If you're a vice president thinking of joining the presidential race, take our latest Week to Week news quiz to see what you would have to deal with.
Here are some random but real hints: But Julian Castro won't endorse him; she's trying to end gridlock; Samsung execs are probably becoming cheeseheads; and it's feast or famine in terms of weather. Answers are below the quiz.
1. Why do conservative hard-liners in Congress have a problem with possible House speaker Rep. Paul Ryan?
a. He has supported immigration reform
b. He attended the same-sex wedding of his niece last month
c. He endorsed establishment Republican Jeb Bush for president
d. He told a Fox News reporter that he was sure he "could work with a President Clinton or Sanders, if the need be"
2. In the Democratic presidential debate Tuesday, who said "I'm a progressive. But I'm a progressive who likes to get things done"?
a. Bernie Sanders
b. Martin O'Malley
c. Hillary Clinton
d. Lincoln Chafee
3. If completed, this $67 billion merger would be the biggest in tech history. What is it?
a. Twitter is acquiring Apple
b. Google is acquiring smartphone maker Samsung
c. Dell is acquiring storage company EMC
d. Oracle is acquiring Universal Exports
4. What happened last weekend at a peace rally in Ankara, Turkey?
a. Two bombs went off, killing 97 people
b. Turkey's president announced plans to resign
c. Turkey's prime minister apologized for attacking Kurdish cities
d. ISIS recruited 18 new members
5. On Tuesday, in a decision that could cost Apple hundreds of millions of dollars, a federal jury ruled that Apple had violated a patent held by whom?
a. Google
b. A University of Wisconsin research foundation
c. Gwen DeMarco, a 26-year-old computer science student in Maine
d. Entertainment magnate Sheldon Adelson
6. Where did President Obama say this week the United States was going to keep troops through 2016?
a. Iraq
b. Syria
c. North Korea
d. Afghanistan
7. What did Playboy magazine announce it would do in early 2016?
a. Stop publishing a print edition
b. Build a new casino club in Havana, Cuba
c. Stop printing nude photos in its magazine
d. Accept a buyout offer from Google
8. What does House Speaker John Boehner reportedly want to do before he leaves office at the end of this month?
a. Get Congress to pass a bill to raise the debt limit
b. Ensure that Rep. Louie Gohmert succeeds him as speaker
c. Convert to Islam
d. Repeal Obamacare
9. What reached its lowest level since 2008?
a. U.S. troops in Germany
b. The U.S. budget deficit in fiscal 2015
c. Lake Michigan
d. The number of new HIV cases in America
10. Where did flash floods lead to mudslides that required emergency rescues of people from a highway?
a. Peshtigo, Wisconsin
b. Suburban Pittsburgh
c. Clinton, New Hampshire
d. Near Los Angeles
BONUS. What lawsuit by Jennifer Connell was rejected by a Connecticut jury on Tuesday?
a. She sued the U.S. Government to stop it from "spending any more money on space exploration until it solves poverty here on Earth"
b. She was seeking $450,000 from her ex-husband for emotional distress after he named his new dog after her
c. She sued her 12-year-old nephew for $127,000 for accidentally breaking her wrist four years ago when he enthusiastically greeted her at his birthday party
d. She sued the U.S. military because her ancestors lost their house when it was burned by Union troops and had to be sold; the land is now valued at $1.4 million
ANSWERS
1. a.
2. c.
3. c.
4. a.
5. b.
6. d.
7. c.
8. a.
9. b.
10. d.
BONUS. c.
Want the live news quiz experience? Join us Wednesday, November 4 at noon in downtown San Francisco 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 Joe Garofoli, Josh Richman, and Debra J. Saunders.
Explanations of the hints: But Julian Castro won't endorse him: Ryan's support for immigration reform won't help his party if many of its leaders remain vociferously opposed to it; she's trying to end gridlock: compromise is often seen as selling out by hard-liners in both parties, but little happens without it; Samsung execs are probably becoming cheeseheads: Samsung has been sued by Apple for patent infringement, so their execs could note their schadenfreude by donning cheesehead hats; and it's feast or famine in terms of weather: California has been locked in a withering drought for four years, but the rains are starting and are expected to be historic.