Jul.26

electoral-vote.com

Dem 51

   

GOP 49

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Sun, Moon, and Pearl

Whew—it's been a while since we've been able to do a headline theme. Large quantities of major news, much of it breaking on Thursdays, will do that.

For our last set of themed headlines, we gave this clue on Friday: "L.A. sports fans are maybe at an advantage with this one." And then we added this on Saturday: "Here's a second hint for this week's headline theme: Homes. Wait, that's not quite right. HOMES. That's better." And now, the answer key, courtesy of reader C.H. in Atlanta, GA:

The reference to the Lakers is what gave it away for me. Each of these refer to lakes:

• Debate Details Are Set: Biden Channels His Inner Franklin D. Roosevelt: Lake Roosevelt, WA
• Election 2024, Part I: There Goes Biden's Rainy Day Fund: Rainy Lake, MN
• Election 2024, Part II: Trump Can't Bear to Let Biden "Win" a News Cycle: Bear Lake, UT
• Trump Legal News: Loud and Clear: Clear Lake, CA
• I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: A Mountain Lodge, among the Sequoias: Mountain Lake, VA or Sequoia Lake, CA
• This Week in Schadenfreude: "Trump Supporters" Leech Money from Trump Supporters: Leech Lake, MN
• This Week in Freudenfreude: Lynn Conway, 1938-2024: Conway Lake, NH

As it turns out, there are a LOT of lakes in the U.S., and so a lot of lake names. In fact, E.V. in Manchester, MO was the first of several readers who brought to our attention that the whole theme can be satisfied just with lakes in California: Channel/Franklin/Roosevelt, Rainy, Big Bear, Clear, Lodge/Sequoia, Leech and Conway. It also works with just Minnesota lakes, as H.B. in State College, PA, was the first to point out: Franklin/Roosevelt, Rainy, 5 Bear (Lakes), 17 Clear (Lakes), Mountain and Leech. Similarly, per the headline of this item, there is a Sun Lake (FL), a Moon Lake (UT) and a Pearl Lake (CO).

This theme was harder than we expected, maybe because it was so broad. Here are the first 25 people to get it:

1. K.M. in Ypsilanti, MI
2. D.E. in Ann Arbor, MI
3. C.H. in Atlanta
4. G.K. in Blue Island, IL
5. J.F. in Fayetteville, NC, who adds: "And in what may be a sign of things to come, there is a Trump Lake in Wisconsin, but no Biden Lake."
6. J.N. in Zionsville, IN
7. E.V. in Manchester
8. D.L. in Uslar, Germany
9. D.E. in High Springs, FL
10. D.S. in Layton, UT
11. M.B. in Albany, NY
12. D.M. in Austin, TX
13. C.A.G. in Athens, GA
14. D.M. in Oakland, CA
15. P.C. in Austin, TX
16. H.B. in State College
17. D.D. in Portland, OR
18. R.S. in Milan, OH
19. K.R. in Austin, TX
20. D.H. in Portland, OR
21. N.K. in Cleveland Heights, OH
22. A.S. in Springfield OR
23. G.G. in Long Beach, CA
24. R.S. in Philadelphia, PA
25. J.K. in Honolulu, HI

As to this week, we will tell you that the theme would fit in the Trivial Pursuit category Culture, that it relies on only one word from each headline, and the headline from the first item is not included. As to a hint, we'll tell you that the theme words appear in the correct order. For example, if the theme was "The Beatles," then "She Loves You" would appear in a headline before "Hey Jude" does. If the theme was Big Mac ingredients, then "two all-beef patties" would appear before "special sauce," which would appear before "lettuce," which would appear before "cheese."

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line "July 26 Headlines." (Z)