Sairaj (17) and Ajit's son Swayam Supratim (19) survived and are undergoing treatment in a Sikkim hospital, Mangan superintendent of police Sonam Detchu Bhutia said. "One of […]