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Ripped from the Headlines: September 2020: This Week In Words: Current Events Vocab for September 19–25, 2020

Stories about the Supreme Court vacancy, the upcoming election, and an indictment in the Breonna Taylor case all contributed words to this week's roundup of timely vocabulary from the news.
10 words 610 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

  1. accrue
    grow by addition
    “If you're wealthy and well-connected, you can figure out how to do an enormous amount of harm to society at large and ensure that it accrues to enormous financial benefit for all of you.”
    Buzzfeed News (Sep 20, 2020)
    An investigative report found that although banks are required to report suspicious activity and money-laundering schemes, they are not required to stop the transactions. As a result, criminals are able to move billions around the world, taking the proceeds from drug-dealing, human trafficking, and other crimes and investing the cash in legitimate businesses and real estate.
  2. debunk
    expose while ridiculing
    Over the last few months, Trump has dismissed concerns about foreign influence coming from online and has said that mail-in ballots are susceptible to foreign interference, a claim that has been overwhelmingly debunked by top intelligence officials and experts who say that mail-in voting is safe from foreign influence.
    Guardian (Sep 23, 2020)
    The FBI announced that foreign agents and criminals will likely spread misinformation about the election results in an effort to cause chaos and uncertainty. The statement encouraged Americans to get their news from trusted, reliable sources and not to be impatient since the large number of mail-in ballots due to the pandemic will take longer than normal to count.
  3. eschew
    avoid and stay away from deliberately
    It faces long odds in the current Congress, where the Republican-led Senate is all but guaranteed to eschew the legislation.
    Washington Post (Sep 23, 2020)
    The House of Representatives announced the Protecting Our Democracy Act, a law designed to prevent abuses of power by a sitting President and other government officials. Areas affected by the law include Presidential pardons, declaring national emergencies, enforcing congressional subpoenas, whistleblower protections, self-enrichment by members of the government, and protection against foreign election interference.
  4. gauge
    measure precisely and against a standard
    "Based on the patient's progress and current condition, the treating physicians believe that complete recovery is possible. However, it remains too early to gauge the potential long-term effects of his severe poisoning," it said.
    BBC (Sep 23, 2020)
    Alexei Navalny, the Russian dissident poisoned with a novichok nerve agent, was released from the hospital in Berlin after over a month of treatment. He can walk and talk, but the extent to which he will regain full balance, dexterity, and coordination is unknown. He will stay in Germany and undergo daily physical therapy. The Russian government continues to deny any involvement in the poisoning.
  5. hypothetical
    a conjectural possibility or circumstance
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senators-supreme-court-justice-nominee-watch-how-many/
    CBS News (Sep 23, 2020)
    President Trump plans to nominate a justice to fill the Supreme Court seat left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death, and Republicans in the Senate say they'll hold a confirmation vote before the election. If four Republicans oppose the vote, the nominee will not be confirmed. Two have already said they oppose filling the seat since the Republican senate blocked President Obama's nominee eight months before the 2016 election.
  6. portico
    porch or entrance to a building consisting of a covered area
    Justice Ginsburg’s former clerks lined the steps of the court building before the ceremony and as the coffin was placed on the portico while visitors paying their respects filed past at the bottom of the stairs.
    New York Times (Sep 23, 2020)
    Ruth Bader Ginsburg's body lay in repose at the Supreme Court during a brief ceremony to honor her 27 years as a Justice there. Hundreds of citizens gathered on the street outside, where people have been leaving flowers and other tokens of their appreciation since her death late last week.
  7. stoke
    (of a fire) stir up or tend
    While there is no indication that Trump’s desperation for a vaccine has affected the science or safety of the process, his insistence that one would be ready before the election is stoking mistrust in the very breakthrough he hopes will help his reelection.
    AP (Sep 23, 2020)
    As the U.S. Covid-19 death toll passed 200,000, President Trump contradicted Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, saying that a vaccine would be available before the election. Redfield had said that a safe, effective vaccine would not be available to the general public before the second half of 2021.
  8. transcend
    go beyond the scope or limits of
    "This isn't about Republican versus Democrat in my mind. It transcends that. It transcends everything that has occurred."
    NPR (Sep 23, 2020)
    Cindy McCain, the widow of Arizona Senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee John McCain, endorsed Joe Biden for president. In her statement, she said ""Joe and I don't always agree on the issues, and I know he and John certainly had some passionate arguments, but he is a good and honest man. He will lead us with dignity."
  9. unveil
    make visible
    Volkswagen on Wednesday unveiled its latest electric vehicle, the ID.4 sport utility and said it would be priced to sell in the United States for thousands less than a Tesla Model Y SUV.
    Reuters (Sep 23, 2020)
    Tesla's stock tumbled after company CEO Elon Musk gave a presentation about plans for a new generation of batteries that would make electric cars competitive with affordable gas-powered vehicles. Investors had hoped for concrete news about the new batteries and the prices of upcoming models, but Musk pushed the release date for both down the road about three years.
  10. wanton
    unprovoked or without motive or justification
    A Kentucky grand jury has indicted former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.
    USA Today (Sep 23, 2020)
    One of the officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor has been indicted by a grand jury. The charges stem from his shooting indiscriminately into Taylor's apartment; some of the bullets penetrated into neighboring units where they might have hit others. None of the charges relate to Taylor's killing.
Created on Wed Sep 23 12:25:08 EDT 2020 (updated Mon Sep 28 10:27:45 EDT 2020)

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