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Ripped from the Headlines: November 2019: This Week In Words: November 30–December 6, 2019

Stories about toxic talc, the Democratic primary, and the ongoing impeachment saga gave us some choice vocabulary words this week. Also, the country's fastest internet is in a surprising place!
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Full list of words from this list:

  1. carcinogen
    any substance that produces cancer
    “When something as serious as cancer or carcinogens are at issue,” Krishnamoorthi said, “self-regulation doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
    Reuters (Dec 3, 2019)
    The presence of cancer-causing asbestos in some talcum powder has observers questioning the way the FDA lets industries regulate themselves. Companies use their own scientists to test their products, and many workers at government agencies used to work for the people they're supposed to be regulating. Carcinoma is "tumor" or "ulcer" in Latin; the suffix -gen comes from the same root as genesis, meaning "origin."
  2. circumvent
    surround so as to force to give up
    The filing also said Purdue increased Landau’s potential pay in 2018 “in preparation for the filing of this case,” and possibly to circumvent the bankruptcy code’s restrictions on such bonuses.
    Reuters (Dec 2, 2019)
    States suing Purdue Pharma for causing the opioid epidemic say that bonuses should not be given to executives who contributed to the problem. Purdue CEO Craig Landau is slated to receive a $1.3 million bonus this year, bringing his total pay to $3.9 million, despite having allegedly downplayed the risks of OxyContin to doctors and regulators. Unless a judge intervenes, the company plans to proceed with the bonuses, which total $24 million.
  3. deride
    treat or speak of with contempt
    Like President Donald Trump, who Hunter endorsed early in the 2016 presidential election, the congressman spent months deriding the charges against him as a "witch hunt."
    Salon (Dec 3, 2019)
    After months ridiculing the charges of campaign finance violations brought against him, Congressman Duncan Hunter changed his plea to "guilty." Activists and commentators are now calling on Hunter to resign immediately. Hunter was the second member of Congress to endorse Trump during the campaign; the first, Rep. Chris Collins of New York, recently resigned after pleading guilty to insider trading.
  4. disparage
    express a negative opinion of
    Mr. Trump and his senior aides routinely disparage individual reporters and entire news organizations for coverage they deem unfavorable.
    New York Times (Dec 2, 2019)
    Bloomberg News, owned by billionaire candidate Mike Bloomberg, was banned from attending Trump rallies. After Bloomberg entered the race, editors told their employees to avoid investigative stories about him. The network recently said that in the interest of fairness, it would not investigate any of the Democratic candidates during the remainder of the campaign.
  5. genome
    the full DNA sequence of an organism
    Last year, the Chinese firm Forensic Genomics International (FGI) announced that it was storing the DNA profiles of more than 100,000 people from across China (FGI, known as Shenzhen Huada Forensic Technology in China, is a subsidiary of the BGI, the world’s largest genome-research organization).
    Nature (Dec 3, 2019)
    China's national DNA database is causing concern about privacy, human rights, and surveillance as biometrics and internet monitoring all become cheaper and more sophisticated. Observers worry that having so much information in the hands of a government, especially a repressive one like China's, will further erode freedoms. Genome, gene, and genetic all come from that same genesis root found in carcinogen above.
  6. indictment
    an accusation of wrongdoing
    The report by the House Intelligence Committee was a sweeping indictment of the president’s behavior, concluding that he sought to undermine American democracy and endangered national security, then worked to conceal his actions from Congress.
    New York Times (Dec 3, 2019)
    The House Intelligence Committee released its impeachment report, stating that the President abused his power by soliciting a bribe from the President of Ukraine, covering up this activity, and obstructing justice in the Congressional investigation of these and other crimes. The action now moves to the Judiciary Committee, which will likely draw up articles of impeachment based on this report.
  7. travail
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
    Since their Ukraine travail, Parnas and Fruman were indicted on charges that they illegally funneled foreign money to Republican politicians in the U.S.
    Salon (Dec 2, 2019)
    One of the Ukrainian prosecutors who helped Rudy Giuliani in his effort to manufacture dirt against Joe and Hunter Biden was fired in an anti-corruption purge. Over 500 prosecutors in total have lost their jobs as part of a widespread effort to control corruption in the Ukrainian legal system. The former Prosecutor General, who gave Giuliani false information about the Bidens, is under criminal investigation.
  8. vacillating
    uncertain in purpose or action
    “I don’t think voters ever got to see her true and authentic self due to vacillating policy stances and plans..."
    Guardian (Dec 3, 2019)
    California Senator Kamala Harris suspended her campaign for the Democratic Presidential nomination, citing a lack of fundraising. Her bid got off to a quick and successful start, with big crowds and a famous exchange with Joe Biden at the first debate, but over time she lost momentum and the spotlight and donations shifted to other candidates. vacillare means "to sway" or "to stagger" in Latin.
  9. warren
    an overcrowded residential area
    Inside is a warren of cubicles where people who can’t work from home sit with headsets on, talking and typing, and a conference room where job fairs and workshops are held.
    New Yorker (Dec 3, 2019)
    McKee Kentucky is a small, poor, rural town that happens to have some of the fastest internet in the whole country. The local telephone cooperative decided ten years ago to replace all the copper phone lines with fiber optic cable; now members of the Peoples Rural Telephone Cooperative (P.R.T.C.) get up to a gigabit per second. Rabbits live in a warren, so any crowded neighborhood or area with tight, winding passages can be described as a warren.
  10. whatsoever
    one or some or every or all without specification
    “I was in Washington last week, and I talked to a lot of people, and there was no sign whatsoever that there would be any kind of change,” he said.
    New York Times (Dec 2, 2019)
    The President said he would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum from Brazil and Argentina. This move would escalate his global trade war, adding more uncertainty to markets. The two countries were exempted from earlier tariffs when they were imposed last year. The stock market dropped sharply after the news.
Created on Tue Dec 03 20:22:41 EST 2019 (updated Wed Dec 04 15:31:16 EST 2019)

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