NYT 'Connections' November 16: Clues and Answers for Game #524

The Pirates have offered an incredible haul to whomever ends up with a unique Paul Skenes card released by Topps. Olivia Dunne is helping the team's effort.

'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' bears Murakami's hallmarks, including references to jazz and the Beatles. It also joins other new works in contending with catastrophe.

Somis, a rural community in Ventura County, was used to close calls. This was different. My mother-in-law was lucky; some neighbors weren't.

Sean “Diddy” Combs has been hit with a deluge of sex abuse lawsuits that sparked music’s #MeToo moment. It all started with Cassie one year ago.

Author and filmmaker Justine Bateman spoke with Fox News Digital about the "suffocating cloud" that has been lifted following the election of President-elect Trump.

The discovery of high levels of heavy metals in a popular fire retardant has added to long-running concerns from environmentalists.

"It's All Your Fault, Tyler Price!" from composer Ben Decter and director Kristin Hanggi could help de-stigmatize the condition.

The anti-vaccine activist could oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health.

It’s been a year of older actresses getting their groove back. And Nicole Kidman isn’t even done yet.

The California Public Utilities Commission unveiled a proposal that could potentially close the Aliso Canyon gas storage field in the coming years, but local activists and politicians say it doesn't provide a fast or clear enough timeline.

At least six L.A. County sheriff's deputies have been relieved of duty amid an investigation into their work for a 24-year-old cryptocurrency entrepreneur accused of extortion and hiding millions of dollars from tax collectors.

A teacher in Eagle Rock at the time Prop. 187 was on the ballot recalls her students' moving display of patriotism in the face of anti-immigrant fervor.

SpaceX is on a trajectory to remain the most dominant player in space launches for years to come as it makes strides with its heavy-duty Starship rocket program.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff is accustomed to the limelight on Sunday talk shows and on the House floor. In the Senate, the Burbank Democrat will carry a new title: freshman.

Samuel Woodward, then 21, was driven by 'pure hate and rage' over his victim's sexual orientation and religious beliefs, the judge says.

Fox News Media's streaming service has become a home for passion projects from big names with red state appeal, including Martin Scorsese and Kevin Costner.

Readers discuss Trump's controversial Cabinet picks, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services and Matt Gaetz for attorney general.

Satirical news site the Onion buys far-right conspiracy site Infowars

President-elect Donald Trump opened his transition back to the White House this week with a flurry of personnel announcements that sent forceful messages to major constituent groups, potential political rivals and the country at large.

The concert promoter, who died this week, dreamed up the DC Jazz Festival on a napkin.

Budget officials say that by 2030, there will be enough revenue to pay for just 84 percent of the state budget, forcing lawmakers to make hard spending choices.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at a House Republicans Conference meeting at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill on November 13, 2024, in Washington, DC. | Allison Robbert/Getty Images With President-elect Donald Trump’s latest slate of extreme or controversial nominees — Rep. Matt Gaetz for attorney general, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence, Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Health and Human Services secretary — has come the question about whether even a Republican-controlled Senate will actually confirm them all. But what if that’s asking the wrong question? What if Trump has no intention of asking the Senate’s permission? Throughout the transition, Trump has made several references to his intent to use “recess appointments” to get his appointees in place more quickly. This refers to a longstanding presidential power to fill jobs that typically require Senate confirmation if Congress is in recess. The Constitution included that power in an era when reconvening a recessed Congress would take months of travel time; more recently, presidents have used it to get around Senate opposition for certain picks. Yet Trump’s references to recess appointments were vague, and it was unclear exactly why he sounded so insistent on them. The new Congress would not need to recess for some time. The Senate surely would consider his top nominees quickly. The new Republican majority would likely be deferential to most of his choices, and the Democratic minority has no power to actually block any of them. So why would recess appointments be necessary so soon? We got a potential clue about what Trump may have in mind when the well-connected conservative legal activist Ed Whelan heard a rumor. “Hope it’s wrong,” Whelan wrote on X Wednesday, “but I’m hearing through the grapevine about this bonkers plan: Trump would adjourn both Houses of Congress under Article II, section 3, and then recess-appoint his Cabinet.”  This may sound technical, but it would amount to a massive power grab: Trump would be forcing the Senate into a recess. This would mean that, for many of the most important posts in the federal government, Trump could simply ignore the Senate, thumbing his nose at the body to impose everyone he wanted, no matter how corrupt, extreme, or controversial they are. Moreover, it would mean Trump would be choosing to crash headlong into one of the biggest guardrails constraining the president’s authority: the Senate’s confirmation powers. If Trump were to try this and get away with it, Senate confirmation powers would effectively no longer exist. Currently, this remains in the rumor stage, and if it is truly something being considered by Trump, it remains unclear whether he’d go through with it. But it makes a lot of sense. It may reflect the influence of Elon Musk and the Silicon Valley right in Trump’s camp — it’s a risky, norm-shattering attempt to disrupt the way politics, governance, and presidential power work. (Musk has indeed been tweeting about recess appointments.)  It would mean starting off Trump’s term with a high-stakes showdown and certain litigation — with no one certain about exactly how things would play out. Why this recess appointment plot would be different than past recess appointment controversies Recess appointments have been the subject of political and legal controversy in the past. In 2012, President Barack Obama was frustrated at the Republican Senate minority’s constant filibusters of many of his key nominations. (At the time, 60 votes were needed to get nominees past a filibuster; rule changes have since lowered that threshold to a simple majority.) He wanted to use recess appointments to fill some posts, but Republicans were blocking the Senate from going into recess at all. Even though nearly everyone left town, they continued to hold “pro forma” sessions where nothing actually happened. So Obama decided to just do recess appointments anyway, filling three National Labor Relations Board seats and the directorship of the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The administration argued that the pro forma sessions were fake and Congress was actually in recess; therefore, Obama could do recess appointments. But the Supreme Court unanimously rejected his argument, saying it was up to Congress to determine whether it was in recess. Trump’s plan would be far more brazen. The Constitution states that during a congressional session, both chambers of Congress must consent if they want to adjourn Congress for more than three days. But it also says that “in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment,” the president “may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper.” In layperson’s terms, that would seem to say that if the House and Senate disagree on when to adjourn, the president can force them to do so. This power has never been used by the president. But according to Whelan’s sources in the conservative legal movement, this is the plan Trump’s team is putting together. First, Trump would get the House of Representatives under Speaker Mike Johnson to propose adjourning Congress. Then, if the Senate refused to do so, President Trump would step in, saying that because the two chambers disagreed, he’d use his power to force the Senate to adjourn. He would then make recess appointments to his heart’s content. Such appointments would then inevitably be challenged in court, and the Supreme Court would eventually determine whether they were legal. Whelan has gone public because he’s appalled by this idea. “It’s a fundamental general feature of our system of separated powers that the president shall submit his nominations for major offices to the Senate for approval,” he wrote in National Review. “That feature plays a vital role in helping to ensure that the president makes quality picks.” If Trump pulled this off, it would be an utter humiliation for incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republican senators generally — it basically would be taking a wrecking ball to the power of the Senate.  The scheme would also require, as Whelan points out, the cooperation of Speaker Johnson and his House majority. But it is far from clear whether Republicans in either chamber — or the courts — have the inclination or the spine to stand up to an unprecedented power grab by Trump. And the rumors of it bode ill for other Trumpian abuses of power that will surely lie ahead.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Elon Musk’s partner at Donald Trump’s planned spending panel, suggested defunding programs that Congress no longer authorizes. Here are some of those.

Lt. Quathisha Epps, a 19-year veteran assigned to perform administrative duties in NYPD Chief of Department's office, pocketed $403,515, half of which was overtime compensation.

When Rivals isn’t focusing on sex, it’s delivering a spot-on depiction of class in the U.K.

Two senior Lebanese political sources told Reuters the US ambassador to Lebanon had presented a draft ceasefire proposal to Lebanon's parliament speaker Nabih Berri on Thursday.

Take a quick break with our daily 5x5 grid.

Washington, D.C., police said on Friday that they have arrested two teen boys in connection with a brutal attack and robbery that ultimately resulted in the death of a well-known DJ.

What I heard in the Capitol when it was announced says it all.

Fear of Trump by traditional Republicans will cost us dearly.

Whether rain or snow, the inclement weather at the start of the weekend across the Northeast does have the potential to snarl air and road traffic just as the Thanksgiving travel week gets underway.

It was unclear what information, if any, was taken about T-Mobile customers' calls and communications records, according to the WSJ report.

Food prices have climbed more than 25% since President Joe Biden took office.

Fast food dominates takeout choices for Americans, with 60% of people saying it is their preferred option for ordering meals that are eaten at home, new research reveals.

Gusty breezes keep temperatures today feeling a little cooler than they are. It’ll be a touch warmer tomorrow.

Police are investigating after they said a woman impersonated a registered nurse and oversaw approximately 60 patients at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.

Stephanie Gorton’s new book, The Icon & the Idealist digs into the history of two women who shaped reproductive rights in the 20th century

The law of tech bros is about to be the law of the land.

The D.O.G.E. is not an unprecedented idea in government. But will it actually do anything?

Amid the ongoing McDonald's E. coli investigation, Fox News Digital spoke with several food safety experts about the most prevalent foodborne illnesses and how to prevent them.

Ahora que la temporada de compras navideñas está a la vuelta de la esquina, los expertos recomiendan ser cauteloso cuando su tienda favorita le ofrezca una tarjeta de crédito.

U.K.-based tech journalist Carl Miller is the host of the Wondery true-crime podcast "Kill List," which tells the saga of a hitman-for-hire site on the dark web.

Newly-opened U.S. hotels in Florida, South Carolina and other states could provide endless fun for families no matter the season. Check out these 10 family-friendly oases.

The tenuous "throuple" relationship between Christina Araujo, Zach Abell and Aileen Seiden led to the latter woman's brutal murder at a Florida motel in April 2018.

One-time rising Republican Party rising star Kelly Ayotte is back, after her convincing victory last week to succeed Chris Sununu as New Hampshire governor. Her take on Trump's White House win, and more

Blake Shelton is happy he distanced himself from Hollywood and returned to his country music roots.

The Nets got back key players Friday night but lost their starting center for at least a week.

Con dos tantos de Luis Palma, Honduras venció por 2-0 a México en el partido de ida de los cuartos de final de Liga de Naciones de la Concacaf el viernes por la noche en San Pedro Sula, pero lo lamentable fue la agresión a Javier Aguirre después del partido en el Estadio Francisco Morazán, una noticia que dio vuelta al mundo por las fuertes imágenes.