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.

How well do you know your standard cake recipe ingredients? Today’s NYT Mini Crossword could be tricky if you don’t, but the three ingredients called for are pretty standard for baking, so you should be able to wing it. 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: One of three primary ingredients in sponge cake
Answer: EGGS

5A clue: Sponge cake ingredient #2
Answer: FLOUR

7A clue: Lower body exercise with one foot stretched forward and one back
Answer: LUNGE

8A clue: First-stringers
Answer: ATEAM

9A clue: Towel cloth material
Answer: TERRY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Key just above D
Answer: EFLAT

2D clue: Butt muscle, informally
Answer: GLUTE

3D clue: One who’s completely toast
Answer: GONER

4D clue: Sponge cake ingredient #3
Answer: SUGAR

6D clue: ___ Martin (brand of cognac)
Answer: REMY

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.

My phone pings constantly from where it’s plugged in across the room. But I’ve got my Galaxy Watch 4 on my wrist, so I can check to see who’s pinging me, which app the notifications are from and whether it’s important enough to merit my standing up and walking the dozen or so steps to unplug my phone and look, or just respond on my smartwatch (or swipe the notification away).

Smartwatches are becoming an essential tech item, but most people don’t need the latest and greatest version to get what they need. One of the best ways to buy a thoughtful tech gift without spending too much money? Choose a previous version of a current device, especially if the earlier model would work for you. So if you’re searching for a cool gift for someone (or yourself), might I suggest my favorite smartwatch, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4? Thanks to a screaming deal at Walmart, the 40mm Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is only $99 right now.

Why I love the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4

Sure, it’s not the latest model of the Samsung Watch. That would be the Galaxy Watch 7 or Galaxy Watch Ultra. But it still has all the main features, including ECG, blood pressure monitoring, sleep monitoring, Google integration for most things and Samsung Health.

I’m not a fitness fanatic, so I don’t need all the latest tracking features or even the improved battery life and bigger screen size of the Watch 7, which has a list price of $300, but is going for just $209 right now if you want the upgrade. The Galaxy Watch 4 has the fitness tracking I need without being overly complex. (Though it has advanced workout tracking for six modes including running, rowing and swimming, if you like those auto-detected tracking features.) For everyday use, I can check my notifications and respond, take hands-free calls, track sleep and skip between songs when listening in Spotify. Oh, and check the time.

If you’re looking for a wearable, it’s the one I’d recommend checking out before looking into the latest version of the Galaxy Watch series. One caveat: Some people have complained lately that their battery is depleting quickly. Samsung has advice on how to run a diagnostic on your watch and fix the issue.

Impulse Buys Under $25 That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts

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Why the Galaxy Watch 4 makes a fun gift

The Galaxy Watch 4 isn’t going to be a gift you give to the tech enthusiast in your family or an Apple fan, but it’s perfect for anyone who wants a smartwatch but doesn’t want all the bells and whistles, or someone who doesn’t know what they want in a smartwatch. For more, here are our other favorite smartwatches. If you’re looking to gift someone a new phone, CNET has rounded up the best deals on the Samsung Galaxy S25.

If this isn’t right for the person you’re shopping for right now, check out our editors’ picks for the best gifts for grads and the best gifts for Father’s Day for more ideas.

Meta is diving even deeper into artificial intelligence. According to an exclusive Wall Street Journal report released Monday, the company behind Facebook and Instagram is developing AI systems that could eventually fully automate the process of creating and buying ads on those popular sites. This means no human copywriters, designers or media buyers will be involved. 

It’s a controversial move that could shake up the $600 billion global ad industry. The announcement also raises fresh questions about creativity, accuracy and the future of marketing jobs. 

A representative for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read more: What Is Meta AI? Everything to Know About the Tech Giant’s AI Tools

How would this work?

Seemingly, Meta’s end goal is to create a system that lets businesses simply explain their product or marketing ideas, alongside a budgeting goal, to the AI-driven ad tools and then the machine takes over from there. That means AI generates ad copy, visuals, targeting strategies and even media placement decisions, all without human intervention.

In the short term, this would start with AI making suggestions or streamlining parts of the ad process. But over time, Meta reportedly wants AI to be capable of managing entire campaigns on its own, from start to finish. 

Meta’s spokesperson told the Journal that advertisers would remain «in control» of their campaigns, but the broader vision paints a future where AI is the creative director, media planner and performance analyst all in one.

Meta is all in on AI

AI is central to Meta’s long-term strategy. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called AI the company’s «single largest investment area,» and with competitors like Google and Amazon also building AI-powered ad systems, Meta is racing to claim its stake in the game. 

This also aligns with Meta’s broader ambitions to weave AI across its platforms. Meta has already integrated its Meta AI chatbot across Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp, explored creating AI avatars on Instagram, and worked generative AI tools into its apps, so automating advertising is just one more piece of a much larger puzzle.

Read more: How to Opt Out of Instagram and Facebook Using Your Posts for AI

Can anyone benefit from this move?

The effort builds on Meta’s existing suite of AI-powered ad tools, like Advantage+ and generative tools introduced in 2023. Those features already allow marketers to automatically create image backgrounds, write copy variations and test ad formats. What’s coming next could push those tools into full autonomy.

According to Meta, this isn’t just about improving efficiency, it’s about scale. Meta claims small businesses would be the key beneficiary of this AI approach, especially those lacking the time or resources to hire marketing teams. The idea is that AI can level the playing field between small businesses and multi-million dollar companies. 

«In the not-too-distant future, we want to get to a world where any business will be able to just tell us what objective they’re trying to achieve, like selling something or getting a new customer, how much they’re willing to pay for each result, and connect their bank account and then we just do the rest for them,» Zuckerberg said during Meta’s annual shareholder meeting last week. 

While Zuckerberg is calling this «a redefinition of the category of advertising,» critics are already raising concerns. 

Mainly, media and ethics experts warn that fully automating ad creation could open the door to misinformation, biased targeting and further erosion of accountability in digital advertising. AI isn’t immune to mistakes or manipulation, and can be used to spread harmful messaging, such as AI-generated deepfakes. 

Read more: Trump Signs Bill Banning Deepfakes, Nonconsensual Images

What can this mean for advertising agencies and jobs?

Critics are not just concerned with the accuracy for AI-driven ads, they’re also worried about the future of traditional ad agencies and marketing jobs. 

Meta claims that its focus on AI-driven ads is not intended to wipe out ad companies and their employees. Alex Schultz, the chief marketing officer and vice-president of analytics at Meta, has said these AI systems are meant to assist ad agencies and he doubled down on the claim that this will be an asset to small and medium-sized businesses.  

«We believe in the future of agencies,» Schultz wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. «We believe AI will enable agencies and advertisers to focus precious time and resources on the creativity that matters. While we think there will ultimately be more automation in marketing, the role that agencies play is going to become ever more important through their ability to plan, execute and measure across platforms.»

What can this mean for Instagram and Facebook users?

If you’re a business owner, marketer or even just a regular social media user, you’re going to feel the ripple effects. You can expect to see more ads that were built by AI machines and possibly tailored to your interests in ways that feel more personal, even if no human ever touched them.