PETER SAGAL, HOST:
Now it's time to move on to 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 he or she can. Each correct answer is worth 2 points. Bill, can you give us the scores?
BILL KURTIS: Paula has 1. Faith has 3. Tracy has 2.
TRACY CLAYTON: Yay.
SAGAL: All right.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Now, that means that, Paula, you are in last place. And that means you will go first.
PAULA POUNDSTONE: All right.
SAGAL: All right?
POUNDSTONE: That's unusual.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: All right, Paula. You're up first.
POUNDSTONE: Yeah. I'm ready.
SAGAL: The clock will start when I begin your first question.
POUNDSTONE: Cool.
SAGAL: Fill in the blank. This week, police in the U.K. identified the attackers who drove a van into pedestrians on the blank.
POUNDSTONE: The London Bridge.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Wednesday, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack on blank's parliament.
POUNDSTONE: Iran.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, the White House announced plans to privatize America's blank system.
POUNDSTONE: Air traffic control.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A Nashville man was charged with three misdemeanors after he blanked during a Stanley Cup Finals game.
POUNDSTONE: I don't know - ran across the ice.
SAGAL: Pulled a dead catfish out of his pants and threw it on the ice.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: At the Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, blank unveiled HomePod, its first ever smart speaker.
POUNDSTONE: Apple?
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: According to a new study released on Thursday, even moderate blanking may be bad for the brain.
POUNDSTONE: Even moderate - oh, I forget what - drinking.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A police officer in New Zealand is gaining some notoriety...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...This week after he appeared to use blank to apprehend a suspect.
POUNDSTONE: After he appeared to use blank. Oh, he used lemurs.
SAGAL: No.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: He used his fingers in the shape of a gun.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: In the picture taken at the scene, the officer can be seen standing in front of the suspect with nothing more than a finger gun.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Surprisingly, this was enough to subdue the man who was kneeling on the ground with his hands on his head.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: The man escaped, though. But the department is confident they'll recapture him by shining a light on the wall, releasing a team of shadow-puppet bloodhounds.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: (Imitating dog).
POUNDSTONE: Yeah.
CLAYTON: So foolish.
POUNDSTONE: Yeah.
SAGAL: Bill, how did Paula do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Paula should feel good. Five right - 10 more points. She's in the lead with 11.
POUNDSTONE: I do.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Tracy, you're up next. Fill in the blank. This week, reality winner. A contractor for blank was arrested for leaking documents to the press.
CLAYTON: The NSA.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Monday, the top U.S. diplomat in China stepped down, citing Trump's withdrawal from the blank.
CLAYTON: The climate change thing.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: During an interview with Megyn Kelly, blank dismissed allegations of Russian election hacking.
CLAYTON: Oh, oh, the one guy. I didn't watch it because I don't particularly care for her.
(LAUGHTER)
CLAYTON: Me.
SAGAL: No. It was Vladimir Putin.
CLAYTON: I knew - (laughter) listen. I'm bad at Fill in the Blank, OK? Let's just keep going. Let's just go.
(LAUGHTER)
CLAYTON: Let's get it over with.
SAGAL: A Canadian nonprofit is encouraging people who are considering texting naked pictures of themselves instead to send pictures of blank instead.
CLAYTON: Jesus.
SAGAL: No, naked...
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Naked mole rats. In an attempt to compete with Amazon, Walmart has reportedly asked employees to blank on their way home.
CLAYTON: Take naps.
SAGAL: Deliver packages.
CLAYTON: Oh, my God.
SAGAL: Residents of an apartment complex in Georgia...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Had to be rescued from the second floor after waking up to discover blank.
CLAYTON: A plague of locusts.
SAGAL: No, that the building's owners had removed the stairs.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: The second floor residents said they woke up to a note on the door informing them the stairwell had been removed, leaving them absolutely no way to get to ground level.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Fortunately, the local fire department has had plenty of practice rescuing cats from trees and was able to get everyone down safely.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Unfortunately, instinct kicked in, and the firemen immediately brought all the residents to the local animal shelter to be spayed and neutered.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, how did Tracy do on our quiz?
KURTIS: Tracy, our newbie, got two right...
CLAYTON: Yay.
KURTIS: ...For 4 more points and a total of 6.
SAGAL: All right.
KURTIS: Paula still leads.
(APPLAUSE)
POUNDSTONE: There you go, Tracy.
SAGAL: How many, then, does Faith need to easily cruise to a championship?
KURTIS: 5 to win and 4 to tie.
CLAYTON: Throw it. Throw it. It's my first time.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: All right, Faith. This is for the game. On Wednesday, President Trump named Christopher Wray the new director of blank.
FAITH SALIE: FBI.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Despite international condemnation, blank continued to test-fire short-range missiles this week.
SALIE: North Korea.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, the UAE and Yemen all cut off diplomatic ties with blank.
SALIE: Qatar.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: This week, shareholders approved Verizon's $4.5 billion purchase of blank.
SALIE: Yahoo.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Drivers in Dubai faced massive delays this week thanks to a traffic jam caused by two blanks blanking in the middle of the road.
(LAUGHTER)
SALIE: Chickens making out.
SAGAL: Camels humping.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Following a sexual-harassment investigation, ride-sharing company blank fired 20 of its employees.
SALIE: Uber.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: After making more than $100 million over the weekend, blank became the biggest opening ever for a female film.
SALIE: "Wonder Woman."
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A Boston man upset about having his 7-Eleven...
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: ...Franchise taken away from him...
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: ...Responded by blanking.
SALIE: Deflating his balls.
(LAUGHTER)
SALIE: It's Boston.
SAGAL: It's Boston. Opening a store across the street called 6-Twelve.
(LAUGHTER, APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Abu Musa had owned the 7-Eleven franchise for years before the corporate office gave it to someone else...
SALIE: (Laughter).
SAGAL: ...Because Musa refused to keep selling the chain's hot dogs. In response, Musa opened a competing convenience store right down the street called 6-12, proving that revenge, like a 7-Eleven hot dog, is best served reheated.
(LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Bill, did Faith do well enough to win?
KURTIS: She did. She got a total of 15 and the lead - the win.
SAGAL: There you are.
(APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Congratulations, Faith. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.