We give Times Employees a preview of Crossplay from New York Times Games, and...
I can finally play with other people.
“I'm pretty competitive, it's fun to beat friends and co-workers.”
I have a J for 10 points. I'm guessing Tenga is not a word, let's see. Tenga is a word. Oh! As an English as a second language speaker, I like to learn new words.
Crossplay, the first two-player word game from New York Times Games. Download it for free today. From the New York Times, it's the headlines. I'm Tracy Mumford. Today's Monday, March 16th.
Here's what we're covering.
“The war with Iran has now entered its third week.”
When are you going to know when it's over? When I feel it. Okay. Fill it up my bones. Will you ask anybody in particular?
Would that be some of the joint decisions? Fill it people, I have great people. White House officials say they still expected to last for four to six weeks. But Iran remains defiant. Has Iran asked for a ceasefire?
No, we never asked for a ceasefire.
We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes. This weekend, the country's foreign minister vowed to fight on. The Pentagon says Iran is firing 90 to 95% fewer missiles and drones than at the start of the war. But retaliatory attacks by its forces and its proxy militias are still causing havoc in the region. Over the weekend, missiles hit the Baghdad International Airport and smoke was rising from one of the UAE's largest oil export terminals.
As the war continues, my colleagues say there are two major questions confronting President Trump. The first? What to do about the state of Hormuz? The price of oil is continued to climb, triggering economic repercussions worldwide as traffic through the straight remains all but cut off. On Saturday, Trump put out a call on social media for other countries to send support.
He asked China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain for naval forces. It was his first public acknowledgement that keeping the vital waterway open could require help in more resources beyond what the US has in the region right now. In a recent meeting, a frustrated Trump asked the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff why the US can't just reopen the straight itself and he got a straightforward answer. Even one Iranian soldier or militia member in a speedboat could fire a missile at a slow-moving tanker or plant a mine on its hull.
Officials say it would be a hugely expensive and dangerous operation for the US military to fully clear the straight.
“The second question facing Trump is will the war require American troops on the ground?”
One potential target for that is cargo island, Iran's oil export hub, which Trump has threatened to destroy if the straight remains closed.
Seizing and holding that land, though, could require the kind of continuing military presence Trump has said he never wants to repeat.
The other potential target is the deep tunnels inland where the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran's nearly weapons grade uranium is stored. Trump has said he wants to make sure the country can never have a nuclear weapon, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said of the uranium at one point, "People are going to have to go and get it." That would require an immensely risky operation that Trump has said he is considering, but not ready to order. At a time when a lot of global attention is focused on the war with Iran, there's been a rise in attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
Israeli settlers have been terrorizing Palestinians in the occupied territory. The Israeli military insists it's working to prevent that, but few have been brought to justice. And this weekend, a family car ride ended in horror after Israeli forces themselves opened fire. It happened late Saturday night. The car was packed with a father, mother, and their four sons.
Going out late in night with the kids, especially in the last days of Ramadan, is a thing, and it's pretty common. The kids got what we know as munchkins, fried doughnut holes. They saved them in a bag for later. The parents took them to the mall to buy clothes for the eat festival, which is coming in a few days to mark the end of Ramadan. It was a really happy night apparently, and then they turned around and went home. David Halbfinger is the Times Jerusalem Bureau Chief. He spoke with two of the boys, who were the only survivors.
They told them they were just a few minutes from home when their mother, who had one son on her lap, needed to reach something in her bag. She asked her husband to pull over. Suddenly, the boys said they saw laser pointer shining on their family from every direction. Their mother screamed, and the shots started. Khaled is 11, and a sixth grader, his little brother, Mustafa, is 8. He seemed to be still in shock. They both did.
They told the story of how this happened as best they could.
The older boy Khaled described being beaten by Israeli soldiers.
“Finally, they were told they could head towards a Palestinian ambulance.”
As they were walking by, one of the Israeli officers opened the front door of the car. And they looked and saw their parents' bodies. The West Bank is just an incredibly dangerous place to be a Palestinian right now. The father who was killed was actually pretty confident about his ability to keep his family safe. And to be safe himself, he spoke fluent Hebrew from his time and working in construction in Israel.
And he considered himself a fairly smooth talker. And he knew that he was not a threat and posed no threat.
“And so he believed that even if he came into contact or was stopped by Israeli soldiers, that he'd be able to talk his way out of trouble.”
In this case, he didn't get the chance. Yesterday morning, the Israeli police and military issued a joint statement saying their officers and soldiers had been on a mission to arrest suspected terrorists in the area. And that a vehicle accelerated toward them, and they, quote, responded by shooting. They said the circumstances are under investigation. This week, the Senate is set to consider President Trump's new pick to lead the Department of Homeland Security.
Senator Mark Wayne Mullen, a Republican from Oklahoma. Trump tapped him after firing Kristi Nome.
“As the potential new head of DHS, Mullen would have sway over billions of dollars in contracts, which has put a new level of scrutiny on his own financial dealings.”
The times has compiled a look at his trading history. When Mullen was first elected to Congress in 2012, much of his wealth came from his family's plumbing business. But since selling the company a few years ago, he's become one of the most prolific stock buyers among lawmakers. According to his disclosure forms, he's at least tripled his wealth over his time in Congress.
The forms only require lawmakers to provide a broad range, and they show his assets jumped from somewhere between about three and nine million to between 29 and 97 million.
A few days after Christmas, Mullen reported buying shares in Chevron, the only U.S. oil giant producing in Venezuela. Five days later, Trump attacked Venezuela, and demanded that its leadership give better terms to U.S. companies. Chevron's stock price has since jumped, even as the market as a whole slipped. Other companies, the Mullen family has bought and sold shares of, are in the healthcare and defense space, which can be affected by committees, Mullen serves on, like the Armed Services Committee.
There's no indication that Mullen had inside knowledge of any plans enacted on them, and a spokeswoman for the senator said he doesn't personally direct the purchases. But critics of lawmakers being able to trade stocks while in office say the permissive rules make it hard for Americans to know whether their representatives are acting in their best interests or their own. President Trump himself has urged Congress to pass a measure that would put limits on lawmakers and their families trading. When asked if Mullen supported those tighter rules, his spokeswoman said he's now focused on serving at DHS and would leave that question to Congress.
In the world of internet fraud, the time's has been looking at a new troubling trend. A couple years ago, an American man in his late 70s fell victim to an elaborate online romance scam.
Cybercriminals created a fake identity convinced him to send money, and eventually took off with more than a million dollars.
For two years, the case went nowhere until a few months ago, when a glimmer of hope appeared for the family. A lawyer who said he was working with the Treasury Department reached out to say authorities were on the case and might even be able to get some of the money back. A video call was set up with a man's son who was skeptical but still held some hope. He talked to the lawyer, but when he asked to see credentials, he realized it was another scam, praying on victims who would do almost anything like pay a lawyer tens of thousands of dollars to recover their losses.
It's part of a growing type of online fraud called recovery scams. Some cybercriminals have even set up websites promising they can get the money back, and some show up at the top of search results. Experts on fraud say they only expect to see more of this, especially as the pool of victims grows. Americans lost at least $16 billion to online scams in 2024, the last year on record, leaving many desperate for any solution.
Authorities say victims should go directly to the FBI, which will never ask for money.
Finally.
No, it's great to be back hosting the Oscars last year when I hosted Los Angeles was on fire.
“But this year, everything's going great.”
Last night at the Oscars hosted once again by Conan O'Brien, the top prize best picture went to one battle after another. Paul Thomas Anderson's darkly funny epic about authoritarianism and civil resistance. Thank you very, very, very much. You make a guy work hard for one of these. I really appreciate it.
“That film picked up a lot of statues, but sinners, the twisty vampire flick set in Jim Crow, Mississippi, also racked up several wins, including for Ryan Kougler's original screenplay.”
I'm so honored to be here, and I really want all the women in the room to stand up, because I feel like I don't get here without you guys. The cinematographer of sinners, Autumn D'Archipau, also won last night.
The first time the cinematography prize has gone to a woman.
“As for the acting wins, here's a quick rundown.”
Michael B. Jordan scooped up best actor, leaving Timothy Schallemay with nothing after backlash to some of his antics on the Oscars campaign trail. Jesse Buckley completed her award season sweep, getting best actress for Hamlet, best supporting actor went to Sean Penn for his role in one battle, though he was a no-show. And best supporting actress went to Amy Madigan, who's been the crowd-favorite success story of this award season.
She's worked in Hollywood for decades, and now at 75, managed to win her first Oscar for an absolutely terrifying and cookie horror movie villain in weapons.
Not the typical award show fair. For a full wrap up of the awards, go to NYTimes.com. Those are the headlines. Today on the Daily, a look at Israel's bombardment of Lebanon. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm Tracy Mumford, we'll be back tomorrow.
