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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. This Latin American country announced this week that it would no longer accept detainees from Guantanamo Bay.
[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”]Uruguay. Under former President Jose Mujica, Uruguay agreed to give sanctuary to six Gitmo detainees, a decision that a majority of Uruguyans opposed. The country’s new government, led by Tabare Vazquez, announced that it would no longer take in Syrian refugees either, saying that it did not have proper cultural or infrastructure supports for them.[/toggle]
2. Why did Congressman Aaron Schock resign from Congress 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”]Schock, a Republican from Illinois, resigned due to accusations of the misuse of federal funds for decorating his office and other expenditures. Schock made headlines in 2008 for becoming the first person born in the 1980s to be elected to Congress.[/toggle]
3. The Labour Party accused David Cameron of being arrogant for making this statement about the upcoming British elections.
[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”]Cameron pledged not to serve a third term if he was re-elected. He has said that Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne or London Mayor Boris Johnson may succeed him. The Labour Party said that Cameron’s pledge displayed an arrogance that he would win the upcoming elections, which are scheduled to take place on May 7.[/toggle]
4. The United Nations recently suggested that the West African Ebola outbreak will be over by this month of 2015.
[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”]August. The UN admitted that mistakes were made, partly due to arrogance, when first responding to the West African Ebola outbreak, which to date has killed more than 10,000 people. Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have been most affected by the virus.[/toggle]
5. According to the Obama administration, what percentage of Americans are uninsured?
[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”]13.2%. The Obama administration announced last week that since the Affordable Care Act was passed America’s uninsured rate fell from 20.3% to 13.2%. It also reported that 16.4 million Americans received health insurance since the law’s passage.[/toggle]
6. Why is Angolan journalist Rafael Marques de Morais on trial?
[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”]de Morais is on trial for allegedly defaming Angola’s military generals by saying that they were linked to the “blood diamond” trade. de Morais says that he is merely reporting the truth of how several Angolan generals used violence to grab rights to Angola’s diamond fields. His defenders argue that the trial shows the lack of dissident political thought allowed in the country. Angola President Jose Eduardo dos Santos has ruled the country for the last thirty-five years.[/toggle]
7. This Starbucks campaign was ditched this 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”]#RaceTogether. Starbucks had instructed its baristas to write “#RaceTogether” on customers’ cups and engaged in conversations about race with customers. Critics said that the campaign was inappropriate and some customers were critical, saying that it inserted a political agenda into a simple business transaction.[/toggle]
8. Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been ordered by the Thai Supreme Court to stand trial for this crime.
[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”]Malfeasance in office. The charge is linked to Shinawatra’s rice subsidy program where the government bought rice from local farmers at prices that were 50% above their market value. The Thai opposition denounced this as costly, corrupt, and an attempt by Shinawatra to buy votes with government funds. Shinawatra was deposed in a military coup last summer.[/toggle]
9. This sitting Republican senator announced that they would not be seeking re-election in 2016.
[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”]Senator Dan Coats of Indiana. Coats returned to the Senate in 2010 after serving as U.S. ambassador to Germany between 2001 and 2005. He had initially occupied one of Indiana’s Senate seats between 1989 and 1999, taking over the seat of Dan Quayle, who was elected as George H.W. Bush’s vice president in 1988. Coats early retirement announcement makes it easier for the Republicans to field a candidate for what could be a tossup race.[/toggle]
10. Who was the first person to formally declare themselves a candidate for the presidency in 2016?
[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”]Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Cruz announced that he would be a candidate for president at Liberty University on Monday. Cruz bypassed forming an exploratory committee and is likely betting that his early entry into the race will help him consolidate support among conservative, values voters that are crucial in early states such as Iowa and South Carolina.[/toggle]