Aurelia Butler

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    NYT Crossword Answers for May 19, 2025

    It’s just one thing after another in Kiran Pandey’s puzzle, isn’t it?Jump to: Today’s Theme | Tricky CluesMONDAY PUZZLE — Until my teenage years, the only section of the newspaper that interested me was the comics page. I refused to get ready for the day until I’d caught up with the goings-on of “Mutts,” “Zits,” “Calvin and Hobbes” and “Peanuts.” The only strip I skipped was “Doonesbury,” because I could not — and still can’t — understand what was funny about it.Today’s crossword puzzle, constructed by Kiran Pandey, belongs right up there with the signature groans of comic characters, like Charlie Brown’s “Oh, brother!” and Cathy’s “Ack!” The theme uses a gently minced oath for just as gentle a pun, a perfect grown-up substitute for the funny pages to get the day started.Today’s ThemeA certain expression meaning [“Yikes!”] serves as a key to the themed entries in today’s puzzle — at 17-, 28-, 46- and 61-Across — but only when interpreted phonetically. The answer is OH, GEEZ, because the first word in those entries begins with O and the second with G.The [Casual dining chain with unlimited breadsticks] is OLIVE GARDEN (17A). The [Event whose symbol is five interlocking rings] is the OLYMPIC GAMES (28A). [Theater binoculars] are called OPERA GLASSES (46A), and the [Starting point for Tropicana or Florida’s Natural juice] is an ORANGE GROVE (61A).If you can think of any other O.G. phrases, feel free to share them in the comments. I’ll offer an, ahem, opening gambit — what else do you have?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Pope Leo Calls for Diversity in Unity as He Begins His Pontificate

    Presiding over a Mass in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Leo was inaugurated as the first American pope, in a ceremony filled with ancient and symbolic rituals.Leo XIV on Sunday celebrated an outdoor Mass formally inaugurating him as the 267th pope of the Roman Catholic Church, telling world leaders, the assembled hierarchy of his church and more than 100,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square that the church needed a new unity that recognized its diversity.In his homily, the new pontiff sought to bridge the divisions in the church between those who want to engage with the modern world by pushing ahead with the inclusive approach of Francis, his predecessor, and more conservative elements who favor a return to an emphasis on the church’s traditions.The cardinals tasked with electing a pope, he said, had sought a “shepherd capable of preserving the rich heritage of the Christian faith and at the same time, looking to the future, in order to confront the questions, concerns and challenges of today’s world.”Leo, an American who has Peruvian citizenship, also said in his homily, that “I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother.” He added that he wanted “us all to be united in one family.”The morning also marked Pope Leo’s first steps into a global role. He met on Sunday with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, which he said, “awaits negotiations for a fair and lasting peace,” called for peace in Myanmar and urged the world not to forget those “reduced to hunger.”Vice President JD Vance, who had a contentious meeting in the White House earlier this year with Mr. Zelensky, was also in attendance and shook hands briefly with the Ukrainian leader before the Mass began. After the Mass, Mr. Vance, who the White House called “the first Catholic convert,” to serve in the position, briefly shook the pope’s hand on a long receiving line of dignitaries and royals.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Amid Cease-Fire Talks, Israel Expands Ground Operations in Gaza

    This new stage of the war is aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing hostages and ultimately destroying the group or forcing it to surrender.The Israeli military announced on Sunday that its forces had begun “extensive ground operations” throughout the northern and southern Gaza Strip, advancing its plan to move farther into the enclave and seize more land in an intensified campaign likely to displace more civilians there.This new stage in the 19-month war is aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing the hostages it is still holding and ultimately destroying the group or forcing it to surrender, according to the Israeli government and military officials.Israeli warplanes have been pounding Gaza in recent days to prepare the way for the expansion of ground operations, the military said, adding that the wave of strikes had hit what it described as more than 670 “Hamas terror targets.”So far, the military said, it has killed “dozens” of Hamas operatives and has destroyed military infrastructure used by the group both above and below ground. But many civilians, including children, have been killed, according to Palestinian officials and residents of Gaza.The expansion of military operations comes even as Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks for a cease-fire in Doha, the capital of Qatar.More than 53,000 Gazans have been killed so far in the war, according to health officials in the enclave, whose death tolls do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The health ministry in Gaza said on Sunday that the preliminary number of those killed since dawn stood at more than 90.Suzanne Abu Daqqa, who lives in Abasan, near the southern city of Khan Younis, said residents had been living through near-constant bombardment over the past few days, rattling her home with terrifying blasts.But she was even more afraid that a renewed ground invasion could again force her to flee her house — where her family still had some electricity from solar panels, as well as a modest stockpile of rice and flour — for sweltering tent camps near the coast.“So many have died for nothing,” Ms. Abu Daqqa said. “People want the war to end by all means.”International efforts have so far failed to broker an end to the war that began with the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. That attack killed about 1,200 people, and the Palestinian assailants took about 250 hostages back to Gaza.Aaron Boxerman More

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    Maryland Governor Vetoes Reparations Bill

    Wes Moore, the nation’s lone sitting Black governor, diverged from fellow Democratic governors in rejecting a measure that would have studied reparations.Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland has vetoed legislation that sought to make recommendations on how to remedy the harms caused by slavery and racial discrimination, a notable setback in the movement for reparations delivered by the nation’s only sitting Black governor.The move on Friday sets Mr. Moore apart from other Democratic governors who have approved similar measures in recent years and comes as the party grapples with the role that identity politics played in its widespread electoral losses last year.The bill would have created a commission to research how many Maryland residents have ancestors who were enslaved in the state and recommend reparations that could have included formal apologies, monetary compensation, property tax rebates, college tuition waivers or assistance buying a home, among other possibilities.Calling it a “difficult decision,” Mr. Moore said he vetoed the bill because the state had sufficiently studied the legacy of slavery.“The scholarship on this topic is both vast in scope and robust in scale,” he wrote in a veto message.“While I appreciate the work that went into this legislation, I strongly believe now is not the time for another study. Now is the time for continued action that delivers results for the people we serve.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    House Republicans Will Vote Again on President Trump’s Legislative Agenda

    A group of fiscal hard-liners on the Budget Committee blocked the bill Friday morning. The group will try again to pass the president’s megabill out of committee Sunday night.The House Budget Committee will meet late Sunday night to try once again to advance President Trump’s domestic policy bill toward a floor vote after a handful of fiscally conservative Republicans blocked the measure on Friday over concerns about the ballooning national deficit.The remarkable revolt among hard-right lawmakers has threatened to upend Republicans’ goal of approving the legislation before the Memorial Day recess. G.O.P. leaders have been searching for a way to pacify the holdouts.Five Republican representatives — Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, and Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania — joined Democrats to block the legislation on Friday. The vote was 16 to 21 on a motion to advance the bill.“This bill falls profoundly short,” Mr. Roy said.Mr. Smucker, who changed his “yes” vote to a “no” at the last minute, said he did so for procedural reasons. Because he voted against the bill, he will be able to ask to call the legislation back up for consideration.But it was unclear what changes Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team could come up with to win enough votes.Without the support of Republican hard-liners, the bill cannot advance. Any changes to win their backing could alienate the more moderate Republicans whose votes will also be needed to pass the measure on the House floor.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    On ‘S.N.L.’, Bad Bunny and Scarlett Johansson Have a Couples’ Feud

    This weekend’s broadcast, hosted by Scarlett Johansson and featuring the musical guest Bad Bunny, began with a sendup of President Trump’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.There was only one way for the final episode of the milestone 50th season of “Saturday Night Live” to begin: with Lorne Michaels announcing that his chosen successor will be — nah, come on, it was another sketch with James Austin Johnson playing President Trump.This weekend’s broadcast, hosted by Scarlett Johansson and featuring the musical guest Bad Bunny, began with a sendup of President Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East.Sharing the stage with Emil Wakim (who was playing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia), Johnson said that he’d been enjoying their meals together, “sitting on the floor, dipping our fingers straight into various goops and spreads that I politely scrape under the rug and go eat at a mobile McDonald’s that you built for me.”He added that he was a “big fan of everything that Saudi Arabia has to offer, from the oil to the money to end of list.”Johnson vowed that he didn’t make this trip for his own benefit. “I want to make that clear,” he said. “I did this for the American people and, in many ways, myself. My personal enrichment. I did that too.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Free Press, Free People

    An interview with the publisher of The Times.Every day, this newsletter brings you the best of New York Times journalism — scoops, investigations, reports from inside war zones or natural disasters, interviews with powerful people and quirky characters, stories that help explain our messy, complicated, frustrating and occasionally delightful world. Sometimes we take for granted what makes that possible.The freedom to ask tough questions. To go where news is happening. To tell the truth even when it makes people mad.Last week, our publisher, A.G. Sulzberger, gave an important speech at the University of Notre Dame about how these freedoms of the press underpin our freedoms as people — how journalism helps hold up democracy. You can — and should! — read the whole thing here, but I also asked the big boss a few questions about it. We usually think of threats to journalists and state control of the media as the scourge of authoritarian societies. How can this be happening here, home of the vaunted First Amendment?There are two very different types of journalistic repression. The more dangerous and dramatic occurs in places like China and Russia, where journalists have their work overtly censored, or are even jailed or killed over it.But there is a subtler, more insidious, playbook for going after journalists in democracies. Selectively using investigatory or regulatory powers to punish journalists and news organizations, for example. Filing frivolous lawsuits against them. Targeting their owners’ unrelated business interests.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Until 60 Years Ago, New Popes Were Crowned

    Pope Leo XIV presided over his inaugural Mass on Sunday. Years ago, it would have included a solemn moment when the pontiff was crowned with an elaborate gold and jewel-encrusted papal tiara.In the book “A Reporter at the Papal Court,” published in 1937, Thomas B. Morgan, then the head of The United Press bureau in Rome wrote that Pope Pius XI’s inauguration ceremony in 1922 had been “more dazzling and colorful” that the coronation of the king of England.One wow factor would have been the moment of the coronation of the pope. From the 12th century until Paul VI stopped using a papal crown in 1964, the installation Mass included a solemn moment when the pontiff was crowned with an elaborate gold and jewel-encrusted tiara.The pope would not wear the tiara during liturgical ceremonies “but only when entering and exiting certain solemn ceremonies,” said Rev. Stefano Sanchirico, co-author of a book on papal rituals.Paul VI stopped using the tiara and chose to wear a miter instead, as his successors have done. That papal tiara ended up in the United States, where it is now in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.In his homily during his inauguration Mass on Oct. 22, 1978, Pope John Paul II noted that popes had been crowned in the past, but said the focus should be elsewhere. “This is not the time to return to a ceremony and an object considered, wrongly, to be a symbol of the temporal power of the Popes,” he said.Archival footage offers a glimpse of the grandeur of the ceremony. A 1939 film that includes the coronation of Pope Pius XII shows crowds roaring in St. Peter’s Square, as he was carried on an elevated throne through the atrium of the basilica. The pope then moved to a balcony and was crowned.A film of the coronation of Pope John XXIII in 1958 shows him being crowned, with the narrator proclaiming him: “The vicar of Christ on earth.”Doing away with the crown was not the only way in which Paul VI looked to open the church to the modern world: He also moved the ceremony outside to the area in front of the basilica, where he was carried through the crowd on a raised throne by sediari, a lay brotherhood that still has a role in the Vatican — they were the pallbearers who carried Pope Francis’ coffin. More