Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
Month: October 2023 Page 1 of 2
1. Should the U.S. launch a military operation to rescue its hostages held by Hamas?
2. Is Meta in violation of the Child Online Protection Act?
3. Has the Biden administration been too friendly toward Iran?
4. Should U.S. states refuse federal education funding?
5. Which GOP presidential candidate will most benefit from former Vice President Mike Pence’s withdrawal from the race?
6. Can Representative Dean Phillips mount a competitive primary bid against President Biden?
7. Why are existing gun laws failing to stop mass shooting incidents?
8. Are sports betting companies doing enough to keep teenagers from using their platforms?
9. Did the UAW win its strike?
10. What does the elevation of Representative Mike Johnson to Speaker of the House say about the current state of the House Republican caucus?
1. Who will win the Argentinian presidential runoff?
2. Should an international coalition fight Hamas?
3. How much of a threat does Marine Le Pen pose to the European Union?
4. Can Hezbollah politically afford to aid Hamas in its war with Israel?
5. Would it be in China’s best interest to have President Biden win re-election next year?
6. How will Africa’s younger population affect geopolitics in the next 50 years?
7. Has the EAC’s military mission in Eastern Congo been a failure?
8. Are global sanctions on Russia working?
9. Will Venezuela’s opposition parties be able to oust Nicholas Maduro?
10. How much longer will the Russo-Ukrainian War last?
Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. Will Venezuela’s election deal allow for a fair presidential race in 2024?
2. How can Donald Tusk keep Poland’s liberal coalition together?
3. Will real estate become a significant drag on China’s economy over the next five years?
4. How can governments reduce the impact of anti-carbon policies on working people?
5. Has containment of North Korea’s nuclear program ended?
6. Should Spain amnesty Catalan separatists?
7. Can Israel destroy Hamas?
8. Should South Africa modify its Black Economic Empowerment policy?
9. Will Israel’s war against Hamas jeopardize Saudi plans for wider global investments outside of the energy sector?
10. Are India’s relations with Pakistan getting worse?
1. If Hezbollah attacks Israel, should the U.S. get directly involved in the conflict?
2. Should Mike Pence end his presidential bid?
3. How will General C.Q. Brown change the U.S. military?
4. Can the U.S. afford to aid Ukraine and Israel in simultaneous foreign wars?
5. Will Ohio voters approve of Issue 1?
6. Should President Biden propose tax increases to corral inflation?
7. Is Israel’s war against Gaza splintering the Democratic Party?
8. Should U.S. cities tax land value?
9. Can greater use of AI resolve racial inequities in healthcare?
10. Should Patrick McHenry have his powers expanded as Speaker Pro Tempore?
The season’s third National Points Race tournament took place last weekend in New York City when the Bronx High School of Science hosted its annual New York City Invitational. 53 extempers attended this year’s competition, which was won by Eshaal Ubaid of Stuyvesant High School (NY).
The tournament was cumulative from preliminary rounds through the final round, which cost #5 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA) a victory. Ubaid won the cumulative assessment of the tournament by one rank but Cheng won the final round by five ranks.
This is the second runner-up finish for Cheng at a National Points Race tournament this season as he finished runner-up at the University of Kentucky National Speech and Debate Season Opener last month.
Third place was earned by Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL), who finished two ranks behind Ubaid. Reitman was one of the top seeds after preliminary rounds. She finished 18th in the National Points Race last season and this was her first National Points Race earning performance of the year.
Lishore Kumar of Tumball Memorial High School (TX) finished fourth and Valerie Gu of Milton Academy (MA) placed fifth. Kumar finished ahead of Gu by one rank.
#8 Akshaya Karanam of Mount Saint Mary Academy (NJ), who finished sixth at the Yale Invitational, took the same placing at this tournament.
Since the New York City Invitational was a fifth tier event, all of the extempers that reached the final round earned points. Ubaid earns 40 points for winning.
An update to the National Points Race will occur after the Florida Blue Key as New York City Invitational produced little movement in the standings.
Here are the results of the 2023 New York City Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s news quiz! Good luck!
1. How can the U.S. avoid becoming militarily involved in Israel’s war on Hamas?
2. What should the DNC do if New Hampshire refuses to move its presidential primary?
3. Which GOP presidential contender needs to end their campaign?
4. Does the Department of Education have the constitutional authority to enact broad sweeping student debt relief?
5. What will be Kevin McCarthy’s future in Republican politics?
6. Does the U.S. budget need a dose of austerity?
7. Should U.S. towns ban influencers?
8. What does Governor Doug Burgum need to do to improve his standing in GOP presidential polls?
9. Is political polarizaiton harming U.S. national security?
10. Can the U.S. afford Medicare for All?
1. Have Hamas’ attacks on Israel closed the door on an Israeli peace deal with Saudi Arabia?
2. How should German conservatives deal with the AfD?
3. In the aftermath of Hamas’ attacks, is Netanyahu’s government on borrowed time?
4. Can the winner of Ecuador’s presidential election substantially improve the nation’s security?
5. Should Rwanda become Africa’s policeman?
6. How should Asian nations handle their ageing crises?
7. What should NATO do if Russia pulls out of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty?
8. Has global support for Ukraine peaked?
9. Why did Australian voters reject the indigenous ‘voice’ referendum?
10. Will Pakistan’s expulsion of Afghan refugees worsen its relationship with Afghanistan’s Taliban government?
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz! Good luck!
1. Should Ukraine hold a wartime presidential election?
2. Will Hamas’ attack on Israel create a wider conflict in the Middle East?
3. Is el-Sisi making a mistake seeking another presidential term?
4. Will Mexico win its lawsuit against American gun manufacturers?
5. Have Trudeau’s accusations against India backfired?
6. Will the world’s major nuclear powers resume testing within the next five years?
7. Is the global economy becoming less free?
8. Will Kenya’s security mission in Haiti succeed?
9. Are Italy’s existing spending plans unsustainable?
10. What is the biggest threat to democracies across the globe?
1. Will Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster cost the GOP dearly in the 2024 elections?
2. How many ballots will it take to elect a new Speaker of the House?
3. What new technologies should be priorities in the next defense budget?
4. Should the next healthcare reform include the abolition of all private health insurance?
5. Is the GOP winning the immigration debate?
6. Are public schools using too much surveillance technology?
7. Will the next recession be triggered by the commercial real estate sector?
8. What should the U.S. do in response to Hamas’ latest attack on Israel?
9. If Robert Kennedy, Jr. runs as an independent candidate, does that help President Biden or former President Trump more?
10. Should there be a substantial overhaul of the Every Student Succeeds Act?
The first standings of the 2023-2024 Extemp Central National Points Race have been released. Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
Currently, there are 16 extempers ranked in this year’s competition after the UK National Speech and Debate Season Opener and the Yale Invitational. Unranked extempers will have an opportunity to add their names to the list next weekend when the New York City Invitational, a fifth tier event, takes place at the Bronx High School of Science.
Amy Cao of Ridge High School (NJ) won her second consecutive national circuit title of the year, winning the cumulative tournament by four ranks over April Zhang of Neuqua Valley High School (IL). Zhang captured two ones in the final round but a fourth and fifth place rank cost her the title.
This is the third time that Ridge High School has won the Yale extemp title in the last ten years. James Gao won it for the school in 2019. That was the last Yale title won by an extemper other than McKinley Paltzik, who won three straight titles between 2020 and 2022.
Cao’s win is also the first time that an extemper has won both season opening national circuit tournaments since Miles Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL). In 2013 Saffran won the Wake Forest National Early Bird and Yale in a campaign that ended with a national championship in International Extemp at NSDA Nationals.
Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ) reached her second national circuit final round of the season, placing third, eight ranks behind Cao and four behind Zhang. Peddi was a fourth place finisher at the UK National Speech and Debate Season Opener last month.
Shrewsbury High School had two extempers reach the final round. Vishnu Angiras placed fourth and Vasu Lakshmanan finished fifth. Angiras and Lakshmanan tied with a 42 composite score but Angiras did two ranks better in the final round.
The sixth place finisher was Akshaya Karanam of Mount Saint Mary’s Academy (NJ).
Siri Ural of Shrewsbury, who finished last season in the top 25 of the National Points Race after placing fifth at NSDA Nationals in International Extemp, was also in the field. Ural was eliminated in the octa-final round.
Since Yale is a fourth tier tournament in the National Points Race, all of the extempers that reached the semi-final round and beyond will earn points. The first standings will be posted by the end of the week.
Here are the results of the 2023 Yale Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):