BACKUP ORIGINAL TWIW November 15–November 21, 2025

A very special cheese earned accolades at the World Cheese Awards in Bern, Switzerland. Gruyère AOP Vorderfultigen Spezial took home the top prize, becoming the 2025 champion. The winning cheese, which is dry-salted and aged 18 months, earned high praise from 265 judges. One said, "Anyone who eats it… gets excited about it and wants to go back for more." Accolade, originally a neck embrace and sword tap granting knighthood, has a Latin root meaning "embrace around the neck."

Researchers say a New Jersey man died from alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy caused by tick bites that can cause anaphylactic shock. It's the first known death from the condition. The man became sick after eating a hamburger, and tests showed he had a severe allergic reaction. The Latin noun anaphylaxis, "exaggerated susceptibility," is the source of anaphylactic.

The northern lights were visible across much of the U.S., with vivid auroral colors illuminating skies as far south as Florida and Alabama. These rare sightings were caused by unusually active solar storms that sent charged particles into the earth's magnetic field. The resulting light show filled the night sky with stunning bands and arcs of pink, blue, green, purple, and yellow. Auroral is from Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn.

Iceland’s former prime minister said that the country's traditional language is in danger of disappearing, as the English language increasingly encroaches on Icelandic. Katrín Jakobsdóttir said that as reading and writing in English becomes more and more widespread, the language has begun to usurp Icelandic, with fewer Icelanders regularly reading and writing in their native language. Encroach is from a French word meaning "to catch with a hook."

After Japan's prime minister suggested that Chinese military action against Taiwan could justify a response from her government, she sent an envoy to China to ease tensions. Masaaki Kanai, a director-general at the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, met his Chinese counterpart in Beijing. On behalf of his government, Kanai urged China to rescind a warning against Chinese citizens traveling to Japan. The two were unable to immediately repair the diplomatic rift between the countries.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said she only sleeps two to four hours a night, spurring questions about her pledge to change Japan's corporate culture so employees can have a better work-life balance. Customs that lead to overwork and exhaustion, including excessively long work hours, have long been a concern in Japan, where fatigue is often blamed for premature deaths and low birthrates. The Latin root of fatigue is fatigare, "to weary, to tire out."

Seven years after an E.U. ban on using bee-harming pesticides on crops, insect-eating birds are making a recovery in France. Populations of insectivores like blackbirds, blackcaps, and chaffinches, which feed on insects as adults and as chicks, had plummeted in recent decades. A new study found that the numbers of bug-eating birds had increased by about three percent in areas affected by the pesticide ban. The Latin roots of insectivore mean "insect" and "devour."

After winning last year's NCAA championship, the University of Connecticut's women's basketball team looks ready to be a juggernaut again this season. The top-ranked Huskies dominated the first four games of the season, winning each by more than 20 points and leading in assists, rebounds, and turnovers. Led by powerhouse sophomore Sarah Strong, the team also has a wide range of extremely capable players, giving them an intimidatingly strong bench.

A new policy in a small Oklahoma city will allow people who are fined for parking infractions, traffic violations, and overdue library books to donate food in lieu of paying their fees. Through the end of the year, residents of Chickasha can bring non-perishable food to the municipal courthouse, exchanging one item for every ten dollars they owe, up to $100. Instead of paying a $50 parking ticket, for example, a person could donate five cans of soup.

Scientists are using tiny radio tags to follow monarchs on their migrations. The butterflies travel thousands of miles to winter colonies in Mexico, some from as far north as Ontario. Using the solar-powered sensors, researchers are following 400 tagged butterflies on their annual journey. They found that some monarchs stay in Florida, while others continue on to Cuba, and most go from there to Mexico. The Latin root of migration means "move from one place to another."

A new monument erected in Rock Springs, Wyoming, commemorates the Chinese miners who were killed and injured during the 1885 Rock Springs massacre. The statue, titled Requiem, depicts a Chinese coal miner and serves as a poignant reminder of the deadly violence that erupted during a dispute over worker pay and conditions. Several blocks were deliberately burned to the ground, and 28 Chinese laborers died.

The Federal Aviation Authority rescinded its previous restrictions on the number of commercial airplane flights. As airports experienced staffing shortages during the government shutdown, the FAA had limited air traffic from 40 U.S. airports, reducing the number of flights by six percent. The cancellation of those limitations meant a return to normal air travel. Rescind derives from the Latin rescindere, "remove by cutting off."

Pope Leo XIV returned 62 artifacts to Indigenous Canadians on November 15. The return of the items, which included an Inuit kayak, masks, and wampum belts, was part of a larger plan for restitution. The Catholic Church is working to acknowledge and make amends for damage it caused to Indigenous people in the past by suppressing their native culture and spiritual traditions. Restitution comes from the Latin restitutionem, "a restoring."

After a dog named Whisp fell 100 feet down a Scottish cliff face, he was rescued and found to be completely unscathed. The two-year-old border collie tumbled over a rocky precipice on Shetland's Northmavine peninsula while walking with his owner, landing on an inaccessible ledge. A coastguard crew of rescuers tried unsuccessfully to reach the dog from the water before using ropes and pulleys to haul him to safety. Clearly unharmed, Whisp ran to be reunited with his relieved owner.

A new federal mandate forbids painting artistic or political displays on public roads. Transportation officials say banning distracting crosswalks will improve safety and mobility. The rule means Lubbock, Texas must remove a popular Buddy Holly-themed crosswalk featuring four huge pairs of Holly's signature glasses. Installed in 2020 to celebrate the Lubbock-born musician, the crosswalk is now verboten. In German, verboten means "forbidden," from a root meaning "to forbid."