See if you can win a gold medal by getting all of the answers correct in our week-to-week news quiz.
Here are some random but real hints: maybe the U.S. applied for one of those debt-cancellation programs; her own line of handbags didn't help; it's just not as much fun with A-Rod gone; and a penny won't get you anyone's thoughts, anymore.
1. Cable giant Comcast made a bid to merge with what company?
a. AT&T Cable Systems
b. Google Fiber
c. CNN
d. Time-Warner Cable
2. Who is GOP Senator Rand Paul suing?
a. President Obama because of NSA surveillance
b. Edward Snowden for leaking national secrets
c. Chris Christie for closing a bridge
d. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal for waging a silent war on religion
3. What foreign leader visited San Francisco as part of a trip that included a state dinner in Washington, D.C.?
a. Chinese President Xi Jinping
b. French President Francois Hollande
c. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto
d. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff
4. What bill did the U.S. House pass in a "clean" form?
a. The Clean Up Campaign Finance Act of 2014
b. The debt limit increase bill
c. The immigration reform bill
d. The Unencumbered Oil Spill Cleanup and Financing Act
5. Comic genius Sid Caesar passed away at the age of 91. On what show did he work with fellow legends Neil Simon, Carl Reiner, Mel Brooks, Imogene Coca and others?
a. The Mary Tyler Moore Show
b. The Dick Van Dyke Show
c. Saturday Night Live
d. Your Show of Shows
6. According to newly released personal notes from a friend, whom did Hillary Clinton describe as a "narcissistic looney toon"?
a. Newt Gingrich
b. Bill Clinton
c. Francois Mitterand
d. Monica Lewinsky
7. What car was the subject of a recall of 1.9 million vehicles, almost half of its total production run?
a. Volkswagen Jetta hybrid
b. Chevy Volt
c. Toyota Prius
d. Dodge Coronet
8. Who announced his plans for retirement at the end of 2014?
a. Derek Jeter
b. Waylon Smithers
c. John Boehner
d. Steven Spielberg
9. What caused more than 500,000 people in the South to lose power this week?
a. Their power had been cut off because of unpaid bills
b. A suspected terrorist "test attack" of the power grid
c. Yet another winter storm
d. Disputes between Texas and Louisiana over access to the shared grid led to a temporary shutdown for half a million people
10. Tom Perkins, the venture capitalist who compared criticism of the one percent to the Nazi's Kristallnacht, clarified his remarks on Thursday at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club. What did he not say?
a. There really isn't a war on the one percent
b. A million dollars should get you a million votes
c. Silicon Valley is a meritocracy
d. Medicare is great; it's just under-funded
BONUS. The federal government has issued new guidelines to banks to provide services to whom?
a. Middle Eastern companies
b. The one percent
c. Olympic medal winners
d. Marijuana-related businesses
Want the live news quiz experience? Join us Friday, February 21 in San Francisco for our next live Week to Week political roundtable with a news quiz and a social hour at The Commonwealth Club. Panelists include Debra J. Saunders, Dr. Larry Gerston, and C.W. Nevius.
ANSWERS: 1) d. 2) a. 3) b. 4) b. 5) d. 6) d. 7) c. 8) a. 9) c. 10) a. BONUS) d.
Explanations of the hints: maybe the U.S. applied for one of those debt-cancellation programs: the debt ceiling move takes it off the table during an election year; her own line of handbags didn't help: Lewinsky launched her own line of handbags; it's just not as much fun with A-Rod gone: Derek Jeter's teammate is banned for the 2014 season; and a penny won't get you anyone's thoughts, anymore: it's not clear if Perkins' deliberately outrageous example would allow 100 people to go in together on one vote if each pays a penny.