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The New York Times’ popular word-grouping game Connections is back with a new challenge for Sunday, July 5, testing players on categories ranging from breakfast staples to credit card tiers. Puzzle number 1120 arrived at midnight local time, continuing the game’s run as one of the Times’ most played daily offerings alongside Wordle, Strands and the Mini Crossword.

Connections asks players to sort 16 words into four hidden groups of four, each tied to a shared theme. The game is color-coded by difficulty, with yellow representing the most straightforward category, green and blue offering moderate challenges, and purple reserved for the trickiest connections, which often rely on wordplay, double meanings or cultural references. Players are allowed four incorrect guesses before the puzzle ends, adding an element of risk to each selection.

Sunday’s edition, according to solvers and puzzle trackers who published the grid shortly after its release, drew particular attention for blending everyday financial vocabulary with a chemistry-adjacent twist in its hardest category. The 16 words presented to players were: WIN, OATS, GREEN, WIRE, WEST, CARD, WITH, HONEY, GOLD, TUNGSTEN, CHECK, SEEDS, CASH, PLATINUM, NUTS and CENTURION.

For players looking for a nudge before jumping straight to the solutions, puzzle trackers circulated a set of hints tied to each category without giving away the exact groupings. The yellow category hint pointed players toward something that “goes great with yogurt,” a reference to common toppings and mix-ins found in breakfast bowls. The green category was hinted at with the phrase “checkout method,” directing solvers toward standard ways to pay for goods and services. The blue category hint, “not accepted everywhere,” alluded to a specific brand’s tiered card offerings that aren’t universally supported by merchants. The purple category, traditionally the puzzle’s most difficult, was hinted at with a reference to “number 74 on the periodic table,” a nod to the letter W’s connection to a particular chemical element.

For those ready for the full answers, puzzle number 1120 broke down into the following four groups:

The yellow category, the easiest of the day, was titled “Granola Ingredients” and included the words HONEY, NUTS, OATS and SEEDS. The grouping reflected common components found in granola and similar breakfast mixes, making it an accessible entry point for most solvers tackling the grid.

The green category, “Payment Methods,” grouped together CARD, CASH, CHECK and WIRE. These four words represented standard ways consumers and businesses transfer money, a category that puzzle trackers noted was likely to trip up some players who initially considered other words, such as GOLD or PLATINUM, as potential fits given their financial associations.

The blue category, “Amex Card Types,” was made up of CENTURION, GOLD, GREEN and PLATINUM. This grouping referenced the various tiers offered by American Express, a detail that puzzle coverage described as particularly rewarding for players familiar with credit card rewards programs, since several of those same words could plausibly have fit into other categories on the board.

The purple category, traditionally the most conceptually demanding, was titled “What ‘W’ Might Stand For” and included TUNGSTEN, WEST, WIN and WITH. The connection drew on the fact that the letter W serves as an abbreviation or symbol across different contexts: it is the chemical symbol for tungsten on the periodic table, a common abbreviation for “west” on maps and compasses, and shorthand for both “win” and “with” in various forms of casual writing and record-keeping.

Puzzle commentary published alongside the answers noted that Sunday’s grid rewarded players with financial literacy and casual familiarity with granola ingredients, while the purple category’s link between a chemical element and a directional abbreviation created what several trackers described as a particularly tricky homophone-style trap. Players who initially grouped GOLD and PLATINUM with GREEN under a colors-based theme, rather than recognizing them as American Express card tiers, were among those most likely to lose a guess early in their attempt.

According to the Times’ own guidance on solving Connections, successful players tend to follow a handful of consistent strategies. Starting with the most straightforward, tightly defined categories — such as colors, numbers or clearly related objects — tends to build early momentum. Players are also encouraged to consider alternate uses or double meanings for individual words, since Connections puzzles are constructed specifically to include overlap between categories. Additionally, solvers are advised to watch for patterns in word endings or shared letters, and to remain flexible when an initial grouping doesn’t pan out, since misdirection is a deliberate feature of the game rather than an accident.

Connections is edited by Wyna Liu, the Times’ puzzle editor, who has built a reputation among regular players for constructing categories that intentionally overlap with one another. That approach was on display again in Sunday’s puzzle, where the presence of GOLD, GREEN and PLATINUM created plausible but incorrect pairings for players who didn’t immediately recognize the American Express connection.

Beyond the standard Connections puzzle, the Times also published a sports-themed version of the game on Sunday, known as Connections: Sports Edition, marking its 650th installment. That edition asked players to sort 16 sports-related terms into categories covering European soccer, National Basketball Association point guards, hockey equipment and a wordplay-based grouping tied to professional sports franchises based in Washington, D.C. Hints for that edition pointed players toward “protective gear for players on ice,” “primary ball handlers in the NBA,” “football organizations across the pond,” and “teams from the District,” giving solvers a general sense of each category before revealing the full answers.

Since its launch in June 2023, Connections has grown into one of the Times’ most widely played digital games, trailing only Wordle in popularity among the publication’s puzzle offerings. A new puzzle is released daily at midnight in each player’s local time zone, meaning solvers in different parts of the world are often working through different numbered puzzles at any given moment. Tomorrow’s edition, puzzle number 1121, is set to go live at midnight, continuing the daily cycle for millions of players who have made the word-grouping game part of their regular routine.

LOS ANGELES — Luka Doncic is reportedly pleased with the Los Angeles Lakers’ whirlwind offseason, which has reshaped the roster around him following LeBron James’ departure and a flurry of moves aimed at building a contender for the post-James era.

According to a report from Dan Woike of The Athletic, league sources said Doncic was “excited” about the team’s recent moves, particularly the decisions to retain guard Austin Reaves and acquire center Walker Kessler in a trade. Woike reported that the Lakers addressed two of Doncic’s biggest priorities for the roster this summer: keeping Reaves in the fold and adding an elite rim-protecting big man alongside him.

Woike also reported that the Lakers maintained regular contact with Doncic and his representatives throughout free agency, even as the star guard spent the summer in Europe and the team worked across a significant time difference. Those conversations, according to the report, helped guide the front office’s approach as it reshaped the roster in the weeks following James’ exit.

The offseason began with James informing the organization that he would not return for a ninth season with the Lakers. He remains an unrestricted free agent and is expected to continue his career elsewhere for what would be his 24th season in the league. His departure closed a chapter for the franchise and set off a series of roster moves that quickly followed.

The Lakers soon lost two more rotation players. Marcus Smart signed with the Houston Rockets, the team the Lakers eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, while Luke Kennard agreed to join the Phoenix Suns. Reserve big man Jaxson Hayes also departed for a new team. The departures left the Lakers with considerable salary-cap flexibility, which the front office moved quickly to use.

The centerpiece of that spending was a sign-and-trade agreement with the Utah Jazz for Kessler, a 7-foot-2 center who has established himself as one of the league’s top young defensive anchors. The deal, which included a four-year, $130 million contract for Kessler, cost the Lakers significant future draft capital — their unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, along with pick swaps in 2028 and 2030. The transaction leaves Los Angeles without a controlled first-round pick until the 2032 draft.

In the same stretch of roughly 35 minutes, according to reporting from ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Lakers also signed free agents Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton. Grimes is expected to help fill the playmaking and defensive void left by Smart’s departure, Mamukelashvili adds shooting and floor-spacing as a stretch forward, and Sexton gives the Lakers a true backup point guard, a role the team had lacked in recent seasons.

Those additions came after the Lakers had already made their most significant retention of the offseason, re-signing Reaves to a four-year, $185 million contract after he declined his player option and would have otherwise become an unrestricted free agent. Reaves and Doncic have built a close on-court partnership since Doncic’s arrival in Los Angeles roughly 16 months ago, and keeping the young guard together with Doncic and Kessler is expected to form the foundation of the team’s roster going forward. Spotrac data show that Doncic, Reaves and Kessler are projected to carry a combined salary-cap hit of $121 million next season, against a league-wide salary cap set at roughly $165 million for 2026-27.

Kessler, who spent four seasons with the Jazz, averaged 2.4 blocks per game over that span and has been regarded as one of the more promising young defensive centers in the league. A shoulder injury cut his most recent season short, but evaluators continue to view him as a high-upside addition who could pair well with Doncic’s passing ability in pick-and-roll situations. The Lakers finished last season with a defensive rating of 115.5, ranked 20th in the NBA, a figure the front office hopes will improve significantly with Kessler anchoring the paint.

Reporting from multiple outlets indicates the price the Lakers paid to secure Kessler and retain Reaves has drawn some scrutiny around the league, with rival executives and agents questioning whether Los Angeles surrendered too much draft capital and long-term financial flexibility in the process. The team’s roster is now considered younger and more athletic than last season’s group, but also less experienced, with the departures of veteran role players such as Smart, Kennard and Hayes leaving fewer proven contributors around Doncic, Reaves and Kessler.

Despite those questions, the Lakers’ front office appears to view Doncic’s endorsement of the moves as the most important measure of the offseason’s success. Rob Pelinka, the team’s president of basketball operations and general manager, has overseen the roster overhaul while also expanding his front-office staff, including the hiring of an assistant general manager focused on salary-cap management and analytics. The team is reportedly still exploring the trade market for forward Rui Hachimura, who remains under contract, and has been linked to free agent forward Jonathan Kuminga after the Atlanta Hawks declined his contract option.

The Lakers are scheduled to give fans their first look at the retooled roster this week at the California Classic summer league event, where rookies Cameron Carr and Adou Thiero are expected to headline the team’s summer debut. While the additions of Kessler, Grimes, Mamukelashvili and Sexton have not yet been tested on the court together, the Lakers’ front office has made clear that the roster was built specifically around Doncic’s stated preferences following James’ departure.

With training camp still months away, the true measure of the offseason’s success will not be known until the Lakers take the floor together as a group. But based on the reporting surrounding Doncic’s reaction, the franchise appears confident it has entered its next chapter with the support of the player it is now building around for the long term.

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Of course, at some point Sky could decommission some ITV shows – or renegotiate their contracts. You don’t take over another company without believing there are savings to be made (and some are pointing to synergies that could be made on the tech platform side, with ITVX and Sky’s streaming services potentially merged in the future).

Longer term, Frost believes users of both current streaming platforms ITVX and NOW can expect to see more “integrated services, for example, bundling titles in terms of genre instead of channel, as a natural way to cut production costs, and to cross-advertise”.

But when it comes to programmes, they won’t be able to make significant changes to those beloved shows until the supply deal comes to an end.

Producer Patrick Spence thinks the deal is “exciting”. He won a BAFTA for Mr Bates vs The Post Office which was a huge hit on ITV in 2024, with around 15 million tuning in. He’s currently producing Two Birds, a thriller starring Sheridan Smith for ITV.

He’s also made dramas for Sky and told me ITV and Sky “are very good bedfellows in many ways”.

“When they get behind a show, they really get behind it,” Spence says. “They want to make water cooler shows that bring audiences together.”

He believes the deal is a sign that the regularly predicted end of so-called linear TV is overplayed.

“We get told so often about the death of broadcast TV,” he adds. “For producers it’s said we’re looking at a cliff edge where the only places that will be left for us to sell our programmes will be the streamers, or some version of BBC, ITV, Channel 4 all joining together.

“What I take away from this deal as a producer and an audience member is that Sky must really like and believe in ITV to be only buying the network. They think there is a business to be grown and driven that uses the audience reach and loyalty that the ITV network has.”

Pantiles, seen on rooftops across Britain, have a distinctive curved shape.

The machine Oldroyd is using dates back to the 1920s. Some equipment on site is much older and the work is far from easy.

“The most challenging thing for me probably would be lifting the clay,” she says.

But she wouldn’t trade her job.

“I’m glad to be actually making history.

“When I think about this site and how old it is and we’re still carrying on this tradition and the fact that lots of the tiles, if not all of them, will be here for hundreds of years to come.”

The work Oldroyd and her co-workers do today is part of a tradition stretching back centuries.

Though clay roof tiles were introduced by the Romans, the English industry grew up in the eastern part of the country during the 12th century.

By the early 1700s, pantiles were being made, with East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire becoming major centres of production.

Today about a dozen old school firms survive across the UK, according to the Roof Tile Association. William Blyth, founded in 1840, is among them.