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?
Prepd, the leading software for speech and debate teams, is offering a 25% discount on all renewals until September 1st! This offer extends to new teams as well as Early Renewals, and the remaining months of their existing membership will be prorated accordingly.
Visit prepd.in to sign up by the end of August and secure your 25% discount. If your team is already using Prepd, make sure to renew this month to benefit of the reduced price.
Extemp Central endorses the Prepd product as the most convenient filing tool developed for the activity!
Daniel Kind competed for Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, Florida. He was the 2022 NCFL national champion, 2022 NSDA national runner-up, Florida state champion, 2022 Extemp Central Points Race champion, while also breaking the single-season record for single-season wins (7), top-three finishes (12), and final round appearances (12). Daniel is attending the University of Chicago, where he studies public policy and urban studies.
Editor’s Note: This interview happened in the fall of 2022 but we decided to embargo it until the start of the 2023-2024 season.
1. Will mortgage rates continue to climb by the end of the year?
2. Why does former President Trump lead GOP polls despite his legal woes?
3. How can cities best turn vacant lots into new housing?
4. Should U.S. schools ban cell phone use on campus?
5. How can the growing cost of higher education be curtailed?
6. Is former President Trump making a mistake not participating in the first GOP presidential debate?
7. Has the AI boom ended?
8. To what extent is the Biden administration responsible for high levels of inflation in recent years?
9. What changes need to be made to the U.S. Postal Service?
10. How can the DEA best combat Tranq?
1. How would a Javier Milei presidency change Argentina?
2. Is Russia conducting ecocide against Ukraine?
3. What are the chances that a diplomatic pact can be brokered between Saudi Arabia and Israel?
4. Is it still in China’s interests to protect North Korea?
5. Why is Syria’s Civil War in a never-ending endgame?
6. How can Germany guarantee that its green energy ambitions do not disrupt the country’s manufacturing sector?
7. Is the world on the cusp of another space race?
8. Has China become too risky for foreign investment?
9. Are Western moves toward drug legalization making Latin American nations more unstable?
10. Is Ethiopia heading back toward civil war?
1. Is Ukraine’s counteroffensive failing?
2. Does globalization make the world safer?
3. Is the era of high economic growth in China over?
4. Why are ISIS outfits succeeding in West Africa?
5. Is Netanyahu becoming an autocrat?
6. What steps does Ecuador need to take to bolster public safety?
7. How can Latin American nations benefit from the next commodities boom?
8. Is Kenya the right nation to lead a multinational force to stabilize Haiti?
9. Could NATO effectively operate without the United States?
10. Is Modi’s government responsible for recent sectarian violence in Manipur?
1. Should Glenn Youngkin enter the 2024 Republican primary?
2. How much of a threat are legal proceedings against Hunter Biden to President Biden’s re-election bid?
3. If Iran were to successfully test a nuclear weapon, how should the U.S. react?
4. How much longer should the U.S. fund Ukrainian military efforts against Russia?
5. Will studios or unions win the Hollywood strikes?
6. How should the DNC respond if New Hampshire holds its primary before South Carolina?
7. What adjustments, if any, should the U.S. make in its foreign policy with Turkey?
8. Should corporations be allowed to purchase single-family homes?
9. What would be the best “No Labels” ticket for 2024?
10. Should the Biden administration designate Travis King as a prisoner of war?