Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.

1. A Russian court recently sentenced WNBA star Brittney Griner to how much time for drug possession?

Spoiler
Nine years. Griner was convicted of bringing vape canisters containing cannabis oil into Russia in February. The United States has criticized the punishment as excessive, arguing that Russia is using Griner as a political bargaining chip.

2. Which country recently withdrew its last troops from Mali?

Spoiler
France. The French military spent nine years aiding Mali, ousting Islamic extremists from power in 2013. However, relations between the two nations nosedived after a junta took over Mali’s government in 2020 and allowed Russian mercenaries to come in and operate.

3. How long has Iraq been without a government?

Spoiler
Ten months. Although parliamentary elections took place ten months ago, the country’s prominent Shi’ite factions have been split and blocked each other from power. Shi’ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s forces, which aligned with some Sunni and Kurdish factions, won the last election but Shi’ite parties that have militias linked to Iran are blocking his ability to govern the country by denying a parliamentary quorum. In response, Sadr has now pulled out of negotiations and is blockading Parliament. There fears that the longer the unrest continues it moves Iraq closer to a renewal of violence not seen since 2007.

4. Which Italian politician could become Italy’s first female prime minister?

Spoiler
Giorgia Meloni. She has been the President of the Brothers of Italy, a right-wing, nationalist party, since March 2014. The party also has neo-fascist roots, concerning other Western European countries. Polls suggest that the Brothers of Italy could win the country’s September 25 elections, although they would be forced to coalition with other parties to form a government.

5. Who was announced as the winner of Kenya’s presidential election?

Spoiler
Deputy President William Ruto. Kenya’s electoral commission declared Ruto the winner on Monday with 50.5% of the popular vote. The loser, Raila Odinga, has vowed to contest the vote and four of the seven members of the electoral commission have now said they cannot support the announced results.

6. Which novelist was attacked at New York’s Chautauqua Institution last week?

Spoiler
Salman Rushdie. He was attacked by an assailant with a knife and suffered nerve damage, as well as liver injuries. His 1988 work “The Satantic Verses” drew scorn from radical Islamists, who argued that Rushdie had insulted the Prophet Muhammad. Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for Rushdie’s death in 1989, causing Rushdie to go into hiding.

7. The U.S. federal government recently gave loan relief to those who attended which institution as far back as 2005?

Spoiler
ITT Technical Institute. The forgiveness amounts to $3.9 billion in federal loans that were given since 2005 to more than 200,000 borrowers. The debt forgiveness was justified due to the fact that federal authorities discovered what they called “widespread and pervasive misrepresentations” by ITT Tech. The private college chain closed in 2016 after federal investigations.

8. The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced this week that they will not be scheduling games on what day?

Spoiler
Election Day. The NBA will use the lead-up to Election Day to encourage Americans to register to vote and then participate in civic engagement, making this advocacy non-partisan.

9. The megadrought in America’s Western states are drying up which prominent river?

Spoiler
The Colorado River. Yesterday, the U.S. federal government said that it will be operating in a Tier 2 shortage condition for the first time in January due to the decline of Lake Mead, a reservoir. The federal designation means that Arizona and Nevada will have to reduce their use of the river in January. There have been calls to create a new compact among the states and Mexico, all of whom use the river, as the last agreement was made in the 1920s when precipitation in the region was higher.

10. Which prominent House member lost their primary yesterday?

Spoiler
Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming. Cheney, whose father is former Vice President Dick Cheney, took office in 2021. She voted to impeach former President Donald Trump over the January 6 riot and is serving on the House Select Committee on the January 6 attack. That turned many Wyoming Republicans against her and Cheney lost to Trump supporter Harriet Hageman in Tuesday’s primary.