Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz.  Good luck!

1. For how many days was Liz Truss Great Britain’s prime minister?

Spoiler
44. Truss resigned last week after losing the confidence of the Tory Party after her plan for tax cuts and deficit spending put British financial markets in turmoil. Her tenure as prime minister is the shortest in British history.

2. In keeping with question #1, who will become Great Britain’s next prime minister?

Spoiler
Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak. Sunak had lost a head-to-head matchup with Liz Truss for the Conservative Party’s leadership several months ago, but his criticisms of her financial program rang true as Truss struggled to govern. He will be the first prime minister of color in British history and the first Hindu to hold the post.

3. Which prominent Chinese official was escorted out of the closing ceremony of China’s Communist Party last week?

Spoiler
Hu Jintao, who led China before Xi Jinping came to power. Chinese media censored the event, which Western observers began to interpret as a purge. There were whispers that Jintao’s exit was due to his health, but it is unlikely that China’s Communist Party will provide an explanation for the event.

4. Why is there a growing national push to amend the 13th Amendment?

Spoiler
Advocates argue that the 13th Amendment, which banned the institution of slavery, has a loophole that allows it for criminal punishment. As a result, they argue that felons have been exploited in the prison system. Currently, 20 states ban slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments and this fall, Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee, and Vermont will vote on whether to ban it in their states.

5. Who is Argentina’s current Minister of Economy?

Spoiler
Sergio Massa, who took office on August 3. Massa was previously presiding over the lower house of Congress. He has taken steps to blunt incredibly high inflation in Argentina by trying to reduce government spending and strengthen the nation’s currency reserves. He is also trying to maintain better relations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which provided Argentina $3.8 billion in economic assistance earlier this month.

6. What action did the mayor of Portland, Oregon recently announce to deal with the city’s homeless population?

Spoiler
Mayor Ted Wheeler announced on Friday that the city would ban camping on city streets and would move homeless peoples to designated campsites in the city. The goal is to move homeless peoples closer to where they can access needing services. The planned sites would eventually serve 500 people, but it is estimated that the city has a homeless population of 3,000, a 50% increase from 2019.

7. Which states are having voters decide in a few weeks whether state constitutions should be amended to establish a right to abortion?

Spoiler
California, Michigan, and Vermont. The ballot measures are being used in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision over the summer to overturn Roe v. Wade. In addition to these states, Kentucky voters will decide whether to amend their state constitution to say that it does not protect the right to an abortion and Montana voters will decide whether there should be a requirement to provide an infant with medical care after an attempted abortion.

8. A federal appeals court recently blocked what program by the Biden administration?

Spoiler
Student loan forgiveness. The President’s effort to cancel billions of dollars in student loan debt was halted by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals as it considers a challenge from six Republican-led states to stop the program. The challenge for the states of Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, and South Carolina is showing standing in the case. This is why U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey ruled against states that were suing last week.

9. Which corporation’s sponsorship of the COP27 UN climate conference has come under fire?

Spoiler
Coca-Cola. The corporation has brokered a sponsorship deal for the conference with host nation Egypt. However, climate activists have blasted the choice because of how the company contributes to plastic pollution and accuse it of trying to “greenwash.” Coca-Cola argues that it is fixing corporate governance issues to reduce pollution in terms of carbon emissions and plastic waste.

10. How is the U.S. trying to increase economic pressure on Nicaragua’s authoritarian government?

Spoiler
Preventing Americans from doing business in Nicaragua’s gold industry and restricting trade. This is not the first time that the U.S. is looking at sanctions, having imposed past sanctions on President Daniel Ortega, his wife, and Vice President Rosario Murillo. The U.S. has voiced concerns about a crackdown on human rights in Nicaragua, as well as Nicaragua’s close relationship with Russia. When Ortega last led Nicaragua in the 1980s he was also the target of economic sanctions.