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

To accesquiz-01s a list of all our old quizzes, click here.

1. Why is the U.S. government paying nearly $500 million to seventeen Native American tribes?

[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”]The U.S. government is paying the sum for mismanaging natural resources and other tribal assets.  Native American groups brought more than 100 lawsuits against the federal government that alleged that the federal government failed to pay native tribes “just compensation” for the use of land or resources.[/toggle]

2. Why might the federal government be on the verge of another shutdown?

[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”]Senate Democrats have blocked a stopgap spending bill because the bill allocates disaster aid to Louisiana and other states but does not provide assistance to Flint, Michigan, which is still grappling with a water crisis.  Republicans argue that Flint will receive aid in a water infrastructure bill that is in the process of being passed.[/toggle]

3. What is Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system?

[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”]This requires women to get the consent of a man before getting married, traveling to another country, or getting a job.  Human Rights Watch has been critical of this system and a recent report by the group has sparked some online protests in the country.[/toggle]

4. Who did President Barack Obama recently nominate as U.S. ambassador to Cuba?

[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”]Jeffrey DeLaurentis.  DeLaurentis is a career diplomat that has overseen the warming of U.S.-Cuban relations during the Obama administration.  If confirmed, DeLaurentis would be the first U.S. ambassador to Cuba in more than fifty years.[/toggle]

5. When will Italy hold its constitutional referendum?

[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”]December 4.  Italian voters will decide whether to amend the Italian Constitution so that the Italian Senate can become a representative body for Italy’s regional officials and mayors.  Also, it will give the winning party a greater percentage of seats in the Italian parliament, thereby making it somewhat easier for parties to achieve a governing majority.  Polls show that Italians are skeptical of the measure, with 51% of voters saying that they are unlikely to approve of the changes.[/toggle]

6. This Middle Eastern nation recently cut public sector pay in an effort to achieve greater austerity in its economy.

[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”]Saudi Arabia.  Minister salaries have been cut by 20% and lower ranking civil servants have seen wage increases halted.  The Saudi economy is reeling under low oil prices and the kingdom ran a budget deficit of $98 billion last year.  Saudi officials note that the cuts should have an impact as public sector salaries and allowances accounted for 45% of government spending in 2015.[/toggle]

7. Why is India boycotting a South Asian Regional Summit in Pakistan?

[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”]The Indian government has said that it is boycotting the event over increasing cross-border violence by Pakistan-backed insurgents in Kashmir.  Indian officials are angry after a recent terrorist attack on an Indian army base in Kashmir left eighteen soldiers dead.[/toggle]

8. What is the significance of Aleppo in the Syrian Civil War?

[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”]It is the largest city in Syria and its economic capital, so if forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad regain it there could be a huge public relations gain from the triumph.  Also, observers note that the fall of Aleppo could further isolate Syria’s rebel groups from each other and position the Assad government much more strongly in an eventual peace deal.[/toggle]

9. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. homicide rate increased by how much in 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”]10%.  The FBI also reported that violent crime increased by 4%.  This was the highest estimated violent crime total in three years and reverse two years of decline.[/toggle]

10. Which two states are not “winner take all” when awarding their electoral votes?

[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”]Maine and Nebraska.  Candidates acquire electoral votes by winning the statewide vote (worth two electoral votes) and then winning one electoral vote by winning congressional districts.  Polls show that Maine may split its electoral votes this year, with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump leading the polls for Maine’s first and second congressional districts, respectively.  President Barack Obama also won an electoral vote in Nebraska in 2008 when he defeated John McCain in the state’s second congressional district.[/toggle]