The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend amid tensions over the Strait of Hormuz. And, Congress returns from recess facing tight deadlines.
(Image credit: Majid Saeedi)
The U.S. and Iran exchanged fire over the weekend amid tensions over the Strait of Hormuz. And, Congress returns from recess facing tight deadlines.
(Image credit: Majid Saeedi)

In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Neill died on Monday in Sydney, according to a statement posted to the actor's social media page.
(Image credit: Richard Shotwell/AP Photo)
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Sunday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, July 12 (game #861).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Just what I needed
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• Spangram has 11 letters
• First side: left, 5th row
• Last side: right, 6th row
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

The answers to today's Strands, game #862, are…
Only four words to spot but my goodness were they difficult to see.
Fortunately, the board was brimming with non-game words, including a couple of uncommonly long ones, so I took a hint.
However, even after getting PLEASANT I still didn’t understand the search and labored over the remaining three words and the Woodhousean spangram.
I hope it was all more DELIGHTFUL and SATISFYING for you.
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

The United States attacked Iran early Sunday morning over an Iranian attack on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran apparently responded with strikes targeting Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
(Image credit: Vahid Salemi)

Iran says it again considers the Strait of Hormuz closed after its military struck a ship using an "unauthorized route." In response, the U.S. military announced a third round of strikes this week.
(Image credit: Vahid Salemi)
A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, July 11 (game #860).
Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.
Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.
• Today's NYT Strands theme is… In the Big Apple
Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.
• Spangram has 11 letters
• First side: bottom, 3rd column
• Last side: top, 3rd column
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

The answers to today's Strands, game #861, are…
It took me a while to see BAGEL and DELI, possibly because I don’t associate them uniquely with New York, but this slight delay aside today’s game was a breeze.
I even managed to spot the spangram before any game words — EMPIRESTATE towering from the top to the bottom of the board, much like the magnificent building — earning myself the Spangram First 100 times badge.
As Alicia Keys sang, “concrete jungle where dreams are made of” — although this possibly doesn’t apply if your dream is acing word searches.
Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.
I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

In some towns in India, a visitor to the post office who's squinting at fine print might be asked: Do you want an eye test?
(Image credit: Subhamoy Bhattacharjee for NPR)
Click to the ad