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Lightning Fill In The Blank

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 now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?

BILL KURTIS: Joel has. 2, Maeve has 2. And Paula has 3.

SAGAL: Oh, my goodness. All right.

PAULA POUNDSTONE: Woohoo.

SAGAL: Paula's in the lead for the moment. Tell you what. Let's start with Maeve arbitrarily. So, Maeve, you're up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. Here we go. On Wednesday, President Biden said he was open to compromising on the corporate tax hike included in his $2 trillion blank bill.

MAEVE HIGGINS: Oh, government bill.

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

SAGAL: It's a government bill. But I think...

HIGGINS: Yeah.

SAGAL: ...We needed you to be a little bit more specific in that all bills are government bills. This was for his infrastructure. On Tuesday, the U.S. and blank agreed to take steps to restore their 2015 nuclear deal.

HIGGINS: Infrastructure.

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

SAGAL: That was the answer to the last question. This one - the answer was Iran. This week, President Biden accelerated the timeline for making all adults eligible for the blank.

HIGGINS: COVID vaccine.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Monday, Russian President Blank signed a law that could potentially keep him in power until 2036.

HIGGINS: Oh, naughty man.

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

HIGGINS: Vladimir Putin.

SAGAL: Yes, Vladimir Putin.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, a thief who stole someone's phone in India promptly returned it after discovering blank.

HIGGINS: Oh, that he had his own phone.

SAGAL: No, that the phone was two years old. I mean, come on. On Sunday, officials in Florida expanded an evacuation order as a faulty blank, and Tampa Bay threatened to collapse.

HIGGINS: Swimming pool.

SAGAL: No, reservoir - this week, a coastal town in the U.K. was frightened...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: When an attack submarine emerged from the water. But their fears were relieved when the crew blanked.

HIGGINS: When the crew blanked.

SAGAL: That would be - where are we? No, when they gathered on top of the sub for a barbecue. Residents...

HIGGINS: Aw.

SAGAL: ...Were concerned when this giant attack sub rose in the water with its threatening black hull and torpedo bays. And is that a Frisbee? Turns out the crew of the Dutch sub were just taking time off to enjoy some fun in the sun with burgers on the grill and quick dips into the bay. The fun ended, though, when someone jumping in the water yelled cannonball, and the crew panicked.

HIGGINS: Oh, yeah, because they were thinking about the Lusitania, probably.

SAGAL: Probably. Bill, how did Maeve do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Maeve had two right for four more points. She now has 6. And, you know, she's in the lead.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)

HIGGINS: Yes.

SAGAL: Well, that's great. All right. Maeve, well done.

HIGGINS: Feels good.

SAGAL: OK, Joel, you're up next. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, President Biden announced an executive action aimed at curbing blank violence.

JOEL KIM BOOSTER: Gun violence.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Tuesday, it was reported that embattled Representative blank sought a blanket pardon from Trump before he left office.

KIM BOOSTER: Matt Gaetz.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Monday, Baylor beat Gonzaga to claim their first blank.

KIM BOOSTER: Championship.

SAGAL: Yeah, in men's basketball.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Thursday, the CDC advised against traveling to blank, even if you're vaccinated.

KIM BOOSTER: Brazil.

SAGAL: Canada. This week, a man in Iowa, who had just broken into a store, was arrested by police after he tried to use blank as a getaway vehicle.

KIM BOOSTER: A cop car.

SAGAL: A riding lawnmower. According to investigators, golfer blank was going 40 miles over the speed limit when he crashed his car back in February.

KIM BOOSTER: Tiger Woods.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: According to new guidelines, the NYPD can no longer search a vehicle due to the smell of blank.

KIM BOOSTER: Marijuana.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: It's legal there now. The University of Kentucky...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...Admissions office will have to do some explaining after they mistakenly sent out acceptance emails to blank.

KIM BOOSTER: Five hundred thousand people.

SAGAL: Exactly right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

POUNDSTONE: Wow.

SAGAL: They mistakenly accepted 500,000 high school seniors to a program at the University of Kentucky. Not only did they not really admit half a million people to the freshman class. Many of the students who got the email didn't even apply.

KIM BOOSTER: (Laughter).

SAGAL: One lucky student admitted, quote, "I had to Google it just to make sure it was a real college."

(LAUGHTER)

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

KURTIS: He got six right. Look at Joel go for 12 more points. He now has 14 and the lead.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)

SAGAL: All right. So how many, then, does Paula need to walk away with this?

KURTIS: She could walk with six - six to win.

SAGAL: Six to win. All right, Paula. Here we go. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, Senator Joe Manchin said there was no way he would ever vote to abolish the blank.

POUNDSTONE: Filibuster.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister blank was offered the opportunity to form a coalition government again.

POUNDSTONE: Netanyahu.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, EU regulators linked blank's vaccine with blood clots but said the benefits outweigh the risks.

POUNDSTONE: AstraZeneca.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. blank deficit hit a record high in February.

POUNDSTONE: Budget.

SAGAL: No, trade deficits. On Thursday, Jeff Bezos said that blank supports a higher corporate tax rate.

POUNDSTONE: Amazon.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: According to the IRS, blank paid zero dollars in income taxes in 2018.

POUNDSTONE: Amazon.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: A man arrested after participating...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...In the Capitol riots will have a hard time defending himself because, when he was arrested, he was blanking.

POUNDSTONE: Filming himself.

SAGAL: No. When he was arrested, he was wearing a shirt that said, I was there, Washington, D.C.

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

SAGAL: January 6, 2021.

POUNDSTONE: Yeah.

SAGAL: In addition to wearing the shirt - and again, we stress this is totally true - on the day of the riot, this man posted a selfie from inside the Capitol with the caption, I just wanted to incriminate myself a little - LOL.

POUNDSTONE: (Laughter).

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

KURTIS: Paula had five right for 10 more points for a total of 13. That means with 14 - we'll count them out - Joel...

SAGAL: Whoa.

KURTIS: ...Is this week's champion.

KIM BOOSTER: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)

SAGAL: Whoa. Brilliant.

HIGGINS: Congratulations, nerd.

KIM BOOSTER: Guys, it's not about the competition. It's about how you play the game.

(LAUGHTER)

KIM BOOSTER: And I played the game really well.

KURTIS: (Laughter). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.