March 14, 2023 Current Events

Intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials suggested which group was behind the attack last year on the Nord Stream pipelines that carried natural gas from Russia to Europe?

• A Chinese opposition group

• A pro-Ukrainian group

• Iran’s security forces

• Russia’s spy agency

President Biden’s proposed budget, announced this week, included a plan to extend the solvency of Medicare beyond 2050 in which two ways?

• Increasing taxes on people earning over $400,000

• Cutting the Defense Department’s budget in half

• Raising Medicare’s age of eligibility to 70

• Strengthening Medicare’s power to negotiate drug prices

Alex Murdaugh, a prominent South Carolina lawyer from a powerful family, was found guilty of killing his wife and son. What sentence did he receive?

• 50 years in prison

• 30 years in prison

• Life in prison

• 5 years in prison

Russia launched its biggest aerial attack on Ukraine in weeks on Thursday. The barrage included six of Russia’s most advanced missiles, called Kinzhals, which are notable in what aspect?

• They are bioweapons.

• They are nuclear weapons.

• They fly at hypersonic speeds.

• They fire from drones.

After a two-year investigation, the Justice Department said this week that it had found a pattern of discriminatory policing in what city?

• Louisville, Ky.

• Minneapolis

• Mount Vernon, N.Y.

• Oklahoma City

Voters in Oklahoma this week rejected a measure to legalize what?

• Autonomous vehicles

• Online gun sales

• Prayer in public schools

• Recreational marijuana

Private text messages, made public through a lawsuit, described Donald Trump as a “demonic force” and said of Trump, “I hate him passionately.” Who sent the texts?

• President Biden

• Tucker Carlson

• Mike Pence

• Vladimir Putin

What’s going on in this picture?

• An alien spacecraft was intercepted, the first definitive proof that life exists on other planets.

• An Irukandji box jellyfish, a venomous species of rare jellyfish, and the smallest jellyfish in the world, was spotted in the Gulf of Mexico.

• The Biden administration shot down a “high-altitude surveillance balloon” launched by China.

• Scientists released burning magnesium packets from an airship to identify holes in the ozone layer.

When ___________ in the village of East Palestine, Ohio, this February, it set off evacuation orders, a chemical scare and a federal investigation.

• a coal mine exploded

• an 18-wheeler truck overturned

• a plane crashed

• a train derailed

Feb. 24 was the one-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. The ripple effects of Russia’s invasion have reordered lives and upended economies.

Which one of the following is NOT a consequence of the conflict, the largest land war in Europe since World War II began?

• Eight million refugees from Ukraine have fled to other parts of Europe. (Another five million are estimated to be displaced inside Ukraine.)

• European unity and the NATO alliance have been strengthened. Sweden and Finland abandoned military neutrality and sought NATO membership.

• Russia is now more isolated from the West, and international sanctions have damaged the country’s economy.

• The United States sent thousands of ground troops to Ukraine to directly engage Russian military forces.

• The war has contributed to higher inflation for many countries across the globe, including the United States, France and Britain.