People in the News Quiz, 2008
What Pakistani president resigned due to impending impeachment proceedings, declaring "Whether I win or lose the impeachment, the dignity of the nation would be damaged, the office of the president harmed"?
- Musharraf was reelected to the presidency in 2007, but his right to run while still army chief was challenged; before the supreme court could rule, he suspended the constitution, declared emergency rule, and dismissed the court members who seemed likely to rule against him.
What Swiss tennis player, who won five consecutive Wimbledon tournaments from 2003-2007, won the 2008 U.S. Open?
- Federer won the U.S. Open consecutively from 2004 to 2008.
What American auto-racing driver won the Indy Japan 300, becoming the first woman to win an IndyCar race?
- Danica Patrick placed fourth in the 2005 running of the Indianapolis 500, making her the top-finishing woman ever at the famous auto race.
What California native became the nation?s 16th Poet Laureate in 2008?
- Ryan spent her professional career teaching English at College of Marin in Kentfield, California and writing poems.
What Australian actor, who played The Joker in the 2008 movie Dark Knight, died in his Manhattan apartment six months prior to the movie opening?
- Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on the afternoon of 22 January 2008. An autopsy determined that he had suffered an accidental overdose of prescribed anti-depressants, pain killers, and sleeping medications.
Who was elected Vladimir Putin's successor as president of Russia in 2008?
- Dmitry Medvedev was sworn in as president and Putin became prime minister days later. Although Medvedev assumed the presidency, Putin clearly remained in control of the government.
What mayor was indicted on eight felony charges including perjury, obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and misconduct in office?
- Kirkpatrick was elected mayor of Detroit in 2005.
What American swimmer won four medals, including gold in the 100 meter backstroke, in the 2008 Summer Games?
- Natalie Coughlin capped a stellar collegiate career by winning a total of nine medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
What politician from Illinois was arrested by federal agents in 2008 and accused of trying to sell Barack Obama?s senate seat?
- Blagojevich was accused of scheming to sell an appointment to the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by president-elect Barack Obama.
Who won the 2008 Nobel Prize for Peace?
- Ahtisaari, the former president of Finland, won the Peace Prize for "his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts".
