1) The two brothers who are accused of setting off bombs during the Boston Marathon had connections to (and family in) what country?
c) Russia
Their family is from the predominantly Muslim regions of Dagestan and Chechnya.
https://rt.com/news/chechnya-suspect-boston-bombing-110/
2) Letters laced with this poison were mailed to President Obama and Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker and a local Mississippi judge. What poison?
b) Ricin
The letters were intercepted because they caused any harm. Mississippi Elvis impersonator Kevin Curtis was initially charged in the attacks but charges against him were later dropped.
https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/18/politics/tainted-letter-intercepted
3) President Obama released a budget proposal recently that surprised many observers. Why the surprise?
b) It included cuts to Social Security.
Many Republicans argue that the government needs to engage in entitlement reform in order to avoid long term budgetary problems. Most Democrats would prefer to address our budgetary issues primarily through increased revenue, as opposed to entitelemtn reform or spending cuts.
4) How much did the economy grow (or shrink) during the first three months of 2013?
a) +2.5
Economists were generally pleased with the growth, especially since the economy only grew 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012.
https://money.msn.com/business-news/article.aspx?feed=AP&date=20130426&id=16404428
5) A bipartisan compromise requiring background checks on gun sales was defeated in the Senate by a filibuster. What two Senators negotiated the failed compromise?
a) Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA)
A vote to end the filibuster received only 54 of the required 60 votes. Of the 46 voting to support the filibuster, 42 were Republicans and 4 Democrats.
https://news.yahoo.com/senate-backers-expanded-gun-background-checks-scramble-votes-005328780.html
6) A bipartisan group of Senators, led by Marco Rubio, introduced a compromise bill on what issue last week?
a) Immigration
Rubio is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2016.
7) What country recently legalized gay marriage?
d) France
Gay marriage was also recently legalized in Uruguay.
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/23/france-gay-marriage-law-_n_3139470.html
8) What country music superstar died last week at the age of 81?
b) George Jones
Jones had number one hits in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/04/26/george-jones-dead-country-superstar-was-81/
9) Professional athlete Jason Collins recently announced that he is gay. In what league does he play?
c) National Basketball Association
Collins is the first active athlete in one of America’s major professional sports to come out as gay.
https://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/29/sport/collins-gay/index.html
10) Who won the Masters Golf Championship?
a) Adam Scott
Scott is the first Australian to win the tournament.
https://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/15/sport/golf/scott-masters-golf