Ripped from the Headlines: August 2020: This Week In Words: August 22–28, 2020

A young man armed with an AR-15 shot and killed two people Tuesday night during chaotic protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. Police arrested him at his home in Illinois and are investigating whether he belonged to a vigilante group. Brandish originates in the Germanic brand, meaning "sword." To Brandish a weapon means to wave or hold it in a threatening way.

Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drug Administration Commissioner, apologized for statements he made that exaggerated the benefits of blood plasma from recovered Covid patients as a treatment for people suffering from the disease.

A change in the weather has helped firefighters combat some of the raging California fires. The marine layer — cooler, wetter air from the ocean — moved inland, slowing the fires down and reducing their intensity in some areas. Two of the biggest fires are between a quarter and a third contained. The fire burning east of Napa Valley is the third-largest ever recorded. Close to a million acres total have burned so far.

Hurricane Laura hit coastal Louisiana with winds as high as 150 miles per hour and a storm surge over 9 feet in areas around Cameron. Hundreds of thousands of people along large portions of the coast were ordered to evacuate to higher ground. The storm began weakening over land, but may also create tornadoes in surrounding areas.

Survivors and family members of those who died in the New Zealand mosque shooting in March of 2019 got a chance to address the murderer during his sentencing hearing. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to 51 counts of murder and 40 attempted murders, and may get life without parole, a punishment never previously handed down in New Zealand. Those who spoke were by turns defiant, insulting, and occasionally overcome with emotion as they told the killer that he had made their community stronger.

Facebook came under fire for leaving posts by a group called "Kenosha Guard" up after they were reported for encouraging violence in the days before a gunman possibly associated with the group killed two people on Tuesday night. The group's page was taken down nine hours after the shootings. Incitare is a Latin verb meaning "to put in motion," "to stir," or "to stimulate."

Three events at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday drew criticism for possibly being illegal. According to legal experts, a speech by Secretary of State Pompeo while on official business in Jerusalem, a speech by the First Lady from the White House Rose Garden, and a citizenship ceremony presided over by acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf all violated the Hatch Act, a law that forbids government employees from engaging in political activities while at work.

Vice President Pence spoke on the third night of the Republican National Convention, saying that the economy is on the mend and that the pandemic will not stop the recovery. He said that Americans will not be safe under a President Biden, and that "law and order are on the ballot." Ominosus is Latin, meaning "inauspicious."

The Centers for Disease Control changed their testing guidelines, disqualifying people without symptoms from receiving tests even if they have recently been exposed to someone sick with Covid-19. Because people without symptoms can spread the virus, doctors say that more testing, not less, is needed in order to get the spread under control.

According to doctors in Germany where he's being treated, Alexei Navalny, a prominent Russian opposition leader and outspoken critic of President Putin, was poisoned with a nerve agent. The Russian government has said that it does not believe that he was poisoned, and has rejected calls from Germany, the U.S., and other countries to investigate. Vehement comes from the Latin vehemens, meaning "forceful," "strong," or "violent."