July 15 News Quiz of the Week: Kill Switch

July 15, 2022.

Welcome to our weekly current events trivia challenge, the July 15 News Quiz of the Week: Test your knowledge of 2022 current events trivia and the last seven days’ headlines. In business news: What’s Uber’s “Kill Switch”? In TV news: Which TV show earned the most nominations for 2022’s Emmys? And in space: What’s Stephan’s Quintet? Make sure you know what happened this week. Our weekly news trivia game with the week’s best trivia questions and answers begins when you hit “Start Quiz.”

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News Quiz of the Week (Current Events Trivia) for Friday, July 15, 2022

News Quiz of the Week: 12 Multiple-choice general knowledge questions from the past news week. No time-limit. How smart are you this weekend?

1 / 12

1. Which countries had their debt defaulted (failed to pay their foreign bondholders) in 2022?

Photo: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Russia and El Salvador.

Sri Lanka and Ghana.

Sri Lanka and Russia.

El Salvador and Ghana.

Sri Lanka was the first nation to stop paying its foreign bondholders in May 2022. Russia followed in June due to sanctions the West laid amid the Ukraine war. El Salvador, Ghana, Egypt, Tunisia, and Pakistan are currently considered vulnerable to default but have not yet failed to pay their foreign bondholders.

What happened in Sri Lanka?

On July 9, 2022, Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa agreed to resign after protesters stormed their residences and set fire to one. According to official data, Sri Lanka’s currency has collapsed by 80% since 2019, making imports more expensive, with food costs rising 57%.

2 / 12

2. What’s Uber’s “Kill Switch”?

Photo: Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A nickname for the app’s Cancel Ride button.

A nickname for the app’s Delete All Data button.

A strategy to exit "problematic" markets.

A way to hide Uber’s sensitive data from authorities during raids.

Senior executives at Uber ordered the use of a “kill switch” to prevent police and regulators from accessing sensitive data during raids on its offices in at least six countries: France, the Netherlands, Belgium, India, Hungary, and Romania. The Guardian found the information on Uber files, a cache of leaked confidential company data published on July 11, 2022.

3 / 12

3. What’s in the picture?

Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

The Leo Triplet.

Stephan’s Quintet.

Seyfert’s Sextet.

Copeland Septet.

Stephan’s Quintet is a visual grouping of five galaxies best known for being featured in the classic holiday film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The Quintet was part of the first batch of images released from the James Webb Space Telescope on July 12, 2022.

What’s in the picture?

With its infrared and high resolution,  the world’s largest and most powerful space telescope shows sparkling clusters of millions of young stars. The image also captures tails of gas, dust, and stars being pulled from several galaxies due to gravitational interactions and the vast shock waves as one of the galaxies, NGC 7318B, smashes through the cluster.

4 / 12

4. What’s the world’s largest toymaker?

Photo: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons

Mattel.

Lego.

Bandai Namco.

Hasbro.

Lego is the world’s largest toymaker. The Danish toymaker halted deliveries to Russia in March 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine. On July 12, the company announced it’s ceasing all operations in Russia “indefinitely.”

5 / 12

5. Who originally authored The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

Image: Aimé de Lemud, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Victor Hugo.

Jules Verne.

Leo Tolstoy.

Charles Dickens.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (originally titled Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482) is a French novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. In 1998, Notre-Dame de Paris, with music by Riccardo Cocciante and lyrics by Luc Plamondon, premiered in Paris and became an instant success.

When did Notre Dame de Paris premiere in New York City?

“Notre Dame de Paris” had its New York premiere at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on July 13, 2022.

6 / 12

6. Which TV show earned the most nominations for 2022’s 74th Emmy awards?

Screenshot: HBO

Ted Lasso.

The White Lotus.

Succession.

Squid Game.

HBO’s Succession topped the list of most-nominated shows for 2022’s 74th Emmy awards with 25 nominations, and won the awards for best drama, best writing for a drama series, and supporting actor in a drama series (Matthew Macfadyen). The White Lotus and Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso were the following most-nominated shows at 20 nods each. The White Lotus took the best limited-series award, creator Mike White took the best writing and best directing awards, and Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Bartlett won the supporting acting award. The show won 10 Emmys altogether, more than any other series. Ted Lasso took the prize for best comedy series, with Jason Sudeikis winning the lead actor in a comedy series award and Brett Goldstein taking the supporting actor award. The 74th Emmy awards aired on NBC on Sept. 12, 2022.

7 / 12

7. What’s the focus of Disney+’s docu-series “BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star”?

Screenshot: Disney x HYBE Initial Announcement / Disney+

The first live post-pandemic BTS show.

The daily lives and thoughts of BTS.

The lives of BTS members before joining the band.

The BTS ARMY of fans.

In a deal with BTS’ management company HYBE announced on July 11, 2022, Disney will stream a BTS documentary series and concert on its streaming services next year. In “BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star,” the group’s members will reveal their daily lives, thoughts, and plans, including music and footage from the past nine years.

What else does the BTS-Disney deal include?

The agreement also includes a recording of the group’s first performance in November 2021, following a 2-year interval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, this deal features the reality show “In the Soop: Friendcation,” which features V from BTS, Seo-jun Park from “Itaewon Class,” Woo-shik Choi from “Parasite,” singer and actor Hyung-sik Park, and rapper Peakboy taking a surprise trip. In June 2022, BTS announced it was taking a break while members worked on solo projects.

8 / 12

8. Who was the first Black host of a US network television game show?

Screenshot: CBS

Nick Cannon.

Nipsey Russell.

Steve Harvey.

Adam Wade.

In 1975 Adam Wade became the first Black host of a network television game show – CBS’s weekly afternoon game show, “Musical Chairs.” The show was canceled after less than five months. Wade, better known for his singing and acting careers, died on July 7, 2022, at his home in Montclair, N.J. He was 87.

9 / 12

9. In Netflix’s “Day Shift,” Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg are what?

Screenshot: Day Shift / Netflix

Traveling salesmen.

Headhunters.

Bounty hunters.

Vampire hunters.

Netflix’s “Day Shift” follows Jamie Foxx as a blue-collar dad who sells vampire teeth for profit. Dave Franco and Snoop Dogg are joining Foxx as members of an international union of vampire hunters. The movie streams on Netflix starting Aug. 12, 2022. Watch the first trailer.

10 / 12

10. Who are Matt and Ross Duffer?

Screenshot: Netflix

The brothers who created “Fargo.”

The twins who created "Stranger Things."

The transgender sisters who created “The Matrix.”

The brothers who created “Scary Movie.”

Matt and Ross Duffer are the twins who created Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” On July 6, 2022, Netflix announced it’s developing a spin-off of “Stranger Things.” The new series will be based on an original idea from the Duffer twins and will be part of a deal to develop additional projects, such as a live-action TV adaptation of the Japanese anime series “Death Note.”

11 / 12

11. What was Paulie’s last name on The Sopranos?

Screenshot: The Sopranos / HBO

Gualtieri.

Walnuts.

Moltisanti.

Baccalieri.

Sopranos actor Tony Sirico, who played Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri on the classic HBO show, died on July 8, 2022, aged 79, in an assisted living facility in Fort Lauderdale. According to his manager, the actor had been living with dementia for the last couple of years.

12 / 12

12. What’s another name for Wasabi?

Photo: publicdomainq.net, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Japanese horseradish.

Japanese radish.

Japanese ginger.

Okutama artichoke.

Wasabi is Japanese horseradish. Japan saw a shortage in wasabi – an essential spice for many Japanese dishes – since Typhoon Hagibis slammed into eastern Japan in 2019. Along with a rural population drop due to aging, the output of wasabi farm-grown in clear-flowing water fell to half that of 2005, according to the Japanese Agriculture Ministry.

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The July 15 News Quiz of the Week – VIDEO QUIZ

12 Questions from the passing news week, 30 Seconds per question. How smart are you this week?

Sources for the July 15 News Quiz of the Week

We crosscheck our current-events trivia facts with the world’s top news providers, research centers, and NGOs. Here’s a list of news articles that inspired this week’s news quiz. Consider it our reading recommendations for the weekend.

• Uber bosses told staff to use a ‘kill switch’ during raids to stop police from seeing data (The Guardian)
• EXPLAINER: Why Sri Lanka’s economy collapsed and what’s next (AP News)
• Lego to end all operations in Russia after an earlier halt to deliveries (The Guardian)
• Five takeaways from the 2022 Emmy nominations – and a few extras (NPR)
• See new images of space taken by NASA’s telescope (AP News)
• The Sopranos’ Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri, actor Tony Sirico, dies aged 79 (The Guardian)
• Netflix greenlights a ‘Stranger Things’ spin-off series to help build a franchise (Reuters)
• Japanese horseradish farmers fear for future amid climate change (Reuters)
• BTS documentary series, concert coming to Disney streaming services (Reuters)
• Netflix’s ‘Day Shift’ trailer: Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, and Snoop Dogg hunt vampires (Mashable)
• Adam Wade, Network Game Show Pioneer, Is Dead at 87 (nytimes.com)
• A Global Hit, ‘Notre Dame de Paris’ Finally Lands in New York (nytimes.com)

We Stand with Ukraine

It seems everybody these days has publicly declared their position on the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine and its people, fighting against military forces attacking civilians. We salute Ukraine’s heroic battle for democracy as we stand with every nation fighting against tyranny and for human rights. Our empathy extends to the Russian people, Belarusians, and all who suffer under oppressive governments, including soldiers forced to die in the name of their leaders. We also side with the truth, so here’s a quick list of reliable sources on the conflict.

• Breaking News & Live Updates on Russia-Ukraine from AP News.
• Live Updates and Video Coverage of the Russia-Ukraine War on The New York Times.
• Coverage of the Russia-Ukraine crisis by The Guardian.

The July 15 News Quiz of the Week Questions

Here’s a complete list of this weekend’s current events quiz questions.

• What was Paulie's last name on The Sopranos?

  Screenshot: The Sopranos / HBO

  Gualtieri.

  Walnuts.

  Moltisanti.

  Baccalieri.

  Who are Matt and Ross Duffer?

  Screenshot: Netflix

  The brothers who created “Fargo.”

  The twins who created "Stranger Things."

  The transgender sisters who created “The Matrix.”

  The brothers who created “Scary Movie.”

  Which countries had their debt defaulted (failed to pay their foreign bondholders) in 2022?

  Photo: AntanO, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

  Russia and El Salvador.

  Sri Lanka and Ghana.

  Sri Lanka and Russia.

  El Salvador and Ghana.

  What's Uber's "Kill Switch"?

  Photo: Dllu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

  A nickname for the app’s Cancel Ride button.

  A nickname for the app’s Delete All Data button.

  A strategy to exit "problematic" markets.

  A way to hide Uber's sensitive data from authorities during raids.

  What's another name for Wasabi?

  Photo: publicdomainq.net, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

  Japanese horseradish.

  Japanese radish.

  Japanese ginger.

  Okutama artichoke.

  What's the focus of Disney+'s docu-series "BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star"?

  Screenshot: Disney x HYBE Initial Announcement / Disney+

  The first live post-pandemic BTS show.

  The daily lives and thoughts of BTS.

  The lives of BTS members before joining the band.

  The BTS ARMY of fans.

  In Netflix's "Day Shift," Jamie Foxx and Snoop Dogg are what?

  Screenshot: Day Shift / Netflix

  Traveling salesmen.

  Headhunters.

  Bounty hunters.

  Vampire hunters.

  Who was the first Black host of a US network television game show?

  Screenshot: CBS

  Nick Cannon.

  Nipsey Russell.

  Steve Harvey.

  Adam Wade.

  Who originally authored The Hunchback of Notre Dame?

  Image: Aimé de Lemud, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

  Victor Hugo.

  Jules Verne.

  Leo Tolstoy.

  Charles Dickens.

  What's the world's largest toymaker?

  Photo: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons

  Mattel.

  Lego.

  Bandai Namco.

  Hasbro.

  Which TV show earned the most nominations for 2022's 74th Emmy awards?

  Screenshot: HBO

  Ted Lasso.

  The White Lotus.

  Succession.

  Squid Game.

  What's in the picture?

  Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, and STScI

  The Leo Triplet.

  Stephan’s Quintet.

  Seyfert's Sextet.

  Copeland Septet.

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