1. Which famous Western Europe structure caught fire April 15, severely damaging a centuries-old building?
a. The British Parliament in London
b. The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris
c. The Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa
2. With mayor of South Bend Indiana Pete Buttigieg’s presidential campaign announcement on April 14, 18 Democrats have declared their intention to try and unseat incumbent President Donald Trump in 2020. Meanwhile, the first Republican candidate has announced his bid for the nomination. Who was it?
a. Former Governor of Ohio John Kasich
b. Former Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker
c. Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld
here’s a picture of Mayor Pete because I accidentally wrote all questions where the pictures gave away the answers.
3. Which news organization(s) won Pulitzer Prizes on April 15 for reporting in the past year?
a. Capital Gazette and The Washington Post
b. The Los Angeles Times and The South Florida Sun Sentinel
c. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal
4. Shareholders in which tech giant company recently claimed that its CEO has too much power and called for the sale of other businesses the corporation owns?
a. Facebook
b. Google
c. Microsoft
d. Who are we kidding, it’s obviously Facebook
5. Which franchise announced last week that two new movie trilogies are in the works, but they don’t have set dates for release yet?
a. “Star Wars”
b. “The Walking Dead”
c. “Marvel”
Answers:
1. b. A fire partially destroyed the Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15, according to DPA. The 850-year old structure caught fire in the early evening and continued to burn for hours. Firefighters reported that they were able to save the edifice and much of the artwork in the cathedral, but the spire fell. According to DPA, the Paris prosecutor’s office has reported that there is no evidence of arson, but the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
2. c. Weld announced his campaign for the 2020 Republican nomination on April 15, according to New York Daily News. Weld has sought political office many times in the past: he served as running mate to Libertarian Gary Johnson in 2016 and made a bid for governor of New York in 2006, losing to Democrat George Pataki. Weld also unsuccessfully attempted to unseat Democratic Sen. John Kerry in 1996.
3. b. The Los Angeles Times and the Sun Sentinel both took home Pulitzer Prizes April 15, for their coverage of former University of Southern California gynecologist George Tyndall sexually abusing students over three decades and coverage of the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, respectively. Capital Gazette received a special Pulitzer citation and $100,000, which the Baltimore Sun reported as the highest ever awarded, for their coverage of the shooting at the Capital Gazette office in Annapolis.
4. a. According to The Mercury News, multiple shareholders have filed proposals that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has too much power. The company will review the proposals at its annual meeting, including one which calls for the sale of other businesses Facebook owns. Half of the proposals decry Zuckerberg’s position with 57.7 percent of the voting rights in the company.
5. a. Despite Disney shelving the “Star Wars Story” line of movies, “Star Wars” movies will keep coming after the release of “The Rise of Skywalker” in December this year. The Chicago Tribune reported that at the Star Wars Celebration at McCormick Place this year, Lucasfilm announced two new movie trilogies, one directed by “The Last Jedi” director Rian Johnson and one directed by the creators of “Game of Thrones.” However, Disney president Bob Iger also announced last week that “Star Wars” movies will be on hiatus for a few years following the current arc’s conclusion.
