Ripped from the Headlines: January 2020: This Week In Words: January 18–24, 2020

The President's lawyer Jay Sekulow let loose during the impeachment trial, yelling and pounding the lectern. His speech included a number of outright falsehoods, which cause a lot of commentators to wonder if he was a good choice for the job. Augustus means "venerable" and "worthy of respect" in Latin, so in addition to the name of the eighth month august is also a useful adjective. People often pronounce it with the emphasis on the second syllable.

Simply put, the impeachment trial is about the President pressuring Ukraine to manufacture evidence against Joe Biden, and then covering up this crime. Those are the two articles brought by the house, and now on trial in the Senate: abuse of power and obstruction of justice. Crux is Latin for "cross;" its meaning in English — the central issue or the sticking point — can be seen in the related word crucial.

As the Democratic primary heats up, candidates are spending a lot of time in Iowa, one of the first states to vote. Iowa is a conservative state, but it has lots of farmers who have been hit hard by the President's tariffs. Disaffected is related to affection; someone who used to like you but now won't speak to you is disaffected: no longer affectionate.

Amazon founder and richest man in the world Jeff Bezos had his phone hacked by the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. Using WhatsApp, the Prince sent him a video file containing malware, which then stole data. The extent and nature of the stolen data is not known, but nine months later the National Enquirer published details about Bezos' personal life. The hacking appears to have been an effort to stop the Washington Post, which Bezos owns, from critical reporting on Saudi Arabia.

The new strain of coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China has claimed 17 lives, and cases are appearing elsewhere, including one in the U.S. Unlike its response during the 2002-03 SARS epidemic, the Chinese government has made public announcements about its efforts to contain the disease. All flights and local transport in Wuhan are cancelled, and travelers to many airports are being screened for infection. The disease likely originated in one of the city's illegal wild animal markets.

While indicted Giuliani associate Lev Parnas is talking to anyone who will listen about the criminal schemes he and his cohorts were engaged in, his partner Igor Fruman is staying quiet, under house arrest in Miami. Parnas fired his Trump-affiliated lawyers and hired new counsel. Peripatetikos is a Greek word used to describe Aristotle, who paced back and forth while teaching. Now it refers to anyone who walks or wanders a lot.

France was planning to implement digital sales taxes on technology companies, and the U.S. responded by threatening tariffs on wine and cheese. The digital sales tax is a way for companies to be charged based on where a sale or digital activity occurs, rather than the location of the company's physical offices. The issues remain unresolved, but the immediate taxes and tariffs are on hold. Rapprochement, fittingly, is a French word, meaning "a coming together."

The World War II Memorial will be dedicated on May 8 in Washington D.C. to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Allied victory. The central bronze sculpture depicts General Dwight D. Eisenhower and members of the 101st Airborne, based on an encounter shortly before D-Day. Eisenhower went on to become the 34th President of the United States.

Tesla became the first U.S. carmaker valued at over $100 billion, worth more than Ford and GM combined. If the value holds for six months, founder Elon Musk will earn $346 million in stock options. The company's stock has doubled in three months. Tranche means "slice" in French, and it's used in English to denote portions of a larger amount of money, like slices of cake. It's the same root we get trench from.

The city of Washington, D.C. is suing the Trump organization for illegally inflating the rates at the Trump International Hotel during the inauguration. The hotel charged the inaugural committee over a million dollars for use of a ballroom and food for four days. As a nonprofit, the inaugural committee is required by law to use its funds for the public good and not for enriching individuals.