Note:  This is the last news quiz for the next two weeks.  The news quiz will return after the winter holiday on January 3.

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

1. What is the latest inflation rate in the United States?

Spoiler
3.1%. The Labor Department announced on Tuesday that the consumer price index increased by 0.1% in November. Although the number is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, it is expected that the data will cool more rate hikes.

2. A recent abortion case in which U.S. state has ignited significant media interest about abortion rights in the U.S.?

Spoiler
Texas. Its Supreme Court ruled on Monday that a pregnant woman could not get an abortion despite her fetus being diagnosed with a fatal condition. This overruled a lower court that said that the woman, Kate Cox, qualified for a medical exception under Texas law. Legal observers saw the case as the first attempt by someone seeking court intervention to abort a pregnancy since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court several years ago.

3. Which country’s ban on unprocessed nickel exports has led to higher international prices for the commodity?

Spoiler
Indonesia. Nickel is seen as an important piece of rechargeable battery production. Indonesia is the world’s largest supplier of the material. It has also floated the idea of aligning with other nations to form an OPEC-like cartel to regulate nickel prices.

4. Which prominent Republican announced their resignation from the House of Representatives las week?

Spoiler
Kevin McCarthy, the former Speaker of the House. McCarthy was ousted in a vote earlier this year when eight Republicans aligned with Democrats to invalidate his speakership. He said that he would resign his position at the end of the month, temporarily eroding a Republican majority that has grown smaller after the expulsion of New York Representative George Santos. McCarthy has vowed to remain involved in Republican politics, helping candidates and fundraising for the party.

5. Concerns have recently been expressed about the fate of which Russian political dissident, who fell ill last week while in custody?

Spoiler
Aleksei Navalny, who is currently serving a 19-year sentence in a Russian penal colony on embezzlement charges and political extremism charges. He survived a poisoning attempt in 2020. His followers worry that he may be in peril as he has not been heard from in several days after a reported “medical incident” while in Russian custody. Navalny is a political dissident who called attention to alleged corruption by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

6. China and the Philippines had a naval incident last week near which islands?

Spoiler
The Spratly islands. Both countries lay claim to them, which geologists have predicted have store oil and natural gas reserves. Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Brunei also have disputed claims to the territory. Last week saw a Chinese coast guard ship collide with a Filipino boat and each side blamed the other for the incident.

7. Last week Japanese baseball star Shohei Ohtani signed a record deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. How much will this deal pay him?

Spoiler
$700 million over ten years. Ohtani, a noted hitter and pitcher, signed what is reported to be the largest contract in sports history, topping those given to European soccer stars. It is the richest deal in Major League Baseball history, surpassing the $426.5 million deal that Ohtani’s former teammate Mike Trout received in 2019.

8. Hunter Biden, President Biden’s son, was indicted on new charges last week. What were these charges?

Spoiler
Evading $1.4 million in taxes. The younger Biden faces three felony and six misdemeanour chares stemming from failing to file and pay taxes, evading tax assessments, and making a false tax return between the years 2016-2019. This is the second time that Biden has been charged by a special counsel. He is already facing charges of illegally owning a handgun.

9. Who is the President of Guyana?

Spoiler
Mohamed Irfaan Ali. He represents the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) and assumed power in August 2020. Ali has been in contact with Brazil and the United States to thwart a possible Venezuelan invasion of his country along their disputed border region.

10. The president of which university had to step down last week after donors called for their ouster after controversial comments about anti-Semitism to Congress?

Spoiler
The University of Pennsylvania. President Liz Magill stepped down after she told a congressional committee that calling for the genocide of Jewish peoples would be “context-dependent” in terms of whether it violated the school’s code of conduct. Earlier in the testimony, Magill had condemned anti-Semitism. However, donors to the university had called for her ouster by saying that she did not take a powerful enough stand on the issue.