Author: business

Constructor: Zhouqin Burnikel

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• HONDA (8A: Odyssey automaker) I generally do not pay attention to car makes and models, and I’m constantly amazed when my husband recognizes the make of a car as it passes us on the road. If I’m paying attention, I might be able to tell you what color the car is! Therefore, even though the Odyssey is a minivan introduced by HONDA in 1994, I did not know this answer. Situations like this are where crossing answers are helpful.
• PITA (45D: Pocketed bread for arayes) Arayes are crispy meat-stuffed PITAs found in Lebanese cuisine. PITA bread is stuffed with seasoned ground meat, and then the sandwiches are pan-fried, grilled, or baked.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• OAR (13A: Magical tool for Moana) Moana is the title character of Disney’s animated movie Moana (2016) and its sequel Moana 2 (2024). The movies are set on and around a Polynesian island, and Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is the daughter of a chief of a coastal village. Moana’s OAR is imbued with magical powers by her ancestors.
• MSNBC (20A: “Morning Joe” network) Morning Joe is a morning news talk show on MSNBC. Former U.S. Representative Joe Scarborough discusses the news of the day with his co-hosts and guests.
• DORA (22A: Explorer with a talking backpack) The title character of the animated children’s TV series, DORA the Explorer (2000-2019) is a seven-year-old Latina girl. Each episode of the show sees DORA going on an adventure accompanied by her talking purple backpack and a monkey named Boots. DORA’s helpful talking map lives inside her backpack.
• ERIE (23A: Great Lake with frequent storms) Our crossword friend ERIE is making its fourth appearance of the month. We last saw ERIE in the crossword just yesterday. Lake ERIE is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, a fact that combines with its unique geography to make the area around the lake prone to frequent storms. Lake ERIE can see storm surges of eight to ten feet, causing dramatic short-term changes in the level of the lake.
• O’NEAL (41A: NBA Hall of Famer Shaq) Shaquille O’NEAL, whose nickname is Shaq, is a former professional basketball player and a current sports analyst for Inside the NBA. Shaquille O’NEAL was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
• EDIT (49A: Make tweaks to a text) This made me chuckle, as I often think of EDITing as something done to longer pieces of writing than texts. However, I must admit that I do EDIT my texts, as I tend to make multiple typing errors when trying to type quickly.
• ONE (51A: Number of time zones in Egypt) Egypt is a country in the northeast corner of Africa that extends into the southwest corner of Asia (via the Sinai Peninsula). The country observes Egypt Standard Time (EST), which is equivalent to Eastern European Time and Central Africa Time. Egypt currently observes Daylight Saving during the summer months.
• WATER SPINACH (55A: Semiaquatic veggie often stir-fried with garlic) WATER SPINACH, also known as kangkung, grows in WATER or moist soil. Stir-fried WATER SPINACH is a dish in some Asian cuisines.
• OPERA (69A: Drama with arias) OPERA is making back-to-back puzzle appearances. We saw it yesterday clued as a cross-reference with ARIA.
• LARD (6D: Fat in many mooncakes) Mooncake is a a rich pastry filled with a thick filling made from red bean paste or lotus seed paste. Mooncakes are a part of the celebration of the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, or the Mooncake Festival, which is celebrated in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and Vietnam, and by Chinese and Vietnamese communities around the world.
• OBIE (9D: Off-Broadway award) The OBIE Awards, also known as the Off-Broadway Theater Awards are presented annually to honor off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway theatre. The OBIE Awards were created in 1955 by The Village Voice newspaper. 
• PASTA (19D: Rigatoni or radiatori) Rigatoni is a tube-shaped PASTA similar to penne or ziti. Radiatori is a short and squat PASTA that is named for its resemblance to the shape of radiators.
• ETNA (39D: Europe’s highest volcano) Mount ETNA (also referred to simply as ETNA) is an active volcano on the island of Sicily, Italy. ETNA has a height of just over 11,000 feet; its height varies with eruptions. ETNA is in an almost constant state of activity. 
• SEED (40D: Jackfruit bit) A jackfruit is a large tree fruit. It is commonly used in South and Southeast Asian cuisines. A jackfruit can have 100-500 SEEDs per fruit. A SEED from a ripe jackfruit is edible, and may be boiled, baked, or roasted.
• TOFU (57D: Doenjang-jjigae ingredient) Doenjang is a soybean paste, and a jjigae is a stew-type dish. Doenjang-jjigae, which originated from Korea, is a stew-like dish made with TOFU, with optional additions of meat, seafood, and/or vegetables.
• HOPI (60D: Tribe known for its pottery and weaving) The HOPI are one of several indigenous groups of people known as Pueblo because they traditionally lived in villages (pueblos). Weaving and pottery are two arts that have been an integral part of the HOPI culture for many years.

After JoAnna Garcia Swisher, the guest for the April 29 episode of Applegate’s podcast “MeSsy,” discussed the grief of losing her parents several years ago, Applegate explained why listeners could likely hear her sniffling.

“You’re probably wondering why I’m crying right now. I’m sorry. My dad just passed away a week ago, and this is the first time I’ve really cried,” the “Married… with Children” star, 53, said.

Applegate, whose dad was Robert Applegate, did not share details about his death.

“I think I wasn’t allowing myself to have that (moment) yet, too busy with this, too busy with that; we knew he was going to die. Is that an excuse for not feeling because you know someone’s going to go? And you’ve said your goodbyes.”

She added that podcast co-host Jamie-Lynn Sigler had asked her before recording whether the conversation might “trigger” Applegate.

Pointer, whose children included fellow actress Amy Irving and director David Irving, died on April 28 at an assisted-living facility in Ridgefield, Connecticut, David confirmed to USA TODAY on April 29. The late actress died of natural causes.

Amy Irving mourned Pointer’s death in a heartfelt tribute post on Instagram, which featured several photos of Pointer and her family over the years.

“Priscilla Pointer, acclaimed stage television and film actress, and mother of David, Katie, and Amy Irving, died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 100, hopefully to run off with her 2 adoring husbands and her many dogs,” Amy wrote. “She most definitely will be missed.”

During the concert at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 28, the Grammy-award-winning artist not only performed her hits from “Cowboy Carter,” but she sprinkled in some songs from her seventh studio album, “Renaissance.”

The crowd cheered as the beat from her single, “I’m That Girl,” took over the stadium. In true Beyoncé fashion, the revived number kicked off when she stepped out of robotic armor.

“Welcome back to the ‘Renaissance,’ y’all,” she said. “I love you.”

While the “Renaissance World Tour” was known for everything silver and chrome, for the “Cowboy Carter Tour,” the singer seems to be ushering in a new golden era.

Penn Badgley is waving farewell to Joe Goldberg and closing the chapter on his Netflix leading man.

The “You” and former “Gossip Girl” star, 38, is an open book (pun most definitely intended), although he reads as more of a spiritual text than his onscreen alter ego’s crime thriller.

“We’ll see what else I can do,” says Badgley, who sat down with USA TODAY for a series of exclusive conversations. “I’m not worried about what I’ve done in the past. I would have had more concern about being able to summit the peak of a show like ‘Gossip Girl.’ I’ve heard that most people die on the way down from Everest – anyone can get on a show like ‘Gossip Girl,’ but can you then make it off and go somewhere else? That’s difficult for anybody. I think one of the only ways I could have done it was to play someone like Joe and essentially murder Dan Humphrey.”

Badgley combines past, present and future as he shares the artists on his Spotify playlist, his chill morning routine and his ideal New York day for USA TODAY’s The Essentials.

In the backseat with Penn Badgley: With ‘You,’ ‘Gossip Girl’ in the rearview, what’s next

Penn Bagdley reveals his daily essentials, from music to an ideal day

Penn Badgley on his daily essentials, favorite music, and how he spends a perfect day.

Penn Badgley music favorites include D’Angelo, of course

Badgley has an eclectic mix of favorites on his Spotify playlist.

“I always have to mention D’Angelo. I would love for D’Angelo to get tired in my mind. I would love for me to feel as though, ‘You know what, I’m done, because I’ve done it.’ But literally yesterday I went back to (his 2000 album) ‘Voodoo’ and I was like, ‘No, it’s still the best.’ I don’t know how that’s possible.”

Also on Badgley’s rotation are Radiohead, Joan As Police Woman, London bands Kokoroko and Sault, Luke Temple and his wife, Domino Kirke: “My wife is putting out a record, and it’s gorgeous.” He later adds Kendrick Lamar to the list. “Kendrick manages to do the nearly impossible thing, which is, be authentic, transparent, prolific, Black, hugely successful, all together,” he says.

Penn Badgley’s perfect New York City day

Did you think a homemade roast chicken was on the list of what makes Badgley’s ideal day spent in New York? He’s a multi-faceted man.

“Ideally wake up before the sunrise, have some tea and watch the sunrise,” he says, envisioning “I’m in a penthouse suite hotel room, let’s say.” He would “maybe walk through Central Park” before meeting up again with his family, “and then we have lunch on the park.”

His dream day in the city changes with the seasons, too. “If it’s summer, I’d say we go swimming (to) Rockaway and get in the ocean. If it’s the winter, maybe we go ice skating,” he says.

And for dinner? “Well, the best meals are homecooked meals. So we leave the penthouse suite behind just for the evening, we go home, and maybe roast a chicken. … Then go to sleep by 9:30 p.m., maybe the kids go to bed at 7:30 p.m. … If I could be going into REM sleep by 10 p.m., that is a day right there. Don’t sleep on that.

“You young ones who think ‘this man sounds like he needs to get a life’? No, I’m telling you, I am living. I lived my 20s the way you’re doing it. This is the way you’ve got to be: Early to sleep, early to rise.”

Travel essentials: Peace, mainly

Badgley’s Joe Goldberg has traveled the world in his pursuit of obsession. But as Badgley himself arrives at the airport, he has a singular thought: “Where are my children? Are they here? The 4-year-old, especially, we don’t want to lose him.”

Once his kids are located, the actor looks to find peace sans cellphone. “If I don’t have to be on my phone at all, it’s not a must have, it’s like a must have not. A plane is the one place where (I ask): Can we just stop?”

He’s not exactly “rawdogging flights,” though. “I like to spend some of the time that way, some of the time just with my thoughts,” but he wants the option to “watch a movie, maybe, maybe not, sleep.”

What’s on his nightstand?

Joe’s bookstore plays prominently in the final season of “You,” so it’s fitting that Badgley should have a variety of classic texts alongside him.

“Honestly, on my nightstand I have the Quran, which sometimes I’ll meditate on a passage from,” Badgley says. “You know what I just read that I thought, ‘Everybody loves horror so much’? ‘Dracula.’ It’s a good book.”

Likely coming up on more than just Badgley’s nightstand: His new essay collection with his “Podcrushed” cohosts Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari. “Crushmore: Essays on Love, Loss, and Coming-of-Age” (Simon & Schuster, out Oct. 7) will explore “stories of heartbreak, anxiety, and self-discovery,” according to the publisher.

Meet you at Mooney’s? Fans can go inside the bookstore from Netflix’s ‘You’ at NYC pop-up

Penn Badgley’s morning routine doesn’t involve Saratoga water, banana peels

Though the actor’s morning might not look influencer chic and be complete with a Saratoga ice water dunk and rubbing banana peels on his face, he does try to keep one thing consistent to start each day.

“I have a comical, total bankruptcy of a morning routine because of children and work,” he says.

“But here’s the one thing I have. If I get this, it’s worth all of the things,” he says. “There’s this particular prayer within the Baháʼí Writings,” says Badgley, who is part of the Baháʼí Faith, “called the long obligatory prayer. It takes about 15 minutes to say. I have it memorized, and I’ve had it memorized for years, because I love it. I timed it: If I say it extremely fast, I can say it in seven minutes. And then meditate like two minutes after, so I’ve gotten it down to a nine-minute routine if I blitz through it.”

But if there’s time, “I can take 15 to 20 minutes if I want to be a little more luxurious. If I can do that on any given day, any morning, it just makes such a difference, because it orients me to remember a bit more clearly the purpose and nature of life – or at least a fulfilling life, an enriching one.”

A killer workout routine and diet

Badgley gets even more active in Season 5 as Joe Goldberg, kidnapping people, physically fighting and running through the forest in the season finale.

“With Joe, there’s an athletic amount of rage and intensity and vitriol usually in any given scene, even if it’s just a scene,” Badgley says.

How ‘You’ ends in series finale: Does Joe survive? Is justice served?

Badgley says he approaches his diet while filming “like you would for a workout.”

“You want to be fueled, but empty. That’s the ideal state for a scene,” noting the “challenge” is maintaining that “for 12 hours a day. I usually end up going mostly vegetarian by the end of every season.”

For his workout, Badgley sticks to the basics.

“I’ve started doing all body-weight calisthenics, like only pullups, only pushups, only body-weight squats. And I love it. I don’t even do that many. Just do one set to failure every day of each one.”

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

This time, the two friends reunite “on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman,” according to Prime Video, years after a joint murder-suicide mission landed one in jail, and one with a publishing contract.

“Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square,” the streamer says about the upcoming film.

In the first film, enthusiastic mommy vlogger Stephanie attempts to find her missing, enigmatic friend Emily only to learn Emily has faked her own death, which she tries to pin on her husband Sean (Henry Golding). But Emily is arrested after Stephanie secretly records Emily’s confession for a livestream.

The ultra-private first lady’s public wardrobe ranges from more muted looks, that match her reserved personality, to punchy statement pieces that better fit her husband’s Truth Social feed.

Most recently, Trump made headlines and garnered attention for wearing a Mantilla — a veil-like garment typically worn by devout women to Catholic Mass — to Pope Francis’ funeral on April 26.

Seated alongside husband President Donald Trump at the service for the late pontiff, many learned that the first lady is the first practicing Catholic since Jacqueline Kennedy.

Like predecessor Michelle Obama and Kennedy Onassis before her, the first lady has captured the public’s imagination with her exploration of fashion. However, much of what Trump wears is bought off the rack.