Current Issues & Events - Hexco

Current Issues & Events Practice Packet 1 2019-2020 For High School

Written by Shannon Ament, Keisha Bedwell, & Beth Mader

Edited by Keisha Bedwell & Beth Mader

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Current Issues and Events Practice Packet 2

CURRENT ISSUES & EVENTS PRACTICE PACKET 1

Academic Year: 2019-20

CONTENTS

6 Practice Tests o 40 questions per test o 1 essay per test o Answer Keys o Sample Essays

Grading Materials o Answer & Essay Sheets o Essay Rubric

Current Issues & Events

Test A

1. Who founded WikiLeaks, a controversial

6. Kendrick Castillo gave his life to protect fellow

whistleblower agency, and was sentenced to

classmates from an active schooter at a

50 weeks in a British prison for violating the

charter school in which state?

conditions of their bail?

A. Colorado

A. Chelsea Manning

B. Illinois

B. Edward Snowden

C. New York

C. Julian Assange

D. Texas

D. Kristinn Hrafnsson

7. Legislation banning which of the following was

2. Facebook announced the debut of Libra, a new signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp (R) of

system which is slated to fully launch in 2020.

Georgia in May 2019?

Which of the following best describes Libra?

A. abortions conducted after detection of a

A. a digital polling service

fetal heartbeat

B. a 'fake news' reporting agency

B. abortions conducted after 20 weeks of

C. a global cryptocurrency

pregnancy

D. an online dating platform

C. abortions conducted after 28 weeks of

pregnancy

3. Which of the following cities became the first

D. "discriminatory" abortions

in the U.S. to ban government use of facial

recognition technology?

8. Which of the following bills was signed into

A. Los Angeles

law in Texas in July 2019 and is known as the

B. New York City

"Save Chick-fil-A" bill? It was filed by Senator

C. San Francisco

Bryan Hughes.

D. Washington, D.C.

A. SB 2

B. SB 22

4. Who replaced Patrick Shanahan as acting U.S.

C. SB 90

secretary of defense in June 2019? Prior to

D. SB 1978

taking on this position, he served as the

secretary of the U.S. Army.

9. Which of the following companies is in the

A. Jim Mattis

midst of a series of lawsuits relating to its

B. Mark Esper

claims that OxyContin was a safe drug for

C. Ryan McCarthy

those seeking relief from pain? This company

D. William Barr

is owned by the Sackler family.

A. Insys Therapeutics

5. The Supreme Court ruled against the inclusion

B. Pfizer

of what type of question in the 2020 census?

C. Purdue Pharma

A. ethnicity

D. Teva

B. citizenship

C. household relationship

D. political affiliation

?2019 HEXCO ACADEMIC ? PO Box 199 ? Hunt, TX 78024 ? 800-391-2891 ? Do not scan, post to web, or share electronically.

CI&E? Practice Packet 1, Test C, continued

30. NASA announced plans to explore Titan, Saturn's largest moon, and search for microbial life. What is the name of the drone that will be launched in 2026 to carry out this mission? A. Cassini B. Dragonfly C. Juno D. Orion

34. Egypt's National Comittee for Antiquities Repatriation plans to file a law suit against Christie's auction house in London claiming that the $5.9 million sale of what artifact was illegal without proof of ownership? A. the Narmer Palette B. the bust of Pharaoh Tutankhamun C. the bust of Queen Nefertiti D. the throne of Pharaoh Tutankhamun

31. Thousands of people have gathered in protest 35. The U.S. State Department approved a

of the construction of the Thirty Meter

proposed $2.2 billion arms deal to what island

Telescope, saying that the grounds are sacred

causing major protest from China?

and they are tired of the land being

A. Taiwan

"desecrated" by observatories. The Thirty

B. Borneo

Meter Telescope is under construction on

C. the Philippines

which Hawaiian mountain?

D. Japan

A. Diamond Head

B. Haleakala

36. What country's war on drugs has sparked

C. Mauna Kea

enough concern to warrant an investigation by

D. Mauna Loa

the U.N. Human Rights Council?

A. Philippines

32. Which university came under fire for

B. Thailand

appointing Rick Snyder, the former governor

C. Malaysia

of Michigan, to a senior research fellow

D. Indonesia

position?

A. Harvard University

37. Which country successfully landed a spacecraft

B. Princeton University

on the Ryugu asteroid?

C. University of Michigan

A. Russia

D. University of Pennsylvania

B. China

C. Japan

33. Canada is the first country to ban the import

D. France

and export of what item? The decision was

made in an effort to protect an endangered 38. Mark Esper replaced Patrick Shanahan as

predator.

acting U.S. secretary of defense in June 2019.

A. ivory

Prior to taking on this position, Esper served as

B. alligator skins

which of the following?

C. jaguar pelts

A. chief of the National Guard Bureau

D. shark fins

B. commander of the U.S. Joint Forces

C. deputy secretary of defense

D. secretary of the U.S. Army

?2019 HEXCO ACADEMIC ? PO Box 199 ? Hunt, TX 78024 ? 800-391-2891 ? Do not scan, post to web, or share electronically.

Current Issues & Events

Answer Key Test E

Tension between the U.S. and Iran has flared. Discuss what is at issue and the chain of events that has taken place since the U.S. withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018.

President Donald Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal in May 2018. o By the provisions of the JCPOA, an agreement created in 2015, Iran must sell its extra enriched uranium. This allows Iran to keep its nuclear power plants running but ensures that the country is not creating nuclear weapons. o Trump calls the agreement "one-sided" and seeks the creation of a new nuclear deal that addresses the ballistic missile program in Iran, Iranian involvement in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Afghanistan, etc. o Sanctions against Iran and other countries that trade with it were reinstated in November 2018, harming Iran's economy. Over time, the value of the Iranian rial has dropped significantly.

The U.S. declared the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran a foreign terrorist organization in April 2019. Iran responded in kind.

Iran threatened to violate the JCPOA's uranium enrichment level requirement in May 2019. Six oil tankers were attacked either in or near the Gulf of Oman in May and June 2019. This area

is part of an important shipping region for the oil industry. The U.S. believes Iran is behind the attacks, and Iran denies that they are responsible for each incident. In June 2019, the U.S. announced plans to send 1,000 more troops to the Middle East in light of recent Iranian attacks. Iranian forces shot down a surveillance drone operated by U.S. forces on June 20, 2019 in the Strait of Hormuz.

o The U.S. argues that the drone in question was flying over international waters and the attack was unprovoked. Iran disagrees.

o The U.S. almost carried out military strikes in retaliation for this incident. Media agencies in Iran reported that Iran had met and surpassed its 660-pound enriched

uranium stockpile limit on July 1, 2019. The U.K. impounded an Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar on July 4, and Iran seized a British-flagged

oil tanker and its crew on July 19 in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation. The British stated that the Iranian tanker was seized because it was en route to Syria with a shipment of oil (a violation of EU sanctions) and have refused to trade the two vessels. They seek to create a European initiative to protect shipping in the region. The U.S. announced that the Navy downed an Iranian drone flying in close proximity to the USS Boxer on July 18, and Iran claimed that no Iranian drones had been destroyed. Iran announced the arrest of 17 Iranians suspected of serving as spies for the CIA on July 22. The U.S. imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the country's top diplomat, on August 1, 2019. In a response posted on his Twitter account, Zarif stated, "It has no effect on me or my family, as I have no property or interest outside of Iran." Tension between the U.S and Iran has not been resolved.

?2019 HEXCO ACADEMIC ? PO Box 199 ? Hunt, TX 78024 ? 800-391-2891 ? Do not scan, post to web, or share electronically.

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