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The mysterious AI image generator that topped benchmarks is now available – here’s how to try it

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Recraft AI Red Panda

A mysterious AI image generator known as Red Panda shot up the ranks of the Artificial Analysis Image Arena this week, cementing itself at the top of the charts. While we had no idea who developed Red Panda, or even what, exactly, it was, we now know who makes one of the best AI image generators and where you can try it… enter Recraft V3.

Recraft V3 is an AI tool for professional designers and its developer, also called Recraft, has just released its new image generation model ‘red_panda’. As we reported yesterday (October 29), the leaderboard king Red Panda was indeed a new model in testing, and it looks like it could be one of the best out there.

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NYT Connections: hints and answers for Sunday, November 3

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NYT Connections: hints and answers for Monday, October 7
New York Times' Connection puzzle open in the NYT Games app on iOS.
Sam Hill / Digital Trends

Connections is the latest puzzle game from the New York Times. The game tasks you with categorizing a pool of 16 words into four secret (for now) groups by figuring out how the words relate to each other. The puzzle resets every night at midnight and each new puzzle has a varying degree of difficulty. Just like Wordle, you can keep track of your winning streak and compare your scores with friends.

Some days are trickier than others. If you’re having a little trouble solving today’s Connections puzzle, check out our tips and hints below. And if you still can’t get it, we’ll tell you today’s answers at the very end.

How to play Connections

In Connections, you’ll be shown a grid containing 16 words — your objective is to organize these words into four sets of four by identifying the connections that link them. These sets could encompass concepts like titles of video game franchises, book series sequels, shades of red, names of chain restaurants, etc.

There are generally words that seem like they could fit multiple themes, but there’s only one 100% correct answer. You’re able to shuffle the grid of words and rearrange them to help better see the potential connections.

Each group is color-coded. The yellow group is the easiest to figure out, followed by the green, blue, and purple groups.

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Pick four words and hit Submit. If you’re correct, the four words will be removed from the grid and the theme connecting them will be revealed. Guess incorrectly and it’ll count as a mistake. You only have four mistakes available until the game ends.

Hints for today’s Connections

We can help you solve today’s Connection by telling you the four themes. If you need more assistance, we’ll also give you one word from each group below.

Today’s themes

  • HEARTWARMING
  • SNEAKING SUSPICION
  • LEGAL SESSION
  • EASY ___

One-answer reveals

  • HEARTWARMING – MOVING
  • SNEAKING SUSPICION – FEELING
  • LEGAL SESSION – HEARING
  • EASY ___ – CHAIR
New York Times Connection game logo.
New York Times

Today’s Connections answers

Still no luck? That’s OK. This puzzle is designed to be difficult.  If you just want to see today’s Connections answer, we’ve got you covered below:

Connections grids vary widely and change every day. If you couldn’t solve today’s puzzle, be sure to check back in tomorrow.



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Samsung CEO calls for “desperate efforts” amid crisis

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Samsung CEO calls for "desperate efforts" amid crisis

Samsung continues to be mired in a crisis situation stemming from several fronts. While the company has a global leadership position in multiple segments, maintaining the current pace could lead to losing it in the near future. Amidst the difficult times, Samsung’s CEO is urging employees to make “desperate efforts” to improve the company’s products.

Samsung’s crisis stems from its semiconductor and memory chip divisions

Samsung’s current situation stems mainly from its SoC manufacturing and high-capacity memory chip divisions. Samsung Foundry, the company’s division for SoC production, has not been up to par when it comes to producing high-performance hardware efficiently. According to reports, 3nm GAA wafers from Samsung Foundry show less than 30% yield rate, even dropping to 10% at their worst times.

The extremely low yield rate makes producing 3nm chips economically unviable for the company. This led to the cancellation of the Exynos 2500 chip for the Galaxy S25 series. Although the company was working until the last minute to try to improve the situation, the launch of the next Galaxy flagship phones is too close, so there was not much time available. Anyway, the South Korean giant still has faith that it will be able to use the Exynos 2500 in the next-gen Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip.

Low third-party demand for Samsung Foundry, another factor

Another situation affecting Samsung Foundry is the low demand from important customers. The problems arising from the company’s wafers have pushed big players such as Qualcomm and Nvidia to move to TSMC, a direct rival.

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In terms of memory chips, the company’s HBM (high-bandwidth memory) hardware performance lags behind the competition. The HBM hardware is essential for the production of AI-focused chips. In today’s tech industry, where artificial intelligence plays a fundamental role, offering the most competitive product can mark the present and future of a company. Names like AMD, AWS, Intel, and Nvidia are turning to other suppliers for components of their AI chips.

Samsung CEO urges employees to make ‘desperate efforts’ to improve products

This year, Samsung Electronics is celebrating its 55th anniversary. During an event for executives and employees, CEO Han Jong-hee called for additional efforts to improve the company’s products. “Securing technology and quality for our customers is the foundation of our competitiveness and the only way we can lead the paradigm shift. Let’s make desperate efforts to further strengthen our technology leadership, ensuring a level of quality that remains unmatched,” he said.

The executive even urged the company to explore other potential segments. More specifically, Han Jong-hee said that the company must “identify new growth engines, beyond specific products or business lines.” The recent launch of a slimmer Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition could fall in line with this.

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The best early Black Friday 2024 deals we could find from Amazon, Best Buy and more

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The best early Black Friday 2024 deals we could find from Amazon, Best Buy and more

With each passing year, Black Friday seems to turn more and more into “Black November,” with many retailers starting their holiday sales weeks before the day itself. But while the bombardment of promos can be annoying, it also presents a good chance to beat the rush and finish holiday shopping ahead of time, without paying more than you have to.

To help you cut through the noise, we’re rounding up the best early Black Friday deals we can find in one easy place. While most major tech retailers haven’t started their early sales in earnest just yet, we’ve seen more than a few new discounts on gadgets we recommend pop up this week, bringing the iPad Air, Bose QuietComfort Headphones and Hisense 4K TVs, among others, down to their lowest prices to date. We’ll continuously update this post as more Black Friday sales pop up, so if you’ve been eyeing something else, be sure to check back.

Photos of Apple’s 13-inch iPad Air, released in 2024

The Apple iPad Air (M2). (Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget)
  • Apple Pencil Pro for $93 at Amazon ($36 off): While this deal is a couple bucks higher than the lowest price we’ve ever seen for Apple’s top-of-the-line iPad stylus, it’s still a sizable drop compared to buying from Apple directly. Just be aware that Pencil Pro is only compatible with the most recent iPad Airs and iPad Pros. Also at Walmart.

  • Apple AirTag (4-pack) for $74 at Amazon ($25 off): The AirTag is, unsurprisingly, the top pick for iPhone users in our guide to the best Bluetooth trackers, as it uses Apple’s giant network of Apple devices and ultrawideband tech to locate items accurately. Its effectiveness has had deeply unfortunate side effects, but if you use it as intended, it can provide a little extra peace of mind. While not an all-time low, this deal is a welcome drop from the usual $80 street price we’ve seen for a four-pack in recent months. Also at Best Buy.

  • Apple MacBook Air (13.6-inch, M2) for $700 at Amazon ($300 off): This matches the all-time low for Apple’s last-gen MacBook Air, which remains a perfectly competent notebook for everyday use. The caveat is that this model only comes with 8GB of RAM, so it’s really only meant for lower-power tasks. Apple (finally) made 16GB of memory the standard across its MacBook lineup earlier this week, so this might be an instance of Apple trying to clear out old inventory. Still, this is a great value if you only need a laptop for basic web browsing, emailing and word processing. Clip the on-page coupon to see the full discount.

Beats Solo 4 headphones laying on a wooden table with a notebook and an iPhone underneath.

The Beats Solo 4. (Billy Steele for Engadget)
  • Anker Soundcore Space A40 for $45 at Amazon ($35 off, Prime only): The Space A40 is the longtime top pick in our guide to the best budget earbuds, as it delivers the kind of robust feature set we expect from pairs that cost three times as much. Call quality isn’t the best, and it won’t auto-pause when you take out an earbud, but its warm sound, powerful ANC, eight-ish hours of battery life and comfy design all impress for the money. This deal ties the lowest price we’ve seen — it’s only available to Prime subscribers at Amazon, but you can also grab it at Anker’s online store with an on-page coupon.

  • Beats Solo 4 for $100 at Amazon ($100 off): The Solo 4 is light on features and may be uncomfortable on larger heads, but its even-handed sound and 50+-hour battery life make it worth considering if you prefer a more compact on-ear design instead of traditional over-ears. We gave it a score of 79 in our review. This discount ties an all-time low and is also available at Walmart, Target and Best Buy. The full-size Beats Studio Pro is discounted as well, but that pair is a bit harder to recommend over the top picks in our wireless headphone buying guide.

  • Bose QuietComfort Headphones for $199 at Amazon ($150 off): This ties the lowest price we’ve seen for Bose’s mid-tier noise-canceling headphones. At this price, their effective ANC and light fit make them a worthy alternative to higher-end pairs like the Sony WH-1000XM5 (our favorite pair overall). That said, their bass-heavy sound won’t be for everyone, and the XM5 has a more comprehensive feature set. Also at Bose.com, Target and Best Buy. The higher-end QuietComfort Ultra, meanwhile, are $100 off and put out even stronger ANC, though we still prefer the XM5 for around the same price.

  • Anker Soundcore Motion+ for $69 at Amazon ($31 off): We recommend the Soundcore Motion+ in our guide to the best portable Bluetooth speakers. While it isn’t especially light or compact, it pumps out a more spacious sound than most speakers in its price range, it’s waterproof and it lasts a decent 12 to 15 hours per charge. We’ve seen this discount a few times before, but it comes within a few bucks of the lowest price we’ve tracked. Also at Anker’s online store with an on-page coupon.

Anker's Soundcore Motion+ portable Bluetooth speaker.

The Anker Soundcore Motion+. (Photo by Jon Turi / Engadget)
  • Amazon Fire HD 10 for $75 at Amazon ($65 off): No Fire HD tablet comes close to matching the performance, build quality and app support of an iPad, but they’re significantly more affordable, and they still work well enough if all you need is something for casual streaming, e-reading and web browsing. At this price, the 10.1-inch Fire HD 10 is likely a better value than the smaller Fire HD 8, as it has a sharper display, it’s a tick faster and it can last slightly longer on a charge. Just be ready to deal with a bunch of ads for Amazon’s own apps and services. This discount ties an all-time low, and it’s also available at Best Buy and Target.

  • Amazon Echo Show 5 for $50 at Amazon ($40 off): We highlight the Echo Show 5 in our guide to the best smart displays. While the Echo Show 8 — which isn’t majorly discounted yet — has a roomier display, louder speakers and sharper cameras, this 5.5-inch model provides most of the same functionality in a design that’s easier to fit on a nightstand. If you’re already onboard the Alexa train, it’ll work nicely as a smart alarm clock. This deal is $10 more than the all-time low we saw last Black Friday, so it may drop further in the weeks ahead, but for now it matches the best price we’ve seen in 2024. Also at Target, Kohl’s and Best Buy.

  • Blink Outdoor 4 (6-pack) for $180 at Amazon ($300 off): The Outdoor 4 is a wireless, IP65-rated outdoor security camera we highlight in our guide to the best smart home gadgets. It captures decent (if not class-leading) 1080p video, it’s relatively painless to install and it supports features like night vision, motion alerts, local storage and two-way talking. The catch is that it locks things like person detection and cloud storage behind a subscription plan. Still, it’s a solid value on balance, and this deal furthers that. We’ve seen this price on a six-camera bundle for a few weeks, but it’s still an all-time low. An eight-camera pack is also on sale for $250, another low.

  • Audible Premium Plus (3-month) for $1 at Amazon ($29 off): Those who don’t currently subscribe to Audible can get three months of the audiobook service’s Premium Plus plan for $1. Normally, the service costs $15 per month after a 30-day free trial. As a refresher, Premium Plus is Audible’s upper tier: In addition to giving access the full Audible Plus library, it lets you keep one title from a curated selection of audiobooks each month. We wouldn’t call it essential, but if you’ve been on the fence, this is a good way to see if it’d work for you. Just note that the plan will auto-renew until you cancel.

A small smart display with a white border, the Amazon Echo Show 5, sits on a wood table next to various desktop accessories, displaying the time and the title of a currently playing podcast.

The Amazon Echo Show 5. (Amazon)
  • Hisense U7N 4K TV (65-inch) for $700 at Amazon ($300 off): Various reviews around the web suggest that the U7N is one of the year’s better TV values, with impressive brightness and contrast for the money. It supports up to a fast 144Hz refresh rate in 4K, which is great for gaming, and it runs on the easy-to-grok Google TV platform. Its image can wash out when viewed at an angle, though, and it’s limited to two HDMI 2.1 ports. This discount is a new low for the 65-inch model. Also at Best Buy.

  • Hisense U8N 4K TV (55-inch) for $728 at Amazon ($371 off): The U8N is the next step up from the U7N in Hisense’s TV lineup, so it should provide better colors, contrast and brightness across the board. If you don’t mind buying a smaller panel for around the same price, this is another new low. Also at Best Buy.

  • Backbone One (PlayStation Edition) for $60 at PlayStation Direct: The Backbone One is an comfy gamepad that snaps around your phone and lets you play mobile or cloud-based games without having to rely on touch controls. We’ve recommended it before. This deal on the PlayStation-themed version isn’t an all-time low, but it’s $10 to $20 less than the usual discounts we’ve seen over the past year. Sony’s listing doesn’t specify whether this is the first- or second-gen model — the latter can fit a wider range of phones and cases — but that shouldn’t be a major hindrance if you use an older iPhone or Android device. Both the USB-C and Lightning variants are on sale.

Black Friday 2024 lands on November 29 this year.

We expect some Black Friday deals to start as early as November 1. Over the past few years, retailers have been kicking off the holiday shopping season earlier and earlier. This trend will continue in 2024, and you’ll likely find early Black Friday deals available online and in stores in the weeks before the actual shopping event.

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Some Black Friday deals will end immediately on Saturday, November 30. But those will likely be few and far between. Along with starting deals earlier and earlier, retailers have also extended Black Friday deals past the day for a while now, too. In the tech space, we’ve seen many Black Friday deals in the past run through Cyber Monday.

There is no one place to buy all of the best Black Friday deals, but you can expect the big retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target to have many of the same Black Friday deals available — both in the lead up and on the day itself. We also recommend checking direct-to-consumer sites like Apple, Samsung, Sonos and others to make sure you’re getting the best deal before you cross things off your list.

You typically will not find cash discounts on Apple’s website for Black Friday, though it has offered various gift card bundles during Black Friday in recent years. You may be able to find local Apple store discounts on accessories, but Apple isn’t a retailer known for slashing prices on its products. However, you can find more traditional Apple Black Friday deals at other retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Target and Best Buy.

Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.

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Is Amazon’s robotaxi company trying to sidestep federal safety laws?

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Is Amazon’s robotaxi company trying to sidestep federal safety laws?

This week, Zoox cofounder and CTO Jesse Levinson announced at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 that it would start rolling out its purpose-built autonomous vehicles in San Francisco and Las Vegas in the coming weeks.

But little was said about the ongoing investigation into the Amazon-owned company’s claims that its vehicles — which are shaped like giant toasters and lack traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals — comply with federal safety rules.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an open investigation into Zoox’s claim that its vehicles are self-certified, a spokesperson confirmed this week. And NHTSA has not granted the company an exemption from these rules. The spokesperson declined to comment on the investigation itself.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has an open investigation into Zoox’s claim that its vehicles are self-certified

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Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) require vehicles to have certain traditional controls, like steering wheels (which include airbags), pedals, and rear and sideview mirrors. The rules are very specific, often detailing the exact position of certain controls down the centimeter. Automakers who build vehicles without these controls are supposed to file petitions with the government for temporary exemptions to these rules so they can deploy their steering wheel-less vehicles.

Zoox, however, contends that it won’t need exemptions because it self-certifies that its vehicles meet current safety standards. “From the beginning, we challenged ourselves to create a vehicle that would be compliant with FMVSS requirements within the current regulatory structure,” the company wrote in a July 2022 blog post. And then later, in November 2023, Zoox said it had achieved this goal.

“Today, Zoox has reached a critical milestone in our journey to launch our robotaxi on public roads: becoming the first company to self-certify a purpose-built, fully autonomous, all-electric passenger vehicle to Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS),” the company wrote on November 3rd.  

Other companies have sought exemptions, with varying degrees of success. Nuro received the first exemption in 2020 to produce its R2 delivery vehicles, which lack traditional controls and aren’t even large enough for a human operator. Meanwhile, GM sought a similar exemption for its Origin vehicles, submitting a request to NHTSA in 2022. But while Cruise seemed confident it would eventually receive the exemption, the company became bogged down in controversy after a pedestrian was injured by one of its robotaxis in San Francisco. (GM eventually put the Origin vehicle on indefinite hold.)

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“The first company to self-certify a purpose-built, fully autonomous, all-electric passenger vehicle”

Zoox’s shuttles are similar to the Origin, designed to travel in either direction, with a cabin featuring passenger seats facing each other. The vehicles are currently permitted by the California DMV to operate in a “limited area” in Foster City, California, where the company is headquartered.

At Disrupt, Levinson said Zoox would start out with employees as passengers in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco as well as the Las Vegas Strip. But safety advocates say that the company is skipping a key step in its rush to launch a commercial service.

“Our belief is that a deployment of these vehicles on public roads is a violation of the Safety Act,” said Michael Brooks, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety. “Zoox isn’t so much exploiting a gray area as they are putting a foot over the red line and challenging NHTSA to call their bluff.”

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Of course, the burden is on NHTSA to enforce its own rules — and the agency has only recently started to show more backbone in how it approaches autonomous vehicle operators. NHTSA is currently investigating Waymo and Zoox for alleged safety lapses, as well as Ford and Tesla for fatal crashes involving their driver-assist features. If it determines there’s a problem, it could force a recall.

During Disrupt, TechCrunch transportation editor Kirsten Korosec asked Levinson whether he was worried the federal government could derail Zoox’s planned rollout. He maintained that the company’s vehicle is “fully FMVSS compliant” and that Zoox would continue to address NHTSA’s concerns as they emerge. But ultimately he was confident in his company’s approach to the rules.

“We’ve spent an incredible amount of money and time and people complying with the FMVSS regulations as they are,” Levinson said, “and because there aren’t traditional manual controls, in some cases, that requires, you know, interpreting them in a way that is relevant to a robotaxi.”

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Quordle today – hints and answers for Sunday, November 3 (game #1014)

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Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.

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NYT Crossword: answers for Sunday, November 3

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NYT Crossword: answers for Monday, September 23

The New York Times has plenty of word games on its roster today — with Wordle, Connections, Strands, and the Mini Crossword, there’s something for everyone — but the newspaper’s standard crossword puzzle still reigns supreme. The daily crossword is full of interesting trivia, helps improve mental flexibility and, of course, gives you some bragging rights if you manage to finish it every day.

While the NYT puzzle might feel like an impossible task some days, solving a crossword is a skill and it takes practice — don’t get discouraged if you can’t get every single word in a puzzle.

If you’re having trouble completing today’s NYT Crossword, we’re here to help. We’ve got all the answers for today’s clues down below.

NYT Crossword answers today

New York Times Crossword logo.
New York Times

Across

1 Early electric lights : ARCLAMPS

9 Modest home in Modesto, say : CASITA

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15 Direct marketing tactic : COLDCALL

16 First act : OPENER

17 Sub’s reference : CLASSROOMROSTER

19 What always ends well? : ELS

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20 Spendy : STEEP

21 ___ May Gaskin, author of “Spiritual Midwifery” : INA

22 Puzzle (out) : SUSS

24 Fly traps? : MITTS

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25 Fed : GMAN

26 Ward off bad luck, in a Greek tradition : SPIT

27 Noted name in lithographs : IVES

28 English folk singer Billy : BRAGG

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29 Inveigled : COAXED

31 Just so : TOATEE

32 They’re not afraid to take charge : FEARLESSLEADERS

35 Media-based learning sites, informally : AVLABS

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36 Word on many “No Trespassing” signs : POSTED

37 Hanes brand once sold in ovoid packaging : LEGGS

38 90° : EAST

39 Team that briefly changed its name during the 1950s to appease McCarthyites : REDS

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42 The case, so to speak : TRUE

43 Jumps from one foot to the other : JETES

44 Break off : STOP

45 Record company behind (and inside) Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” : EMI

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46 1988 Summer Olympics host : SEOUL

47 Word that’s a homophone of its middle letter : ARE

48 Spin right round? : ROTATECLOCKWISE

53 What might remove all of your problems? : ERASER

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54 Went after : ASSAILED

55 Cleans up like the Pied Piper : DERATS

56 Band aids : SETLISTS

Down

1 What passwords unlock : ACCESS

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2 Arrive curbside : ROLLUP

3 Andrés Segovia won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for it : CLASSICALGUITAR

4 Temple Square letters : LDS

5 Window installations, in brief : ACS

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6 Sully : MAR

7 P, B, D, T, K and G : PLOSIVES

8 Kitchen flippers : SLOTTEDSPATULAS

9 De-centers? : CORES

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10 Per : APOP

11 Its in French : SES

12 Juicy stuff : INTIMATEDETAILS

13 Outspoken parenting critic, maybe : TEENAGER

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14 Sets up : ARRANGES

18 Subject of the 2021 documentary “Once Upon a Time in Queens” : METS

23 Cyber space? : STORAGE

24 Socializes : MIXES

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25 Teaching assistants, often : GRADERS

28 Certain Thanksgiving dish : BOAT

30 Mass apparel : ALBS

31 Pilots, e.g. : TESTS

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32 Had a hiccup : FALTERED

33 Till the end of time : EVERMORE

34 Doubly disadvantageous : LOSELOSE

38 Fair-hiring agcy. : EEOC

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40 Home to England’s Jurassic Coast : DORSET

41 Fan settings : SPEEDS

43 Unhappy chorus : JEERS

46 Galley command : STET

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49 Arkansas pol Hutchinson : ASA

50 New Orleans setting: Abbr. : CST

51 Carrier to 46-Across, for short : KAL

52 Device sold with a remote : WII

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