The 2021 Big News Quiz

President Joe Biden addressed congress for the first time on Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Also, for the first time, a female vice president, Kamala Harris, was seated behind the chief executive, next to another woman, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As Biden greeted "Madam Vice President," He added, "No president has ever said those words from this podium, and it's about time."

What else did President Biden say?

President Biden also pointed to the nation's emergence from the coronavirus, warned that "Gun violence has become an epidemic in America," and told "all the transgender Americans watching at home" that "your president has your back."

According to Oxford Languages, sedition is a conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the state's authority. The US sedition act defines it as 'false, scandalous, or malicious writing' against the government.

Sedition indictments 2022

A federal grand jury on June 6, 2022, charged five members of the Proud Boys with seditious conspiracy for their actions before and during the US Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

While all mentioned Prime Ministers are the subject of illegal donor-related inquiries, the one named “cash for curtains” in 2021 revolves around British PM Boris Johnson. The latter failed to disclose that a wealthy Conservative Party benefactor had paid for the redecoration of his official residence in London. Although Johnson later settled the bill, on Friday, May 28, a UK government ethics found that the PM acted “unwisely.” Johnson was, however, cleared of misconduct.

Boris Johnson Happy News Fact

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, 56, has married his fiancée, Carrie Symonds, 33, in a small private ceremony held Saturday, May 29, 2021, at the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral. The marriage is Johnson’s third. The couple announced their engagement in February 2020, two months before welcoming their son, Wilfred, to the world. The British PM has at least five other children from previous relationships.

R.I.P Sheldon Adelson. The billionaire mogul and Jewish-Republican power broker died after a long illness Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. He was 87 years old. Apart from donating 100s of millions of dollars to Republican campaigns over the years, including a $75 million donation to the Trump campaign in Oct. 2020, Adelson was also a big supporter of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He funded a widely-read free daily newspaper called “Israel Hayom,” or “Israel Today,” so supportive of Netanyahu that some Israelis nicknamed it “Bibi-ton.”

Benjamin Netanyahu served in office for 15 years until 2021 and was reelected in 2023, the longest-serving Israeli prime minister. Israel’s national founder David Ben-Gurion is the previous Israeli record holder with 13 years in power.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has been in office for 16 years. Now 66, Merkel has led Germany, the European Union’s biggest economy, since she took office in 2005. She said over two years ago that she wouldn’t seek a fifth term as chancellor. Merkel’s center-right party is choosing a new leader in 2021.

Pop Star Rihanna tweeted a link to a CNN news report on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021, about India blocking internet services at farmers' protest sites. The singer asked, "Why aren't we talking about this?!" drawing attention to the massive farmer protests gripping India for over two months.

What are Indian farmers protesting?

Tens of thousands of farmers have been protesting new agricultural laws to modernize Indian farming, which they say will leave them more deprived and at corporations' mercy.

How did India react?

In response, Bollywood entertainers and sports stars used hashtags #IndiaAgainstPropaganda and #IndiaTogether, echoing the government's stand on the agriculture laws and asking people outside India to refrain from meddling with their country's affairs. "No one is talking about it because they are not farmers. They are terrorists who are trying to divide India," wrote Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut.

Naypyidaw officially spelled Nay Pyi Taw, is Myanmar's capital and third-largest city.

2021 Coup in Myanmar

YouTube removed five channels run by Myanmar's military on Friday, Mar. 5, 2021, for violating its community guidelines and terms of service, following the Feb. 1 military coup that removed its elected government, provoking massive public protests.

Facebook has also banned all pages linked to Myanmar's army. TikTok announced it would remove "all content that incites violence or spreads misinformation" after armed Myanmar soldiers and police used the app to deliver death threats to protesters against last month's coup.

On Thursday, Mar. 4, 2021, the Biden administration demanded that military authorities in Myanmar stop their brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and release demonstrators and journalists that the army detained.

Apple Daily was Hong Kong’s second most-read newspaper (and website), founded in 1995. The newspaper’s political alignment was pro-democracy.

Apple Daily 2021 Fact:

Hong Kong saw the last print edition of the country’s last remaining pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, on Thursday, June 24, 2021. By 8:30 a.m, Apple Daily’s final edition of 1 million copies was sold out across most of the city’s newsstands. The closure of the 26-year-old Apple Daily comes after Hong Kong authorities froze the publication’s assets under a national security law and jailed its owner, Jimmy Lai.

Bushehr is twelve kilometers from the site of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant built in cooperation with Russia.

Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant News Fact:

Iran’s sole nuclear power plant has undergone an unexplained temporary emergency shutdown on Saturday, June 19, 2021 - the first time Iran has reported an emergency shutdown of the plant. In March, nuclear official Mahmoud Jafari said the plant could stop working since Iran cannot procure parts and equipment from Russia due to banking sanctions imposed by the U.S. in 2018.

Portland International Airport in Oregon hit a new record high temperature of 115°F (46°C) on Monday, June 28, 2021., breaking Sunday’s June 27, 2021, record high temperature of 112°F (44°C) and Saturday’s June 26, 2021, of 108°F (42°C). Records began in 1940.

What was the last time Portland had record-breaking temperatures?

Before 2021 the warmest temperature on record at the Portland International Airport was 107°F (41.6°C) set in July 1965 & twice in Aug 1981.

REvil is a group of Russian hackers who run a ransomware-as-service operation.

REvil 2021 Fact

The hackers targeted software company Kaseya’s virtual systems/server administrator (VSA) on July 2, 2021. REvil demanded $70 million to unlock computers that it attacked. About 1,500 businesses were hit in the attack, including a Swedish supermarket chain forced to close some outlets over the following weekend. US President Joe Biden directed US intelligence agencies to investigate the attack.

Pegasus is spyware developed by the Israeli NSO Group that can be covertly installed on mobile phones (and other devices). Officially, it's intended for use against criminals and terrorists and made available only to the military, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies from countries with good human rights records.

Pegasus 2021 Fact

French media outlet Forbidden Stories has obtained a list of 50,000 cellphone numbers allegedly selected by NSO clients for potential surveillance, including allegations French President Emmanuel Macron's number was on the list and may have been targeted. Journalists were able to identify more than 1,000 individuals in 50 countries on the list, including 189 journalists, more than 600 politicians and government officials, at least 65 business executives, 85 human rights activists, and several heads of state, according to The Washington Post. NSO told BBC News the list is bogus. "Our customers have an average of 100 targets a year. Since the company's beginning, we didn't have 50,000 targets total," said a spokesman.

Britain lifted most of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions on July 19 in what has been dubbed "Freedom Day." Freedom from face masks, that is.

On Sunday, July 11, 2021, billionaire Richard Branson became the first person to blast off in his own spaceship, V.S.S. Unity, beating Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet, by nine days.

Billionaires in Space Fun Fact:

Bezos. Screenshot: Blue Origin on YouTube

The London-born founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways assigned himself to the flight after Bezos announced plans to ride his own rocket into space from Texas on July 20.  Bezos sent his congratulations, adding: “Can’t wait to join the club!”

The Havana Syndrome is a mysterious attack on U.S. diplomats, supposedly with sonic weapons, causing hearing loss, memory loss, and nausea. U.S diplomats in Cuba’s capital, Havana, reported the first instance of the attack in 2016.

Havana Syndrome 2021 Fact:

Up to 200 Americans have reported possible directed energy attack symptoms, including new cases in Vienna, according to an NBC News report, July 20, 2021. Officials with direct knowledge told the network there are now possible cases on every continent except Antarctica. Almost half of the potential cases involve CIA officers or their relatives, while about 60 involve Defense Department employees or relatives, and around 50 were linked to the State Department.

After Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya said on Instagram that she was put in the 4x400 relay, even though she has never raced in the event, her team officials hustled her to the airport to put her on a plane back to Belarus. After managing to escape, Tsimanouskaya has received a humanitarian visa from Poland. In an interview with the Associated Press, the Belarusian sprinter said that officials from her team had made it clear she would face punishment if she returned home. The International Olympic Committee said on Tuesday, Aug 3, 2021, that it had launched a formal investigation into the case and was expecting a report from the Belarusian team.

Lukashenko and the Olympics fact:

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko is very involved in his country’s Olympic team: He and his son, Viktor, have led the Belarus National Olympic Committee for more than 25 years. Both were banned from the Tokyo Games by the IOC, which investigated complaints from athletes that they faced intimidation during the crackdown on anti-government protests over the last year.

20 Years of fighting made the Afghanistan war the longest the US ever fought.

Afghanistan Withdrawal Fact

The United States has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan hours before President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31, 2021, deadline. Thousands of troops had spent their last two weeks in the region protecting the transportation of tens of thousands of Afghans, Americans, and others escaping the country once again ruled by the Taliban.

On Sept. 2021, a Texas law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy went into effect the same week Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled to decriminalize abortions.

Texas Abortion Law Fact

Under the new Texas abortion law, the countdown to six weeks of pregnancy starts from the first day of the mother's last period (not the one she missed), leaving many with no more than two weeks (tops) to end the pregnancy. On May 3, 2022, Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma signed the Oklahoma Heartbeat Act, which was modeled on the one that came into force in Texas.

Insulate Britain is an environmentalist protest group campaigning to force the British government to insulate Britain's leaky homes. The group argues that since the UK has the oldest and least energy-efficient housing stock in Europe, improving the quality of British homes is fundamental to achieve the Government’s climate change targets.

How did Insulate Britain activists disrupt traffic in the UK?

Insulate Britain activists stopped traffic on the British M25 road multiple times during the Sept. 13, 2021, week. The protestors targeted the UK's busiest motorway, and sat on the road, while stranded drivers beeped their horns. Police arrested a few dozens of protesters.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez famously wore a white gown with the message “tax the rich” in red to the 2021 New York Met Gala.

What were other slogans worn at the 2021 Met Gala?

New York Representative Carolyn B. Maloney came to the 2021 Met Gala draped in sashes stating “Equal Rights for Women.” American soccer player Megan Rapinoe carried a purse that reads “In Gay We Trust,” and Cara Delevingne wore a Dior vest, with “Peg the Patriarchy” printed in red.