Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of April 21st-27th, 2014

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quiz-01Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

1. This week Netflix announced that it was preparing to raise the price of its service for new subscribers. How high will Netflix’s price rise for these customers?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Netflix is anticipating a $1-$2 estimated price increase for new customers, which will be based on what country people are subscribing from.  Netflix plans to use the revenue to improve content and improve its streaming infrastructure.[/toggle]

2. According to a recent New York Times report, the United States middle-class is no longer the world’s wealthiest. Which country’s middle-class is most wealthy?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Canada.  The New York Times estimates are based on after-tax income.  It is also reported that the poor in Europe are better off than the poor in the United States.[/toggle]

3. How long has Earth Day been a national event in the United States?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]44 years.  The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970 and has become an international event coordinated by the Earth Day Network.  U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson (D-WI) pushed for the event as a teach-in day in 1970 to bring attention to environmental issues.  In response to a growing recognition of the importance of the environment, President Richard Nixon and Congress enacted environmental legislation in the early 1970s which included the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.[/toggle]

4. According to John Sides of George Washington University, who contributes to the Washington Post’s “About the Monkey Cage” blog, what is the percent chance that Democrats will win the House in the 2014 midterms?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]According to Sides, Democrats have a 1% chance of winning back the House of Representatives in this year’s midterm elections.  Sides estimates that Republicans will likely gain five House seats, bringing them near 239 seats, which is the most seats that the Republican Party has controlled in the House since the 80th Congress from 1947-1949.  Still, Democrats have raised $2.5 million more than Republicans so far in 2014 to try to retake the chamber.[/toggle]

5. When was the phrase “under God” added to the Pledge of Allegiance?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The phrase “under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954 when the U.S. government wanted to draw distinctions between the United States and the atheist Soviet Union.  The original Pledge of Alliance was adopted by Congress in 1942 without the phrase.  Atheist parents in Massachusetts and New Jersey have sued to remove the phrase from the Pledge, arguing that it discriminates against their children.[/toggle]

6. A national tragedy took place in South Korea last week. What happened?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]A ferry, named the Sewol, that was traveling from Incheon to the island of Jeju sank, killing more than 302 passengers.  The ship was packed with high school students who were making a school trip.  Nine crew members have been arrested for abandoning the ship.[/toggle]

7. How will former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi serve his sentence on tax fraud charges?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Berlusconi will do community service in a home for elderly Italians and is also subject to a curfew.  Due to his age (Berlusconi is 77), he was not a candidate to serve out a prison sentence.[/toggle]

8. When Will Syria hold its presidential election?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Syria is expected to hold its presidential election on June 3rd.  The United Nations has said that the election, which is expected to feature current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, will hurt efforts to end the Syrian civil war.[/toggle]

9. What is the name of the local al-Qaeda franchise in Yemen?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).  The Yemeni government has helped U.S. forces launch drone strikes across Yemen against the group.  The drone strikes are unpopular among the Yemeni public, who view them as a violation of their national sovereignty.[/toggle]

10. Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld this state’s voter-approved affirmative action ban.

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Michigan.  In 2006, 58% of Michigan voters passed a referendum barring publicly funded colleges in the states from using affirmative action policies on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin.  The Supreme Court in a 6-2 vote reversed a lower court ruling that found the referendum violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.[/toggle]

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