NJN/am for Wednesday, May 29

Published 6:42 am Wednesday, May 29, 2013

It’s Wednesday all over again…

Weather: Do it again. Another sunny, warm day is ahead of us, with highs in the upper 80s. We will start to see some clouds roll in tonight, with a low around 70. Thursday brings a 20 percent chance of widely scattered showers and storms in the afternoon and a high staying in the upper 80s.

Tea Party favorite won’t run again. Rep. Michele Bachman of Minnesota, a favorite of the conservative wing of the Republican Party who briefly ran for president in 2012, has announced that she will not seek a fifth term in the House of Representatives next year. Bachman’s presidential campaign came under scrutiny for alleged violations in financial issues, but Bachman claimed that scrutiny had nothing to do with her decision to step down. As is now the custom, Bachman made her announcement via YouTube and Facebook.

“V-O-C-A-B-U-L-A-R-Y, vocabulary.” Contestants in the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee have an extra challenge this year. In addition to spelling difficult words correctly, they must also now tell what the word means. The vocabulary questions, all multiple-choice, make up half of the preliminary test that spellers take by computer in the first two rounds. The move was criticized by some parents of contestants, primarily because it was only announced seven weeks ago and contestants had limited time to prepare. However, the traditional finals seen on ESPN in a few days will not change — no vocabulary questions, just s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g.

Sports: Back to the old ball yard. It’s time once again for the Rockwood Classic, where the Birmingham Barons return to their roots and play a game in the nation’s oldest in-use baseball park. The 18th renewal of the classic will feature guest of honor Fergie Jenkins, the Hall of Fame pitcher for the Chicago Cubs. The Classic will also honor the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons, considered to be one of the best teams in the history of the Negro Leagues; that team featured Fairfield native Willie Mays… NHL: The defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings will advance to the Western Conference finals, thanks to a 2-1 win over the San Jose Sharks in the seventh game of their second-round playoff series. Justin Williams scored both goals for the Kings.