1) On Thursday, a gunman shot and killed 9 members of the historically black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. In what city did this occur?
c) Charleston, South Carolina
The gunman, Dylan Roof, shot the members during a Bible study at the church. The killing is being treated as a racially-motivated, hate crime.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/17/charleston-south-carolina-shooting/28902017/
2) On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that gay couples have a Constitutional right to marry. What was the name of the case?
a) Obergefell v. Hodges
The decision was 5-4 with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority. Kennedy has now written four major opinions on gay rights.
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-supreme-court-gay-marriage-decision-20150626-story.html#page=2
3) On Thursday, the Supreme Court upheld the “Obamacare” policy of providing subsidies to low and middle income purchasers of health insurance on federal health care exchanges. What was the name of the case?
b) King v. Burwell
Obamacare opponents argued that under the terms of the law, subsidies could only be given to individuals who purchase insurance on state-run exchanges (not federal exchanges). Siding with the opponents would have caused major upheavals in administration of the law.
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-supreme-court-health-care-obama-20150625-story.html#page=1
4) The Supreme Court recently ruled that a state was not required to issue a specialty license plate to the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. What state?
d) Texas
The Court ruled that messages on license plates are messages of the state (not the driver) and so the state can choose to endorse certain messages and not others.
https://www.texastribune.org/2015/06/18/supreme-court-rules-texas-confederate-license-plat/
5) A gunman killed 38 and injured 39 more at a beach resort in what country?
a) Tunisia
ISIS has claimed responsibility although it is not clear if they were directly involved.
https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/27/africa/tunisia-terror-attack/
6) What network is refusing to air the Miss USA pageant because of comments the pageant’s owner, Donald Trump, made about Mexican immigrants?
a) Univision
Trump made the comments while announcing his run for the presidency in 2016.
https://money.cnn.com/2015/06/25/media/univision-donald-trump-mexicans/index.html
7) What Louisiana governor announced that he is running for president in 2016?
b) Bobby Jindal
Jindal, an Indian-American, considered running for president in 2012 but ultimately declined to do so. He is the 13th Republican to officially declare for the presidency.
8) On Thursday, the Congress gave President Obama “fast-track” authority to negotiate a trade deal with countries in what part of the world?
a) Asia Pacific
The deal would lower or eliminate tariffs between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries. As a result of the fast track authority, Obama can present Congress with a negotiated deal which Congress would then have to accept or reject without amendment.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/24/barack-obama-fast-track-trade-deal-tpp-senate
9) It was recently revealed that the National Security Agency has spied on three recent presidents from what country?
d) France
The NSA has also been accused of spying on the leaders of Germany, Brazil and Mexico.
https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/24/europe/france-wikileaks-nsa-spying-claims/
10) What team won the 2015 NBA Championship?
a) Golden State Warriors
The Warriors defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers in six games. It was the Warriors’ first title since 1975.