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I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: Poker Face

We gave two hints to last week's headline theme: "the theme is very dark, in a manner of speaking," followed by "If you're still working on the headline theme, think about what Darth Vader and James Earl Jones have in common, besides their voice."

Here is the solution, courtesy of reader D.D. in Bucks County, PA:

Today's headlines all contain a word that can be preceded by the word "black" to mean something else:

Unforced Errors, Part III: Jack Smith—Blackjack

The Legislative Branch: Republicans Aren't Always Playing Ball with Trump Anymore—Blackball

International Affairs: Trump Finally Strikes Gold, Receives Nobel Peace Prize—Black gold

I Read the News Today, Oh Boy: James Madison (and His Wife Dolley) Had a Bird Named Polly—Blackbird

This Week in Schadenfreude: Kennedy Center Performers Keep Opting Out—Blackout

This Week in Freudenfreude: It Seems Some Folks Actually Care What Jesus Said—Black Jesus

This is a berry good contest. I'm never board by the magic you create. Face it, you can never just mail it in. Top of the mornin' to you!

The first headline is a double, since both "Blackjack" and "Blacksmith" work. Today's headline adds "Blackface." Anything that is black is certainly very dark, and Darth Vader and James Earl Jones are/were both black, of course. Or Black, in Jones' case.

Here are the first 60 readers to get it right:

J.J. in Johnstown, PA
K.H. in Albuquerque, NM
K.R. in Austin, TX
C.W. in Atlantic Beach, FL
R.E.M. in Brooklyn, NY
E.M. in Jersey City, NJ
T.T. in Conway, AR
M.J. in Oakdale, MN
N.K. in Cleveland Heights, OH
M.H. in Ottawa, ON, Canada
M.M. in Dunellen, NJ
D.E. in Ann Arbor, MI
J.N. in Zionsville, IN
P.Q. in Metuchen, NJ
S.K. in Ardmore, PA
M.K. in Long Branch, NJ
G.M.K. in Mishawaka, IN
J.C. in Bombay Beach, CA
P.R. in Havertown, PA
D.D. in Bucks County
D.L. in Springfield, IL
L.D. in Bedford, MA
R.S. in Pittsgrove, NJ
A.D. in Gaithersburg, MD
D.P. in Mt. Rainier, MD
M.T. in Wheat Ridge, CO
M.W. in Altea, Spain
P.A. in Redwood City, CA
A.A. in Branchport, NY
D.S. in Fort Collins, CO

G.K. in Blue Island, IL
M.A. in Soquel, CA
P.H. in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
M.S. in Canton, NY
D.C. in Portland, OR
M.Z. in Sharon, MA
J.E. in San Jose, CA
B.G. in Houston, TX
M.J. in Maplewood, NJ
M.B. in Albany, NY
D.M. in Oakland, CA
D.B. in Pittsboro, NC
D.B. in Glendale, CA
D.B. in Farmville, VA
E.P. in Tillson, NY
M.C. in Falls Church, VA
B.B. in Avon, CT
K.J. in Toronto, ON, Canada
D.M. in Grand Rapids, MI
M.C. in Venice, FL
S.G. in Durham, NC
P.W. in Tulalip, WA
M.K. in Seattle, WA
B.H. in Sherman Oaks, CA
J.F. in Fayetteville, NC
N.H. in London, England, UK
R.D. in Cheshire, CT
D.S. in Layton, UT
J.W.H. in Somerville, NJ
B.F. in Nashville, TN

The 60th correct response was received at 6:46 a.m. PT on Saturday.

For this week's theme, it relies on one word in some headlines, multiple words in others, and it's in the category Sports & Leisure. The Minneapolis headline is not part of it. For a hint, we'll note that we didn't particularly want to use "Blackface" for this headline, but we couldn't quite make "Black Magic" work.

If you have a guess, send it to comments@electoral-vote.com with subject line January 23 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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