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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
1. Why is Puerto Rico’s lack of statehood hurting it in its debt crisis?
[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”]Puerto Rico’s lack of status as a state (it is technically a commonwealth) means that it cannot authorize its municipalities to declare bankruptcy and does not have access to bankruptcy courts. This leaves it without a valuable intermediary with creditors. The lack of representation that Puerto Rico has in Congress (it has a non-voting representative) has also impeded legislative solutions to help alleviate the island’s debt, which stands at $70 billion.[/toggle]
2. How many times has Vice President Joe Biden sought the presidency before?
[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”]Twice. Biden first ran in 1988, but was forced to leave the race in the midst of plagiarism allegations. He sought the presidency a second time, but failed to get above 1% of the vote in Iowa and dropped out of the race. Political pundits were abuzz last week over rumors that Biden might be thinking of a third presidential run, something that might provide a threat to Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton, especially if President Obama publicly endorsed Biden’s candidacy.[/toggle]
3. Why are Utah state prison inmates on a hunger strike?
[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”]Dozens of inmates at the Utah State Prison in Draper have been on a hunger strike (on its fourth day as of Monday) in an attempt to improve their conditions. Inmates argue that they are denied access to educational and rehabilitative programs, do not have the right to participate in work programs, lack nutrition, receive poor medical treatment and are locked in sells with a fellow inmate for 47 out of every 48 hours.[/toggle]
4. What is New Jersey governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie’s campaign slogan?
[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”]”Telling it like it is.” Christie has a reputation for being outspoken and earlier this week he blasted the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) on CNN, saying that the union was the “single most destructive force” in education. Christie’s support has eroded over the last two years and some observers think frontrunner Donald Trump has taken away Christie’s mantle of providing hard hitting, “shoot from the hip” rhetoric.[/toggle]
5. What are some of the new carbon emission regulations that President Obama announced on Monday?
[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”]President Obama announced that the U.S. will be seeking a 32% reduction in its carbon emissions by 2030 over 2005 levels. This is an increase over the 30% reduction target that was initially announced. States will also be given two more years (2022) to comply with the cuts and states will have another year to submit a plan to the federal government. The next president would implement this plan, something that a Republican president could try to overturn.[/toggle]
6. Name at least two Democratic senators that are thought to be opposed or might vote against the Iranian nuclear deal.
[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”]Senator Robert Menendez (NJ), Michael Bennet (CO), Joe Donnelly (IN), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Joe Manchin (WV), Bill Nelson (FL), Mark Warner (VA), and Charles Schumer (NY). Some of these senators such as Bennet face re-election in 2016, while Menendez is a fierce critic of a deal. AIPAC, a pro-Israeli lobbying group, is against Senate approval of the accord while President Obama is trying to secure Democratic support.[/toggle]
7. How many goals are part of the new Millennium Development Goals?
[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”]Seventeen. The goals will be formally adopted at a summit meeting in September before a meeting of the UN General Assembly. The goals are supposed to be achieved by 2030 and call for ending poverty, ensuring healthy lives and well-being for peoples ofall ages, gender equality, and ensuring access to modern energy.[/toggle]
8. What is “Ahmadinejadism”?
[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”]”Admadinejadism” refers to the political philosophy of former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who governed Iran from 2005-2013. It refers to Ahmadinejad’s meshing of economic populism and hawkish foreign policy. Ahmadinejad was back in the limelight earlier this week by vowing to “redefine revolutionary ideals” as he seeks influence in Iran’s parliamentary elections that are scheduled for February.[/toggle]
9. According to Airwars, a project that tracks international airstrikes against extremists, how many civilians have been killed by U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq over the past year?
[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”]459. The project said that 57 specific strikes killed civilians. In contrast, the project noted that more than 15,000 Islamic State militants were killed in U.S. airstrikes. However, all of this data is based on rough estimates due to the difficulty of operating in Islamic State-held territory.[/toggle]
10. How has the U.S. changed its use of force policies with regards to the Syrian Civil War?
[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”]American military officials confirmed this week that U.S. air power would be used to defend U.S.-trained rebel forces in Syria. Critics argue that the policy will only serve to strengthen radical forces in the region and that it constitutes “mission creep” that may lead to more pronounced U.S. military intervention in the conflict.[/toggle]