5 things you need to know Tuesday
1. Dust off the dictionary because the Scripps National Spelling Bee is back
We may live in a world of spell check and autocorrect, but there's one place precision still counts: The Scripps National Spelling Bee. The three-day competition starts Tuesday with a written test, followed by oral rounds Wednesday and Thursday. New this year: Podcasts with spellers. The first one features last year's most exuberant speller, Jacob Williamson, whose stunned reaction to misspelling "kabaragoya" made him an Internet sensation. Here are more memorable moments from last year's bee, which remarkably ended in a tie. Test your spelling skills with this quiz. The spelling bee — it's just so eudaemonic. We wish the spellers the best of l-u-c-k.
2. CFL's team in Montreal introduces its newest player: Openly gay Michael Sam
Michael Sam, 25, became the first openly gay player drafted the NFL. Now he's taking his football dreams to Canada. On Tuesday, he's being introduced as a member of the Montreal Alouettes. The St. Louis Rams selected Sam in the seventh round last year. But the Rams waived him in the final round of cuts, and the Dallas Cowboys released him from their practice squad in October. His decision to head north of the border follows his participation in the NFL's veteran combine in March. He has a one-year deal with a team option for 2016, though it's not uncommon for CFL teams to let players out of the option year to pursue an NFL job if they have the opportunity. The Alouettes' first preseason game is June 13.
3. Charter near cable deal for Time Warner Cable
Charter Communications is nearing agreement to acquire Time Warner Cable for $195 a share in a cash and stock deal valued at approximately $55 billion. The new transaction, potentially the latest in the rapidly consolidating pay-TV industry, could be announced as early as Tuesday. The prospective deal could create a potent new rival for the nation's largest pay-TV and broadband firms, including Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company.
4. Australia's closing of Aboriginal communities sparks protests
Government moves to close remote indigenous communities because of alleged social problems and the cost of maintaining them is triggering a new wave of protests across Australia. Western Australia's government said it can no longer afford to subsidize basic services to communities in the state's rugged and sprawling Outback. The government also said the communities are plagued by problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, high levels of child sex abuse and low school attendance rates. Aboriginal groups contend that the real reason the government is preparing to evict indigenous populations is to make way for uranium and coal mining.
5. Challenge picks best small SUV for $28K
Buyers are grabbing compact SUVs so fast that the segment could well pass midsize sedans as the biggest single slice of the new-car market by year's end. The Cars.com-USA TODAY-MotorWeek $28,000 Compact SUV Challenge — our latest head-to-head comparison — set out to find the best compact SUV for a modest price that's about $5,000 less than the average new-car price today, and with a budget-friendly EPA mileage rating of at least 26 mpg in combined city-highway driving. Our panel of judges — experts and a family who's shopping for such a vehicle — picked the Honda CR-V as tops in all-around appeal because of its combination of features and driving feel.
And, the essentials:
Weather: It looks like more severe storms in Oklahoma and Texas as well as severe storms in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys.
Stocks:Stock futures traded with little enthusiasm after the long weekend.
TV Tonight: Wondering what to watch tonight? TV critic Robert Bianco looks at America's Got Talent and iZombie.
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