Cher's upset, soccer's in trouble, and Vladimir Putin wants it all hush-hush. Take our latest Week to Week news quiz and find out what people are -- and are not -- talking about.
Here are some random but real hints: This creates an opening on the list for Islamic State; that'll make the evening news cheerier; maybe there was a separate secret vote that came out differently; and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had better watch his back. Answers are below the quiz.
1. What is the latest development in the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba?
a. Cuba was removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism
b. The Cuban embassy in Washington, D.C., was reopened
c. Princess Cruise Line's "Love Boat" -- named after the long-running TV series -- will begin making the trip between Miami and Havana
d. The CIA has announced that its plans to kill the Cuban leader have been put on hold
2. What is it now a crime to report in Russia?
a. Anything about Vladimir Putin's girlfriends
b. The weather
c. The deaths of Russian troops in Ukraine
d. Astrology predictions
3. The IRS often is the bearer of bad news. What bad news did it have this week?
a. 100,000 Americans had their data stolen from the IRS by Russian hackers
b. The housing interest tax deduction will be eliminated in 2017
c. The IRS is being audited by the Federal Reserve
d. The agency lost the tax returns of 11,500 businesses in April
4. Why did the United States indict 11 executives of the international soccer organization FIFA?
a. They are accused of giving the U.S. team opponents guaranteed to keep it out of the finals
b. They refused to stop calling soccer "football"
c. It alleges they took more than $150 million in bribes over a quarter century
d. They broke Title IX rules regarding unequal funding of male and female sports
5. What bill did the U.S. House of Representatives pass by an overwhelming bipartisan vote on Wednesday?
a. A 23% pay increase for members of the U.S. House of Representatives
b. The end of bulk collection of Americans' data by the National Security Agency
c. The "Organizational Peoplehood Equalization Bill," which gives non-profit organizations the same legal status as people that is enjoyed by for-profit corporations
d. A bill making it more difficult for individuals to declare bankruptcy
6. George Pataki joined the Republican presidential race. What position did he previously hold?
a. Manhattan borough president
b. U.S. senator from New York
c. Mayor of New York City
d. Governor of New York
7. Who was indicted by federal prosecutors on corruption charges?
a. Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Jim Wright
b. Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Dennis Hastert
c. Real estate impresario Donald Trump
d. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
8. How did Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling respond to criticism from the Westboro Baptist Church about a hypothetical gay marriage?
a. "You lose, again"
b. "Anteoculatia!"
c. "Oh, you're right. Not."
d. "Alas, the sheer awesomeness of such a union in such a place would blow your tiny bigoted minds out of your thick sloping skulls."
9. What did singer Cher take to Twitter to criticize?
a. Madonna, who "needs to GROW UP and start to #dresslikealady"
b. Twitter
c. She urged President Obama to undertake an overhaul of the tax system before he leaves office
d. She said the United States needed to do more to defeat ISIS
10. Why did a Pennsylvania newspaper apologize for printing a letter to the editor?
a. It was a personal letter from the publisher to her boyfriend
b. The letter called for President Obama to be executed and argued that "the end always justifies the means"
c. It was a paid promotional message from a local pharmaceuticals company
d. The entire letter was only 46 words long, but 23 of them were misspelled
BONUS. By a vote of 5-2, what did the Richmond, California, city council pass?
a. An endorsement of Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential bid
b. A rejection of mandatory water-saving restrictions from the governor
c. It opposed the use of space weapons for mind control of individuals
d. A $90,000 bond for new water pipes down the main street
ANSWERS
1) a.
2) c.
3) a.
4) c.
5) b.
6) d.
7) b.
8) d ("Anteoculatia," by the way, is the Harry Potter-world's curse that turns a person's hair into antlers).
9) d.
10) b (the paper also apologized for letting the letter writer call the president by his first name).
BONUS) c.
Want the live news quiz experience? Join us Monday, June 8 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. Panelists include CBS SF's Melissa Griffin Caen, KCBS Radio's Doug Sovern, and Hoover Institution's Carson Bruno.
Explanations of the hints: This creates an opening on the list for Islamic State: Cuba was taken off the list of states that sponsor terrorism; that'll make the evening news cheerier: it is now a crime for Russians to report on deaths of Russian soldiers in Ukraine, which Russia says it is definitely not invading; maybe there was a separate secret vote that came out differently: they voted to reign in domestic spying a bit; and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi had better watch his back: he's ISIS' leader, and if running a terrorist state wasn't hard enough, now he has to worry about being on Cher's bad side.