How would you judge this past week? If you were on the U.S. Supreme Court, you judged it quite a bit. Decisions were issued on everything from health care to immigration. What else was in the news this week? Take our quiz and find out.
Here are some random but actual hints: We did not use hand sanitizer; the split decision left both sides declaring victory; use that gas to view the knee-high corn; and would anyone read all that paper anyway? Answers are at the bottom of the quiz.
1. The city of Stockton, Calif., is adding to its list of superlatives. What is its latest achievement?
a) It is the biggest American city to declare bankruptcy
b) It has had the fastest rebound from the real estate bust in the state
c) It is now the home to the world's largest ball of yarn
d) It has the lowest home prices west of the Mississippi
2. The UK's Queen Elizabeth II (the monarch, not the ship) made rare political news this week. What did she do?
a) She shook hands with a former IRA commander
b) She publicly criticized Prime Minister David Cameron's austerity budget
c) She suggested a rewrite of the Magna Carta to increase the royal family's role in government
d) She spent a night at an Occupy London encampment
3. What happened in that other ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court this week, the one about immigration?
a) The court refused to consider the law, thereby leaving it intact
b) The court ruled Arizona's law violated the Ten Commandments
c) The court ordered the Justice Department to enforce federal immigration and border control laws, but it ruled that the Arizona law was unconstitutional
d) The court struck down large parts of Arizona's immigration law but left intact the part about requiring immigration status checks by police officers
4. On Thursday, the U.S. House voted to hold U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress. Why is Congress mad at the AG?
a) Holder's Justice Department ignored Arizona's immigration laws
b) Holder refuses to turn over additional documents connected with the guns-for-Mexican-druglords program known as Fast and Furious
c) Holder refused to testify about the Fast and Furious program
d) The Obama administration invoked executive privilege to prevent House oversight of its campaign finance deliberations
5. It's a time of sharp elbows in the über-competitive tablet computing world. Which of the following is not true?
a) Apple convinced a court to prevent Samsung from selling its newest tablet computer in the United States
b) Google unveiled a low-cost Android-powered tablet
c) Microsoft announced plans to sell a new Windows-powered tablet, but has not given a price for it yet
d) Microsoft and Google have teamed up to create a tablet to compete with the iPad
6. Moderate Democrats such as Missouri's Sen. Claire McCaskill are making big plans for the Democratic National Convention. What are the plans?
a) They will lead protests outside the convention hall
b) They will not attend
c) They will cast their super-delegate votes for Hillary Rodham Clinton
d) They are demanding an anti-abortion plank be added to the official party platform
7. The Romney campaign got into a squabble with the Washington Post over a report on outsourcing by companies in which Bain Capital invested under Romney's leadership. The Post refused to retract the story. What was the Romney campaign's contention?
a) The Obama administration planted the story
b) The Post made up the story
c) The Post should have distinguished between "outsourcing" and "off-shoring"
d) Bain was an international company that had to serve its international investor base
8. Colorado Springs is being threatened by what this week?
a) Flooding caused by 10 consecutive days of rainstorms
b) Raging wildfires
c) The highest home foreclosure levels in the country
d) The cancellation of South Park
9. The White House and Democrats were mostly elated with Thursday's Supreme Court ruling upholding the core of the health care reform legislation, while Republicans were mostly disappointed. Which normally reliably conservative justice sided with the liberal wing of the court to create the ruling?
a) Antonin Scalia
b) Samuel Alito
c) Anthony Kennedy
d) Chief Justice John Roberts
10. Former President Jimmy Carter criticized the Obama administration for what?
a) Its economic policies
b) Its targeted assassinations and use of drones in the wars
c) Its immigration policies
d) Its poor relations with Congress
BONUS QUESTION: Sunday, July 1, a new law goes into effect making what illegal in California?
a) Municipal bankruptcies
b) Faux pax
c) Foie gras
d) Undocumented aliens
Is that still not enough news for you? Join us for each of our live Week to Week news commentary programs at The Commonwealth Club's San Francisco auditorium. See the Week to Week website for event dates, audio, and more.
ANSWERS: 1) a. 2) a. 3) d. 4) b. 5) d. 6) b. 7) c. 8) b. 9) d. 10) b. BONUS: c.