Ripped from the Headlines: April 2024: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for April 13–April 19, 2024

Archaeologists discovered a Roman banquet hall decorated with detailed paintings of mythological figures. The room, which was used for entertaining and dining, is believed to have been the site of lavish feasts. Its walls were painted black to hide the smoke of flickering oil lamps, which according to researchers would have made the painted figures in the frescoes "appear to move." Banquet has a Latin root that means "bench," referring to "a snack eaten on a bench."

Three people who were stranded on a remote Pacific island were rescued after they spelled out "HELP" in palm leaves on the beach. The castaways had gone missing a week earlier, after they set out in a small skiff between the Micronesian islands of Polowat and Pikelot. Their boat was destroyed on the rocky coast, but they had some food and supplies. The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy spotted their message during a wide-ranging search, and rescuers praised the men's ingenuity.

Around the world, corals are bleaching in mass numbers, and scientists say it could devastate the web of ocean life. These stony marine polyps are living organisms, and when stressed by warming water, they expel algae and turn white. High ocean temperatures in the past year have caused corals worldwide to bleach — scientists estimate this has occurred in 54 percent of the planet's coral reefs. If water temperatures decrease, these rocky animals can recover.

President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, publicly released their 2023 income tax return on April 15. The document showed the Bidens earned $620,000 and paid taxes of $181,000, a rate of about 24 percent. Their joint income rose about seven percent from 2022, most of it coming from Joe Biden's $400,000 annual salary and Jill Biden's English professor's salary of $85,985, plus royalties from the sale of her books.

Australian koalas face a wide range of threats, and the species' chances of extinction are increasing. Climate change, deforestation, and a bacterial infection all endanger the iconic marsupial, which looks like a small bear but is related to the kangaroo. Scientists are using dozens of strategies to protect the animal, including conservation laws, tree-planting drones, koala probiotics, and vaccines. Koala is from an Aboriginal word, koola.

On April 15, Tesla announced it will lay off about 10 percent of its employees. The mass layoffs followed decreasing sales of Tesla's electric vehicles, growing competition from China, and controversy around its CEO, Elon Musk. More than 14,000 workers will lose their jobs, from Tesla's sales, policy, and engineering divisions. Before it meant "loss of employment," a layoff was a time of "rest and relaxation."

Hellen Obiri finished first in the women's division of the Boston Marathon, the second win for the Kenyan long-distance runner, who also won the 2023 New York City Marathon. Obiri completed the race's 26 miles in two hours, 22 minutes, and 37 seconds, fast enough to qualify to represent Kenya in the Paris Olympics this summer. Marathon comes from a Greek myth about a very long run from The Plains of Marathon to Athens.

Iran directly attacked Israel, firing more than 100 ballistic missiles. The barrage of explosive drones and cruise missiles, which lasted for more than five hours, was preceded by warnings that allowed Israel time to prepare. The country's air defense technology successfully intercepted nearly all of the weapons. The Latin root of missile means "to throw."

Faith Ringgold, an artist known for her story quilts, died at 93. Ringgold's best-known work depicts tales of civil rights history, Black culture, and gender equality. Her quilts are influenced by the traditional crafting of her mother and grandmother, and most consist of fabric squares stitched together into blankets, each panel a piece of a larger story. Many of Ringgold's pieces are adorned with paint and sequins. Quilt is from the Latin culcita, "mattress."

Biologists are trying to understand why sawfish off the Florida Keys abruptly started swimming in spirals. Endangered sawtooth sawfish, which are a large species of ray, were seen spinning in circles; dozens were later found dead. The strange behavior had been noted earlier in small bait fish. While scientists have eliminated many reasons for the odd swimming pattern, they don't know what's causing it. The Greek root of spiral is speira, "a winding or coil."

A newly FDA-approved device treats tinnitus by electrically stimulating the tongue. The condition, which causes sounds of ringing or buzzing in the ears, can result from infection, hearing loss, or exposure to loud noises. The new device counteracts the constant droning by playing sounds through headphones as it sends pulses of electricity into the tongue. The combination tricks the brain into switching off the ringing noise. Tinnitus is from a Latin word meaning "to ring."

Golfer Scottie Scheffler won his second Masters Tournament on April 14. The competition is one of professional golf's four major championships. Scheffler, who also won the last two Players Championship games, is being widely compared to an early-career Tiger Woods. A tournament was originally a medieval jousting competition on horseback, and the word derives from the Old French tornoier, "to joust."