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President Obama surprised contestants at the 2012 National Geographic Bee by asking them a question on the location of a recent nuclear summit. "Before I give you my answer, I want to congratulate all the students who are participating in this competition," Obama said in a video appearance to the ten student competitors before asking the question. "The study of geography is about more than just memorizing places on a map. It's about understanding the complexity of our world, appreciating the diversity of cultures that exists across continents. And in the end, it's about using all that knowledge to help...

With calm determination, 14-year-old Caitlin Snaring snared a title on Wednesday that only one other girl in geographic history has held: She won the National Geographic Bee.

Young members of the United States' geographic competition team, Karan Takhar, left, Andrew Wojtanik, center, and Jesse Weinberg, right, stand on the stage after winning the 7th National Geographic World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. A team of three American school students has won the National Geographic World Championship in Budapest, Hungary Thursday. The team from Russia came in second and Canada was third. Looking relieved three teenagers of the United States received the golden medals in an Olympic style ceremony at the end of the National Geographic World Championship in the Palace of the Arts in Budapest. They received them...

WASHINGTON -- Nathan Cornelius, a home schooled seventh grader from Cottonwood, Minn., won the 17th annual National Geographic Bee competition today, with a dazzling display of knowledge about places, cultures, cities, countries and rivers around the globe. For winning the competition, which started with 5 million students nationwide, Nathan was awarded a $25,000 scholarship. He bested nine other finalists during the taping of the event moderated by TV’s ''Jeopardy!'' host Alex Trebek. He was one of two contestants to survive a double elimination first round that took 105 questions. Then he outlasted Karan Takhar, 14, of Rhode Island,in an 11-question...

Last year's state champ in the National Geographic Bee won't be able to compete in this year's contest due to a little-publicized rules change, his parents said. Matt Savage, a home-schooled seventh-grader from Francestown, had already won a school-level Bee at Great Brook School in Antrim. But after his win, officials with the Bee called and told parents Larry and Diane Savage that he couldn't go on to the state contest because of rules governing how home-schoolers can enter the event. "We want to follow the rules, but it would have been appropriate to advertise the rules," Mrs. Savage said,...