A lot of the news this week made you want to wash your ears with soap after hearing it. Try to get something redeeming out of the experience by taking our test.
Here are some random but real hints: Let's work on that; Amazon's not happy; Dennis Rodman must have had something to do with this; and that's electrifying news. Answers are at the bottom of the quiz.
1. How much money was stolen from ATMS in a matter of hours by a band of recently captured cybercriminals?
a. $20,000
b. $1.1 billion
c. $45 million
d. $150,000
2. What dropped this week to its lowest level in more than five years?
a. Federal government debt
b. The number of new jobless claims
c. Americans' trust in Congress
d. President Obama's approval rating
3. Which sporting event in the Bay Area was the scene of a fatality on Thursday?
a. America's Cup training
b. Warriors playoffs fan convention
c. 49ers winter training
d. Giants pre-game festivities
4. The U.S. Senate approved a bill to collect taxes on what?
a. Overseas military weapons sales
b. Private space tourism
c. Sales over the internet
d. Medical marijuana
5. Who revealed this week that he had had weight loss surgery earlier in the year?
a. Newt Gingrich
b. Seth Rogan
c. Lindsay Lohan
d. Chris Christie
6. What did the Pentagon call a "provocation pause" early this week?
a. North Korea removed missiles from their launch sites
b. Israel struck Syrian missiles before they were shipped to Lebanon
c. Argentina backed away from harsh rhetoric on the Falkland Islands
d. Taliban fighters deserted an Afghan town shortly after taking control of it
7. Who is Amanda Berry?
a. The American exchange student heading to Italy for a retrial on murder charges
b. The California hiker rescued after being lost in the woods for three weeks
c. A woman who escaped from a home in Cleveland where she had been held captive for a decade
d. Co-star of Iron Man III, which broke box office records this past weekend
8. Who finally agreed to bury the unwanted body of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev?
a. His uncle
b. His parents in Russia
c. An anonymous individual
d. The New York State pauper's cemetery
9. Consumer Reports gave its highest-ever score to what car?
a. Acura TSX
b. Tesla Model S
c. Ford Fusion
d. Volkswagen turbo hybrid Jetta
10. Who has joined a boycott of a conference in Israel over opposition to its occupation of Palestinian territories?
a. Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
b. Physicist Stephen Hawking
c. Rev. Jesse Jackson
d. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch
BONUS. Jacob and Sophia hold what distinction?
a. The names British royals Kate and William are planning to use for their babies
b. The pre-chosen names of the first two tropical storms to hit in the fall
c. The names of the Netherlands' new king and queen
d. The most popular baby names in the United States in 2012
The news and the quizzes don't stop there! Join us for our next live Week to Week political commentary program with a news quiz at The Commonwealth Club on May 17 in downtown San Francisco, featuring Huffington Post's Aaron Sankin, the San Francisco Examiner's Melissa Griffin and the San Francisco Chronicle's C.W. Nevius.
ANSWERS: 1) c. 2) b. 3) a. 4) c. 5) d. 6) a. 7) c. 8) c. 9) b. 10) b. BONUS) d.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE HINTS: Fewer new jobless claims means more workers, or at least not fewer ones; Amazon.com has been a vocal critic of online sales taxes; Rodman has also asked his pal, the North Korean dictator, to free an American prisoner; and the Tesla is an electric car.