You wouldn't guess it from TV, but there has been a lot going on this week besides the Florida murder trial. See how much you were able to read between the lines by taking our weekly news quiz.
Here are some random but real hints: Maybe we get an award for having outlasted the Russians; at least he didn't resign after one-half term; the sequestration pays off; reports are unclear if she put her hand over her heart; and it's odd, considering he was a vegetarian. Answers are at the bottom of the quiz.
1. Florida's leaders were bracing themselves for possible unrest as the result of what?
a. Plans by Dubai's royal family to purchase Disneyworld
b. The sudden resignation of Governor Rick Scott
c. The proposal to build an impenetrable seawall between the state and Cuba
d. The possible acquittal of George Zimmerman
2. It was reported this week that 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed had been allowed to do what while he was in a CIA secret prison?
a. Be served only halal food
b. Have escorted visits to the local mosque
c. Write a book, which is due to be released this week from Random House
d. Design a vacuum cleaner
3. President Obama is considering a withdrawal of all troops from what country in 2014?
a. Iraq
b. Syria
c. South Korea
d. Afghanistan
4. What step did Texas Governor Rick Perry take this week that has people talking about him planning a new presidential campaign in 2016?
a. He got hair plugs
b. He declined to run for reelection as governor
c. He outlawed all abortions in Texas
d. He set up a SuperPAC, Ready to Roll with Rick
5. What is Nobel Peace Prize-winner Mohamed ElBaradei's new job?
a. Vice president of Egypt
b. Executive director of the International Monetary Fund
c. King of Syria
d. Spokesman for Wikileaks
6. At a fashion event in Little Rock, Arkansas, Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour expressed her support for what possible 2016 presidential candidate?
a. Rick Perry
b. Hillary Clinton
c. Andrew Cuomo
d. Oscar de la Renta
7. What former office holder announced a candidacy for New York City comptroller?
a. Eliot Spitzer
b. Rudolph Giuliani
c. George Pataki
d. Anthony Weiner
8. Who reported a surprise $116 billion budget surplus for the month of June?
a. Google
b. Apple
c. The U.S. Treasury
d. al Qaeda
9. San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim made news this week by reciting what at a Board of Supervisors meeting for the first time?
a. The Pledge of Allegiance
b. The Lord's Prayer
c. The Gettysburg Address
d. Gandalf's entire battle speech from The Lord of the Rings
10. This week in Justin Bieber news: Why did the singer call Bill Clinton to apologize?
a. He said he'd rather sing in Azerbaijan than in Clinton's home state of Arkansas
b. He said he was sorry for including inappropriate lyrics about Clinton's daughter in a new song
c. He had been videotaped urinating into a janitor's mop bucket and spraying water on a picture of Clinton while swearing at the former president
d. He was photographed by paparazzi giving a Nazi salute before a poster of Clinton
BONUS. Kentucky Fried Chicken is threatening legal action against a Bangkok chicken restaurant whose logo is similar to KFC's but is named after whom?
a. Anthony Bourdain
b. Rupert Murdoch
c. Ronald McDonald
d. Adolf Hitler
Join us for our next live Week to Week political commentary program with a news quiz at The Commonwealth Club on July 26 in San Francisco, featuring Carla Marinucci, Debra J. Saunders, and Dr. Larry Gerston.
ANSWERS: 1) d. 2) d. 3) d. 4) b. 5) a. 6) b. 7) a. 8) c. 9) a. 10) c. BONUS) d.
EXPLANATIONS OF THE HINTS: Maybe we get an award for having outlasted the Russians: The Soviets were only in Afghanistan for a little over eight years, but we will have been there for well over a decade; at least he didn't resign after one-half term: If Perry ends up running against fellow former GOP Governor Sarah Palin, he'll be able to boast reelection cred; the sequestration pays off: Sequestration plus profit paybacks from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped fuel the monthly surplus; reports are unclear if she put her hand over her heart: She reportedly hadn't said the Pledge since high school; and it's odd, considering he was a vegetarian: Look, let's not even try to divine the inner workings of the brains of someone who would make a KFC knockoff based on Hitler, let's just note that for whatever it's worth, Hitler didn't eat meat.