Ripped from the Headlines: May 2021: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for May 8–May 14, 2021

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration amended its emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine to include children aged 12–15. The authorization originally applied to people 16 and older. Official CDC approval followed on May 12. The rule change expanded the pool of vaccine-eligible Americans to 87% of the population, at a time when children under 18 make up one in five new cases of Covid-19. The Latin root of amend is emendare, "to free from fault."

In an effort to save endangered seabirds from becoming entangled in fishing nets, scientists have developed a floating scarecrow they're describing as a "looming-eyes buoy." Bobbing on the water's surface like ordinary buoys, the devices have an added feature meant to discourage birds from diving into the fish-filled nets: enormous, moving eyes resembling those of a predator.

The Obama family announced on May 8 that their dog Bo had died after what they described as a "battle with cancer." Bo, a 12-year-old Portuguese water dog adopted by the Obamas in 2009, served two terms as first canine. He was joined in the White House by another dog, Sunny, in 2013. The word canine originally meant only "sharp teeth, like a dog's," before also referring to dogs themselves. It comes from the Latin canis, "dog."

Debris from a Chinese rocket landed safely in the Indian Ocean during the early hours of May 9. China's space agency said the majority of the rocket's remains burned up when it entered the earth's atmosphere. Controversy arose last week over the agency's management of the debris, amid fears that it might land in a populated area. The space rubbish splashed down in waters just west of the Maldives archipelago. Debris derives from a French word meaning "to break down."

A new Biden administration policy prohibits discrimination in health care against gay and transgender people. The rule reverses a Trump-era policy that said the Affordable Care Act's anti-discrimination protections didn't apply to transgender patients. The Latin root of this word, discriminare, means "to divide or separate."

Nearly a month after three leopards escaped from a Chinese zoo, one of them continues to elude its pursuers. On May 11, officials from the city of Hangzhou said that 1,700 people and 990 drones were being employed in the search for the runaway animal. The Hangzhou Safari Park has been criticized for failing to alert residents when the leopards went missing and concealing the information for weeks. The original meaning of elude was "make a fool of."

Public health experts who once hoped for global herd immunity now believe that Covid-19 will become endemic around the world. Epidemiologists say that rapidly changing variants, rising cases in several countries, and slow vaccine distribution worldwide suggest a future in which coronavirus is a much less deadly but ever-present threat. The Greek root of endemic means "dwelling in a place" or "belonging to a people."

For the first time in over a year, a live art exhibition opened this week in New York City. Running through May 16 at the Shed performing arts center in Hudson Yards, Frieze New York also features free virtual viewing rooms. Only 64 galleries are taking part in the show, a reduction from almost 200 in past years. Most participants are displaying paintings, and many are showcasing artists whose work explores the relationship of race and citizenship in the U.S.

Scientists hope that an experiment involving CRISPR, the technique for making precise changes to genes, will restore the vision of some blind people. Participants in the study lost their sight due to a rare genetic condition that destroys light-detecting cells in the retina. The experiment will use CRISPR in an entirely new way, editing genes while they're still inside the patients' bodies. Gene derives from a root that means "give birth."

Some economists worry that recent increases in the prices of consumer goods signal that the U.S. may be heading toward inflation. The pandemic has caused severe supply shortages, causing prices to rise more than 2.5 percent over the last 12 months. Most private-sector economists see this as a temporary situation and predict a return to normal later this year. Others worry that wages won't keep up with prices, resulting in economy-wide inflation.

A contemporary art museum in Italy is offering inoculation appointments along with reservations for gallery tours. The Castello di Rivoli, near Turin, has set aside a floor where patrons can gaze at paintings by Swiss artist Claudia Comte and listen to a relaxing soundscape by composer Egon Elliut while they're being vaccinated. The museum's director planned the inoculation drive after its chairman died of Covid-19 in December.

Dutch researchers have trained honeybees to use their discerning olfactory senses to detect coronavirus, and to signal by sticking their tongues out when they smell it. The virus has a unique scent, and the bees' ability to sniff it out may prove useful in low-income areas that lack access to conventional rapid testing, according to the scientists. Olfactory derives from a Latin root meaning "to get the smell of."

On May 10, the Washington Wizards' Russell Westbrook broke the all-time record for the most triple-doubles during a game with the Atlanta Hawks. Westbrook officially surpassed Oscar Robertson's 1974 record when he caught a fourth-quarter rebound. A triple-double is defined as a double-digit total in three of five categories — assists, blocks, points, rebounds, and steals — during a single game. Robertson and Westbrook are the only NBA players to record 180 or more triple-doubles.

As part of a new restitution pledge, Germany has agreed to return hundreds of pieces of art to Nigeria, after they were seized by colonists more than a century ago. The works are part of a larger collection known as the Benin Bronzes, which includes thousands of plaques, figures, and masks that were crafted over a period of six hundred years and looted by invading British soldiers in 1897. The Latin root of restitution means "a restoring."

A ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline caused an increase in gas prices, as well as gas shortages in parts of the United States, especially the Southeast. The pipeline was restarted on the evening of May 12, and the Environmental Protection Agency temporarily waived some rules for fuel transportation to provide relief to areas facing shortages and outages. Officials have traced the source of the cyberattack to Russia.

After 2021 Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit failed a drug test, race officials suspended the horse's trainer, Bob Baffert. He denied any wrongdoing, later acknowledging that Medina Spirit had been treated with a steroid ointment before the race. The horse will be permitted to participate in the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore on May 15, but Baffert remains indefinitely banned from Kentucky's Churchill Downs.

A Romanian castle, known to tourists as the home of the famed fictional vampire Count Dracula, is offering free coronavirus vaccines to weekend visitors during the month of May. Transylvania's Bran Castle, which resembles the castle described in Bram Stoker's Dracula, is taking full advantage of its reputed connection to the legendary vampire, encouraging vaccination in a country that has recorded more than a million Covid-19 cases.

The fast-food chain Chipotle announced on May 10 that it will increase its average wage to $15 per hour by the end of June. Chipotle, which plans to open more than 200 restaurants in 2021, hopes to hire about 20,000 workers in the coming months. Higher hourly pay is intended to attract more applicants for jobs that previously paid approximately $13 per hour. The federal minimum wage is currently $7.25, and raising it to $15 is on the Biden administration's agenda.