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ACROSS
1 Crashed into pieces, reusing some that might be extra sharp (7,6)
9 Awkward, short quarrel (5)
10 Sign of island cereal (9)
11 Try and use a turbulent waterway (7)
12 Decapitated Russian and Spaniard (7)
13 Kill Washington, then kill Cummings as a refresher? (4,6)
15 Hot tune: It grows on you (4)
18 Clothing line: “West Is West” (4)
20 Front-to-back detector installed in computer component, limiting what you can see and hear (10)
Between the reemergence of right-wing red-baiting and Donald Trump’s use of the chilling National Security Presidential Memorandum–7 to criminalize left political organizing, we’re seeing McCarthyism reborn before our eyes.
This assault on democracy cannot be ignored or wished away. Resisting it requires bravery in the face of threats and repression, a steadfast commitment to the truth, and the unwavering belief that we can—and will—overcome this darkness.
We must have an independent media that sets the record straight, unearths corruption and abuses of power, and advances a politics of justice and dignity for all if we’re to win this fight.
That’s why I’m writing to you today. This September, The Nation needs to add 100 monthly donors to sustain our progressive journalism. Your contribution makes the next investigative report, the next truth-speaking column, and the next pathbreaking essay all possible.
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Onward,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
23 Slow and largely gloomy twin (7)
24 Russian president traveling in style (7)
25 Father holds misprinted menu before getting over one illness (9)
26 Heads of government acquire nestled jar and pot (5)
27 Businesswoman’s flaw: pursuing store with dispatch (6,7)
DOWN
1 Comic sets off powders and creams (9)
2 Clothed in reversible pelts, I peruse a letter (7)
3 Challenge: break off an engagement? (8)
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4 Lucy’s husband is real gross (5)
5 Joy of putting passcode into unrecognizable shapes (9)
6 Rapper’s excellent source of gold and platinum, finally (6)
7 Mix oat and rice with blueprints, perhaps? (7)
8 Except for the beginning, sanctioned literature is briefly of unknown authorship (4)
14 Train union leader in foreign language? Supposedly, there’s no such thing (4,5)
16 Sorrowful author gains entry to natter incoherently (9)
17 Opening disc (record) in pure chaos (8)
19 City guy is gripped by unhinged mania (7)
21 “Hallelujah!” or “God be praised!”: Santa’s words to Frozen character (7)
22 Grumble about liquor twice (6)
23 At first, great ape is to open wide (4)
24 A long time indeed to accept Arkansas (5)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3445
1 TRUMP + ETERSWAN (anag.) + S 9 hidden 10 I + NCOR(R)ECT (concert anag.) 12 & 26 BEG + ONE 13 E(P + AU)LEMENTS 14 rebus 16 THE + M 20 D-[a/I]-SH 21 UNDER(WA)TER (returned anag.) 23 PRIM + ARY (anag.) + C + ARE 27 EM + BELL-ISH 28 & 29 anag.
DOWN 2 RELI(G.I.)OUS (lousier anag.) 3 MA(C)KER + EL 4 hidden 5 EX(CUL[t])PAT + E 6 SC(RIM)P (rev.) 7 alternate letters 8 “cites” 11 A(BUS)ED (D.E.A. rev.) 15 HEN + R(YVI)I + I (ivy rev.) 17 HAT(SOF(F)T)O (oath anag.) 18 MOR(S)EL 19 S(WEE)TPEA (paste anag.) 22 PAEL (rev.) + L + A 23 PLEA + T 24 initial letters 25 A + P + HID
Joshua Kosman and Henri PicciottoJoshua Kosman and Henri Picciotto are The Nation’s puzzlers. To read more about Kosman, click here. To read more about Picciotto, click here. Kosman and Picciotto explain what they’re up to in “Solving The Nation’s Cryptic Crosswords” (also available as a PDF).