July 1 News Quiz of the Week: Unseen Aide

At least five Republican members of Congress involved in the attempts to throw out the election results or submit “fake electors” sought blank pardons from then-President Trump that would shield them from future prosecution. According to Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to Trump’s chief of staff, whose video testimony was presented at the Jan. 6 hearings on June 23, 2022, these representatives were Perry, Biggs, Brooks, Gaetz, and Gohmert. Hutchinson later appeared on an unplanned June 28 hearings session to recount how the former president tried to eliminate metal-detecting magnetometers from his Jan. 6 rally and join the rioters, as he promised, in the Capitol building.

According to an Anti-Defamation League survey released on June 21, 2022, members of LGBTQ+ communities were more likely than any other group to experience harassment on social media. Two-thirds of LGBTQ+ respondents said they had been harassed online, and 53% said the harassment was a result of their sexual orientation. 39% of Asian American responders reported harassment in 2022, up from 21% in 2021, and women, in general, were more than twice as likely to report experiencing sexual harassment online than men (14% versus 5%).

The Coca-Cola Company is ranked as the world’s top plastic polluter for the 4th consecutive year, according to the 2021 Break Free From Plastic report. In each year since 2019, Brand Audit found Coca-Cola branded products represent more pollution than the next two top polluters, PepsiCo and Unilever, combined. Claims about plastic packaging being eco-friendly made by big brands, including Coca-Cola and Unilever, are misleading greenwashing, according to a report by the Changing Markets Foundation. Case on point: The world’s largest plastic polluter, Coca-Cola, has spent millions promoting the notion that its bottles are 25% marine plastic.

The 90s crossover house anthem “Show Me Love” by Robin S. was prominently sampled in Beyoncé’s “Break My Soul,” the first single from her upcoming album “Renaissance,” due July 29, 2022.

What’s Beyoncé’s highest-debuting single?

Beyoncé’s “formation” holds the title of the singer’s highest-debuting single of her career, opening at No. 10 in May 2016. “Break My Soul” “debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of June 27, after just three days of tracking. It marks Beyoncé’s seventh-highest debut on this chart.

Hocus Pocus, starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy, premiered in 1993, telling the story of the three Sanderson sisters in Salem, Mass., who spent 300 years asleep before being resurrected on All Hallow’s Eve. The film failed at the ’93 box offices but gained massive fan recognition over countless Halloween reruns.

Is there a 2022 Hocus Pocus?

The first teaser trailer for “Hocus Pocus 2” was released on June 28, 2022. The sequel premieres on Disney+ on Sept. 30. Watch the trailer.

Pancreatitis is characterized by inflammation of the pancreas –  a large organ behind the stomach that produces digestive enzymes and hormones. Depending on the severity of the inflammation, symptoms can include fever, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss. The two most common causes of acute pancreatitis are gallstones and heavy alcohol use.

Was Travis Barker hospitalized for pancreatitis?

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, 46, who recently married Kourtney Kardashian, was hospitalized on June 28, 2022, and is reportedly dealing with pancreatitis, which doctors believe was triggered by a recent colonoscopy.

Mansaf is a traditional Arab dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented, dried yogurt and served with rice or bulgur (burghul). It’s considered the national dish of Jordan, traditionally eaten by hand from a large communal platter.

What’s “mansaf in a cup”?

According to a New York Times June 26, 2022, report, in early 2020, Jordan’s capital Amman saw the first shop of “Our Mansaf in a Cup,” offering takeout servings at the bargain price of one dinar, about $1.40. Three more branches followed, but imitators soon appeared in Amman and other cities – forcing the original to shut down and replacing lamb with beef while creating a “gastronomic beef.”

Air New Zealand is the first airline worldwide to offer economy passengers bunk bed-style sleeping pods on its 17-hour long-haul flights. The new cabins are set to be installed by 2024. According to the company, premium and regular economy passengers will be able to book four-hour sessions in the sleeping pods at an additional cost. The pods will have a mattress and sheets – which the cabin crew will change after each booking – and a privacy curtain, USB charging, and “ventilation outlets.”

Where can I rent a sleeping pod without flying?

A private rental listing in inner Melbourne, Australia, offers similar capsules. The capsules, stacked on top of each other downstairs, are rented out for $250 a week or $900 a month. They contain a single bed, mirror, ventilating fan, USB ports, digital control panels, adjustable color reading lights, safe locker, clothes hanger, and curtain door for privacy.

Denver, Colorado, is nicknamed the Mile High City because its official elevation is one mile (or 1.6 km) above sea level. As of 2022, the city’s hockey teams hold the Stanley Cup, NCAA, and national high school hockey champions.

Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West) wore all black, including a full face mask, hat, and gloves, at the 2022 BET Awards. The famed rapper came to present Sean “Diddy” Combs (formerly Puff Daddy) with the BET lifetime achievement award along with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.