Ripped from the Headlines: March 2023: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for March 25–March 31, 2023

A rare planetary alignment this week was most clearly visible on the night of March 28, just after sunset. Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Uranus, and Mars could all be seen at the same time, forming a staggered line from the horizon up into the sky. Venus, the brightest of the five, was the easiest to see, with dimmer Mercury and Uranus requiring binoculars from some vantage points. The aligned planets were visible from anywhere on Earth lucky enough to have clear skies.

An exceptionally strong solar storm resulted in brilliant northern lights that could be seen unusually far south this week. The most powerful geomagnetic activity since 2017 created glowing auroras over Virgina, North Carolina, and Arizona. Vivid red and yellow streaks lit up the night sky for several hours in a light show that's usually only visible in northern locations like Scandinava, Iceland, and Alaska. Aurora is from a root that means "light."

In the Netherlands, badgers disrupted train schedules by burrowing under tracks. Two rail lines, in the north and south of the country, had to cancel routes thanks to the short-legged, weasel-like animals. Badgers dig for several reasons, with their deepest holes reserved for dens, or setts. They're protected under Dutch law, so officials need permission to move the animals and fill in their setts. Badger comes from the white blaze, or badge, on their forehead.

During a Congressional hearing, a Georgia lawmaker blamed TikTok for dangerous viral challenges, despite the fact that they pre-dated the app's launch in 2018. Republican Representative Earl L. "Buddy" Carter accused TikTok of inventing stunts including "NyQuil chicken," which involves cooking a chicken in cough syrup. All of the challenges mentioned by Carter existed for years on YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms before TikTok began.

One of the brands whose sales increased early in the pandemic was Crocs, the soft foam slip-on shoes. While people have stopped buying Pelotons and patio heaters as life gradually returns to normal, sales of the comfy clogs continue to grow, rising 200 percent over 2019. Traditionally, clogs were made entirely of wood or had wooden soles; the word's origins are unknown, but it was originally spelled clogge and meant "a lump of wood."

Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to three African countries this week, part of a Biden administration goal of fostering a collaborative relationship on the continent. Harris began her visit in Ghana, moving on to Tanzania and Zambia. Working together with African nations is a balancing act between reinforcing the U.S. role as an ally and acknowledging possible human rights violations, as some countries in Africa enact laws that restrict the freedoms of LGBTQ+ people.

New York mayor Eric Adams has proposed the city's first law that would require residents to compost. The legislation would initially oblige people with yards to separate leaves and brush, which would be collected and taken to a facility to decompose into a rich, dark mulch. The composting mandate would also phase in voluntary curbside collection of food scraps. Compost shares a root with compote (a dessert of mixed fruits) that means "to put or mix together."

The Indian opposition leader was expelled from Parliament after being found guilty of defamation against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi, who made the disparaging remark during a 2019 election campaign, faces up to two years in prison. In a speech, Gandhi asked rhetorically why "all thieves have Modi as [their] common surname." Modi's government has been frequently accused of silencing his critics.

DNA analysis of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair has revealed new information about his health and the possible cause of his death. Scientists examined the genetic information in several strands of the composer's hair and discovered that he didn't have lead poisoning, as many historians had guessed, but that he was infected with hepatitis B, which weakened his liver. DNA is an abbreviation of the clunky scientific term deoxyribonucleic acid.

A March 26 landslide in Ecuador caused at least 11 deaths, and dozens of people remained missing several days later. Officials had warned residents of the Andean highlands village of Alausí to evacuate since January, when small cracks and loose stones were first observed on the hillside. Villagers heard creaks and tremors just before tons of mud and rocks began sliding down the mountain. The landslide has been attributed to instability caused by months of heavy rainfall.

A group of scientists has been forced to retract a study showing that a rare shark had washed up on a Greek beach last year. The researchers withdrew their report after evidence surfaced suggesting that what they described as a deep-sea goblin shark was really a plastic toy. Some experts had expressed doubt about the shark's authenticity and criticized the study, which was based on a photograph and description. The Latin root of retract is retractus, "to draw back."

After months of growing unrest in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would delay a move to overhaul the country's judicial system by curbing its powers and independence. Despite the announcement, dissent has continued in the form of street protests and strikes, which have halted road traffic and airplane flights. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis have taken part in the demonstrations, about one-fifth of the country's total population.