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

1. Which American city is seeing the highest increase in monthly rent costs?

Spoiler
Miami, Florida. According to Realtor.com, Miami saw a 49.8% increase in monthly rent costs between December 2020 and December 2021. The median rent in the city now stands at $2,850, mirroring trends throughout the United States in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. What were some of the sanctions President Biden announced against Russia this week for its movement of troops into rebellious regions of Ukraine?

Spoiler
President Biden announced yesterday that two of Russia’s large financial institutions would be blocked from the international financial system and there would additional sanctions on Russian debt that would not allow them to borrow funds from the West. The President also said that there would be sanctions against Russian elites and their families.

3. Kuwait is seeing increased women’s protests in the country recently after its lawmakers persuaded authorities to ban what kind of trip?

Spoiler
A desert wellness yoga retreat. Lawmakers and Islamic clerics in the country said that women doing some yoga positions such as the lotus and downward dog were a “danger” and were signs of depravity. The move comes months after Kuwaiti authorities shut down a gym hosting belly dancing classes. The actions have caused a growing women’s movement in the country, who have held protests outside the country’s national assembly.

4. The families of the Sandy Hook shooting recently agreed to a $73 million settlement from which gunmaker? And why were they able to get a settlement?

Spoiler
Remington. The families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting won the settlement by using a Connecticut trade practices law that Remington marketed the gun in the video game “Call of Duty,” a violation of the statute. This narrow exception allowed the families to get legal redress despite Congress adopting the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act in 2005 that grants gun sellers and manufacturers a legal shield from civil actions.

5. The European Union is concerned that which Balkan nation is splitting apart?

Spoiler
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The country is going through its worst political crisis since the 1990s. Bosnian Serbs are seeking to secede and join Serbia and nationalist rhetoric in the country is growing. The EU is weighing sanctions against Bosnia’s autonomous Serb Republic (RS) to force it to work with national authorities after RS lawmakers voted to form a separate judicial body on February 10.

6. Recently, President Biden signed a stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown. How long does this bill fund the government?

Spoiler
3 weeks. Lawmakers have until March 11 to finalize a deal for spending during this fiscal year, which has been ongoing since October. There are a dozen bills that need to be dealt with to keep government agencies and departments going until next fall. Aside from how much to spend – long an issue that separates Democrats and Republicans on budget matters – is the future of policy riders such as the Hyde Amendment that bans federal funding of most abortion procedures. Republicans have said keeping them is necessary to get the sixty votes needed for the bills to clear the Senate.

7. Where will the COP27 climate summit be held in November?

Spoiler
Egypt, at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The United States and Egypt recently began working to prepare for the UN climate summit. Egyptian representatives said that one of their priorities is securing funds for developing countries so that they can implement the 2015 Paris Climate Accords.

8. Which U.S. state look to end its state sales tax on food?

Spoiler
Missouri. There are twelve other U.S. states that tax food and groceries. Missouri’s House Bill 1992 would eliminate the state sales tax on food, which is being sold as a way to alleviate some of the hardships of inflation in the U.S. economy.

9. Which Latin American nation recently decriminalized abortion?

Spoiler
Colombia. The nation’s Supreme Court followed a regional trend on Monday, ruling that abortion is no longer a crime under Colombian law. Mexico’s Supreme Court made a similar ruling in September and Argentina’s Congress legalized abortion at the end of 2020. Observers see the decision as part of a regionwide women’s movement that has campaigned for abortion rights in recent years.

10. How long was former police officer Kim Potter sentenced to jail for the killing of Daunte Wright?

Spoiler
Two years. Potter, a former suburban Minneapolis police officer, was convicted in December of first- and second-degree manslaughter for killing Wright at a traffic stop on April 11 when she pulled out her handgun instead of a Taser. Wright’s family criticized the sentence as too lenient. Potter is eligible for parole after sixteen months served.