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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: The Devil Inside

For the headline theme last week, we gave the hint that "you're probably at an advantage if you are wearing hosiery that is uncolored, or red-hued." We then added: "if you're still working out the Friday headline theme for this week, we'll note that you might THINK we included Canada in the theme, but if you look carefully, you'll see we avoided doing so (phew!)."

And now, the answer key, courtesy of reader C.B. in Lakeville, MN:

The theme appears to be nicknames of U.S. professional sports teams:

Election Results: Rising [Dallas] Star[s] Likely to Fall

Free at Last: Biden Administration Executes [San Francisco] Giant[s] Prisoner Exchange

In Congress: Right Now, Every [Buffalo] Bill[s] Is a Messaging [Buffalo] Bill[s]

Another Look: Is There Any Method to Trump's [Minnesota] Wild Statements?

VanceWatch 2024: VP Candidate Can't [Anaheim] Duck[s] His Past... or His Present

Reading the Tea Leaves: [Washington] National[s] Trendlines Looking Good for Harris

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Iron [Philadelphia] Eagle[s]

This Week in Schadenfreude: Canadians Caught [Cincinnati] Red[s]-Handed

This Week in Freudenfreude: [San Diego] Padre[s] Receives Medal of Freedom

The initial hint refers to the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox; we operated under the assumption that the latter technically still counts as a pro sports team (they currently have a .239 winning percentage). The second hint refers to the fact that the Schadenfreude headline may appear to refer to the Montreal NHL team, but actually does not, because the team's name is spelled "Canadiens" and not "Canadians." Also, the hints were all singular and "Canadians," even if you assume we misspelled it, is plural. The headline of this item adds [New Jersey] Devil[s] to the list.

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

C.B. in Lakeville
R.S. in Milan, OH
G.W. in Avon, CT
B.S. in Ottawa, ON, Canada
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
E.K. in Arlington, MA
M.Z. in Sharon, MA
D.R. in Washington, DC
J.K. in Sandy Spring, MD
M.J. in Oakdale, CA
S.F. in Pemberton Borough, NJ
R.H.O. in Portland, ME
C.W. in Newport, RI
M.S. in Canton, NY
G.M. in Chevy Chase, MD
S.E. in Okemos, MI
H.B. in Berlin, Germany
M.B. in Albany, NY
R.C. in Eagleville, PA
J.K. in New Orleans, LA
V.F. in Bowie, MD
J.F. in Fayetteville, NC
M.W. in Newington, CT
M.K. in Austin, TX
B.E. in Porter, OK

M.C. in Falls Church, VA
K.F. in Berea, KY
J.H. in Lake Forest, CA
R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY
D.B. in Pittsboro, NC
S.S. in Carmel, IN
M.G. in Arlington, VA
N.P. in Santa Rosa, CA
K.R. in Austin, TX
P.D.N. in La Mesa, CA
S.E. in Haiku, HI
M.N. in Manahawkin, NJ
D.S. in Tinley Park, IL
G.V. in Plano, TX
P.W. in Tulalip, WA
B.B. in Avon, CT
G.K. in Calgary, AB, Canada
J.W. in Newton, MA
D.B. in Farmville, VA
D.L. in Springfield, IL
M.H. in Ottawa, ON, Canada
J.S. in Pittsburgh, PA
A.D. in Lewisville, TX
M.L. in West Hartford, CT
C.G. in Austin, TX

We also got some pretty good alternate answers this week. For example, J.S. in Columbia, MO, wrote: "I hunted for clues and ducked all decoys. The headlines have a reference to ducks: bill, wild, duck, eagles, Canadian redheads, fall (season)." And R.H.O. in Portland, ME:

Kamala Harris delivered remarks to a meeting of Alpha Kappa Alpha members in Dallas on July 10. (Dallas *Stars*)
Kamala Harris lived and worked for much of her career in San Francisco. (San Francisco *Giants*)
Kamala Harris visited Buffalo in 2022 to attend the funeral of Ruth Whitfield (Buffalo *Bills*)
Kamala Harris toured a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota on March 14, 2024 (Minnesota *Wild*)
Kamala Harris owns a home in Los Angeles (Is that close enough to work for the clue Anaheim *Ducks*? Really struggling with this one...)
Kamala Harris lives in Washington, D.C. as Vice President (Washington *Nationals*)
Kamala Harris will hold her first event with her VP candidate in Philadelphia on Tuesday (Philadelphia *Eagles*)
Kamala Harris attended high school in Montreal (Montreal *Canadiens*)
Kamala Harris visited San Diego on May 31 for a fundraising event. (San Diego *Padres*)

R.H.O. adds: "I knew it was too easy at first. Or maybe I'm making this harder than it needs to be..." Indeed.

As to this week's theme, it appears in every headline, sometimes relying on one of the words to the right of the colon, sometimes relying on several. It fits in the Trivial Pursuit category "Entertainment." As to a hint, readers named Jason or Freddy might have an advantage here.

If you have a guess, please send an e-mail to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "August 9 Headlines." (Z)

This item appeared on www.electoral-vote.com. Read it Monday through Friday for political and election news, Saturday for answers to reader's questions, and Sunday for letters from readers.

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