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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. This Wednesday the Supreme Court will hear a case alleging gender discrimination at UPS. What is the issue in this case?
[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 case concerns Peggy Young, who was placed on unpaid leave by UPS when she became pregnant and could no longer drive a delivery truck. UPS argues that it never discriminated against Young since its policy only allows employees to receive lighter workloads if they are injured on the job. UPS has since changed its policy, but if the Court rules against the company it could affect the way employers handle millions of pregnant female employees across the country.[/toggle]
2. New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer made headlines last week for criticizing President Obama. What did he say?
[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”]Schumer argued that President Obama made a poor political decision in pushing for healthcare reform instead of trying to fix the economy. Schumer said that this alienated the middle class from the Democratic Party, thereby producing the midterm election disaster of 2010.[/toggle]
3. Western countries and Russia were carefully monitoring the results of this country’s elections on Sunday. Some think it could become the next Ukraine.
[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”]Moldova. Parties campaigned on whether to tie the nation’s future to the European Union (EU) or the Russian Federation. Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries and was once part of the Soviet Union.[/toggle]
4. Why is Harvard being sued over its affirmative action policy?
[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”]Harvard is being sued by a group called Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA) which is using a case of an unnamed student with Chinese immigrant parents. The suit alleges that the student in question was rejected despite perfect scores on three college admission tests because the university is seeking to limit the number of Asian-Americans on its campus. Legal experts think it will be hard to prove “intentional discrimination” due to the fact that the percentage of Asian-Americans on Harvard’s campus has increased over the last six years.[/toggle]
5. Who won the Uruguyan presidential runoff?
[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”]Leftist candidate Tabare Vasquez. Vasquez defeated center-right candidate Luis Lacalle Pou in an election that centered on whether to maintain the country’s state-run marijuana marketplace. Vasquez was president between 2005 and 2010.[/toggle]
6. The Smith Commission, tasked with determining which new powers will be devolved to Scotland, announced its plan last week. Which new powers will Scotland enjoy under the plan?
[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”]Scotland will receive the right to set tax rates and can keep all income tax that is raised within its borders. This would allow the Scottish government to collect 60% of its spending, versus 10% at present. Labour Party leaders criticized the plan for undermining Scotland’s role in the British Commonwealth, while Scottish National Party (SNP) leaders are continuing to insist that they want full independence.[/toggle]
7. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is on the ropes over this controversial piece of legislation.
[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”]Israeli’s governing coalition, headed by Netanyahu’s Likud Party, is badly divided over a bill that would designate Israel as a Jewish state. Netanyahu supports the legislation, but coalition partners such as Tzipi Livni of the liberal Hatnuah Party and Yair Lapid of the centrist Yesh Atid party are threatening to resign if it goes into effect. Livni and Lapid consider the bill a violation of Israel’s democratic character because it would relegate Arabs to second-class status. Polls show that if an election is held that Likud would increase its share of representation in the Israeli Knesset.[/toggle]
8. Why did Republicans argue that enrollment numbers for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) were inflated last week?
[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”]Republicans announced that their investigation showed that the Department of Health and Human Services’ estimates for those enrolled in ACA-style health plans was inflated by 400,000 since it counted dental plans as medical coverage. The Department says that a problem with healthcare.gov is to blame.[/toggle]
9. Last week saw European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker announce this step to alleviate Europe’s economic woes.
[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”]Junker announced a $392 billion investment package that will begin in mid-2015 and will be spread over three years. Critics say that the European Union (EU) will not have the funds to make the plan work and that national governments are unlikely to kick in their own funds.[/toggle]
10. What is a recession?
[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 recession is defined as a “period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced.” Economists identify a recession by observing two consecutive quarters of declining gross domestic product (GDP).[/toggle]