Ripped from the Headlines: June 2024: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for June 15–June 21, 2024

Edinburgh became the latest European city to ban advertisements for companies that are big users of fossil fuels. Under the new rules, airlines, cruise ships, and car makers are prohibited from promoting their products on city property. Banning commercials, print ads, and billboards for harmful products has been shown to change the way people perceive — and purchase — those goods. The Latin root of advertisement is advertere, "to direct one's attention to."

Less than two months before the Paris Olympics is set to begin, unsafe bacteria were detected in the Seine River. Tests by the water monitoring group Eau de Paris found E. coli and enterococci levels that were higher than the amount considered safe for swimmers. Olympic officials said that swimming events would proceed as scheduled despite the germs. France has spent $1.5 billion on improvements to clean the Seine and provide overflow capacity for stormwater and sewage.

Vermont botanists discovered a rare plant that was thought to be locally extinct. The herb Floerkea proserpinacoides, or false mermaid-weed, was spotted by a sharp-eyed scientist who was studying a photo of a different wild plant. False mermaid-weed hasn't been documented in Vermont for more than a hundred years. Botanist is from botany, "study of plants," and its Greek root botanikos, "of herbs."

The Boston Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, winning the team's eighteenth championship. The Celtics now hold the record for all-time titles. It was also the team's first Finals win in 16 years, after a stellar season that included records for the league's best offense and most successful three-point shots. Jaylen Brown was awarded the 2024 Bill Russell Finals MVP award. The Latin root of championship means "gladiator."

Pope Francis hosted an audience in the Vatican with over 100 comedians from 15 different countries. Entertainers including Stephen Colbert, Whoopi Goldberg, and Conan O'Brien were invited to the meeting by the Pope, who is known for his own sense of humor. He urged the assembled jokesters, "Continue to cheer people up, especially those who have the hardest time looking at life with hope." The Greek root of comedian is kōmos, "merry-making."

Two new studies show that scanning a baby's genome could save lives. While newborns in all 50 states are screened for dozens of medical conditions, researchers found that a look at their genetic blueprint can catch more than 200 syndromes and diseases. When dangerous conditions are detected by mapping an infant's DNA, lifesaving treatment can begin early. Genome was coined using gene and the -ome suffix, modeled on chromosome.

A brutal heat wave hit the eastern U.S. this week, bringing temperatures in the high 90s as far north as Maine. In much of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Ohio Valley, the heat index soared above 100 degrees on June 19 and 20. Abnormally hot and humid weather is unusual in June, and meteorologists say it's a likely predictor of record-breaking heat for the rest of the summer. Heat wave was first used to describe a 1936 surge of punishing heat in most of North America.

The IRS says closing a business tax loophole will generate billions of dollars to pay for essential government services. New Treasury Department rules will prohibit big companies from moving their assets between different business entities to avoid higher taxes. This loophole is a legal way to make it appear that the business made less profit than it really did. A loophole was originally a slit in a fortress wall allowing archers to shoot while being protected.

A Swiss museum removed five works of art that may have been looted by Nazis during World War II. The Kunsthaus Zurich pulled paintings by Monet, van Gogh, and other artists from its public collection. The German foundation that owns the paintings began researching their histories to determine if they were among the hundreds of thousands that were stolen from Jewish families during the Holocaust. Loot, from the Hindi lut, has a Sanskrit root meaning "stolen property."

This week, Muslims around the world celebrated Eid-al-Adha, which marks the end of the yearly Hajj pilgrimage. An estimated 1.8 million people made the journey to Mecca on foot, part of a ritual that also involves walking around a stone building called the Kaaba, Islam's most holy site. As the pilgrims traveled to the historic birthplace of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, millions of Muslims observed Eid-al-Adha at home and in mosques with prayers and fasting.

Researchers in Japan discovered two critically endangered South China giant salamanders. The discovery may help save the species from extinction. Herpetologists encountered the large, lizard-like animals during a search for native Japanese salamanders. They were surprised to find the purebred amphibians among the hybrid varieties that have become a threat to native species. Salamander is from the Old French salamandre, "legendary fiery beast."

After a 200-year absence, wild horses have been returned to Kazakhstan's steppes. While most horses described as wild are actually feral — escaped domesticated horses that become less tame over time — Przewalski’s horses are the world's only truly wild species. Native to Central Asia's flat grasslands, the horses were driven to local extinction by human activity. Seven Przewalski's horses were flown from zoos to Kazakhstan, with a plan to bring dozens more over the next five years.