This Week in Words: June 1–7, 2019

The Trump administration announced it will cancel English classes, soccer games, and legal aid for unaccompanied migrant children who are being held in U.S. shelters. The administration says it needs the money to secure the southern border so the immigration crisis does not continue. These services and programs were provided to make the children’s surroundings less austere and prison-like, and more appropriate for the needs of kids and teens.

Twelve people were killed in a barrage of bullets when a gunman opened fire in a municipal center in Virginia Beach, Virginia last week. The gunman was a civil engineer employed at the civil service center where the shooting took place. The gunman was killed during a confrontation with police.

A 21-year-old American woman is vying for the Guinness Book of World Records title for the youngest person to visit all the recognized countries in the world. Lexie Alford has visited 196 countries, and she even stepped foot in North Korea, which is generally off-limits to outsiders. The Guinness organization needs some time to verify Lexie’s claims, but she may soon displace the current record holder, a 28-year-old man.

In an interview, President Trump said that he would much rather settle the United States’ differences with Iran through diplomacy rather than military action. The President also provided insight into the views of his advisors. Some want to avoid a military conflict, and others are more hawkish. President Trump’s embrace of statesmanship is a departure from the rhetoric of just last week, when he made statements that came across to many as threats of military force.

As a way of punishing the Mexican government for not stemming the tide of migrants to the U.S., the President may impose a 5% tax, or levy, on Mexican goods. Vice President Pence is meeting with top Mexican leaders to try to prevent the imposition of these tariffs and reach a resolution to the ongoing situation. Trump has threatened to raise these tariffs to as high as 25% if Mexico does not clamp down on the flow of people who travel through its territory to enter the U.S.

The 2020 Presidential election is still more than a year away, but political pundits are already obsessing over poll results. One early poll showed that in the crucial state of Michigan, voters gave both Democratic front-runners Senator Bernie Sanders and Vice-President Joe Biden a 12-point lead in a head-to-head race with the President. Of course, Biden and Sanders first have to battle it out for the Democratic nomination before they get to face President Trump in the general election.

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, when American-led Allied forces stormed the beach in Normandy, France to liberate that country from Nazi forces. Both President Trump and French President Macron gave speeches at the historic site to commemorate the momentous occasion. They honored those who died in the battle and paid tribute to surviving D-Day veterans, who are now in their nineties. Something poignant causes you to experience feelings of tenderness.

The Trump administration is signaling to Cuba that it’s not happy with that country’s support of the brutal Venezuelan government by setting new travel restrictions that will severely limit the amount of American money flowing into the Cuban economy. Cruise ships from the United States will no longer be allowed to visit the island nation, which means that an estimated 800,000 tourists will not be visiting Cuba this year. A sojourn is the time you spend on a trip away from home.

The world’s largest wind farm has begun operations off the coast of England. At this early stage with only some of the turbines working, the system will provide enough electricity to power 287,000 homes. When fully operational, the wind farm will power about a million more homes. Wind power is considered a clean energy source because it does not depend on fossil fuels, like oil and natural gas, which damage the environment when they are extracted, refined, and used.

You know those internet ads that seem to know exactly what you do online and even what you’re just thinking you might want to buy? The new edition of the web browser Firefox is going to automatically block the technology which creates those ads. Something uncanny is eerie or bizarre in an unsettling way.