It's crisis to crisis this week; catch your breath by taking our latest Week to Week news quiz.
Here are some random but real hints: Bavaria on the cheap; he's not in the dictionary; want a salad with that; and Gavin and Kamala are putting on their running shoes. Answers are below the quiz.
1. Where did a hostage-taking occur in Paris?
a. The Swiss consolate
b. A kosher supermarket
c. A screening of The Interview
d. Charles DeGaulle airport
2. Gunmen murdered 12 people at what French magazine?
a. Charlie Hebdo
b. Paris Match
c. Gaipied
d. Libération
3. What development added pressure on the ECB this week to stimulate the eurozone economy?
a. The eurozone fell into deflation
b. The right-wing Greek political party Golden Dawn is expected to win the election and repudiate the country's debts
c. The region's largest economy, Germany, fell into recession
d. Eurozone economies are being rocked by sharp increases in energy costs
4. What did Phylicia Rashad, who co-starred with Bill Cosby in The Cosby Show, say about his accusers?
a. Let the courts decide
b. Like them, she, too, was assaulted by her co-star
c. "Forget these women. What you're seeing is the destruction of a legacy. And I think it's orchestrated."
d. "They deserved it."
5. Which U.S. representatives challenged John Boehner unsuccessfully for the post of speaker of the House?
a. Louie Gohmert and Michele Bachmann
b. Tammy Duckworth and Steve Scalise
c. Daniel Webster and Louie Gohmert
d. Michael Grimm and Jerrold Nadler
6. Venezuela's economic crisis has resulted in what new problem?
a. The country's navy has been mothballed for lack of fuel
b. The country has cancelled its next election because of a shortage of paper for the ballots
c. The capital of Caracas only has electricity for two hours a day
d. No french fries at Venezuelan McDonald's restaurants
7. Who can no longer get a drivers license in Russia?
a. Convicted terrorists
b. Women
c. Protestant activists
d. Transsexuals and transgendered people
8. Why did Honda Motor Co. get fined $70 million?
a. Refusal to fix an ignition switch problem
b. Failure to report hundreds of injuries, deaths, and other consumer claims involving its vehicles
c. Misleading advertising
d. Breaking campaign contribution limits
9. What announcement did U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer of California make?
a. She is a proud gay American
b. She was asked by Mitch McConnell to switch parties
c. She is not going to run for reelection in 2016
d. President Obama asked her to become the next commerce secretary
10. What will the Pentagon request for the next budget year?
a. Sufficient funding to establish space-based weapons platforms with global targeting capability
b. A reduction of 20% in funding for wars
c. An additional $176 billion to overhaul the entire fleet
d. The ability to create its own income-generating businesses to make up for federal funding cuts
BONUS. What did President Obama propose this week?
a. Two free years of community college for everyone
b. Reducing the scope of the Keystone XL pipeline by half
c. Free tacos every Tuesday
d. Ending federal funding of public universities and colleges
Want the live news quiz experience? Join us Wednesday, January 14 in downtown San Francisco for our next live Week to Week political roundtable with a news quiz and a social hour at The Commonwealth Club of California. In this special edition of Week to Week, we'll have the public unveiling of Hoover's new Golden State Poll of California residents. Panelists include Lanhee J. Chen, Carson Bruno, and Bill Whalen.
ANSWERS:
1) b.
2) a.
3) a.
4) c (she later said she was misquoted).
5) c.
6) d.
7) d.
8) b.
9) c.
10) b.
BONUS) a.
Explanations of the hints: Bavaria on the cheap: the eurozone fell into deflation, spurred by the drop in energy prices; he's not in the dictionary: Daniel Webster the U.S. representative, not the dictionary guy; want a salad with that: no french fries in Venezuela for now; and Gavin and Kamala are putting on their running shoes: California's lt. governor and attorney general are believed to be prepared to be top contenders for Boxer's position.