Ripped from the Headlines: March 2024: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for March 2–March 8, 2024

JetBlue and Spirit Airlines ended their bid to merge after losing an antitrust lawsuit. A federal judge ruled that the merger would violate laws protecting business competition and fairness. The ruling said the combined airline company would have eliminated the budget airfares currently provided by Spirit, reducing choices for consumers. Antitrust is from an economic definition of trust, "businesses organized to reduce competition."

A team of scientists has learned new details about an enormous Moroccan dune. The vast hill of sand, which resembles a pyramid from the ground, is called a "star dune" because of its shape when seen from above. The researchers learned that sand near the top was deposited about 1,000 years ago, while the base is 13,000 years old. The entire structure has been slowly blown across the Sahara desert by an east wind, changing its location over the centuries.

On March 2 the U.S. airdropped 38,000 meals in Gaza, which is on the brink of famine according to the United Nations. Humanitarian officials say Israel's restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip have led to a situation in which Palestinians face food insecurity and starvation. Israel blames the UN for mishandling food distribution. Experts say at least 15 children have died of malnutrition in the northern part of the country. Famine has a Latin root meaning "hunger."

The city of Ithaca, New York is making the transition from fossil fuels to electricity one building at a time. In 2019, the town passed an ambitious Green New Deal plan to completely eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. After delays caused by the pandemic, city officials are now working to remove methane-producing gas from every single one of its 6,000 buildings and switch to electric heat pumps.

Sweden passed a final hurdle before joining NATO when Hungary's president signed a bill on March 5 approving the country's membership. The event marks the end of Sweden's two centuries of political neutrality. Since 1814, the country hasn't joined any military alliance or taken sides in any wars. This era of peaceful impartiality ended when Russia invaded Ukraine, disrupting northern Europe's sense of stability. The Latin root of neutrality means "neither one nor the other."

One of Europe's most important sites of prehistoric rock art is at risk of destruction by a planned Norwegian quarry. Planning permission has been granted, allowing a Dutch company to dig and extract as much as 360 tons of stone. The quarry will be close to the 6,000-year-old Vingen carvings, which depict thousands of abstract and geometric designs, and blasting there threatens to permanently damage the site. Quarry's root means "place where stones are squared."

A new satellite will publicly track the amount of methane emitted by oil and gas companies. MethaneSAT is the first of several orbiting devices that will keep tabs on the polluting emissions and publicize the biggest offenders. While fossil fuel companies have pledged to reduce methane, it has been difficult to track their efforts. The "watchdog" satellites can cover a huge territory while gathering detailed information about emissions.

Four people who held senior positions at Twitter have filed suit against Elon Musk for severance pay. The company's former CEO, CFO, chief legal counsel, and general counsel said they were abruptly fired when Musk acquired Twitter. They argued that Musk "made up fake cause" in order to avoid paying the termination fee they were eligible for. The former executives sued for more than $128 million. Severance derives from the French verb sevrer, "to separate."

A man walking his border collie in southern France discovered a large bone, which turned out to be part of a nearly intact dinosaur skeleton. Scientists determined that the pelvis the man found belonged to a titanosaur, and that about 70 percent of the animal's bones remained connected to each other. In Greek, skeleton means "dried-up body," from the root skeletos, "dried-up."

Iowa Hawkeyes player Caitlin Clark surpassed Pete Maravich's record on March 3, becoming the top NCAA basketball scorer in history. For 50 years, "Pistol Pete's" record of 3,667 career points has stood unmatched by any other college player. During a game against the Ohio Buckeyes, Clark overtook Maravich's achievement when she sunk a free throw which gave her the 3,668th point of her college career. Surpass is from sur-, "beyond," and passer, "to go by."

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley terminated her presidential campaign on March 6, after winning just two primaries, in Washington, D.C. and Vermont. Haley had pledged to continue her bid to become the Republican nominee even after losing to Donald Trump in her home state. Her poor showing on Super Tuesday led Haley to bring her campaign to an end. In her concession speech, she wished Trump well but did not endorse him. Terminate is from terminus, "end."

Donald Trump's name was put back on the Colorado presidential primary ballot after a unanimous Supreme Court decision. Trump had been removed based on a rarely-used law barring those who have sworn to support the Constitution from engaging in insurrection. Every Supreme Court justice voted that states don't have the authority to disqualify candidates. The Latin unanimus, "of one mind," and its root, unus, "one," are the source of unanimous.