HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 18-24, 2024

1. How should the U.S. handle an anticipated influx of Haitian refugees?
2. Are American airlines headed the way of the American auto industry?
3. A U.S. Supreme Court without term limits: Friend or foe to the American people?
4. What can be done to make rents affordable again?
5. Will France’s solidification of the rights to an abortion affect the issue in the United States?
6. What’s the skinny on the safety of the new weight loss drugs?
7. Is the U.S. federal government justified in taking action against TikTok?
8. Do school book bans violate the First Amendment?
9. Should U.S. states adopt age verification systems for users to access adult material?
10. Will Boeing’s problems become problems for the wider U.S. economy?

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HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of March 18-24, 2024

1. Should seized Russian assets be donated to the Ukrainian war effort?
2. Will Henry’s resignation further destabilize Haiti?
3. Is Volodymyr Zelenskyy still Ukraine’s best bet for peace?
4. Due to ongoing tensions with Russia, is it wise to the European Union to continue accession talks with Balkan nations?
5. Could Israel survive as a pariah state?
6. Should the EU scrap its mandate to abolish fossil fuel-powered vehicles by 2035?
7. How will Jacob Zuma’s MK Party affect the outcome of South Africa’s elections?
8. Will the Liberal Democrats benefit from internal problems in the British Conservative Party?
9. Have anti-corruption campaigns in Latin America failed?
10. What does Niger’s decision to suspend military cooperation with the United States mean for anti-jihadist efforts in the Sahel?

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Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of March 11-17, 2024

Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz!

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HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of March 11-17, 2024

1. What role, if any, should the Palestinian Authority play in post-war Gaza?
2. How should India respond to China’s new strategic partnership with the Maldives?
3. Is Nigeria’s economy too dependent on oil?
4. How will Swedish membership change NATO?
5. Is Milei’s austerity cure killing the patient?
6. Can a joint junta force in West Africa rid the region of its jihadist threat?
7. Why is gang violence becoming a significant national security concern in Haiti?
8. Should Russia put a nuclear weapon in space?
9. Why did the Irish constitutional referendum fail?
10. Will the crypto industry propel a new wave of economic growth across Africa?

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HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 11-17, 2024

1. Have ongoing legal battles strengthened or weakened Donald Trump’s presidential candidacy?
2. Will No Labels end up fielding a presidential candidate?
3. Should U.S. colleges reverse their test-optional policies?
4. Has the Israel-Hamas war done significant damage to America’s position in the Middle East?
5. Does the U.S. need a policy “reset” on Haiti?
6. Should Nikki Haley have ended her presidential campaign sooner?
7. Is Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to not run for re-election a boost for Gallego or Lake?
8. Can a more populist economic agenda get the Biden presidential campaign back on track?
9. Should Kroger’s merger with Albertsons be blocked?
10. How can the U.S. fight a better war against fetanyl?

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2023-2024 Extemp Central National Points Race: Final Standings for the Regular Season Stage are Posted!

Updated standings for the 2023-2024 Extemp Central National Points Race have been released.  Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.

The new standings are the final ones for the regular season stage of this year’s competition, reflecting the results of the Harvard Speech & Debate Tournament and the California Invitational.

The National Points Race will take a month and a half off as states hold their post-season tournaments.  The next competition will kick off the post-season stage of the Race, which will be at the University of Kentucky for its annual Tournament of Champions (TOC).  The UK TOC will be a third tier event, awarding 100 points to its winner and giving points to all finalists, semi-finalists, and quarter-finalists.

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Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of March 4-10, 2024

Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

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HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of March 4-10, 2024

1. Will the Republican Party be unified behind Donald Trump this November?
2. What should the U.S. do if Israel conducts its Rafah offensive?
3. Is America’s teaching shortage hitting an inflection point?
4. What lessons can the U.S. states learn from the “war on drugs” to launch a better effort against fetanyl?
5. Should surge pricing be allowed?
6. Who should be the next leader of Senate Republicans?
7. Is a federal ban on bump stocks constitutional?
8. How should the U.S. respond to Vladimir Putin’s recent nuclear threats?
9. Should the Biden administration withdraw U.S. forces from Syria?
10. Are religious liberty laws unconstitutional?

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HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of March 4-10, 2024

1. Is India becoming an emerging power player in the Middle East?
2. Would an ANC-EFF coalition be good for the future health of the South African economy?
3. Is China becoming too insular?
4. What should Egypt do if Israel conducts its Rafah offensive?
5. Does the world need a “new globalization”?
6. How should Nigeria handle the Anglophone insurgency?
7. What is to blame for a collapse in support for democracy across the world?
8. Should Ariel Henry step down?
9. Will Britain’s Conservative Party become a vehicle for the far-right after the next British general election?
10. How can Xochitl Galvez win the Mexican presidency?

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2024 California Invitational: Bauman Retains Bellarmine’s Hold on Championship, Spoils Tsoi’s Bid for Two National Points Race Wins by 1 Rank

Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA) has made it a habit of winning the California Invitational, taking three of the last five titles and this year was no different as Austin Bauman outlasted 129 other extempers to win the last National Points Race tournament of the regular season.

The tournament was cumulative from prelims and Bauman’s lead going into the final round allowed him to take the title as he won by one rank over #13 Evelyn Tsoi of Velasquez Academy (CA), who was appearing in her third National Points Race final round this season. Tsoi, who won the United States Extemp half of the James Logan MLK Invitational last month, won the final round but that was not enough to claim the overall tournament title even though Bauman took fourth in finals.

Like last year’s tournament, the final rankings of the tournament were close as #15 Abhijay Rana of Bellarmine, the winner of the International Extemp half at MLK, was a mere three ranks behind Tsoi. And Katherine Peckham of Westwood High School (TX), the only non-Californian in the final round, was one rank behind Rana. Peckham was runner-up to Tsoi in the final round after taking three first place ranks from the five judge panel and they made the biggest leap in the tournament from prelims to finals after they only cleared into elimination rounds by two ranks. Only a fourth and fifth place rank in the final round kept them out of the top three.

Bauman’s win was the second in a row for Bellarmine at the tournament after #7 Rohit Vakkalagadda won last season. Vakkalagadda’s bid for a second consecutive title, a feat that has not been done in 11 years, ended in prelims as he missed the break to elimination rounds by one rank.

Ethan Chen of Monte Vista High School (CA) took fifth place, finishing six ranks behind Peckham. And #17 Ellie Sohn of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) reached her third National Points Race final round of the year and placed sixth. Sohn led the tournament after prelims.

Isaiah Sohn of Redlands High School (CA) and Ali Malik of Monta Vista High School (CA) were not able to replicate their final round finishes at last year’s California Invitational. Sohn dropped in quarter-finals and Mailk in octa-finals.

#23 Joy Hu of the Harker School in the tournament field but was not able to reach elimination rounds. Like Vakkalagadda, she missed the break by one rank.

Since the California Invitational was a third tier event, Bauman will receive 100 points for his victory and all extempers who reached quarter-finals will receive points. New National Points Race standings will be posted by next weekend.

Here are the results of the 2024 California Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):

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