Ripped from the Headlines: April 2023: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocabulary for April 1–April 7, 2023

Former president Donald Trump appeared in a New York City courtroom on April 4 for an arraignment on 34 felony charges. Sitting with his team of attorneys, Trump listened while the prosecutors detailed the case against him. His response to Judge Juan M. Merchan's question, "How do you plead?" was "Not guilty." The charges include falsifying business records to conceal criminal activity. The case will likely go to trial early in 2024.

A new study shows that deforestation is actually changing the weather in tropical rainforests. Researchers found that removing masses of trees interferes with a process called precipitation recycling, during which rainforests create their own rain through evaporation. Replacing trees with cleared land means less rain is falling, not just in the rainforests, but in surrounding regions as well. Deforestation comes from deforest, with its prefix de-, or "undo."

The iconic white suit worn by John Travolta in the film Saturday Night Fever will be sold at auction this month. The large-lapeled polyester suit has become an emblem of the disco era; an image of Travolta striking a dance pose during the movie's competition scene is often used to represent the 1970s. The suit is expected to sell for at least $200,000. Iconic, originally "pertaining to a portrait," has a Greek root meaning "image."

After a U.S. journalist was detained in Russia last week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded his release in a phone call with the Russian foreign minister. Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested on suspicion of spying, a charge the newspaper and the U.S. government deny. Meaning "one who writes for a daily or weekly journal," journalist derives from the Late Latin diurnalis, "daily."

For half a century, the small town of Bessières, France has held an annual festival that involves making an enormous omelet. This year the town has collected 15,000 eggs that will be cracked open on Easter Monday, whipped with salt and pepper, and cooked in a 13-foot pan into a fluffy omelet. Festival volunteers are known as the Confrérie Mondiale des Chevaliers de l’Omelette Géante de Bessières, or the World Brotherhood of the Knights of the Giant Omelet.

The annual UN World Happiness Report rated Finland as the happiest nation. It was the sixth win in a row for the country, whose residents describe themselves as hopeful about the future and content in the present. Finns say their optimism stems from factors including a strong welfare system, time spent in nature, living a sustainable life, and a disinterest in financial success beyond meeting life's basic needs. The Latin root of optimism is optimus, "the best."

The University of Connecticut Huskies overwhelmed the San Diego State Aztecs on April 4, winning the final game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament 76-59. It was UConn's fifth championship since 1999, and the team averaged 20-point victories against every opponent. The underdog Aztecs came within five points of a tied score before being overpowered by the Huskies in the final quarter. Overwhelm's original meaning was literally "turn upside down."

The world's most premature siblings have celebrated their first birthday. Canadian twins Adiah and Adrial Nadarajah were born at 22 weeks' gestation, four months earlier than a full-term baby. They weighed just 11 and 14 ounces and were small enough to fit in the palms of their parents' hands. At one year old, the siblings still hold the world record for being the most premature twins. The Latin root of premature is praematurus, "early ripe."

Eighty-nine percent of voters in an April 2 referendum favored banning electric scooters in Paris. Just seven percent of Parisians cast a ballot in the single-issue vote, but those who did overwhelmingly supported the ban. Mayor Anne Hidalgo, once a proponent of scooter rentals, now favors prohibiting them. The scooters had been touted as an environmentally friendly form of transportation, but they're increasingly viewed as dangerous and much less sustainable than originally believed.

California's Tulare Lake, once the largest body of water west of the Mississippi, has come roaring back to life this spring. The lake was dammed and drained in the mid-1900s to make room for acres of farmland, and it remained dry for decades. Unrelenting storms have resurrected the lake, filling 30 square miles with water and flooding nearby farms. Experts say the lake may remain for years, an economic disaster for farmers. The Latin root of resurrect means "rise again."

Researchers announced they have mapped each synapse in the brain of a fruit fly. By zeroing in on every single neuron-to-neuron connection in the insect's tiny brain, scientists hope to gain a better understanding of our own neural wiring. While human brains have more than 100 trillion synapses, a fruit fly larva's brain has about 500,000 of these junctions. Synapse derives from the Greek synaptein, "to join together."

A new study shows that several European Old Master painters of the 16th and 17th centuries, including Leonardo da Vinci, used egg yolk as a secret ingredient in some of their paint. Scientists analyzed the changes that take place in oil paint when the yellow part of an egg is added to it in small amounts. They found this addition made paint easier to apply and kept it from wrinkling as it dried. Yolk, first spelled yelk, is from the Old English geolu, "yellow."