PETER SAGAL, HOST:
Now onto our final game, 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 is worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?
BILL KURTIS: Faith has two. Luke has three. Dulce has three.
DULCE SLOAN: What?
SAGAL: Faith and then Luke and Dulce. Great. All right. Faith, you are in third place, so you will start. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, Congress overwhelmingly approved a bill establishing blank as a federal holiday.
FAITH SALIE: Juneteenth.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: After swearing in a new prime minister, blank's military launched airstrikes against targets in Gaza.
SALIE: Israel.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, an ex-police chief was among six militia members charged over the insurrection at the blank.
SALIE: Oh, at the Capitol.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, blank became the first state to reach an 80% vaccination rate.
SALIE: Vermont.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, it was announced that disgraced producer blank would be extradited to California to face additional assault charges.
SALIE: Harvey Weinstein.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a group of boaters in Washington harassing another boat...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...For their pride flags regretted their decision after their own boat blanked.
SALIE: Sunk.
SAGAL: No, it exploded. It actually burst into flames, forcing them to jump in the water, where they were rescued by the people they were harassing. According to onlookers, the first boat circled the one with the pride flag several times and then tried to speed off before sending up clouds of black smoke and exploding. It was a bit of instant karma, especially when the pride boat drove by and rescued them. This is the kind of feel-good story that could only have been better if the nearby gay shark had gotten to them first.
(LAUGHTER)
SALIE: Or that gay whale off of Provincetown.
SAGAL: Exactly. Bill, how did Faith do on our quiz?
KURTIS: She got five right for 10 more points. She now has 12 and the lead.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: Well done. All right. Let's just say, Luke, you go next. Here we go. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold the blank Act.
LUKE BURBANK: Affordable Care.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: According to newly released emails, blank pressured the DOJ to overturn the election.
BURBANK: Donald Trump.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, MacKenzie Scott, the ex-wife of blank, announced $2.7 billion in new charitable donations.
BURBANK: Jeff Bezos.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, the Department of Education clarified that Title IX protects students who are, in fact, part of the blank community.
BURBANK: Trans.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Well, LGBTQ, but that's one of them. Convinced he was having a heart attack, a man in Baltimore got helped by blanking.
BURBANK: Performing CPR on himself.
SAGAL: No, stealing an ambulance and driving himself to the hospital. On Wednesday, both GM and Ford announced they were increasing investment in vehicles that run on blank.
BURBANK: Electricity.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: With pandemic-era moratoriums ending, over 8 million households face blank.
BURBANK: Eviction.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a couple in Ukraine split up despite the fact that...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...They blanked in a bid to save their relationship.
BURBANK: Renewed their vows.
SAGAL: No, they had handcuffed themselves to each other for three months. The couple had been in an on-again, off-again relationship for over a year and decided to test their love by handcuffing themselves to each other for 123 days. And wouldn't you know it - that test came back negative.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: As soon as the handcuffs came off, the woman yelled hooray and the two broke up. They're both excited to finally move on but more excited to use the bathroom alone for the first time in three months.
KURTIS: (Laughter).
SAGAL: Bill, how did Luke do on our quiz?
KURTIS: He got six right for 12 more points. He now has 15 and the lead.
SAGAL: Whoa, all right. So how many then does Dulce need to win?
KURTIS: Well, six to tie, so she needs seven to win.
SAGAL: All right. Dulce, here we go. This is for the game. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, the governor of Texas said that the state will build its own blank across the border.
SLOAN: Wall?
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: During a meeting on Wednesday, Kim Jong Un admitted that blank was facing a food shortage.
SLOAN: North Korea.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, the Consumer Price Index released data that showed blank may be on the rise.
SLOAN: Unemployment?
SAGAL: No, inflation. On Wednesday, Royal Caribbean announced it was delaying cruise ships after eight crew members tested positive for blank.
SLOAN: Coronavirus.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a new petition called on Jeff Bezos to spend some of his enormous wealth by blanking.
SLOAN: Charitable donations?
SAGAL: No, they want him to buy and eat the "Mona Lisa." On Thursday, tennis star Rafael Nadal announced he was pulling out of the 2021 blanks in Tokyo.
SLOAN: Olympics.
SAGAL: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: In a bid to attract more workers, GM said they were considering no longer testing for blank use.
SLOAN: Drugs.
SAGAL: Close enough, marijuana.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a man who bought a small storage space from a town in Florida...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Discovered he'd also purchased blank.
SLOAN: You said Florida?
SAGAL: I did.
SLOAN: It could be an alligator. It could be a pontoon boat. It could be a meth lab.
SAGAL: Pick one.
SLOAN: Alligator.
SAGAL: No.
SLOAN: Dang it.
SAGAL: The town's entire water supply. The city manager who is responsible for the sale apparently filed the wrong paperwork. So when the buyer showed up to claim his deed, he discovered that he was the proud owner of a municipal warehouse, complete with the town's water tower on top of it. The man quickly agreed to sell it back to the town for a token amount. But weirdly, now all the water tastes like Jacuzzi.
Bill, did Dulce do well enough to win?
KURTIS: Well, she had five right for 10 more points, total of 13. That means that with 15, Luke is this week's champion.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)
SAGAL: Whoa, Luke, who knew?
SLOAN: You did it, Luke.
BURBANK: Oh, my goodness.
SAGAL: Luke. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.