On the Ted Radio Hour, linguist Anne Curzan says she gets a lot of complaints about people using the pronoun they to refer to one person.

I sometimes get into arguments with people where they will say to me, but it can't be singular, and I will say, but it is.

The history behind words causing a lot of debate, that's on the Ted Radio Hour from NPR.

Live from NPR News in Washington. I'm Janine Hurst.

The International Court of Justice yesterday ordered Israel to halt its military offensive in southern

Gaza though the court doesn't have the power to enforce its own rulings and peers

Lauren McGaki reports the order is being interpreted differently by Israel.

The court described the current humanitarian situation in Raffa as

quote, disastrous, and said that Israel should halt any action that inflicts conditions in Gaza

that could bring about the physical destruction of the

Palestinian group there, in part or as a whole.

Israeli officials responded in a statement saying its military had not and will not carry

out such activities in Rufa.

Yevalshini is an international law expert at Hebrew University.

Well, this is a plausible interpretation.

It doesn't engage with the court's concerns about the actual conditions on the

ground. He says he expects that Israel will need to take concrete steps to

improve the humanitarian situation there in order to satisfy the court.

Lauren McGaki, NPR News, Tel Aviv.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is preparing for Memorial Day events.

He has resumed duties after his deputy temporarily took over last night while he underwent a medical procedure.

Empiers Amy held reports that comes after Austin admitted to mishandling an earlier

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