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 sixty seconds in which to answer as many fill in the blank questions as he or she can. Each correct answer now worth two points. Carl, can you give us the scores?
CARL KASELL, HOST:
Peter, we have a three-way tie.
SAGAL: Oh my gosh.
KASELL: Adam Felber, Amy Dickinson, Roy Blount, Jr., they all have three points.
SAGAL: All right. We have randomly selected you, Amy, to go first. So here we go. The clock will start when I begin your first question. Fill in the blank. On Thursday, President Obama and defense official announced their plans for a new scaled back blank.
AMY DICKINSON: Military.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: The US said it will not be deterred by blank's warnings to keep American ships out of the Persian Gulf.
DICKINSON: Iran.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: An army demolitions expert arrested in a Texas airport this week told TSA officials he just forgot he had blanks in his carry on.
DICKINSON: Plastic explosives.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Paypal president Scott Thompson was promoted this week to be the new CEO of blank.
DICKINSON: Yahoo.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: According to a poll out this week, 2% of Americans think Mitt Romney's real first name is blank.
DICKINSON: Mittens.
SAGAL: Yes, mittens.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Well done.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)
ROY BLOUNT: Wow.
DICKINSON: I am the 2%.
SAGAL: It's actually Willard is his first name.
BLOUNT: Yeah.
SAGAL: In a statement released Monday, Queen of Soul blank announced she was engaged.
DICKINSON: Aretha Franklin.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Millions of viewers tuned in to watch blank host his 40th New Year 's Eve special.
DICKINSON: Dick Clark.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A Florida man who did not want his girlfriend to move in with him solved the problem by blanking.
DICKINSON: Moving.
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
SAGAL: No, by burning down his house.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Tampa resident Kent Perusse's house has been reduced to a pile of ash, but it's still better than having to make room in his closet all those shoes.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Or so he would think. Ironically, Perusse's prison cell comes complete with a walk-in, and his girlfriend is set to move in next Tuesday.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Carl, how did Amy do on our quiz?
KASELL: Amy had seven correct answers, Peter, for fourteen more points. She now has 17 points and a good lead.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Well done. All right, Adam you are up next. Fill in the blank. Detectives are investigating after a dead body was found on the grounds of the blank's estate in Sandringham England.
ADAM FELBER: Queen.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: The prosecutor in the trial of ousted Egyptian leader blank said this week he's seeking the death penalty.
FELBER: Hosni Mubarak.
SAGAL: Yeah.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: For the first time since 2004, all three US blank makers are on track to be profitable again.
FELBER: Car.
SAGAL: Car makers, yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Afghan president Hamid Karzai welcomed plans that would allow the blank to open an office in Qatar.
FELBER: Taliban.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Due to a programming error on the Boston Herald's website, a story on a Dunkin Donuts business deal was flagged as blank.
FELBER: Offensive.
SAGAL: No, a terror alert.
FELBER: Okay.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Apple is suing a doll maker over their plans to sell a blank action figure.
FELBER: Steve Jobs.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: One hundred years after it sank, five thousand artifacts from the blank are going to be auctioned off in New York.
FELBER: Titanic.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A man trying to rob a bank in London, blew it when he blanked.
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
FELBER: Deposited.
SAGAL: No. When he handed...
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
FELBER: Spontaneously.
SAGAL: Everything was going great, but then he - in just the heat of the moment, you know you get excited. He handed the teller his gun instead of the money bag.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: He'd played it out in his head a thousand times, like hold the gun, hand over the bag. Hold the gun, hand over the bag. But you know what it is, pressure of the moment, he held the bag, handed over the gun.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: He tried to get his gun back, it didn't work. He ran out, stole a bicycle and pedaled away.
FELBER: Last time he handed over a bag of guns.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Can't get it right. Carl, how did Adam do on our quiz?
KASELL: Adam had six correct answers for twelve more points. He now has 15 points, but Amy still has the lead with 17.
SAGAL: All right, how many then...
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: How many then does Roy need to win?
KASELL: Seven to tie, eight to win outright.
SAGAL: All right, here we go Roy. This is for the game. Police in Los Angeles arrested a man they suspect of setting a series of blanks on fire over New Years.
BLOUNT: Cars.
SAGAL: Yes.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: A state-run website in Cuba is blaming Twitter for false reports Monday about blank's death.
BLOUNT: Castro.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Republican challenged President Obama appointment of Richard Cordray to head the blank.
BLOUNT: The Consumer Financial Protection Board.
SAGAL: Yeah, Bureau. It's good enough.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
BLOUNT: Bureau.
KASELL: State officials in Ohio are stopping the gas extraction process known as fracking after seismologists linked it to a recent series of small blanks.
BLOUNT: Earthquakes.
SAGAL: Right.
(SOUNDBITE OF BELL)
SAGAL: Customers of a Wells Fargo Bank in Sacramento are complaining after bankers accidentally blanked.
BLOUNT: Just for the life of them couldn't remember where they put that money.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: They left the bank unlocked for 48 hours.
BLOUNT: Ah.
SAGAL: Officials in Charlton, Massachusetts admit they overreacted a little when they sent police to blank.
(SOUNDBITE OF GONG)
BLOUNT: To arrest a little girl who has said "no".
SAGAL: No.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: They admit they overreacted when they sent police to collect an overdue library book or two from a five year old kid.
BLOUNT: Oh that's right. I read that.
SAGAL: Sometimes a friendly reminder through the mail just won't do, especially if the offender can't yet read.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: According to Charlton Police Sergeant Dan Down, the tiny criminal was in possession of two picture books, both several months overdue, which the officer was sent to confiscate or demand payment for. The library is currently sued for five million chocolate gold coins.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
SAGAL: Carl, did Roy do well enough to win?
KASELL: Roy needed at least seven correct answers to tie, but Roy had just four correct answers. So, with 17 points, Amy Dickinson is this week's champion.
(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)
SAGAL: Well done, Amy Dickinson.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.