It is time for this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

1. How high does former President Donald Trump want to raise American tariffs on foreign goods?

Spoiler
According to Trump’s plan for a second term, the United States would impose a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods. There would also be a tariff of 10-20% imposed on other goods entering the United States. Economists have bashed the proposal as inflationary. Trump’s defenders, though, have said that it will cause Americans to buy for American-based alternatives, lessening the inflationary impact.

2. Why was Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua targeted for impeachment?

Spoiler
Gachagu faced 11 charges, which include corruption, inciting ethnic division, and undermining government. The Kenyan National Assembly voted to remove him from office and its Senate debated his fate last week, eventually deciding to remove him from office. Gachagu’s relationship with Kenyan President William Ruto was strained after Kenyans took to the streets in the summer to protest tax increases.  Kenya’s High Court is hearing a Gachagua appeal to overturn his removal from office.

3. Which Middle Eastern nation has announced that it will hold a referendum in the future on ending democratic elections?

Spoiler
Qatar. Voters have only been able to elect members of its advisory Shura Council once. The body only gets to advise its emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Observers see it as another rollback for Middle East democracy, which was a priority for the United States after the September 11 terror attacks.

4. Last week Italian lawmakers voted to make which family planning practice illegal, drawing the ire of LGBTQ+ activists?

Spoiler
Lawmakers voted to criminalize couples going abroad to have a child via surrogacy, a practice that is opposed by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It extends a surrogacy ban that Italy enacted in 2004, fining participants up for 1 million euros and imposing up to a 2-year jail term. LGTBQ+ activists see the legislation as an attack on same-sex couples that wish to have children. They point to how the law will not help Italy’s declining birthrate.

5. Israeli forces killed the leader of Hamas last week. Who was this?

Spoiler
Yahya Sinwar. Sinwar had been the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip since February 2017 and was the chairman of its political bureau since August 6 of this year. He was the mastermind of the October 7 terrorist attack. Reactions in the Gaza Strip were mixed after his death as some celebrated him as a martyr while others hope that his death might lead to the end of Israel’s war in the area.

6. What famous American psychologist died last week?

Spoiler
Dr. Philip Zimbardo. Zimbardo, who was 91 years old at the time of his death on October 14 in San Francisco, was most famous for the “Stanford Prison Experiment” in 1971 where some students were prisoners and others were inmates. The experiment ended in less than a week after the students who were prisoners abused those who were inmates. Zimbardo also participated in several psychology documentary series, some of which are still used in psychology classes at the high school and collegiate level today.

7. Who are the candidates in Pennsylvania’s Senate race?

Spoiler
Senator Bob Casey (Democrat) and Dave McCormick (Republican). Casey is seeking a fourth term. He was first elected to the Senate in 2006, defeating two-time Senator Rick Santorum. McCormick is a businessman who was the CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest hedge funds in the world. Casey was an early favorite in the race but there are fears in his camp that if the presidential election skews toward Donald Trump in the state that it might carry McCormick over the finish line. It is shaping up to be Casey’s closest Senate race as he won his other elections by more than 9%.

8. Which fast food restaurant did former President Donald Trump briefly visit on Sunday?

Spoiler
McDonald’s. Trump went to a McDonald’s in Feasterville, Pennsylvania, working for 15 minutes to salt French fries and serve food to pre-selected customers. It was part of Trump’s claims that Vice President Kamala Harris never worked at a McDonald’s in college. That claim has not been verified by news sources. McDonald’s received political criticism from left-wing commentators but said that its restaurants were open to everyone and it was not taking a position in the 2024 presidential election.

9. What kind of crisis is Cuba currently dealing with?

Spoiler
An energy crisis. As of Monday, Cuba’s power grid failed four times in a 48 hour period. The island nation’s largest power plant went down in the middle of the day Friday, leaving more than 10 million people without power. Cuban officials have blamed the U.S. trade embargo, as well as deteriorating infrastructure and difficulties in acquiring fuel from Mexico, Russia, and Venezuela.

10. Which former Peruvian official was sentenced to jail for corruption this week?

Spoiler
Former President Alejandro Toledo. Toledo, who governed the country from 2001-2006, was sentenced to 20 years and six months in prison for taking $35 million in bribes from a Brazilian construction company. That company, Novonor (formerly known as Odebrecht), admitted in 2016 that it bribed officials in dozens of nations to get public works contracts. Toledo, who is 78 and battling cancer, asked the court to let him serve his sentence at home but that was denied.