Ripped from the Headlines: July 2021: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for July 24–July 30, 2021

Civilian casualties surged in Afghanistan during May and June, according to a U.N. mission report released on July 26. Almost 800 non-military men, women, and children were killed during those months, and 1,600 civilians were wounded — the highest number since the U.N. began counting Afghan casualties in 2009. The violence has increased sharply since NATO and the U.S. began withdrawing troops from the country in May.

Astronomers at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a new comet that's about a thousand times bigger than any previously known comet. The huge, icy mass measures about 100 miles across, and its elliptical orbit keeps it at the distant outer edge of our solar system. In 2031, Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein, complete with its glowing tail, will be visible through powerful amateur telescopes.

A three-month constitutional crisis ended in Samoa on July 26 when the country's prime minister conceded to Fiame Naomi Mata’afa. Elections in April gave Fiame a slim lead over Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi, who had ruled Samoa for 22 years. Though Tuilaepa initially refused to step down, he admitted his loss after the country's Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Fiame, who will be the country's first female leader.

A 19-day strike at a Frito-Lay plant in Kansas ended on July 25 with a new contract agreement. Employees refused to work in protest of 84-hour workweeks that forced many to labor for 12 hours with only eight hours between shifts. The new agreement between Frito-Lay and the union representing the workers guarantees at least one day off a week and raises wages four percent over two years. The Latin root of contract means "make a bargain."

France passed a law this week requiring people to provide documents proving they have been vaccinated in order to travel or dine in restaurants. The so-called "health pass" will be needed to enter most public venues, and vaccination will also be mandatory for health care workers in the country. The pass will be issued to French citizens who are fully vaccinated, have tested negative, or have recovered from Covid-19 recently.

Scientists are studying the extinction of more than 100 snail species in Tahiti by installing tiny computers on predatory rosy wolf snails. Since the rosy wolves were introduced decades ago, nearly every other species has been utterly wiped out. One managed to survive, the minuscule Partula hyalina. The computers have helped scientists observe how P. hyalina's pale shell helps it evade the rosy wolf, by allowing it to live in sunny areas that are too hot for predators.

Among familiar events like swimming and gymnastics, there are six brand new sports in this summer's Olympic Games. Among these inaugural events are two skateboarding categories: park and street. The street competition involves real-world features like stairs, railings, and benches for skaters to navigate, while park skating offers high-wall courses similar to skate parks. Thirteen-year-old Momiji Nishiya won the first ever Olympic women’s street skateboarding gold medal on July 25.

Mary Simon became the first Indigenous governor general in Canada's history. Simon's new role as Queen Elizabeth II's official Canadian representative and commander-in-chief of Canada's Armed Forces is largely ceremonial. Still, the appointment of an Indigenous Canadian is seen as meaningful at a moment when the country has been forced to confront its systemic abuse of Indigenous people. Simon has spent most of her career advocating for Inuit rights and culture.

A warming Pacific Ocean has caused the range of juvenile great white sharks to expand northward hundreds of miles along the coast of California. Beaches just south of San Francisco now regularly host the young sharks, which are only seven or eight feet long and uninterested in biting humans. While adult great whites generally stay in colder offshore locations, juveniles practice hunting in warmer "nurseries" close to shore. The Latin root of juvenile means "youthful."

Campbell's Soup is getting its first logo redesign in 50 years. The change in the label's iconic branding will be subtle, with a new font modeled after company founder Joseph Campbell's signature and the elimination of the shadowing below the white Campbell's. Logo, which dates from 1937, is a shortened form of logogram, "sign representing a word."

For the first time, astronomers had a clear view of brand new moons as they formed around a distant exoplanet. Lunar formation happens when space debris orbits a planet and gradually coalesces into a moon by the force of its own gravity. While scientists have indirectly observed the birth of moons through their effects on other space objects, it's the first time the process has been seen and photographed directly. The Latin root of lunar is luna, or "moon."

Several long-term studies suggest that optimism is good for your heart health. One recent analysis of more than 200,000 study participants showed that those with cheerful outlooks on life were much less likely to have heart attacks. The studies show a correlation between positivity and cardiovascular health, rather than proving cause and effect; however, scientists noted the measurable physical effects of pessimism on the human body from so-called "stress hormones."

Baby grizzlies are normally tended by their mothers for at least two years, but young cubs that are orphaned in British Columbia often end up being raised by bear biologists at Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter. The bears' mothers frequently die in conflict with humans, but scientists hope that when the cubs are released, they'll thrive and avoid such clashes. A new study will track orphaned grizzlies and observe how they do after being returned to the wild.

The president of Tunisia suspended the country’s parliament and fired the prime minister on July 25. President Kais Saied enacted what he said were constitutional emergency measures after months of social unrest in the country. Since 2010's Arab Spring uprising, Tunisia has operated as an unsteady democracy, with power shared between the president, prime minister, and parliament. Saied's opponents see the move as an attempted coup.

Parrots in Sydney, Australia are continually adapting to life in a human environment. One particular group of these colorful, tropical birds has developed a remarkable ability to open the lids of garbage bins (and to learn from watching each other how to pull off this trick), earning them the popular name "trash parrots." Scientists are impressed with the complexity of the feat, which they say is proof of animal culture. An earlier name for a parrot was a "popinjay."

Team U.S.A. continued a winning streak in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition when 18-year-old Sunisa Lee won the gold medal on July 29. Since 2004, the United States has prevailed in every Olympics women's all-around competition, which determines the best overall gymnast. Lee's performance was calm, poised, and precise. Rebeca Andrade, who won the silver medal, became the first Brazilian woman to bring home a medal in gymnastics.

The growing climate crisis is causing city subway systems around the world to flood. In just the past month, subways in London, New York, and Zhengzhou, China have all been overwhelmed by flood water. The underground train networks weren't built to withstand the extreme weather. With ridership down during the pandemic, these systems have also lost revenue needed to update tunnels and tracks. The Latin sub- in subway means “under.”

German gymnasts have chosen to wear body-covering unitards instead of traditional leotards while competing in Olympics events. By choosing this uniform, the team intends to convey a message that "every woman should decide (for herself) what to wear," according to one gymnast. Others said the unitards make the team feel "more confident and more comfortable." The full-length garments extend to the ankles, fully covering the athletes' legs.

American fans have been shaken by surprising upsets at this year's Olympics. The U.S. took silver in the women's gymnastics team competition, an event in which they typically dominate, losing to the Russian Olympic Committee. Naomi Osaka, the favorite to win in women's tennis, was trounced by the 42nd-ranked Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. And both the women's soccer team and men's basketball saw shocking losses in their opening games.

A sandstorm in Utah impaired visibility, resulting in a pileup on Interstate 15 on July 25. The high winds and large amounts of dust and sand abruptly blocked drivers' view of the roadway in front of them, leading to a multi-car crash. Twenty-two vehicles were involved in the accident. Visibility derives from the Latin visibilis, "that which may be seen."