Saturday’s edition of The New York Times’ popular word-grouping game sent players down several wrong paths before the puzzle’s trickiest category revealed itself, according to multiple outlets that cover the daily puzzle. Here’s a full breakdown of Connections #1112 for June 27, 2026, including hints for those still working through it and the complete answers for anyone ready to check their work.

What is Connections?

Launched in June 2023, Connections is one of The New York Times’ newest puzzle hits, ranking second only to Wordle in popularity among the paper’s daily games. Each day, players are presented with 16 words or short phrases that must be sorted into four groups of four, with each group sharing a hidden, often unexpected, link. The game is edited and constructed by Wyna Liu, the Times’ puzzle editor.

The categories are color-coded by difficulty, running from the most straightforward connections to the most abstract. Yellow typically represents the easiest grouping, followed by green, then blue, with purple reserved for the hardest category, which often involves wordplay, hidden words or cultural references designed to mislead players. According to the Times’ own guidance on solving the puzzle, successful players generally start with the simplest, most undeniable sets, consider alternate meanings of ambiguous words, and watch for patterns in suffixes or endings before committing to a guess. Players are allowed four mistakes total before the puzzle ends.

Today’s 16 words

Saturday’s grid presented players with the following 16 entries to sort: CATWALK, FOXTROT, CREDIT CARD, COLLECTION, BOARDWALK, DESIGNER, ENVELOPE, CROSSWALK, FIREWALK, INCOME TAX, BILLIARD BALL, MODEL, SHORT LINE, DECANTER, WATER WORKS and BARBER POLE.

One word-game outlet covering the puzzle described Saturday’s board as blending physical actions, clever rearrangements and nostalgic references, calling it both playful and slightly deceptive. A few words appeared to fit multiple themes at once, while the toughest category relied on players noticing a shared hidden word rather than any direct, surface-level meaning.

Hints for each category

For players who want a nudge before seeing the full answers, here are hints corresponding to each of the four groupings, presented from easiest to hardest.

The first category centers on something that appears during a major runway event, with the group revolving around the fashion industry more broadly.

The second category connects items that share a common visual pattern — think of objects defined by alternating bands of color running across or around them.

The third category will be familiar to anyone who has spent an afternoon around a game night staple, with the four entries representing specific spaces a player might land on during a long-running board game.

The fourth and hardest category hides its connection inside the words themselves. Horses provide the unifying link, with each entry containing a term associated with a specific, recognizable riding movement.

The answers, category by category

The first group, representing essential elements of a fashion show, consists of CATWALK, COLLECTION, DESIGNER and MODEL — the runway, the seasonal lineup of clothing presented on it, the person who creates that clothing, and the person who wears it down the catwalk itself.

The second group, built around objects featuring stripes, includes BILLIARD BALL, BARBER POLE, CREDIT CARD and ENVELOPE. While billiard balls and barber poles are more obviously associated with stripes, the inclusion of credit card, with its magnetic stripe, and envelope, a nod to the red-and-blue striped borders traditionally found on airmail envelopes, added a layer of misdirection that tripped up several solvers working through the puzzle.

The third group gathers specific spaces from the classic board game Monopoly: BOARDWALK, INCOME TAX, SHORT LINE and WATER WORKS. One puzzle columnist covering the solve specifically noted that this category proved especially difficult for international players, since editions of Monopoly sold outside the United States often use different property and space names than the American version, making the connection less immediately obvious for solvers in other countries.

The fourth and most difficult group, the purple category, hides a horse-related term inside each entry: FOXTROT, DECANTER, CROSSWALK and FIREWALK. The foxtrot conceals “trot,” decanter conceals “canter,” and both crosswalk and firewalk conceal “walk” — three distinct gaits a horse can move through, tucked inside otherwise unrelated words.

Why this puzzle tripped up so many solvers

Several puzzle writers covering Saturday’s edition acknowledged getting misdirected by the overlap between categories. One columnist described initially recognizing the hidden link between decanter and the horse-gait theme, but struggling to commit to that grouping because four separate words in the grid — catwalk, boardwalk, crosswalk and firewalk — all happened to end in the letters “walk,” making it unclear at first which ones belonged together and which were simply decoys placed by the puzzle’s editor to create uncertainty.

That same writer noted ultimately connecting the striped-objects group and the fashion-show group with relative confidence, but being left to guess between the two remaining “walk” words for the final, hardest category, and picking the wrong one on the first attempt before correcting course.

A new Connections puzzle appears at midnight local time for each player’s time zone, meaning some solvers are always working through a different day’s grid than others depending on where they’re located. Players looking to brush up on strategy before tackling future puzzles are generally advised to begin by scanning for tight, unambiguous categories such as colors, numbers or straightforward object groupings, save the purple category for last, and stay alert for words that seem to belong to more than one theme at once — a hallmark of Liu’s puzzle construction that frequently rewards patience over quick instinct.

For those who came up short on Saturday’s puzzle, the broader archive of past Connections puzzles remains available for additional practice, alongside the paper’s other daily word games, including Wordle, Strands and the Mini Crossword, each of which resets on its own midnight schedule and offers its own daily test of vocabulary and lateral thinking.

The NBA’s offseason has already produced one of the most active stretches of player movement in recent memory, and free agency hasn’t even officially begun. With the 2026 draft now complete and the league year set to open Tuesday, here’s a rundown of the 10 biggest trade stories, completed deals and rumors currently shaping the landscape across the NBA.

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo‘s blockbuster move to Miami

The offseason’s signature trade came together on the eve of the draft, ending a year-long saga over the two-time MVP’s future. The Milwaukee Bucks finally dealt Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat for four players, four first-round picks and a pick swap, with Miami’s package including Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Kasparas Jakučionis. With Antetokounmpo now in South Florida, the Heat are positioned to field one of the league’s best defensive frontcourts entering next season.

2. A three-team shakeup sends Julius Randle to Brooklyn

Less than 24 hours before the draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves sent Julius Randle and the No. 28 pick to the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 33 pick, in a swap that also saw the Nets ship center Nic Claxton to the Chicago Bulls. The deal continued the Timberwolves’ roster overhaul following a busy stretch of moves this offseason.

3. Jaylen Brown reportedly headed to Sacramento

One of the most significant deals to emerge from the post-draft chaos involves the Boston Celtics parting with All-Star wing Jaylen Brown. According to multiple trade trackers monitoring the offseason, the Celtics sent Brown to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, Nique Clifford and a haul of future first-round pick swaps stretching from 2027 through 2033. The move gives Boston the ability to duck under the second apron while adding a playmaking center in Sabonis and additional shot creation in LaVine, while Sacramento becomes newly relevant out West with Brown leading a roster stocked with promising young pieces.

4. Kawhi Leonard‘s future in Los Angeles remains uncertain

Speculation continues to swirl around Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, who is reportedly open to a reunion with either the Toronto Raptors or San Antonio Spurs if his situation in Los Angeles doesn’t work out. According to NBA insider Chris Haynes, the Clippers would like to keep Leonard, but only at their price, as the soon-to-be 35-year-old weighs a new contract. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast that Leonard “will have to take a pay cut” to remain in Los Angeles on an extension. Shams Charania of ESPN reported that multiple teams are already monitoring Leonard’s situation over the coming weeks, with ESPN’s Brian Windhorst naming the Detroit Pistons as a logical suitor should Leonard become available via trade.

5. Detroit’s interest in Kyrie Irving gets shut down

The Pistons’ pursuit of a backcourt addition has also extended to Dallas, where they’ve inquired about Kyrie Irving. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, “The Pistons have expressed interest in Kyrie Irving. Dallas is telling teams Kyrie Irving is not available.” The Mavericks appear committed to building around Irving and rookie phenom Cooper Flagg, who missed Flagg’s entire first season while recovering from a torn ACL. Christian Clark of The Athletic reported that Flagg’s presence was a selling point during Dallas’ recent coaching search, with the franchise expected to enter next season treating both Flagg and Irving as cornerstones.

6. Jalen Duren exploring a sign-and-trade exit from Detroit

Even as the Pistons chase outside additions, they may be on the verge of losing a key piece of their own core. Detroit center Jalen Duren, a restricted free agent coming off his first All-Star and All-NBA selections, was reportedly underwhelmed by the team’s initial contract offer. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Duren “was underwhelmed by the Detroit Pistons’ initial offer in restricted free agency and is planning to explore sign-and-trade scenarios when they are permitted.” Because Duren made an All-NBA team, Detroit can offer him a five-year max contract worth up to $287.1 million, while rival suitors are limited to four-year offers worth up to $177.4 million.

7. James Harden nearing a new long-term deal in Cleveland

The Cavaliers appear to be closing in on securing their backcourt centerpiece for the long term. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported that “Cleveland should soon have a verbal agreement on a new multi-year deal with James Harden,” who is expected to swap his $42.3 million player option, only partially guaranteed at $13.3 million, for a longer-term contract. Teams are permitted to negotiate with their own free agents ahead of the official start of free agency, a mechanism that has already produced agreements elsewhere around the league.

8. LaMelo Ball lands in Minnesota

The Timberwolves continued reshaping their backcourt by acquiring LaMelo Ball in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets. Combined with the team’s other offseason activity, the move signals Minnesota’s intent to remain aggressive in roster construction even after an active trade deadline earlier in the year.

9. The Hornets pivot at point guard

In the wake of trading Ball, Charlotte has reportedly turned its attention to free agency, with plans to re-sign Coby White to a three-year, $74 million contract. The move has already drawn criticism from some corners of the NBA media, given the perceived drop-off in production between the two guards.

10. Detroit ends the “Beef Stew” era

Rounding out the wave of draft-week moves, the Pistons traded center Isaiah Stewart to the Memphis Grizzlies, closing the chapter on a fan-favorite frontcourt partnership and continuing Detroit’s broader roster turnover this offseason, which has also included acquiring sharpshooter Isaiah Joe from Oklahoma City in a separate deal for second-round picks.

With free agency set to officially open Tuesday, the moves detailed above represent only the early wave of an offseason that figures to remain active for weeks. Several marquee names, including Leonard, Duren and potentially others still weighing their options, remain unresolved heading into the new league year, setting up additional drama once teams are formally permitted to negotiate with players beyond their own roster. NBA insiders are expected to continue tracking developments closely as front offices around the league race to reshape their rosters before training camps open in the fall.

VANCOUVER — Belgium finally found the attacking form that had eluded it through two lackluster group-stage performances, demolishing World Cup debutant New Zealand 5-1 on Friday night at BC Place to win Group G and eliminate the Football Ferns from the tournament.

The result was a stunning turnaround for a Belgian side that had managed just a single goal through its first two matches of the tournament, an own goal scored by Egypt’s Mohamed Hany in a 1-1 draw. After that performance and a goalless draw against Iran, Belgium’s attack finally clicked at the moment it needed to most.

Trossard sparks the rout early

Winger Leandro Trossard opened the scoring in the 28th minute, capitalizing after New Zealand’s defense was caught napping on a corner kick. Trossard slipped into the box unmarked to give Belgium a 1-0 lead, capping a sequence in which he had already come close to scoring twice. In the 12th minute, a Trossard shot struck the post and appeared to have crossed the line, only for goal-line technology to rule that it had not, while a VAR review in the 22nd minute cleared New Zealand defender Finn Surman of a handball inside the box.

Trossard doubled his and Belgium’s tally in the 50th minute, pouncing on a deflected rebound after his initial shot was blocked, beating New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe, who had no time to react. The two-goal night propelled Trossard to the forefront of a Belgian attack that had badly needed a spark.

Following his second goal, Trossard celebrated with his now-signature gesture, cupping his hands over his eyes like a pair of goggles — a tribute to his son’s love of superheroes.

De Bruyne adds his name to the scoresheet

Belgian playmaker Kevin De Bruyne extended the lead to 3-0 in the 66th minute with a standout individual effort, collecting the ball outside the box and dribbling through New Zealand’s defense before beating Crocombe with a shot from distance. The goal prompted chants of “Oh, Kevin De Bruyne” from the crowd at BC Place as the match headed into the second-half hydration break.

Belgium had dominated the run of play for long stretches, putting up 16 attempts on goal in the first half alone, four of them on target, while New Zealand failed to register a single shot on goal before halftime. New Zealand striker Chris Wood struggled to get loose against Belgium’s physical defensive approach, visibly frustrated at times when challenges went uncalled.

New Zealand gets a consolation goal before Belgium pulls away again

New Zealand finally broke through in the 84th minute, when winger Elijah Just scored to make it 3-1, his third goal of the tournament. The goal offered a brief moment of life for the Football Ferns and their fans, but it proved to be too little, too late against a Belgian side that had already wrapped up the result.

Belgium answered almost immediately. Just two minutes later, in the 86th minute, substitute Romelu Lukaku restored the three-goal cushion, heading home to make it 4-1. The goal was a milestone moment for the Belgian legend, who came on as a substitute and now sits as Belgium’s all-time leading goal scorer with 91 career goals for the national team.

Substitute Alexis Saelemaekers added an exclamation point in the 90th-plus-4th minute, scoring Belgium’s fifth goal of the night moments before the final whistle to complete the rout.

A tactical night of substitutions

Both sides made heavy use of their benches as the match wore on. Belgium brought on Saelemaekers and Amadou Onana in the 72nd minute, replacing goal-scorers Trossard and De Bruyne after their work was effectively done. Earlier, in the 56th minute, Belgium substituted winger Jérémy Doku for Matias Fernandez-Pardo after Doku picked up a hard challenge from New Zealand’s Just, who was shown a yellow card for the foul — a decision that reflected Belgium’s unwillingness to risk one of its key attacking players once the match was firmly in hand.

New Zealand turned over its lineup repeatedly in search of a spark, opening the second half with a double substitution, bringing on Jesse Randal and Ben Old for Sarpreet Singh and Ryan Thomas. The Football Ferns made another double change in the 64th minute, sending on Michael Boxall and Callum McCowatt, before a fifth and final substitution in the 79th minute brought on Francis De Vries for Liberato Cacace.

What it means for both teams

The result eliminates New Zealand from the tournament after the program’s first appearance at a men’s World Cup in 16 years, closing out a campaign in which the Football Ferns failed to win any of their three group matches. Belgium, meanwhile, claims top spot in Group G after entering the tournament’s final group match under significant pressure following two underwhelming results against Egypt and Iran.

With the group stage now complete, Belgium advances to the Round of 32, where it is set to face the third-place finisher from Group A, E, H, I or J. That matchup is scheduled to be played in Seattle on Wednesday, July 1.

For Belgium, Friday’s performance represented a dramatic reversal of fortune after a tournament that had, until this point, raised real questions about whether the team’s attacking talent would ever translate into goals on the world’s biggest stage. With Trossard, De Bruyne and Lukaku all finding the net in the same match, those concerns were emphatically answered, at least for one night, as Belgium’s golden generation showed exactly why it remains one of the most dangerous attacking outfits left in the tournament heading into the knockout rounds.

The anonymous individual who has been communicating with TMZ for months about the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie has refused to turn over an alleged video of one of her purported kidnappers, citing fears that sharing the file could expose his identity through embedded metadata, according to a new report.

TMZ said Friday it received a new letter from someone previously in contact with the outlet, who claimed to have video of one of the alleged suspects and Guthrie on a phone stored in a “secure location.” The development marks the latest twist in an extortion-style correspondence that has unfolded sporadically since shortly after the 84-year-old’s disappearance from her Tucson-area home on February 1.

A claim of new video evidence

According to TMZ, the person who sent the latest letter has the same email address and Bitcoin address as the individual who first contacted the outlet weeks into Guthrie’s disappearance. The sender also claimed that two people were responsible for Guthrie’s kidnapping, and that the alleged video shows the “main guy” among them.

The letter described the contents of the hidden phone in specific detail. “I have a phone stashed in a secure location guaranteeing both the information it stores and the safety of the phone,” the sender wrote, according to TMZ. “What it contains is my definition of delivering them on a silver platter, a short video of the main guy with nancy the day that was probably her last, pictures of both involved, names and addresses and age.”

TMZ reported that it authenticated the new email as coming from the same source behind earlier correspondence, citing a matching Bitcoin address and an alias used in prior messages. The outlet said the phone was described as being in a location that would be “easy to access if you know where it is.”

A demand for payment, and a refusal in return

The sender indicated he would provide the password needed to access the phone’s contents in exchange for payment of one Bitcoin, sent to a newly provided address. TMZ said it declined that demand and instead asked the sender to provide a single screengrab of Nancy Guthrie to authenticate his claim before any further engagement.

TMZ also reported sending the new correspondence directly to the FBI, continuing a pattern the outlet has followed throughout its dealings with the anonymous sender since Guthrie’s disappearance.

A scoff at an unrelated tip

The letter also addressed an unrelated development in the case, with the sender distancing himself from a separate report involving a search near the U.S.-Mexico border. According to TMZ, the sender wrote, “I am not the idiot who recently called in a tip about her burial site in Mexico,” appearing to reference an anonymous call received earlier this month by a Mexican missing-persons organization that prompted a search near Nogales, Sonora — a search that ultimately turned up no trace of Guthrie despite uncovering more than 20 unmarked graves in the area.

The sender also appeared to push back on previous reporting regarding his own identity. According to TMZ, he seemed to scoff at the outlet’s earlier report that the FBI believes the person writing the emails might be a woman.

What the FBI is keeping under wraps

TMZ executive producer Charles Latibeaudiere addressed the broader pattern of communication during an appearance on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports,” explaining that federal investigators have asked the outlet to withhold certain details from the public as the investigation continues. “There are certain things the FBI doesn’t want them to share with the public at this point,” Latibeaudiere said, according to NewsNation.

Latibeaudiere also described the unpredictable nature of the correspondence itself, noting that TMZ has no way to initiate contact with the sender. “There’s never any email for us to contact him,” Latibeaudiere told NewsNation. “So we’re basically just waiting whenever he decides he wants to send these emails to us.”

He went on to summarize the claims contained in the latest message. “But in it, he says he’s got this video that shows Nancy on what he describes as her last day and she is with one of the kidnappers,” Latibeaudiere added.

Latibeaudiere further detailed the sender’s claims about who might know the location of Guthrie’s remains. “He says there are two people who are directly connected to this and they’re the only ones who would know besides him, I guess, where Nancy’s body is at this point,” Latibeaudiere said.

Part of a longer pattern of contact

Friday’s letter is not an isolated incident but rather the latest in a string of communications TMZ says it has received since Guthrie’s disappearance. The outlet has previously reported receiving ransom notes and several emails tied to the case, including what it described as one “highly sophisticated” demand involving cryptocurrency payment.

The new claims also follow closely on the heels of other significant developments in the investigation. Just days earlier, sources close to the case told NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin that a separate ransom note had indicated Guthrie was “buried in nature,” adding to a small number of written communications investigators believe may have come from those responsible for her disappearance.

An unresolved case nearly five months later

Guthrie was reported missing from her Arizona home on February 1, and authorities believe she was taken against her will. Despite the FBI’s continued investigation, the release of security footage showing a masked figure on her property, and now a string of anonymous communications claiming knowledge of her fate, no arrests have been announced in the case nearly five months later.

Federal authorities have not publicly confirmed the authenticity of the video, photographs or hidden phone described in Friday’s letter, and the claims remain unverified. Investigators have likewise not indicated whether they believe the sender’s account is credible or whether any evidence has been recovered to support the specific details described in the correspondence.

For now, the case remains open, with TMZ continuing to forward each new message to federal investigators as it arrives, and the broader public left, as Latibeaudiere described it, simply waiting for the next unsolicited email from a source whose claims have yet to be independently verified by law enforcement.

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