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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. AT&T recently announced that it was planning to acquire this communications company.
[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”]DirecTV, the largest satellite provider in the United States. The merger between AT&T and DirecTV, a deal valued at $48.5 billion, is seen as a counter to Comcast’s move to acquire Time Warner Cable. Consumer advocates claim that the deal will be bad for consumers.[/toggle]
2. This national food chain has created a stir by asking gun owners not to bring high-powered rifles into their establishments.
[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”]Chipotle, a national burrito chain. Chipotle argues that gun owners who bring high-powered rifles into their restaurants make other customers uncomfortable.[/toggle]
3. Why do analysts think the Narendra Modi will be able to lead India more effectively, especially on economic issues, more than the Congress Party based on the outcome of last week’s Indian national elections?
[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”]Unlike other Indian governments, which had to rely on coalition agreements, Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won more than half of the seats in the national parliament and will be able to govern on its own. This was the first time that a single party accomplished such an overwhelming electoral victory in thirty years. Modi on the election by promising more development and economic growth to India, which has experienced slowing economic growth and double-digit inflation.[/toggle]
4. What is the Veterans’ Administration scandal about?
[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 Veterans’ Administration (VA) scandal centers around delayed care for veterans and inappropriate scheduling practices at VA clinics. The epicenter of the scandal is a VA facility in Phoenix, Arizona, which allegedly kept one set of fake records to show the government that veterans were being treated on time, and another set of real books that showed unacceptable waiting periods. The American Legion, the largest veterans’ advocacy group in the country, has called for the resigation of Veterans’ Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.[/toggle]
5. Why Vietnamese attack Chinese and other foreign-owned factories 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”]The attacks were a response to China moving an oil rig into disputed waters in the South China Sea. Vietnam claims that the oil rig’s presence is illegal, while China says that they have a right to drill in the area. The Chinese government has evacuated nearly 4,000 of its citizens from Vietnam, which has traditionally had a strained relationship with its communist neighbor.[/toggle]
6. South Korean President Park Geun-hye dismantled this government body in response to the Sewol ferry disaster.
[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 South Korean Coast Guard. President Park slammed the coast guard in a televised address on Monday with failing to carry out an effective rescue operation. Miscommunication between the coast guard and maritime traffic control as the disaster unfolded on April 16th caused delays in the dispatching of rescue vessels.[/toggle]
7. China announced that it was suspending cooperation with the United States in a joint cybersecurity task force after this recent incident.
[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”]China announced the suspension of its cooperation after the United States charged five Chinese officers in Shanghai with stealing trade secrets from American companies. China has countered by calling the United States “the biggest attacker of China’s cyberspace.”[/toggle]
8. Who is Khalifa Hifter?
[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”]Hifter is a Libyan general who lived in exile in the U.S. during Moammar Gaddafi’s reign. He is currently launching an armed campaign against Libya’s militas and political Islamists, who he says are making Libya a hotbed of Islamic radicalism. Forces loyal to Hifter have demanded that the Libyan parliament disband, but Islamists, who control the body, refuse.[/toggle]
9. Why is the Thai military’s declaration of martial law not a coup?
[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 Thai military announced a declaration of martial law yesterday, but did not replace the sitting caretaker government, which is why they are claiming they are not participating in a coup. The military justified the declaration of martial law on the grounds that law and order needed to be maintained as pro-government and anti-government forces have clashes around Bangkok in recent days. The Thai military last staged a coup in 2006, but a new coup could ignite a civil war and would likely trigger sanctions by the United States.[/toggle]
10. How much was GM fined last week as part of the U.S. government’s investigation into its handling of a recall due to faulty ignition switches?
[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”]$35 million. The fine is the largest ever paid as a result of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation. The faulty ignition switch defect, which GM first learned about in 2004, has been deemed responsible for at least thirteen deaths.[/toggle]