PETER SAGAL, HOST:
Now, onto our final game, Lightning Fill In The Blank. Each of our players will have 60 seconds to answer as many fill-in-the-blank questions as he or she can - each correct answer now worth two points. Bill, can you give us the scores?
BILL KURTIS: Roy has three. Hari has three. And Roxanne has two.
SAGAL: All right. Roxanne, an unusual situation for you - you're in third place. That won't last for long. You're up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, the Justice Department released a report criticizing the FBI's handling of the investigation into blank.
ROXANNE ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton's emails.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready for a face-to-face meeting with blank in the near future.
ROBERTS: Trump.
SAGAL: Yes.
ROBERTS: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: According to a CBS News report, press secretary blank is planning to step down at the end of this year.
ROBERTS: Sarah Sanders.
SAGAL: Yes. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve raised blanks by a quarter of a point.
ROBERTS: Interest rates.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: In what may be an effort to get people to stop drinking, a distillery in New Hampshire has unveiled a new bourbon flavored with blank.
ROBERTS: Is this the one with the beaver butt glands?
SAGAL: Don't even say it. Yes, you're right.
ROBERTS: Yeah. OK.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Beaver gland secretions. On Thursday, Elon Musk announced the deal to build a high-speed commuter system in...
ROBERTS: Chicago.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, electric company blank announced it was laying off almost 10 percent of its workforce.
ROBERTS: Oh, Tesla.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A Tulsa minor league baseball team's bring-you-dog-to-the-game promotion went awry when organizers realized blank.
ROBERTS: Is this the one where the dogs ended up, like, fighting something on the field or...
SAGAL: No. What they forgot was that dogs chase balls.
ROBERTS: Oh.
(LAUGHTER)
HARI KONDABOLU: That's amazing.
SAGAL: The Tulsa Drillers Bark At The Park promotion was going perfectly until one player threw a ball that was obviously meant to be fetched. So a German shepherd in the stands obliged. The dog successfully got the ball and played keep away with the infielders for a while. Eventually, the dog's owner was able to get him off the diamond and released him into a wildlife preserve where he was eaten by Casey the crocodile.
ROBERTS: Whoa.
SAGAL: Circle of life, kids - Bill, how did Roxanne do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Roxanne got seven right, 14 more points, total to 16 puts her in the lead.
SAGAL: All right. We have flipped a coin. Hari has elected to go next. So fill in the blank. After being repealed by the FCC in 2017, Obama-era rules on blank officially expired.
KONDABOLU: Net neutrality.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Tuesday, Trump critic and sitting GOP representative blank lost his primary bid in South Carolina.
KONDABOLU: Mark Sanford.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a federal judge approved the $85 billion merger between AT&T and blank.
KONDABOLU: Time Warner.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Thanks to his participation in the North Korea summit, President Trump has been officially nominated for the blank.
KONDABOLU: Oh, please don't - Nobel Peace Prize?
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: To celebrate being named a plastic-free community, a town in Wales blanked.
KONDABOLU: Used as much plastic as possible.
SAGAL: Almost - hung up a giant, plastic banner to brag about it.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: This week, a child in Idaho was treated for the first case of blank in the U.S. in 25 years.
KONDABOLU: Bubonic plague.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Sunday, tennis star blank won his record breaking 11th French Open.
KONDABOLU: Rafael Nadal.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a Dutch man travelled over 4,000 miles to Florida so he could propose at the romantic sight of their first date, blank.
KONDABOLU: Epcot Center?
SAGAL: No, a Hooters restaurant.
KONDABOLU: Oh, God.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Arnold Kreijfelt felt met his girlfriend online in 2013. And when the time came for them to finally meet, she suggested they go to Hooters together, which is kind of a signal. But he did not pick up on it. They dated long distance for five years. And on the last trip over, he took her back to the restaurant where they first met and proposed. Of course, Hooters will play a part in the wedding, catering the reception as well as providing the bridesmaids' dresses.
(LAUGHTER)
ROY BLOUNT JR: That's a pretty story.
SAGAL: It is. Bill how did Hari do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Six right, 12 more points, total of 15, trails Roxanne by one.
SAGAL: All right.
KONDABOLU: Oh, no.
SAGAL: How many then does...
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: How many then does Roy need to win?
KURTIS: Seven to win.
SAGAL: All right. Here we go. Roy, this is for the game. On Thursday, New York's attorney general filed a suit against the blank foundation accusing them of violating campaign finance laws.
BLOUNT JR: Trump.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, an initiative proposing that blank be split into three separate states received enough signatures to be voted on in November.
BLOUNT JR: California.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, Vice President Mike Pence spoke at blank's annual meeting in Texas.
BLOUNT JR: Southern Baptists?
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: According to a new study, the ice sheet in blank is melting faster than previously believed.
BLOUNT JR: Antarctica.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, a 4-year-old cow from Devon beat out stiff competition to be named blank.
BLOUNT JR: Cow of the year.
SAGAL: Close - Britain's sexiest cow.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: On Monday, streaming video giant blank announced it would add video games to their service later this year.
BLOUNT JR: Netflix.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: "The Band's Visit" and "Harry Potter And The Cursed Child" were among the big winners of the 2018 blank Awards
BLOUNT JR: Tony.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: While the rest of the country watched a raccoon climb a building in St. Paul, in another part of Minnesota, a woman got social media attention when she blanked.
BLOUNT JR: I'm just going to say pooped in class.
SAGAL: No, no.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: That's right. No. She got her head stuck in a truck's exhaust pipe.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Kaitlyn Strom says she was having fun with friends. She saw this truck with this enormous exhaust pipe. And she says, hey. I bet my head could probably fit inside it. And she was right. She goes on. It did fit. But it didn't want to come out. Firefighters rescued Ms. Strom and released her into a wildlife preserve where she was eaten by Casey the crocodile.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Bill, did Roy do well enough to win?
KURTIS: Got close - six right, 12 more points, total of 15 and one short of Roxanne, who's the winner.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Of course, she is.
BLOUNT JR: Someday, I'll beat you, by God. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
