1) On Friday, President Obama gave a speech outlining major changes to this program. What program?
a) Medicare’s doctor reimbursement program
b) The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
c) The NSA’s metadata collection program
d) NASA’s “Americans on Mars” program
2) Last weekend, President Obama signed into a law a budget for fiscal year 2014. How much spending is included in the budget?
a) $500 million
b) $500 billion
c) $875 billion
d) $1.1 trillion
3) A report released last week by a Senate committee was critical of the government’s handling of what issue?
a) The rollout of the Obamacare website
b) The bombings at the American consulate in Benghazi, Libya
c) The collection of metadata by the NSA
d) The IRS audit of tea party related organizations
4) On Thursday, the execution of convicted murderer Dennis McGuire took approximately 25 minutes because the state used a new “cocktail” of drugs that did not perform as expected. In what state was he executed?
a) Texas
b) Florida
c) Ohio
d) Virginia
5) A judge in this conservative state struck down the state’s ban on gay marriage last week, holding that it violated the 14th amendment’s requirement of equal protection. What state?
a) South Dakota
b) Idaho
c) Oklahoma
d) Mississippi
6) This African country recently banned both gay marriage and participation in “gay clubs, societies or organizations.” What country?
a) Egypt
b) South Africa
c) Kenya
d) Nigeria
7) American journalist David Satter was kicked out of this country last week after writing stories critical of its government. What country?
a) Iran
b) Russia
c) Cuba
d) France
8) Voters in this country went to the polls last week and overwhelmingly approved a new constitution. What country?
a) Costa Rica
b) Egypt
c) The Netherlands
d) Cambodia
9) The “first lady” of this country was hospitalized last week after rumors surfaced of an affair between the president of this country and a well-known actress. What country?
a) United States
b) Mexico
c) France
d) Australia
10) Who won the 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or award, given to the world’s best soccer player?
a) Lionel Messi
b) Franck Ribery
c) Zlatan Ibrahimovich
d) Cristiano Ronaldo