Here's a Labor Day Week to Week news quiz for you to see how much you know about what's happening near and afar.
Here are some random but real hints: They want to go to Germany; he wanted to go to Alaska; they want to go to the doctor; and it wanted to get to the other side. Answers are below the quiz.
1. Why aren't the trains running on time in Hungary?
a. The right-wing government has stopped funding what it calls "a socialist transportation system"
b. Authorities have blocked trains filled with refugees fleeing the Middle East's wars
c. The train tracks leading out of Budapest were damaged by rioting soccer fans
d. Most of the country's train engineers have found other jobs driving for Uber
2. Who proposed a $10 billion plan to deal with drug and alcohol addiction?
a. President Barack Obama
b. John Boehner
c. Bill Maher
d. Hillary Clinton
3. What is the new name President Obama plans to give the tallest U.S. mountain, Mt. McKinley?
a. Mt. Sonali
b. Mt. Denali
c. Mt. Obama
d. Mt. Reagan
4. What happened when Daniel Barenboim, music director of the Berlin State Opera House, announced plans for a concert in Tehran as an act of cultural diplomacy?
a. Israel forced him to cancel the concert because of the nuclear deal
b. Iran canceled the concert because Barenboim holds Israeli citizenship
c. The U.S. State Department signed on to co-sponsor the concert
d. The German government forced Barenboim to cancel the concert, citing "delicate international and historical sensitivities"
5. What kind of outbreak was announced at California's San Quentin prison this week?
a. An escape of six inmates who hid in a truckload of laundry
b. An outbreak of violence due to fighting by inmates over drones dropping drugs into the prison yard
c. An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease
d. An outbreak of measles has spread through the prison, where as much as 40% of the inmates are not vaccinated
6. Pope Francis said priests have the right during his proclaimed Holy Year to grant absolution for what?
a. Blasphemy
b. Abortions
c. Same-sex love
d. Eating before sundown during Ramadan
7. Why was Kim Davis jailed?
a. She refused to do her job and issue marriage licenses
b. She was intercepted by Washington airport officials after trying to move to the Middle East with her children and join Islamic State
c. She refused to sell a wedding cake to a Muslim couple
d. She was involved in the NFL's Deflategate scandal
8. How did G.I. Joe die?
a. The Obama administration
b. MGM canceled the G.I. Joe movie series after star Channing Tatum was recorded insulting the troops
c. Three suspects gunned down the Chicago-area police officer Charles Joseph Gliniewitz, whose nickname was "G.I. Joe"
d. Hasbro is replacing the popular toy with a Russian-themed soldier named Oleg
9. How did China deploy trained monkeys this week?
a. They deterred birds from the route for the parade commemorating the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II
b. They flew miniature war planes in a mock battle over Tiananmen Square
c. They were placed in a university study with a room of typewriters to see if they would write Shakespeare
d. They were enlisted in a nationwide anti-corruption campaign, attacking alleged criminals in the streets
10. What caused an unusual custody battle to break out in Oakland this week?
a. Three people claim ownership of a chicken that had wandered into traffic near the Bay Bridge
b. Ailing teenager Daphne Kuleabuus is being fought over by her divorced parents, who disagree over her right to assisted suicide
c. Two married but separated police officers are suing each other for custody of their retired police dog Charlie
d. ElemeNopee, an online gaming company that enjoys legal status as a human being due to Supreme Court rulings, is being fought over by Google and Microsoft, both of which claim to be its parent company
BONUS. According to information gleaned from 7,000 pages of State Department emails, what are two of Hillary Clinton's favorite TV shows?
a. Project Runway and Game of Thrones
b. The Rachel Maddow Show and The Graham Norton Show
c. Huckabee and The Apprentice
d. The Good Wife and Parks and Recreation
ANSWERS
1) b.
2) d.
3) b.
4) b.
5) c.
6) b.
7) a.
8) c.
9) a.
10) a.
BONUS) d.
Want the live news quiz experience? Join us Tuesday, September 15 in Palo Alto for our next live (and lively) Week to Week political roundtable with a news quiz and a social hour at The Commonwealth Club of California. Panelists include Carson Bruno, Larry Gerston, and Barbara Marshman.
Explanations of the hints: They want to go to Germany: many of the displaced people are trying to get to Germany, which has been more accommodating to this wave of refugees than have many other European countries; he wanted to go to Alaska: the Obama administration made the name-change announcement shortly before the president traveled to Alaska; they want to go to the doctor: Legionnaire's disease is treatable by medical professionals; and it wanted to get to the other side: the errant chicken obstructed traffic as it wandered across the busy highway.