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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Alice Through The Looking Glass

We gave two hints as to last week's headline theme. The first was "one of the headlines is actually a little TOO on the nose, but we just couldn't resist." The second was: "You might want to let your mind wand-er." And now, for those who did not learn it from the letter to this week's mailbag, here is the solution, courtesy of reader T.K. in Half Moon Bay, St. Kitts:

I think the headlines all contain the first name of a character from the Harry Potter books:

Trump vs. Harvard: Are the Administration's Options Beginning to Peter Out?—Peter Pettigrew

Make a Wish!: The Decline and Fall of Ron Weaselly—Ron Weasley

Trade Wars: As Horace Said, "Seize the Day, Trusting as Little as Possible in Tomorrow"—Horace Slughorn

The End of an Era: The Dean of Presidential Grandsons Has Passed Away—Dean Thomas

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown—Charlie Weasley

This Week in Schadenfreude: When People Talk about "Trump's Bill," Is THIS What They Mean?—Bill Weasley

This Week in Freudenfreude: King Charles Shows Prince Harry How It's Done—Harry Potter

All but Slughorn were sorted into Gryffindor.

Yes, the non-Gryffindor wizards tend to have names that don't fit well into headlines, like Draco or Cho or Helga. And Alice Longbottom, from this item's headline, was also (assumed to be) a Gryffindor. Obviously, the "Ron Weaselly" headline was the one that was a bit too on the nose.

Here are the first 50 readers to get it right:

G.W. in Avon, CT
M.F. in Norwood, MA
N.S. in Fayetteville, NY
A.D. in Vass, NC
M.S. in Canton, NY
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
K.H. in Maryville, TN
S.W. in Winter Garden, FL
N.S. in Fayetteville, NY
A.P. in Kitchener, ON, Canada
N.H. in London, England, UK
B.R. in Arlington, MA
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
T.K. in Half Moon Bay
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
M.B. in Albany, NY
T.T. in Conway, AR
R.S. in Milan, OH
M.L. in Simpsonville, SC
M.T. in Simpsonville, SC
E.S. in Providence, RI
H.S. in Lake Forest, CA
J.R. in Austin, TX
G.M. in Chevy Chase, MD
J.D. in Olathe, KS

T.C. in Somerset, NJ
E.S. in Cincinnati, OH
C.C. in Rockville, MD
H.B. in Toronto, ON, Canada
L.S. in Marshall, NC
R.N. in Cleveland, OH
N.C. in Columbus, MS
M.A. in Soquel, CA
M.S. in New York City, NY
R.P. in Brooklyn, NY
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
M.C. in Falls Church, VA
T.A. in South Orange, NJ
M.Z. in Sharon, MA
E.B. in North Liberty, IA
D.S. in Mankato, MN
P.R. in Havertown, PA
B.A. in Silver City, GA
D.B. in Glendale, CA
P.H. in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
M.B. in Menlo Park, CA:
M.W. in Altea, Spain
J.C. in Trenton, NJ
L.D. in Bedford, MA
S.S. in Washington, DC

The 50th correct response was received at 8:01 a.m. PT on Friday.

For this week's theme, we're doing song titles, which means the category is music. For a hint, we'll tell you that the headlines appear in the correct order for the theme, and that you would do well to focus on the first two headlines, because those are the easiest to pin down. Also, note that "Never Forget" is NOT part of it; it seemed inappropriate to include.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com, ideally with subject line June 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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