This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 13–July 19, 2024

Lawmakers in both parties are questioning how a shooter managed to get close enough to a political rally in Butler, Pennsylvania to make an assassination attempt on Donald Trump. The gunman, who killed 50-year-old Corey Comperatore and wounded two other rally attendees, apparently grazed the former president's ear with a bullet. The would-be assassin was killed on the roof of a building about 450 feet away from the stage where Trump had been speaking.

Scientists say a tall, flowering cactus that once flourished in the Florida Keys is the first vascular plant to go extinct in the United States because of sea-level rise. The Key Largo tree cactus grew up to 20 feet tall and was covered with long spikes and white flowers. The succulent plant lost its coastal habitat due to saltwater intrusion and erosion, a fate that many other plants face if global warming continues to increase. Cactus originally meant "artichoke."

Fashion experts and trend watchers have declared 2024 the year of denim. Young, stylish people have been sporting entire outfits made of the sturdy fabric, from their actual jeans to their shirts and jackets, and even denim suits and dresses. The French source of denim is serge de Nîmes — serge is a durable fabric, and Nimes is the town in the south of France where it was originally made.

The northeastern U.S. experienced dangerous heat and humidity this week. From Florida to Maine, the high levels of moisture in the air raised the heat index, making actual temperatures in the 80s, 90s, and 100s feel as much as ten degrees hotter. The most brutal steamy weather affected Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore, and parts of North Carolina and Virginia. The Latin root of humidity is humidus, "moist."

The Republican Party nominated Senator J.D. Vance to be Donald Trump's running mate in the 2024 presidential election. Vance, who is 39, has represented Ohio in the Senate since he was elected in 2022. Prior to that, he was the author of a bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy. Trump offered Vance the job in a phone call just hours before he received the official GOP nomination at the party's convention in Milwaukee. Nominate is from a Latin root that means "to name."

A team of researchers made a discovery that could lead to a cure for pancreatic cancer. They found that the cancer, which forms in the pancreas, triggers a process that causes a beneficial gene's molecules to shut off, allowing tumor cells to grow very quickly. The DNA changes in this vital organ, which secretes insulin and helps with digestion, make pancreatic cancer one of the deadliest. Understanding exactly what is happening genetically is an important step toward effective treatment.

A new initiative will provide financial aid for vaccines in poor countries, aiming to end rabies deaths by 2030. Currently, about 60,000 people die from the disease each year, usually after being bitten by a rabid dog. Most of these deaths occur in areas where people can't afford the cost of vaccines. The World Health Organization plan will vaccinate both humans and dogs. Rabies is from a Latin word meaning "madness," which describes its terrible symptoms.

A New York City couple held a wedding reception on the subway, complete with a DJ, flowers, and a catered meal. Soon after Daniel Jean and Esmy Valdez were married in a small ceremony, Jean staged a surprise celebration which began at the L train's Canarsie-Rockaway Parkway stop, where 50 guests joined them. The wedding party boarded a decorated subway car, set up pans of food on a long table, and revealed a wedding cake. Strangers were invited to join in the eating and dancing.

The failure of a SpaceX rocket left 20 internet satellites so low that they will inevitably burn up in Earth's atmosphere. The devices are meant to continuously orbit the earth, providing internet access in remote, rural areas. The Falcon 9's upper stage engine malfunctioned due to an oxygen leak, causing the satellites to start their orbit about 84 miles above Earth's surface, much too close to be safely out of its atmosphere.

Chinese customs officials caught a man attempting to smuggle more than 100 snakes into the country. The man tried to secretly transport the live snakes from Hong Kong into Shenzhen by hiding them in his pants. Illegal importations of animals and plants are part of a $20 million black market in China. Smuggle is derived from a root that means "to creep or slip through."

As part of Paris's annual Bastille Day parade, the Olympic torch arrived in the city. The flame was carried by equestrian gold medalist Colonel Thibaut Vallette, who held it aloft as he rode down Avenue Foch on a horse. The torch relay will continue, with a series of athletes carrying it through France, until the Games begin on July 26. The root of torch means "twisted thing," or "torch formed of twisted tow dipped in wax."

After Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men's singles final on July 14, Kate, the Princess of Wales, presented him with a gold trophy. It was her second public appearance since announcing her cancer diagnosis in March. Alcaraz, who is 21, has won two Wimbledon championships and four Grand Slam titles. The Greek root of trophy is tropaion, "monument of an enemy's defeat."