It was a week of political protests, papal action, and the historic loss of Nelson Mandela. Separate the ridiculous from the redeeming by taking our Week to Week news quiz.
Here are some random but real hints: They don't want to shut down their negotiations; presumably without the heat-seeking missiles; we probably can't count that high, anyway; and prosit! Answers are at the bottom of the quiz.
1. What are Representative Paul Ryan and Senator Patty Murray reportedly close to creating?
a. An immigration reform bill
b. The Capitol's first competitive eating competition
c. A two- or three-year budget agreement
d. A balanced budget constitutional amendment
2. For people who can't wait for a next-day delivery, how does Amazon plan to get its customers' purchases to them within 30 minutes?
a. They are partnering with Domino's Pizza
b. They are going to use unmanned aerial drones
c. Beginning in 2014, Amazon Prime customers can pick up their orders at the Amazon warehouse
d. Jeff Bezos has purchased the U.S. Postal Service
3. In what did the United States rank #36?
a. Amnesty International's annual Freedom Index
b. PISA scores for math abilities of students in 64 countries
c. Upward mobility in 104 countries surveyed by the UN Economic Policy Bureau
d. Cost of living
4. What two countries have been experiencing large protests demanding new governments?
a. Ukraine and Thailand
b. United States and Canada
c. Germany and Italy
d. Japan and North Korea
5. Who has been quietly buying up companies to help it build robots?
a. Google
b. Russia
c. Facebook
d. The U.S. Postal Service
6. Pope Francis is setting up a commission to investigate what?
a. The Vatican banking scandal
b. The possibility of canonizing Pope Benedict XVI when he passes away
c. Clerical sex abuse
d. Climate change's impact on the world's poor
7. What's the latest way Pope Francis is reportedly keeping busy?
a. Since becoming pope, he has become an avid body builder who works out three hours a day in the Vatican gym
b. He sneaks out of the Vatican at night disguised as a regular priest to minister to the homeless
c. He is personally painting a mural on the wall of the Vatican observatory
d. Each week, he spends a half day hearing the confessions of Italy's elected officials
8. What was granted the right by a judge on Tuesday to declare bankruptcy?
a. Illinois
b. Tesla Motors
c. Detroit
d. Justin Bieber Media Holdings, LLC
9. How many years did Nelson Mandela, who died on Thursday, spend in South African prison?
a. 5
b. 40
c. 27
d. 11
10. Which one of the following is not a quote of Mandela's?
a. "Reconciliation means working together to correct the legacy of past injustice."
b. "If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
c. "Without democracy there cannot be peace."
d. "We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children."
BONUS. What is the UN being urged to add to its "cultural heritage" list?
a. The Iranian city of Qom
b. Former President George W. Bush's Texas ranch
c. The first Walgreens store, located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago
d. German beer
The news and the quizzes don't stop there! Join us Monday, December 16 in San Francisco for our next live Week to Week political roundtable with a news quiz and a social hour at The Commonwealth Club. Panelists include Huffington Post's Robin Wilkey, Hoover's Tammy Frisby, and CBS SF's political analyst Melissa Griffin Caen.
ANSWERS: 1) c. 2) b. 3) b. 4) a. 5) a. 6) c. 7) b. 8) c. 9) c. 10) d. BONUS) d.
Explanations of the hints They don't want to shut down their negotiations: If Murray and Ryan fail to agree on a budget deal, we could be headed for another government shutdown; presumably without the heat-seeking missiles: unmanned drones are rapidly becoming popular in the U.S. after becoming ubiquitous in overseas military operations; we probably can't count that high, anyway: we're #36 in math; and prosit: that's how Germans toast.