Sept. 29 News Quiz: Trump Exaggerated His Assets’ Value by How Much?

On a day that probably had Trump’s Twitter fingers itching, Justice Arthur F. Engoron, in a New York courtroom, ruled that former President Donald J. Trump had been a tad too generous with his math, inflating the value of his assets by around $2.2 billion. The Sept. 26, 2023, ruling led to the cancellation of business certificates for some of Trump’s iconic New York properties.

In 2023, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike, lasting 146 days. This strike was one of the most significant in Hollywood’s history, affecting the entire entertainment industry. The strike revolved around streaming-related pay and artificial intelligence. But, like all good Hollywood stories, this one had a happy ending. The strike was over by Sept. 25, 2023, and our favorite late-night shows were gearing up to return in early October.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a region on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia. While it’s internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, it has been under Armenian separatist control for decades. In Sept. 2023, a mass exodus of up to 120,000 Armenians fled the area due to fears of persecution under Azerbaijani rule.

NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft embarked on a seven-year mission to explore the asteroid Bennu. Its primary goal was to collect samples of the asteroid’s rocky fragments and dust and safely return them to Earth. These samples, believed to be around 4.6 billion years old, will provide invaluable insights into the early solar system.

As of Nov. 2023, Rupert Murdoch, the 92-year-old media mogul, will be chilling in his new role as chairman emeritus of both Fox Corp. and News Corp. media holdings, with Lachlan Murdoch taking over his previous roles. And when Murdoch Sr. joins the magnificent newsroom in the sky, control of the Fox empire will become a family affair, with all four of Murdoch’s adult children having an equal say.

The world’s oldest known wooden structure was discovered near Kalambo Falls, on the border between Zambia and Tanzania. This remarkable find, dated almost half a million years old, offers a glimpse into our ancient ancestors’ lives. The structure, made of two interlocking logs, was likely part of a platform or walkway. Its preservation is attributed to the high water levels and fine sand of the Kalambo River. This discovery, made in 2019 and published in Nature on Sept. 20, 2023, challenges our understanding of Stone Age human lifestyles. It suggests they might have been more settled than previously believed.

Fun fact: This structure is so old that it predates modern humans. Nevertheless, the logs were shaped using sharp stone tools, as evident by the cut, chopped, and scraped marks.

On Sept. 24, 2023, in the Berlin Marathon, Tigist Assefa from Ethiopia redefined marathon running for women. She completed the race in a jaw-dropping 2 hours, 11 minutes, and 53 seconds, obliterating the previous world record set by Brigid Kosgei in 2019 at the Chicago Marathon. This achievement was even more remarkable, considering it was only her third competitive marathon.

Fun Fact: During her record-breaking run, Assefa wore the newly released single-use Adizero Adios Pro Evo 1s by Adidas. These shoes are claimed by Adidas to be “enhanced with unique technology that challenges the boundaries of racing” and have a price tag of £400.

Anthropic is a start-up founded by some brainy folks from OpenAI. They’re diving deep into “Generative AI.” On Sept. 25, 2023, Amazon, the e-commerce giant, splashed up $4 billion on them, with Amazon Web Services becoming the company’s primary cloud playground.

Who could forget “The Man from UNCLE”‘s enigmatic Russian agent Illya Kuryakin? Played by the legendary David McCallum, Illya became an instant fan favorite. Fast forward to the 2000s, and he was still stealing scenes, this time as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard on the hit CBS show “NCIS” for over two decades. On Sept. 24, 2023, the iconic actor died at 90.

The “Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour” concert film, set to dazzle audiences in over 100 countries starting Oct. 13, has a 2-hour and 45-minute runtime. Interestingly, this is shorter than the actual concert duration, even though no songs from the setlist were left on the cutting room floor. Captured during Taylor’s electrifying six-night run at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium in August, the film promises a Swiftie experience like no other. And speaking of numbers, AMC Theatres, handling the film’s global rollout, reported a whopping $26 million in ticket sales on the first day of the presale.

Fun Fact: Swift emphasized that concert etiquette, not traditional film etiquette, will be the norm during screenings. This means fans are encouraged to wear “Eras attire,” sing, and dance.

In the seventh season of “Rick and Morty,” the iconic voices of the titular characters, originally voiced by the show’s co-creator Justin Roiland, changed as Roiland parted ways with the show. Adult Swim has found sound-alike voices to continue our favorite dysfunctional duo’s adventures. So, when you tune in on Oct. 15 for the new season’s premiere, listen closely. The characters might sound slightly different.