Welcome to Slate’s weekly news quiz. It’s Friday, which means it’s time to test your knowledge of the week’s news events. Your host, Ray Hamel, has concocted questions on news topics ranging from politics to business, from culture to sports to science. At the end of the quiz, you’ll be able to compare your score with that of the average contestant, as well as that of a Slatester who has agreed to take the quiz on the record. This week’s contestant is homepage editor Hannah Docter-Loeb.

Can you ace the quiz and beat Docter-Loeb? Good luck!

Recently, judges dealt with cases involving a man who sued his local newspaper for failing to cover his teen son’s basketball games, a 14-year-old boy who claims his parents tricked him into moving to Ghana, and a woman in Detroit making a PB&J sandwich while attending court via Zoom. Ye will be judged in this week’s Slate News Quiz.

Good Job is Slate’s advice column on work. Have a workplace problem big or small? Send it to Laura Helmuth and Doree Shafrir here. It’s anonymous!

Dear Good Job,

I own a small grocery store with a wall lined with self-serve bins that hold candy, nuts, dried fruit, etc.

My issue is that shoppers and their children think nothing of sticking their hands in and helping themselves to a handful. When my employees have asked them not to, they often become quite angry and tell them in an expletive-laden manner to mind their own business. Other than putting locks on the bins and displaying a sign instructing customers to request clerk assistance, is there anything that can be done to stop the unauthorized free samples?

—This Isn’t a Buffet

Dear This Isn’t a Buffet,

You could try treating your customers as experimental subjects and see which interventions make them less likely to grab snacks. A surprising line of research suggests that posting pictures or drawings of eyes makes people less likely to steal. It sounds like one of those experiments that wouldn’t replicate, but a review from a few years ago estimated that images of watchful eyes can reduce antisocial behavior by 35 percent. So maybe a picture of eyes looming over your bins would help? You could also provide even more scoops to deter hand-grabbing, or put magnets on the bin lids so people have to make a little more effort to open them. Sometimes obstacles can prompt people to pause, consider what they’re doing, and then realize it’s wrong. You can use text-based signs to remind people to scoop or pour bulk items into bags. Emphasize the message with an image-based sign of a hand reaching into a bin, with a red circle and slash mark through it.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Another approach is to act like an ice-cream shop that offers customers a tiny spoonful’s worth of a taste before they commit to a cone. Provide shot-glass-size cups for samples, and put up a sign saying that customers are welcome to scoop out (not grab!) a small amount of an item and taste it first, before they buy it in bulk. Some customers may abuse your generosity, but at least this system is more hygienic.

—Laura

More Advice From Slate

My husband and I both had great-paying full-time jobs our whole marriage (14 years now). Over six years ago, I set a goal for myself of becoming self-employed, and was successful after a lot of hard work. In 2019 I was able to quit my full-time job and work for myself, because my hobby/side gig was finally making more than my current job. Then COVID hit, and after a few months my husband quit his job due to my health issues and not wanting me to get sick…

In a June 17 Politics, Sam Adams misidentified California Sen. Alex Padilla as José Padilla.

In a June 16 Politics, Aymann Ismail misidentified Rep. LaMonica McIver as Imani MacGyver.

In a June 11 War Stories, Fred Kaplan misstated that Donald Trump changed the names of Memorial Day and Veterans Day. He said he wanted to rename Veterans Day, but that proposal was scrapped. He did not attempt to rename Memorial Day.

Slate strives to correct all errors of fact. If you’ve seen an error in our pages, let us know at corrections@slate.com. General comments should be posted in our Comments sections associated with each article.

Each week, Prudence asks readers for their thoughts on the letters she’s received. Her reply will be available every Friday only for Slate Plus members. Dear Prudence is Slate’s advice column. Submit questions here.

Hey Prudence,

I think you missed a very obvious solution for Scared Each Sunrise.

They should get a baby monitor! My Nana would use one with my Pop as he got older. They still make simple audio-only models—just avoid the motion detector pads. They’re so sensitive and go off constantly.

Your great-grandfather is 98. At some point, he’s going to die—but maybe the monitor would help. Or it backfires, and she ends up hearing every little breathing noise he makes at night. He might benefit from one too, if he needs help when she’s not in the room.

—Get a Baby Monitor

Hmm, yeah—this would either solve the problem, because she wouldn’t be bracing for a surprise every time she walked into his room, or would worsen it, because she’d be a wreck every single time she checked it. The benefit he’d get from being able to use the monitor to ask for help would make it worth it, regardless.

Get advice from Prudie—submit a question! Please keep questions short (<150 words), and don‘t submit the same question to multiple columns. We are unable to edit or remove questions after publication. Use pseudonyms to maintain anonymity. Your submission may be used in other Slate advice columns and may be edited for publication. Thanks! Your question has been submitted. Dear Prudence, * Your letter signoff Your pronouns Your email (optional and confidential—please include if you're open to Dear Prudence following up) Submit

Hey Prudence,

Re The Eldest Daughter, At It Again: When I was in college and graduate school, back before smartphones were everywhere, my mom had a rule: We had to check in once every two weeks before she called. She was fine with us doing whatever we were doing, but if she didn’t hear from us within two weeks, she’d call to make sure we were still alive.

—Mom Should Use the Two-Week Rule

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

It’s unbelievable how little contact parents (and everyone) had to be comfortable with before cell phones! Your suggestion feels totally reasonable if “calling home” means standing in line for a shared phone line. But it’s 2025, and the mom can’t un-know that her son has a tiny machine in his pocket that could send her a quick “hi” in four seconds at any time of the day or night—and he’s simply choosing not to. So, I think her feelings would still be hurt. Still, the two-week rule is a good one to follow when she’s trying to decide how long to hold out before reaching out.

Hey Prudence,

For Ding Dong, The Witch Is Dead, who asked about attending the funeral of an insufferable neighbor: It won’t be as miserable as you anticipate. In a twisted way, it actually feels kind of good to attend the funeral of someone who previously tormented you. At least, that’s how I felt at the funeral of a very difficult former boss.

—Eklektika

Advertisement

Omg I’m a champion grudge holder, and even I didn’t think of this angle. Is this you?

Hey Prudence,

Advertisement

Your advice to Seeking Quiet about getting his wife a physical is on the nose. My dad has mild cognitive decline, and the first signs my mom and I noticed were his usual stories getting longer, more repetitive, and increasingly outrageous. He’d always been a talker and a bit of an exaggerator, but when his mental acuity started to go, he turned into a tall-tale-teller, fabricating things out of other people’s stories. This shift was one of the main reasons we pushed for a checkup—and ultimately got a diagnosis. And the sooner you get a diagnosis, the more treatment options you have.

—Storyteller’s Daughter

Advertisement

This is good to know! If you see this, Seeking Quiet, don’t delay.

Advertisement

Hey Prudence,

Re Won’t Risk Breaking My Neck: There are two options that satisfy everyone. Many apps let you choose between “leave at door” and “hand-off.” If you select “hand-off,” they’re not supposed to just leave it without handing it to you. You can also put a note in the profile: ”Please wait for a response at the door. Do not leave the package.”

Secondly, for USPS and UPS, the same people usually deliver to the same routes. So, when you go to thank a driver, ask them to wait next time to get an acknowledgement, instead of rushing off. You can also call the key delivery companies and request hand-offs, explaining that your parents are moving more slowly.

—Delivery Queen

Advertisement

Advertisement

Great idea. I mean, it ultimately makes the delivery people’s lives harder and potentially puts them behind schedule, when the whole idea was to be gracious and polite, so it’s not a perfect idea. But I think it’s worth implementing to make the mom happy. Maybe the letter writer can pair it with generous tips during the holiday season. And Juneteenth, and Fourth of July, and Labor Day …

Classic Prudie

I am engaged to a wonderful man, and we know we want children in a few years. But he recently told me that he is vehemently against circumcision. It’s not for religious reasons—he is circumcised and believes that it caused him a lot of physical pain in adolescence. I, on the other hand…

Donald Trump won the presidency in part on promises to deport immigrants who have criminal records and lack permanent legal status. But his earliest executive orders—trying to undo birthright citizenship, suspending critical refugee programs—made clear he wants to attack immigrants with permanent legal status too. In our series Who Gets to Be American This Week?, we’ll track the Trump administration’s attempts to exclude an ever-growing number of people from the American experiment.

President Donald Trump’s immigration raids have disrupted life in Los Angeles in a way the mayor is comparing to COVID; they’ve created a climate of fear that’s driving people into hiding and hurting local businesses. This week, the president promised to expand those raids in blue cities, all in a futile attempt to hit 1 million deportations by the end of the year. After suggesting last week that ICE would stop targeting the agriculture and hotel industries, which disproportionately rely on immigrant labor, the administration also walked back that guidance.

And a troubling trend is emerging: As Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts get more aggressive and reckless, several elected officials who attempted to conduct oversight or question what is being done have been arrested.

Here’s the immigration news we’re keeping an eye on this week:

Agriculture Industry Faces Immigration Enforcement Whiplash

For a brief moment, it seemed as though Trump was finally experiencing a reality check when he admitted on Truth Social that his punitive immigration agenda would harm “very good, long time workers” within the agriculture and hotel industries. Immigration and Customs Enforcement formally directed its agents to stop all enforcement at farms, restaurants, and operating hotels—only for the administration to reverse that this week.

Advertisement

The Washington Post reported that Homeland Security leadership sent an email out Monday to its agents telling them it was rolling back its previous guidance from just four days earlier. Now, agents are being told to continue business as usual and conduct immigration raids at agricultural businesses, hotels, and restaurants.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The agriculture and hotel industries collectively employ millions of immigrants and stand to take a major hit if they lose these workers, something Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins attempted to convey to the president. Elora Mukherjee, clinical law professor at Columbia University and director of the school’s Immigrants’ Rights Clinic, told me this is a stunning reversal by the president and something Americans are indicating they are not on board with. In a Pew Research Center poll conducted in early June, largely before the recent wave of raids in Los Angeles and subsequent protests, 54 percent of respondents said they disapprove of increasing ICE raids on workplaces where people who are in the U.S. illegally may be working. And while immigration still shows up as Trump’s strongest issue in the polls, recent surveys suggest his support from voters is softening there.

Advertisement

“Overwhelmingly, Americans do not want ICE raids that focus on those without criminal records. That’s why polls show that Trump is losing voter approval on these key issues,” Mukherjee said.

United Farm Workers, one of the largest farm workers unions in the country, called out the Trump administration’s latest flip-flop. “A chaotic raid at a worksite and a warrantless sweep in our communities have the same outcome. Bullshit rhetoric aside, they’re hunting us down while we’re trying to feed you,” the union said on X. “Who’s actually in charge?”

Advertisement

Another Elected Official Is Arrested While Trying to Question ICE

On Tuesday in New York City, city comptroller Brad Lander, a Democrat who’s running for mayor, was accompanying immigrants attending their court hearings inside a federal courthouse, since the administration has increasingly been arresting people who show up for immigration proceedings. As federal agents attempted to arrest a man who had been the subject of an immigration hearing, Lander linked arms with him. The comptroller repeatedly asked immigration agents if they had a warrant for his arrest, but was not given an answer. Video footage shows agents ignoring his question and shoving him down the hall. “I will let go when you show me the judicial warrant. Where is it?” he asks as the agents push and shove him, trying to get him to let go. One of them pushes the comptroller up against a wall and handcuffs him as Lander says “You don’t have authority to arrest U.S. citizens.”

Advertisement

Advertisement

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary, said that Lander was arrested for assaulting law enforcement and impeding a federal officer, but a few hours later, Lander was released from detention. Gov. Kathy Hochul confirmed charges against him have been dropped.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Just days earlier, California Sen. Alex Padilla found himself in a similar situation. While attempting to ask a question during a press conference in Los Angeles where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was speaking about the president’s decision to send National Guard troops with immigration agents, Padilla was tackled to the ground and handcuffed. Despite Padilla identifying himself to law enforcement, he was forcibly removed from the event, but ultimately was not arrested. DHS implied Noem and her security team simply did not know who the senator was because he didn’t identify himself—even though he did, and there’s video footage of it—and because he wasn’t wearing his security pin.

Advertisement

Last month, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested during a congressional tour of a federal immigration detention center in New Jersey. Baraka was denied entry into the facility and had walked over to join a group of protesters when law enforcement arrested him. Baraka was charged with trespass, and even though that charge has since been dropped, the mayor is suing.

New Jersey Rep. LaMonica McIver was among the group of House representatives touring the detention center, and she joined protesters as Baraka was arrested. McIver’s elbows allegedly hit an officer, whose face was completely covered, and now she faces two federal assault charges.

Trump Vows to Step Up Immigration Raids in Blue States

Back in April, Trump signed an executive order directing his Cabinet heads to identify cities and states that don’t comply with his federal immigration policies. Now he’s promising to ramp up ICE raids in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Though Trump has long villainized governors of sanctuary jurisdictions, under the 10th Amendment, the federal government cannot “commandeer” cities and states to enforce certain federal laws, including on immigration. So a coalition of 20 Democratic attorneys general filed a lawsuit against Trump’s executive order, as it threatens to pull federal grants and contracts if states don’t comply.

In recent weeks, ICE stepped up its raids in Southern California, sparking protests that drew headlines. While most national attention focused on the protests in downtown Los Angeles, the raids themselves have created a climate of fear that’s keeping some people from leaving their homes—both immigrants without permanent legal status and people, including citizens, who are afraid of being targeted because of how they look. Local businesses say the lack of foot traffic is threatening their livelihoods, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass characterized it as a “body blow to our economy.”

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Other blue cities have experienced something similar after ICE raids. Back in January, Chicago’s second most profitable business corridor was nearly empty. Business owners in parts of Queens said they felt a noticeable drop in customers in the first months of the Trump administration.

The Associated Press also reported last week that Health and Human Services officials shared the data of Medicaid enrollees in California, Illinois, Washington state, and D.C. with Homeland Security. Each of these states offers Medicaid to non–U.S. citizens, but they use their own state dollars to pay for it. Several states extend Medicaid to their residents regardless of their immigration status, with some only offering it to children and pregnant women, while others also offer it to all qualifying adults.

Historically, Medicaid data is treated as ultrasensitive and never shared with other federal agencies, particularly for immigration enforcement. California Rep. Laura Friedman noted as much, posting to X that “We should never use a person’s need to go to the doctor against them. This will only lead to more chaos and pain in our communities.”

Advertisement

Advertisement

Related From Slate Trump Reprises One of the Worst Things He Did in His First Term Read More

Harvard’s Fight Over International Students Is Heating Up

This week, U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs extended her temporary restraining order against the federal government, preventing it from implementing Trump’s executive order banning international students from studying at Harvard University. So for now, one of the most elite universities in the world can continue enrolling foreign students, which last academic year made up about 27 percent of the school’s total enrollment.

Advertisement

This legal battle is far from over, as Burroughs’ order will remain in effect until June 23, but during a court hearing on Monday she said she’ll be issuing a formal opinion in this case before then. Harvard requested that Burroughs issue a preliminary injunction so it could still continue enrolling international students while this case plays out in court, while Justice Department lawyers stood by Trump’s order, arguing it was well within his authority to regulate immigration under federal law.

Advertisement

Harvard has been on the Trump administration’s chopping block ever since it refused to roll over and comply with a list of demands that would essentially allow the federal government deep oversight into the private school’s inner workings—unlike Columbia University. Government agencies quickly began pulling the plug on millions of dollars of research funding, and Harvard sued. The Trump administration decided to double down and again went after the school, but this time through immigration. In late May, Homeland Security tried revoking Harvard’s certification in the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, which allows schools to accept and enroll international students. About two weeks later, Trump issued an executive order restricting any international students from attending the school.