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Lightning Fill In The Blank

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Now it is time to go on to our final game of course. It is Lightning Fill in the Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds in which to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as they can. Each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?

BILL KURTIS: We go into the big games, Rox and Tom have three each. They are in the lead. P.J. has two.

SAGAL: P.J., you're in third place so you're up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. Mass protests over the development of an Istanbul park escalated this week in blank.

P.J. O'ROURKE: Turkey.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Private First Class Bradley Manning's court-martial for giving thousands of classified documents to blank began this week.

O'ROURKE: WikiLeaks.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Tuesday, Queen Elizabeth II celebrated the 60th anniversary of her blank.

O'ROURKE: Reign.

SAGAL: No, not technically. Her coronation. The National Weather Service announced that the...

(SOUNDBITE OF DISGUST)

O'ROURKE: We're not buying that. Come on, this is America.

KURTIS: OK. We'll give him one.

SAGAL: All right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

(APPLAUSE)

O'ROURKE: Thank you. I really appreciate that.

SAGAL: The National Weather Service announced that the blank that killed three storm chasers in El Reno, Oklahoma was the widest ever recorded.

O'ROURKE: Tornado.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Researchers in Australia announced this week that their research proves that regular use of blank prevents skin aging.

O'ROURKE: Sunscreen.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: After it was widely criticized, Brazil's health ministry...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...has scrapped their online campaign called blank.

O'ROURKE: Rumba.

SAGAL: No.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: They scrapped their online campaign called I'm happy being a prostitute.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: The campaign was created...

TOM BODETT: See, I can see the marketing problems with that.

(LAUGHTER)

O'ROURKE: What was the mascot?

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: The campaign was created in honor of the International Prostitutes Day. It's a holiday that falls in between Mother's Day and Father's Day.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Really. You know, it's just another Hallmark holiday.

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHER)

SAGAL: Now you got to buy a card to give to your prostitutes.

O'ROURKE: Great.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, how did P.J. do on our quiz?

KURTIS: P.J. got five right for 10 more points. He now has 12 points and the lead.

SAGAL: Very well done.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: But we flipped a coin. Tom has elected to go second. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, President Obama named U.N. Ambassador blank as his next national security advisor.

BODETT: Susan Rice.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: A bipartisan House committee approved legislation this week to address the problem of blank in the military.

BODETT: The sexual assault.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Rescue workers searched a thrift store that was hit when a four-story building collapsed in blank.

BODETT: Philadelphia.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: An 84-year-old Florida woman came forward Wednesday as the winner of last month's $590 million blank.

BODETT: The Powerball lottery.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: After a bronze moose statue was installed in Grand Lake, Colorado it took less than a week for blank.

BODETT: For a rutting bull moose to start hanging around.

SAGAL: Say no more, yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: After he posted a picture of himself licking a stack of taco shells an employee of blank was fired.

BODETT: Anthony Wiener.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Taco Bell. After attending a ballet with his rarely seen wife, Vladimir and Lyudmila Putin announced their blank.

BODETT: Their divorce.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Officials in Wangaratta, Australia say a widespread cellular blackout...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...was caused by blank.

BODETT: Oh, I know this. It was marauding beavers.

SAGAL: No.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Some guys beer fridge.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Large sections of the Australian town went dark this week. Officials working for the mobile network traced the problem to rogue interference coming from the garage in a house belonging to a Mr. Craig Reynolds. It seemed like his beer fridge was generating radio frequencies strong enough to take down the town's mobile and internet network.

(LAUGHTER)

O'ROURKE: Alrighty. Now that's a beer fridge.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: When asked for a comment, Mr. Reynolds said, that's not all it takes down. You should see me on the weekends.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, how did Tom do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Tom got six right for 12 more points. He has the lead with 15 total.

SAGAL: Well done, Tom. All right.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: And I know Roxanne knows, but for the rest of us, how many does Roxanne need to win?

KURTIS: She's coming up fast. She has six to tie and seven to win.

SAGAL: All right.

ROXANNE ROBERTS: It's hard.

SAGAL: Here we go, Roxanne. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that police can collect blank samples from people arrested for violent crimes.

ROBERTS: DNA.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: The U.N. is investigating evidence that blank used chemical weapons.

ROBERTS: Syria.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Jury selection for the trial of notorious gangster blank began this week behind closed doors.

ROBERTS: Bulger.

SAGAL: Yeah, Whitey Bulger.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: The Senate's last World War II veteran, New Jersey Senator blank died Monday at age 89.

ROBERTS: Frank Lautenberg.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: New York assemblyman Steve Katz, a vocal opponent of legalizing marijuana had a sudden change of heart after he blanked.

ROBERTS: After he try...

O'ROURKE: Got stoned.

ROBERTS: ...tried - was arrested for marijuana.

SAGAL: Exactly. Was arrested for possession of marijuana.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Major League Baseball announced this week that 20 players are facing long-term suspensions over blank.

ROBERTS: Steroid usage.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: The Department of Justice and Apple began the trial to determine whether Apple colluded with publishers to fix the price of blank.

ROBERTS: EBooks.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: To get dog owners to clean up after their dogs, a town in Spain has started blanking.

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

ROBERTS: Mailing the poop to them.

SAGAL: Yes, mailing...

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: ...it back to the owners.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Dog owners in Brunete, Spain should think twice before opening any packages labeled "lost property."

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Town officials have to be careful to address the packages to the owners instead of the dogs though because when dogs get packages like that, it's party time. For me? You shouldn't have.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Bill, did Roxanne do well enough to win?

KURTIS: Roxanne needed seven, she got eight.

SAGAL: Oh, my god.

KURTIS: She's the winner this week.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: In just a minute, we'll ask our panelists to predict what will be the most surprising image the government finds snooping through our computers.

(SOUNDBITE OF SHOW CREDITS) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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