Latest news with #Across
Boston Globe
27-05-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
Are nicotine pouches like Zyn healthier than cigarettes? Here's what you need to know.
As nicotine pouches establish themselves as the 'next big thing' of the tobacco industry, here's what you need to know: What are nicotine pouches? Nicotine pouches are small, breath mint-sized microfiber pockets filled with nicotine powder, either from a tobacco plant or made in a lab, that are tucked between the user's cheek and gums. Advertisement Zyn is a brand of nicotine pouches, the most popular for the product based on Across brands, the pouches are sold in small cans with around 15-20 pouches in each for roughly $6 a can. The pouches are also made in multiple flavors, but those products' sale is limited in many communities, including in Massachusetts by a 2020 ban on Mountains are reflected in the windows of the international headquarters of Zyn parent company Philip Morris International, in Lausanne, Switzerland. Laurent Gillieron/Associated Press Who's using them? The pouches have quickly gained traction — the cans are seen anywhere from the desks of Advertisement In the first quarter of 2025, Zyn shipments increased by 53 percent from2024, according to Philip Morris. 'There used to be a couple brands, and now it seems like there's a lot of new competitors jumping in,' said Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association. The rise in use among young people is worrying doctors and public health officials — nicotine pouches were the second most commonly-used tobacco product among middle and high school students in 2024, lagging behind only e-cigarettes, according to the Much of the draw for young people to nicotine pouches, said Elise Stevens, an assistant professor at UMass Chan Medical School and director of the school's Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training, is built-in to the product — the pouches are easy to use and very discreet, packed in a small, colorful tin. Once they're placed in someone's cheek, they're barely noticeable. 'This can be something that is really appealing to young people because it can be hidden from teachers or from others in places where you're not supposed to smoke or vape,' said Stevens. Containers of Zyn, a smokeless nicotine pouch, are displayed for sale among other nicotine and tobacco products at a newsstand on Feb. 23, 2024, in New York. Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press Are nicotine pouches bad for you? The short answer from doctors and public health officials: a resounding 'yes.' The experts are worried what health effects will arise a few years down the line from the products, namely dramatic increases in gum disease cases. Advertisement However, the pouches can offer a form of harm reduction for a select group of people, said Sharon Levy, chief of the Division of Addiction Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital. For older adults who are already addicted to nicotine from cigarettes, the pouches can provide an alternative to move away from smoking. The switch is not a treatment for substance use disorders, she said, but rather just switching the use to a potentially less harmful form. The US Food and Drug Administration in January authorized the marketing of 20 Zyn products nationwide — two nicotine concentration amounts for 10 different flavors — on the basis of lower health risks than other tobacco products. What are the health risks of using nicotine pouches? The broad use of nicotine pouches is relatively new, so the long-term health impacts will have to wait. While nicotine does not introduce the body to the same chemicals as cigarette smoke, researchers have found numerous The risk of addition is one of the most immediate concerns voiced by doctors. Nicotine in any form is highly addictive, said Levy, but the most addictive products are ones that get nicotine to the brain the fastest at the highest concentrations, making nicotine pouches a 'very addictive form,' she said, especially for children and young adults, whose brains are more susceptible to addiction and are first being introduced to nicotine through the pouches. Advertisement Maren Halpin can be reached at
Economic Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Economic Times
NYT Mini Crossword answers and hints for Sunday, May 25, 2025: A quick mental workout
Whether you're aiming to maintain a winning streak or simply indulge in a brief cerebral activity, the NYT Mini Crossword offers an accessible challenge each day. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Understanding the NYT Mini Crossword Format Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads NYT Mini Crossword Hints for May 25: Across Clues 1 Across: 'Good for a bike route, bad for a bike tire' — Ends in 'T' and suggests an even surface or a punctured tire. 5 Across: 'Rolling in it' — Starts with 'R' and refers to wealth. 6 Across: 'Internet company with a purple logo' — A well-known tech brand beginning with 'Y.' 8 Across: 'McIlroy who won the 2025 Masters' — Ends in 'Y,' referencing a prominent golfer. 9 Across: 'Mumford & ____ (rock band)' — Ends in 'S,' completing the name of the famous music group. NYT Mini Crossword Hints: Down Clues 1 Down: 'Food item dipped in ketchup' — Ends with 'Y,' a fast-food staple. 2 Down: 'Apt rhyme of 'falsifiers'' — Starts with 'L,' a term for untruthful people. 3 Down: 'Sneezing sound' — Begins with 'A,' a phonetic depiction. 4 Down: 'Plant's defense against herbivores, perhaps' — Ends with 'N,' a sharp natural deterrent. 7 Down: 'Yiddish exclamation of woe' — Ends with 'S,' a common interjection in Jewish vernacular. Complete NYT Mini Crossword Answers for May 25, 2025 Across 1 Across: FLAT 5 Across: RICH 6 Across: YAHOO 8 Across: RORY 9 Across: SONS Down 1 Down: FRY 2 Down: LIARS 3 Down: ACHOO 4 Down: THORN 7 Down: OYS FAQs Does the NYT Mini get harder throughout the week? What is a rebus in a mini-crossword? For puzzle enthusiasts around the world, a day often begins—or ends—with the familiar grid of the NYT Mini Crossword. Distinct from the larger and more intricate New York Times Crossword, the Mini offers a compact yet stimulating challenge that continues to grow in popularity among casual solvers and crossword aficionados alike. With each puzzle taking just a few minutes to complete, the NYT Mini provides the perfect mental Sunday, May 25, 2025, the clues and answers delivered a satisfying mix of wordplay, current references, and cultural those seeking a helpful nudge, here are today's hints and full 'The Crossword' remains a flagship offering for New York Times subscribers, NYT Mini Crossword has earned a loyal daily every evening at 10 p.m. (ET), the Mini features a 5x5 grid that balances brevity with brain-teasing day's edition includes Across and Down clues, testing a wide array of knowledge—from popular culture to linguistics and everyday you'd prefer to solve the puzzle without spoilers but need a little assistance, consider the following clue interpretations for the Across section, as per a report by Parade magazine:The Down clues brought in common expressions and cultural touchstones:For those ready to check their solutions or move past a stubborn blank square, here are the confirmed answers, as per the Parade magazine report:Clues are designed to match the puzzle's difficulty level, which gradually intensifies throughout the week, starting with the easiest on Monday and peaking with the most challenging on is a special crossword features that require solvers to enter multiple letters within a single square.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
NYT Mini Crossword answers and hints for Sunday, May 25, 2025: A quick mental workout
Whether you're aiming to maintain a winning streak or simply indulge in a brief cerebral activity, the NYT Mini Crossword offers an accessible challenge each day. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Understanding the NYT Mini Crossword Format Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads NYT Mini Crossword Hints for May 25: Across Clues 1 Across: 'Good for a bike route, bad for a bike tire' — Ends in 'T' and suggests an even surface or a punctured tire. 5 Across: 'Rolling in it' — Starts with 'R' and refers to wealth. 6 Across: 'Internet company with a purple logo' — A well-known tech brand beginning with 'Y.' 8 Across: 'McIlroy who won the 2025 Masters' — Ends in 'Y,' referencing a prominent golfer. 9 Across: 'Mumford & ____ (rock band)' — Ends in 'S,' completing the name of the famous music group. NYT Mini Crossword Hints: Down Clues 1 Down: 'Food item dipped in ketchup' — Ends with 'Y,' a fast-food staple. 2 Down: 'Apt rhyme of 'falsifiers'' — Starts with 'L,' a term for untruthful people. 3 Down: 'Sneezing sound' — Begins with 'A,' a phonetic depiction. 4 Down: 'Plant's defense against herbivores, perhaps' — Ends with 'N,' a sharp natural deterrent. 7 Down: 'Yiddish exclamation of woe' — Ends with 'S,' a common interjection in Jewish vernacular. Complete NYT Mini Crossword Answers for May 25, 2025 Across 1 Across: FLAT 5 Across: RICH 6 Across: YAHOO 8 Across: RORY 9 Across: SONS Down 1 Down: FRY 2 Down: LIARS 3 Down: ACHOO 4 Down: THORN 7 Down: OYS FAQs Does the NYT Mini get harder throughout the week? What is a rebus in a mini-crossword? For puzzle enthusiasts around the world, a day often begins—or ends—with the familiar grid of the NYT Mini Crossword. Distinct from the larger and more intricate New York Times Crossword, the Mini offers a compact yet stimulating challenge that continues to grow in popularity among casual solvers and crossword aficionados alike. With each puzzle taking just a few minutes to complete, the NYT Mini provides the perfect mental Sunday, May 25, 2025, the clues and answers delivered a satisfying mix of wordplay, current references, and cultural those seeking a helpful nudge, here are today's hints and full 'The Crossword' remains a flagship offering for New York Times subscribers, NYT Mini Crossword has earned a loyal daily every evening at 10 p.m. (ET), the Mini features a 5x5 grid that balances brevity with brain-teasing day's edition includes Across and Down clues, testing a wide array of knowledge—from popular culture to linguistics and everyday you'd prefer to solve the puzzle without spoilers but need a little assistance, consider the following clue interpretations for the Across section, as per a report by Parade magazine:The Down clues brought in common expressions and cultural touchstones:For those ready to check their solutions or move past a stubborn blank square, here are the confirmed answers, as per the Parade magazine report:Clues are designed to match the puzzle's difficulty level, which gradually intensifies throughout the week, starting with the easiest on Monday and peaking with the most challenging on is a special crossword features that require solvers to enter multiple letters within a single square.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hard choices face Kentucky Republican tasked with recommending Medicaid cuts
A pro-Medicaid message lights up the Capitol grounds as a U.S. House committee chaired by Kentuckian Brett Guthrie prepares this week to recommend budget savings that could affect the program that pays for almost 1.5 million Kentuckians' health care, May 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo byfor Caring Across Generations) As U.S. Rep. Brett Guthrie prepares to lead a debate on the future of Medicaid, his home state of Kentucky has more at stake than most. Guthrie, R-Bowling Green, is chairman of a House committee that on Tuesday is set to start proposing $880 billion in federal budget savings over the next 10 years. Guthrie's assignment will be impossible, experts say, without cutting the federal-state program that pays for almost 1 in 3 Kentuckians' health care. 'Medicaid has become important to local economies throughout the state and a key pathway to health care for many Kentuckians,' says the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in a statement last week that also mentions the Chamber's 'long voiced concerns about the impact of rising Medicaid costs on Kentucky's finances.' 'Efforts to control Medicaid spending will be necessary,' says the pro-business group whose top recent priority has been continuing to lower Kentucky's income tax. 'Policymakers, however, will need to take a balanced approach with input from key stakeholders.' Guthrie, a West Point graduate and former state legislator, is not publicly discussing specifics ahead of the markup, a spokesperson for the committee said Friday. 'Chairman Guthrie and Energy and Commerce Republicans are ready to strengthen, secure, and sustain Medicaid for generations to come and for the Americans the program was intended to serve,' said Matt VanHyfte, the director of communications for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Sounding a common GOP theme, he said Medicaid was intended 'to assist the 'traditional population' which are expectant mothers, children, low-income seniors, and people with disabilities.' Medicaid was expanded beyond that traditional role in 2010 when Congress — with no Republican votes — enacted the Affordable Care Act, a law that became known as Obamacare. By then the number of uninsured had topped 46 million, nearing 1 in 5 Americans; medical bills were increasingly pushing sick people into bankruptcy as hospitals shifted costs onto the dwindling share of insured patients. District of Columbia 38% Alaska 36% New Mexico 36% California 35% New York 34% Louisiana 34% Kentucky 31% Oregon 31% Hawaii 29% West Virginia 29% 50 states and D.C. 24% Source: Center for Budget and Policy Priorities Under the Medicaid expansion, the federal government offered to pay 100% of the costs for state Medicaid programs to begin covering low-income, able-bodied adults who can't afford or who lack access to private health insurance. Kentucky, a poor state with lots of sick people, has aggressively embraced the new option, and that has 'changed the dynamics considerably,' says Mark Birdwhistell, an expert on Medicaid and the University of Kentucky's senior vice president for health and public policy. The Medicaid expansion has been 'a great benefit to the health care delivery system at the University of Kentucky and all over Kentucky, particularly Southeastern Kentucky,' Birdwhistell told the Lantern. 'It's been a salvation for small rural hospitals in Eastern Kentucky and good for health outcomes as well,' Birdwhistell said. The rate of uninsured Kentuckians fell from 14.4% in 2013 to 6.1% in 2015, the year after the Medicaid expansion took effect. In 2023, 5.6% of Kentuckians' were uninsured compared to 8% of the U.S. population. Birdwhistell has been spending a lot of time in Washington sharing his knowledge with Kentucky's congressional delegation and with staff of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services which oversees Medicaid, Medicare and the Children's Health Insurance Program. In an interview with the Lantern, Birdwhistell discussed some of the Medicaid proposals the Republicans who control Congress are considering as they look for savings to pay for continuing tax cuts enacted in 2017 during President Donald Trump's first term. The proposal that would be the 'most problematic' for Kentucky, Birdwhistell said, is one to lower the matching funds the federal government pays for the Medicaid expansion. After paying 100% of the expansion for a few years, the federal match was lowered to 90%, leaving states to pick up 10% of the expansion cost. By contrast, the federal government picks up 71% of the cost of insuring Kentucky's traditional Medicaid population. (Kentucky receives a higher federal match than most states because it's based on a state's per capita income and Kentucky's is comparatively low.) Of Kentucky's $19 billion Medicaid budget, almost $15 billion comes from the federal government and about $4 billion from state sources. If Congress decides to lower the expansion match to the lower share for the rest of the program, Kentucky would have to provide an additional $1.4 billion to continue covering the almost 500,000 people in the expansion, according to an estimate by the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. 'It would be difficult for the General Assembly to come up with that amount of money,' said Birdwhistell. Birdwhistell said he understands why some members of Congress question the more generous federal match for the Medicaid expansion, but said, 'In Kentucky, in my opinion, the benefits outweigh the downside.' Another option being floated would impose per capita caps on federal funding for Medicaid, in essence a block grant based on the size of the covered population, which Birdwhistell said would likely cause negative impacts for the traditional Medicaid population especially the disabled and frail elderly, new mothers and babies who need neonatal intensive care. Under a cap, some patients could be denied care if their costs exceeded a designated amount, he said, making it difficult to administer and producing 'negative policy outcomes.' If a per capita cap is the Republicans' chosen alternative, Birdwhistell said it would be better to apply it to the expansion population who are healthier, younger and cheaper to insure. Among the almost 1 million Kentuckians covered by traditional Medicaid is Caden Plemons, 19, of Bowling Green. He has Down Syndrome and autism and is 'primarily nonverbal,' says his mother Rheanna Plemons who worries lawmakers will subject Medicaid to 'broad, sweeping cuts, without doing any research to ensure that it's not decreasing the standard of care for individuals with intellectual disabilities.' Caden also receives services through Kentucky Medicaid's Michell P. waiver, which helps people who have intellectual disabilities live more independently. Caden's community living supports include staff to help him with daily tasks like dressing and going to appointments and getting out to enjoy go carts and other activities. 'He's thriving in the community because of the services that we have received over the last 19 years,' Plemons said. Caden's waiver also covers respite care so Plemons and her husband can 'take a break every now and then.' 'Sometimes people don't realize: if you have a child who has a severe disability, such as my child, that's 24 hours a day care, seven days a week,' Plemons said. 'I work. My husband works full time. So if we want to take a break, even to go out to have dinner with just the two of us, then somebody's got to be there with Caden, even though he's 19 years old.' Another option under consideration for trimming Medicaid costs is a work requirement. Birdwhistell estimates that more than half of able-bodied Kentuckians covered by Medicaid — the working poor — already hold low-wage jobs. The income limit for most working-age adults to qualify for Medicaid is 138% of the federal poverty level. That works out to $44,367 a year for a family of four which 'in some areas of the state is quite a few people,' said Birdwhistell. Enforcing a Medicaid work requirement would require funding an expanded bureaucracy to keep up with new reporting demands and insure compliance, Birdwhistell said. The Republican-dominated Kentucky legislature this year enacted a Medicaid work requirement that will be up to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear's administration to bring online. Critics view work requirements as a smokescreen for using red tape to push people off the Medicaid rolls. Megan Rorex, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist in Bowling Green, predicts new reporting demands would snag her Medicaid-covered clients. Many of them work multiple part-time jobs, often in the restaurant industry, and would lack the time or bandwidth to keep up with an additional layer of paperwork in a program that she considers already overcomplicated. 'Any bureaucratic policy that's unnecessary is a problem to navigate if you're already working multiple jobs. It adds another layer of stigma and stress,' she said. Some Republicans, including Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and an author of the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 agenda for the second Trump administration, want to limit states' use of levies on health care providers — called provider taxes — to leverage higher Medicaid funding from the federal government. Kentucky levies a number of provider taxes that bring additional federal Medicaid funds into the state and pay for state directed payments that increase hospitals' Medicaid compensation to levels that on average are what private insurers would pay for the same services. So far, congressional discussion has focused on capping provider taxes at 5% of hospital patient revenue which would not affect Kentucky because provider tax rates here are below 5%, Birdwhistell said. Kentucky is using these payments to incentivize quality improvements, such as more frequent well-child visits and screenings for disease. Hospitals must meet the quality objectives to qualify for the extra funding, which Birdwhistell says has been 'extremely successful' in transforming UK Healthcare into a 'value-based organization.' He said he's advising federal officials that Kentucky's use of provider taxes to improve quality are models worth replicating in other states. A complaint voiced by some Republican state lawmakers during this year's session in Frankfort is that Medicaid spending increases each year — almost $2.6 billion budgeted from Kentucky's General Fund in fiscal year 2024 — without producing improvements in health outcomes Birdwhistell said it takes a long time to realize the return on investment in health care. 'These are generational issues. It takes a person's lifetime before you can say what the savings were.' And Kentuckians are inching out of the nation's basement on some health indicators. In 2024, Kentucky advanced to 41st among the 50 states — up from 45th in 2016-2021 — in America's Health Rankings, an annual study by the United Healthcare Foundation based on a variety of health, behavioral and socioeconomic metrics. On the upside, The rate of colorectal screenings in Kentucky rose from 20th nationally in 2022 to 10th in 2024. Kentucky's obesity rank improved from 48th in 2022 to 40th in 2023. And Kentucky's drug-related deaths declined from 47th highest among the states in 2022 to 45th in 2024. Kentucky ranked 16th nationally in availability of primary care providers last year, down from 11th in 2023. The study also identifies plenty of room for improvement. Kentucky ranked 49th for adults with multiple chronic conditions in 2023 and 45th for percentage of households experiencing food insecurity in 2024. While Guthrie's role in potential Medicaid cuts is not expected to hurt his chances next year for reelection to a 10th term, Republicans representing swing districts in Congress could face a voter backlash, and some are refusing to vote for Medicaid rollbacks pushed by more conservative colleagues. Republicans' narrow margin in the House means even a few defectors could doom budget provisions, while a few midterm defeats next year could give Democrats control of the chamber. Candidate Trump promised to protect Medicaid, and the White House reiterated that promise in March, but Trump also is urging Congress to enact the House budget blueprint that he calls the 'big beautiful bill' — goals that appear to be in conflict. Guthrie will be a 'key player,' says Birdwhistell, as his committee works this week to move the House budget proposal closer to a vote by the full House. Tres Watson, a former spokesperson for the Republican Party of Kentucky, echoed the talking point that Guthrie and many Republicans are working to return Medicaid to its original, pre-Affordable Care Act, 'reining in what many Republicans view as out of control entitlement spending, getting away from what was originally intended to be … a trampoline, not a mattress,' Watson said. Kentucky's top Democrat, Gov. Andy Beshear, has joined Democratic governors in calling on Congress to protect Medicaid funding. In a Democratic Governors Association press call last week, Beshear, the group's vice chair, told reporters that 'gutting Medicaid would impact families in a substantial way.' He said half of Kentucky children and 70% of long-term care costs in Kentucky are covered by Medicaid. 'Massive cuts to Medicaid is an attack on rural America, and if they do it, these Republican representatives and senators are saying they don't believe that the people of rural America deserve the same access to health care as those in urban America,' Beshear said. 'Certainly it would devastate my state, but it would devastate so many of our communities in every single state across the United States.' The fate of rural hospitals is bound to weigh on Republicans who were sent to Washington from red states. Even if hospitals are not forced to close, Medicaid cuts could force hospitals to lose services, says Ben Chandler, who retired last year as president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Before that he was Kentucky attorney general and auditor and represented the state's 6th Congressional District from 2004 to 2013. For Chandler the debate highlights the need for broad reform that would move the U.S. away from relying on employers to provide health coverage through a for-profit insurance industry that wields enormous influence on Capitol Hill. 'It's ridiculous we don't have Medicare for all or whatever you want to call it,' said Chandler who voted against the Affordable Care Act in 2010 because a proposal for a government-run 'public option' health insurance plan was removed from the bill as a concession to the insurance industry and its supporters. Chandler called the U.S. system 'accidental,' born of World War II wage caps that inspired employers to compete for workers by offering a hospitalization benefit. The U.S. spends twice as much on health care per capita as other large, wealthy nations while U.S. health outcomes are far worse than those in other nations. Says Chandler, 'It's the only system in the world like it.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Today's NYT Mini Crossword answers for May 2: Full clue breakdown, simple solutions, and solving tips
Today's NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, May 2: Full Clues and Solutions- Looking for today's NYT Mini Crossword answers for Friday, May 2? We've got you covered. The popular daily puzzle from The New York Times is a bite-sized brain teaser many people enjoy with their morning coffee. And if you're stuck on a clue or just want to check your answers, you're in the right place. #Pahalgam Terrorist Attack Pakistan reopens Attari-Wagah border to allow stranded citizens in India to return Key Jammu & Kashmir reservoirs' flushing to begin soon Air India sees Pakistan airspace ban costing it $600 mn over 12 months This Friday's puzzle was fairly straightforward—until 7-Across, which threw a bit of a curveball. If you were scratching your head trying to figure out how 'tatty' fits in, you weren't alone. Let's walk through all the clues and answers together, and break down everything you need to solve today's Mini Crossword. What are today's NYT Mini Crossword across clues and answers? Here are the complete across clues and solutions for the May 2 NYT Mini Crossword: 5 5 Next Stay Playback speed 1x Normal Back 0.25x 0.5x 1x Normal 1.5x 2x 5 5 / Skip Ads by by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Play War Thunder now for free War Thunder Play Now Undo 1A. Do some legwork? ✅ Answer: SQUAT 6A. Deep, narrow valley ✅ Answer: GULCH 7A. Worn and shabby ✅ Answer: TATTY 8A. Word below "To" on a gift card ✅ Answer: FROM 9A. $2.90, for a N.Y.C. subway ride ✅ Answer: FARE Which clues helped solve the harder answers? Let's dive into the down clues and answers, which can really help when across answers feel tricky. 1D. "___ Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" ✅ Answer: SGT A classic Beatles reference that probably gave many solvers a quick win. 2D. Fancy word for "beverage" ✅ Answer: QUAFF This one may have stumped some solvers, as 'quaff' isn't exactly everyday vocabulary. 3D. Prefix with marathon for a race over 26.2 miles ✅ Answer: ULTRA A helpful answer that filled in the 'U' quickly. 4D. Line memorizer ✅ Answer: ACTOR Straightforward, but useful in confirming some of the trickier Across words. 5D. Herb often paired with rosemary ✅ Answer: THYME If you cook, this one probably came instantly. If not, context likely helped. How can you get better at solving the NYT Mini Crossword daily? Solving the NYT Mini Crossword regularly can definitely improve your puzzle skills. And it's not just about knowing words—it's about thinking flexibly. If you hit a tough clue, look at the crosswords for clues you do know. For instance, 1-Down ('SGT') helped confirm 'tatty' for 7-Across, even though the latter might've looked odd at first glance. Live Events Here are a few quick tips: Start with the shortest clues. These are often more straightforward. Don't be afraid to guess. You can always backtrack if a letter doesn't fit later. Use context. Gift cards, common prices, popular culture—all of these pop up often. Where can you play the NYT Mini Crossword and other puzzles? While the daily Mini is free, access to older puzzles and the full-size daily crossword requires a subscription. Alongside the Mini Crossword, The Times also offers: Wordle (daily word guessing game) Connections and Connections: Sports Edition (grouping word puzzles) Strands (a new word-finding game) For daily puzzle fans, these games provide a fresh challenge every morning—and they're a fun way to kick off the day. Why does the Mini Crossword remain so popular? The New York Times Mini Crossword has built a dedicated following because it's fast, fun, and rewarding. Unlike the full-size crossword, it only takes a few minutes to complete—but still gives your brain a workout. Whether you're a casual solver or a seasoned puzzler, the Mini is a great way to stay sharp and entertained. So, if you were stumped by a clue today or breezed through it, the important thing is you showed up to solve. And that's half the puzzle right there. FAQs: Q1: What are the NYT Mini Crossword answers for May 2? Today's puzzle includes SQUAT, GULCH, TATTY, FROM, and FARE across. Q2: Where can I play the NYT Mini Crossword for free? You can play it daily on the official New York Times Games site.
