Learn what subliminal messages Ayatollah Khamenei has for you by taking our latest Week to Week news quiz.
Here are some random but real hints: Oil bet he's glad to have that off his plate; that was Ed Meese's job; next it'll be death to Saudi Arabia; and they won't need a translator. Answers are below the quiz.
1. What controversial project did President Obama kill on Friday when he rejected it?
a. The $400 billion F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
b. The Ares 3 manned mission to Mars
c. The Keystone XL pipeline
d. The Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal
2. Earlier this year, Amazon.com was the focus of news reports about it being an unpleasant place to work. Now there's a new Amazon-owned place to work in Seattle. What is it?
a. A factory that builds delivery drones
b. A bricks-and-mortar bookstore
c. An employment agency
d. A store selling neck pillows
3. Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei explained that the slogan "Death to America" doesn't mean what people think it means. What did he say it meant?
a. It's just a critique of American policies
b. Slight injury to America
c. It refers to South America, not the United States
d. It's meant to be ironic; it's really an expression of respect
4. Fred Thompson died this past week. Which one of the following is not a job he has held?
a. Republican senator from Tennessee
b. An actor in Law & Order
c. A counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee
d. Director of Ronald Reagan's 1980 presidential transition committee
5. Who threatened to withdraw from Syria peace talks because of disputes with Saudi Arabia?
a. Iran
b. Syria
c. Islamic State
d. The United States
6. A 32-year-old terminally ill Texas man was granted his film-related dying wish. What was it?
a. He wanted to livestream his death on Facebook
b. He wanted a walk-on role in the new Harry Potter prequel film
c. He wanted to see the new Star Wars movie before he passes away
d. He wanted his funeral ceremony to be held at his local AMC Theatre
7. According to a new biography, who called Dick Cheney "iron-ass" and Donald Rumsfeld "arrogant"?
a. Cher
b. George W. Bush
c. Jeb Bush
d. George H.W. Bush
8. Who responded to threats of police boycotts by saying "I'm not a cop hater"?
a. Senator Claire McCaskill
b. Film director Quentin Tarantino
c. Senator Bernie Sanders
d. Steven Spielberg
9. This week it was announced that there's a new Star Trek series coming, but there's a first for how it will be distributed. What is it?
a. It will be released digital-only through a CBS service
b. It will be done as a live stage series on TED Talks
c. It will be distributed via Google Play
d. It will be sold on DVDs at Starbucks stores
10. The leaders of what two states will meet for the first time since 1949?
a. Germany and Poland
b. Israel and Iran
c. China and Taiwan
d. Japan and China
BONUS. Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson found himself explaining which of his views about an ancient object?
a. He wrote in his biography that he knows the Ark of the Covenant is kept in a vast U.S. government warehouse because he saw it in a documentary
b. He told Fox News that the Cambodian temple complex of Angkor Wat "proves Christians flourished in Asia in the 12th century"
c. He said the Egyptian pyramids were built to store grain, and that scientists think aliens built them
d. Satan had the Greeks build the Parthenon and then let it fall into ruin to show the "futility of the pagan approach to life"
ANSWERS
1. c.
2. b.
3. a.
4. d.
5. a.
6. c.
7. d.
8. b.
9. a.
10. c.
BONUS. c.
Want the live news quiz experience? Join us Monday, November 30 in downtown San Francisco for our next live (and lively) Week to Week political roundtable with a news quiz and a social hour at The Commonwealth Club of California. Panelists will include Dr. James Taylor.
Explanations of the hints: Oil bet he's glad to have that off his plate: the oil pipeline has been a much talked-about issue for seven years of his presidency; that was Ed Meese's job: Meese, who later became Reagan's attorney general, was the director of the 1980 presidential transition team; next it'll be death to Saudi Arabia: Iran and Saudi Arabia definitely have policy differences to discuss; and they won't need a translator: China and Taiwan will meet.