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ACROSS
1 Eastern yogi, originally in Asian capital, had a meal before beginning to read our message for Nation cryptic solvers (3,3,5)
7 Taken is given a little more than three stars? (7)
8 Macho guys, lacking source of French, ultimately stand corrected (7)
10 and 4 Joy follows an Oscar-winning movie director (3,3)
11 Strangely, Eric showed up first with our message for Nation cryptic solvers (11)
13 Fade in where Sue garbled our message for Nation cryptic solvers (3,11)
16 Suffers from endless story introducing rental company with thanks—that’s our message for Nation cryptic solvers (5,2,5)
21 Song about union leader flipping over our message for Nation cryptic solvers (2,6)
22 Reason backward to capture green chess piece (6)
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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25 Investigating naked bird (5)
26 Pagan hero dancing where some children dwell (9)
27 Retract cry of alarm and cry of pain when consuming two cups—that’s what we hope Nation cryptic solvers will do at www.leftfieldcryptics.com (4,2,5)
DOWN
1 Disregard short and very loud enclosure for rough treatment (5,3)
2 Uplifting illustrations (ten at the start of every addendum) (5)
3 Part of Concorde redesigned and laid out systematically (7)
4 See 10
5 Lever altered (redealt) (7)
6 Like a wild horse, or a concise legal contract? (9)
7 Climbing mountain, sped up to get flat (6)
9 Doctor said, “This is a good place to speak” (4)
12 Chopped liver on rye, essentially? Indeed (6)
14 Fey, timeless performance around five is early (2,7)
15 Old Yankee cloak (6)
17 Stumble over oil spill in African city (7)
18 Large vehicle and two Ford models connecting two universities in Pacific nation (7)
19 Heard fruit, heard fruit, for example (4)
20 Journey captured live for man with all the answers? (6)
23 Grind D. Crosby’s partner (5)
24 Notice small vessel (4)
Dear Readers: This is the last Nation puzzle. You can continue to get Kosman and Picciotto’s cryptic crosswords by going to leftfieldcryptics.com. See their goodbye message in last week’s issue.
SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3528
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).