Let's see if the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army can decode this: It's our weekly news quiz, and it's full of spies, popes and wobbly stocks.
Here are some random but real hints: It takes the See out of the Holy See; money is the cause of most marital breakups, too; and justice delayed is justice denied. Now take the test and see how you perform.
1. For what was Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. convicted this week?
a. Taking part in voter intimidation during the 2012 general election
b. Attempting to bribe former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in return for the appointment to Barack Obama's U.S. Senate seat
c. Using $750,000 in campaign funds for personal use
d. Violations of the Voting Rights Act
2. Following his retirement this month, what are Pope Benedict XVI's plans?
a. Run as a fusion candidate for Italian prime minister
b. Move back to Bavaria and run a monastery
c. Remain in the Vatican in seclusion
d. Tour Roman Catholic dioceses around the world in service to the new pope
3. Who was blamed for hacking into major American government and corporate networks?
a. Facebook
b. The Department of Homeland Security
c. al Qaeda
d. Chinese military cyberspies
4. Which of the following was not included in an advertising campaign as examples of Republicans who support same-sex marriage?
a. Laura Bush
b. Dick Cheney
c. Colin Powell
d. Karl Rove
5. What state legislature is considering legislation that would remove the Boy Scouts' state tax exemption because the group does not allow homosexual members?
a. Florida
b. California
c. Georgia
d. Wisconsin
6. What caused stocks to tumble on Wednesday?
a. Fears that the Federal Reserve was going to end its stimulus efforts
b. Rumors that Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was going to resign
c. Fears of instability caused by the pope's resignation
d. The announcement that Germany had slipped into recession
7. Why did President Barack Obama call House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday?
a. To invite them to Camp David for a fiscal summit
b. To argue for increased gun control measures
c. To invite them to play golf with him and Tiger Woods
d. To discuss sequestration budget cuts
8. In the murder case against South African athlete Oscar Pistorius, why was the top detective in the case replaced?
a. The detective was rumored to have had a romantic history with the victim
b. The detective asked to be reassigned to a less high-profile case
c. The detective faces possible murder charges of his own
d. The detective is Pistorius' brother
9. What is "Thundersnow"?
a. The U.S. government's code-name for its anti-cyberspying effort
b. The next James Bond film, which begins filming in the spring
c. Senator Rand Paul's Secret Service code name
d. The major winter storm that hit the U.S. Midwest this week
10. Why did a 10-year-old Massachusetts boy call 911?
a. He spotted burglars breaking into the bank across the street; the police nabbed all four burglars
b. He found an unregistered gun in his father's nightstand
c. He was reporting his mother because he did not want to go to bed
d. He reported fraud in his grade school
BONUS. Why has China put 80-year-old Mr. Qiu on trial?
a. He is being made a scapegoat for Western claims of Chinese cyberspying
b. He killed a policeman involved in gangland money laundering
c. He is charged with killing a doctor during the official mayhem of the Cultural Revolution
d. He stole an iPhone during his 15-minute lunch break at the factory
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 March 4(featuring Huffington Post San Francisco editor Carly Schwartz) in downtown San Francisco. Also see the Week to Week website for event dates, audio, and more.
ANSWERS: 1) c. 2) c. 3) d. 4) d (though Bush did request to be removed from the ad). 5) b. 6) a. 7) d. 8) c. 9) d. 10) c. BONUS: c.
EXPLANATION OF THE HINTS: Benedict'll be the unseen ex-pope; money and its spending is a major cause of the Obama-GOP divide; 45 years is a long time to wait to try a man for a crime.