Technologies

Google to require vaccinations as Silicon Valley rethinks return-to-office policies

Apple, Facebook, Twitter and Netflix are also updating their COVID-19 protocols.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Wednesday told employees the company will require vaccinations for employees working on the company’s campuses, a move that comes as the highly contagious delta variant of the COVID-19 virus spreads across the world. The policy will begin in the US and expand to other regions over the next few months.

Pichai also delayed the company’s mandatory return to office to Oct. 18, pushing back the date from an earlier goal of September.

«Getting vaccinated is one of the most important ways to keep ourselves and our communities healthy in the months ahead,» Pichai wrote in an email to employees. «I know that many of you continue to deal with very challenging circumstances related to the pandemic.»

Pichai said the policy will be implemented according to local conditions, and he would share guidance and exceptions for people who can’t get vaccinated due to medical or other protected reasons.

The announcement comes as regions around the world have seen coronavirus cases surge due to the delta variant. In California, Google’s home state, some counties have mandated masks again for people gathering indoors.

Google isn’t alone in re-evaluating its return-to-work protocols because of the latest wave of the pandemic. Apple said last week that it would also postpone its date for returning to the office by a month. More than half of Apple’s stores will require customers and employees to wear masks, regardless of vaccination status, starting on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg.

Facebook also said on Wednesday that it would require workers on its US campuses be vaccinated. Netflix will require vaccinations for casts of its US productions, Deadline reported. Twitter said it’s closing the company’s opened offices in New York and San Francisco and pausing future office re-openings. The company said that the office closures are temporary but they don’t have a new timeline for reopening. «We’re continuing to closely monitor local conditions and make necessary changes that prioritize the health and safety of our Tweeps,» a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement.

Uber on Thursday also pushed its global return to office date back to Oct. 25, a delay from its original goal of September. In an internal note to employees, which an Uber representative shared with CNET, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi added that «local circumstances will continue to dictate when it makes sense to bring employees back in a given city,» and that some offices will remain open for employees to come into voluntarily, if local health guidelines allow. Uber will also require employees be fully vaccinated to come into the office, beginning in the US before expanding to other countries. In addition, all Uber employees around the world must now wear masks if they’re in the office.

Google’s return-to-office policies have caused major tension among the tech giant’s employees, who have complained the rules are applied unevenly. Earlier this month, CNET reported that Urs Hölzle, one of Google’s most senior and longest tenured executives, told employees he’d be working remotely from New Zealand. The announcement rankled lower-level workers who called the relocation «hypocritical» because they said he had in the past been unsupportive or remote work.

CNET’s Queenie Wong and Abrar Al-Heeti contributed to this report.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, Aug. 10

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 10

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Woo, my last name is in today’s Mini Crossword! «Cooper» is part of the clue for 3-Down. Did I get that answer? Nope! I had to let the other clues fill it in. But that said, today’s puzzle isn’t too tough, even if your last name isn’t featured. Need answers? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Try to tag
Answer: CHASE

6A clue: Fictional sports icon with a statue by the Philadelphia Museum of Art
Answer: ROCKY

7A clue: Loosen, as laces
Answer: UNTIE

8A clue: Trigger for a werewolf’s transformation
Answer: MOON

9A clue: «It’s freezing!»
Answer: BRR

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Table tidbit
Answer: CRUMB

2D clue: Pay homage to
Answer: HONOR

3D clue: Driver, Cooper or Butler
Answer: ACTOR

4D clue: Poisonous part of a poison dart frog
Answer: SKIN

5D clue: Needle opening
Answer: EYE

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Aug. 10, #321

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Aug. 10, No. 321

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition counts on you knowing a little bit about European soccer venues, so that could help or hurt some puzzle-solvers. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Strength

Green group hint: Start cooking those dogs!

Blue group hint: Anfield is another one.

Purple group hint: They miss their teams.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Fortitude.

Green group: Tailgating needs.

Blue group: Famous soccer venues.

Purple group: Former NFL cities.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is fortitude. The four answers are grit, guts, mettle and moxie.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is tailgating needs. The four answers are chairs, cooler, grill and tent.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is famous soccer venues. The four answers are Camp Nou, Old Trafford, San Siro and Stamford Bridge.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is former NFL cities. The four answers are Canton, Oakland, San Diego and St. Louis.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Aug. 10, #791

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 791, for Sunday, Aug. 10.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle features a fun blue category, especially for bookworms like me. That purple category, though — no one does those random «look for a word inside of a word» categories like the Times. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: To have an effect on something.

Green group hint: Gather together.

Blue group hint: Not nonfiction.

Purple group hint: Look at a high-school or college schedule for hints.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Influence.

Green group: Amass.

Blue group: Kinds of fiction.

Purple group: Starting with math and science classes, for short.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is influence. The four answers are juice, pull, sway and weight.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is amass. The four answers are cluster, collect, concentrate and group.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is kinds of fiction. The four answers are fan, historical, pulp and science.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is starting with math and science classes, for short. The four answers are biopic, calcium, chemise and triglyceride. (Biology, calculus, chemistry and trigonometry.)