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Lightning Fill In The Blank

PETER GROSZ, HOST:

Now, 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. And each answer is going to be worth two points. Carl, let's go over the scores.

CARL KASELL: Luke Burbank has the lead; he has four points. Brian Babylon has three. Paula Poundstone, two.

GROSZ: OK. So Paula is in third place, you're going to be up first. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. Although President Obama had claimed executive privilege, on Wednesday a House panel voted to hold blank in contempt.

PAULA POUNDSTONE: The attorney, Eric Holder.

GROSZ: That's correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: The Florida police chief leading the investigation into blank's shooting by a neighborhood watch member was fired this week.

POUNDSTONE: Trayvon Martin.

GROSZ: That's correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: In a report released last Sunday, search engine blank said it has seen an alarming rise in governmental censorship.

POUNDSTONE: Oh I don't know, Google.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison announced this week that he's buying 98 percent of one of the blank islands.

POUNDSTONE: One of the Hawaiian islands.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: A man vacationing in South Carolina filmed an epic 30-minute battle between a real-life crocodile and a blank.

POUNDSTONE: And a rubber crocodile.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: That's close but we can't give it to you. It's a pair of crocs, the shoes.

POUNDSTONE: Oh.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: They won. They won, for the record. Hebrew National was hit with a lawsuit this week claiming that its products are not blank.

POUNDSTONE: Kosher.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: Social media users freaked out at their inability to tweet on Thursday when blank crashed.

POUNDSTONE: Twitter.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: A motion-activated camera set up to record animal feeding patterns in an Austrian forest instead captured footage of blank.

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

POUNDSTONE: Someone having sex.

GROSZ: That's correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

GROSZ: It was what they got were the mating habits of the Austrian politician.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: The politician complained that the secluded forest glen didn't have clearly marked signs that read, "Hey bears, squirrels and horny politicians, you are on camera."

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: The best part? The politician may be compensated up to $25,000 for having his privacy violated, but officials say there is no compensation high enough for the poor wildlife monitors who can never un-see what they have now seen.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: Carl, how did Paula do?

KASELL: Paula had a great round. Seven correct answers, for 14 more points. She now has 16 points, and Paula has the lead.

(APPLAUSE)

GROSZ: All right, Paula, nicely done. Brian, you're up next. Are you ready?

BRIAN BABYLON: Yeah.

GROSZ: OK, fill in the blank.

BABYLON: OK.

GROSZ: After landing his fighter plane over the border in Jordan, an air force pilot from blank was granted asylum.

BABYLON: Syria.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: The man whose police beating led to the 1992 LA riots, blank died last Sunday at age 47.

BABYLON: Rodney King.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: On Thursday, Moody's Investor's Service downgraded the credit ratings of 15 of the world's largest blanks.

BABYLON: Banks.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: On Monday, a jury found baseball star blank not guilty on perjury charges.

BABYLON: Robert Clemens. Roger Clemens.

GROSZ: Oh, you just got it. That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: A London tourist whose car broke down near Parliament came back to discover that police had blanked.

BABYLON: Had slept in it.

GROSZ: No, blown it up.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: Although paramedics were rushed to her hotel room last Friday, it turned out that actress blank was just taking a nap.

BABYLON: Betty White.

GROSZ: No.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

POUNDSTONE: You're so close.

GROSZ: Think younger and a totally different reason for scare, Lindsey Lohan.

BABYLON: OK.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: On Thursday, news broke that NBC officials are planning to replace Ann Curry as co-host of the blank show.

BABYLON: "Today" show.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: Three teens and an Indiana policeman were hurt when one of the teens crashed a blank.

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

BABYLON: A horse.

GROSZ: No, an educational drunk driving simulator.

BABYLON: That's the one.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: The good news? Well, the good news is that that modified golf cart that's supposed to simulate drunk driving actually works.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: The 14 year old student driver turned too hard and tipped the cart over, just like he would in a real drunk driving accident.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: The organizers say that it was a fluke, but next time, they may not let the kids drink so much beer before getting in the simulator.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: OK, Carl, how did Brian do?

KASELL: Brian had five correct answers, for ten more points. He now has 13 points, but Paula still has the lead with 16.

GROSZ: OK.

POUNDSTONE: Oh my.

(APPLAUSE)

GROSZ: Paula has the lead with 16. Carl, how many does Luke need in order to win?

KASELL: Six to tie, seven to win outright.

GROSZ: OK. Six to tie, seven to win. Luke, this is for the game. Ready?

LUKE BURBANK: Yeah.

GROSZ: Fill in the blank. Security officials in Egypt said that blank was off life support but in a coma.

BURBANK: Hosni Mubarak.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: A week after his seizure and car crashes, John Bryson resigned as the US blank secretary.

BURBANK: Commerce.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected FCC fines against two broadcasters for blanks.

BURBANK: Indecent swearings by Cher.

GROSZ: That's correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: After he and his fiancée picked up their marriage license this week, actor blank got into a scuffle with paparazzi.

BURBANK: Alec Baldwin.

GROSZ: That's right.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: A Cleveland man who was arrested after flying into a drunken rage at a nail salon said he only wanted to blank.

BURBANK: Visit Sushi, Japan.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: Nope, check manicure and pedicure off his bucket list.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: A series of new studies released this week from Denmark suggest that a little blank during pregnancy may not be harmful.

BURBANK: Alcohol.

GROSZ: That's correct.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)

GROSZ: According to the North Carolina Aquarium, you're more likely to be injured by a blank than eaten by a shark.

(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)

BURBANK: An aquarium.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: It's another water-filled device, but it is a toilet.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: Yes, it's true. According to Educators at the North Carolina Aquarium, you're more likely to suffer a vicious toilet attack than a shark attack. 40,000 toilets went rogue last year and caused injuries, 40,000.

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: And that led the Discovery Channel, of course, to premiere the new program "Toilet Week."

(LAUGHTER)

GROSZ: Carl, did Luke Burbank do well enough to win?

KASELL: He needed six correct answers to tie, but Luke had just five correct answers. So with 16 points, Paula Poundstone is this week's champion.

(APPLAUSE)

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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