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.

As a Minnesota music fan, I got a kick out of 6-Across and 7-Across in today’s NYT Mini Crossword, as they highlight a famed singer from my state. Hint: There’s a recent movie about his early days in New York. 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 at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: T-t-t-turn up the heat!»
Answer: BRR

4A clue: Like fare at a fair, fairly often
Answer: FRIED

6A clue: A complete unknown?
Answer: RANDO

7A clue: A Rolling Stone?
Answer: ISSUE

8A clue: Witch’s spell
Answer: HEX

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: In-your-face assertive
Answer: BRASH

2D clue: Help with the dishes
Answer: RINSE

3D clue: Done again in a similar way
Answer: REDUX

4D clue: The «F» of T.G.I.F.: Abbr.
Answer: FRI

5D clue: Fawn’s mother
Answer: DOE

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.

Marathon, the long-dormant sci-fi shooter from Bungie, makes its return in September. For players who want to try out the new game before it comes out, there will be a closed alpha test starting later this month. 

A trilogy of games released on the Mac back in the ’90s, Marathon put Bungie on the map before it released Halo on the original Xbox. This latest iteration of Marathon is a complete overhaul of the original formula, going from an old-school 3D first-person shooter like Doom to a team-based extraction shooter. Players take the role of runners who drop onto the planet of Tau Ceti IV to search for loot, fortune and secrets.

Here’s what you need to know about Marathon. 

When does Marathon come out? 

Marathon will be released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles on Sept. 23. 

How much will Marathon cost? 

Bungie hasn’t yet provided a price as of the game’s reveal on Saturday. The developer did say on its Marathon X account that the game will not be a «full-priced title,» which should refer to the standard $70 price tag on new games. There is speculation that Marathon could be priced from $40 to $50, although at that price, there will likely be a wealth of microtransactions. 

When does the Marathon closed alpha test start? 

The closed alpha test begins on April 23 and runs through May 4.

How can I join the Marathon closed alpha test? 

Those interested in joining the closed alpha test can sign up at the Marathon Discord channel. Once you’re in the channel, follow these steps: 

• Go to the «alpha_access» channel (a link to that channel can be found in the «marathon-news» channel)
• Once in «alpha_access,» type in «/alpha»
• You’ll receive a private message with instructions and a unique link to sign up for the test
• If you’re picked, you will receive an email from marathonthegame@info.bungie.net sometime before the alpha test starts

What is this new Marathon? 

Marathon has players explore the lost human colony on Tau Ceti IV, either as a team or solo. They’ll have to explore zones occupied by rival players, computer-controlled forces and other threats on the planet. Players choose from different runner classes, such as the stealth Void, which can use active camo. 

The game is an extraction shooter, the latest craze in gaming genres. Extraction shooters differ from looter shooters such as Borderlands and The Division, because you need to escape the area (hence extraction) in order to keep all the loot you’ve gathered. Die and all those goodies are up for grabs for other players. The more loot you return with, the better the chances of survival next time. 

How does the new Marathon game connect to the older games? 

In the original Marathon games, Tau Ceti IV was the home to a human colony of 30,000 people. It was ultimately destroyed by an alien race called the Pfhor that was working with an AI called Durandal. 

At the end of the gameplay reveal on Saturday, Bungie released a cinematic video providing some insight about the Runners exploring Tau Ceti IV. There are some questions about what really happened to the colony, and the details about this will ultimately be revealed as players explore the world. 

The car-rental company Hertz is warning its customers that a data breach exposed personal information including driver’s licenses, credit-card data, contact information and in some cases social security or passport numbers. 

The company said that hackers breached Cleo Communications, a company that it works with for file transfers. 

The company said in a «Notice of Data Incident» statement (PDF) on its website: «We completed this data analysis on April 2, 2025, and concluded that the personal information involved in this event may include the following: name, contact information, date of birth, credit card information, driver’s license information and information related to workers’ compensation claims. A very small number of individuals may have had their Social Security or other government identification numbers, passport information, Medicare or Medicaid ID (associated with workers’ compensation claims), or injury-related information associated with vehicle accident claims impacted by the event.»

In an additional statement to CNET, a spokesperson for the company said Hertz takes privacy and security seriously. 

«Importantly, to date, our forensic investigation has found no evidence that Hertz’s own network was affected by this event,» the spokesperson said. «However, among many other companies affected by this event, we have confirmed that Hertz data was acquired by an unauthorized third party that we understand exploited zero-day vulnerabilities within Cleo’s platform in October 2024 and December 2024.»

WK Kellogg (yes, the cereal company) was apparently affected as well by the same window of data vulnerability that Hertz says took place between October and December 2024. Hertz says it became aware of the breach on Feb. 10.

Hertz is offering its customers two years of identity-theft protection with Kroll and included a phone number to contact for information on the breach, 866-408-8964.

Another in a long list of breaches

Consumers have over the last few years had to deal with the fallout of multiple large-scale data breaches that have affected customers of companies including AT&T, Ticketmaster and others.

Franklin Orellana, a cybersecurity expert and program chair of data science at Post University, said that the Hertz breach may be different in the type of information that was collected.

«While the size of the Hertz breach may not be as large as some of the more recent ones, the nature of what was exposed makes it particularly concerning,» Orellana said. «That kind of sensitive data can be more far-reaching in its implications for consumers, especially in cases of identity theft or license-cloning fraud.» 

Incidents like this, he said, are part of a rise in data breaches that affect third-party vendors of companies. Orellana pointed to a National Credit Union Administration report from a few years ago showing that 73 percent of data breaches involved a third party that was working with a credit union.

Sharing data with third parties can increase the possibilities of attack. 

«These breaches are generally due to a lack of control or visibility in the security stance of these partners, and supply chain risk is, therefore, one of the most significant concerns in cybersecurity today,» he said.

As to what consumers can do about data vulnerabilities they aren’t directly responsible for, there aren’t many options for protection, he said. 

«Unfortunately, in cases like these, consumers are largely powerless. You can do everything right, strong passwords, two-factor authentification, and up-to-date software, and still be vulnerable if a third party doesn’t store your data safely.»

Orellana added, «The burden truly is on businesses to vet vendors carefully and to have strong data protection policies across the entire ecosystem.»