- With a week to go, who wins the U.S. presidential election?
- Is the BRICS a threat to U.S. foreign policy goals?
- Will Republicans lose the Nebraska Senate race?
- If Vice President Kamala Harris wins the presidency but Republicans win the Senate what does that mean for her proposed policy agenda?
- Have Republicans become the party of the working class?
- How will the machinists strike at Boeing end?
- Will Democrats regain the House?
- Are there any constitutional restraints that the NCAA can impose on NIL?
- Should all state Medicaid programs cover weight loss drugs?
- Would a mass deportation of illegal immigrants do significant damage to the U.S. economy?
- How can Cuba’s government ensure the long-term stability of the nation’s energy grid?
- Is Israel’s assassination campaign against Hezbollah an effective national security strategy?
- How can the international sanction system become more effective?
- Is it fair to say that Vladimir Putin is a global pariah?
- How can Peru’s government restore public trust amid ongoing corruption scandals?
- Will Tinubu’s cabinet reshuffle lead to a significant change in policy?
- How will Russia’s pact with North Korea affect the future of North Korean-South Korean relations?
- Is populism the sign of a healthy or eroding democracy?
- Will a graying West shift geopolitical power to the Global South?
- Should Iran recalculate its foreign policy goals?
The first standings for the 2024-2025 Extemp Central National Points Race are up! Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
Robert Zhang of Elkins High School (TX) has the lead after winning two of the first three National Points Race tournaments. 17 extempers have earned points in this year’s competition.
The next National Points Race event will be the Florida Blue Key, hosted by the University of Florida in Gainesville. Blue Key was upgraded in the offseason, so this year it will be a fourth tier event, awarding points to finalists and semi-finalists. Charlotte Reitman of NSU University School (FL) will be defending champion.
63 extempers, mostly from the Northeast, entered the 54th edition of the New York City Invitational last weekend in New York City. The Bronx High School of Science hosted the event.
The tournament ended with a final round clash of defending national champions. Tea Shouldice of Half Hollow Hills High School East (NY), the defending National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) national champion in United States Extemp, defeated the defending NSDA International Extemp champion Anthony Babu of Concord-Carlisle High School (NY) by one rank. Shouldice and Babu each won two first place ranks among the five judge panel in finals and Babu won the final round by one rank. However, due to the tournament’s cumulative nature through preliminary rounds Shouldice was declared the winner.
Al Zaidi of Holy Trinity Episcopal School (FL), a semi-finalist at Yale, placed third. Zaidi finished five ranks back of Shouldice.
The only sophomore in the final round, Daphne Kalir-Starr of the College Preparatory School (CA), also a Yale semi-finalist, finished fourth. Kalir-Starr took the one first place rank in the final round that was not won by Shouldice and Babu, needing it to win a tiebreaker over Aparna Iyer of Ridge High School (NJ). Iyer was in their second National Points Race final of the year after finishing third at Yale.
Kai Forbach of Durham Academy (NC) finished sixth.
The tournament was a fifth tier event in the National Points Race so only those extempers who reached the final round will earn points. Shouldice will earn 40 points for her win. The first National Points Race standings of the season will be posted tomorrow evening.
Here are the results of the 2024 New York City Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):
It is time for this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
- How will the death of Yahya Sinwar affect Hamas?
- Should the United Nations withdraw its peacekeepers from southern Lebanon?
- Does climate change pose a risk to the energy grids of African nations?
- Is it time for Trudeau to call an early election?
- How much longer can Ukraine hold out?
- Can Bhutan become India’s Hong Kong?
- Will debates about asylum rules fracture the European Union?
- What is the significance of Egypt replacing intelligence chief Abbas Kamel?
- How should North Korea’s recent actions against South Korea be interpreted?
- Would an Israeli strike on Iran’s Revolutionary Guards help or hinder the efforts of Iranian democratic activists?
- Will voter turnout in the 2024 presidential election be higher, lower, or the same as 2020?
- Should the Republican Party temper its position on abortion?
- How should the Supreme Court rule in FDA v. Wages and White Lion Investments, L.L.C.?
- What is wrong with Boeing?
- Is it in the nation’s best interest for election results to take up to a week to be counted?
- Should Supreme Court justices have to submit to a tax audit each year?
- Did the U.S. err by sending a THAAD battery to Israel?
- Do electric vehicles have a Republican problem?
- Is California justified in blocking more SpaceX launches?
- Under what conditions should states be legally allowed to purge their voter rolls?
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
- Is former President Barack Obama more of a help or hindrance to the Harris campaign?
- Will the size of the national debt be a campaign issue in 2028?
- Why is there a discontent between voter sentiment about the economy and positive economic data?
- Will Helene and Milton create a national shift in the conversation about climate change?
- Does Tennessee’s ban on puberty blockers for minors violate the Fourteenth Amendment?
- How could Trump’s recent statements on mass deportation impact Latino voter turnout in the 2024 presidential election?
- Should Governor Kathy Hochul remove Mayor Eric Adams?
- How will the result of the 2024 presidential election affect the U.S. tax code?
- Is the banning of new gas stations an effective energy policy?
- Are voter ID laws a violation of the 24th Amendment?
- Should Japan abolish the death penalty?
- Are there too many ongoing humanitarian crises for the world to effectively tackle?
- Is it more likely for global oil prices to rise or fall in 2025?
- Will participation in South Africa’s unity government enhance the Democratic Alliance’s political prospects?
- Is it fair to label Mexico a “narco state”?
- After the Hayana election result, should the Congress Party reassess its strategy?
- Are there any lessons that the international community should learn from Hurricane Milton?
- Will the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo spark greater global discussions of nuclear disarmament?
- Is the world doing enough to combat biodiversity loss?
- Will Israel attempt to launch a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities?
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
- How can Mark Rutte shape NATO into a more robust organization?
- Are Israel’s recent military actions making it more or less secure?
- Is Sanchez making too many concessions to Catalan nationalists?
- Are Tinubu’s economic reforms working?
- Has a new security paradigm emerged in the Middle East?
- How would a larger between Israel and Iran affect the global economy?
- Are South American nations doing enough to protect isolated tribes?
- Why is Chad drifting toward Russia?
- Should the Pakistani government release Imran Khan?
- Will Libya’s resumed crude oil production add more stability to global oil markets?
- Should the Taft-Hartley Act be repealed?
- Is U.S. foreign policy not using the Quad to its fullest extent?
- Should U.S. states ban universities from using legacy admissions?
- Why are U.S. auto prices so high?
- Has FEMA had an effective response to Hurricane Helene?
- Did J.D. Vance vault himself into 2028 presidential consideration based on his performance in the vice presidential debate?
- Should the U.S. change how the unemployment rate is calculated?
- Is the growing legalization of sports gambling a bad idea?
- Will Hurricane Helene impact the 2024 presidential election?
- Is Google losing its grip as an online search engine?
Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
- Will the U.S. be caught up in Israel’s wars with its neighbors?
- Would a policy of not taxing overtime pay be fiscally wise?
- To what extent are crowd sizes indicative of who is leading the 2024 presidential election?
- What would a Kamala Harris victory in November mean for Gretchen Whitmer’s political future?
- Following a federal indictment, should New York City Mayor Eric Adams step down?
- Are nitrogen gas executions constitutional?
- Is the decline of American influence on the world stage a bad thing?
- Should Congress pass the Kids Online Safety Act?
- Is Virginia a swing state in this year’s presidential election?
- Would a Harris administration rekindle the Iranian nuclear deal?