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

Colleen Shogan, the national archivist, said she can't legally certify the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the Constitution, after Democratic legislators urged President Biden to instruct her to do so. Shogan's job as the keeper of historical documents includes certifying and publishing constitutional amendments. She said the ERA can only be certified by Congress or the judiciary. Archivist is from archives and the Greek ta arkheia, "public records."

Like many northern cities, Rochester, New York, is besieged by tens of thousands of crows every December. The big, jet black birds descend at dusk in numbers as high as 20,000 to roost in trees and on rooftops. This year, the city is fighting back with spotlights, fireworks, lasers, and loud noises in an attempt to shoo the noisy, messy corvids, into smaller, less destructive groups. The Old English crawe, "imitating the sound of a caw," is the source of crow.

Residents of small U.S. port towns are pushing for new environmental regulations and gambling bans in an effort to keep cruise ships out. The giant seagoing vessels, which typically make stops at several ports in a variety of locations during a journey, bring overwhelming numbers of tourists, as well as water and air pollution, to local harbors. Cruise, "sail to and fro," is from the Dutch kruisen, "to cross," and a Latin root, crux, "cross."

The French territory of Mayotte was devastated by its strongest cyclone in nearly 100 years. The small Indian Ocean archipelago was left almost entirely without electricity or clean water, and thousands are feared dead after Cyclone Chido ripped through. During the powerful, whirling tropical storm, wind speeds reached more than 136 miles per hour, tearing roofs off houses and palm trees out of the ground.

Ukraine claimed responsibility for an explosion that killed a high-ranking Russian military official. Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov was leaving a building in Moscow when a device attached to a nearby scooter was detonated. Just before the blast, Kirillov had been accused by Ukraine's security forces of using banned chemical weapons against its troops. The Latin root of detonate is detonare, "to thunder down."

Despite reassurances from FBI and FAA officials that mysterious drones spotted in the night sky over some northeastern states pose no risk to anyone, conspiracy theories are exploding online. Over the last month, an unusually large number of small, unmanned aircraft have been reported by residents of New Jersey, New York, Maryland, and other states. The public, and some federal and state legislators, are increasingly frustrated by the lack of a clear explanation for the aerial vehicles.

Anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, who was arrested in Denmark on an international arrest warrant, was freed after five months in prison. Watson had been detained on charges that he interfered with a Japanese whaling ship. In releasing Watson, the Danish government rejected an extradition request that sought to have him sent to Japan and tried in a Japanese court. Extradition comes from the Latin ex, "out," and tradere, "to hand over."

The most famous New Orleans fugitive is a little white dog that evaded capture for 177 days this summer and is again on the run. The scruffy stray, named Scrim, was apprehended in October by rescuers who used a tranquilizer dart. He lasted three weeks with an adopter before climbing out a second-story window and escaping. Despite teams armed with nets and tracking apps, he remains a runaway. The Latin root of fugitive means "to flee."

Thousands of children are dying from measles in Congo each year. Vaccines are hard to come by, especially in rural areas of the country, where medical facilities are scarce and can only be reached via long, unpaved roads. The virus is preventable through vaccination, but rates must reach 95 percent to protect the population, and only 44 percent of Congolese kids are vaccinated. Even in the U.S., forty percent of children who get measles are so ill that they need to be hospitalized.

Talks between Honda and Nissan this month will include the possibility of a merger. Officials from the companies, which are among Japan's biggest carmakers, say combining their businesses would help them tackle current challenges. If Honda and Nissan join forces, they'll be the third-largest automaker in the world. The two have already started collaborating, most recently on electric vehicle development.

The Library of Congress added 25 new titles to its National Film Registry this week. The list of noteworthy movies now includes Dirty Dancing, Spy Kids, and The Wrath of Khan, which is the first Star Trek film to join the ranks. These exceptional motion pictures are among a total of 900 films considered by curators to have "cultural, historic, or aesthetic importance." Noteworthy, or "worthy of taking note of," dates from the 16th century.

A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration rule says that by 2027, all new vehicles will need to have rear seatbelt alarms. The updated regulation expands the requirements that already exist for front seats. Automakers must now install illuminated icons and warning systems that ding when the car is started, serving as reminders for passengers in the back to buckle up for safety.