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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: T-Bone Blues

The first hint we gave for last week's headline theme was: "[I]f a headline word appears to be misspelled on 'headlines theme' day, it almost certainly is not." The second hint was: "'Weird Al' Yankovic did three Michael Jackson parodies, and all three of them, as chance would have it, hint at the theme." And now, the answer, courtesy of reader M.H. in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:

Songs by artists and groups with names featuring food!

Harris, Walz Interview: Democratic Ticket Goes the Distance with Dana Bash—"The Distance," Cake

Post-Convention Polls: Strange Brew—"Strange Brew," Cream

Trump IVF "Policy": Give It Away—"Give It Away," Red Hot Chili Peppers

Republican Investigations: All Revved Up With No Place to Go—"All Revved Up with No Place to Go," Meat Loaf

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Brown Mayonaise—"Mayonaise," Smashing Pumpkins

This Week in Schadenfreude: (Don't) Play that Funky Music, White Boy—"Play That Funky Music," Wild Cherry

This Week in Freudenfreude: Better Man (Or, in This Case, Better Woman)—"Better Man," Pearl Jam (though I suppose that you could make the argument that you could roast and eat a swift...)

The headline of this item is a song by T-Bone Walker, another "food" musician. And the three Weird Al parodies of MJ are "Eat It," "Fat" and "Snack All Night." "Snack All Night" was never released commercially because Jackson refused permission, thinking that the origin song, "Black or White," should not be parodied.

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

P.Q. in Metuchen, NJ
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
J.M. in Estes Park, CO
J.A. in Austin, TX
J.F. in Fayetteville, NC
M.H. in Ontario
R.H. in West Grove, PA
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St Kitts
J.C. in Oxford, England, UK
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
O.B. in Los Angeles, CA
D.M. in Austin, TX
E.B. in Avon, IN
N.S. in Lafayette, IN
A.J. in Baltimore, MD
C.K. in Aston, PA
D.O.N. in Tucson, AZ
M.J. in Oisterwijk, The Netherlands
D.L. in Uslar, Germany
I.H. in Washington, DC
M.M. in Manahawkin, NJ
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
D.D. in Highland Park, IL
H.B. in Toronto, ON, Canada

D.H. in Leesburg, AL
M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
M.L. in West Hartford, CT
G.K. in Blue Island, IL
R.P. in Brooklyn, NY
J.B. in Fort Kent, ME
N.S. in Los Angeles, CA
A.C. in Bryan, OH
W.M. in Livonia, MI
T.J. in London, England, UK
S.S. in Carmel, IN
M.B. in Albany, NY
C.C. in Pinole, CA
R.R. in Lancaster, PA
K.P. in Tampa, FL
M.B. in Menlo Park, CA
M.D. in Washington, DC
D.B. in Pittsboro, NC
F.Y. in Ann Arbor, MI
J.E. in San Jose, CA
J.S. in Kenosha, WI
J.C. in Keene, NH
L.A.J. in Bourbonnais, IL
J.K. in Sandy Spring, MD
T.K. in Kirkwood, MO

For those who might have had a different reading of things, note that the food we intended in Pearl Jam's name is just "jam."

As to this week, the theme appears in every headline and relies on just one word. It's in the Trivial Pursuit category Sports & Leisure. For a hint, we'll say that this theme is probably a lay-up for many readers. Or a can of corn. Or... a wrist shot.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "September 6 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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