WORD OF THE YEAR IS PANDEMIC, NOTES MERRIAM-WEBSTER

 

“Pandemic” is the 2020 word of the year, reveals Merriam-Webster, notes Grumpy Editor.

 

“Often the big news story has a technical word that’s associated with it and in this case, the word pandemic is not just technical but has become general. It’s probably the word by which we’ll refer to this period in the future,” Peter Sokolowski, editor at large for Merriam-Webster, tells the Associated Press. 

 

When the World Health Organization on March 11 declared the novel coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic, lookups for pandemic spiked hugely, adds Sokolowski, pointing out site interest for the word has remained significantly high through the year.

Sokolowski says pandemic, with roots in Latin and Greek, is a combination of “pan,” for all, and “demos,” for people or population. The word dates to the mid-1600s, used broadly for “universal” and more specifically to disease in a medical text in the 1660s, he mentions.

 

IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE...

 

GANNETT JOBS GOING TO INDIA.  Gannett informs its business side employees that 485 of their jobs will be outsourced to Hyderabad, India, early next year.

CHINA DETAINS BLOOMBERG NEWS WORKER.  Authorities in China detain Haze Fan, a Chinese citizen working at the Bloomberg News bureau in Beijing since 2017, on suspicion of endangering national security.

MOUNTAIN LION CUBS RESETTLED.  Three mountain lion cubs, rescued from wildfires in California, are settling into their new home at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium after FedEx transported them from California.

MACAW IN ARIZONA DRAWS ATTENTION.  A wandering macaw is rescued by members of Arizona’s Pima Animal Care Center (PACC).  Initially, the colorful bird evades rescuers by perching on tall trees.  But the bird is captured when it settles into a shorter tree. When captured, the parrot ---  common in Central and South America --- was showing signs of exhaustion and dehydration, but is now recovering. 

FOX NEWS TO DEBUT WEATHER SERVICE.  Fox News Media division in the 2021 third quarter plans to debut a streaming weather service, Fox Weather, complementing the traditional news operation.  Fox Weather will  take advantage of 75 meteorologists across 17 Fox stations and Fox News Channel's news gathering units.

HEAVYWEIGHT GOLDFISH DISCOVERED.  Wildlife officials conducting a fish population survey discover a goldfish weighing nine pounds in 12-acre Oak Grove Lake, Greenville County, in South Carolina.

VIRUS SHUTTERS 110,000 RESTAURANTS.  The National Restaurant Association says 110,000 restaurants permanently shuttered this year with 10,000 of them closed in the past three months.  A survey of 6,000 restaurant operators reveals 87 percent of full-service restaurants report an average 36 percent drop in revenue and 83 percent expect sales to be "even worse" over the next three months as the virus continues to lash the country.

HARTFORD COURANT CLOSES NEWSROOM.  The Hartford Courant, Connecticut’s largest newspaper and the oldest continuously published paper in the country, will be closing its newsroom by year-end.

 

BEST NEW YEAR'S CITIES LISTED.   WalletHub tallies  best cities for ringing in the new year without breaking the bank.  The data set ranges from safety and COVID-19 cases to quality food delivery options and costs.

 

Best Cities for New Year’s 1. Virginia Beach, VA 11. Raleigh, NC 2. Honolulu, HI 12. Chesapeake, VA 3. Plano, TX 13. San Jose, CA 4. Fremont, CA 14. Norfolk, VA 5. Irvine, CA 15. Colorado Springs, CO 6. Chula Vista, CA 16. Riverside, CA 7. Lincoln, NE 17. Austin, TX 8. Santa Ana, CA 18. Madison, WI 9. San Diego, CA 19. Pittsburgh, PA 10. Anaheim, CA 20. San Francisco, CA