The weekly news quiz
It’s time to see how much attention you’ve been paying to the news in the past week or so. From The Oklahoman’s news copy editors and designers, here’s a quiz.
1. In the first quarter, the United States exported 365,000 barrels of this each day:
a) Petroleum distillates, including diesel.
b) Milk from western dairies.
c) Light beer.
2. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation officials believe the black-chinned hummingbird is nesting in the state. One of these is true:
a) Hummingbirds rarely sleep.
b) They only eat sweet nectar.
c) The best way to see it is with a feeder.
3. The Phoenix spacecraft’s discovery of this is a promising turn in the search for extraterrestrial life:
a) What scientists believe is ice in the soil of the Martian arctic.
b) Messages in the white noise static.
c) What looks like footprints on Jupiter.
4. Officials are trying to draw tourists by:
a) Spending millions on long-overdue upgrades to state parks.
b) Giving out gas vouchers at state borders.
c) Raising camping rates to give people the idea they’re getting a good value.
5. In the last online auction for this, bidders paid $2.11 million to have lunch with:
a) Investment guru Warren Buffett.
b) GOP presidential hopeful John McCain.
c) Singer Britney Spears.
6. In order to throw a fastball, a pitcher uses 24 to 32 pounds of muscle, mostly in his back and thighs. How much horsepower can he generate?
a) 3 to 4.
b) 30 to 40.
c) 300 to 400, but only after years of steroids.
7. Your utility bills are liable to go up as soon as next month after the state’s two largest publicly regulated utilities asked for fuel cost adjustments. For now, we’ll be paying this much more:
a) $1.50.
b) $15.
c) $150.
8. A 3-year-old Guthrie girl knew to call 911 when her mother fainted because:
a) Her mother taught her a song with lyrics, “911 green. 911 green.”
b) Her play phone announced, “911, what is your emergency?”
c) She read a sign posted next to the phone.
9. Oklahoma’s fuel prices are lower than in some other states because:
a) Oklahomans are turning to other transportation methods.
b) Gas stations are taking less of a cut.
c) The state is home to oil refineries.
10. The Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on what?
a) High fuel prices.
b) Handguns.
c) Cell phone use while driving.
11. A hiker stranded in the Bavarian Alps attached this to a logging cable to attract the attention of lumberjacks and get help:
a) A note asking for help.
b) A six-pack of beer.
c) Her sports bra.
12. Bricktown’s water taxis will use these to secure the comfort of their passengers this summer:
a) $5 cold drinks.
b) Boat awnings.
c) Festive paint jobs.
13. China has announced plans to clear away what?
a) Tacky housing around Olympic venues.
b) Monks who criticize about Beijing.
c) Trash and climbing debris from 50 years on Mount Everest.
14. What did University of Oklahoma gymnast Jonathan Horton say impressed him during a visit to the White House?
a) He had his picture taken in the Oval Office.
b) President Bush said he read in the newspaper about Horton making the Olympic team.
c) Secret Service let him do flips over bushes in the Rose Garden.
15. Chinese officials have decided to do what with a lake that formed after an earthquake?
a) Invite Olympic swimmers to train there.
b) Turn it into a tourist attraction.
c) Ask residents to help remove debris that formed it.
16. AB Rafiki The Icon of Cool, CP’s Kick It Up A Notch and Major League Show-Me The Babe are:
a) Competitive show dogs.
b) Singers for Norman’s Jazz in June.
c) Nicknames of billiards champions to compete at Riverwind Casino.
17. The To save money on gasoline, Tulsa police officers will no longer be allowed to:
a) Idle in the lunchtime drive-through.
b) Patrol neighborhoods in cars. They’ll be using bicycles.
c) Drive their patrol cars to off-duty jobs.
18. Backers are disappointed the Legislature failed to budget for this attraction to the state Capitol grounds:
a) Renovations to the southside flags plaza to add more banners.
b) An African-American Centennial Plaza.
c) A memorial for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan.
19. Drivers in some Midwestern states are saving as much as $1 a gallon by:
a) Paying with a credit card.
b) Using a blend that is 85 percent ethanol.
c) Buying American cars with a pay-less-for-gas deal.
20. This University of Oklahoma athletic department employee will be making $1.05 million a year:
a) Football coach Bob Stoops.
b) Basketball coach Jeff Capel.
c) Athletic director Joe Castiglione.
How did you do on the quiz? Here are the correct answers:
1-A; 2-C; 3-A; 4-A; 5-A; 6-A; 7-B; 8-A; 9-C; 10-B; 11-C; 12-B; 13-C; 14-B; 15-B; 16-A; 17-C; 18-B; 19-B; 20-B.
Week in review
Sometimes it’s easy to miss an event, so here’s a look back at the past week or so to help bring you up to date:
The weekly news quiz
It’s time to see how much attention you’ve been paying to the news in the past week or so. From The Oklahoman’s news copy editors and designers, here’s a quiz.
1. Education officials offered advice for parents on how to prevent children from slipping academically over the summer. Which is NOT helpful to a child’s education?
a) Make time for reading, and take them to the library.
b) Take them to the grocery store to reinforce math skills.
c) Argue with them to hone debating skills.
2. The Advanced Traveler Information System uses a Web site to help drivers avoid problems by:
a) Providing near real-time images of traffic conditions.
b) Listing auto recalls and reminders for regular maintenance.
c) Checking nearby gasoline prices and listing the cheapest.
3. Oklahoma City department heads are trimming their budgets by 1 percent to maintain services because of:
a) Increasing labor costs.
b) Increasing need for more workers.
c) Increasing fuel and health care costs.
4. “August: Osage County,” is a Tony Award-winning play written by native Oklahoman Tracy Letts about:
a) The oil industry run rampant.
b) Tribal sovereignty and the choices of identity.
c) A dysfunctional Oklahoma family and its pill-popping matriarch.
5. Californians are locked in a debate over environmental objections to an energy project that would include:
a) A huge new gasoline refinery off the coast of San Francisco.
b) The world’s largest solar power plant with wind components.
c) The first new nuclear power plant in three decades.
6. As the U.S. economy stutters, a review of CEO compensation found the median pay:
a) Declined 3.5 percent.
b) Stayed the same.
c) Increased 3.5 percent.
7. After Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang injured his foot running the bases, club Co-Chairman Hank Steinbrenner said the National League needs to “grow up and join the 21st century” by:
a) Requiring standard footwear.
b) Stopping the whining and getting on with it.
c) Adopting the designated hitter rule.
8. Oklahoma City’s environmental protection manager says people should do this when their car is dirty:
a) Use a car wash. In a driveway, suds, dirt and grease can flow into a storm drain.
b) Avert your eyes. Who really cares if you drive a shiny car?
c) Time it right. Wash your car at night when water won’t evaporate.
9. As the upper Mississippi River rose near levels of the historic 1993 floods, officials say the damage isn’t as bad as it was 15 years ago because:
a) People are using text messages to warn their neighbors.
b) This time, all the levees have held.
c) The federal government has cleared many residents from flood-prone land.
10. Why, according to astronomy experts, does the moon look larger at the horizon?
a) Green cheese is less dense than rock.
b) It’s an optical illusion.
c) The moon is closer to the Earth at the horizon.
11. Why did U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Joshua Johnson receive a Gold Lifesaving Medal from the U.S. Coast Guard?
a) He saved a mother and her 2-year-old trapped in a sinking car in an icy river.
b) He set a world record for the number of CPR classes taken.
c) He swam San Francisco Bay.
12. This is causing the price of corn to reach record levels:
a) Fewer acres have been planted as farmers switch to soybeans.
b) The green-legged beetle has devastated crops in the south.
c) Midwestern flooding has drowned many fields.
13. A conservation group says this animal is on the verge of extinction:
a) The tuskless pygmy rhino.
b) Northern white rhino.
c) The spotted rhinopotamus.
14. A freshman offensive lineman left the University of Oklahoma to:
a) Play in the NFL.
b) Join the Marines.
c) Take a chance on “American Idol.”
15. About 500 state employees were evacuated from the Kerr-Edmonson State Office Building because:
a) Someone called in a fake bomb threat, but nothing was found.
b) Workers were concerned a tiling project might involve asbestos, but it was later cleared.
c) Someone came in with the sniffles, but it turned out to be allergies.
16. Jeff McMahan resigned as state auditor and inspector, sparing the state House an expensive impeachment. In preparation, the House already had spent:
a) $70 for the coffeepot and snacks at an after-hours inquiry.
b) $7,000 in hotel vouchers for out-of-town lawmakers.
c) $70,000 in lawyers’ fees while lawmakers studied the process.
17. The Oklahoma City Museum of Art has a long-awaited exhibit of:
a) Roman art from the Louvre in Paris.
b) Grecian art from the British Museum in London
c) Art of the Mother Road from the Route 66 Museum in Clinton.
18. A pregnant woman trapped 50 hours under earthquake rubble in China has given birth to a daughter she named:
a) Light.
b) Love.
c) Martha.
19. About 80,000 Oklahoma retirees and disabled veterans are entitled to economic stimulus payments, but they must file a tax return by this date:
a) July 15.
b) Oct. 15.
c) Dec. 31.
20. Golf star Tiger Woods announced:
a) He will retire.
b) He will have season-ending knee surgery.
c) He will make every tournament this year.
How did you do on the quiz? Here are the correct answers:
1-C; 2-A; 3-C; 4-C; 5-B; 6-C; 7-C; 8-A; 9-C; 10-B; 11-A; 12-C; 13-B; 14-B; 15-B; 16-C; 17-A; 18-B; 19-B; 20-B.
Week in review
Sometimes it’s easy to miss an event, so here’s a look back at the past week or so to help bring you up to date:
The weekly news quiz
It’s time to see how much attention you’ve been paying to the news in the past week or so. From The Oklahoman’s news copy editors and designers, here’s a quiz.
1. Drawing on her father’s experiences, the new Miss Oklahoma 2008 Kelsey Cartwright is promoting this:
a) Organ donations.
b) Open adoptions.
c) Feeding hungry children.
2. Cheyenne-Arapaho painter Brent Learned joined with another artist to create an artwork. His fellow painter was:
a) An Italian known only as Leonardo.
b) A Muscogee Creek potter named Scott Roberts.
c) An elephant from Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.
3. Singer-songwriter Rissi Palmer’s debut single, “Country Girl,” made history when it made the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart because she is:
a) From New York City.
b) The first black woman to make the chart in 20 years.
c) Actually a classical violinist.
4. What sport will focus on world championship games when it is removed from the Olympics after 2008?
a) Softball.
b) Handball.
c) Synchronized swimming.
5. When Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th home run, he joined an exclusive club. How many other players have reached this milestone?
a) Three.
b) Five.
c) Nine.
6. Grocery stores and restaurants removed tomatoes from shelves and menus after a salmonella outbreak. The FDA says which tomato type is safe to eat?
a) Any green tomato.
b) Any Roma tomato.
c) Any cherry tomato.
7. Oklahoma State University alum Paul Sterling, who holds a doctorate in entomology, has donated $35,000 worth of these from his Hawaiian farms:
a) Earthworms.
b) Leis.
c) Kona coffee beans.
8. Because someone checked the wrong box on the order form, the Fred Meyer entertainment chain has reintroduced sales of:
a) Vinyl records.
b) Eight-track tapes.
c) Disney DVDs.
9. Flip-flop researchers at Auburn University found wearing this summer footgear is a source of:
a) Sore feet, ankles and legs.
b) Headaches, because of too many margaritas.
c) Beach-based fantasies.
10. Apple Inc. announced it will release an updated, less expensive version of this:
a) iPhone.
b) iMac.
c) iPod.
11. Why are the Asian elephant sisters at the Oklahoma City Zoo moving to Tulsa?
a) The zoo sold them on eBay.
b) They are to mate with Sneezy while their exhibit is renovated.
c) They were always pestering the rhinos.
12. Southern Baptists say they aren’t ignoring the issue, but they won’t keep a database of:
a) Unemployed pastors.
b) Approved political causes.
c) Sexually abusive ministers.
13. “Your work isn’t easy,” first lady Laura Bush told U.S. soldiers doing their duty in:
a) Iraq.
b) Afghanistan.
c) The United States.
14. Which one of these is NOT a method that experts listed as a way to save fuel?
a) Replace fouled spark plugs, as bad ones will reduce fuel economy.
b) Use cruise control on the highway.
c) Drive faster so you will get there quicker.
15. Former Oklahoman Paul Benjamin writes comic books about this character:
a) Superman.
b) Hello Kitty.
c) The Incredible Hulk.
16. The federal government reports that for 2006 babies, life expectancy in the United States has passed 78. In Japan, the average life expectancy is:
a) 73.
b) 83.
c) 93.
17. Former presidential candidate Ron Paul will try to draw attention to his goals of limited government by:
a) Airing infomercials on cable networks.
b) Holding a day-long rally during the Republican convention.
c) Renting a blimp to carry a sign telling people to read the Constitution.
18. Twenty-two states prohibit the sale of this beverage:
a) Unpasteurized milk.
b) 3.2 beer.
c) Water from glacier sources.
19. Lawmakers say multiple congressional computers have been hacked for information on dissidents by people working from:
a) China.
b) Iraq.
c) Peoria, Ill.
20. Secret government documents on al-Qaida and Iraq were found in a:
a) Chair in the Pentagon.
b) Booth in a Bangkok McDonald’s.
c) London commuter train.
How did you do on the quiz? Here are the correct answers:
1-B; 2-C; 3-B; 4-A; 5-B; 6-C; 7-C; 8-A; 9-A; 10-A; 11-B; 12-C; 13-B; 14-C; 15-C; 16-B; 17-B; 18-A; 19-A; 20-C.
Week in review
Sometimes it’s easy to miss an event, so here’s a look back at the past week or so to help bring you up to date:
State auditor’s trial, Day 8
During his testimony Thursday, Jeff McMahan made repeated references to taking action or being unaware of alleged improprieties until “after it came out in the paper.”
In some cases, his memory was mistaken. However, jurors don’t know that.
A couple examples:
- In answer to a question from his attorney, Rand C. Eddy, McMahan said he was unaware of an alleged effort to stall a permit request for a new abstract company in McCurtain County until he read it in the paper. However, that matter didn’t surface until last week, when witnesses testified about it at the auditor’s trial. A new company would have broken up a monopoly by admitted co-conspirator Steve Phipps.
- Under cross-examination, McMahan said he told a campaign worker for his 2006 campaign not to accept any money from so-called “Phipps people.” The reason, he said, was that the media had begun reporting possible straw contributions involving Phipps to various political campaigns, including McMahan’s 2002 campaign. However, that information didn’t become public until March 2007.
Prosecutors didn’t confront the auditor about those time lapses.
State auditor’s trial, Day 7
Outside Muskogee’s federal courthouse, cameras have captured Jeff and Lori McMahan holding hands while walking toward their trial site.
Inside the courthouse is another story.
During lengthy conferences between attorneys and U.S. District Judge James H. Payne, the couple rarely speak to each other. Lori McMahan reads a novel. Four feet way, her husband studies papers or stares downward.
Wednesday morning, 50 minutes passed that way, neither acknowledging the other, as attorneys met in Payne’s chambers to discuss a juror issue.
However, one moment during his wife’s testimony apparently touched the state auditor. It happened Tuesday as his wife tearfully recalled telling him one last August what she had just told the FBI: that she had committed crimes to help him win election in 2002 and had accepted jewelry and cash from a businessman whose companies her husband’s office regulated.
“I offered to pack my bag and leave if he wanted to,” Lori McMahan said, adding that her husband declined her offer. That testimony, followed immediately by Lori McMahan’s statements about her husband’s integrity, caused the auditor to wipe an apparent tear from the corner of one eye.
State auditor’s trial, Day 6
The table was set. Lori McMahan would either testify against her husband or, preferably, convince him to plead guilty to a felony and resign as the state auditor and inspector.
In return, she would receive immunity for her admitted crimes involving businessman Steve Phipps, whose companies were regulated by the auditor’s office.
The deal was nixed when Lori McMahan couldn’t recall whether her husband attended a 2002 dinner meeting where Phipps handed her $10,000 in cash.
Jurors will hear about that Wednesday at the criminal trial of Jeff and Lori McMahan. They’re likely to also hear prosecutors question Lori McMahan about her memory gaps concerning key events.
The proposed deal for her immunity was made at the FBI office in Oklahoma City in late October. The fifth-grade teacher remembers the approximate date because she was wearing a Halloween sweater, the same one she’d worn to school that day.
The meeting occurred two months after the FBI served a search warrant on the McMahans’ home in Tecumseh. During the search, Lori McMahan admitted she had accepted cash and jewelry from Phipps. A prosecutor suggested she gave conflicting versions when confronted with inconsistencies.
“I had made a mistake, and I was willing to take responsibility for my sins,” she said, explaining her reason for the admission.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gay Guthrie wasn’t impressed with some of Lori McMahan’s answers during a hearing outside the jury’s presence to determine whether she could testify about the immunity offer.
“The point of all this is, she lied then (to the FBI), and she’s lying now,” Guthrie told U.S. District Judge James H. Payne.
Payne ruled that the auditor’s wife can testify about the immunity offer.
State auditor’s trial, Day 5
Jeff McMahan’s chief fundraiser for his 2006 re-election campaign faced two huge obstacles. She dubbed them “The Hands Off List” and “The Dead List.”
Combined, those two lists accounted for the largest single source of money for McMahan’s first campaign in 2002. Now, the people on those lists were untouchable, Erin Bradshaw testified Monday.
Bradshaw had worked a governor’s race in North Dakota and two other political races in Kansas when, in 2005, she was brought in to help get McMahan re-elected as state auditor and inspector.
As she delved into McMahan’s campaign contribution reports from 2002, she noticed a large number were tied to abstract company owner Steve Phipps. Some were clerical workers who gave as much as $5,000, which Bradshaw said raised red flags.
She said McMahan instructed her not to contact those people.
“Anybody that was somebody Phipps might be involved with, I was to be hands off with,” Bradshaw testified.
That included former state Sen. Gene Stipe and the 2002 donors tied to him. Stipe and Phipps were secret business partners in 2002. By 2006, they were suing each other, and both were under FBI investigation.
“The Stipes were completely off the table (for campaign money), because there was so much publicity by then,” Bradshaw testified.
The dead list, Bradshaw explained, includes donors from a candidate’s previous campaign who have either died since then or indicated they don’t want to be bothered for another contribution.
One such person was Ancel Arrington, an Edmond accountant who gave $2,700 in 2002. Bradshaw said she was sitting across from McMahan, making fundraising calls, when McMahan relayed this message that Arrington had just told him: “I only gave in ’02 because somebody told me to, and I will never give again.”
Arrington did accounting work for Larry Witt, who in 2002 co-owned some abstract and title insurance companies with Phipps. By 2006, Phipps was under FBI investigation, and both Witt and McMahan were distancing themselves from him.
