Christmas celebrations, a blast of Arctic cold that gripped much of the nation and Roy Moore’s legal challenge of the special election results in Alabama were among this week’s top stories. Here’s a quiz on some of the other news from the week.
Appearing with a group of Florida firefighters on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he had “signed more legislation than anybody — we broke the record of Harry Truman.” That turned out to not be true, according to data from the U.S. Congress and GovTrack.us.
In reality, which of the following presidents signed more legislation at the same stage of his presidency as Trump is now?
A. Harry Truman
B. Dwight D. Eisenhower
C. John F. Kennedy
D. Richard Nixon
E. Jimmy Carter
F. Ronald Reagan
G. George H.W. Bush
H. Bill Clinton
I. George W. Bush
J. Barack Obama
K. All of the above
Answer: K. According to multiple media stories, Trump has actually signed the least legislation of any president dating to Eisenhower, and an official at the Truman Library tweeted that Trump didn’t sign as much as Truman, either. Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford were excluded from the analyses because, unlike Trump and the others, they did not begin their presidencies with a new Congress.
On Tuesday, a day after tweeting he was going “back to work in order to Make America Great Again,” Trump returned to the golf course for a third round while vacationing in Palm Beach, Fla. Which of the following is not a quote he made about golf while campaigning for president?
A. “I love golf, but I’ll cut down while I’m president.”
B. "I’m going to be working for you, I’m not going to have time to play golf.”
C. “I love golf, but if I were in the White House I don’t think I’d ever see Turnberry (his Scottish golf resort) again. I just want to stay in the White House and work my ass off.”
Answer: A.
True or false: In the first 234 days that the stock market was open after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Dow was up more percentage-wise than in the first 234 market days of President Barack Obama’s administration, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
Answer: False. The post reported that the Dow was up 24.8 percent under Trump, but was up more than 31 percentage points during Obama’s first 234 market days.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority reported that year-over-year visitor numbers fell in November by 3.7 percent, the sixth straight month in which the number declined. What did the LVCVA identify as the main cause of the drop-off?
A. The establishment of fees at Strip properties.
B. Resort renovations that left fewer rooms available.
C. Competition from other tourist destinations.
Answer: B. Ten resorts have gone under renovation this year, taking about 800 rooms out of the inventory.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that Nevada is within how many people of reaching 3 million in population?
A. Less than 2,000
B. 100,000
C. 300,000
Answer: A. The Census Bureau estimated Nevada’s population at 2,998,039 people, or 1,961 short of 3 million. Nevada is the second fastest-growing state in the nation, according to the bureau.
The World Health Organization is expected to add which of the following to its list of mental health conditions next year?
A. Texting and driving disorder
B. Video gaming disorder
C. Tweeting disorder
Answer: B. In a draft report of its 11th International Classification of Diseases, WHO says video gaming disorder can “result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning."
A new study says an increasing number of pregnant women are turning to which of the following to ease nausea or calm their anxieties?
A. Virtual reality programs featuring scenes of beaches, quiet forests and other soothing environments.
B. Yoga
C. Marijuana
Answer: C. The journal JAMA reported that marijuana use among sample groups of pregnant mothers in California climbed from 4.2 percent in 2009 to 7.1 percent in 2016.