Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. Which Latin American country is in ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to whom it owes $45 billion?
Spoiler
Argentina. The nation’s economy has been facing high inflation for years, a problem made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country is meeting with the IMF for talks in Venice to restructure a 2018 deal on its existing debts.
2. In which countries were the alpha, beta, delta, gamma, and lambda COVID-19 variants first detected?
Spoiler
Alpha was first detected in Britain, beta was first detected in South Africa, delta was first detected in India, gamma was first detected in Brazil, and lambda was first detected in Peru.
3. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures will rise by more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels by what year?
Spoiler
2050. Scientists warn that if the 1.5°C temperature target is breached it will undo Earth’s natural systems and produce four inches of sea level rise, severe heatwaves every five years, a decline of coral reefs by as much as 99%, and a significant decline in global fisheries.
4. Who will replace New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned yesterday?
Spoiler
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. Cuomo announced yesterday that he would be resigning from office after the State Attorney General found evidence substantiating claims of sexual harassment. New York has never had a female governor.
5. Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) said last week that she has not ruled out challenging this political figure.
Spoiler
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer. Schumer is up for re-election next year and has served in the U.S. Senate since 1999 and will be running for a fifth term. A sitting Senate Majority Leader has not lost re-election since Tom Daschle of South Dakota in 2002.
6. What is the debt ceiling?
Spoiler
The debt ceiling is the maximum amount of debt that the U.S. Treasury Department can legally issue. If it not raised, the government cannot borrow additional funds. The issue of the debt ceiling became a flashpoint during Barack Obama’s presidency with the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party and it could happen again as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says that Republicans will not support raising it to pay for President Biden’s $3.5 trillion social infrastructure bill.
7. Which African nation will hold its general election tomorrow, August 12?
Spoiler
Zambia. President Edgar Lungu will be up for re-election and facing headwinds due to economic and debt difficulties. Lungu is being challenged by Hakainde Hichilema, also known as “HH”, a businessman who promises to better manage the country’s economy. There has been some political violence ahead of the vote.
8. Who has recently floated the idea of jumping into the 2022 Alaskan Senate race and challenging Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski?
Spoiler
Former Alaskan Governor and vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Palin has close ties to former President Donald Trump, but Trump has already endorsed Kelly Tshibaka as a challenger to Murkowski, who voted to remove him from office earlier this year. In 2016, Murkowski lost the Republican primary but re-entered the race as a write-in candidate and won. Under Alaska’s new electoral rules, all Senate candidates will run in a blanket primary and the top four will move to a general election that will be decided to by ranked voting.
9. Which nation will play host to the 2022 Winter Olympics and why is that controversial?
Spoiler
China. There have been calls by activists in the United States and various European countries for a boycott of the Games due to China’s treatment of democratic activists in Hong Kong and its treatment of Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group, in Northwestern China. The U.S. has declared China’s treatment of Uyghurs a genocide, a sentiment shared by Canada, the Netherlands, and Great Britain. The United States last boycotted an Olympics in 1980, refusing to participate in games hosted by the Soviet Union because of its invasion of Afghanistan the previous year.
10. What is the NEW U.S. unemployment rate?
Spoiler
5.4% (a decline from the last unemployment figure of 5.9%). Extempers should note that the U.S. unemployment number is typically updated on the first Friday of each month by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
