Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz!
1. Which Russian official did Russian President Vladimir Putin remove this week?
Spoiler
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He had served in the post for 12 years and was considered a close Putin ally. He will be replaced by economist Andrei Belousov while he is placed in a new position at the head of the Russian Security Council. Outsiders see the switch as a signal for how much the Russian economy has been placed on a war footing, with 7% of Russia’s GDP going toward defense spending.
2. Which law in the country of Georgia may have scuttled its plans to enter the European Union (EU)?
Spoiler
A bill that will require non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media outlets that get more than 20% of their funding from non-Georgian sources to register as “foreign agents.” Critics note that it is a copy of a law in Russia and is going to be used to squelch dissent to Georgian oligarch and former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is seen as someone that manipulates Georgian politics from afar. Ivanishvili has argued that Western governments are trying to organize a revolution against his Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party.
3. Yesterday the Biden administration announced that it would quadruple the existing tariff rate on what good from China?
Spoiler
Electric vehicles. Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the tariff rate on the vehicles would rise from 25% to 100%. President Biden and other Western leaders have expressed concern that China is trying to pull itself out of economic problems by flooding Western markets with cheaper EV technology, which would undercut domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles. And President Biden has argued in the past that China is cheating in global trade rules by subsidizing major industries.
4. What is the Federal Reserve’s current overnight borrowing rate, which is also known as the federal funds rate?
Spoiler
5.25-5.5%. That rate has remained in place since July. Even though Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell had discussed lowering rates by the end of the year, a stubborn inflation rate that remains about the Federal Reserve’s target of 2% might dash those plans. Powell told central bankers on Tuesday that inflation has been higher than expected and that might keep the existing rates where they are for some time to come.
5. Vermont Republican Governor Phil Scott announced on Saturday that he would seek re-election in 2024. How many terms has he served thus far?
Spoiler
Four. Vermont elects its governors every two years. Scott is branded as a Republican that favors fiscal conservatism but is socially liberal. He said that he voted for President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election. In his re-election announcement, Scott said that he had more work to do to improve Vermont’s economy and protect its most vulnerable citizens.
6. Why did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently sack the head of his personal protection unit?
Spoiler
Zelensky fired Serhit Rud, who has led his security detail since 2019, after new revelations of a failed Russian plot to assassinate him involving his own entourage. the head of Ukraine’s SBU state security service Vasyl Malyuk said that the assassination of Zelensky was going to be a “gift” to Russian President Vladimir Putin before his was inaugurated for a fifth term.
7. It was announced last week that Boy Scouts of America would be changing its name to what?
Spoiler
Scouting America. The name change comes after 114 years of using the Boy Scouts name. It is an attempt by scouting to increase inclusivity and membership numbers, which have declined in recent years. Recently, the Boy Scouts allowed girls to join in 2019 and 6,000 have achieved the Eagle Scout rank. The name change will go into effect on February 8, 2025.
8. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced earlier this month that it is about to increase the number of audits it gives to U.S. taxpayers. Which individuals face a 50% increase in audit rates?
Spoiler
Those who have an annual income that exceeds $10 million. The IRS announced that 16.5% of these people will face an audit, which is up from 11% in 2019. The IRS is also looking to triple the audit rate to 22.6% on corporations that have $250 million worth of assets. The IRS got $80 billion in new funding via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in 2022, which is assisting with the growing audits.
9. Who is the leader of South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance?
Spoiler
John Steenhuisen. He has held the post since November 2019. The Democratic Alliance is the governing African National Congress’s biggest opposition, although it has never won a national election since the end of apartheid in 1994. He has floated the idea of entering into a coalition with the ANC after the upcoming election where it is expected that the ANC will fall short of securing 50% of the vote for the first time.
10. Why is South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem banned from entering 20% of her state?
Spoiler
Native American tribes have banned her from entering their lands after comments that Noem has made linking them to drug cartels and arguing that the tribes cared more about that than their own children. Tribes that have been Noem include the Yankton Sioux, Sisseton-Wahpton Ovate, Oglala, Rosebud, Cheyenne River, and Standing Rock Sioux. Noem’s stock as a vice presidential candidate for Donald Trump has taken a hit in recent months, especially after a recent book where she publicized shooting a young hunting dog and implausibly discussed “staring down” North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
