Here is this week’s news quiz.  Good luck!

1. Who won the Chicago mayoral election last week?

Spoiler
Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson, who has a background as an educator and labor organizer for the city’s teachers’ union. Johnson defeated Paul Vallas in a runoff election with 52% of the vote. The outcome was considered an upset because Vallas had won the first round. Johnson is consider to be further to the political left than Mayor Lori Lightfoot, whose bid for re-election fell short in the first round.

2. What is the name of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company?

Spoiler
Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A. (Petroleum of Venezuela in English). It is known by its acronym PDVSA. It was founded in 1976. Under Venezuela’s recent regimes of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro, PDVSA’s operations have suffered and economist Jorge Giordani argues that as much as $300 billion has been stolen. Maduro has recently launched an anti-corruption probe into PDVSA’s operations, but outsiders question whether his motives are to clean up the company or clamp down on political opponents.

3. Who did Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg recently fire a lawsuit against?

Spoiler
Representative Jim Jordan, a Republican who is the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. That body has launched an inquiry into Bragg’s indictment of former President Donald Trump, issueing a subpoena for Mark Pomerantz, who was a former assistnat to Bragg. Bragg’s lawsuit is meant to halt the inquiry, which Bragg sees as political interference in his investigation.

4. President Biden is making a trip to Northenr Ireland this week to celebrate the 25th anniversary of which agreement?

Spoiler
The Good Friday peace agreement. The deal, which was signed in 1998, put an end to a decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland between Catholic and Protestant forces. Catholic factions, including the terrorist group the Irish Republican Army (IRA) wish for Northern Ireland to be incorporated into Ireland, while Protestant factions wished to remain part of Great Britain.

5. When will COVID-19 cease to be a public health emergency?

Spoiler
May 11. The cessation of the emergency will cease the government’s provision of COVID-19 tests and treatments at no cost to Americans. The emergency has been in force since January 2020 when it was issued by the Department of Health and Human Services.

6. What is the current U.S. unemployment rate?

Spoiler
3.5%. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 236,000 jobs in March. The number was better than expected as many who follow the data expected unemployment to remain at 3.6%. The Black unemployment rate went to a record low 5% as well.

7. Why are Senate Democrats calling for an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas?

Spoiler
Justice Thomas recently admitted to not reporting luxury trips that were provided by Harlan Crow, a billionaire real estate donor to the Republican Party. Thomas said that he did not believe it had to repor the trips even though Supreme Court justices are required to disclose gifts that they receive. Senate Democrats have pledged to hold hearings on the Court’s ethics.

8. What did Chinese military forces recently drill off the Taiwanese coast?

Spoiler
Chinese military personnel recently spent three days holding drills off of Taiwan’s coast, practicing targeted strikes and sealing off the island. Tensions are rising that China might soon try to retake Taiwan, sensing that the U.S. military is in a weakened state in the region and/or that the U.S. public would not support a strong defense of the island nation.

9. On what social media platform were classified U.S. documents recently leaked?

Spoiler
Discord. The online games platform saw classified documents dumped on an online message board, revealing information about Ukraine’s military and to what degree various allies could assist them in their fight against Russia.

10. According to some of the documents discussed in question #9, which U.S. ally might be secretly planning to sell missiles to Russia?

Spoiler
Egypt. The Discord documents suggested that Egypt is prepared to secretly make and send 40,000 missiles to Russia to fight in Ukraine. Egyptian authorities have vehemently denied that such an agreement is in place and called the accusations “baseless.”