OXON HILL, MD– Eight young super spellers beat the dictionary to be crowned co-winners of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, in what officials said was a first since the U.S. word contest started in 1925. After a marathon session stretching into early Friday, the contestants simply could not be separated. Each winner received a $50,000 prize and a trophy – and they coined their own word for their joint success, “octochamps.”

“We’re throwing the dictionary at you, and, so far, you are showing the dictionary who’s boss,” the bee’s pronouncer, Jacques Bailly, told the finalists. The competition started on Tuesday with 562 word whizzes from across the nation, U.S. territories and six other countries: the Bahamas, Canada, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea. Officials say that while there have been co-champions in the past, there have never been eight. The final round that started on Thursday night was televised live across the United States.As the tension mounted, the young scholars worked out the correct order of vowels and consonants in words such as bougainvillea, a type of climbing plant; aiguillette, braided loops hanging on a military uniform shoulder; and pendeloque, a diamond or gemstone cut in a pear shape.(Reuters)…[+]

The Manchester police were last night hunting taxi operator Shawn McPherson, who is accused of chopping his infant son to death and wounding the boy’s mother yesterday morning. He is believed to have set his car on fire following the incident, and law enforcers in the parish are theorising that he has jumped to his death into a sinkhole in the community of Ramble, close to Porus, where he grew up.

Ramble is also one of the routes where he operates his taxi. Head of the Manchester Police Superintendent David White said that yesterday a team from the Jamaica Fire Brigade went to the sinkhole to see what they could uncover, but they were not successful because they needed additional support. He said that today they will be continuing their search with assistance from the Jamaica Defence Force.

Police report that about 6:30 am yesterday, McPherson had a dispute with his child’s mother at their home on McKinley Drive in Mandeville, resulting in him chopping and wounding her and their eight-month old son, Roshane.(Jamaica Observer) …[+]

Washington– Tobacco control measures, particularly those to ensure smoke-free indoor public and work spaces, must be urgently stepped up in order to protect the health of the people of the Americas, says the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), regional branch for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Tobacco use has a major impact on health, killing one person every 4 seconds globally, and one person every 34 seconds in the Americas. This accounts for a total of 8 million deaths worldwide each year, with almost 1 million in the Region. Over half of lung cancer cases are related to tobacco, as are almost half of the cases of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The campaign for this year’s World No Tobacco Day (31 May), “tobacco and lung health”, focuses on how tobacco endangers lung health all over the world, and the importance of implementing effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption and exposure.   “Tobacco is a threat to the lung health of everyone, not just smokers,” said Dr Hennis, Director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health at the Pan American Health Organization. “Every single death related to tobacco use or exposure is preventable. However, while the use of tobacco is declining in the Region, the pace of action to reduce tobacco use continues to lag behind global and regional commitments,” he added.

In order to reduce the threat of tobacco, countries must take urgent action to step up the implementation of the tobacco control measures outlined in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), which are reinforced by the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. “The implementation of these measures, particularly those relating to smoke-free indoor workplaces, public places, and public transport; implementing large health warnings, as well as the provision of services for those looking to quit tobacco, are vital to ensuring a smoke-free Americas,” said Rosa Sandoval, Regional Advisor for Tobacco Control at PAHO.   (PAHO/WHO)…[+]