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For our East Coast readers it is a very late night, but quarter-finalists in International and United States Extemp at the 2016 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament have just been announced in Salt Lake City, Utah. These competitors have a grueling day ahead of them tomorrow, with every round carrying significant meaning for overall placing. There will be two quarter-final rounds, with the top fourteen competitors advancing to two rounds of semi-finals. The announcement of the six Friday finalists in each event will take place late tomorrow afternoon, so tomorrow is “moving day” at the national tournament as extempers will want to position themselves into the top six, but also within striking distance to take home the national title on Friday.
Some extempers in the top twenty-five of the National Points Race were eliminated after round eight in International Extemp. Andrew Langford of Lake Highland Preparatory (FL) and Olivia Shoemaker of Lakeville North High School (MN), ranked seventeenth and twentieth, respectively, in this year’s rankings ended their run in this year’s national tournament. Last year’s finalist Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory (FL) continues his quest for a “double crown” of national championships, while last year’s semi-finalists Roman Shemakov of McClintock High School (AZ) and Shreetika Singh of Seven Lakes High School (TX) remain alive and will hope to reach the final round stage tomorrow.
The big news on the U.S. Extemp side was the elimination of Shawn Kant of Ridge High School (NJ). Kant placed fourth at last year’s national tournament and was ranked twenty-ninth in this year’s National Points Race. Several major names advanced in the category, though, with Marshall Webb of Saint Mary’s Hall (TX), Micah Cash of Booker T. Washington High School (OK), Neil Patel of Plano West Senior High School (TX), Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), and Brian Xu of San Marino High School (CA) all clearing to tomorrow’s elimination rounds.
All of the underclassmen that reached the quarter-final round have earned one of two qualifying legs for next year’s Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Northwestern University. Underclassmen that cleared to quarter-finalists – there were twenty-seven in total – are identified in blue below.
s a list of all our old quizzes, 
For the last thirty-two years Turkey has been in conflict with Kurdish separatists. These separatists, of which the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is most prominent, desire to create an autonomous Kurdish republic, arguing that Turkey represses Kurdish culture. In fact, the Kurds are the world’s largest ethnic group that lacks a state, with peoples scattered across Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. Since 1984, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 20,000 soldiers and civilians and although some Turkish governments have attempted to solve the conflict, either to create more domestic stability or win favor with the European Union (EU), the conflict has resumed due to disputes over Turkey’s handling of the Islamic State and the Turkish government’s crackdown on Kurdish activists. Human Rights Watch has criticized both sides for violating the rights of civilians and combatants, and ending the conflict is in the Turkish government’s best interest for the sake of its international reputation and economy.
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