National Spelling Bee canceled for first time since 1945 amid pandemic

By BEN NUCKOLS
There will be no fidgeting at the National Spelling Bee microphone, no banter with pronouncer Jacques Bailly, no pointed questions about definitions or languages of origin, no dreaded bell that signals a misspelled word.
This year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee was canceled Tuesday, the latest beloved public event to be scrapped because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The bee will return next year, Scripps said, but that’s little comfort to the eighth-graders who are mis