Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. What sparked the recent protests in Kazakhstan?
Spoiler
Peaceful protests in Kazakhstan began over a rise in fuel prices. This led to more explosive protests by those who are angered at the country’s lack of political freedom and existing economic policies. Kazakh security forces have detained 9,900 people since the protests began.
2. Which nation led a detachment of foreign troops into Kazakhstan this week?
Spoiler
Russia. Russia led a detachment of 2,500 troops from the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to Kazakhstan at the request of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The Kazakh government announced yesterday at the troops would be leaving by the end of the week.
3. Which American city is seeing an ongoing labor struggle between its city government and teachers?
Spoiler
Chicago. The Chicago Teachers’ Union (CTU) balked at continuing to teach in-person last week, citing inadequate COVID-19 testing and a depleted staff that created safety concerns. In response, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had teachers locked out of their online classrooms, arguing that the city’s schools would not shift to a virtual teaching model. Both sides reached a tentative agreement yesterday for teachers to resume in-person instruction, but the battle has drawn attention over COVID-19 policies in schools since Chicago is the third-largest public school system in the country.
4. Why is there a major controversy surrounding Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic?
Spoiler
Djokovic, a 20-time grand slam winner, was stopped by Australian border officers because of an error in his medical exemption from getting vaccinated against COVID-19. Djokovic traveled to Australia for the Australian Open, tennis’ first grand slam event of the season, after reportedly getting a medical exemption to play. That created outrage among the Australian public, so Djokovic was detained until Monday when he was able to get a court to overturn Australia’s cancellation of his entry visa. Australia’s Immigration Minister has raised the possibility of using his personal power to override the court and possibly deport Djokovic.
5. A high-rise fire in what city led to the deaths of 19 people on Sunday?
Spoiler
New York City. The fire was due to a malfunctioning space heater that sent smoke rising through a high-rise building in the Bronx. It is the worst death toll due to a fire in the city since 1990, when 87 people died in an intentionally set fire at a Bronx nightclub. Many of the victims were Muslim immigrants from Gambia.
6. The Supreme Court heard arguments last Friday about which Biden administration policy?
Spoiler
A vaccine-or-test mandate from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that requires all employers with more than 100 employees to have those employees fully vaccinated or tested weekly for COVID-19 and mask. The mandate would apply to about two-thirds of private sector employers. The Supreme Court has yet to issue a ruling, but observers say that it is likely that the Court will weaken the mandate or abolish it based on the questions that the judges asked in oral argument.
7. What is the new U.S. unemployment rate?
Spoiler
3.9%. This is a reduction from the previous month’s unemployment rate, which was 4.2%. However, the employer report that 199,000 jobs were added was a disappointment because it was less than November’s figure of 249,000 jobs. That number was blamed for the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
8. Which nation recently ended its school shutdowns due to COVID-19, ending the longest shutdown in the world?
Spoiler
Uganda. The shutdown affected 15.5 million students and lasted for nearly two years. Government officials expect that one-third of students may not return to the classroom with the resumption of in-person learning.
9. What are the three conditions that Russia is demanding of the U.S. and other Western powers with regards to Ukraine?
Spoiler
Russia is demanding that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stop any future expansion; that no missiles be placed near Russia’s borders; and that NATO no longer conduct military exercises, intelligence operations, or establish infrastructure outside of the organization’s borders as they were in 1997. The United States and Russia are having an ongoing series of meetings to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, with Western countries worried that Russia is planning to invade and take over the country.
10. How many votes in the U.S. Senate does it take to kill a filibuster?
Spoiler
Sixty. President Biden gave a speech yesterday in Georgia calling for the Senate to change filibuster rules that would abolish the mechanism on legislation concerning the right to vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised a vote on the issue on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but Democrats will need all fifty votes to pass the measure and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema are opposed to filibuster reform so the measure is unlikely to pass.