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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. The Supreme Court’s recent 5-4 ruling in Town of Greece v. Galloway sparked controversy. Why?
[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”]In this case, the Supreme Court upheld the town of Greece (NY) to hold an opening prayer at its monthly board meetings. The Court found that the activity did not breach the First Amendment because prayer pays homage to the nation’s heritage of prayer in legislative settings. Justice Anthony Kennedy argued that as long as the prayers do not threaten, denigrate, or attempt convert anyone and participation is not made compulsory that Greece’s activities are not unconstitutional.[/toggle]
2. Francois Hollande recently promised French voters that he would not seek re-election in 2017 unless he manages to do this.
[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”]Lower unemployment and spark higher levels of economic growth. Hollande has struggled with his Socialist Party over the degree to which France should enact more free market reforms.[/toggle]
3. Clay Aiken, a former American Idol singer, is seeking a House seat in this state. What party is he affiliated with?
[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”]North Carolina. Aiken is a Democrat and appears to have won a very close contest, decided by less than 400 votes, over Keith Crisco. Crisco unexpectedly passed away on Monday.[/toggle]
4. Michael Sam, an openly gay football player, was drafted last weekend by which NFL team?
[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”]Sam was drafted by the St. Louis Rams with the 249th pick in the seventh round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He will be the first openly gay football player in NFL history.[/toggle]
5. What was the justification used by Thailand’s constitutional court in forcing Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down?
[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”]Shinawatra was removed because it was found that she abused her power by removing the country’s head of national security in 2011 and replacing that official with a relative.[/toggle]
6. Why did the European Court for Human Rights recently fine Turkey $124 million?
[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”]Turkey was fined for invading Cyprus in 1974. The fine is the largest ruling in the ECHR’s history and is likely to further complicate Turkish attempts to become an EU member. Since 1974, Cyprus has remained divided into a Greek-dominated south and a Turkish-dominated north.[/toggle]
7. Libyan militants recently kidnapped an ambassador from this nation.
[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”]Jordan. The kidnappers let the ambassador go after Jordan freed a Libyan Islamist militant that was serving a life sentence for a bombing plot. The incident illustrates the weakness of Libya’s central government, which has struggled to establish its authority over the nation since the Libyan Civil War ended in 2011.[/toggle]
8. The International Criminal Court is currently looking into abuse allegations against this nation’s forces in Iraq.
[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”]Great Britain. The ICC is looking into allegations that British forces were responsible for the “systematic abuse” of Iraqi detainees. The British government says that it will cooperate with the ICC probe.[/toggle]
9. How many American states have the death penalty?
[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”]Thirty-two American states currently have the death penalty. Last year, Maryland became the newest state to abolish the death penalty, but its last was not retroactive, meaning that the five people currenly sitting on death row are eligible for execution.[/toggle]
10. What is the name of the hashtag campaign used to raise awareness of the Nigerian kidnappings?
[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”]#BringBackOurGirls. The hashtag campaign’s goal is to raise awareness of Boko Haram’s activities and condemn their behavior. However, conservative pundits like Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter have blasted the campaign as a display of American foreign policy weakness.[/toggle]