This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for September 26–October 2, 2020

A federal appeals court rejected the Trump administration's attempt to suspend a lower court's order requiring the census count to be continued through the end of October. The administration has been trying to complete the count by October 5th. Contemptus is a Latin word meaning "scorn" or "hatred."

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden had the first of three debates, and the event was chaotic. The President repeatedly interrupted Biden, and Biden called the President a "clown" and told him to shut up. Observers were almost unanimous in declaring the debate a disgrace.

Armenia and Azerbaijan continued their hostilities over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, a heavily Armenian area located entirely within Azerbaijan. Russia, France, and the U.S. called on both countries to cease fire and return to negotiations. Russia backs Armenia, which is largely Christian, while Turkey supports Muslim Azerbaijan.

The New York Times published a lengthy report on the received the President's tax returns. The article shows that many of his businesses are losing money, that he carries a lot of debt which comes due in the next couple of years, and that he paid little or no taxes for many years despite living a lavish lifestyle. The President's defenders say that he has successfully used the tax code to his advantage.

Hundreds of thousands of people in China have already received an experimental Covid-19 vaccine, including government and pharmaceutical industry figures. Approval of the vaccine may come on an accelerated schedule, but it's unclear exactly when that might happen. As an adjective, intimate can mean "very personal," but as a verb it means "to hint at strongly."

Democratic fundraising website ActBlue raised $3.8 million for Joe Biden in one hour after Tuesday's debate, breaking previous records by a huge margin. While nearly everybody thought the debate was a disaster, polls taken afterward showed that most viewers thought Biden won. The President tweeted on Wednesday morning that he won.

After the President refused to denounce white supremacists during the debate, politicians on both sides of the aisle condemned that choice, saying he need to do so clearly. Some Republicans defended the President, saying either that he misspoke or that he responded appropriately. Opine is the verb form of opinion; if you write or say what you think about something, you're opining.

Wildfires in California continue to do widespread damage. The Glass Fire has consumed 50,000 acres in the Napa and Sonoma County wine regions, destroying a number of prestigious wineries and restaurants. Hot weather and drought have created huge amounts of fuel for these fires, and high winds are spreading them quickly.

The International Space Station crew had to search for an air leak, and it took a few weeks to locate it. The leak was tiny, but it appeared to grow larger over time — this later turned out to be an error — and efforts to find it were intensified. It was eventually located in the Russian Zvezda module and determined to be a flaw that occurred during manufacture. Epoxy is a resin, and so is the sticky sap from pine trees.

A boy in Lake Jackson, Texas died from a brain infection caused by drinking water contaminated with an amoeba called Naegleria fowleri. The city has ordered everyone to boil their water before drinking it, and has implemented plans to clean the whole municipal water system. Scour means "to rinse or clean," and also "to scrub vigorously." It comes from the Latin excurare, meaning "to scrub" or "to polish."