1. How many members of Beta Theta Pi attending Pennsylvania State University have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and felony aggravated assault?
a. 8
b. 9
c. 10
2. A federal grand jury approved the first charges on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into which country’s meddling in the 2016 election on Oct. 23?
A. North Korea
B. China
C. Russia
3. Which Houston Astros player made a racially offensive gesture during the World Series game?
A. Collin McHugh
B. Evan Gattis
C. Yuli Gurriel
4. Which movie is expected to make up for the box office’s current flops in October?
A. Geostorm
B. Jigsaw
C. Blade Runner 2049
5. Which early rock legend who died on Oct. 24?
A. Fats Domino
B. Jimi Hendrix
C. Jim Morrison
6. Which team won the record-breaking Game 5 of the World Series?
A. Los Angeles Dodgers
B. Houston Astros
C. Chicago Cubs
1. A. Eight members of Beta Theta Pi attending Pennsylvania State University were accused of fatally hazing a pledge in February 2017 and are now faced with charges of involuntary manslaughter and felony aggravated assault. Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller refiled the case after the death of sophomore pledge Tim Piazza in February, stating the case should be heard by a new judge. As a result of the previous case, Brendan Young, president of the Beta Theta Pi chapter at Penn State, and fellow fraternity members Daniel Casey, the pledge master; Jonah Neuman; Nick Kubera; Michael Bonatucci; Gary DiBileo; Luke Visser; and Joe Sala were cleared from their charges of connection to Piazza’s death by Centre County Judge Allen Sinclair.
The defense attorney for Bonatucci, Rocco C. Cipparone Jr. called Parks Miller’s refiling “punitive” and intends to challenge her request for a new judge, expecting his client to win the case.
2. C. According to The Hill, indictments stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling in the 2016 election on Oct. 23 could lead to imprisonment of the charged members of the investigation as early as Oct. 30. Key lawmakers didn’t know too much about potential indictments, which have been authorized by a federal grand jury and are currently sealed under a judge’s orders.
The ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, who has been a leader in Congress’s probe into Russian election interference, said he is not aware of who may be charged but has suspicions that either Security Adviser Mike Flynn or Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort will be charged due to press reporting. Due to the confidentiality of the investigation, both the public and members of Congress can only speculate about the charges against the unknown individuals.
3. C. Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel made a racist gesture toward Asians after scoring a home run from Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish’s pitch at the World Series game on Oct. 27. Other Asians like Los Angeles Chinese American rapper Jason Chu, Los Angeles chef Roy Choi and actor Daniel Dae Kim spoke out against Gurriel.
The Los Angeles Times reports that Major League Baseball responded to Gurriel’s behavior with a suspension without any pay for five games at the start of the 2018 season and a sensitivity training, but Gurriel will still participate in the World Series. Darvish stated that his behavior didn’t personally bother him but suspects the Astros’ image might suffer as a result, and he hopes Gurriel will take his behavior as a learning experience.
4. B. The eighth installment of the “Saw” franchise “Jigsaw” is expected to earn $16.2 million in the U.S. and Canada. It is expected to make up for October’s movie flops despite sitting below analysts’ expectations of $20 million, making the film at the top of the October movies with “Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween,” “Geostorm,” “Happy Death Day” and “Blade Runner 2049” in the October top five lists, respectively. Senior media analyst at measurement firm ComScore Paul Dergarabedian said the box office had a difficult month compared to the September hits like “It.”
The Los Angeles Times reports that November is expected to be a great month for the box office. “November could be a monster,” Dergarabedian said. “And we need it. Between ‘Thor’ and ‘Justice League’ alone, I think this could, ironically enough, be one of the biggest Novembers ever…”
5. A. According to the New York Times, New Orleans rhythm-and-blues singer and early rock legend Fats Domino died on Oct. 24 at his home in Harvey, Louisiana, at age 89. Domino had three dozen Top 40 hits through the 1950s and the early 1960s, such as “Blueberry Hill” and “Ain’t It a Shame.”
Domino sold 65 million singles during those years and was awarded with 23 gold records, making him second in commercial enterprise only to rock legend Elvis Presley. Presley even acknowledged Domino as a predecessor.
6. B. The Houston Astros won Game 5 of the World Series 13–12 over the Los Angeles Dodgers, breaking records along the way. George Springer, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa batted a total of 12 times and reached the bases 11 times, which produced three walks, three singles, two doubles and three homers. Bregman hit the winning point over the first-pitch cutter from Kenley Jansen. There were eight home runs hit in the game, attributing to the most home runs ever hit in a Series.
The Los Angeles Times reports Astros manager A.J. Hinch commented on how the entire team has a batting competition in games: “I want to say I’d rather have nobody else up there, but then I’d be disrespecting Altuve, Correa, Springer, (Yuli) Gurriel, guys that are really good hitters.”