1. How would a renewed war between Armenia and Azerbaijan affect the Russo-Ukrainian War?
2. Should Great Britain’s neighbors welcome a change at 10 Downing Street?
3. Would India benefit from a more centralized government?
4. How quickly could Saudi Arabia get a nuclear weapon if Iran was similarly armed?
5. What would a Claudia Sheinbaum presidency mean for Mexico’s energy sector?
6. Would the UN be more effective in there were no vetoes on its Security Council?
7. Will Egypt’s relations with the U.S. be harmed by the indictment of Senator Robert Menendez?
8. Would a longer war in Ukraine make Russia’s armed forces more effective?
9. Is the international community on the cusp of winning the global fight against AIDS?
10. How could increased tensions between Canada and India affect the Sikh independence movement?
1. If President Biden were to end his re-election bid, who would become the Democratic frontrunner for 2024?
2. How should the Federal Reserve react to growing oil prices?
3. Is the U.S. federal government too big or not big enough?
4. How should the U.S. react to the ongoing diplomatic row between Canada and India?
5. Should the RNC continue to raise the threshold of support needed to qualify for subsequent presidential debates?
6. How will Rupert Murdoch’s retirement affect conservative media in the United States?
7. What does Ron DeSantis need to do to reinvigorate his presidential bid?
8. Should the U.S. Senate have a dress code?
9. Will growing numbers of migrants at the U.S.-Mexican border lend greater urgency to immigration reform efforts?
10. How should Democrats handle the indictment of Senator Robert Menendez?
Here is this week’s news quiz! Good luck!
1. Will the Department of Justice’s anti-trust lawsuit against Google lead to Google’s breakup?
2. Should all U.S. states abolish cash bail?
3. Will Kevin McCarthy still be Speaker of House in 2024?
4. Did the Biden administration make a bad deal with Iran?
5. Is the House impeachment inquiry of President Biden a mistake?
6. What does Senator Mitt Romney’s retirement say about the current state of the Republican Party?
7. Will the federal government need to use expansive eminent domain powers to add more renewable energy sources to the U.S. power grid?
8. Should Chicago open city-owned grocery stores?
9. Does the U.S. need to spend more on hypersonic missile technology?
10. How should U.S. cities combat increasing retail theft?
1. Are the European Union’s renewable energy targets too ambitious?
2. What will Iran spend the money from its prisoner exchange with the U.S. on?
3. Does Argentina need to default?
4. How can developing nations best flex their muscle on the global stage?
5. Should France aid possible ECOWAS military action against Niger?
6. How can the European Union’s leadership best deal with the populist right?
7. Is Israel trying to establish permanent control of the West Bank?
8. Are international institutions indirectly empowering autocratic nations at the expense of democratic ones?
9. Does Bosnia and Herzegovina need a new constitution?
10. Is the Washington Consensus dead?
43 extempers kicked off the 2023-2024 national circuit season last weekend in NSDA Campus when the University of Kentucky hosted the seventh edition of its National Speech and Debate Season Opener. The tournament was a fifth tier event in the Extemp Central National Points Race.
Amy Cao of Ridge High School (NJ), who placed eighth in last year’s National Points Race, took three first place ranks in the final round and won the tournament by four over Brandon Cheng of Flintridge Preparatory School (CA).
Cao’s teammate, Aparna Iyer, took third place. Iyer finished nine ranks back of Cao but was five ranks ahead of Sruti Peddi of BASIS Scottsdale (AZ).
Sumedh Seetharam of Scottsdale Preparatory Academy (AZ) and Daniel Song of East Ridge High School (MN) finished the final round tied for fifth. Seetharam won a judges’ preference tiebreaker 3-2.
Cao’s victory is the second time that a New Jersey extemper has won the Season Opener. In 2020, Caroline Xie of Princeton High School won the title in the first year that the tournament went online.
Since the Season Opener was a fifth tier event, all of the finalists will receive National Points Race points. Cao will earn 40 points for her win. The first standings of the National Points Race will be posted after the Yale Invitational at the end of the month.
Here are the results of the 2023 National Speech and Debate Season Opener (Click here for tab sheet):
Here is this week’s news quiz! Good luck!
1. Is Saudi Arabia trying to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election with its oil production cuts?
2. How can ASEAN get Myanmar to implement the 2021 5-point peace plan?
3. Is a nuclear war the inevitable outcome of the Russo-Ukrainian War?
4. To what degree should Saudi Arabia take into account Palestinian demands in its negotiations for a peace accord with Israel?
5. Should Africa receive more climate change aid?
6. Does Argentina need a dose of libertarian economics?
7. Is it alarming that Xi Jinping is skipping the G20?
8. How much power do religious conservatives have in Iran’s government?
9. Should the EU scrap its rotating presidency?
10. How will the Basra-Chalamja connection project affect Middle East politics?
1. Does President Biden remain the best Democratic candidate that can defeat former President Trump?
2. Should small towns abolish their police forces?
3. How can Elon Musk rebuild X’s ad revenue streams?
4. Should a high price tag discourage U.S. investment in broadband internet service for all communities?
5. Is another government shutdown coming?
6. Why are offshore wind project struggling?
7. What are new ethics standards that the Supreme Court should adopt?
8. To what extent is Cornel West’s presidential candidacy a threat to President Biden’s re-election effort?
9. Should the U.S. do another prisoner exchange with Russia?
10. Does the Biden administration need to change their messaging on the global economy?
With the University of Kentucky National Speech and Debate Season Opener kicking off tomorrow, it is time to unveil the structure of this year’s Extemp Central National Points Race.
The Extemp Central National Points Race is a season-long competition that seeks to identify the top extempers across a select group of prestigious national circuit events. Extemp Central recognizes that in some years the top extemper in the nation may not win the National Points Race due to the inability of some competitors to travel extensively. Still, seven national champions are among the eight previous National Points Race winners.
This is the first news quiz of the 2023-2024 season! Note that news quizzes will be posted each week on Tuesday afternoon or evening. They will run through the last week of April, which is when most state tournaments are completed. Good luck on this week’s questions!
Note: The first Extemp Central news quiz of the 2023-2024 competitive year will be posted on Tuesday evening!
1. Is Nikki Haley becoming the candidate anti-Trump forces should rally behind?
2. Will President Biden’s foreign policy be an asset or liability in 2024?
3. How long will the Hollywood strikes last?
4. Who should lead Senate Republicans after Mitch McConnell?
5. Should the U.S. press aggressively for a negotiated settlement in Ukraine?
6. Would the closing of the “gun show loophole” significantly reduce gun violence?
7. Should U.S. schools go to four-day school weeks?
8. Does the U.S need to reimagine the way that it spends money on national defense?
9. How should the Biden administration respond to the BRICS expansion?
10. Does the 14th Amendment bar former President Trump from running in 2024?
Note: The first Extemp Central news quiz of the 2023-2024 competitive year will be posted on Tuesday evening!
1. How can the African Union stop a “contagion of autocracy” in West Africa?
2. Is Scotland the key to the British Labour Party regaining power?
3. How can South Korea improve its birthrate?
4. Should future recovery of Titanic artifacts be prohibited?
5. Were Zimbabwe’s elections fair?
6. Can an expanded BRICS be an effective counterweight to the West?
7. Should Germany use its closed nuclear power plants?
8. Are AI technologies a threat to global democracy?
9. Should Mexico welcome a possible U.S. military mission to fight drug cartels?
10. Should Benjamin Netanyahu prioritize a Saudi peace deal over the survival of his government?
1. Should Saudi Arabia join the BRICS?
2. What does the election of Bernardo Arevalo mean for Guatemala’s future?
3. Has the West undermined the promise of Ukraine’s counteroffensive?
4. How will the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin affect the future of the Wagner Group?
5. Should more petrostates embrace “sportswashing”?
6. Is the AfD a significant threat to German democracy?
7. Can Srettha Thavisin reduce the political temperature of Thai politics?
8. Is Xi Jinping’s growing power in China a cause of its economic woes?
9. Should Japan be allowed to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant?
10. Who will win the Ecuadorian presidential runoff?
1. Will high gas prices drive the U.S. economy into recession?
2. Is it wise for GOP presidential candidates to support a national abortion ban?
3. Will the BG.5. COVID variant cause a resumption of mask mandates across the country?
4. Does the U.S. need to do more to support Mexico’s war on drug cartels?
5. Should the U.S. Department of Education be abolished?
6. If the BRICS expand, how should the U.S. react?
7. Will private equity ownership be bad for Subway?
8. Could Mark Thompson fix CNN?
9. Would a legal conviction constitutionally bar former President Trump from office?
10. How can organized labor revive sagging membership?