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

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

Note:  Due to the holiday, there will be no premium topic brief tomorrow.  That will return on Wednesday, December 30.

1. What are some of the elements of Congress’s $1.8 trillion spending bill that was agreed to on Friday?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The spending bill ended America’s ban on exporting crude oil, provides $1.4 billion more in funding for military construction projects, and $2 billion more for the National Institutes of Health.  Democrats claimed victory because Planned Parenthood was not defunded and assistance to migrants from Syria and Iraq were not placed into the bill, but Republicans claimed that they were able to insert several tax breaks into the bill.[/toggle]

2. How long had the U.S. banned exporting crude oil until Congress voted to overturn the policy last week?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Forty years.  The House voted 316-113 to overturn the ban, while the Senate agreed 65-33.  The ban was imposed back in the 1970s due to high oil prices in the midst of the Arab oil embargo and aggressive moves by the Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).  Drillers argued that lifting the ban would help U.S. energy security and give American allies in Europe and Asia alternative fuel sources rather than having to rely on OPEC and Russia.  However, opponents argued that the lifting of the ban will hurt the environment.[/toggle]

3. What is China’s “red alert” system?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The “red alert” system is China’s way of warning inhabitants of air pollution, especially in the capital of Beijing.  A “red alert” has only been issued twice, including last week when Beijing residents were warned that unhealthy levels of smog were present.  The alert system also requires that some cars be kept off the road and that some work at factories cease.  Officials can close schools as well.[/toggle]

4. According to the climate deal agreed to in Paris, how often will nations have their progress toward reducing carbon emissions reviewed?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Every five years.  The process will make sure that nations are making progress reducing their carbon emissions.  Carbon activists hope that the review process will lead to nations tightening their commitments to reducing emissions, thereby helping the world avoid significant warming over the coming century.[/toggle]

5. Before Wednesday, when was the last time that the Federal Reserve raised interest rates?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]2006.  The Federal Reserve had pursued a zero rate policy as of December 16, 2008, but current Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen began reversing this policy last week by announcing a quarter point rate hike.  Market watchers expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to more than 1.25% by the end of next year.[/toggle]

6. Which candidate in the Republican presidential primaries withdrew on Monday?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham.  Graham was consistently relegated to the second-tier debates during the primary and he never gained significant traction.  Many of Graham’s difficulties were attributed to his moderate positions on immigration and his past role in compromising with congressional Democrats.  Graham’s departure may help moderate candidates in the GOP field such as New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and Florida Governor Jeb Bush.[/toggle]

7. How many police officers is Baltimore putting on trial for the death of Freddie Gray?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Six.  Baltimore’s trial against Officer William Porter, which was the first in the series, ended in a mistrial last week.  Baltimore attorneys will put Porter back on trial in June on a manslaughter charge for the death of Gray, who died after sustaining a broken neck while in police custody back in April.  Observers warn that if the city cannot convict Porter that it will prove difficult to convict the other officers.[/toggle]

8. This country recently arrested nine terror suspects who were allegedly planning to attack Shia Muslims.

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]Indonesia.  Indonesia has the world’s largest Muslim population and it has witnessed devastating terror attacks before, including a terror attack in Bali that killed 202 people in 2002.  Indonesian police worry that the attacks were funded by the Islamic State.[/toggle]

9. What announcement was made about the Doha round by World Trade Organization (WTO) members last week?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]WTO members declared that the Doha round, which began in late 2001 to try to create an ambitious free trade deal with services, manufacturing, and agriculture was dead.  Some observers praised the move as negotiations were absorbing too much national attention and time, but others said that it heralds a retreat from neoliberal principles that would create greater global prosperity.[/toggle]

10. Which party won the most votes in the Spanish parliamentary elections on Sunday?

[toggle title_open=”Close Me” title_closed=”Open Me” hide=”yes” border=”yes” style=”default” excerpt_length=”0″ read_more_text=”Read More” read_less_text=”Read Less” include_excerpt_html=”no”]The centre-right People’s Party (PP).  The PP won 29% of the vote, but this left it well short of establishing a governing majority.  The Socialist Party won 22% of the vote, while the anti-austerity Podemos coalition won 21% of the vote.  Spain will probably see lengthy negotiations about what a new coalition government will look like, with the PP likely getting the first attempt at creating a new government.[/toggle]