Ripped from the Headlines: August 2024: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 24–August 30, 2024

The autonomous spacecraft that carried two astronauts to the International Space Station in June has been deemed too risky to bring them back to Earth, leaving them stranded until a SpaceX capsule can pick them up in 2025. Boeing's Starliner, which can fly and course-correct on its own, had issues with leaking helium and a malfunctioning thruster that has turned what was supposed to be an eight-day trip into an eight-month excursion for Sunita Williams and Barry "Butch" Wilmore.

Dozens of people are missing following a dam collapse in eastern Sudan. Torrential rain caused the destruction of the Arbaat Dam, which had held back 25 million cubic meters of water, mainly used as drinking water in the city of Tokar. The barrier's collapse flooded several neighboring villages, killing at least four people.

A confirmed case of eastern equine encephalitis in a Massachusetts man has influenced several towns to urge residents to stay indoors after dark. The state's public health officials say ten communities are at high risk for the virus, which is spread by mosquitoes and causes brain swelling and neurological problems. The roots of encephalitis are encephalo-, "the brain," and -itis, "inflammation."

Facebook's parent company is partnering with a startup to power its data centers using geothermal energy. Along with other tech companies, Meta plans to tap the heat which lies deep beneath the earth's surface and use it to generate the enormous amount of electricity it requires. Though this kind of power releases no emissions, it uses the same fracking techniques as gas and oil drilling. Geothermal combines the Greek geo-, "the earth," and thermē, "heat."

The National Park Foundation announced on August 26 that it had received a gift of $100 million from the Lilly Endowment. It's the largest grant the U.S. park service has ever been awarded. Park officials said the money will be used to protect threatened species and to foster opportunities for young people to visit the country's 429 national park sites. The noun grant comes from the verb, in the sense of "something that's granted or given."

New research suggests climate change will make hail larger and more dangerous. A study published in the journal Climate and Atmospheric Science used weather modeling to simulate future severe thunderstorms, which are associated with the large ice pellets. Researchers found that while hail may be less common as the earth warms, the warm air will keep ice suspended longer, allowing it to grow larger. The root of hail means "pebble."

A man who was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7 was rescued this week by Israeli soldiers. Farhan al-Qadi, an Arab citizen of Israel who had spent more than 300 days as a hostage, was discovered alone in an underground tunnel by troops as they searched for Hamas fighters. Al-Qadi had been working as a guard at a kibbutz when he was abducted last fall along with more than 200 other Israelis.

In a quest to decrease climate-warming emissions without reducing the amount of beef that Americans consume, researchers are attempting to genetically engineer the cow microbiome. As they digest food, cattle produce an enormous amount of methane, a gas that's responsible for about one-third of global warming. By altering the DNA of microbes in a cow's gut, scientists have found they can eliminate the invisible, destructive gas from its digestive process.

A 102-year-old British woman became the United Kingdom's oldest skydiver on August 25, when she jumped from an airplane accompanied by an instructor. To make the tandem jump, they shared a two-person parachute, which opened safely and allowed them a slow, gentle landing. Parachute was coined in 1784, after the first public jump using the device, from para- "defense against," and chute, "a fall."

After UNICEF called for a cease-fire in Gaza to allow the delivery of polio vaccines, Israel agreed to pause military operations in part of the Gaza Strip. While 1.2 million doses have been sent to the area, the children's aid agency wasn't able to inoculate kids against the infectious, deadly virus because of ongoing fighting. Polio is short for poliomyelitis, which translates to "pale marrow inflammation."

An Iowa man has broken a notable world record: David Rush now holds a record number of Guinness World Records. Since his first achievement, juggling blindfolded for six minutes and 34 seconds, Rush has racked up 181 best-ever performances, including being the fastest to wrap a person (his wife) in plastic wrap; catching 59 marshmallows in his mouth in under a minute; and drinking a liter of lime juice in less than 14 seconds.