42 Advance To Semifinals Of National Spelling Bee

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) – Forty-two youngsters have advanced to the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. They had the highest scores after Wednesday’s onstage rounds and a computer test that included a vocabulary section for the first time in bee history.

The officials originally announced 41 semifinalists, but added one more after a review of the written test. The semifinals are Thursday afternoon. The finals are set for Thursday night, with the winner taking home more than $30,000 in cash and prizes. Among the contenders is 13-year-old Arvind Mahankali, who finished third each of the past two years. Arvind breezed through his two words – “euphemism” and “belemnoid.”