1. Does Iran have enough control over its proxy forces to prevent a wider conflict with the United States?
2. Can the Mattei Plan successfully enhance Italy’s position in Africa?
3. Should the UNRWA be overhauled?
4. Will the African National Congress lose its majority in this year’s elections?
5. How will the dismissal of Valery Zaluzhny affect the Russo-Ukrainian War?
6. What lessons should Milei learn from the failure of the “Omnibus Bill”?
7. Who will win Indonesia’s presidential election?
8. Do Brazil’s tax reforms go far enough?
9. Should Japan’s LDP move on from Kishida?
10. How can Guyana best deter a Venezuelan invasion
1. Will the Supreme Court rule that former President Donald Trump has absolute immunity from federal criminal prosecutions?
2. Is the U.S. fast food industry in an “affordability crisis”?
3. How can Vice President Kamala Harris be an effective advocate of a second Biden term?
4. To what degree should the United States help Mexico’s transition to cleaner energy?
5. Should parents be held legally responsible if their child becomes a school shooter?
6. Could Iran become the spoiler of the 2024 presidential election?
7. Is Governor Gavin Newsom providing enough assistance to Oakland to handle its crime wave?
8. Should the U.S. recognize a Palestinian state?
9. Are Mexican drug cartels becoming a significant threat to U.S. national security?
10. Is Dunkin’ Donuts violating the ADA?
Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. Did the U.S. effectively respond to the attack on military personnel in Jordan?
2. Does Florida’s attempt to ban children from social media violate the First Amendment?
3. How will RNC cash flow problems affect its ability to contest the 2024 elections?
4. Why have America’s immigration policies failed?
5. Has the Biden administration asked too little of Mexico?
6. Should Sinema seek re-election?
7. Have America’s schools effectively dealt with COVID-19 “learning loss”?
8. Should Robert Kennedy, Jr. seek the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination?
9. Is Alejandro Mayorkas becoming a political liability for the White House?
10. Should the U.S. federal government subsidize America’s newspaper industry?
1. How should Mexico transition to cleaner energy sources?
2. What role should Japan play in a future space race?
3. Will corruption scandals bring down Gustavo Petro?
4. What is to blame for Europe’s economic stagnation?
5. Is Palestinian political dysfunction the biggest impediment to the creation of a Palestinian state?
6. Does the European Union need to do more for Ukraine?
7. Can China successfully bend the global order to its will in the next decade?
8. How can Great Britain fix its housing shortage?
9. Will gang violence in Latin America lead to more Bukeles?
10. How much credit does Modi deserve for India’s economic success?
Updated standings for the 2023-2024 Extemp Central National Points Race have been released. Check them out by clicking here or the “Natl Points Race” tab above.
The new standings are updated to reflect the James Logan MLK Invitational and the Barkley Forum. Each was a fourth tier tournament.
The next National Points Race competition will take place this weekend at the Apple Valley Minneapple Speech Tournament. This is the first year that the Minneapple will be a National Points Race event and it will be a fifth tier competition for extempers in the Midwest.
#9 Katherine Lee of Plano West Senior High School was the highest ranked competitor in the field and she lived up to her ranking, winning the tournament by nine ranks. Lee took four of the five available first place ranks in the final round, defeating Skyler Burrus of American Heritage School – Palm Beach (FL).
The victory was Lee’s second of the season as she was the winner of the International Extemp half of the University of Texas-Longhorn Classic in early December.
#13 Charlotte Reitman of the University School (FL) notched her third top three placing in a National Points Race event in as many final round appearances. Reitman tied Burrus in the final round with a 17 rank composite score but lost a judges preference tiebreaker 3-2.
Southern competitors made up the bottom half of the final round. Noah Darby of St. Thomas More Catholic High School (LA) was fourth, Al Zaidi of Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy (FL) was fifth, and Charlie Hui of Westwood High School (TX) was sixth. Darby finished three ranks ahead of Zaidi and Hui and Zaidi earned a fifth place tiebreak through another 3-2 judges decision.
Plano West maintained its strong record on the national circuit, placing three competitors in the top 12. No other school matched that mark or had more than one competitor reach semi-finals.
Lee will earn 70 points toward the National Points Race for winning, and all of the competitors who reached the semi-final round will be credited with points. New National Points Race standings will go up tomorrow.
Here are the results of the 2024 Barkley Forum (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s news quiz. Good luck!
1. Will the next “hot” theater of global disorder unfold on the Korean Peninsula?
2. How would the return of Donald Trump to the American presidency impact the global economy?
3. Will Western airstrikes strengthen or weaken Yemen’s Houthis?
4. Is Germany’s new set of immigration bills a victory for its immigrant community?
5. What assistance can Western nations provide to help Ecuador win its war against drug cartels?
6. Will France scuttle an EU-Mercosur trade deal?
7. Are the EU’s climate policies leaving European farmers behind?
8. Will the ICJ’s ruling hasten the end of Israel-Hamas War?
9. Who should be Vietnam’s next leader?
10. Will the benefits of AI technology be globally shared?
1. Does Nikki Haley have a path to the Republican nomination after a defeat in New Hampshire?
2. What was the biggest mistake made in Governor Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign?
3. Should more U.S. states adopt wealth taxes?
4. What should be done to stop the use of “deepfakes” in elections?
5. Can President Biden politically afford to pivot to the middle on immigration?
6. Is a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in America’s best interest?
7. Could a bipartisan deal on immigration be brokered before the 2024 presidential election?
8. Should the U.S. erect trade barriers to Chinese-produced electric vehicles?
9. What lessons should states learn from Oregon’s attempt to decriminalize drug offenses?
10. How will the use of artificial intelligence reshape America’s military?
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz!
1. Which GOP presidential contender has best positioned themselves for 2028?
2. Should banks be allowed to impose overdraft fees on customers?
3. Why has Dean Phillips’ primary challenge to President Biden failed to gain traction?
4. Should SNAP interview requirements be abolished?
5. Does Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign have an “educational divide” problem?
6. Should U.S. military aid to Israel be contingent on a human rights report?
7. Are celebrations about the containing of inflation premature?
8. Should the GOP “establishment” break off and form their own political party?
9. Is President Biden’s green industrial policy a bust?
10. Should the U.S. invest more in its naval forces?
1. What is the biggest implication of growing tensions between Iran and Pakistan?
2. Will instability in Red Sea shipping make global inflation worse?
3. Which of Milei’s reforms would benefit Argentina the most?
4. Will Rishi Sunak’s deportation plan for migrants be enacted?
5. What is currently the biggest risk to global security?
6. Will the formation of a combined Nigerian opposition party wrest power from the APC in 2027?
7. Who is winning Sudan’s civil war?
8. Is there a way for Israel to end its war against Hamas and claim victory without the total annihilation of the group?
9. Should Germany ban the AfD?
10. How would increased defense spending affect the welfare states of Western European nations?
The West Coast swing of the National Points Race began last weekend at James Logan High School in Union City, California. The school’s James Logan MLK Invitational attracted a wide variety of California schools, with a few Texas extempers mixed in.
The tournament split extempers into International and United States Extemp categories. International Extemp was dominated by Bellarmine College Preparatory (CA), which had three of the seven finalists. Teammates Abhijay Rana and Shamit D’Souza tied for first with an all-tournament cumulative score of 39 ranks. They also tied with a composite score of 15 in finals. When tiebreakers were applied, Rana defeated D’Souza to win the championship.
Isaiah Sohn of Redlands High School (CA) was runner-up last year at the MLK in International Extemp. This year he finished third, two ranks back of Rana and D’Souza.
The battle for fourth place was tightly contested by Ali Malik of Monta Vista High School (CA), Fiona Yan of the Harker School (CA), and Ellie Sohn of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA). Each extemper was separated by only one cumulative rank, with Malik placing fourth, Yan fifth, and Sohn sixth.
United States Extemp was not as closely contested as its global counterpart. Evelyn Tsoi of Velasquez Academy (CA) claimed a six-rank victory over Kevin Lu of Bellarmine College Preparatory, winning the final round by that same margin.
Third place was taken by Sovia Villagra of Gabrielino High School (CA), who was ten ranks back of Tsoi.
The fight for fourth place was also fierce in United States Extemp. Yan, the only extemper to final in both categories, won the spot over Aadi Chauhan of Bellarmine College Preparatory.
While none of the finalists at the MLK Invitational were ranked in the top 25, there were a few extempers in the field that just missed out on claiming points. #4 Brandon Cheng of Flintridge was eliminated in the quarter-final round of International Extemp and #9 Katherine Lee of Plano West Senior High School (TX) went out in the quarter-final round of United States Extemp.
This was the first year that the MLK Invitational counts as a fourth tier tournament in the National Points Race. All of the competitors who reached the semi-final and final rounds will receive credit in the standings. To prevent double counting, an extemper’s top finish will count toward this year’s standings.
Here are the results of the 2024 James Logan MLK Invitational (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s Extemp Central news quiz. Good luck!