Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!
1. In response to a public outcry and congressional inquiry, what changes did Facebook recently announce that it will be making for children?
Spoiler
Facebook announced on Sunday that it would introduce new features that would prompt teenagers to take a break from using Instagram and “nudge” teenagers that looking at similar content too long is not good for them. Facebook also said that it is going to add new controls ofr adults to better supervise what teenagers are doing.
2. Jonathan Toebbe, a navy nuclear engineer, and his wife were arrested over the weekend for trying to do this.
Spoiler
Toebbe was arrested for allegedly trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to the representative of a foreign government. The operation to catch him was launched by the FBI and an undercover officer is who he was passing information to for the last year.
3. How big is America’s debt?
Spoiler
Roughly $28.5 trillion. The current debt-to-GDP ration is 125.96%, while the average debt per citizen is $86,712 (or $228,999 per taxpayer). America’s debt was been revisited due to recent political battles over the debt ceiling and the cost of President Biden’s infrastructure packages.
4. What was Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani national who passed away over the weekend of COVID-19 at the age of eighty-five, is best known for doing what?
Spoiler
Khan is best known as the “father” of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons arsenal. His work, begun in the 1970s after he worked in the Netherlands, culminated in the test of a nuclear weapon in 1998. Pakistan’s rival, India, also possesses nuclear arms and there are concerns the weapons could be deployed in a future conflict between the two nations.
5. What recent event in Italy has caused left-wing lawmakers and groups to call for the banning of pro-fascist groups?
Spoiler
The storming of a CGIL labor confederation office in Rome on Sunday by the extreme-right Forza Nuova Party. Thousanders of demonstrators came to Rome to protest the Italian government’s decision to require employees to have a “Green Pass” to go back to work. The pass indicates whether someone is at least partially vaccinated, recovered from COVID-19, or tested negative within two days. Italy’s constitutional already prohibits the creation of fascist parties as a legacy of Benito Mussolini’s fascist reign over Italy from 1922-1943.
6. California recently passed what adjustment to its state insurance law?
Spoiler
California recently became the first state to allow adult children to add their parents as dependents to their insurance plans. The move is expected to help cover illegal residents who cannot qualify for subsidized insurance plans under the Affordable Care Act, but children can only add their parents as dependents if they provide at least half of their total financial support. More than three million Californians will not have health insurance next year and the bill is only expected to help $15,000 of them. The bill is called the Parent Healthcare Act.
7. What is the name of the Austrian Chancellor who resigned over the weekend?
Spoiler
Sebastian Kurz. Kurz is stepping down after Austrian federal prosecutors announced that he is a target of their corruption investigation. The allegations are that Kurz and his allies used public money to help manipulate polls and get friendly media coverage to secure his rise in the leadership of the Austrian People’s Party.
8. The Democratic Party is moving closer to abolishing this state’s role as the first contest in its presidential nominating system.
Spoiler
Iowa. The state’s caucus system has been the first contest in both party’s presidential nomination systems since 1972. Democrats are calling to replace it due to the state’s lack of diversity and how caucuses have a higher barrier to entry than a traditional primary system. Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez has said that Iowa “is not representative of America.”
9. What is the current global oil price (as of Monday)?
Spoiler
The Brent Crude International Benchmark hit $85 on Monday, continuing a spike in oil prices over the past year as economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Gas prices in the United States have risen to a seven-year high of $3.27, which could increase inflationary pressure in the economy. Higher global oil prices could also be a boon for some developing economies like Venezuela, who rely on oil prices for government revenues.
10. The Taliban has stated that they will not work with the United States to contain this threat in Afghanistan.
Spoiler
ISIS. There has been an increase in terror attacks by the group since the Taliban seized control of the country on August 15. Last Friday, ISIS was blamed for a bombing in Kunduz province that killed forty-six worshippers at a Shiite mosque. Suppressing ISIS activities will be one of the first security tasks of the new Taliban government as the group challenges the Taliban’s nationalistic aspirations of creating an Islamic state in Afghanistan.
