Sept. 22 News Quiz: What Has the US Military Lost and Found?

On Sept. 18, 2023, the US Military lost an advanced F-35B Lightning II jet, a plane so stealthy that even they couldn’t find it. So, in a move that sounds straight out of a sitcom, they turned to the most reliable source they could think of: the internet. Military officials made online appeals, asking the good folks of the internet to help them locate their pricey toy. The incident occurred over North Charleston, and while the pilot made a safe exit with a parachute, the $80 million jet seemed to have played an epic game of hide and seek. Searchers found the wreckage of the missing jet in South Carolina one day later.

Pope Pius XII led the Catholic Church during World War II. His papacy spanned from 1939 to 1958. Recently, a letter dated 1942 was unearthed among his private papers. This letter suggests that the Holy See was informed about the mass exterminations at the Nazi death camp in Belzec, Poland. The revelations from this letter have reignited debates about Pope Pius XII’s knowledge of the Holocaust and his public silence on the matter. The letter will soon be published in a book by Vatican archivist Giovanni Coco.

The Palace of Versailles was originally a modest hunting lodge built by King Louis XIII in 1623. It was later expanded and transformed into a lavish royal residence by his son Louis XIV, who moved the court and the government there in 1682. The palace witnessed many historical events, such as the signing of the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I in 1919. To celebrate its 400th anniversary, the palace has opened a gallery that retraces its history with over 120 works. President Emmanuel Macron held a grand dinner in the Hall of Mirrors for King Charles III and Queen Camilla to celebrate the occasion on Sept. 20, 2023.

The Khalistan movement advocates for an independent homeland for Sikhs in India’s Punjab region. While the idea of Khalistan has been around for a while, it made headlines in 2023 due to the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh leader and Khalistan advocate. This incident led to a diplomatic tiff between Canada and India, with ambassadors expelled. Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, even suggested there was “credible evidence” of India’s involvement in the assassination.

Baltic nations, known for their serene landscapes and rich history, have added another feather to their cap. All three nations – Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania – are now led by dynamic women. Latvia is the latest to join the female leadership club, with Evika Siliņa taking the reins on Sept. 15, 2023. The 48-year-old Right-Centrist Silina is the second woman ever to hold the prime ministerial post in Latvia.

On Sept. 16, 2023, Russell Brand, the British comedian known for his wild hair and even wilder antics, preemptively denied sexual misconduct allegations. A joint investigation by the Times of London, The Sunday Times, and Channel 4’s Dispatches, published later that day, detailed these shocking allegations, spanning from 2006 to 2013, a period when Brand was, in his own words, “transparently very, very promiscuous.” Since these claims were made public, London’s Metropolitan Police Force received a report of a separate sexual assault dating as early as 2003. YouTube blocked him from monetizing his online channel, and the BBC removed some of his material from its streaming archive.

In a Sept. 18, 2023, live-streamed conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Elon Musk spilled some beans about Twitter, now known as “X”. Among the tidbits, he mentioned that X has 550 million monthly users. Musk suggested introducing a “small monthly payment” for X users during the same chat. Why, you ask? To combat those pesky “vast armies of bots.”

When Swifties worldwide were challenged to solve 1989-themed puzzles on Google to unlock the vault tracks of “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on Sep. 19, 2023, search interest in Taylor’s name tripled in just an hour. But, alas, Google’s vault puzzle jammed, and the tech giant found itself in a self-described “fix-it era.” Who would’ve thought that Google, the kingpin of search engines, would get starstruck by Taylor Swift?

Google’s Bard, the ever-so-helpful AI chatbot, has a nifty new feature aptly named “Google It.” Whenever you doubt Bard’s overconfident answers, you can simply click on the “G” icon, and Bard will cross-reference its response with the vast web. This marvelous feature was unveiled on Sept. 19, 2023. You can find it right in your Bard chat. Validated answers glow reassuring green, while the more dubious ones blush in orange.

In Apple’s ever-evolving world, where innovation meets “I didn’t know I needed that,” iOS 17 introduced the “Check In” feature. Released on Sept. 18, 2023, “Check In” allows users to share their location with selected contacts to let them know when the user made it back home safely or even give them a heads up if their friend takes a little longer than expected.

“Oppenheimer,” directed by Christopher Nolan and starring the enigmatic Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer (you know, the atomic bomb guy), exploded onto the scene on July 19, 2023, and by September, amassed a whopping $912 million worldwide. This atomic achievement made it the highest-grossing biopic, leaving “Bohemian Rhapsody” in second place.

Fun Facts: “Oppenheimer” is also Universal Studio’s highest-grossing R-rated film, currently the third-highest-grossing film of 2023, behind “Barbie” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” It’s also Christopher Nolan’s third highest-grossing film, after “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.”

Nicolas Cage grapples with unexpected fame in the surreal comedy “Dream Scenario” by A24. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a college professor who suddenly becomes the star of millions of strangers’ dreams. The trailer for this dreamy (and nightmarish) tale dropped on Sept. 19, 2023. The film, co-starring Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, and Tim Meadows, debuts in select theaters on Nov. 10 and on a wide release on Nov. 22.