Answers for the week of January 21-27, 2007

1. c. Power outages occurred in many places as ice wreaked havoc with power lines. Some of the power problems came from falling tree limbs snapped by the weight of the ice. Ice-laden branches and trees also damaged cars and buildings. The death toll from the storm was around 46. Icy roads led to the cancellation of a number of Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observances and parts of Missouri and Oklahoma were declared disaster areas. Freezing conditions in the west destroyed more than three-quarters of California’s billion-dollar citrus industry.

2. a. The United Nations released its report estimating last year’s total of 34,000 civilians killed in 2006 on a day when more than 80 people died in bombings in Baghdad. The U.N. warned that the absence of a functioning justice system in Iraq meant that the violence was likely to continue. The estimate came from figures provided by the Medico-Legal Institute in Baghdad and hospitals around the country. In addition to the deaths, 36,675 civilians are estimated to have been wounded.More than 16,000 of the total deaths occurred in Baghdad.

3. c. Helen Mirren won two best actress awards for her portrayals of two Queen Elizabeths: Elizabeth II in The Queen and Elizabeth I in the TV mini-series of that name. The award for best dramatic movie went to Babel and for best comedy/musical to Dreamgirls. Martin Scorsese was named best director for The Departed. Former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson won best supporting actress for her role in Dreamgirls. The Globes are awarded by the 80 plus members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

4. b. National security letters allow access to personal and corporate financial records kept by banks, credit card companies and others. Only the F.B.I. has the authority to use national security letters in domestic intelligence gathering. In recent years, the Pentagon and C.I.A. have begun using “noncompulsory” versions of the letters, a development some civil liberties groups find troubling. Congress has repeatedly denied the two agencies authority to issue mandatory letters, citing a reluctance to allow military involvement in domestic intelligence operations.

5. a. The New England Patriots beat the Chargers 24-21. The Chargers seemed headed for victory when LaDainian Tomlinson scored a 3-yard run for a 21-13 lead with 8:35 left in the fourth quarter. Then the Patriots scored another touchdown and with 70 seconds left in the game, Patriot rookie Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 31-yard field goal for the win. New England has won all but one of its last 13 playoff games.

6. a. A number of U.S. attorneys are being forced out of their jobs around the country. Among them is Carol C. Lam, who led the successful corruption prosecution of former Rep. Randy Cunningham (R-Calif.). Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) have challenged the Attorney General to justify firing people with good records and reputations. A little-known provision of the Patriot Act expanded the authority of the White House to make indefinite interim judicial appointments without Senate review. Attorney General Gonzalez stated, “We in no way politicize these decisions.”

7. b. The latest review of Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1821 autopsy report concludes that he died of stomach cancer, which was listed then as the official cause of death. In 1961, an analysis of Napoleon’s hair showed elevated levels of arsenic, which led to speculation that he had been poisoned. The current research team notes that there is no evidence of other signs of arsenic poisoning. The autopsy also describes a 4-inch tumor in Napoleon’s stomach that is consistent with fatal stomach cancer.

8. c. Fifty-one percent of women reported they were living without a spouse in 2005. The Census also shows that married couples are now a minority of all American households. In 2000, forty-nine percent of women were living without spouses, while in 1950, only thirty-five percent were. The trend can be explained in part by women marrying later or living with unmarried partners for longer periods of time. More women are also living as widows or delaying remarriage after divorce.

9. b. The American Cancer Society reported that the number of cancer deaths in the U.S. dropped in 2004 for the second straight year. The first reported drop in 70 years occurred in 2003 and was very small. A decline in 2004 suggests that this may be a trend, rather than a statistical fluke. Much of the decline is attributed to reduction in smoking and improvements in detecting and treating several kinds of cancer. The greatest decrease has been in deaths from colorectal cancer.

10. a. The new Democrat-ruled House voted to rescind large tax breaks and subsidies for oil drillers. The money will be channeled instead into renewable energy projects and new energy conservation technologies. The Bush administration and the oil industry oppose the bill. A key provision in the bill closes an Interior Department lease loophole that allows offshore drillers to avoid paying billions in royalties over the next decade. The measure still must pass in the Senate.

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