LAKEVILLE, MASS. — Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. said it is strengthening its leadership team as cranberry harvest season begins.

The agricultural cooperative named Kevin Zidron chief strategy and transformation officer and Brad Hartzell chief supply chain officer. Hartzell succeeds Earl Larson, who will retire at the end of the month, the company said.

Zidron is joining the company from Nestle Health Science where he previously was vice president of business optimization and strategy. Zidron’s past leadership roles additionally include vice president of strategy and transformation roles at Vital Proteins and Kraft Heinz.

Hartzell most recently was chief operating officer of beauty and body solutions at KDC/One Development Corp., Inc., and was chief operating officer at NovaTaste prior to KDC.

“At Ocean Spray, we have an iconic brand, an extraordinary fruit, a strong cooperative foundation and talented people across our business,” saidAbigail Buckwalter, who was named president and chief executive officer of Ocean Spray earlier this year. “Our focus now is on bringing those strengths together with greater clarity, pace and discipline to accelerate growth and unlock our full potential. We have an opportunity to build on what makes Ocean Spray unique while creating the capabilities needed for our next chapter. Kevin and Brad bring the leadership and expertise to help us move faster, sharpen execution and deliver on our priorities.” 

Puzzle number 936 of The New York Times’ Strands game took a notably different turn Friday, trading the format’s usual wordplay and thematic red herrings for a grid built around basic multiplication, giving solvers a puzzle that felt more like a flashback to primary school math class than the typical vocabulary-driven Strands challenge.

Strands presents players with a six-by-eight grid of letters and asks them to find a set of words connected by a hidden theme, tracing each word in a continuous line that can bend around corners as it moves through the grid. One special word, known as the spangram, always touches two opposite sides of the board and summarizes what the rest of the puzzle’s theme words have in common. Players can also tap or drag to select letters, and non-spangram theme words remain highlighted in blue once correctly identified.

For those still working through Friday’s puzzle, the theme centers on numbers, specifically the kind produced by multiplying a whole number by itself. Every non-spangram answer in Friday’s grid is a number written out in words, and each of those numbers happens to be a perfect square. One outlet described the day’s theme hint plainly as “these are squares,” while another characterized the official in-game theme clue as “1×1, etc.” Today’s spangram itself runs 13 letters long and is positioned horizontally across the board.

SPOILER WARNING: The full solution to Friday’s Strands puzzle follows below. Stop reading now if you’d rather work through the grid on your own.

Today’s spangram answer is SQUARE NUMBER, directly naming the mathematical theme running through the rest of the puzzle. The confirmed non-spangram theme words include FOUR, NINE, TWENTY FIVE, THIRTY SIX and EIGHTY ONE, each representing a perfect square, the result of multiplying a whole number by itself: 2×2, 3×3, 5×5, 6×6 and 9×9, respectively.

Puzzle guides covering Friday’s grid described it as an unusually direct and approachable Strands puzzle compared with the format’s typical entries, since the theme rewards basic multiplication recall rather than the more associative or lateral thinking that Strands puzzles often demand. One outlet framed the puzzle as proof that the Strands format can flex into math-based themes without losing the puzzle’s underlying character, even as it noted this kind of overtly literal theme remains relatively rare for the game.

Strands, created by The New York Times as a spatial twist on the traditional word search format, continues to operate in what the newspaper has described as a beta phase, even as the game has steadily grown in popularity alongside the Times’ other daily word games. A new puzzle appears at midnight local time each day, meaning solvers in different time zones begin working through that day’s grid at staggered points relative to players elsewhere around the world.

Strategy guides accompanying Friday’s puzzle noted that players who find themselves stuck can tap any of several designated clue words to unlock the game’s built-in hint system, a feature intended to nudge solvers toward the puzzle’s theme without immediately revealing the full solution. Guides also reminded players that theme words in Strands fill the entire board without any overlap between words, meaning every letter in the grid ultimately belongs to exactly one theme word or the spangram.

Puzzle number 936 followed Thursday’s Strands puzzle, themed around locations just outside one’s front door, continuing the game’s pattern of rotating through a wide range of everyday and conceptual themes from one day to the next. Players tracking their personal performance on Friday’s puzzle can compare notes with friends and fellow solvers, given how quickly Strands has built a dedicated following since its launch, joining Wordle, Connections and the Mini Crossword among the Times’ most widely played daily word games.

With Friday’s math-themed puzzle now solved, players will have an entirely new grid and hidden theme to work through when Saturday’s edition of Strands resets at midnight local time, continuing the daily puzzle’s steady climb in popularity as one of the newspaper’s newer, but increasingly essential, word game offerings.

Ione Wells speaks to Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s new ambassador to the United States. In the 1990s, Meyer was one of the leading negotiators in the talks that helped bring apartheid to an end.

Now he takes up his new post amid a serious rupture in relations with the US President Trump has cut aid, expelled the previous South African ambassador and offered refugee status to white Afrikaners he says are fleeing persecution, claiming the community faces “genocide”.

The South African government rejects that allegation. Meyer, himself an Afrikaner, explains why he believes Trump has been given the wrong picture and how his experience negotiating the end of apartheid could help repair relations with Washington.

“The notion of a mass attack on the Afrikaner was misrepresented by those that might have conveyed the message. I mean, I’m an Afrikaner from South Africa myself. And I can say that I’ve never experienced something of that kind. We found it strange. So the source is misrepresented, unfortunately, something that just doesn’t exist,” says Meyer.

(Photo: Roelf Meyer, South Africa’s ambassador to the US, wears a navy blazer with a white shirt and light blue tie. He has short white hair. Credit: Getty Images)

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard.

You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Ione Wells
Producer: Osman Iqbal
Editor: Damon Rose

Programme WebsiteShow less

Mark Beyer and Justin Fris discuss the business aspects and benefits behind Saturday’s AFL Grand Final between the Fremantle Dockers and Brisbane Lions. 

Plus: Satterley appoints Ben Rosser, restructures; Higher interest rates needed, say top economists; Freo final to help revive country pub. 

Cyber-criminals who hacked the FBI say they have extremely sensitive medical data for thousands of its special agents.

BBC News has seen samples of the stolen “fitness-for-work” medical examinations, which contain information such as blood and urine test results, and doctors’ notes mentioning conditions such as a “shellfish and banana allergy”.

The records include agents’ full names and addresses, as well as references to medical concerns including ‘blood in the urine’ and ‘high cholesterol’.

Experts say the hack – which the FBI is investigating – could leave agents vulnerable to scams, blackmail and targeted attacks, as well as help criminals impersonate law enforcement officers.

“The list maps thousands of agents against their medical and fitness records,” said Etay Maor, vice-president of threat intelligence at Cato Networks.

“Passwords can be reset if stolen, but medical records cannot, so once this data is out, it stays compromised for good. That permanence, applied across an entire workforce, is what makes this leak so serious.”

The FBI has not responded to requests for comment. However, on Wednesday it acknowledged the breach and said it was “aggressively investigating” how it happened.

The cyber-criminal group ShinyHunters claims it breached FBI systems on Monday, and later posted details of the attack on its darknet site.

The group also shared samples of the alleged stolen data with reporters, along with an extortion demand.

Unusually, the hackers are not demanding money. Instead, they are seeking a retraction of an FBI advisory published in May, which they claim “offended” them.

The samples shared with journalists appear genuine and include names, addresses, phone numbers, badge numbers, job titles and information about spouses.

The records appear to relate to thousands of agents, including senior officials such as deputy directors.

Professor Ciaran Martin, the former head of the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, has described the hack – if confirmed – “as serious as it gets when it comes to data breaches.”

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U.S. airlines waived change fees for flights Friday through Sunday ahead of a nor’easter that federal forecasters warn will bring high winds and rainfall with the potential for dangerous flooding.

As of Friday morning, there were minimal delays around the Northeast ahead of the storm and few cancelations set for the weekend.

Carriers will often cancel a chunk, if not most of their schedules, during severe winter storms or hurricanes to ensure planes, passengers and crews aren’t out of place, but airlines are still assessing the the nor’easter’s potential path.

American Airlines, United Airlines and JetBlue Airways said customers can change their flights for a host of airports in the New York City area, Boston and smaller New England airports, without paying a change fee or difference in fare if they can fly anytime before mid-next week.

The potential weekend disruptions come after an equipment outage on Monday forced carriers to cancel hundreds of flights bound for the New York area and Philadelphia.

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Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have a beneficial long position in the shares of CRDO, AVGO, META either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 99.21 points, or 0.19%, to 51,449.19 in Friday trading, as easing Treasury yields and growing optimism over a potential phased deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz helped stocks snap a three-session losing streak.

Friday’s gains followed a difficult stretch for U.S. equities. The Dow fell for a third consecutive session Thursday, dropping 161.61 points, or 0.31%, to close at 51,349.98, as Treasury yields at multidecade highs continued to weigh on the market’s more cyclical sectors. The S&P 500 slipped 1.90 points Thursday, or less than 0.1%, to 7,704.13, while the Nasdaq Composite eked out a marginal gain of 3.34 points to 26,939.37, and the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.09 points, or 0.1%, to 2,835.57.

The 10-year Treasury yield had climbed to 5.16% Thursday, its highest level since the global financial crisis, before easing three basis points to 5.17% early Friday, paring a two-day surge of more than 20 basis points. That earlier climb in yields had been driven in part by comments from New York Federal Reserve President John Williams, who said the central bank would likely need to raise interest rates again before the end of the year, along with weak demand at a recent Treasury debt auction and heavy government borrowing.

Reflecting on the broader bond market turbulence, BlackRock’s Rick Rieder offered a measured assessment in comments to Yahoo Finance Thursday, describing the sell-off as significant but not alarming. “Not a crisis but an eye-opener,” Rieder said.

Stocks found additional support Friday from developments tied to the Middle East. Reuters reported, citing sources, that U.S. and Iranian negotiators meeting in New York were considering a deal that would bring a phased end to the ongoing conflict, under which Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. That report helped pull oil prices lower, with West Texas Intermediate crude falling to around $92 a barrel and global benchmark Brent crude trading near $98 a barrel Friday morning, offering relief to a market that has remained highly sensitive to swings in energy prices amid the monthslong regional crisis.

Futures pointed to a broadly positive session ahead of Friday’s open, with contracts tied to the Dow and S&P 500 both up 0.3%, and Nasdaq-100 futures rising 0.6%, as investors weighed the easing bond and oil pressures against a slate of incoming economic data. Friday’s economic calendar included the preliminary August reading on durable goods orders, expected to show a 0.3% decline compared with a 1.1% increase the previous month, alongside the Kansas City Fed’s September services activity index and the final September reading of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey, expected to hold steady at 47.8.

Thursday’s session had featured a notable divergence between winners and losers within the Dow. Industrial conglomerate 3M surged 3.70% to $148.62 on continued optimism surrounding its restructuring efforts, while Nvidia added 1.77% to $225.00 and Johnson & Johnson rose 1.61% to $227, even as broader concerns about tight financial conditions tied to heavy debt issuance for artificial intelligence infrastructure weighed on several other chipmakers, including Intel, Marvell and Micron, each of which traded down as much as 3% at points during the session. IBM was the Dow’s biggest laggard Thursday, falling 2.42% to $213.40, followed by Home Depot, which dropped 2.14% to $303.84. Salesforce declined 1.64%, while American Express and JPMorgan Chase fell 1.27% and 1.12%, respectively, reflecting a broader pullback in cyclical stocks tied to the elevated yield environment.

Meta Platforms stood out as a notable gainer this week, jumping 4% Thursday alone and extending its weekly rally to 16%, driven by positive market reaction to the company’s newly unveiled artificial intelligence agent software and hardware products, including a new lightweight virtual reality headset the company introduced earlier this week.

Elsewhere in corporate news, Oracle disclosed it had invoked a force majeure clause in connection with a data center project under development in New Mexico, in a letter sent to the project’s developer, a unit of Blue Owl Capital, according to Bloomberg. An Oracle spokesperson quoted in that report said the underlying construction project “remains on our planned schedule,” even as the company works to preserve legal flexibility in the event of future delays. Oracle shares fell 4.5% Thursday following the disclosure.

Beyond the immediate market-moving developments, Friday’s trading also unfolded against the backdrop of Thursday’s high-profile meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with trade and oil among the topics on the two leaders’ agenda, and coverage of Trump administration advisers analyzing the potential economic impact of a proposed short-term ban on diesel exports.

With bond yields showing early signs of stabilizing and hopes building for a diplomatic resolution to the Middle East crisis that has weighed on oil markets for months, investors are likely to watch closely in the coming sessions for confirmation of whether Friday’s rebound can be sustained, or whether the underlying pressures from elevated interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty reassert themselves as the market heads into the final stretch of the third quarter.