Ripped from the Headlines: October 2024: This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 27–November 2, 2024

At least 28 people were hospitalized for snake bites during Cyclone Dana, which slammed into India's eastern coast. Strong winds, funnel clouds, and downpours forced 600,000 Odisha state residents to evacuate. Many of those who stayed were forced to wade through floodwaters containing snakes that had been displaced from their normal habitats. Cyclone gets its name from the storm's whirling winds; it derives from the Greek kyklon, "whirling in a circle."

Scientists say dengue is likely to become more common in Los Angeles as the climate warms and invasive mosquitoes increase in Southern California. The mosquito-borne tropical disease was first reported in L.A. in 2023, and there have been eight cases this year. Some etymologists trace the origin of dengue to the Swahili dinga, "seizure, cramp," two of the illness's symptoms.

North Korea deployed its most well-trained troops to Russia's Kursk border, according to a NATO spokesperson. The move is considered a major escalation of Russia's war in Ukraine. As many as 10,000 members of the North Korean special forces were sent to the region, the first time North Korea has deployed its soldiers to a conflict so far away from the Korean Peninsula. The Latin root of deploy is displicare, "scatter."

Thieves impersonating employees of a French cheese retailer duped a British cheese distributor and made off with thousands of pounds of very fancy cheddar. Neal’s Yard Dairy said they'd fallen victim to an elaborate con that cost them nearly $400,000. More than 900 wheels of artisanal cheese were stolen by the impostors. Dupe comes from 15th-century French thieves' jargon, which may derive from de huppe, "of the hoopoe," a reference to a famously unintelligent bird.

For the first time in 36 years, The Washington Post won't make a presidential endorsement. The paper's owner, Jeff Bezos, blocked publication of a piece the editorial board wrote supporting Kamala Harris. CEO Will Lewis said refusing to back one candidate over the other was a return to the newspaper's "roots." Prior to the Watergate scandal, The Post didn't endorse candidates. About 250,000 people canceled subscriptions in protest, and three editorial board members resigned.

New studies show that crows often hold grudges against specific people. Scientists say that when these intelligent birds perceive a human as dangerous, the animosity they feel toward the person is lasting — and sometimes even passes down through generations. Crows might express their ill will toward someone by dive-bombing them, destroying property, or following them around. The original meaning of grudge was "complain," and it shares a root with the word grouch.

Rumors of the 12 spirits that purportedly haunt Pluckley, England, attracted throngs of ghost hunters to the small village in the days leading up to Halloween. The eerie tales, which date back more than a century, feature a phantom coach and horses, a "White Lady" who appears in a church, and the roadside specter of a highwayman. Haunt wasn't associated with ghosts and spirits until Shakespeare used it that way in A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1590.

A WHO report found that vaccines against two dozen pathogens could reduce the need for antibiotics by 22 percent. Experts say five million deaths annually are caused by viruses and bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and other antimicrobials. Vaccinating people against diseases like pneumonia, typhoid, and tuberculosis could save millions of lives every year. Pathogen is from the Greek pathos, "disease," and French génique, "producing."

Boeing workers are in the seventh week of a strike, stalled over the issue of their retirement benefits. Machinists rejected the company's latest contract proposal, which offered a wage increase. Ten years ago, Boeing eliminated its pension plan, which gave retirees a fixed amount of money monthly for the rest of their lives, replacing it with a 401(k) retirement investment account. Striking workers want to restore the stability of pensions, considering the 401(k) to be too risky.

On October 30, the Los Angeles Dodgers won their eighth World Series, defeating the New York Yankees in Game Five. After winning the first three games and losing the fourth, the Dodgers were down by five runs in the fifth game after the fourth inning. But the team rallied, rapidly scoring five runs to make up the difference, and they ultimately prevailed with a score of 7-6. No baseball team in World Series history has ever come back from that large a deficit to take the trophy.

Researchers in Norway say an ancient skeleton is the body of a man who was thrown into a well in a famous Old Norse saga. The "well man," a minor character in the 800-year-old epic tale, was found at the bottom of a well outside Sverresborg castle near Trondheim. In the 182-verse story, the man met a bad end after a raid on the castle and was mentioned just once: "They cast a dead man into a well, and filled it up with stones." Saga is an Old Norse word, meaning "story."

Robinson McClellan, a curator at Morgan Library & Museum, discovered in the museum's vault a previously unknown 200-year-old waltz that he believes was composed by Frederic Chopin. McClellan worked with an expert from the University of Pennsylvania to verify that it was indeed the work of the Polish composer. The tune, composed in triple time with a distinctive "stormy opening," has been recorded by pianist Lang Lang. Waltz is from the German waltzen, "to dance."