[fblike]

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

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

1. How many Americans will be receiving Social Security and Medicare services by 2025?

[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”]Seventy million people.  This will grow from forty-four million in 2007.  These programs currently consume 10% of America’s gross domestic product (GDP) and the rising numbers of Americans on the programs will make these 12% of GDP by 2025.  These alarming numbers could balloon the federal deficit, which is why some fiscal conservatives such as Paul Ryan are calling for entitlement reform.[/toggle]

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

[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”]5%.  The U.S. economy reportedly added 211,000 jobs in November.  The strong data will likely lead to the Federal Reserve raising interest rates at its next meeting.[/toggle]

3. The president of this university declared last week that students should carry guns.

[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”]Liberty University.  President Jerry Falwell urged his students to carry concealed weapons on campus.  His remarks were criticized by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, who has been a vocal supporter of greater gun restrictions in Virginia.[/toggle]

4. What change in gender policy in the military did Defense Secretary Ash Carter make 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”]Carter declared that women will be allowed to serve in all combat roles as long as they meet the standards.  Critics allege that this could undermine unit effectiveness and charge that it will one day force women to register for the military draft.[/toggle]

5. The San Bernardino shootings last week was the worst mass shooting in American history since this shooting, which took place in 2012.

[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 Sandy Hook school massacre.  The San Bernardino shooting is being investigated as an incident of terrorism and President Obama has called for stricter gun laws in response to the incident.[/toggle]

6. Why has Israel ordered that contact with European Union (EU) officials engaged in the Palestinian peace process be suspended?

[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”]Israel is angry over a decision by the European Commission to label goods as coming from “Israeli settlements” when they are manufactured beyond Israel’s pre-1967 borders.  Israel believes that this is an act of diplomatic hostility, which the EU denies.[/toggle]

7. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recently invited this nation to become a member.

[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”]Montenegro.  Formerly part of Yugoslavia, Montenegro declared its independence from Serbia after a referendum in 2006.  Russia opposes NATO’s invitation, having long disputed the legitimacy of Montenegro’s secession from Serbia.[/toggle]

8. Why is Russia arguing that Turkey is a supporter of the Islamic State?

[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”]Russian President Vladimir Putin is arguing that Turkey is buying and selling oil from the Islamic State, thereby helping that group maintain its forces and presence in the Middle East.  Russia claims that this is why Turkey shot down one of its aircraft near the Turkish border last month.[/toggle]

9. This nation recently voted to begin air strikes against the Islamic State.

[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”]Great Britain.  Prime Minister David Cameron won approval for the strikes from the House of Commons, which voted 397-223 to endorse the move.[/toggle]

10. Why are Brazilian legislators seeking the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff?

[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”]Rousseff stands accused of illegally allowing the government to be funded by fnancial institutions that are under its control, thereby allowing the government to conceal the dire state of the nation’s finances.  The Brazilian economy has been contracting in recent years, emboldening Rousseff’s allies to seek her removal from office.[/toggle]