Ripped from the Headlines: January 2025: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 5–January 11, 2025

Congress voted on January 6 to certify Donald Trump's electoral college win over Vice President Kamala Harris, who presided over the formal confirmation of Trump's election. Lawmakers read each state's electoral votes aloud, and Harris declared Trump the winner. It was a stark contrast to the 2021 certification process, which was disrupted by about 2,000 Trump supporters who disputed the election results. Certify is from a Latin root meaning "to make fixed or sure."

President Biden announced a ban on new oil and gas drilling across the majority of U.S. coastal waters. Over 625 acres of shoreline, including the entire Eastern Seaboard and West Coast, are part of the ban. Biden cited the potential harm that drilling could cause to the environment and to the economies of communities that depend on fishing and tourism. Coastal comes from the Latin costa, originally "a rib," and later "the shore or side of the land."

New York introduced congestion pricing this week for vehicles coming into the city. The plan will charge most drivers entering Manhattan during the busiest times of the day a nine-dollar fee. A 2023 analysis found that New York City had the worst traffic in the world, its streets gridlocked with cars during morning and evening commute times. Car commuters spend an average of 101 hours a year stuck in traffic, a measure that may decrease as more people choose public transportation instead.

New research suggests that dancing can reduce rates of depression among people with Parkinson's disease. A small study used questionnaires and imaging to track the brains and emotions of 23 patients as they attended weekly dance classes. Every session, which ranged from basic ballet to ballroom dance, produced marked improvements in mood. After eight weeks, all participants had experienced a continuing reduction in sadness and despondency and an increase in happiness.

A new free meal program in Indonesia will feed 90 million children and pregnant women. It's part of the newly elected government's push to fight malnutrition, which stunts the growth of nearly 22 percent of Indonesian children. A lack of nutrients during infancy and childhood is a common problem in the country, and while critics say it's is too expensive, most favor the plan, which includes free school meals. Malnutrition has Latin roots meaning "bad" and "to nourish."

Mischievous monkeys in the Indian town of Vrindavan regularly steal people's glasses right off their faces, holding them hostage until someone tosses them a bottle of mango juice. The naughty monkeys are cleverly compensating for the growing lack of fresh fruit as the town expands, cutting down mango trees to accommodate tourism. When local residents use the juice to barter, the monkeys almost always toss the eyeglasses back in exchange, with reactions ranging from amused to annoyed.

A national day of mourning was observed on January 9 for former President Jimmy Carter, who died in December at the age of 100. Carter's funeral was held at Washington National Cathedral. Federal agencies closed for the day, and American flags will fly at half-mast all month in honor of the 39th president, who is remembered for his devotion to peacemaking and the poor. Mourning is from the Old English murnan, "to feel grief," and its root, which means "to remember."

The Spanish-language musical Emilia Pérez won four prizes at the 2025 Golden Globes. The film, described as a musical crime comedy, took home awards for best original song, best supporting actress, best film in a non-English language, and best musical or comedy. Director Jacques Audiard based the movie on an opera libretto. Cast members performed the film's songs in Spanish. Musical was first used in the 1930s as shorthand for musical play.

The schedule and team matchups for the opening round of the NFL playoffs were set this week, and the first games are on January 11. The Denver Broncos face the Buffalo Bills, and the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Baltimore Ravens. Conference championships are set to begin on January 26 — the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of the last two Super Bowls, will have home-field advantage over their opponents if they advance to this round of the playoffs.

After a fire destroyed a Virginia romance bookstore, friends and customers chipped in nearly $50,000 to help its owner reopen. For the Friends to Lovers Bookstore, the happy ending matched the plots of the love stories that lined its shelves before the conflagration. The store's fans contributed enough to fund a temporary pop-up shop while its owner locates a new permanent space. A romance was originally a tale of a hero's adventures, but came to mean "love story."

A growing number of small U.S. farmers are growing saffron, which was previously a pricey import. Farms in states including California, Vermont, and Texas have begun to cultivate the feathery golden spice, which is harvested from inside the blossoms of a specific type of crocus. The corms, or bulbs, produce one or two flowers, and it takes 150 flowers to get about a gram of saffron, which sells for about $100.

A massive 608-pound bluefin tuna became one of the most expensive in the history of sushi when it sold at auction this week. The Japanese restaurant chain that bought the giant fish for $1.3 million, or $2,100 per pound, is renowned for its sushi, as well as for the rice-free version of the raw fish dish, sashimi. The Japanese root of sushi means "sour rice."