The Week of August 9, 2026 by CoenM

Description


Instructions

Answer the questions below to the best of your ability without using outside resources. Outside references include (but certainly are not limited to) searching for an answer on the internet, looking at maps, using a calculator, or asking a friend (or foe) if they know the answer. Basically, you are relying on your brain (and maybe a pencil and paper).

For each correct answer, you will receive 15 points. You must also mark 5 questions as "money" questions. For each money question that you answer correctly, you will receive bonus points equal to the percent of players who answered incorrectly. (That is, if 25% of players got a question right, its money bonus would be worth 75 points.) You still don't get any points for a wrong answer, though, so try to select the hardest questions you think you have answered correctly. (Note: You can't use outside resources to help pick your money questions either.)

This quiz is closed for grading, and you can no longer submit answers. When the author has finished grading, the results will be published on this page.

Questions

Question 1

In a speech Donald Trump suggested making what WATERWAY territory of the US? It was unclear if this was a shift in US policy, but Iran responded by noting it would control whether the waterway is open or closed to shipping.

Strait of Hormuz

Question 2

What COUNTRY banned Yobloko, its only anti-war party, from standing in next month's parliamentary elections?

Russia

Question 3

US Navy Secretary Hung Cao announced that what AIRCRAFT CARRIER would return to the US from its deployment in the Middle East, which has lasted over 9 months with more than 200 days without a port call? Allegations of poor food, poor sanitation, and declining mental health among its sailors led CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper to visit the carrier.

USS Abraham Lincoln

Question 4

Nearly 300 people died and at least another 300 are missing after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Colombia, with nearly a third of the fatalities coming from what CITY, the country's third largest?

Cali

Question 5

What FORMER PRESIDENT of Syria was sentenced to death in absentia, along with his brother Maher and six other officials, for crimes against humanity committed during the country's civil war? The sentence is unlikely to be carried out, as the former president is currently living in exile in Russia.

Bashar al-Assad

Question 6

What DEFENDANT pled guilty to federal charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, admitting that he killed Thompson? Defense attorneys quickly filed a motion to dismiss state charges against the gunman, claiming double jeopardy.

Luigi Mangione

Question 7

The Democratic National Committee voted to hold its first in the nation primary in what SOUTHERN STATE rather than New Hampshire? The move, along with early voting in Nevada and New Mexico, will give Black, Latino, and labor voters more of a say in early primary results.

South Carolina

Question 8

What REFORM PARTY LEADER is once again the MP for Clacton, handily winning a byelection he sparked by resigning the seat? He may have to run for the seat again if a parliamentary investigation of his finances leads to his expulsion from the House of Commons

Nigel Farage

Question 9

While progressive Democrats won primaries for Vermont governor and a US Senate seat in Minnesota, what state saw moderate David Crowley edge state assemblywoman Francesca Hong?

Wisconsin

Question 10

Your HallR Memorial Maxi-Theme of the Week: Tough Times for Drink Cart Donnie. Donald Trump admitted that a reported threat by Iran against Air Force One led him to leave what COUNTRY, where he had attended a NATO summit, in another plane after being snuck off of the presidential jet in a catering truck?

Turkey

Question 11

What WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY announced she was stepping down? She will continue to serve as an outside advisor to the White House while spending more time with her family.

Karoline Leavitt

Question 12

A federal judge dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit against what IVY LEAGE UNIVERSITY, which claims the school committed civil rights violations against Jewish students? The judge noted that cited cases of harassment were too "isolated and episodic" to prove ongoing rights violations.

Harvard