Ripped from the Headlines: July 2024: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 20–July 26, 2024

Chinese companies are selling digital avatars of people who have died to their loved ones. The figures, created using artificial intelligence to look and sound just like the deceased person, are marketed to help friends and family members cope with grief and loss. One company, Silicon Intelligence, describes the avatars as "resurrections" of lost loved ones. The sales of these avatars have raised ethical questions about using digital images to embody real human beings.

A group of scientists from North Carolina State University discovered a new dog-sized dinosaur that spent part of its life underground. The Fona herzogae is the latest addition to a species of dinosaurs that dug burrows in the earth, a group that also includes the Oryctodromeus. Paleontologists don't know much about these burrowing prehistoric animals, beyond the fact that they dug underground dens for shelter. The Old English root of burrow means "fortress."

A Colorado Springs artist used grant money to stage a community catnap, a large group event meant to encourage resting without guilt. About 70 people from the historically Black Hillside neighborhood joined the event, which was organized by Ashley Cornelius using a $7,500 Arts in Society grant. After meditating together, the group lay back on yoga mats; some dozed briefly, and others just relaxed. "People don't rest enough," Cornelius said, "particularly people of color."

After President Biden announced he would withdraw from the presidential race, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic Party's nominee. Once she received Biden's official support, Harris quickly garnered the backing of more than the 1,976 delegates she needs to win the nomination. Endorse, which first meant "sign the back of a document," is from the Old French endosser, "to put on the back."

An American journalist was sentenced to 16 years in a Russian prison for espionage, a charge the United States says is false. Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was found guilty of spying on the Russian military to gather secret information for U.S. intelligence services. No evidence of this alleged crime has been made public by Russia. The French espion, "a spy," is the root of espionage.

An environmental activist who was arrested in Greenland may be extradited to Japan, which issued the warrant. Paul Watson, a Canadian citizen whose anti-whaling campaigns have targeted Japanese commercial whaling vessels, faces 15 years in prison if he is turned over to that country's government. Watson will be held in Nuuk until August 15th while a decision is made about his extradition. The Latin roots of extradite mean "out" and "hand over."

Human rights groups say a ban on French Olympic athletes wearing hijabs is discriminatory. France explains the rule is about athletes respecting "principles of secularism and neutrality," which the religious headscarf defies. Muslim athletes who wear hijabs see the garment as an intrinsic part of who they are and say the prohibition makes it impossible for them to participate in French sports. In Arabic, hijab means "veil or cover."

Two people died in a listeria outbreak that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention say was caused by sliced lunch meat. The bacteria, which spreads easily from equipment to surfaces, hands, and food, has been linked to meat sliced and sold at deli counters. At least 28 people in a dozen states have been sickened by the contaminated meat. Listeria was named after the British surgeon who was the founder of antiseptic medicine, Joseph Lister.

Musket balls that have been underground since the Revolutionary War were discovered in a national park by archaeologists. A park ranger said, "The last time somebody touched [one of them] they were shoving it down the muzzle of a musket on April 19, 1775." The long, front-loaded guns were the most common weapons used by Americans during the war, and the small lumps of lead found in Concord, Massachusetts were most likely fired by colonial militiamen.

A global tech outage caused problems worldwide, including thousands of canceled and delayed flights and disruptions in hospitals and banks. A faulty cybersecurity update is being blamed for 8.5 million Microsoft users around the globe being knocked offline for hours. Most businesses were running normally by the end of the weekend, but Delta Airlines was still canceling flights four days after the outage. Outage was coined in 1903, modeled after shortage.

Bangladeshi protestors have been demanding an end to a quota that reserved 30 percent of government jobs for relatives of veterans who fought in a 1971 war. After violent clashes between demonstrators and police, the government has scaled back the system. Now just five percent of jobs will go to this group, with an additional two percent reserved for ethnic minorities, transgender people, and people with disabilities. In Latin, quota means "how large a part."

Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service, resigned on July 23. The agency's response to the attempted assassination of former president Trump earlier this month has been under scrutiny since the incident. Cheatle faced rigorous questions at a congressional hearing the day before she announced she was stepping down from her position. The Latin root of resign is resignare, "to give up or give back."