Ripped from the Headlines: July 2020: This Week In Words: July 4–10, 2020

The Supreme Court issued two decisions regarding the President's tax returns. In one, the Court sent the case back to a lower court to resolve issues surrounding Congressional subpoenas of the financial records. In another, the Court ruled that the Manhattan District Attorney must be given access to the returns as part of a Grand Jury investigation into the Trump Organization's allegedly illegal activities.

The Court also ruled that a large section of Eastern Oklahoma is an Indian reservation according to treaties signed by the U.S. government in 1866 that were never officially revoked or legally withdrawn. This means that as far as federal criminal law is concerned, native people cannot be tried by the State of Oklahoma for crimes committed in this area. They can be tried by the federal government.

President Trump said that the U.S. will withdraw from the World Health Organization. Doctors and public health experts say that this is a bad idea in the midst of the worst pandemic in a century, and that besides making the fight against Covid-19 harder, the move will also damage efforts at eradicating polio and other deadly diseases around the world. Foolhardy is a combination of the Old French fol, "foolish," and hardi, "bold:" not just stupid, but aggressively so.

Brooks Brothers, the clothing company founded 202 years ago, filed for bankruptcy. The pandemic, combined with a large-scale move towards more casual clothes, especially in the workplace, proved too much for the company to handle. Before the pandemic, the company's owners had been looking for buyers. Furlough comes from the Dutch verlof, which was originally a term for leave granted to soldiers.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said that those states experiencing surges in Covid-19 cases should consider shutting down. Arizona, California, Texas, and Florida have seen huge increases in the last few weeks, and the numbers are climbing by the day. He also said that everyone wearing masks is the most effective way to control the spread.

The first woman successfully graduated from Special Forces training and became an Army Green Beret. Her identity has been kept secret for personal and operational security. There are now women in just about every assignment in every branch of the military.

It looks like average yearly global temperatures could rise past the 1.5˚C mark (2.7˚F) within the next five years. This mark has been cited by climate scientists as a turning point which will have dramatic effects on climate and weather around the world. Mean has lots of meanings — see? — but in this case it's a synonym for average. It comes from Anglo-Norman, and is thus closely related to the French moyen.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, long an outspoken critic of mask-wearing and shutdowns, tested positive for Covid-19. He has made a point of appearing in public without a mask and shaking hands regularly, and has downplayed the seriousness of the disease. Brazil has the second highest number of cases in the world, after the U.S.

Vaccines take a long time to develop — a year or much more — so in the meantime, how are treatments for Covid-19 progressing? This list runs down the most promising drugs currently being studied for their use to help with moderate to severe symptoms and some of the common related effects, particularly regarding the circulatory system. Prophilaktikos is Greek, meaning "to guard against."

The Supreme Court ruled that states can require members of the Electoral College to vote according to the popular vote results in their states. This ruling is meant to help prevent the possibility that in a close Presidential election, a few so-called "rogue electors" might vote for the candidate who lost the popular vote.