Technologies

COVID booster shot timing still in flux for most. Everything to know today

This week, the White House announced it was prepared to give more Americans booster shots as early as Sept. 20. So who can get them and when?

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

President Joe Biden announced a new pandemic action plan on Thursday, which addressed new vaccine mandates, booster shots, expanded COVID-19 testing and the economic recovery. Saying, «We’ve been patient, but our patience is wearing thin,» Biden underlined concerns around coronavirus breakthrough cases among the fully vaccinated, especially in areas with low vaccination rates.

As a component of the multistep «Path Out of the Pandemic» plan, the White House reiterated its recommendation for vaccine boosters to stay ahead of the virus. While Biden said there are enough boosters to be administered by the original late September projection, the details surrounding who can get them — and when — are pending authorization by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The push for boosters is based on research showing how the effectiveness of the vaccines can decline over time. An additional shot provides enhanced protection against the surging COVID-19 delta variant. In his remarks this week, Biden pointed out that the risk of severe illness from a breakthrough case is still minimal: There’s only one confirmed positive case per day among every 5,000 people who’ve been fully inoculated.

Read on for what we know about COVID-19 booster shots today, including who can get them now and why they’re needed. We’ll also explain how they relate to breakthrough infections and what the controversy has been surrounding the shots. We’ve updated this story recently.

When will COVID booster shots be made available to all?

On Thursday, Biden didn’t give a specific date for the first round of booster shots. Instead, he said they would be available once they’re approved. «As soon as they are authorized, those eligible will be able to get a booster right away, in ten of thousands of sites across the country … and for free,» Biden said.

The latest White House statement says the administration is prepared to offer boosters as early as Sept. 20, which was the date laid out in the initial August booster recommendation. On Sept. 3, the New York Times reported that the FDA and the CDC were advising the White House to scale back its timeline.

While the original booster recommendation applied to the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, government officialshave recently cautioned that boosters may first be available for thosewho received the Pfizer vaccine, because regulators may need more timeto evaluate the other vaccines. On Sept. 5,Chief Medical Adviser Anthony Fauci confirmed that the rollout forModerna’s vaccine booster could come later than Pfizer’s.

Why are booster shots even necessary?

«Recent data makes clear that protection against mild and moderate disease has decreased over time,» US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said during an August briefing on COVID-19 vaccines. «This is likely due to both waning immunity and the strength of the widespread delta variant.»

Calling the eradication of the COVID-19 virus «unlikely,» a UK scientific advisory group found (PDF) a «realistic possibility» that a variant will emerge that is resistant to the current battery of vaccines. Governments, public health organizations and vaccine makers are all tracking developments in coronavirus variants like delta and lambda, hoping to determine if booster shots targeting new variants will be needed among the general population.

Why is a Pfizer vaccine booster likely to be available first?

According to a report by the New York Times onSept. 3, administration health officials warn that the scientists of the FDA and CDC maynot have enough time to approve boosters from all vaccine manufacturersin time to meet Biden’s goal of starting booster shots on Sept. 20.

«We were hoping that we would get bothproducts, Moderna and Pfizer, rolled out by the week of the 20th,» Fauci said on Sept. 5. «It isconceivable that we will only have one of them out, but the other willlikely follow soon thereafter.»

Who would be eligible to get a vaccine booster shot?

In August, health officials in the Biden administration recommended an additional shot for Americans 18 and over who are fully vaccinated with the Pfizer or Moderna shots, proposing a booster eight months after being fully vaccinated.

Waiting months in between doses allows the immune system to develop a full response before it is helped by a boost. Whatever the time gap, the booster plan would need to be evaluated and approved by government scientists.

«We believe that that third dose will ultimately be needed to provide the fullest and continual extent of protection that we think people need from the virus,» Murthy said. «Our plan is to stay ahead of this virus by being prepared to offer COVID-19 booster shots to fully vaccinated adults 18 years and older.»

Murthy said the FDA will evaluate booster shots for those younger than 18 years of age, and the administration will follow FDA recommendations for minors.

How does FDA approval of Pfizer’s vaccine impact boosters?

On Aug. 23, the FDA approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for two doses for people 16 and older. The Pfizer vaccine is the first to receive FDA approval, while Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are available under an emergency use authorization. And for children ages 12 to 15, Pfizer’s vaccine is authorized for emergency use.

While a third dose for some immunocompromised individuals is authorized for emergency use, the FDA final authorization does not include a booster shot.

Some health care experts believe the two-shot approval could give a push to those who were waiting on the FDA before getting vaccinated. The approval could also lead to more businesses, schools and venues mandating vaccine requirements.

What about a Johnson & Johnson booster?

On Aug. 25, Johnson & Johnson saida booster shot of its COVID-19 vaccine increases antibody responses inthose who received the company’s one-dose vaccine, based on interimdatafrom anearly trial. Biden administration health officials said they expect those who received the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will need another jab, but more research is necessary.

The company said it would work with public healthofficials on a plan for a booster shot for eightmonths or longerafter the first dose of its vaccine, but there is no time frame in place. Currently,the one-doseJohnson & Johnson vaccine is available under anemergency useauthorization for individuals 18 years of age and older.

Who is eligible for booster shots now?

Some immunocompromised people who already are eligible under guidelines from the CDC can go out and get their third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine immediately. The list of people who are eligible now includes solid-organ transplant recipients and people who have an «equivalent level of immunocompromise» and who have a reduced ability to fight off infections, making them more vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Among those immunocompromised people, the booster recommendation is for those 18 and older for the Moderna vaccine, and 12 and older for the Pfizer vaccine. The FDA didn’t authorize an additional dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, and because of a lack of data the CDC hasn’t recommended a second dose for immunocompromised people who got the one-shot vaccine.

About 3% of US adults are immunocompromised, according to the CDC, but research suggests they account for about 44% of hospitalized breakthrough cases of COVID-19. Not only are they more likely to get very ill from COVID-19, they also have a lower antibody response to vaccines and are at a higher risk of transmitting the virus.

Those with other conditions, like diabetes and heart disease, aren’t advised to get a booster, at least for now. Here’s a list of people the CDC recommends get an extra dose if they got the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine:

Those with advanced or untreated HIV infection.
Cancer patients and transplant recipients who are taking certain immunosuppressive drugs.
Those receiving active cancer treatment for tumors or cancers of the blood.
Those with moderate or severe primary immunodeficiency.
Patients being treated with high-dose corticosteroids or other drugs that may suppress immune response.
People who received a stem cell transplant within the last two years and are taking certain drugs. The CDC says to talk to your medical provider about your health condition and whether a third shot is appropriate.

If you’re unsure whether you’re qualified, the CDC says to talk to your medical provider about your health condition and whether a third dose is appropriate.

Will booster shots be free?

The current one-dose vaccine shot from Johnson & Johnson and two-dose vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer are free to anyone who wants to get vaccinated. And the additional shots will be free too.

«These booster shots are free,» Biden said. «It will be easy. Just show your vaccination card and you’ll get a booster. No other ID. No insurance. No state registry requirements.»

«It will be just as easy and convenient to get a booster shot as it is to get a first shot today. We have enough vaccine supply for every American,» said White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients, adding that those who are eligible will be able to get a booster at roughly 80,000 places across the country, including over 40,000 local pharmacies. Zients said 90% of Americans have a vaccine site within 5 miles of where they live.

Vaccines.gov provides information, including what vaccines are available at each site and, for many sites, what appointments are open. A toll-free number, 1-800-232-0233, will also be available in over 150languages. Americans who have already utilized the text code 438829 orWhatsApp to get vaccine information will automatically receive a textwith information on boosters, if and when recommended.

What’s happening with COVID-19 breakthrough cases?

As of July, in the US, «breakthrough» coronavirus cases caused by the dominant delta variant amount to less than 1% of people who are fully vaccinated. Both the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have proven to be more than 90% effective against hospitalizations and death. Nonetheless, a CDC study shows that vaccinated people can both contract the highly contagious delta variant and spread it. According to a widely reported internal CDC memo, the delta variant spreads as easily as chicken pox, which is considered more contagious than the flu but less contagious than measles.

The surge in new COVID-19 cases is primarily affecting unvaccinated people and causing community spread, and in turn, prompting the return of mask mandates and guidance in hard-hit areas, even for people who have full vaccine protection. The debate over mask use and vaccine boosters underscores how scientists and other health experts continue to grapple with the uncertainties of COVID-19.

What’s the controversy with the WHO over booster shots?

The plan for boosters has resulted in a backlash among countries that are struggling to deliver first and second shots to residents.

Last month, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for a «moratorium» on booster shots in high-income countries, citing the global disparity in vaccine distribution. Of the 4 billion doses administered globally, 80% have gone to high- and upper-middle income countries that make up less than half the world’s population, he said. He also called on vaccine producers to prioritize Covax, the world’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution program.

At a Sept. 8 news conference, Tedros said that the world’s poor shouldn’t have to be satisfied with leftovers. «Because manufacturers have prioritized or been legally obliged to fulfill bilateral deals with rich countries willing to pay top dollar, low-income countries have been deprived of the tools to protect their people,» he said.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Aug. 17 that the US will have enough vaccines to both provide boosters for those who are fully vaccinated in the US and meet the global demand. «We have long planned from enough supply,» she said.

The US has so far shipped 115 million vaccine doses to 80 different countries, Zients said. «Our wartime efforts will continue doing everything we can to get even more people vaccinated both here at home and around the world. We can and must do both at the same time because that’s what it’s going to take to end this pandemic,» he said.

Is it okay to mix and match COVID-19 vaccines?

According to the New York Times, administration officials will recommend people get a booster of the same vaccine they originally received. On Sunday, Fauci said the White House will soon release data on mixing vaccines from different manufacturers.

While we watch how the situation develops, here’s what we know about the delta variant and info on whether you should continue to wear a mask.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

iPhone WWDC Wishes: What We Want to See Apple Include in iOS 19

Whether Apple calls it iOS 19 or iOS 26, these are some of the things we hope the tech giant brings to the iPhone next.

Apple is set to hold its Worldwide Developer Conference on Monday, when the tech giant will show the world what it’s been cooking up during the past year for iOS 19 — or iOS 26 — the software that runs the iPhone. Until then, CNET’s experts have their own ideas about what Apple should bring to the iPhone.

While iOS 18 brought some useful new features to all iPhones, like RCS messaging, and Apple Intelligence to newer iPhones, we’re still taking bets on what Apple will include in iOS 19. Reports suggest Apple is planning a significant redesign of the iPhone OS, changing everything from icons, apps, menus and more. But CNET’s writers and editors have a few ideas we’d like to see in the upcoming OS. Some things we’ve asked for in the past, like customizable lock screen controls, have come to fruition, so maybe we’ll hit the mark again this year.

Here are some of the features and changes we hope Apple includes in the upcoming iOS software.

Bring split screen to the iPhone

Add a native split screen. It’s been available on Android phones and the iPad for years. But on iOS I still have to run my calculator and budget tracking note in two separate windows.

— Mike Sorrentino

Start a workout right from my iPhone

I’d like the ability to start an outdoor workout from the Fitness app on my iPhone (like I can do in Strava or Polar). That way if I forget to wear my Apple Watch or I don’t have one, I can still record my workout. The Apple Watch uses heart rate data to calculate move minutes but I don’t see why the iPhone can’t give me credit for an actual workout using other indicators like distance/pace on a run.

— Vanessa Hand Orellana

No more green bubbles, please

I’m overjoyed Apple added RCS messaging with iOS 18, but I’m going to dream big here: I’d love it if texts with Android users weren’t still green! While it’s great to be able to finally send high-resolution media and see typing indicators with folks who aren’t also using iMessage, it’s still far too easy for iPhone users to scoff at anyone turning their text thread green. End the pettiness once and for all!

— Abrar Al-Heeti

An easier way to manage unused apps

I have more apps on my iPhone than I’ll ever use, after years of installing things to try out and then forgetting about them. Shunting everything into the App Library helps get it out of mind, but that’s the app version of keeping a box of cables you think you might need some day. So I’d like a way to clean up apps, similar to how you can identify large apps in Settings > General > Storage. Let me see when I installed them, the last time I used them and be able to delete the ones I no longer want. I know this sounds fiddly but the thought of going through them all manually is exhausting, so that will never happen.

— Jeff Carlson

Searchable clipboard manager for all your copy and paste needs

I want a clipboard manager in iOS 19. The iPhone has a single copy and paste option, meaning if you copy something, and then copy something else, that first thing you copied is lost. For iOS 19, I’d love to see a searchable clipboard manager, one that has a history of all the things I’ve copied in the last hour, day, week or even month. And if I paste something, I’d like to see multiple options that I can choose from appear right at my fingertip.

— Nelson Aguilar

More customization options for all screens

I want more lock screen, home screen and Control Center customization options, please. I’d like to place my lock screen controls elsewhere on the screen so I don’t accidentally open any control — including, yes, my flashlight. Same thing with the home screen. I appreciate being able to place apps anywhere as long as they are within Apple’s oppressive grid that locks our apps into little boxes. If you have large icons — like I do — there’s an entire empty row at the bottom where it looks like apps or folders can go there but they can’t. Let us breathe the air of freedom, Apple! Please, for the love of everything good, let me move the scroll bar on the right side of the Control Center. I keep hitting it when I open the Control Center and it takes me to a page I don’t intend to be on, which makes it frustrating to use.

— Zach McAuliffe

Long press, double click and more action button triggers

Now that the Action button is on more iPhones, please add support for triggering different shortcuts with multiple presses. In its current setup, I can set the Action button to trigger one action at a time. By default it can toggle between turning on the ringer and putting your iPhone into silent mode. But there are a number of other options for it like being able to open the Camera app and take a photo or make an elaborate automation in the Shortcuts app like to use it to order coffee from Dunkin’.

But the Action button could do so much more if Apple would add support for multiple input clicks. Like it could be a toggle for ringer/silent mode with a single long press, but do something else (like turn on/off the flashlight) with a double-long press. I think this would add so much functionality to the button and as a result open it up to even more people taking more advantage of it.

— Patrick Holland

Better Log video editing tools

I want iOS 19 to add better editing tools for Log video. The ability to shoot Log footage directly on the iPhone is amazing for enthusiastic filmmakers like me but it can only be edited by transferring it off of your phone to an iPad or MacBook. I’d love to see Apple bring deeper editing tools to be able to add cinematic color grades to your Log footage directly on your iPhone.

— Andrew Lanxon

Intelligently organize photos by event in the Photos app

Okay, we’re all glad that in iOS 18 Apple improved the Photos search by adding AI image recognition to actually bring up all the images of your cats. It slightly makes up for the questionable revamped layout of photos and albums that confuses me to this day. I’d love it if in iOS 19, the Photos app had a new way to view photos: in a timeline intelligently organized by event. Say you go to the park for a birthday and have a bunch of photos clearly from the same occasion — the app prompts you to confirm they’re all connected, asks for a title and, boom, event logged. Then I could look at a vertical timeline of logged events from the past few months or years, all of which can be searched if I can’t quite remember, say, when I last went to the park. Yes, I can do this manually by making albums, but it’s the kind of fastidious labor I just can’t bring myself to keep up with. That’s what I want AI to do for me.

— David Lumb

Simple volume controls across the iPhone

Sometimes it’s the small changes that can help make for a smoother experience. I want to see Apple clean up volume controls. If I set the volume to a certain level, I want it to stay at that level for all applications. Sometimes the settings can vary depending on what you’re doing. Too often I come across the problem of lowering my volume to prepare to listen to something — but surprise! — the volume is loud again because I put in headphones and it keeps the louder setting I used the last time I listened to music in my headphones. It just leads to unnecessary frustrations, and makes users feel like they don’t really have control of their devices.

— Bridget Carey

For more on Apple, here’s what to expect from WWDC 2025 and our thoughts on the iPhone 16 Pro and iOS 18 months after their launch. You can also check out our iOS 18 cheat sheet.

Technologies

Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’: The Huge Tax and Medicaid Implications You Need to Know

The GOP’s contentious budget bill narrowly passed in the House, faces dissent in the Senate and has drawn the ire of Elon Musk in a big way.

President Donald Trump has made the extension of the 2017 tax cuts one of his major second-term economic goals — you know, aside from all those tariffs — but as the so-called «One Big Beautiful Bill» has moved forward, it’s faced major pushback. Some of this opposition might lead to significant changes to the bill and how it might ultimately impact you, especially when it comes to taxes and services like Medicaid.

After much back-and-forth, negotiation and failed votes, the bill passed in the House of Representatives by the thinnest margin possible, 215-214-1. The bill is now moving through the Senate, where it is expected to face more alterations before getting across the finish line. While the GOP has been attempting to use the reconciliation process to avoid the bill being filibustered by Democrats, it is still expected to face intra-party dissent similar to what it went through in the House over its cuts either being too severe or not severe enough.

Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO and one-time Trump adviser who led the «DOGE» government consolidation efforts, spoke out against the bill in an unsparing fashion in a Tuesday post to X, decrying it as too heavy on spending. This disagreement with Trump and his agenda led to a prolonged public spat between the president and his one-time senior advisor.

«This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,» Musk wrote. «Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.»

Despite the broad nature of the bill, one of its central goals remains the extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. Passed for the first time early in his first term, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as it was officially known, was one of Trump’s signature legislative accomplishments and has generally become known as the «Trump tax cuts.» Given the nature of how that bill was passed initially, a lot of its provisions are set to expire next year if a new extension isn’t passed, so doing just that has unsurprisingly emerged as a major priority for Trump and the GOP-led houses of Congress.

The president and his allies have also tried to claim that his aggressive tariff agenda could help offset the extension of the tax cuts, although, as we’ve touched on before at CNET, that is just one of the often-contradictory stated goals for the tariffs.

Details about the budget bill Republicans have emerged in the past few weeks as it moved through the House Ways and Means Committee approval process. The Congressional Budget Office, an agency that provides estimates about the economic impacts of budgetary bills that is not affiliated with any party, estimated that the cuts called for in this bill would cost millions of people their health insurance and food benefits. The proposal initially failed to pass a vote in the House, leading to its cuts for Medicaid becoming even heavier.

All this comes in addition to the longstanding criticism from Democrats and other critics that Trump’s tax cuts disproportionately help the wealthiest Americans more than the working class. While there is truth to that argument, and to the Republican counter that the tax cuts would provide some help to taxpayers at all incomes, the new proposed cuts unveiled this week have given more weight to the notion that they will be more harmful for the least wealthy Americans.

For all the details about what extending the tax cuts will actually mean and what the current terms mean for things like Medicaid, keep reading. For more, find out if Trump could actually abolish the Department of Education.

How will the budget bill impact Medicaid?

According to the estimates from the Congressional Budget Office mentioned at the start of this piece, at least 7.6 million Americans would lose Medicaid health insurance under the provisions in the budget proposal. That’s nearly 11% of the 70 million Americans who are currently insured by Medicaid. The proposal would, among other things, require people without dependent children or a disability to meet an 80-hour-a-month work requirement to qualify for Medicaid and increase the frequency with which people will need to confirm their continued eligibility.

These new requirements were originally set to take effect in 2029 under the bill’s failed House version, but they were moved forward to 2026 in the bill’s passed version.

What would extending the Trump tax cuts mean?

While the phrase «Trump tax cuts» has become a common media shorthand for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the current conversation around it might suggest that new cuts could be on the way. Although Trump has floated ideas for additional cuts, it’s important to note that extending the 2017 provisions would, for the most part, keep tax rates and programs at the levels they’ve been at since then.

So while it may be a better option than having the provisions expire — which would increase certain tax rates and decrease certain credits — extending the tax cuts most likely won’t change how you’ve been taxed the past eight years. However, some estimates have predicted that extending the cuts would boost income in 2026, with the conservative-leaning Tax Foundation in particular predicting a 2.9% rise on average, based on a combination of other economic predictions combined with tax rates staying where they are.

What would change if the Trump tax cuts expire?

Republicans contend that the tax cuts helped a wide swath of Americans, and the Tax Foundation predicted that 60% of tax filers would see higher rates in 2026 without an extension.

A big part of that has to do with tax bracket changes. The 2017 provisions lowered the income tax rates across the seven brackets, aside from the first (10%) and the sixth (35%). If the current law expires, those rates would go up by between 1% and 3%.

Income limits for each bracket would also revert to pre-2017 levels. Lending credence to the Democrats’ counterarguments, these shifts under the Trump tax cuts appeared to be more beneficial to individuals and couples at higher income levels than to those making closer to the average US income.

If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty numbers, you can check out the Tax Foundation’s full breakdown. Another point in Democrats’ favor? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also cut corporate tax rates from 35% to 21%, and unlike many of its other provisions, this one was permanent and won’t expire in 2026.

What would happen to the standard deduction?

This is another area in which a lot of people would be hit hard. The standard deduction lets taxpayers lower their taxable income, as long as they forgo itemizing any deductions.

For the 2025 tax year, the standard deduction is $15,000 for individual filers and $30,000 for joint filers. If the tax cuts expire, these numbers will drop by nearly half, down to $8,350 for individuals and $16,700 for joint filers.

Under the current reconciliation bill, the deduction would increase to $16,000 for individuals and $32,000 for joint filers, but only through 2028.

What would happen to the child tax credit?

The child tax credit is one of the most popular credits. Its current levels — $2,000 per qualifying child, which phases out starting at a gross income of $200,000 for single filers and $400,000 for joint filers — were actually set by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

If an extension or new bill isn’t passed, next year the child tax credit would revert to its old levels: $1,000 per child, which starts phasing out at $75,000 for single filers and $110,000 for joint filers.

If the current budget bill is implemented, the credit will be upped to $2,500 per child through 2028, before dropping to $2,000 as its new permanent rate.

Do the Trump tax cuts really favor the wealthy?

Higher-income individuals and couples fared notably better with the changes the Trump tax cuts made to tax brackets. An estimate from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a left-leaning think tank, found that the poorest 20% of Americans would see only about 1% of the bill’s net tax cuts. Numerous similar estimates agree that these small benefits for the poorest taxpayers would be outweighed by rising costs caused by tariffs.

Conversely, ITEP’s estimate found that the richest 20% of US taxpayers would benefit from around 67% of the bill’s net tax cuts, with the richest 5% benefitting from half of them.

How much would extending the tax cuts cost?

Both the Congressional Budget Office and the Tax Foundation have estimated that the reconciliation bill’s tax cut extension would raise the US deficit by $4.5 trillion over the course of 10 years. The Tax Foundation also estimated that it could raise the country’s GDP to offset that number, but only by about $710 billion, or about 16% of the deficit increase.

For more, see how Trump’s tariffs might be affecting the prices of several key products in our daily tracker.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, June 7

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 7.

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.

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword could be tricky. 1-Down and 5-Down stumped me for a while, but the other letters filled it in for me. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? 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: Yoga class need
Answer: MAT

4A clue: Umlaut, rotated 90°
Answer: COLON

6A clue: «That is shocking!»
Answer: OHMYGOD

8A clue: «___ You the One?» (reality TV show)
Answer: ARE

9A clue: Egg cells
Answer: OVA

10A clue: One of two «royal» sleeping options
Answer: KINGBED

12A clue: Bar seating
Answer: STOOL

13A clue: Favorite team of the «Chicago Pope,» for short
Answer: SOX

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Slices of life
Answer: MOMENTS

2D clue: Olympic gymnast Raisman
Answer: ALY

3D clue: Request at the end of a restaurant meal
Answer: TOGOBOX

4D clue: Hayes of MSNBC
Answer: CHRIS

5D clue: Medium for Melville or McCarthy
Answer: NOVEL

6D clue: Wood used for wine barrels
Answer: OAK

7D clue: June honoree
Answer: DAD

11D clue: Sticky stuff
Answer: GOO

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.