This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for March 1–March 7, 2026

Unlike the current partisan divide in the U.S. Congress, Republicans and Democrats in most state governments have reached consensus on several major issues. Rather than taking sides based on their parties, state lawmakers have come to a general agreement about issues such as regulating AI and the data centers required to power the technology. State legislatures are also striking deals to lower housing costs. Consensus is from a Latin root meaning "to feel together."

After he was left behind at a Las Vegas airport, a dog quickly found a new home. The goldendoodle was abandoned by his owner, who was told she couldn't bring him on the plane with her. According to a JetBlue employee, the woman said, "Call animal control. I'm not going to miss my flight." Her dereliction resulted in charges of animal abandonment. One arresting officer adopted the dog and renamed him JetBlue. The Latin root of dereliction means "an abandoning."

When 30-year-old Lio Cundiff saw a gust of wind knock a stroller into Lake Michigan, he instantly jumped into the frigid water to save the baby strapped into it. Cundiff treaded water while struggling to free the infant, until a second man and the baby's nanny came to his assistance. After the three pulled the baby to safety, a bystander described Cundiff as "the epitome of a hero," his unthinking bravery illustrating the perfect example of a brave, good-hearted person.

A group of California farmers who have been forced to leave some of their fields fallow due to water shortages are backing a project to build a giant solar farm on much of that unused farmland. Large sections of the state's Central Valley have remained unplanted as droughts make water scarcer. Many area farmers have teamed up to lease their land to developers who will build a massive solar field that will provide 21,000 megawatts of electricity to Los Angeles and Silicon Valley.

The first-ever geothermal power plant in the U.K. began operating in Cornwall. Using heat that's naturally stored under the earth's surface, the plant will eventually provide electricity to 10,000 homes. The technology to access this renewable energy source involves drilling three miles down, where reservoirs of very hot water lie in faults in the underground granite. Geothermal is from the Greek geo-, "the earth," and thermē, "heat."

Some airlines are changing rules that impede musicians when they travel. Violinist Carolin Widmann had to buy an extra seat for her priceless violin and hold it on her lap during a Lufthansa flight because the length of its case exceeded 55 centimeters. The airline has now amended that rule, among others that hinder musicians, allowing small instruments to be stowed in the cabin. The Latin impedire, "hinder," or literally "shackle the feet," is the root of impede.

As a waterfall at Yosemite National Park was illuminated by the setting sun, it turned the orange color of molten lava, a spectacle that happens for just a few days each year. The phenomenon, known as "firefall," stunned tourists who saw it for the first time. Lit from behind as the sun set, the water of Horsetail Fall appeared to glow like the liquefied rock that flows from a volcano. Molten is derived from an Old English word meaning "melt."

New research suggests that peer pressure may influence a particular fish to change its appearance. Young tomato clownfish have two or three white stripes, but as adults, they have just one. Scientists found that the fish gradually lose their extra stripes between one and 12 months of age. Tests showed if the young fish were separated from all adult, single-striped members of their group, their own stripes did not fade. Once in the presence of older fish, however, they began to transform.

Researchers learned new details about some of the people affected by a 7th-century plague that was the first recorded pandemic in history. The contagious disease began in a walled ancient city that once stood where Jordan is today, eventually spreading and causing tens of millions of deaths. DNA from plague victims buried in one mass grave suggested they were mainly foreign merchants and workers. The Latin root of plague is plaga, "wound."

A long-lost 1897 movie, the first ever to feature a robot, was discovered by a Michigan family among a box of old film reels. The 45-second silent film by French director Georges Méliès, Gugusse and the Automaton, features a robotic clown using a stick to attack a human clown, who then smashes the mechanical clown with a hammer. The Library of Congress's moving image curator, Jason Evans Groth, described it as "the first instance of a robot ever captured in a moving image."