July 30 Weekly News Quiz: Record Breaking, Bold Letdowns

In 1999, Mena Suvari played a choir girl in the teen sex comedy “American Pie” and a lusted-after high school cheerleader in “American Beauty.”

Mena Suvari News Fact

In her memoir, "The Great Peace: A Memoir," released Tuesday, July 27, 2021, 42-year-old Suvari recounts years of drug addiction and sexual abuse.

After more than 100 years, Cleveland’s Major League Baseball team, The Cleveland Indians, is getting a new name — The Cleveland Guardians. The ballclub announced Friday, July 23, 2021, that by the end of 2021, the Indians would transition from the name they held since 1915.

What about the Washington Redskins?

The Washington Football Team - Formerly the Redskins - continues to work toward their makeover. The franchise recently said it would reveal a new name and logo in 2022.

1984's movie Ghostbusters takes place in New York City, AKA The Big Apple.

Ghostbusters 2021

Sony Pictures' trailer for "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" was released on July 27, 2021. Starring Finn Wolfhard, McKenna Grace, Carrie Coon, and Paul Rudd, "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" was released on Nov. 11. The film's director, and co-writer, is Jason Reitman (Juno), son of the original Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman. Watch the trailer.

The 2021 movie Jungle Cruise is based on a Disneyland riverboat attraction that opened in 1955 and is now located at four Disney theme parks worldwide: Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland. Starring Dwayne Johnson as a riverboat captain and Emily Blunt as a scientist, "Jungle Cruise" opened on July 30, 2021, simultaneously in theaters and Disney+.

Jungle Cruise Fun Fact

The Jungle Cruise attraction was inspired by a 1955 Disney documentary, "The African Lion," about a pride of lions, and the film The African Queen, which inspired the ride's vehicles.

Argentinean nonbinary people can now choose to have their gender marked as an X on their national identity documents and passports if they do not identify as either female or male. The International Civil Aviation Organization accepts the use of X to mark a gender.

Argentina LGBTQ+ News Fact:

On Friday, July 23, 2021, Argentina has become the first country in Latin America to recognize gender nonbinary people officially. The change comes weeks after President Alberto Fernández signed into law a measure that sets aside one percent of the country’s public sector jobs for transgender individuals, which Congress approved in June.

Which other states officially recognize nonbinary people?

Argentina joins several other countries, including New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Malta, Nepal, and several U.S. states, allowing a nonbinary gender marker in identity documents.

The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball issued 22 pages of uniform guidelines for women players in Tokyo 2020. The options include short sleeves and tank tops, long sleeves for modesty and long sleeves for warmth, long pants and shorts, and a one-piece bathing suit or a bikini. The men wear tank tops and board shorts, which can go over long-sleeved shirts and tights in cold weather. And yet, most women's teams choose bikinis.

Which sports limits its women players to bikinis only?

Beach handball, which is not an Olympic sport, requires women to wear bikinis, and the European federation fined the Norwegians for wearing shorts as a protest.

On Monday, July 26, 2021, Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger turned 78 and shared a photo of himself spending some time outdoors thanking his fans for their birthday wishes.

Karate, sport climbing, skateboarding, and surfing are all sports that made their Olympic debut in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (held in July 2021).

Olympic skateboarding news fact:

Yuto Horigome, the 22-year-old son of a Tokyo taxi driver, won the first-ever gold medal for men’s street skateboarding on Sunday, July 25, 2021, in an empty, sun-drenched skatepark about eight miles from where he grew up. In Japan, authorities discourage skateboarding in the streets, and it is sometimes considered a lawbreaking activity.

Naomi Osaka left the Tokyo 2020 Olympics without a medal. The four-time major champion was upset in the third round Tuesday, July 27, 2021, by Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic. The 23-year-old Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron to open the Games officially.

Where was Naomi Osaka born?

Naomi Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan, to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother. They moved to the United States when she was three.

The youngest Olympic gold medalist was Team USA's Marjorie Gestring at the 1936 games in Berlin. Gestring, only 13 years and 267 days old at the time, won gold in the women's diving competition. Dimitros Loundras became the youngest medal winner when he won a bronze medal at ten years, 216 days, during the inaugural Olympic Games in 1896.

13-Year-Old medalists of Tokyo 2020 News Facts

At 13 years, 330 days, Momiji Nishiya's gold medal in Tokyo made her the youngest Japanese gold medalist, third youngest ever to win an event, and the first-ever person to win the women's street skating event Mon July 26, 2021. The silver medal at the same event went to Rayssa Leal, who at 13 years, 204 days, is the youngest Olympic medal winner in more than 60 years and the youngest Brazilian medalist.

Considered the greatest gymnast, Simone Biles is the most decorated American gymnast, with 31 Olympic and World Championship medals combined, including three individual gold medals in the 2016 Olympics and a record seventh US national championship in June 2021.

Simone Biles 2020 Olympics News Facts

On Sunday, July 25, 2021, Simone Biles qualified first overall for the all-around qualifying competition at the Tokyo Olympics, despite going out of bounds during her floor routine at the end of a tumbling pass, stepping off the mat during vault, and needing extra steps to complete her beam dismount. On July 27, the 24-year-old Biles withdrew from the competition following one rotation after realizing she wasn’t in the suitable mental space to compete. “I didn’t want to go into any of the other events second-guessing myself,” Biles said. On Aug 3, Biles returned to the balance beam final to win the bronze medal, tying her with Shannon Miller for most Olympic medals by an American female gymnast with seven total.

The U.S. Attorney in Brooklyn sold Tuesday, July 27, 2021, a single two-CD copy of an unreleased Wu-Tang Clan album to settle a $7.4 million debt by American convicted hedge fund and pharmaceuticals CEO Martin Shkreli, AKA Pharma Bro.

Why is Martin Shkreli called Pharma Bro?

Martin Shkreli gained the name for raising the price of the HIV-related drug Daraprim by more than 5,000 percent while running the company then known as Turing Pharmaceuticals. U.S court convicted Shkreli of using money from his pharmaceutical firm Retrophin to pay off investors and cover other debts.

What’s the most expensive album ever sold?

Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin is the most expensive album ever sold. Its remarkable value derives from the fact that it was printed in just one copy, as the band’s attempt to create a unique piece of art. In comparison -  Ringo Starr’s private 0000001-numbered copy of The Beatles' White Album is the most expensive, widely released record ever sold - for $790,000 at an auction in 2015.

Kanye West has been living inside an Atlanta stadium while working on his 2021 album.

Kanye West News Fact

A representative for the Atlanta Mercedes-Benz stadium told AP Monday, Jul. 26, 2021, that West planned to remain inside the stadium while working on completing “Donda,” his 10th studio album, which was then due Aug. 6, 2021. It eventually started streaming on Aug. 29.

Netflix launched Paris Hilton’s unscripted reality series Cooking with Paris on Aug 4, 2021. On the trailer, released July 27, the show is described as a Netflix “cooking” series.