1) The percentage of Americans living in poverty hit an eighteen-year high in 2010. What percentage of Americans was living in poverty in 2010?
b) 15.1
The poverty rate has increased in each of the past three years. https://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/13/7742437-poverty-rate-hits-18-year-high-as-median-income-falls?GT1=43001
2) President Obama has asked Congress to adopt what he calls the “Buffett Rule.” What is the Buffett Rule?
c) A new income tax bracket for Americans making more than one million dollars
The new tax bracket for millionaires was first suggested by billionaire Warren Buffett. https://whitehouse.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/18/obama-to-propose-new-tax-rate-for-millionaires/?iref=allsearch
3) A renewable energy company that received a $535,000 loan from the Obama administration’s Department of Energy went bankrupt last week. What was the name of the company?
a) Solyndra
The company was a centerpiece of the president’s drive to create “green jobs.” https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/white-house-backed-solar-solyndra-company-collapses/story?id=14420755
4) Al-Qaeda’s chief of operations was killed in Pakistan last week. What was his name?
a) Abu Hafs al-Shahri
Al-Shahri was kiiled by a United States drone strike. He was seen as a possible successor to al-Qaeda number two man Atiyah Abdul Rahman, who was killed last month. Only one of al-Qaeda’s top nine officials from September 11, 2001 remains active.
5) What Republican presidential candidate was criticized for requiring teenage girls in his state to be inoculated against the sexually transmitted HPV virus?
b) Rick Perry
The HPV virus can cause cervical cancer. Fellow Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann suggested that Perry may have ordered the girls to receive the vaccinations because Perry had received campaign donations from Merck, the company that manufactures the vaccine. After the debate, Bachmann suggested that the HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation, a claim that does not appear to have any scientific basis. https://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/09/13/bachmann.perry.debate/index.html?iref=allsearch
6) What Republican presidential candidate was criticized last week for calling Social Security a “ponzi scheme?”
b) Rick Perry
Fellow Republican candidate Mitt Romney argued that the comments made Perry “unelectable.”
https://www.politico.com/news/stories/0911/63039.html
7) The Supreme Court stayed the scheduled execution of convicted killer Duane Buck. What state had planned to execute him last week?
d) Texas
At Buck’s sentencing hearing, a psychologist suggested under oath that Mr. Buck’s race made him more likely to commit future crimes. Buck claims that this testimony violated his constitutional right to equal protection of the laws.
8) Decades-old audiotapes containing interviews with this 1960s icon were released to the public last week. Who is being interviewed on the tapes?
b) Jackie Kennedy
On the tapes, Kennedy spoke of her dislike of civil rights leader King and her doubts about Lyndon Johnson’s suitability for the presidency. The interviews were conducted by historian Arthur Schlesinger shortly after John Kennedy’s assassination. https://www.npr.org/2011/09/15/140508717/jackie-o-tapes-offer-window-on-an-era-and-an-icon
9) King crabs have recently invaded what area?
b) West Antarctica
The King crabs have moved to Antarctica because the climate there has warmed. The crabs are now in the process of destroying entire ecosystems.
https://news.discovery.com/animals/king-crab-expanding-his-empire-110911.html
10) Leila Lopes was recently crowned Miss Universe. What African country is she from?
c) Angola
She is the first winner from Angola.