The word list for the Scripps National Spelling Bee is crafted by a panel of 21 people, including five former Scripps champions

For most traditional career paths, getting an education is a necessity. An electrician will spend hours mastering their craft, a nurse will study hard to pass their classes — and their licensure exams — and teachers will learn how to teach. But for the rapidly growing career of an influencer, there’s no formal schooling, no Get Ready With Me 101 classes or TikTok exams to pass, mainly because this profession still isn’t seen as “real” by those who exist outside of it. As influencing becomes a more common — and maybe even more respected — career, some are trying to make it more accessible by bringing influencer education to the forefront.

“Oh my goodness me!” screamed ITV’s lead Formula 1 commentator James Allen, words struggling to comprehend the sheer craziness of what was being witnessed. “We’ve got a lunatic on the track!” When a group of protestors from Just Stop Oil invaded the circuit last year during the opening lap of the British Grand Prix, it wasn’t Silverstone’s first run-in with track invaders. Contrarily, 20 years ago, the 2003 British Grand Prix was 10 laps in before deranged Irish priest Neil Horan sprinted up the fiercely quick Hangar Straight. Many drivers had to swerve to avoid him as Horan, dressed in a brown kilt, madly ran into the racing line of F1 cars speeding at 200mph while waving banners which read: “Read the bible” and “The Bible is always right.” The result could have been catastrophic if it wasn’t for the quick awareness of the drivers and the marshal stationed at position ‘Hangar 1’. Volunteering at the British Grand Prix once again, Stephen Green ran into the void of the unknown. “I didn’t really think, adrenaline just kicks in,” Green, now 72, tells The Independent. “I made the decision anyway to wait until most of the pack had gone past. I actually watched it last week on YouTube – it seems like the guy is running up there forever and a day before I get to him. “I think I just barged into him! Then he fell over and I just grabbed his wrists and dragged him. There was a white transit van with security waiting behind the debris fence. I remember what I said to him but it’s not printable!” It was an astonishing scene. While pitch invasions and streakers have for many a long year popped up at various sporting events across the country, a live racetrack is an entirely different situation altogether. More so than any wider cause, lives in the immediacy are at risk. For Green, though, it brought a sense of notoriety not familiar to the men and women in orange suits. Soon after, once the police investigation had subsided and Horan was charged with “aggravated trespass”, the marshal was the second man awarded the BARC (British Automobile Racing Club) Browning medal for outstanding bravery. The first was David Purley, 21 years earlier, following his attempts to save Roger Williamson from a fire at Zandvoort. Meanwhile Horan, laicised by the Catholic Church, did not stop there; in fact, Silverstone was just the start of his bizarre interventions. A year later, at the 2004 Athens Olympics, he ran into the path of lead Brazilian runner Vanderlei de Lima in the men’s marathon and pushed him into the crowds, ruining his path to gold. Months earlier, he was caught by police at the Epsom Derby. He also appeared on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009, performing an Irish jig. Yet that day 20 years ago brought together two very different people from two very different walks of life. A point not lost on Green when, peculiarly, Horan got in touch. “Strangely enough, he emailed me five years ago to ask how I was,” Green says. “We exchanged a couple of emails and that’s about it. “Strange chap, shall we say!” The subject of protestors is top of the agenda at Silverstone this weekend. If not for last year’s near-catastrophe, then for Just Stop Oil’s recent interventions at Twickenham, the World Snooker Championship, the Ashes and just this week, Wimbledon. “At a national event, you always run the risk of idiots turning up and doing whatever they’ve got in mind to do,” Green says. “There was a huge tightening of security after the 2003 incident. “Last year I just got messages from my mates saying ‘why are you not at Silverstone?!’ There is a difference between Just Stop Oil and Horan though, I think everyone would say that Just Stop Oil are actually trying to achieve something. “Motorsport is lucky in many ways that we don’t get as much as we could’ve done. It is very tightly controlled – given F1 goes all over the world, I think it does pretty well.” Green, who still marshals at events across the UK after previous F1 stints in the Middle-East as well as Silverstone, had the rarest of race interactions on that day in ‘03. F1 and the police are on red-alert this Sunday to ensure a repeat does not occur, with the threat level at an all-time high. Read More Lewis Hamilton supports ‘peaceful’ protests at British Grand Prix this weekend Just Stop Oil ‘vital’ says Dale Vince as sports fans are backed to intervene Arrests at Wimbledon after Just Stop Oil protesters storm court twice Lewis Hamilton must be ‘cold-blooded’ in new Mercedes contract negotiations F1 release 2024 calendar with radical change to start of the season F1 descends into farce again after results shake-up – the FIA has to be better

When the rain started falling in the north Italian region of Emilia Romagna last week -- one of the premier gastronomic destinations in a country famous for its food -- farmer Andrea Betti feared the worst.

Greek officials say they will continue talks with the British Museum on bringing the Parthenon Marbles back to Athens

Welcome to Aisle Style, a week-long series that features the most untraditional wedding fashion trends, bridal designers behind the coolest wedding looks, and brides who walk to the beat of their own “Canon In D.” Buck the tradition and say I do to personal style — the aisle is yours.

Gabriella Karefa-Johnson has confirmed her resignation from Vogue after officially joining the publication in 2013. During an episode of The Business of Fashion podcast on 24 November, the fashion editor detailed her decision to not renew her contract as Global Fashion Director at large, in tandem with her industry plans moving forward. The seasoned professional - known to be the first Black woman to style a cover shoot for American Vogue - has already imposed immutable influence, passion, and drive to effect change in fashion. Karefa-Johnson’s devotion to creating a still image that tells a larger story, for the sole benefit of impacting others, is one that often fizzles for professionals inside the competitive fashion industry. In conversation with Imran Amed, the artist explained that her ultimate intention to make room for aspiring “little Gabriella Karefa-Johnsons” in the future was reflected through an eagerness for transparency. The two spoke about “burn out” and “pressure” within the fashion industry, arguing that a career in fashion shouldn’t force people to endure so much stress. For Karefa-Johnson, working for highly-regarded publications previously brought about mental hardship for her. However, the nature of the environment wasn’t necessarily what convinced her to leave her position at Vogue. “The truth is I was a contracted employee there as the Global Fashion Director at large, and my contract was up for renewal, and I decided not to renew it,” she confessed. “That resignation was something that was right for me at the time, still is right for me.” “The truth of the matter is like anything else, you know, we grow, and sometimes our containers don’t grow with us,” she continued. “And so I’m excited to build a new container for all of these ideas and this new energy. “I loved and learned so much at Vogue magazine. It’s my home. I grew up there, and I can’t wait to take those tools and apply them in ways that are really just true to who I am and serve me and serve people who look like me and people listen and follow me. It’s really about serving that community now.” Among Karefa-Johnson’s many Vogue cover shoots, there was one cover photo that was particularly striking in her opinion, for both good and bad reasons. In 2021, the fashion editor worked on Vice President Kamala Harris’ Vogue cover - a photograph that prompted widespread controversy and scrutiny. For the magazine cover, the vice president was positioned in front of a waterfall of pink satin pouring down by her feet. Harris donned a black pantsuit and an honest smile, while she wore a pair of black and white high-top Converse - her favourite everyday shoe. According to Karefa-Johnson, the politician’s natural poise was captured in just 25 minutes because that’s all the time the vice president had for the day. In addition to time constraints, Karefa-Johnson explained that there was a communication barrier due to Covid-19 masks and Harris’ large team of staff. The fashion editor was still able to successfully snap Harris in the way she intended, but backlash quickly followed as people criticised how Harris was presented. Earlier in the interview, Karefa-Johnson called her younger self “witty, loud, and drive” - similarly to how she views herself now. Before Vogue, the fashion editor worked for Garage magazine under Vice Media, the juggernaut that recently filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Read More Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez relentlessly mocked over their Vogue photo shoot Fans defend Dolly Parton for wearing Dallas Cowboys cheerleader outfit Birth of endangered rhino calf caught on camera at Chester Zoo

The kitchen of a 19th-century French chateau is home to an endless gastronomic feast in "The Pot-au-Feu", an ode to food with a simmering love story at its...

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Jewels owned by the late billionaire Heidi Horten, whose first husband purchased Jewish businesses sold under duress during the Nazi era, fetched a combined $196 million.