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  • ‘White Lotus’ star Aimee Lou Wood slams ‘SNL’ for ‘White Potus’ sketch

    ‘White Lotus’ star Aimee Lou Wood slams ‘SNL’ for ‘White Potus’ sketch

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    Aimee Lou Wood isn’t laughing about the “Saturday Night Live” parody of “The White Lotus.”

    The actress, who played Chelsea on the HBO series, took to Instagram on Sunday to criticize an “SNL” sketch based on “The White Lotus” that included a joke about her teeth.

    “I did find the ‘SNL’ thing mean and unfunny,” Wood, 31, wrote in an Instagram story, adding that she “felt righteous” but “might delete” her post later.

    USA TODAY contacted representatives for “SNL” and Wood for comment.

    The “SNL” sketch, which aired Saturday, imagined “The White Lotus” Season 3 starring President Donald Trump and his allies. At one point, host Jon Hamm played Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was slotted into Walton Goggins’ “White Lotus” role and ranted about how he wants to take fluoride out of drinking water. “What would that do to people’s teeth,” he asked.

    The sketch then cut to “SNL” cast member Sarah Sherman, who wore fake teeth and was made to look like Wood’s “White Lotus” character, Chelsea.

    On Instagram, Wood described the sketch as “such a shame” and said that while she’s fine with “SNL” making fun of her, there “must be a cleverer, more nuanced, less cheap way” to do so.

    She also criticized the accent Sherman used in the sketch, writing, “At least get the accent right seriously. I respect accuracy even if it’s mean.”

    Aimee Lou Wood on ‘White Lotus’ finale: ‘There’s a lot in that episode that makes me sob’

    Wood later followed up and said she received “thousands” of messages from people agreeing with her about the sketch. “Glad I said something,” she wrote.

    The “Sex Education” star also shared several supportive messages, including one that said the way “SNL” mocked her “appearance/accent” was “uncalled for.” Wood replied, “Correct.”

    In another reply to Wood, a follower encouraged her not to delete her original callout. “I have a big gap in my teeth and an overbite and you’ve genuinely made me feel so much better about myself,” the comment said.

    Piper, no!’: ‘White Lotus’ star Sarah Catherine Hook dishes on cut scenes, more

    Speaking with GQ in an interview published last week, Wood said the conversation about her gap teeth makes her “a bit sad” because this has received so much attention that “I’m not getting to talk about my work.” She also told the outlet that after learning that “The White Lotus” creator Mike White fought to cast her in the show, her reaction was to think, “HBO didn’t want me. And I know why HBO didn’t want me, it’s because I’m ugly. Mike had to say ‘Please let me have the ugly girl!’”

    In an Instagram story Sunday, though, Wood clarified that “nobody at HBO called me ugly,” noting she was only expressing her “own paranoid thought.” She told fans that the network has been nothing but “kind and supportive,” in contrast to “SNL,” which she dubbed “mean.”

    This week’s “SNL” sketch wasn’t the show’s first time referencing Wood. Earlier this season, a sketch depicted President Donald Trump telling Secretary of State Marco Rubio that he wants to purchase Thailand because “I’ve been watching ‘White Lotus’ and it looks beautiful. How about the girl with the teeth?”

  • 'Dazed and Confused' star Nicky Katt dies at 54, reports sayCelebrities

    'Dazed and Confused' star Nicky Katt dies at 54, reports sayCelebrities

    ‘Dazed and Confused’ star Nicky Katt dies at 54, reports sayCelebrities

  • Gabriel Macht talks ‘Suits LA’ role, Duchess Meghan and his new career

    Gabriel Macht talks ‘Suits LA’ role, Duchess Meghan and his new career

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    NEW YORK ‒ Gabriel Macht is thrilled with the resurgence of the USA Network legal drama “Suits,” which aired from 2011 to 2019. The actor talks about clips of the show going viral on social media. He marvels at how the series took off when it hit Netflix in 2023. He even mentions that “Suits” was one of the most illegally downloaded TV shows of its time, according to rankings from a website that publishes news on copyright and file sharing.

    And yes, the fact that his paralegal on the show was played by an actress then known as Meghan Markle, now Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, might have played a role, too.

    “I don’t know the logistics; I don’t know the numbers,” Macht, 53, tells USA TODAY. “But possibly. I mean, she’s quite known around the world these days, right?”

    Macht says “never in a million years” did he think he’d be fielding questions about the royal family because of a former colleague. Thankfully, for “Suits” fans, they didn’t have to wait a million years to see him back as Harvey Specter. The actor reprises his role as the fast-talking lawyer on NBC’s spinoff “Suits LA” (Sunday, 9 ET/PT). Macht says returning to the character, which he played in all 134 episodes of the original series, was like figuratively hopping back on a bike.

    “There’s a couple different stages; one is putting the suit on,” he explains. “You feel like, ‘Oh, I’m back in it.’ Another is, ‘Let me get in touch with all the stuff that I’m not crazy about myself.’ That’s pretty easy. And then the third is learning the lines. Once you sort of absorb the double negatives and all the rhythms, then you’re good to go.”

    New coast, same Harvey Specter on ‘Suits LA’

    The original series, set in New York, starred Macht and Patrick J. Adams, who played Mike Ross, a chronic underachiever with a photographic memory who never attended law school. Despite this, Specter is impressed with Ross and brings him on as an associate in his law firm.

    The new series shifts the action to Los Angeles. Macht was first seen in the March 16 episode, “Batman Returns.” Through flashbacks, we learn of Specter’s friendship with the lead of the new show, Ted Black (Stephen Amell). Over drinks at a bar, Specter insists that he is Batman to Ted’s Robin.

    “I think it’s probably the narcissistic element that Harvey’s got, where he’s gotta be the one and center,” Macht says. “I don’t think Harvey ever sees himself as a sidekick, whether it’s Mike being Robin or Ted being Robin. (Harvey’s) definitely not Robin.”

    April 13’s eighth episode, “Acapulco,” continues a three-part story arc for Specter in the present world of “Suits LA.” It’s the second time he’s reprised the role: He also appeared in the short-lived 2019 spinoff “Pearson,” which centered on the law firm’s co-founder Jessica Lourdes Pearson (Gina Torres).

    “There was so much banter in the original,” he says of “Suits.” “You get an audience in by making it light and witty. People like that interplay. And then you bring out slowly but surely their personal histories that have some darkness. And you punch them in the gut with that and then you make them feel like, ‘Oh, I gotta care for this person.’ I think ‘Suits LA’ has more of that.”

    Where does Macht live? ‘I’m a citizen of the world’

    Macht was born in the Bronx and lived in New York’s Westchester county until he was 5 before relocating to Los Angeles. After graduating from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, the actor bounced between the two coasts. He and his wife, Australian American actress Jacinda Barrett, share two kids. The actor is coy about his home base. And while he won’t rule out a return to Hollywood, he says he’s satisfied with his professional role: co-founder and creative director of Bear Fight Whiskey. Seth MacFarlane is also a founding investor.

    “Harvey likes whiskey and I like whiskey,” he notes of his character, while clarifying that Specter’s weapon of choice is Macallan scotch. “I’m able to create some of the storylines and the narratives and what the messaging is. What’s your bear fight? Everyone has one.”

    But when it comes to extending his stay in the “Suits” universe, there doesn’t seem to be much conflict in Macht’s mind. “I had a really wonderful time,” he says of his role as a guest actor. “They all welcomed me. It was really sweet. Never say never, but I think they’ve got their legs.”

  • Gabriel Macht talks Harvey Specter, 'Suits LA'Entertain This!

    Gabriel Macht talks Harvey Specter, 'Suits LA'Entertain This!

    Gabriel Macht talks Harvey Specter, ‘Suits LA’Entertain This!

  • How to watch Katy Perry, Gayle King head to space

    How to watch Katy Perry, Gayle King head to space

    Blue Origin and USA TODAY will provide a livestream for the roughly 11-minute spaceflight.

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    The next group of celebrity space tourists are days away from blasting off above Earth’s atmosphere on a Blue Origin rocket to witness a view only a few other civilians have ever seen.

    The all-women crew includes pop artist Katy Perry and journalist Gayle King, who co-hosts “CBS Mornings.” If Blue Origin’s spacecraft gets off the ground as planned Monday morning, Perry, King and four other women will experience a few minutes of weightlessness while gazing upon Earth from the edge of space.

    The vehicle they’ll ride to orbit, Blue Origin’s New Shepard, is the same one that 48 others have rode to space on 10 previous human spaceflights from the company’s west Texas facility. The New Shepard’s maiden voyage in July 2021 with a crew even included billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns the space technology company.

    New Shepard is composed of both a rocket and a crew capsule, which is outfitted with large windows for its passengers to gaze out of during the roughly 11-minute spaceflight.

    But for the rest of us, we’ll have to content ourselves with watching the launch on solid ground. Fortunately, Blue Origin will provide a livestream for a launch and spaceflight that is sure to grab plenty of headlines.

    Here’s what to know:

    Blue Origin celebrity launches: William Shatner, Michael Strahan among notable people who have been to space

    When is the Blue Origin launch from Texas?

    New Shepard’s launch window opens at 9:30 a.m. ET Monday, according to Blue Origin.

    Like all of Blue Origin launches, the vehicle will lift off at Launch Site One, a private ranch in rural West Texas more than 140 miles east of El Paso.

    How to watch Gayle King, Katy Perry go on all-female spaceflight

    Blue Origin will provide a livestream of the takeoff beginning prior to the launch window opening on its website.

    The company has yet to share any specific webcast details, but a YouTube simulcast is scheduled to go live on launch day. Blue Origin will also be covering the launch live on X starting at 8 a.m. ET.

    CBS will also provide coverage of the launch on its network and through its streaming service Paramount+. Coverage begins at 7 a.m. EDT during “CBS Mornings” and continues at 9 a.m. with a special segment, “Gayle goes to Space.”

    A livestream of the launch will also be available to watch via USA TODAY.

    Who are the celebrities heading to space on Blue Origin’s New Shepard?

    Six women were selected to be part of the next Blue Origin commercial spaceflight, a mission known as NS-31.

    Here’s a look:

    • Aisha Bowe, a former NASA rocket scientist, CEO of engineering firm STEMBoard and founder of LINGO, which teaches students technology skills.
    • Amanda Nguyen, a prominent civil rights activist and bioastronautics research scientist who worked on the last NASA space shuttle mission, STS-135, and the U.S. space agency’s exoplanet-hunting Kepler space telescope.
    • Gayle King, a journalist and television personality best known as a co-host of “CBS Mornings.”
    • Katy Perry, a pop music artist and former host of “American Idol.”
    • Kerianne Flynn, a film producer known for her contributions to “This Changes Everything,” a 2018 documentary about sexism in Hollywood.
    • Lauren Sánchez, an Emmy Award-winning journalist who is the fiancée of Bezos.

    Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected]

    This story was updated to add new information.

  • Our highs and lows from Saturday of Weekend 1

    Our highs and lows from Saturday of Weekend 1

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    Another Coachella day, another edition of our Coachella highs and lows. And this action-packed day featured no shortage of either, as Charli owned the stage while T-Pain (partially) flopped. But we’re going to keep this thing snappy as I’ve still got a Travis Scott set to catch (so the jury’s out on which part of this story that set would fit into).

    THE HIGHS

    Rock is alive and well at Coachella with Weezer and Green Day

    There’s been a great deal of talk about how Coachella has strayed from its rock roots only to seemingly turn somewhat back toward them this year. But if this year’s festival was something of an unofficial trial on the question of whether booking big-name rock acts is still a viable path for the festival, Saturday’s early performances certainly delivered (The Misfits set was still to come as of this writing).

    Weezer delivered a barrage of hits early in the day, Jimmy Eat World brought a full-blown rock show to the Coachella Stage in the mid-afternoon and then Green Day delivered a commanding and energetic highlight set that was heavy on spectacle and seemed to be making a clear argument that while this was somehow Green Day’s first time playing Coachella, it should not be the last of a rock band of their ilk. The massive crowd seemed to eat it up, and I hope Goldenvoice CEO Paul Tollett did too, and will act accordingly when booking future festivals.

    Charli XCX delivered a magical golden-hour set

    Sometimes the Coachella stars really align and you end up with something like Charli XCX’s unforgettable golden hour set. A bonafide superstar clearly at the height of her powers, Charli XCX oozed unfathomable levels of charisma as she worked through the hits that defined Brat summer, only to cap things off with her OG classic “I Love It.” She also didn’t disappoint on the special guest front as she deployed her beloved collaborators Troye Sivan, Lorde and perhaps most exciting of all Billie Eilish.

    But that was all icing on the cake as Charli is every bit a commanding star in her own right and showed it as she owned the stage in her sunglasses despite the lack of backup dancers or even much in the way of set pieces. Seriously, Lady Gaga may be the best performer who has graced the stage so far at Coachella 2025 but Charli is certainly the coolest — and also pretty great herself.

    Medium Build offered an uplifting party vibe

    I didn’t have much in the way of expectations when I wandered into Media Build’s 2:10 p.m. Gobi set. I only loosely knew who he was after listening to a couple songs with my wife during a road trip to the coast we took last weekend. Which is why I was totally blown away by what a fun, charismatic and talented performer he turned out to be. From the luscious locks of the wig get ups he repeatedly donned during the show to his gorgeous voice and exaltations to stop worrying about what everyone else thinks and enjoy your life, Medium Build proved to be a perfectly uplifting way to start the day.

    The weather = idyllic

    Oh what a difference a day makes! One day after we suffered through 100-degree temps that made for one of the sweatiest days at Coachella I can recall, the weather gods changed their tune and blessed us with a forecast that showcased why Coachella can be among the best locations for a music festival anywhere — after the sun sets, that is. The evening temperatures were mild, the wind was light and the sunset created an explosion of color across the sky just as thousands were gathering on the lawn in front of the main stage in anticipation of Charli XCX’s set.

    THE LOWS

    People making too much noise during the sets

    I am a Coachella diehard, which means I often find myself having to defend the festival when talking to people who bemoan that it has turned into an influencer fest for people who care more about posting the perfect Insta story than the music. Which is why it was so disheartening to have several experiences today when people around were loudly laughing, talking, taking photos and generally making tons of noise at some of the key moments of several sets, such as the dramatic closing minutes of Above & Beyond’s. Look, I’m all for people having fun and enjoying Coachella however works for them but ya’ll need to chill.

    T-Pain’s lack of actual singing

    Look, I know and generally accept that backing tracks are a thing. But it still felt like T-Pain, who is already famous (infamous?) for being the artist more associated with the use of Auto-Tune, took things a little far as he let song after song pass with him only bothering to sing or rap a few words (if that) while blaring backing tracks that obviously did 90% of the work. This is not to say, however, that this set was bad necessarily.

    While it was disappointing that T-Pain chose to relegate himself to hype man for most of the set, he is still a pretty incredible hype man and the crowd scarcely seemed to mind as they raucously danced to hit after hit. Seriously, who remembered T-Pain was part of so many early 2000s bangers? Like remember “Kiss Kiss” and “Alcohol?” Wow. And T-Pain was definitely singing (seemingly with less Auto-Tune than usual?) when he delivered a unique Coachella moment by covering Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

    Less-than-ideal scheduling

    Jimmy Eat World starting moments after Weezer ended when there was a lengthy walk between the stages and only a few high-end rock acts playing the whole weekend? Frustrating. Nearly Above & Beyond’s entire set overlapping with Green Day’s? Unforgivable. Fine, am I one of the few Coachellagoers who probably enjoys both top-notch pop punk and emotive, trancy EDM in equal measure. Well, maybe. But still, this is my highs and lows and I didn’t appreciate it.

  • ‘SNL’ Easter cold open spoofs Trump’s tariffs reversal

    ‘SNL’ Easter cold open spoofs Trump’s tariffs reversal

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    Another year, another Easter monologue by President Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”

    For the third consecutive year, the sketch show celebrated Easter on Saturday with a cold open where Trump (James Austin Johnson) spoke directly to the audience and compared himself to Jesus. This time, the monologue drew a parallel between Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple and the economic uncertainty that followed Trump’s April 2 tariffs announcement.

    After Jesus (Mikey Day) declared at the start of the sketch that he would “rid this place of all its money,” Trump entered and asked, “Remind you of anyone? Wow, I also got rid of money last week, but instead of one temple, I did whole country, maybe even the globe. The money’s gone!”

    Trump continued by calling himself “the Messiah” because of “the mess I made out of the economy.” On Wednesday, the real Trump announced a 90-day pause on some of his tariffs to countries other than China. So in the “SNL” cold open, Johnson’s Trump declared his “beautiful” tariffs were “working so well that I had to stop them.”

    “But now, everything is back exactly how it was, minus a few trillion dollars,” he said, adding, “The stock market did a Jesus: It died, then on the third day it was risen, and then on the fourth day, it died again, possibly never to return.”

    Trump’s tariffs were a theme that continued throughout Saturday’s “SNL” episode. Another sketch depicted a financial news show for people living paycheck to paycheck, which discussed how Americans can save money amid market turmoil.

    Playing an international commodities correspondent, Kenan Thompson said, “I used to eat Cap’n Crunch cereal before the price went up, so today, I buy this: Sergeant Munch. Lower rank, lower price, flavor bad.”

    ‘SNL’ gives ‘The White Lotus’ Season 3 a Trump makeover

    Trump’s tariffs also factored into a parody of “The White Lotus,” with a sketch titled “The White Potus” slotting Trump and his allies into the HBO show’s third season.

    In “The White Lotus,” Jason Isaacs played a man on vacation who doesn’t want his wealthy family to find out that they’re about to lose everything they have when they go back home. So the sketch imagined Trump having that same reaction while on vacation and seeing he has triggered a recession in the United States.

    ‘SNL’ cold open takes aim at Trump’s tariffs, mocks Morgan Wallen exit

    “We are so lucky that America will always be a rich and powerful nation,” said Melania Trump (Chloe Fineman), who was modeled off of Parker Posey’s “White Lotus” character. “Can you imagine how awful it would be if America lost all of its money and no one in the world respected us anymore?”

    “You would never let our economy go to pieces, right hun?” she asked Trump.

    The sketch also featured host Jon Hamm as Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Sarah Sherman as a parody of Aimee Lou Wood’s “White Lotus” character Chelsea, and even a cameo by Scarlett Johansson as Ivanka Trump, who was shown fleeing a monastery like Piper on the HBO show.

    In ‘SNL’ cold open, Pete Hegseth shares war plans with high school girls

    Kieran Culkin crashes Jon Hamm’s ‘SNL’ monologue

    Johansson wasn’t the only A-lister to make a cameo in Saturday’s episode. Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin also popped up during Hamm’s monologue, just after the “Mad Men” star joked that cameos can help energize a monologue that’s “feeling aimless.”

    While Culkin was there, Hamm, pretending to be upset that the actor was upstaging him, swiped, “‘Mad Men’ was better than ‘Succession.’”

    This was the second week in a row that Culkin, who’s performing in “Glengarry Glen Ross” on Broadway, appeared on “SNL.” He was also seen as a member of the audience clapping along while Jack Black danced through the crowd during last week’s monologue.

  • What time does Megan Thee Stallion perform at Coachella 2025? How to watch

    What time does Megan Thee Stallion perform at Coachella 2025? How to watch

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    Megan Thee Stallion is performing at Coachella again, coming back to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on Sunday night.

    Megan Thee Stallion will make her first appearance at the famous music festival since 2022, when she made her debut.

    Coachella’s first weekend events runs from April 11 to 13, while the second weekend is April 18-20.

    Here is what you need to know about Megan Thee Stallion’s performance at Coachella 2025, including her set time, how to watch from home and more.

    When is Megan Thee Stallion performing at Coachella?

    Megan Thee Stallion is set to make two performances at Coachella 2025. The first will be on Sunday, April 13, and the second one scheduled for Sunday, April 20. 

    She is scheduled to kick off her performance on the main Coachella stage at 8:35 p.m. local time for both this Sunday and next Sunday’s performance.

    How to watch Megan Thee Stallion’s Coachella performance live

    Coachella performances are available on YouTube, according to the company, and streams started on Friday, April 11. People will be able to watch multiple stages from their couch simultaneously, while a vertical livestream option featuring DJ sets will also be available.

    YouTube is also allowing viewers to watch the show with content creators on their respective channels.

    “New to the desert this year, Watch With allows creators to react to live events with commentary and real-time reactions, giving you the experience of watching Coachella alongside your favorite creator,” the video platform shared.

    Coachella 2025 set times

    A complete list of day-by-day set times can be found on Coachella’s website or in an Instagram post below:

    Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

  • What time does Post Malone perform at Coachella 2025? How to watch

    What time does Post Malone perform at Coachella 2025? How to watch

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    Post Malone is making a headlining return to Coachella, coming back to the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, on Sunday night.

    Post Malone will make his first appearance at the famous music festival for the first time since 2018, when he headlined. In recent years, he has made guest appearances at the festival, including one in 2023, when he appeared with Bad Bunny.

    Coachella’s first weekend events run from April 11 to 13, while the second weekend is April 18-20.

    Here is what you need to know about Post Malone’s performance at Coachella 2025, including his set time, how to watch from home and more.

    When is Post Malone performing at Coachella?

    Post Malone is set to make two performances at Coachella 2025. The first will be on Sunday, April 13, and the second one scheduled for Sunday, April 20. 

    He is scheduled to kick off his performance on the main Coachella stage at 10:25 p.m. local time for both this Sunday and next Sunday’s performance.

    How to watch Post Malone’s Coachella performance live

    Coachella performances are available on YouTube, according to the company, and streams started on Friday, April 11. People will be able to watch multiple stages from their couch simultaneously, while a vertical livestream option featuring DJ sets will also be available.

    YouTube is also allowing viewers to watch the show with content creators on their respective channels.

    “New to the desert this year, Watch With allows creators to react to live events with commentary and real-time reactions, giving you the experience of watching Coachella alongside your favorite creator,” the video platform shared.

    Coachella 2025 set times

    A complete list of day-by-day set times can be found on Coachella’s website or in an Instagram post below:

    Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at [email protected] and follow him on X @fern_cerv_.

  • Crossword Blog & Answers for April 13, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher

    Crossword Blog & Answers for April 13, 2025 by Sally Hoelscher

    There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today’s puzzle before reading further! Under the Weather

    Constructors: Olivia Mitra Framke & Sally Hoelscher

    Editor: Amanda Rafkin

    Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructor

    Olivia: I’m always on the lookout for good crossword titles/revealers, and when a friend said they were feeling “Under the Weather” I quickly whipped together a theme based on it! What a great opportunity to represent one of my favorite gaming genres, with the farming sim SUN HAVEN. Also, I think RAIN CHECK is especially fun for this, since you might need to take one if you’re feeling “Under the Weather”! Happy to have Sally on board for this collab, as always. 💖

    Sally: Olivia sent me this theme almost fully-formed. I’m grateful to her for looping me in, as it’s always a joy to collaborate with her.

    Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

    • ADHD (1A: “___ Is Awesome” (Penn and Kim Holderness book)) Penn and Kim Holderness are internet personalities known for their family-centered parodies and skits. They were also competitors on the 33rd season of The Amazing Race. (Spoiler alert: They won.) Penn Holderness has been open about having ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), often mentioning it in their videos. In 2024 Penn and Kim Holderness published the book ADHD Is Awesome: A Guide to (Mostly) Thriving With ADHD.
    • INNING (18A: Seventh-___ stretch) This clue feels timely for baseball season. Anybody stop and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” when you came to this clue?
    • AKA (29A: Kamala Khan ___ Ms. Marvel) In the Marvel Universe, Kamala Khan, AKA Ms. Marvel, is a Pakistani American teenager from New Jersey with shapeshifting abilities. She took over as Ms. Marvel when Carol Danvers became Captain Marvel. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kamala Khan is portrayed by Iman Vellani.
    • GIRLS (33A: “This One’s for the ___” (Martina McBride hit)) This One’s for the GIRLS” is a 2003 song by Martina McBride. The song’s lyrics salute women of various ages, with the overarching message, “You’re beautiful the way you are.”
    • ENYA (40A: Singer for whom an Orinoco River fish was named) The fish named after ENYA is Leporinus enyae, which was discovered in the Orinoco River drainage area in 2017. One of ENYA’s hits is “Orinoco Flow” (1988).
    • SPORCLE (54A: Trivia quiz website) SPORCLE is a trivia website on which users can take quizzes on a range of subjects. 
    • PAW (57A: Feline foot) My cat, Willow, is showing off both of her front PAWs in this photo.

    • PADDLE (67A: Dog ___ (simple swimming style)) I am not a strong swimmer, but I can dog PADDLE. Happy to get some dog representation in the puzzle for Olivia’s dog, Charlie.

    • ECHO (68A: Marvel character portrayed by Alaqua Cox) The Marvel character ECHO, AKA Maya Lopez, has the ability to perfectly copy other people’s movements. Alaqua Cox portrays ECHO in the Disney+ miniseries Hawkeye (2021) and in the spin-off miniseries ECHO (2024).
    • SKIP (71A: Bypass, like a speedrunner to a cutscene) A speedrunner is one who plays a video game with the goal of completing it as quickly as possible. To help achieve this goal, a speedrunner will SKIP a cutscene (a non-interactive sequence in a video game).
    • AGO (1D: “A long time ___ in a galaxy far, far away…”) It’s an official Olivia and Sally collaboration: we worked in a Star Wars clue and a cat clue. Fun fact: In all but one of the Star Wars movies (Return of the Jedi), the opening crawl of the movie ends with a four-dot ellipsis (technically an ellipsis plus a period): “A long time AGO in a galaxy far, far away….”
    • SPIDER (5D: Shelob or Charlotte) Shelob is the fictional giant SPIDER in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Shelob appears in The Two Towers (1954). Charlotte is the title SPIDER in E. B. White’s book, Charlotte’s Web (1952).
    • IDIOM (8D: It’s raining cats and dogs,” e.g.) We thought this IDIOM paired nicely with the “Under the Weather” theme.
    • SUN HAVEN (9D: Video game where players grow shimmeroot) SUN HAVEN is a farm sim video game. Players arrive in the town of SUN HAVEN, where they can farm, fish, and mine. Shimmeroot is a SUN HAVEN crop that players can plant. Shimmeroot can be harvested 14 days after planting, and the crop may be sold.
    • MPG (10D: Irrelevant stat for EVs)The abbreviation EVs, standing for electric vehicles, alerts solvers that the answer will be an abbreviation, MPG for miles per gallon. Since EVs don’t use gas, MPG is an irrelevant stat.
    • HEALS (11D: Drinks a red potion, in a Zelda game) This is a reference to The Legend of Zelda video game franchise. The original Legend of Zelda was released by Nintendo in 1986. In the games, a red potion HEALS and replenishes the Life Gauge.
    • POLISH (47D: Language spoken by Iga Swiatek) IGA Świątek is a professional tennis player from Poland (where POLISH is the official language). She won the French Open in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024, and the U.S. Open in 2022. 
    • ROSES (55D: Flowers used in some parade floats) The ROSE Parade is held annually in Pasadena, California in conjunction with the ROSE Bowl college football game. Fun fact: The parade came first! The ROSE Parade began in 1890, and the football game was added in 1902 to help fund the parade. All of the floats in the parade are covered in natural materials; in addition to ROSES, seaweed, seeds, bark, vegetables, and nuts are used.

    Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

    • HAIL MARY (3D: Desperation-mode football pass)
    • SUN HAVEN (9D: Video game where players grow shimmeroot)
    • RAIN CHECK (37D: “May I take a ___?” (“Another time?”))
    • SNOW PEAS (41D: Veggies with edible pods)

    UNDER THE WEATHER: The top word of each vertical theme answer is a WEATHER-related term. Therefore, the rest of each theme answer is UNDER THE WEATHER.

    I hope you are not feeling UNDER THE WEATHER today! Because all four theme answers are relatively short (8 or 9 letters long), we took care while building this grid to make sure that the rest of the Down answers were shorter than 8 letters. We wanted to make sure it would (hopefully) be obvious which answers were theme answers. Thank you to Olivia for collaborating on this puzzle, and thanks to Amanda for great editing. Most importantly, thank you for solving!

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