The much-hyped Comet ISON disintegrated this week as it entered the sun's outer atmosphere. Also melting away: starfish! Marine researchers along the Pacific coast are scrambling to find out why millions of sea stars are disintegrating into goo. Yes, everything is falling apart. I hope you can keep it together long enough to ace this week's news quiz.

Question 1 of 12

Last weekend 100 people were treated for bullet wounds and tear gas exposure while trying to get past police barricades to get in where?

Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra went into hiding over the weekend as protests by anti-government "Yellow Shirts" rocked the capital.

Question 2 of 12

A new Marchex study has used records of more than 600,000 phone calls to determine that Ohio is the U.S. state whose residents do what the most?

Ohioans swore in one out of every 150 customer service phone calls. That's twice the rate of residents of the least sweary state, Washington.

Question 3 of 12

The Supreme Court has declined to review Amazon.com v. New York State, a landmark case on what issue?

This leaves intact a state law that forces Amazon to collect sales tax from New Yorkers.

Question 4 of 12

What confession did train engineer William Rockefeller make on Tuesday regarding the derailment in the Bronx that killed four passengers?

Question 5 of 12

A man escaped from Ostragard prison in Sweden recently in order to do what?

After his tooth was pulled, the man turned himself in to police and returned to jail. An extra day was tacked on to his sentence.

Question 6 of 12

In what city's Independence Square did a 6-foot, 7-inch boxing champion help defuse a dangerous standoff between police and 100,000 protesters on Sunday?

Heavyweight Vitali Klitschko, the world's only boxing champ with a Ph.D., has emerged as a leader of the opposition to Ukraine's pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.

Question 7 of 12

According to new reports, who has fired his own uncle from important posts as a vice chairman and department head?

Jang Song Thaek, a powerful supporter of Kim's father, has been dismissed, with two of his aides executed, according to a South Korean intelligence briefing.

Question 8 of 12

This week a federal judge approved Detroit's bankruptcy filing, so it could become the first U.S. city ever to get out of debt by doing what?

No other municipal bankruptcy in history has led to involuntary cuts to worker pensions, but Detroit's $18 billion of debt may leave few alternatives.

Question 9 of 12

In France, Bob Dylan is facing criminal charges for what unusual crime?

Dylan was quoted comparing Croats to Nazis while freestyling on racism to Rolling Stone last September. He faces as much as a year in prison and a $60,000 fine if convicted.

Question 10 of 12

Nine people were killed over the weekend when what tragedy struck a pub called the Clutha in Glasgow, Scotland?

Question 11 of 12

A successful test late Tuesday afternoon paved the way for what milestone to be accomplished by the end of 2017?

SpaceX launched its first commercial communications satellite from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, completing the latest step in proving to NASA that it will be ready.

Question 12 of 12

Why was Pat Lavery of upstate New York surprised when a plaintiff named Tommy sued him in the state's supreme court on Monday?

An animal protection group called the Nonhuman Rights Project filed on Tommy's behalf for unlawful detention, making this the first lawsuit of its kind.