This is the first news quiz of the 2023-2024 season! Note that news quizzes will be posted each week on Tuesday afternoon or evening. They will run through the last week of April, which is when most state tournaments are completed. Good luck on this week’s questions!
1. What provision of the 14th Amendment may disqualify former President Trump from running for re-election?
Spoiler
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment reads “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof…” Critics of the former president argue that the events of January 6 disqualify him from running. Conservative law professors William Baude and Michael Paulsen have also written a piece saying that there are grounds to disqualify Trump from serving again if the text of the amendment is followed.
2. Which African nation was the latest to experience a coup last week?
Spoiler
Gabon. Military officials ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba, who governed the country for the past 14 years. He had been criticized for rigging elections and being corrupt. The coup took place after Bongo won a disputed election.
3. Who became the first GOP presidential candidate to drop out of the 2024 election last week?
Spoiler
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez. Suarez failed to qualify for the first GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin at the end of August. He had said that if he failed to make that debate that he would cease his campaign and did so.
4. Which African nation has seen the most coups since 1952?
Spoiler
Sudan. Sudan has experienced 17 military coups. According to the BBC, the next highest is Burundi with 11. Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, and Ghana have had 10.
5. Which famous U.S. singer passed away last week?
Spoiler
Jimmy Buffett. Buffett, a famed singer-songwriter who wrote about beach life and developed a cult following that made him a billionaire, passed away on September 1 after a battle with skin cancer. He was a big donor to Democratic causes.
6. Which world leader met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal?
Spoiler
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has a close relationship with Putin and is attempting to move the Russian leader back into an agreement that allowed millions of tons of Ukrainian grain to reach global markets. Russia pulled out of the agreement in July.
7. A federal court struck down a new congressional map from what state on Tuesday and why did it do so?
Spoiler
Alabama. Three federal judges ruled that the state did not create a second Black-majority district as the Supreme Court ordered Alabama to do earlier in the year. In a 3-0 ruling, judges said they were “disturbed” by what the state had done and tossed the map out. The map created a white majority in six of Alabama’s seven congressional districts even though African Americans are 27% of the state population.
8. Which nations were recently admitted into the BRICS organization?
Spoiler
Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) announced the expansion of the group with those members in 2024. The expanded BRICS group will represent 42% of the world’s population and 36% of the global economy.
9. Who are the two candidates that will face off in Ecuador’s presidential runoff in October?
Spoiler
Luisa Gonzalez, a protege of former Ecuadorian President Daniel Correa, and Daniel Noboa, son of banana businessman Álvaro Noboa. In the first round, Gonzalez won 33.61% of the vote versus Noboa’s 23.47%. The election is taking place in the midst of growing gang violence in the country that is fueled by drug cartels. This caused the assassination of candidate Fernando Villavicencio less than two weeks before voting began. The runoff will take place on October 15.
10. It was reported earlier this week that Russia was seeking what nation’s help with acquiring munitions for the Russo-Ukrainian War?
Spoiler
North Korea. The Guardian reported on Tuesday that a summit may take place later this month between Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The relationship worries Western security advisors, who fear that North Korea will exchange munitions for access to Russian nuclear weapons technology, especially with regards to constructing a submarine fleet.
