This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for September 25–October 5, 2021

President Biden received a booster shot in front of news cameras at the White House on September 27. Last week, the C.D.C. recommended an additional jab of the coronavirus vaccine for people over 65 and those with certain medical conditions. Biden got his extra dose of the Pfizer vaccine about eight months after receiving his second shot. The booster has been shown to prolong immunity from Covid-19 and to boost, or increase, protection against new variants.

This week, Democrats and Republicans continued to clash on whether or not to raise the debt ceiling. The restriction on how much money the U.S. is permitted to borrow can only be amended by a vote in Congress when the government runs low on funds and wants to take out more loans. The U.S. currently needs to borrow money to pay back debts from the previous administration, including for the 2017 Republican tax cuts. The Latin root of debt means "thing owed."

On September 27, Facebook announced it will delay the release of a new Instagram Kids app. Increasing questions about Instagram's effect on the mental health of teenagers led to the company’s decision to suspend the new product, which is aimed at 10 to 12-year-olds. The head of Instagram stated that postponing the app’s release will give the company time to work with experts, parents, and regulators.

Life in Rome was disrupted this week when packs of wild boars roamed the streets, overturning garbage bags and blocking traffic. The 200-pound pigs frightened children in school playgrounds and pursued shoppers laden with grocery bags. Uncollected garbage, a frequent problem in Rome, appears to be luring the boars from wooded areas into the city streets. The Latin root of disrupt is disruptus, "to break apart."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced 23 new extinctions. The statement means that these animals and plants, formerly on the endangered species list, can no longer be found in the wild. Scientists say extinction is accelerating so fast that within the next few decades, a million more plants and animals may vanish from the earth. Among the species that were wiped out by climate change and habitat destruction was the ivory-billed woodpecker.

A fossil found years ago in New Zealand has recently been identified as a new species of extinct giant penguin. In 2006, a group of children digging for small rocks bearing evidence of ancient organisms discovered the fossilized skeleton. It wasn't until this summer that paleontologists confirmed the specimen belonged to a penguin living 34.6 million years ago on a now-submerged ancient continent. Fossil comes from the Latin fossilis, "dug up."

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced its 2021 grant winners on September 28. The MacArthur Fellowship is widely known as the "genius grant.” Twenty-five fellows will receive $625,000 to use for any creative or professional goals. This year’s winners include exceptionally innovative poets, scientists, radio producers, and activists. Grant recipients can work in any field, including science, the arts, or technology, but they must be "extraordinary."

Since it was founded in 1973, the National Inventors Hall of Fame hasn't included any Black women among its inductees. That will change this year when the late ophthalmologist Marian Croak and engineer Patricia Bath join the more than 600 inventors honored by the organization. Bath, who got five patents in her lifetime, invented a device for removing cataracts. Croak, who boasts 200 patents, developed an innovative technology that’s used for remote work.

Olympic medalist Courtney Frerichs says she runs faster when she uses a mantra. Rather than repeating a traditional Sanskrit utterance like Om, Frerichs focuses on words and phrases that have personal resonance for her. She uses the silent incantations to boost her confidence and focus, including the word "fearless" and a coach's reminder to "Let yourself run." These mantras helped Frerichs win a silver medal in Tokyo this year. The Sanskrit root means "charm.”

Germany’s Social Democrats defeated Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats by an extremely slim margin in an election on September 26. Though the results are considered a stunning loss for the conservative party, which has controlled the country for much of the past several decades, the vote was close enough that it's also not a clear mandate for the Social Democrats. Given such a tight electoral outcome, Germany's new chancellor will hold less power than Merkel did.

Mosaics by multidisciplinary artist Rashid Johnson are on display at the Metropolitan Opera and the David Kordansky Gallery in New York this month. The artwork at the Met, titled The Broken Nine, includes nine human-shaped figures pieced together from fragments of wood, ceramic, and mirrored shards and displayed on two large panels. The Kordansky show, Black and Blue, is more abstract, with grids and patterns of small blue bits forming a whole mosaic.

Three men were charged with entering a restricted area of an Alaskan nature preserve and approaching brown bears. The federal charges include entering a protected section of Katmai National Park and Preserve, disorderly conduct, and coming within 50 yards of a large mammal; the men could face up to six months in prison. Officials say leaving the authorized viewing platform to enter a river where the bears were feeding could have harmed the men — or the protected bears.

The Baltimore Ravens' Justin Tucker kicked a 66-yard field goal on September 26, setting a new NFL record. The kick, which sent the football sailing almost 200 feet across the field, successfully crossing the goalpost, sealed the team's win over the Detroit Lions. The previous record was held by Matt Prater of the Arizona Cardinals, who kicked a 64-yard field goal in 2013.

The C.D.C. has found that schools with mask requirements have a much lower rate of Covid-19. Two new studies show that districts in which students and teachers were not obligated to wear masks were nearly four times more likely to have virus outbreaks than those with universal masking. Scientists also found that counties without school mask rules had a far higher rate of pediatric coronavirus cases than those with mask mandates.

Around the U.S., school cafeterias are experiencing food shortages that have forced them to serve less healthy meals. Shipments are increasingly delayed, and supplies of chicken, apple juice, vegetables, and bread — as well as plastic forks and spoons — are dwindling. Many students rely on school meals for their main source of nutrition. The dearth of food caused by pandemic-related supply chain issues has forced school staff to buy frozen food and hot dogs themselves.

Alaska's Cold Climate Housing Research Center is combining Indigenous methods with modern technology to design sustainable architecture that can withstand climate change. An ongoing housing crisis in the state has been made worse by quickly-built dwellings that weren't designed with Alaska's climate in mind. Many are also sinking in the rapidly thawing permafrost. The CCHRC's prototypes are specifically designed for the region's diverse and changing weather conditions.

The U.S. Marine Corps will allow a Sikh officer to wear a turban, despite their strict dress policy. After five years as a Marine, First Lt. Sukhbir Toor will be able to don the wrapped head covering of a faithful Sikh man along with his uniform. It was the first time in 246 years that the Marine Corps has allowed an exception to its standard, though other military branches allow turbans and other religious gear. Sikhs call the wound cloth covering their uncut hair a dastār.

As Scotland’s oil and gas industry declines, wind turbines in the North Sea are increasingly being used to produce energy instead. The production of fossil fuels was once a major part of the Scottish economy — now energy workers are pivoting to wind power. New technology allows wind farms to be placed farther from shore, where rotating turbines can harness the stronger winds and generate electricity. The Latin root of turbine means "spinning top."

On September 27, a judge granted the unconditional release of John W. Hinckley Jr., 41 years after he shot President Ronald Reagan and three others. Hinckley had been freed to live with his mother in 2016 under the condition that he be supervised by the court and his doctors. The new arrangement, in which he would have no obligations or monitoring, will begin after a nine-month observation period. Hinkley's medical team has determined that he no longer poses a danger to himself or others.

Women in Afghanistan have been barred from Kabul University by the new Taliban chancellor. It's just the latest in a string of setbacks to women's rights there since the Taliban gained power last month. Women are indefinitely prohibited from teaching at the college or attending as students. Many professors are describing the situation as a step toward the collapse of Afghanistan’s system of higher education. University shares a root with universe that means "whole."

Facing a severe shortage of truck drivers, the U.K. has offered thousands of visas to foreign workers. The lack of drivers has led to panic buying, causing customers to wait in long lines for gasoline, with some stations running out of fuel entirely. Since Brexit was finalized in January, British employers have faced strict restrictions on hiring European workers. The current crisis means that 5,000 foreign truck drivers will be given short-term visas to live and work in the U.K.