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Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
To access a list of all our old quizzes, click here.
1. The G7 recently announced that it seeks to do this regarding climate change.
[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 G7 recently stated that it wants to eliminate all greehouse gas emissions by 2100. One of the goals of the meeting in Germany was to build momentum for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris this December.[/toggle]
2. How high is the U.S. estate tax?
[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”]40%. The estate tax is a tax on the transferring of an estate from a deceased person to others. Opponents of the tax refer to it asa “death tax” and have campaigned in the past to abolish it, but supporters argue that the tax only affects the wealthy and should be raised.[/toggle]
3. Over the past five years, how much has the U.S. abortion rate fallen?
[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”]According to a new survey by the Associated Press, the national abortion rate dropped 12% over the last five years. Pro-choice advocates say that this s due to easier access to contraception and sex education, while pro-life advocates say that women are acquiring a better understanding of the humanity of a fetus. Overall, the number of abortions has reached historic lows in the United States.[/toggle]
4. What is the new 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”]5.5%. This was an increase of 5.4% from April, but economists say that the higher figure is good news as that means that hundreds of thousands of people who were not previously searching for work are now doing so. The U.S. economy added 280,000 jobs in May, which is a good sign that employers still feel good about the state of the economy despite a 0.2% contraction in economic growth during the first quarter of this year.[/toggle]
5. Two murderers escaped from a maximum-security prison in this state 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”]New York. The two escaped prisoners used power tools to drill holes through cell walls and pipes. The prison they escaped from – the Clinton Correctional Facility – had not seen an escape from its maximum-security section since the Civil War.[/toggle]
6. How many American troops are currently deployed in Iraq?
[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”]3,000. These troops currently assist in the training of Iraqi military forces. President Obama said that he is open to increasing this number if it would bolster the Iraqi military’s capabilities and their ability to fight ISIS.[/toggle]
7. According to a recent study, a peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians could generate this much money as a “peace dividend.”
[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”]A recent analysis by the RAND Corporation found that a lasting peace deal between the Israelis and Palestinians could provide $173 billion in economic benefits for both sides ($123 billion for Israel and $50 billion for the Palestinians). The benefits equate to $2,200 per capita for each Israeli and $1,000 per capita for each Palestinian. This would be 5% more per capita over existing levels for Israelis and 36% for Palestinians.[/toggle]
8. Why do Romanian prosecutors want the parliamentary immunity of the country’s prime minister lifted?
[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”]Romanian prosecutors wanted Prime Minister Victor Ponta to lose his parliamentary immunity so that he could potentially be put on trial for tax evasion, conflicts of interest, and money laundering. However, the Romanian parliament rejected the request by a 231-120 vote on Tuesday. However, Ponta could see his centre-left government toppled on Friday in a no-confidence vote.[/toggle]
9. Which five Western European nations have sent the most fighters to 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”]France (1,200), Great Britain (500-600), Germany (500-600), Belgium (440), and The Netherlands (200-250). This week marks the one-year anniversary of the proclamation of the Islamic State, a group that has terrorized the Middle East since last June.[/toggle]
10. Why were the recent Turkish parliamentary elections a setback for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan?
[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”]Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) lost its majority in the Turkish parliament, winning only 40.7% of the vote. Although this was still more than any other party, the AKP no longer has the votes to establish a government, thereby paving the way for a new parliamentary majority for the first time in thirteen years. The Republican People’s Party, which favors a secular Turkey, received 24.99% of the vote and the Nationalist Movement Party came in third eith 16.33%. Erdogan was hoping that the AKP would win two-thirds of the vote, allowing the party to rewrite the constitution and grant more powers to the Turkish president. This would transform Turkey into a presidential rather than a parliamentary system. The fractured election result could leave Turkey without a stable parliamentary government for months as parties maneuver to establish a governing majority.[/toggle]