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Lightning Fill In The Blank

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Hey. Now it's time for 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: Mo has two. Luke has three. And Faith has three.

SAGAL: That means that, Mo, you're in third place, so you go first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Wednesday, officials from blank said they had successfully launched a military satellite into orbit.

MO ROCCA: Iran?

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Tuesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee released a report confirming that blank did indeed interfere in the 2016 election.

ROCCA: Russia.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: On Thursday, President Trump suggested that coronavirus could be cured by injecting blank.

ROCCA: A disinfectant.

SAGAL: Right - or bleach.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Do not actually do this, America.

LUKE BURBANK: Too late.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister blank announced he had reached a deal to form a unity government with his rival Benny Gantz.

ROCCA: Netanyahu.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: During an interview for the Michael Jordan documentary "The Last Dance," President Barack Obama was identified only as blank.

ROCCA: A former Chicagoan.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Workers at online giant blank held a nationwide sickout to demand more virus protection.

ROCCA: Amazon.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: In what may be a first...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...Two brothers in Florida were charged with DUI for blanking.

ROCCA: For - they were in separate cars and were drunk.

SAGAL: No, no. Actually, you got it exactly wrong. They were both charged with DUI for driving the same car at the same time. Never been done before. The brothers were pulled over for reckless driving and one stumbled out of the car after putting it in park. But before officers could get to the car, the brother in the passenger seat slid over and tried to throw the car into reverse, getting him a DUI charge, as well. It's inspiring. You know what they say. The family that drunk drives together is most likely from Florida. Bill, how did Mo do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Mo had six right, 12 more points, total of 14 and the lead.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)

SAGAL: All right. I'm going to arbitrarily choose Luke to go next because who cares?

BURBANK: Peter, we're having a little bit of a slow connection. If you can read these slowly, you're going to hear what sounds like me typing things into Google, but that's just the connection. That - don't bother yourself with that.

SAGAL: All right, Luke. You're up next. Fill in the blank. On Tuesday, the Senate passed a new $484 billion blank relief package.

BURBANK: Small business.

SAGAL: Yeah, good enough, for the coronavirus.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: According to a report released on Thursday, U.S. blank claims have now hit 26 million.

BURBANK: Jobless.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, the entire U.S. box office draw came from blank.

BURBANK: Online sales?

SAGAL: A single drive-in theater in Florida.

BURBANK: (Laughter).

SAGAL: On Thursday, late night sketch comedy institution blank announced it would air another remote show this weekend.

BURBANK: "Saturday Night Live."

SAGAL: Yes, indeed.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Due to the pandemic, German authorities announced they were canceling this year's blank-toberfest.

BURBANK: Ok (ph)?

SAGAL: Yes, Oktoberfest.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: A construction crew working in Colorado hit an underground cable on Tuesday...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...Knocking out service to blank.

BURBANK: The one drive-in movie theater still operating.

SAGAL: No. They knocked out service to the call-before-you-dig hotline...

BURBANK: (Laughter).

SAGAL: ...Which, of course, exists to mark essential utility lines before construction begins. But someone must have ignored that step, which led to a crew slicing into a fiber optic cable and shutting the hotline down throughout Denver. The city says utility crews are working to repair the damage but, without the hotline, have only so far succeeded in shutting down everyone's water and electricity. Bill, how did Luke do on our quiz?

KURTIS: Peter, Luke got four right for eight more points, total of 11. He's in second place behind Mo.

SAGAL: So how many then does Faith need to win?

KURTIS: Faith needs six to win.

SAGAL: All right, Faith. This is for the game. Here we go. On Wednesday, Nancy Pelosi delayed a planned rule change that would allow the House to blank remotely.

FAITH SALIE: Vote.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: New polls out this week showed blank leading Trump in three battleground states.

SALIE: Joe Biden.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: In an escalation of tensions with Beijing, U.S. warships entered the disputed waters of the blank this week.

SALIE: Of the China Seas.

SAGAL: Yes, the South China Sea.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Health officials in Milwaukee say at least seven people were infected with COVID-19 after Wisconsin held in-person blanking in early April.

SALIE: Voting.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: A man in Indiana who was arrested for leading police on a high-speed chase in his Mustang explained he didn't stop because blank.

SALIE: He didn't want to get infected by the police.

SAGAL: No, because he thought the troopers just wanted to race. On Monday, popular burger chain blank announced they would return the $10 million loan they received from the Small Business Rescue Fund.

SALIE: Shake Shack.

SAGAL: Right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: This week, entertainment conglomerate blank announced they were furloughing 100,000 workers.

SALIE: Disney.

SAGAL: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

SAGAL: Tired of residents breaking quarantine...

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

SAGAL: ...Lawmakers in Indonesia have started punishing people by blanking.

SALIE: Ok.

BURBANK: (Laughter).

SAGAL: No by forcing them to stay in a haunted house. Ghosts, specters and hauntings play a big part in Indonesian folklore, which is why officials have started to punish anyone caught breaking a lockdown by forcing them to spend the rest of their quarantine in a haunted house. Of course, after weeks of this, a lot of people said, yeah, the undead are scary, but how's the Wi-Fi in there? Bill, did Faith do well enough to win?

KURTIS: Peter, Faith did win. Six right, 12 more points. Fifteen is the total that wins this week.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE SOUND EFFECT)

SAGAL: Congratulations, Faith.

SALIE: Thank you. I spent all day schooling my children and not myself, so that is quite a surprise. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.