1) In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama promised to raise the minimum wage of federal contractors to what level?
d) $10.10
President Obama can unilaterally raise the minimum wage of federal contractors by executive order. He would like Congress to raise the minimum wage for all workers to the same level.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/us/politics/obama-state-of-the-union.html?_r=0
2) What Republican gave the official party response to President Obama’s State of the Union?
d) Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers
The honor of delivering the official response is usually bestowed upon someone who is seen as a rising star within the party.
3) After months of negotiations, Congressional Democratic and Republican negotiators reached agreement on what kind of bill?
b) A farm bill
The bill includes subsidies for farmers as well as various provisions regarding nutrition. One of the sticking points in getting the bill finished was a Republican desire to cut $20 billion from SNAP (the federal food stamps program) over ten years. The negotiators eventually agreed to cuts of $8 billion.
4) On Friday, the State Department released a report on what?
a) The environmental impact of the Keystone XL Oil Pipeline project
In the report, the State Department concluded that issuing a permit to build the oil pipeline from Canada across the Midwestern United States and into the Gulf of Mexico was unlikely to alter global greenhouse gas emissions because the oil in question would be taken out of the ground, regardless of whether or not the pipeline is built. Despite the report, President Obama still needs to approve the project before construction can begin because the pipeline crosses an international border.
5) Last week, President Obama nominated Vice Admiral Michael Rogers to be the head of what agency?
c) National Service Agency (NSA)
Rogers is a thirty year veteran of the Navy who is trained as a cryptologist.
https://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/5061671
6) Federal prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who set off bombs at last year’s Boston Marathon. Tsarnaev was originally from which of the following places?
b) Chechnya
Chechnya is a region in Southern Russia that is primarily populated by Muslims and that has been fighting for its independence from Russia since the early 1990s.
7) Journalist Austin Ramzy of the New York Times was recently kicked out of what country where he was stationed?
d) China
This move by the Chinese government appears to be reprisal against the Times for a series of articles that exposed the extravagant lifestyles of top officials of the Chinese Communist Party.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/31/china-denies-deporting-new-york-times-journalist
8) Twenty-five percent of Russian men die before age 55. According to a recent study, over a third of those deaths are related to what?
d) Vodka
By comparison, only 7% of men in the UK die before age 55 and less than 1% of men in the United States die before age 55. Russia’s overall life expectancy of 64 is one of the 50 lowest in the world.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/31/russian-men-losing-years-to-vodka
9) What famous folk musician passed away last week at age 94?
a) Pete Seeger
Seeger became famous as a member of The Weavers in the 1940s. He is known not only for his music but also for his involvement with the civil rights movement, his pacifism, and his efforts to clean up the Hudson River in his native New York. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/arts/music/pete-seeger-songwriter-and-champion-of-folk-music-dies-at-94.html?_r=0
10) What team won Super Bowl XLVIII?
b) Seattle Seahawks
Seattle defeated Denver 43-8. It was the Seahawks’ second Super Bowl appearance and first Super Bowl victory.