With thousands of press releases published each week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything on PR Newswire for Journalists. Here are some of this week’s most newsworthy:

Dictionary.com Names ‘Pandemic’ 2020 Word of the Year

Dictionary.com announced on Nov. 30 it has named “pandemic” the 2020 Word of the Year. The choice encapsulates an unprecedented year in which the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted every sector of society and defined the context for all the many other consequential events of the year, including racial injustice, an economic downturn, climate disaster, political division, and rampant disinformation. And just as the pandemic upended life in 2020, it also reshaped language, requiring a new vocabulary for a new reality. The event drove not only record searches for new or unfamiliar terms, but a record in the number of related additions made to Dictionary.com.

TIME and Nickelodeon Reveal the First-ever Kid of the Year

TIME, TIME for Kids, and Nickelodeon announced 15-year-old scientist and inventor Gitanjali Rao from Colorado as the 2020 Kid of the Year, the multiplatform initiative recognizing extraordinary young leaders who are making a positive impact in their communities. Selected from a field of more than 5,000, 2020 Kid of the Year Gitanjali Rao is featured on the Dec. 14 cover of TIME, available on newsstands on Friday, Dec. 4.

Popular Science Announces the 100 Best Innovations of 2020

Popular Science is proud to announce the 2020 “Best of What’s New” Award winners, the 100 most groundbreaking, culture-shifting products and technologies of the year. “The Best of What’s New Awards showcase the year’s greatest feats of human ingenuity,” says Popular Science editor-in-chief Corinne Iozzio. “Even in a year like 2020, innovation has helped us glimpse a future that’s safer, smarter, and more enjoyable than we might have thought possible. This collection, which includes everything from a new generation of Mars explorers to ultra-hygienic print-to-order eyeshadows, is full of items we’re proud to call the Best of What’s New.”

Genworth 17th Annual Cost of Care Survey: COVID-19 Exacerbates Already Rising Long Term Care Costs; Care Providers Foresee Additional Rate Hikes in 2021

Despite the efforts of long term care providers to absorb many of the costs associated with COVID-19 as they put their own lives at risk to care for their clients, long term care costs increased substantially this year, particularly for assisted living facilities and in-home care, according to Genworth’s 17th annual Cost of Care Survey.

Thomas’ Celebrates 140 Years of Yum with First-Ever Cookbook

What’s better than the Nooks & Crannies goodness of Thomas’? Well, pretty much nothing. But! A collection of 140 of the brand’s oh-so-tasty recipes comes close. For 140 years, Thomas’ has served as a proud constant from the breakfast table to picnic baskets, memories of the big moments, little moments, and everything in between. To celebrate this deliciously momentous anniversary, the brand is celebrating by launching its first-ever cookbook filled with a collection of photos, quotes, and 140 of its most-loved recipes. The cookbook is available now for free digital download on the Thomas’ website.

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Larry Grady is online content manager at PR Newswire for Journalists.  He has worked in business media for nearly 30 years and enjoys reality TV and daydreaming about travel and wine.