Here is this the first news quiz of 2025! Good luck!

1. Which Latin American area has President-elect Donald Trump set his eyes on for possible U.S. takeover?

Spoiler
The Panama Canal. The U.S. ratified the Torrijos-Carter treaties in 1977 that transferred the Panama’s Canal’s operations to Panama during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Panama took ownership in 1999. Many of the senators who voted for the treaty that transferred ownership lost re-election. Trump has not ruled out the use of force to retake the Panama Canal, arguing that possession of it is vital to U.S. national security.

2. Which social media company said it is abandoning its fact-checking program?

Spoiler
Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that its face-checking program will shift to a “community notes” system that is similar to X, formerly known as Twitter. Meta will also change its content moderation policies and undo changes that limited the amount of political content in user feeds. The changes will affect Facebook and Instagram. Zuckerberg said that the changes were done because of attempts by “governments and legacy media” to censor speech.

3. Which prime minister announced their resignation on Monday?

Spoiler
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Trudeau has led the Liberal Party for 11 years and governed Canada for nine. The Liberals were trailing badly in opinion polls for October’s general election and there were growing calls within the party for Trudeau to step down. The Canadian parliament will be suspended until March 24 until the Liberals select a new leader.

4. Which nine countries will join the BRICS as associate members in 2025?

Spoiler
Cuba, Bolivia, Indonesia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, and Uzbekistan. Brazil recently took over the BRICS rotating presidency and one its missions is to make it a more dynamic organization. Currently, the BRICS represent 45% of the world’s population and 28% of the global economy.

5. Who is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for the Department of Homeland Security?

Spoiler
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Noem is an advocate for tougher border security, having sent South Dakota’s National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexican border five times. Noem was reportedly on Trump’s shortlist for vice president but was not chosen because of inaccuracies in a book short released in May 2024 about having met North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

6. Which U.S. city suffered a deadly terrorist attack last week before the Sugar Bowl of the College Football Playoff?

Spoiler
New Orleans. According to federal law enforcement, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42 year-old veteran, carried out the attack after being inspired by the Islamic State (IS). Jabbar used a pickup truck to drive into crowds gathered on the city’s famed Bourbon Street at 3:15 a.m. on New Year’s Day, killing 14 people. Jabbar was killed in a firefight with police.

7. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter passed away last week. Which two cabinet departments did he create?

Spoiler
The Department of Energy (1977) and the Department of Education (1980). The Department of Energy was created to address America’s national energy policy after the economic impacts of the 1973 Arab oil embargo. Carter was a champion of renewable energy, installing solar panels on the White House. The Department of Education was created in 1979 and went into operation in 1980. It was part of a national reorganization that split it from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Intended to improve American school performance, it was also created at the behest of the National Education Association (NEA) teachers’ union, which backed Carter’s presidential bid in 1976.

8. Which two nations joined the European Union’s Schengen Area last week?

Spoiler
Romania and Bulgaria. Both nations, even though they have been EU members for quite a while, officially joined the area on January 1. This means that there are no internal border controls for people who are leaving these areas to get to other member states in the EU.

9. Which two EU members are not currently part of the Schengen Area?

Spoiler
Ireland and Cyprus. Ireland is not part of the Schengen Area because of having a “Common Travel Area” with Great Britain for Northern Ireland. If it were to join Schengen, Ireland would have to implement border controls with Northern Ireland, which would be politically fraught because of sectarian and nationalist tensions in that area. Cyprus is not part of Schengen because the island is the center of a territorial dispute between Greeks and Turks as Turks control the Northern part of the island.

10. Who is the current acting president of South Korea?

Spoiler
Choi Sang-mok. Choi took over as the acting president and acting prime minister after President Yoon Suk Yeol and then-acting president Han Duck-soo were impeached on December 27, 2024. Prior to his elevation, Choi was South Korea’s deputy prime minister and also held the economy and finance portfolio.