Ripped from the Headlines: July 2021: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 17–July 23, 2021

While most goods and services have gotten more expensive since the coronavirus pandemic began, economists say apparel is one of the few things that costs less now. Since February 2020, men's clothing prices are down 7.2%, while women's apparel is 5.9% cheaper. The cost of formal attire, like dresses and suits, has fallen most sharply as casual, comfortable clothes have become more popular. Apparel originally meant "armor," from a root meaning "prepare."

Wally Funk trained as an astronaut for NASA's 1961 Mercury spaceflight but was denied the opportunity to travel to space because she was a woman. On July 20, the 82-year-old Funk finally got the chance to experience space travel when she joined billionaire Jeff Bezos on a ten-minute voyage in his Blue Origin rocket. When she was part of the "Mercury 13" program 60 years ago, Funk got the same NASA training as the male astronauts who were ultimately chosen for the mission.

Canadian officials announced on July 20 that the country will reopen its border with the United States next month. Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will be permitted to enter Canada starting August 9. There is a tentative plan to allow visitors from other countries after September 7. For more than a year, the U.S. and Canada have renewed restrictions each month against nonessential travel across the border between the two countries.

For decades, single-screen cinemas have been a vital part of Indian culture. While the advent of multiplex theaters in the 1990s reduced their numbers, many of these classic movie houses have continued to screen three-hour Bollywood films for large, rowdy audiences well into the 21st century. The pandemic has forced dozens — or possibly hundreds — of the remaining cinemas to close permanently. Many fear that none of the small theaters will exist in India within ten years.

Flooding that followed a violent deluge last week has left nearly 200 people dead in western Europe. Germany saw the worst of the floods, which swelled rivers and swept away cars and homes after torrential rain fell in the Western part of the country. Meteorologists described it as "a month's worth of rain in 24 hours," a downpour that caused rivers to rise to historic levels. Deluge comes from a Latin word meaning "wash away."

The remains of nine Lakota children who died at a federal boarding school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania a century ago were disinterred and taken to a tribal reservation in South Dakota. Deb Haaland, the first Native American U.S. cabinet secretary, spoke at the exhumation ceremony, promising a thorough investigation of the country's Indian boarding schools, which cut Native children off from their families and culture. The children from Carlisle were reburied in traditional buffalo robes.

On July 19, the Biden administration formally accused China of participating in a ransomware attack that was used to extort American businesses. The hack affected Microsoft's email server, and China allegedly used the information to spy on a wide range of U.S. industries. Hackers affiliated with the Chinese government have also targeted businesses, demanding millions of dollars. The Latin root of extort means "to wrench out."

Forecasters are warning that dry thunderstorms in the western U.S. threaten to ignite new wildfires. These storms, which start at high elevations in warm, dry conditions, produce rain that evaporates before it hits the ground. The lightning from the storms can spark flames if the trees and brush are dry enough. Parts of Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Nevada are under red-flag warnings, at high risk of fire danger. Ignite derives from the Latin ignis, "fire."

Researchers implanted electrodes in the brain of a paralyzed man that have allowed him to communicate via a computer screen. After embedding the sheet of 128 electrodes directly into the patient's brain, neuroscientists connected them with a computer that displays words as he thinks them — enabling him to "speak" for the first time since 2003, when he was injured in a car crash.

When Australia's softball team took the field for their first game of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics on July 21, their unofficial mascot was in the dugout with them. A bright yellow inflatable kangaroo named Skippy has been the team's good luck charm since 2009. The three-foot-tall marsupial gets his name from Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, a long-defunct but beloved Australian TV show. Kangaroo derives from the Aboriginal Guugu Yimithirr word gangurru.

A study published on July 19 shows that city kids who live near meadows and woodlands have better cognition and mental health than those with less access to natural environments. Researchers compared traits like resilience, confidence, and well-being, as well as scores on memory tests, among 3,568 British adolescents. They used satellite mapping to calculate access to green spaces, as well as forests and bodies of water, and determined that open, grassy areas were good for growing brains.

A team of archaeologists has identified a medieval complex of caves in England. Their survey of the Anchor Church Caves in south Derbyshire determined that the space originally included three rooms and a chapel and probably belonged to King Eardwulf, who ruled Northumbria until 806 and was canonized as a saint after his death. The caves were previously thought to date from the 18th century, but archaeologists now believe that they were built in the early 9th century.

The leading group of U.S. pediatricians is recommending that children wear masks in school, even if they’re vaccinated. The guidance by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is more cautious than the CDC's most recent advice, which said vaccinated students and teachers did not need to wear masks. The AAP, which specializes in childhood illness, said its recommendation is partly based on the fact that kids under 12 will not yet be vaccinated when school starts in the fall.

Tokyo Olympics officials said that as of July 20, more than 70 people associated with the Games had tested positive for coronavirus. One of them was 17-year-old U.S. tennis star Coco Gauff, who withdrew from the Olympics after a Covid test showed the presence of the virus. At least four other members of Team USA have also tested positive. Strict Covid protocols in Tokyo will include daily testing, although vaccinations are not required to compete.

Thieves who stole a valuable Big Bird costume from an Australian children’s circus returned it with a repentant note several days later. The yellow, feathered suit, which is seven feet tall, reappeared with a letter in its beak reading "Sorry for being such a big birden," and emphasizing that "no harm came to our friend." The costume is worth an estimated $118,000. Despite the apology, the South Australia Police said they had arrested three people in connection with the theft.

Despite a recent surge in coronavirus cases, England lifted all Covid-related restrictions on July 19. Prime Minister Boris Johnson remained in isolation at his residence, where he began a period of quarantine on Sunday after being in contact with his health secretary, who has a mild case of the virus. Masks are still required on London buses and subways, but almost all other rules have been lifted, with pubs, nightclubs, and restaurants fully open.

Research shows that white matter in the brains of older people who are sedentary actually shrinks, affecting their memory. A new study indicated that older people who walked daily improved their ability to remember, while those who did not walk lost cognitive capacity more quickly. Few studies have focused on the brain's white matter, which connects cells to each other and aids memory. Researchers found that the brain's health is directly related to how much people move their bodies.

Scientists at the University of Minnesota have published a new study suggesting that cats are more susceptible to coronavirus than dogs. The veterinary and biomedical researchers tested pet cats and dogs for antibodies, which indicate past Covid infection. Eight percent of the cats tested positive, while less than one percent of the dogs did. While felines appear to be more likely to contract coronavirus, their symptoms tend to be extremely mild.

After going dark for a month due to a computer glitch, the Hubble Space Telescope was repaired remotely on July 17. The large, orbiting astronomical instrument returned to full operation immediately, sending images of an unusual galaxy with three spiral arms back to observers on Earth. Telescope comes from the Greek root teleskopos, "far-seeing."

In its first transfer of a Guantanamo Bay detainee, the Biden administration moved a Moroccan prisoner to his native country, where he remains under security. The man, Abdul Latif Nasser, had been recommended for relocation in 2016. He had been held at the wartime prison since 2002 and has never been charged with a crime. The transfer reduced the population at Guantanamo Bay to 39.