Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. What is COP26?
Spoiler
It is the 26th meeting of the Conference of Parties that signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Climate Agreement in 2016. The current meeting is in Glasgow, Scotland as world leaders meet to find common ground on ways to keep the global temperature from rising 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over the next twenty years.
2. The Democratic Party is taking a lot of heat from women’s groups and other progressives for cutting what out of President Biden’s social infrastructure package?
Spoiler
Paid family leave. The Biden social infrastructure plan called for a worker guarantee of twelve weeks of paid family and medical leave, which would allow workers to earn two-thirds of their average wages while out of the workforce. However, the plan was cut because of objections from West Virginia Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.
3. Which former American political figure is making a private humanitarian trip to Myanmar?
Spoiler
Former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson. Richardson also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Bill Clinton. His mission to Myanmar saw him meet Tuesday with General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the country’s military government. The content of the meeting concerned prevention and control of COVID-19.
4. What is the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse about?
Spoiler
Rittenhouse is standing trial for felony homicide after shooting and killing two men – and wounding a third – during a civil rights protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last year. He is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor as Rittenhouse committed the crime when he was seventeen. Rittenhouse’s team alleges self-defense after some bystander footage showed him being chased into a used car dealership before shots were fired.
5. What is Facebook’s new corporate name?
Spoiler
Meta. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the new name last Thursday. The move is meant to reflect the company’s new focus on a metaverse, an immersive online realm that looks real but is computer generated. Skeptics allege the the name change is meant to combat some the bad press Facebook has recently faced after a disclosure of internal company documents.
6. The FDA recently approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for children in which age range?
Spoiler
5-11. The FDA’s decision cleared the way for the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to give final approval and make the vaccine available within days. The dosage approved for this age group is lower than an adult and if the CDC clears the way, sets up battles over vaccination children for school on the state level.
7. Which political party prevailed in Japan’s snap elections?
Spoiler
The governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The LDP did lose twenty-three seats, going from 284 to 261, but the LDP can govern on its own and does not have to coalition with another party. Kishida called the elections because he wanted a mandate from voters after taking over the LDP in late September.
8. Which nation recently became the first to approve the Novavax vaccine?
Spoiler
Indonesia. Novavax was created by a Maryland-based company in the U.S. after receiving $1.75 billion from the federal government as part of former President Trump’s Operation Warp Speed. The vaccine proved effective in some clinical trials in the U.S. but manufacturing issues and purity tests have been troublesome for regulators. Only 43% of Indonesians have received at least one dose of COVID vaccine and only 27% are fully vaccinated.
9. What are Great Britain and France locked in a dispute over?
Spoiler
Access to fishing grounds near the English Channel. Last month, Britain and Jersey denied permits to French boats to operate in its water and France threatened to block British boats from its ports and shut electricity to Jersey. Yesterday, French President Emmanuel Macron postponed trade sanctions on Britain to give time for negotiators to reach a solution. British control over fishing rights played a role in the successful Brexit campaign of 2016.
10. Which phrase are conservatives using as a stand-in insult for President Biden?
Spoiler
“Let’s Go Brandon,” which was taken from an October NASCAR event where fans were chanting an expletive with Biden’s name in it and a commentator misinterpreted it. The chant has gone viral in conservative circles.