We're featuring a look at Olympic prizes this Friday -- their history and makeup -- as opening ceremonies get under way in this year's Winter Games. We're also looking at the background and evolution of a popular airborne Olympic event. Our "Around the World in 80 Seconds" report updates you on on talks between two global rivals and two nations at war. We visit a frozen lake in the Czech Republic that took on a strange shade of green. And we bring you some good news concerning a man who reportedly woke from a coma with sudden artistic ability!
This news quiz covers topics featured throughout the week on The World from A to Z:
1. According to meteorologists, what type of “cyclone”/weather event occurs when a storm’s pressure drops at least 24 millibars in 24 hours, becoming very intense very quickly?
2. What tradition (or holiday), which harkens back to a medieval method of trying to forecast the weather, was observed in the U.S. on Monday?
3. Despite reported losses in sea ice around the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, a recently published study noted signs of good health in what animal?
4. A new and controversial fee of $2.36 is hoped to increase revenue and reduce overcrowding at what 18th Century monument – one of the most popular tourist attractions in Rome, Italy?
5. What Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which was ratified on February 3, 1913, gave Congress the power to “lay and collect” income taxes?
6. What nation is led by President Gustavo Petro, who had a cordial meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump this week though the leaders have lashed out at each other in recent months?
7. February 4 marked the anniversary of a unanimous Electoral College win for what U.S. president – the only one to achieve that feat (and do it twice)?
8. This week, the Trump Administration announced it would remove 700 federal immigration and Border Patrol agents from what state, leaving about 2,000 there for the time being?
9. Pedro Sánchez is the prime minister of what country, which is considering a new ban on social media for anyone under age 16?
10. What two nations, which have been global rivals for decades, are scheduled to participate in talks today in the Middle Eastern nation of Oman?
