Kavya Shivashankar

Cool and collected, Kavya Shivashankar wrote out every word on her palm and always ended with a smile. The 13-year-old Kansas girl saved the biggest smile for last, when she rattled off the letters to "Laodicean" to become the nation's spelling champion. The budding neurosurgeon from Olathe, Kan., outlasted 11 finalists Thursday night to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee, taking home more than $40,000 in cash and prizes and, of course, the huge champion's trophy.

After spelling the winning word, which means lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics, Kavya got huge hugs from father Mirle, mother Sandy and little sister Vanya. "The competitiveness is in her," Mirle Shivashankar said. "But she doesn't show that. She still has that smile. That's her quality."

Kavya won in her fourth appearance at the bee, having finished 10th, eighth and fourth over the last three years. She enjoys playing the violin, bicycling, swimming and learning Indian classical dance, and her role model is Nupur Lala, the 1999 champion featured in the documentary "Spellbound." "This is the moment we've been waiting for; it's a dream come true," Mirle said. "We haven't skipped meals, we haven't lost sleep, but we've skipped a lot of social time."

Visteon bankruptcy

Visteon's bankruptcy makes it the latest casualty in the U.S. auto industry, which has been hit by the Chrysler LLC bankruptcy and awaits an imminent filing by General Motors Corp. Though expected for months, a Visteon filing could complicate matters for Ford, the one Detroit auto maker to so far avoid government aid. Visteon doesn't have any financing lined up from banks, and will have to lean heavily on Ford and other auto companies for cash to get it through a restructuring.

"Visteon is taking this step to maximize the long-term value of the company," Visteon Chief Executive Donald J. Stebbins said in a written statement. "During the reorganization period, we will seek to address our capital structure and legacy costs that are not sustainable given the current economic environment." "Ford's top priority is to ensure we have sufficient parts and material to protect our production," Ford's Global Purchasing Group Vice President Tony Brown said in a written statement.

Visteon expects to fund its operations with its U.S. cash balance, cash flows from operations and a debtor-in-possession facility. Ford has executed a commitment letter to support debtor-in-possession financing for Visteon's restructuring efforts and to ensure long-term continuity of supply. Other global customers have also expressed their support, the company said. As of Dec. 31, Visteon employed 11,000 salaried workers and 22,500 hourly workers worldwide. It also had $893 million in unfunded pension obligations.

Powerball Winner

Someone is South Dakota has the one winning ticket in Wednesday night's $232 million Powerball jackpot. The prize, originally estimated at $222 million, came in higher than expected due to heavy sales around the country. Wisconsin had eight major Powerball winners, including a $200,000 winning ticket sold at Waterford Self Serve in Waterford in Racine County.

Appleton (2) at Richmond Citgo and at Woodman's Food Market. Black River Falls at Federated Co-op Jefferson at the Jefferson County Market on Highway 26. Kenosha at Anjum Enterprises, 8211 Sheridan Road. Neenah at Pump N Munch West Baraboo at M&R Travelmart. One ticket will become a $30,000 winner thanks to the Power Play multiplier, but state lottery officials will not which ticket that is, until processing takes place overnight.

None of the tickets sold for the latest Hoosier Lotto game matches all six numbers drawn, so the jackpot rises to an estimated $3 million for Saturday's drawing. The winning Hoosier Lotto numbers drawn Wednesday are 4, 15, 22, 30, 32 and 45. Meanwhile, one ticket sold in South Dakota for the Powerball game's $232.1 million jackpot Wednesday night matched all six numbers drawn. Those numbers are 5, 6, 12, 16, 21 and the Powerball, 7. The Power Play was 3.