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ACROSS
1 Invest a bit of money in trade for wetland (5)
4 Prize in the direction of Harding? (4,5)
9 Conditions color political reporter (1,1,5)
10 Turtle missing quiet landscape (7)
11 clue in is It messed sure this up (4,5)
12 Jobs ultimately provide checks in a recession (5)
13 DeLillo pursues commercial extra (3-2)
14 ”Be there now!” is the inversion of a small cliché? (8)
17 It cuts vegetable with speed (8)
Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets.
Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.
As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war.
In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth.
The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more.
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19 Apple turnover for a guy with a famous razor? (5)
22 Review quote about Allah’s last set of moral principles (5)
24 Corrupt individual protects leader of Thessaloníki with $1,000 (2,3,4)
26 On reflection, bail on nachos, eating dessert (7)
27 Rejoiced in time amid retro, sumptuous surroundings… (7)
28 …ear breakup of conspicuous two-day trip (9)
29 Animal gusto died (5)
DOWN
1 Work one million into promise for beach attire (8)
2 Confident fool, terribly rude (7)
3 Articulate expert overseeing novice, at first a lightweight (9)
4 Initially, trombone and bassoon, e.g., put in a corner (5)
5 Mass meeting supports tuna salad, of course (9)
6 Measures those in pain, it’s said (5)
7 In the morning, a true catastrophe for dilettante (7)
8 ”Jeopardy!” ranged all over the place (6)
14 Customization of rear gasket (9)
15 Imperfectly reproduce an operation (9)
16 Asner and McMahon holding Sheeran south of Manitoba within a military unit (8)
18 Improve final probability when Washington is cut out (7)
20 Spooner’s martial art: making a drink (4,3)
21 Mutant clover that gets attached (6)
23 Sing beginning and end of cover, with nothing on (5)
25 Council site with start of temporary lease (5)
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3526
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).