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Forbes
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Today's NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Saturday, June 28
Mini Crossword In case you missed Friday's NYT Mini, you can find the answers here: The NYT Mini is a quick and dirty version of the newspaper's larger and long-running crossword. Most days, there are between three and five clues in each direction on a five by five grid, but the puzzles are sometimes larger, especially on Saturdays. Unlike its larger sibling, the NYT Mini crossword is free to play on the New York Times website or NYT Games app. However, you'll need an NYT Games subscription to access previous puzzles in the archives. The NYT Mini is a fun daily distraction that usually takes no time at all. I try to beat the standard weekday grid in less than a minute. But sometimes I can't quite figure out one or two clues and need to reveal the answer. To help you avoid doing that, here are the NYT Mini Crossword answers (spoilers lie ahead, of course): FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers ACROSS 1) Detachable parts of a dress form - ARMS 5) Catering container containing caffeine - TEAURN 8) Climbing structure offered in pet stores - CATTREE 9) Gets into town - ARRIVES 10) Frédéric Chopin or Ray Charles, notably - PIANIST 11) They don't hold water - SIEVES 12) __-jerk reaction - KNEE DOWN 1) With some chance of failure - ATARISK 2) Prepare for a new job, maybe - RETRAIN 3) Midday Broadway showing - MATINEE 4) Goal of a noted reality show set on an island - SURVIVE 6) Witherspoon who portrayed June Carter in "Walk the Line" - REESE 7) Lodgings for larks - NESTS 8) Souvenir from a baseball game - CAP Mini Well, you've got to always start with the easy ones, and here that was definitely going to be knee-jerk and I mean, how many other Witherspoons are there in Hollywood? Matinee was easy except for us non-fancy non-NYC people, we call midday movies that. Only one real 'multi-word' one here, At a Risk and I like to avoid those as much as possible, as figuring out one word is enough, much less a phrase. Long puzzle, but not awful. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
I love Denis Villeneuve. Here's why the ‘Dune' director making the next James Bond film is a bad idea
This is a bad idea, but more on that in a minute. Amazon MGM Studios and the new producers of the 007 franchise, Amy Pascal and David Heyman, announced Wednesday, June 25, that the ' Dune ' filmmaker will direct the next Bond picture, which would be the first without Daniel Craig in a quarter of a century. No actor has been cast to slip on the shoulder holster yet, although a report said Spider-Man Tom Holland, 'Euphoria' actor Jacob Elordi and 'Babygirl' star Harris Dickinson top Amazon's wish list. 'Some of my earliest movie-going memories are connected to 007,' Villeneuve said in a statement. 'I grew up watching James Bond films with my father, ever since 'Dr. No' with Sean Connery. I'm a die-hard Bond fan. To me, he's sacred territory. I intend to honor the tradition and open the path for many new missions to come.' On the surface, this is a no-brainer. Villeneuve is possibly the best big-budget genre filmmaker out there. He will turn his attention to Bond after completing 'Dune: Messiah,' the third chapter in the trilogy, which is due out in 2026. The first two, 'Dune' and 'Dune: Part Two,' were Oscar-nominated for best picture. He also directed a compelling sequel to a classic, ' Blade Runner: 2049 ' (2017), and his science fiction film ' Arrival ' (2016) has popped up on several ballots for the top 10 movies of the 21st century in a recent New York Times poll. Nevertheless, the choice has left me shaken, not stirred. Villeneuve is exactly who the Bond films don't need right now. Craig reinvigorated the franchise with a tough, serious approach in five films beginning with 'Casino Royale' (2006), a throwback to Connery after years of a more lighthearted approach by Pierce Brosnan and especially Roger Moore. By ' No Time to Die ' (2021), Craig's take on the character took personal torment to an almost Shakespearean level, and when he finally did find time to die, it was … quite the choice. 'No Time to Die,' directed by Oakland native Cary Joji Fukunaga, was an impressive, large-scale movie, no doubt, and it was exciting and compelling, a worthy coda to Craig's reign. But I walked out of the movie theater thinking, 'I remember when James Bond films were fun.' Double-oh-seven needs to be fun again. I'm not saying we should go back to 'Moonraker' (1979), the most unserious Bond film, an almost self-parody in which Moore is one step removed from Leslie Nielsen in the ' Naked Gun ' movies. But let's lighten up a bit. As terrific a filmmaker as he is, Villeneuve is the antithesis of 'lighten up.' His films are deadly serious. The guy who made the FBI drama ' Sicario ' can certainly direct an action sequence, but generating a laugh doesn't seem to be in his wheelhouse. Or, for that matter, a sex scene. When was the last sexually charged moment in a Villeneuve film? The Bond films, of course, are famous for their women, cringey in the 1960s but at least up to date in the Craig universe. Who should Pascal and Heyman have hired instead? Apparently, Christopher Nolan, who has long expressed interest in directing a Bond film, is occupied with his adaptation of Homer's ' The Odyssey,' the Oscar-winning filmmaker's first film since ' Oppenheimer,' the 2023 best picture winner. Villeneuve reportedly got the job over Edward Berger (' All Quiet on the Western Front,' ' Conclave '), Edgar Wright ('Shaun of the Dead,' ' Baby Driver '), Paul King (' Paddington,' ' Wonka ') and Jonathan Nolan, Christopher's brother who has worked mostly in television. My choice would have been David Leitch, the action specialist of ' Bullet Train ' and ' The Fall Guy.' Leitch rose up through the ranks as a stunt performer and coordinator, used to be an actor and co-directed the first ' John Wick ' movie. He has style and, when the script demands it, substance. The old Bonds of Connery and Moore were directed by genre directors, and two of the most successful reboots of the series, 'Goldeneye' (1995) and 'Casino Royale' (2006) were directed by action specialist Martin Campbell.
The Sun
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
University of Virginia president resigns under pressure from Trump on DEI policies
THE president of the University of Virginia, James Ryan, resigned on Friday under pressure from President Donald Trump's administration over the school's diversity, equity and inclusion policies. In a letter to the UVA community, Ryan said he had made the "excruciating decision" to step down after concluding that resisting Trump officials' demands would put the school's students and faculty at risk. "I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job," he wrote. "To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld." Virginia's Democratic U.S. senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, called the Trump administration's demand "outrageous" in a joint statement and said Ryan's departure would hurt the university and the state. It was not clear whether Ryan's resignation would take effect immediately. Earlier, the New York Times had reported that the Justice Department had demanded his resignation, and he decided to capitulate. The administration has launched a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion and targeted colleges and universities that it has claimed are pushing antisemitic, anti-American, Marxist and "radical left" ideologies. Universities that have been investigated or have had funds frozen have said that Trump's attacks are threats to freedom of speech, freedom of academics and the schools' very existence. In a warning issued to UVA last week, the Justice Department said the government had concluded that the use of race in admissions and other student benefits were "widespread practices throughout every component and facet of the institution," according to the Times.
The Sun
3 hours ago
- Politics
- The Sun
UVA president resigns amid Trump DEI policy crackdown
THE president of the University of Virginia, James Ryan, resigned on Friday under pressure from President Donald Trump's administration over the school's diversity, equity and inclusion policies. In a letter to the UVA community, Ryan said he had made the "excruciating decision" to step down after concluding that resisting Trump officials' demands would put the school's students and faculty at risk. "I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job," he wrote. "To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld." Virginia's Democratic U.S. senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, called the Trump administration's demand "outrageous" in a joint statement and said Ryan's departure would hurt the university and the state. It was not clear whether Ryan's resignation would take effect immediately. Earlier, the New York Times had reported that the Justice Department had demanded his resignation, and he decided to capitulate. The administration has launched a campaign against diversity, equity and inclusion and targeted colleges and universities that it has claimed are pushing antisemitic, anti-American, Marxist and "radical left" ideologies. Universities that have been investigated or have had funds frozen have said that Trump's attacks are threats to freedom of speech, freedom of academics and the schools' very existence. In a warning issued to UVA last week, the Justice Department said the government had concluded that the use of race in admissions and other student benefits were "widespread practices throughout every component and facet of the institution," according to the Times.
Axios
3 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
Traditional Medicare to add prior authorizations
Medicare is requiring more pre-treatment approvals in its fee-for-service program in a bid to root out unnecessary care, federal regulators announced Friday. The big picture: Traditional Medicare historically hasn't required prior authorizations to access most drugs or services, a major perk for enrollees. Prior authorization in privately-run Medicare Advantage plans has become a hot-button issue, with Congress and federal regulators working to rein in the practice. Federal inspectors found in 2022 that prior authorization in MA prevented some seniors from getting medically necessary care. Major health insurers this week made a voluntary pledge to streamline and improve the prior authorization process across all health insurance markets. State of play: Medicare's innovation center announced that it will solicit applications from companies to run the prior authorization program. Medicare is looking for companies with experience using AI and other tools to manage pre-approvals for other payers, and with clinicians who can conduct medical reviews to check coverage determinations. The program will start Jan. 1, 2026 and run through the end of 2031. It will only apply to providers and patients in New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona and Washington. The change will apply to 17 items and services, including skin substitutes, deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's Disease, impotence treatment and arthroscopy for knee osteoarthritis. CMS selected the services based on previous reports and evidence of fraud, waste and abuse, as well as what's already subject to prior authorization in Medicare Advantage. Overuse of skin substitutes to help heal wounds has especially come under fire in recent years. Medicare spent more than $10 billion on the products in 2024 — more than double what was spent the year before, according to the New York Times. CMS noted that it may make other services subject to the prior authorization program in future years. Providers in the geographic areas can choose whether or not they want to submit an authorization request before delivering a service. But if they decide not to, they'll be subject to post-claim review and risk not getting paid for a service that was already delivered. "In general, this model will require the same information and clinical documentation that is already required to support Medicare FFS payment but earlier in the process, namely, prior to the service being furnished," the notice reads. Zoom in: The companies hired to manage the program will be paid based on how much they saved the government by stopping payments for unnecessary services. "Under the model, we will work to avoid any adverse impact on beneficiaries or providers/suppliers," CMS wrote in the notice.
