R&D: The North Korean Threat? (2016)

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On May 11, 2016

In R&D

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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on the North Korean threat (2016).

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2016 National Catholic Forensic League (NCFL) Grand Nationals Extemp Topic Area Analysis

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On May 10, 2016

In Topic Area Analysis

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2016 NCFLThe following is Extemp Central’s annual topic area analysis for the National Catholic Foreign League (NCFL) Grand National Tournament, which will take place this year in Sacramento, California.  This analysis covers the major issues in each of the nine topic areas, provides some strategy tips for handling each one, and then provides a set of practice questions for extempers and coaches as they seek to prepare for the tournament.

This year’s topic area analysis was written by Yijia Liang, last season’s NCFL National Champion.  Liang was also the winner of the 2014 Wake Forest National Early Bird, competed at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin, and placed sixth in the 2014-2015 Extemp Central National Points Race.

To access the topic area analysis, please click on the link below.  The link is a .pdf document.

2016 NCFL Topic Area Analysis by Yijia Liang

Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of May 9-15, 2016

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On May 10, 2016

In Quiz

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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.

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R&D from Prepd: Trump Foreign Policy

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On May 10, 2016

In R&D

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

This R&D provides resources on Donald Trump’s foreign policy.  The presumptive Republican nominee has raised concerns in the foreign policy community over his plans to make Europe pay for more of its defense, make Mexico pay for a border wall, and his harsh trade rhetoric toward China.  Some pundits warn that if Trump were to win the election that it would lead to more chaos in the world, while his supporters say that an “American first” foreign policy is long overdue.  The 2016 presidential election could come down to Trump’s isolationist message versus presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s more globalist one.

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Northwest TOC

2016 Extemp TOC: Xu Brings the Title Back to San Marino With Three Rank Victory Over Graham

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On May 9, 2016

In Extemp TOC, National Circuit Results

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tocThe fourteenth edition of the Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (TOC) was held last weekend on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and Brian Xu of San Marino High School (CA) won the second major championship of the season. Xu defeated Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL), who was attempting to win two TOC tournaments in back-to-back weeks, by three ranks. Xu and Graham took all of the first place ranks in the final round.

Xu becomes the second extemper from San Marino to win the Extemp TOC. Nabeel Zewail of San Marino won the title back in 2010 and San Marino becomes the second school, other than Eagan High School (MN) to have two extempers win the tournament.

The final round featured a diverse collection of talent, with five of the finalists having competed at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin back in January. Neil Patel of Plano West High School (TX) finished in third place, followed by Justin Cooper of Scarsdale High School (NY). Bradley Wascher of St. James School (AL) and Glenbrooks winner Marshall Webb of St. Mary’s Hall (TX) rounded out the top six.

Xu will earn 100 points in the National Points Race for his win, but Graham, who also won the Impromptu competition at the tournament and placed fourth by himself in school sweepstakes, will extend his lead since Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ) and Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) were not in the field. New National Points Race standings will be released on Thursday evening.

Here are the results of the 2016 Extemporaneous Speaking Tournament of Champions (Click here for tab sheet):

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HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of May 9-15, 2016

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On May 9, 2016

In International Extemp, Weekly Questions

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HOTtopics1. Will a new Spanish election produce a governing majority?
2. Should the EU punish members that do not accept their quota of asylum-seekers?
3. How will the ouster of Ahmet Davutoglu affect Turkey’s policy toward Kurdish militants?
4. Was Kenya’s ivory fire an effective step to take against poachers?
5. How can British politicians quell the Scottish nationalist movement?
6. Why is economic growth slowing in sub-Saharan Africa?
7. How should Bitcoin fix its governance structure?
8. Does Mexico need the “3-out-of-3” law?
9. How dangerous is a nuclear-armed North Korea?
10. Who will win Australia’s elections this July?

HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of May 9-15, 2016

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On May 9, 2016

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

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HOTtopics1. Should the U.S. consider abandoning its allies in Western Europe for a closer relationship with Russia?
2. What supports should states provide to single mothers?
3. Who should Donald Trump choose as his running mate?
4. When, if ever, should juveniles ever be tried as adults in the criminal justice system?
5. Would a “soda tax” reduce America’s growing obesity rate?
6. What role should President Obama play in the 2016 presidential election?
7. How high should the minimum wage be?
8. Should more universities follow Harvard’s policy on single-gender social clubs?
9. Will the FBI recommend an indictment of Hillary Clinton?
10. How would a Trump presidency alter American foreign policy?

R&D from Prepd: Weekly Roundup for the Week of May 2-8, 2016

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On May 6, 2016

In R&D

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

Here is our weekly survey of news stories to round out the week of May 2-8, 2016.

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2016 University of Kentucky TOC: Graham Adds to National Points Race Lead; Sloane Wins the Final Round

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On May 5, 2016

In National Circuit Results, UK TOC

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National Points Race leader Justin Graham of Trinity Preparatory School (FL) took one step further to clinching the competition before the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament by winning the University of Kentucky Tournament of Champions (TOC) last weekend in Lexington, Kentucky. This was the second year of the expanded TOC tournament format and Graham, who placed third in last year’s competition, won the cumulative tournament by five ranks over Samhitha Sunkara of Ardrey Kell High School (NC).

Sunkara and Marshall Sloane of Milton Academy (MA) tied for first place in the final round, with each accumulating a total of sixteen from the round’s five judges. On judges’ preference, Sloane won, but he and Sunkara made up little ground against Graham, who finished the final round with a total of seventeen ranks. Since Graham entered the final round with a six rank lead this was enough to make him the tournament champion, while Sloane finished third.

The tournament attracted an impressive field for a second consecutive year, with five of the top ten competitors in the National Points Race attending (and four of the top five). Vaikunth Balaji of Ridge High School (NJ), who entered the tournament in second place in the National Points Race, was eliminated in the semi-final round.  Nathaniel Saffran of Trinity Preparatory, who sits in fourth place in the current rankings, was also eliminated in semi-finals.

All of the competitors that reached the semi-final round and beyond will earn National Points Race points. Graham will receive seventy points for winning the tournament.

Here are the results of the 2015 University of Kenucky Tournament of Champions (Click here for tab sheet):

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R&D from Prepd: UnitedHealth Leaving ACA Exchanges

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On May 5, 2016

In R&D

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

This R&D provides information on UnitedHealth’s recent decision to leave thirty-four of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) health insurance exchanges due to mounting losses.  The insurer says that it will lose $650 million this year, partly due to the fact that those using the exchanges are most in need of care versus those that receive insurance from an employer.  This sicker risk pool was not offset by enough younger, healthier customers so UnitedHealth has taken a financial hit.  Critics of the ACA say that UnitedHealth’s departure from the exchanges will lead to fewer options for exchange customers and that it is further proof that the ACA is not working for a majority of Americans. Defenders of the law say that UnitedHealth’s exit will not adversely affect the ability of Americans to purchase health insurance over the short-term or long-term.

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First Quarter GDP Numbers (2016)

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On May 4, 2016

In Topic Brief, U.S. Extemp

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Last week the Commerce Department announced that the U.S. economy grew by 0.5% in the first quarter of 2015.  This was below the number that economists had projected and it was below the 1.4% growth rate that the economy registered during the fourth quarter of 2014.  The numbers were quickly seized on by critics of the Obama administration, who argued that they proved that the President has failed to generate significant economic momentum under his watch.  Defenders of the administration argue that first quarter numbers can typically be stubborn as weather factors can inhibit economic growth in some seasonal industries such as construction or agriculture.  Either way, the numbers are likely to temper the attitude of some members of the Federal Reserve Board for another interest rate hike and they could change the dynamic of the presidential race as a weak economy would favor Republicans in the fall.

This topic brief will provide some important vocabulary that extempers should know when discussing first quarter economic numbers, analyze arguments for why the GDP numbers are concerning, and then provide reasons why becoming panicked over these first quarter numbers is unnecessary.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

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R&D: First Quarter GDP Numbers (2016)

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On May 4, 2016

In R&D

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Here is today’s premium R&D to accompany today’s premium topic brief on first quarter GDP numbers (2016).

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Extemp Central News Quiz for the Week of May 2-8, 2016

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On May 3, 2016

In Quiz

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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.

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R&D from Prepd: Iraqi Corruption

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On May 3, 2016

In R&D

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l_2Today’s R&D is brought to you by Prepd, the only software built specifically for extemp. Prepd makes it easy to research, practice, and compete!  Visit www.prepd.in to learn more. Like Prepd on Facebook for special info and contests.

This R&D provides resources on corruption in Iraq.  Since the 2003 U.S. invasion, successive Iraqi governments have struggled to battle the problem, which has reduced the confidence of the Iraqi people in the post-Saddam regime.  On Saturday, hundreds of angry Iraqis overwhelmed the Green Zone in Baghdad, a fortified headquarters for the Iraqi government, and demanded the creation of a technocratic government to solve the nation’s problems.  Transparency International, a civil society organization that documents incidences of global corruption, ranks Iraq 161 out of 168 in its corruption index.

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HotTopics: United States Extemp Questions for the Week of May 2-8, 2016

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On May 2, 2016

In U.S. Extemp, Weekly Questions

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HOTtopics1. Will large scale protests provide a boon to Donald Trump’s presidential hopes?
2. Should U.S. students take a year off before attending college?
3. Is the U.S. military prepared to fight the wars of the future?
4. Did Ted Cruz pick his vice-presidential nominee too early?
5. How will United Healthcare’s decision to drop out of health insurance exchanges affect the future of the Affordable Care Act?
6. Will the Democratic Party have a “contested convention” this summer?
7. How should the U.S. handle Puerto Rico’s debt crisis?
8. Should the Federal Reserve be concerned about sluggish first quarter GDP growth?
9. What is the biggest challenge facing the U.S. public education system?
10. Should women’s rights constitute a key part of American foreign policy?

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