laurie ann madison is a pint sized girl who can spell big words. >> reporter: it's a 12 syllable word that's hard enough to pronow let alone spell, but for laurie ann madison at just six years old, madison is headed to the scripps national spelling bee. >> no. i'm not nervous. >> reporter: the first was when she was three and a half. how did she do this? >> read words out of books. >> reporter: the dictionary is child's play for her. >> collegiate is easy. there's a lot of english, latin and greek. >> reporter: how many hours a day do you put in? >> not even one. when i have a chance i do it. every 6-year-old wants to play here she can't explain why she admires spelling so much. >> there's something there that i love. >> reporter: but her enthusiasm is obvious, especially for her all time favorite word. reporting from washington. >> what are the odds of her winning? 2 to one 1. there's in minimum eafnlgt the winner gets a $30,000 cash prize. live coverage begins this wednesday on espn. >>> there's a new study out that says boosting senior's level of physical activity could be a degett

laurie ann madison from lake ridge, virginia is the youngest competitor ever in the competition. she is just six years old. madison is hoping to advance out of the field of 278 spellers and the finals will be held tomorrow night. >>> preparations are being made for the opening of a giant new casino in ann rental county. it will add thousands of slot machines and the gambling parlor will feature virtual versions of row let, block jack, and back rat. the new casino was near the mall that is just south of the bwi marshall airport. maryland live will be one of the biggest gaming and retail destinations in the country. >> even if someone doesn't come in here and don't play the machines, will this benefit every marylander in every way or another? >> yeah. it will be the number one taxpayer but one of the top taxpayers in the entire united states. >> opening night for maryland live is next wednesday and the doors open at 10:00. >>> it appears the people of maryland will have the last say on same sex marriages in the state. opponents of gay marriage submitted more than twice the number o

. >>> she may be young but laurie ann madison can spell with the best of them. introduce you to this sperl. look at those. here's a preview of what's ahead on world fumes tonight at 6:30. >> made in mersk going global. we took you to china. now americans are striking this rich in the middle east so. how do you sell your made in america products overseas? >>> if you hit the roads for the memorial day weekend, you may have noticed that the pain in -- at the pump is on the decline here gas prices have been moving lower. they most likely will move lower than where they are now but not by much. what happens after memorial day, refineries switch to a summer blend of gas. still, with the national average for a gal of gas -- gallon of gas, it is lower than where we were a year ago. why are we seeing ago mag lower-- gas prices lower? tensions with iran have eased. they had threatened to close the strait of hormuz. also, oil and gas supplies are at their highest level sense 199 -- since 1990. in the u.s. you're seeing the mow men testimony for the -- mow men testimony for

among the nearly 300 spellers is 6-year-old laurie ann madison most of the contestants are twice herage she is the youngest ever to qualify she started reading at age two and come an meeting at age three. >> it is not as big and not really like yeah, i'm more like it is fine. i'm hoping i will make night semifinals. i'm really, really -- hoping a decent, nice trophy. >> maybe bigger than her. when she grows up she says she wants to be an olympic swimmer or astro biologist you can be both. >> why do i have a feeling she will be a fan favorite if she makes it into the semifinals. >>> flight arrival delays over at sfo a lot on the east coast heading to new york or detroit. building warming trend on the way i'll show you where the 90s will be. >>> medicines you take to fight pain may also protect from you the deadliest form of skin cancer. >>> very die-hard cup fans are going to the distance for their team. why they think a goat can break the decades old edçkçkçkçkk >>> an icon of the california labor movement is among more than a dozen people who will receive the nation's top civilian h

among the nearly 300 spellers is 6-year-old laurie ann madison most of the contestants are twice here she is the youngest ever to qualify she started reading at age two and come an meeting at age three. >> it is not as big and not really like yeah, i'm more like it is fine. i'm hoping i will make night semifinals. i'm really, really -- hoping a decent, nice trophy. >> maybe bigger than her. when she grows up she says she wants to be an olympic swimmer or astro biologist you can be both. >> why do i have a feeling she will be a fan favorite if she makes it into the semifinals. >>> flight arrival delays over at sfo a lot on the east coast heading to new york or detroit. building warming trend on the way i'll show you where the 90s will be. >>> medicines you take to fight pain may also protect from you the deadliest form of skin cancer. >>> very die-hard cup fans are going to the distance for their team. why they think a goat can [ male announcer ] what if we told you the 100% electric nissan leaf was the perfect car for you... that you can charge it at home like your smartphone... that

. >> this year's competition will have the youngest speller ever, laurie ann madison. >> it is antidist is a 12 silly balance 12 syllable world. at just 6 years old, madison is headed to the national spelling bee. the youngest spelling ever on to qualify. her first competition is when she was three and a half. how did she do it. >> i read books. i read words out of books. >> and the dictionary is child's play to her. >> these are easy. there is a lot of english and latin and greek. >> how many hours do you put in? >> not even one. when i have a chance, i do it. i mean, come on, every six year old wants to play. >> she is from woodridge, virginia. she can't explain why she admires spelling, but her enthusiasm for it is obvious. especially for her all-time word. it means love of words. >> she is smarter than all of us. >> can you spell that word? >> no. 278 spellers will compete. there is no minimum age. the winner gets a $30,000 cash prize. give it to her now. >> can she handle the pressure of the page? that's the only question remaining. >> i want to show you this graphic. an unusual t

with poise and confidence today, laurie ann madison became the youngest competitor in the history of ing bee. a little adjustment of the mike and she was all business. >> hi, laurie ann. >> hi. >> dirageable. >> dierageable. >> d-i-r-i-g-a-b-l-e. dirigable. >> applause for laurie ann and then high fives. sadly, she misspelled her next word, meaning a bird's crop. she didn't qualify for the semifinals, but we think it's fair to say she's still a winner. >> one of the greatest guitar players who ever lived has died. doc watson was an eight-time nominated grammy folk musician. born in the blue ridge mountains and blind from the age of 1, he taught himself to play what were traditionally if fiddle parts of folk songs on his guitar. he went on to record 60 albums and influenced countless artists, president clinton awarded him the national medal of the arts in 1997. he died in winston-salem, north carolina. he was 89 years old. >>> up next here tonight, the hatfields and mccoys at it again. ou why you fell in love with her in the first place. and why you still feel the same. but your erecti

and in wednesday's kids post, we feature a story about laurie ann madison. she is six years old.e youngest child ever to qualify for the national spelling bee. and she's just amazing. she's a competitive swimmer. she loves grilled cheese. and she has learned all 1500 words that she needed to learn to win her county spelling bee. so we'll be keeping our fingers crossed for laurie ann madison next week in the national spelling bee. >> definitely. that's amazing. as always, thank you. and for some fun family activities, visit nbcwashington.com or washingtonpost.com and click on kids post. that is kids post on tv this week. >> that spelling bee is no joke. she has to learn a lot of words. >> i moderated one with aaron gill crest. i was impressed. some of those words -- i can't even remember them. >> can't remember them, can't spell them. >> i didn't do well as a contestant. i did worse as a moderator. then you've got to know how to pronounce it. that can sometimes be just as bad. >> if you're into documentaries "spell bound" is one of the best ones out there. >> i went to the county

. >>> so in the abc newsroom today, all of us stopped and held our breath as 6-year-old laurie ann madisone youngest person ever to compete in the national spelling bee, went up against some 15-year-old kids. so what happened? well, here she is with the first word. >> dirigible. >> d-i-r-i-g-i-b-l-e,. [ applause ] >> she aced it. she gets a high-five. however, the words in the second round, a little bit tougher. >> ingloat yaz. >>ky have the definition, please. >> it is the crop of a bird or insect. >> engluvies. >> that is incorrect. it's ingl uvies. [ cheers and applause ] >> she walked back to her seat stunned, but got some consoling high-fives from contestants. what kind of word was that anyway? it was close, but we will be rooting for her next year when she is seven. and she will be back. you can watch the next round of the scripps spelling bee on our sister network, espn and espn2. >>> coming up, a famous feud, the hatfields and the mccoys, suddenly a sensation on tv. what are the real families saying about this tonight? tion on tv. what are the really families saying about this toni

and as for the youngest ever competitor -- >> dirigible. [ applause ] >> 6-year-old laurie ann madisonhigh-fives after spelling the word. the second round did not go quite as well. watch what happens here. >> can i have the definition, please? >> the crop of a bird or insect. >> e-n-g-l-u-v-i season s. ingluvies. >> poor little thing. she just was stunned as she walked away but got more high-fives. the finals tomorrow night. the winner will receive $40,000 in cash and prizes. but laurie ann a winner nonetheless. impressive. >> sweet. she said what? >> so cute. so cute. >> and much smarter than some of us. >> up here. >> at least a better speller. tim lincecum on the mound tonight. let's call him effectively wild this evening. the question was whether the giants would get timmy any runs. sports, next. ♪ [ kari ] i used to serve my country in the u.s. army. ♪ then, i was hit by a drunk driver and lost my legs. but that didn't change a thing. because i still serve my country, i just wear a different uniform. [ male announcer ] citi is joining kari miller to give back to the paralympic mil

laurie ann madison is 6 years old of she is the youngest person ever to compete in the bee in its 87-ar history. she is from woodbridge, virginia. her mother said she was reading by the age of 2. she studies words while jumping on a trampoline. the bee started today with a computer test. semifinals and finals will be held on thursday at the national harbor. >> laurie ann, we're pulling for you. 6 years old? >> incredible. >> what's up? >>> talking about the nationals. can you believe they continue to play despite all these injuries and play well? >> serena williams. plus dwyane wade and the heat get off on the right foot in the >>> you can still see the entire area with the exception of the council boredering the chesapeake. under a severe thunderstorm watch until 10:00 tonight. here's the line of storm making through frederick. around leesburg, warrenton and back to the west. their way toward culpepper and culpepper county. watch as this line continues. the strongest storms have continued to be toward frederick. eastern frederick county, northern portions of montgomery county. you ar

. >> the most high profile of the spellers is 6-year-old laurie ann madison from woodbridge, virginia. she is the youngest child ever to compete in the spelling bee. >> her first word this morning was deridgible. >> it is an adjective. it means steerable. as in this cafeteria tray doesn't mean for the most deridgible shred, she said after she crashed into her friends and sent them. >> d-e-r-i-d-g-i-b-l-e. >> as you can hear, lori has the backing of the entire crowd. down at the national harbor, these students spend all year getting ready for this big event. we caught one 8-year-old shahir from baltimore. >> i didn't feel that nervous. i asked the questions and then i said the spelling. c-a-p-r-i-c-o-i-u-s-. >> did you feel pretty good about it? >> yeah. >> is it a big relief once you're done? >> yeah. >> it is? >> if they say if it is correct, then it is relieving. >> and only if they say it's correct. news4's erica gonzalez spent the entire day spelling. we'll find out which 50 spellers make the semifinals coming up at 5:45. >>> someone amid romney's campaign could take a lesson from

her name is laurie ann madison from woodbridge, virginia. she is just sick years old. look at her. she could be running for congress with that picture. and probably smart enough to do the job. she is the youngest par sis 'tis pant on record. laurie ann is home schooled and she entered her first spelling bee at just three and a half years old. she will compete against 278 spells are for the top prize which includes 30,000 bucks and a $5,000 scholarship. so you go laurie ann. >> i think she has quite a future ahead of her. >>> coming up, a lot of work with a lot of payoff. >> holly is live in waldorf, maryland with a program aimed at giving your child the end when it comes to winning college scholarships. we're back in just a moment. time now is just 6:54. s just 6 [ male announcer ] are e you paying more and more for cable and enjoying it less and less? upgrade to verizon fios tv, internet and phone for just $89.99 a month guaranteed for two years with a two-year agreement. this is a limited time offer, so don't wait. get fios at this great low price. act now and you'll get $250 bac

the buzz has been about 6-year-old laurie ann madison of prince william county. she was eliminated yesterday but was quite a sensation. today she is talking to reporters. news 4's melissa mele has the story. >> a lot of people were bummed when lori anne anderson misspelled her second word during the bee but no one has had a better attitude about it than lori anne herself. >> i just love spelling and spelling words. it's not being on the stage. it's nothing else. it's not even mostly the trophies. it's just something that i like spelling. >> reporter: the 6-year-old started out strong easily spelling dirigible which means capable of being steered but then came the word she had a little more trouble with. >> e-n-g-l-u-v-i-e-s. >> that is incorrect. >> reporter: lori anne misspelled the word by just one letter. she started with an "e" instead of an "i". it is part of a bird's esophagus. >> i wasn't nervous at all. i mean, it was exciting until the point when i misspelled that word. the longer it got so boring and then i got stressed out and i misspelled. so that is

there she is. 6-year-old laurie ann madison, started spelling bees at 3 1/2.he also won a science fair. by the way, the vast majority of the contestants are between 12 and 14 years old. this year's group includes three finalists from last year. it's about evenly split between boys and girls, fred. so nice to see that. >> it always looks so nerve-racking. but i'm so awe-inspired by the poise of these kids. >> yeah. >> when they get up on stage. >> sometimes you have a moment where they have a few seconds. but that makes it more endearing. sunday evenings, ahead of the curve on cnn.com. for everything i just told you, including how to test your own spelling, how you stack up, i got links for you right now. go to josh levs on cnn.com. >> for the brave and bold. thanks so much, josh. >>> ptsd is a nightmare for many of the soldiers who return from afghanistan and iraq. well, one of those soldiers is leo dunson. and this is how he's coping with the stress of war. through his music. he's going to tell us how the government could help troops in a better way. i'm an e

the first day of the national spelling bee in washington, and here's the new star. 6-year-old laurie ann madison spelling dirigible. >> dirigible. d-i-r-i-g-i-b-l-e. dirigible. [ applause ] >> laurie ann got a tougher word in the second round. engluvies. it's a bird's crop. unfortunately she only missed it by one letter. the virginia girl is the national bee's youngest speller ever. when larry returns, he'll spell out the latest euro fear hitting stocks here. "the kudlow report" will be right back. right back. for a hot dog cart. my mother said, "well, maybe we ought to buy this hot dog cart and set it up someplace." so my parents went to bank of america. they met with the branch manager and they said, "look, we've got this little hot dog cart, and it's on a really good corner. let's see if we can buy the property." and the branch manager said, "all right, i will take a chance with the two of you." and we've been loyal to bank of america for the last 71 years. what happens when classroom teachers get the training... ...and support they need? schools flourish and students blossom. that's why prog

laurie ann out of the bee was inglubious. two others still in the competition. the finals are tonight at 8:00. >> my hats off to miss lori anne madison. she's 6 years old. >> who can spell ingluvious. >> i-n-g luts-l-u. >> you just saw the word on the teleprompter. >>> a case that's raising questions. plus -- >> i'm sick of it. >> losing his cool. what had this state law firm throwing a fit in front of his >> not the kind of luck the wizards were hoping for heading into the nba draft lottery. despite having the second worst record in the league. the new orleans hornetses won the first pick. the charlotte bobcats who finished the season with the most wins will take second. of course, a lot of people wondering how they missed that chance. >> the coaches and owners say the wizards will do well. they'll hopefully be able to get some people in who were going to help out this year. a lot of help needs to be happening. 4 4:41 is our time right now. only -- i say only. only 68 degrees outside. >> it feels nice though. >> tom kierein, what have you got? >> it's on the cool side with low humidity. low 60s across virginia, and west virginia. so