1. What has former White House senior aide Rob Porter been accused of?
a. Embezzlement
b. Lying under oath
c. Domestic abuse
2. Former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet is in talks to buy which disgraced Hollywood mogul’s former studio?
a. Brett Ratner
b. Harvey Weinstein
c. Kevin Spacey
3. Some students at which university think colleges should ban racist or defamatory speech, even if it is protected under the First Amendment?
a. University of Utah
b. University of Central Florida
c. Eastern New Mexico University
4. Which country was concerned about riots taking place when anti-racist and anti-fascist protests took place on Feb. 10?
a. Italy
b. France
c. United States
5. Which pharmaceutical company has agreed to stop promoting its opioid drugs to doctors?
a. Purdue Pharma
b. Acadia Pharmaceuticals
c. BioMarin Pharmaceutical
6. On Feb. 10, which two country’s military troops engaged against one another in direct combat for the first time?
a. Lybia and Egypt
b. Saudi Arabia and Yemen
c. Iran and Israel
1. c. Former senior White House aide Rob Porter has been accused of domestic abuse by his two ex-wives, according to the Los Angeles Times. Porter has denied the allegations, but resigned from his position on Feb. 7.
The White House is defending how it has handled the allegations against Porter, but will not release details on when Porter’s superiors were made aware of the allegations. President Trump took to Twitter saying that “lives are being shattered and destroyed by a mere allegation.…There is no recovery for someone falsely accused.”
2. b. According to the Los Angeles Times, former Obama administration official Maria Contreras-Sweet is currently in talks to purchase Harvey Weinstein’s former company, Weinstein Co. The $500 million deal was blocked after the New York attorney general’s office expressed concerns about the deal.
The attorney general’s office launched a civil rights investigation into the company in Oct. 2017, and feels the company needs to address their concerns before the sale. The office is especially concerned with the appointment of David Glasser as chief executive of Weinstein Co. since he served as Weinstein’s right-hand man for years.
3. b. According to the Orlando Sentinel, some students at the University of Central Florida think racist and defamatory speech should be banned on college campuses.
“The university’s first responsibility is ensuring the safety and well-being of their students,” said Kevin Walker, a student at the University of Central Florida. “It might be just words now, but if you let that sort of thing come into the public discourse and become widely accepted, it doesn’t stay words.”
Although hate speech is protected under the First Amendment, more than 40 percent of students believe it is not.
4. a. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, Italy’s authorities anticipated riots during the Feb.10 marches against racism and fascism. Authorities expected far-right street fighters to wreak havoc on the marches.
Instead of taking to the streets, the far right took to Facebook. In response to the marches on Saturday, far right leader Giorgia Meloni posted a video of anti-right protesters beating a policeman. Meloni made several posts over the weekend, causing her party to rise half a percentage in the polls.
5. a. Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the painkiller OxyContin, announced this week that it will no longer be promoting its opioid drugs to doctors, according to the Los Angeles Times. This announcement comes after mounting lawsuits and intense criticism of the company.
“We have restructured and significantly reduced our commercial operation and will no longer be promoting opioids to prescribers,” the company said in a statement.
An investigation by the Los Angeles Times revealed the company had extensive knowledge of illegal trafficking of its pills, but did not report it to law enforcement agencies or cut off the supply of drugs.
6. c. A drone incursion in Israel led to a major confrontation on Saturday between Iran and Israel, according to the Los Angeles Times. The confrontation led to the downing of an Israeli fighter jet and an extensive attack on Iranian military assets in Syria.
The drone, which was shot down by Apache helicopters, was “an advanced, low-signature model Israel has never before captured,” said Brig. Gen. Tomer Bar, second in command of Israel’s air force.
