Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Wednesday, March 29, 2023

OSU celebrates seniors for artistic accomplishments

“Each person is exploring concepts related to the complexities of their multifaceted identities,” said Jessica Teckemeyer, assistant professor of sculpture.

Kennedy Thomason Assistant News & Lifestyle Editor

Years of artistic work are being celebrated.

On Thursday, the Gardiner Gallery of Art in the Bartlett Center opened its senior art capstone exhibit, featuring pieces from three graduating seniors. The collection is composed of work from their time at OSU.

The seniors, Austin Dawes, Emily Singleton and Echo Smith, compiled pieces that demonstrate their growth.

“Thematically, this is the most cohesive BFA exhibition I have seen in my four years at OSU. We are extremely proud of the accomplishments of these three students.”

The collection has many forms of art including photography, sculpture and painting, all aimed at sharing each students’ identity.

“I came upon figuration through painting self-portraits in an attempt to examine, and even alter, my self-perception,” Dawes said. “The act of putting myself outside of my body, of self-objectifying, provided clarity.

See Artistic on 5

Boynton examining transfer portal, anticipating roster turnover

Sam Hutchens Staff Reporter

After their season ended with a 65-59 loss to North Texas in the NIT, Cowboy basketball players met individually with coach Mike Boynton. No conversation went exactly the same.

“Each situation is a little different in regards to whether they are even capable of being back, or whether it’s in their best interest or the interest of the program to be back next season,” Boynton said. “Not all of those decisions are necessarily mine or theirs.”

The Cowboys finished 20-16, earning the No. 1 overall seed in the NIT after being the first team out of the NCAA tournament. The team will look different next season.

“There’s going to be a lot of fluidity in the roster, honestly,” Boynton said.

What

Mike Boynton said about each 2023 signee and the future of OSU basketball

players mentioned and four-star power forward Eric Dailey who is committed to OSU. Boynton, at his season wrap up press conference Monday, dampened expectations, but praised the future of OSU basketball.

Boynton started with Garrison, the 6-foot-9 center and No. 43 prospect in the nation, the highest in the class.

Ben Hutchens Staff Reporter

Mike Boynton tries to be fair to incoming freshmen. Boynton, OSU’s basketball coach, said he tries to lower expectations for them, but sometimes he fails. Cade Cunningham, the nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2020, carried too much hype into Stillwater for Boynton to slow down.

Center Brandon Garrison, power forward Justin McBride, combo guard Jamyron Keller and small forward Connor Dow make up part of OSU’s No. 11 ranked recruiting class. It is the No. 3 class in the Big 12, behind Kansas and Iowa State, per 247 Sports. There is lots of buzz for the four signed

“I think Brandon can have a similar type of impact (as Cunningham did) in terms of impacting winning, but the game will look totally different,” Boynton said. “He’s physically capable of stepping on campus and, with a good summer, getting to a place where he’s going to make a difference on the court. His game isn’t such that he has to have a ball to impact it. He’s going to be a really good defender; he’s going to be a great rebounder. But the best thing Brandon Garrison does is he’s an unbelievable passer for a guy his size, at his age, which is good for both him and for us because that means he can be trusted with the ball and also help us offensively, a team that struggled with playmaking and decision making.

‘There’s going to be a lot of fluidity’

via @brando2wavvyyy on Instagram

OSU basketball coach Mike Boynton said incoming freshman Brandon Garrison could have a “Cade Cunningham similar kind of impact” when it comes to winning.

File Photo

Many pieces of artwork from OSU seniors are on display at the Gardiner Gallery of Art.

Cowboys show their endurance in tightly contested doubles point

The Cowboys have not been home in more than two weeks, and in their return they gave fans a treat in one of the most exciting doubles points of the season. No. 36 OSU hosted No. 43 Tulane on Sunday morning and won 4-3. In the match, a key deciding factor was securing the doubles point to build momentum into what was a close matchup

across the board in singles.

The Cowboys’ new double pairings of the last couple months have proven their chemistry and complementary tennis skills in their matches, and against Tulane their endurance was tested.

Tulane’s Billy Suarez and Benji Jacobson took Court 2 over OSU’s Alessio Basile and Carl Roothman, 6-2. With the Cowboys needing to take both remaining courts the trial could not seem more challenging, but their endurance was tested when both matches

went into tiebreaker sets.

On Court 3, Cowboys Alex Garcia and Francisco Pini fought back and forth with Tulane; trading scores in the tiebreaker bringing in a close 7-6 (5) victory tying up the score 1-1 with Tulane. All eyes went to Tyler Zink and Chase Ferguson on Court 1 as the duo’s tightly contested match was suddenly dominated by the two in the tiebreaker winning 7-6 (1).

Heading into singles play of six matches with just a one point advantage might not seem like much, however it

is not just about the extra one on the scoreboard. Heading into singles with serious momentum, coach Dustin Taylor emphasized how the doubles point impacts the flow of the match.

“We’ve been on the side where we’ve won the doubles point and they come out because it helps with your sense of urgency when you go into singles if you lost the doubles point, “Taylor said. “It’s always nice to have a point on the board. I think that our doubles has really shown its strength since we switched the teams up.”

sports.ed@ocolly.com

Mia Ledbetter

Tyler Zink pumps his fist after a point during OSU’s match against Tulane on Sunday morning in Stillwater.

Baylor Bryant Staff Reporter

2023 signee...

Continued from 1

“But there’ll be a learning curve. There will be an older, big guy here, I don’t know who, maybe one of the guys coming back, maybe one of the guys we recruit from the portal that will be pushing him around in June and July and that’s OK. But hopefully by the time November, December rolls around he’ll be ready to take those blows and deliver some back.”

Boynton said everyone in the recruiting class is a “basketball junkie,” something that appeals to him. Keller, a 6-foot-1 three-star combo guard from Killeen, Texas, showed Boynton his toughness playing on a broken foot all the way to the state championship game.

“(Keller) has been in a boot since the day after the state championship game,” Boynton said. “He’s healing now, he’s going to be fine. But he’s a competitor, tough, can shoot it, can score, can get downhill drive into the lane, and create offense.”

Dow is a 6-foot-5 small forward from Broken Arrow. OSU fans might get flashbacks to a former Cowboy when watching Dow this season.

“Connor Dow is going to bring some (Thomas) Dziagwa memories back,” Boynton said. “I mean, he shoots the ball really well from 3, and because he comes from Broken Arrow maybe he brings the arrow back.

“But I’ll say this without reservation, he’s a much better athlete than Dziagwa was. He’s a great kid, comes from a family that really loves basketball. He’s a competitor, he’s been well-coached by coach (Beau) Wallace over there and they were right there to win a state championship.”

McBride is another OSU recruit who nearly won a state championship. From Plano, Texas, he is a four-star recruit and No. 23 nationally at his power forward position. Boyn-

ton called him maybe the most versatile player in the class.

“(McBride) can play inside and outside, can handle

the ball,” Boynton said. “He’s another guy who’s going to have a chance to impact (the team). But truth is when you’re

talking about five freshmen having an impact in the Big 12, it’s not trending that way in the country, but those guys will get

here in June with an opportunity to compete, I know that.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy of OSU Athletics

Eric Dailey Jr. is the fifth recruit in the class of 2023 to commit to OSU. Dailey Jr. is a 6-foot-7 power forward from IMG Academy and ranked No. 60 in his class. He turned down offers from Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan and Memphis.

Fluidity...

Continued from 1

Guard Caleb Asberry and forward Bernard Kouma are the only two Cowboys who have exhausted their eligibility. And to be clear, Boynton said none of the players who can return to OSU said they did not want to in their meeting with Boynton.

And yet, Boynton and his staff aren’t naive about college basketball’s current landscape.

“I don’t expect everyone that’s eligible (to return) to be back, in all candor,” Boynton said.

It’s why Boynton took his laptop to Wichita when traveling to watch his son play basketball. Between games, he sat in the corner, put headphones on and watched film on players in the transfer portal. He had the laptop out when eating dinner recently, evaluating potential Cowboys while a women’s game played in the background.

“We’re going to continue to make sure we are aggressive in the recruiting space,” Boynton said. “A lot of it will be through the transfer portal. We’ve already made a lot of contacts.”

Still dealing with NCAA-imposed scholarship reductions, Bonyton said he has more flexibility when assigning scholarships for next year. He may use all 13 if the right player mandates it, or he could stick to using just 12.

It is all about the fit, as his team evolves.

“What’s glaring, from my perspective, we need more playmakers,” Boynton said. “We’ve got to get deeper. We’ve got to get probably more dynamic in terms of playmaking front court, obviously, we got to get more skilled there.” sports.ed@ocolly.com

Mia Ledbetter

OSU’s Caleb Asberry is one of two Cowboys who exhausted their eligibility and cannot return for another season.

Artistic...

Continued from 1

Through sculpture, it became clearer that objects, non-subjects, help humans see ourselves. By identifying with objects, we find a perspective beyond our bodies from which to look at ourselves.”

Singleton’s work, titled “On My Own,” examines her reflection and interaction in relationships. She was inspired by the photographic manipulation of other artists.

“In this series, I use compositing to create multiples of myself within scenes of impossible realism,” Singleton said. “Both fictional and autobiographical, these orchestrated tableaus depict the nuances of self-perception and employ a sense of the uncanny. With

photographic manipulation, I can document a space in time that never actually existed.”

Smith’s collection shares everyday struggles as they parallel to his life.

“I examine anxiety, frustration, burnout and dread,” Smith said. “Many of my artworks feature multiples of myself interacting with each other in a shared space. The figures work together to solve mundane but stressful problems such as doing the dishes, getting

ready in the morning, or dealing with car trouble. The use of the repeated self represents the interior conversations that occur as I work through my anxiety.”

The free exhibit is open until Friday, April 7. The Gardiner Gallery of Arts is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, visit the Gardiner Gallery of Arts’ website. news.ed@ocolly.com

Courtesy of Phil Shockley/OSU

Three seniors have their art displayed at the Gardiner Gallery of Art.

News

Public Utility Commission appeals winter storm pricing ruling to Texas Supreme Court

absolutely expected that this will be appealed to the Supreme Court,” said attorney Michael Jewell, who represented a wind energy company that intervened in the 3rd Court of Appeals.

AUSTIN — The Texas commission that regulates the state’s power grid has appealed a court ruling to the Texas Supreme Court that has the potential to upend billions of dollars spent and made on energy during the deadly 2021 winter storm.

The appeal from the Public Utility Commission was expected but notable for indicating that the regulator of the state’s self-contained electricity grid intends to fight on behalf of companies that made billions selling electricity while nearly half of Texas was plunged in darkness.

The Texas 3rd Court of Appeals made a blockbuster ruling on March 17 that opened the door for so-called repricing — an effort to change the cost of electricity sold during the disastrous winter freeze that killed more than 200 people.

That court ruled the PUC exceeded its authority by pegging the electricity price at an artificial cap and keeping the price there long after power began to be restored to Texans.

The state’s independent market monitor for the Texas electric grid has said the PUC order cost Texans $16 billion in overcharges. Sky high electricity and natural gas prices during the storm sent several power providers into steep debt and has led to numerous bankruptcies and lawsuits.

The appeal headed to the Texas Supreme Court is in a case filed by a subsidiary of Irving-based Vistra Energy.

Power provider Calpine has already signaled its wishes to participate in the suit, and several other electric companies likely will follow their lead in the high-stakes legal battle.

“Given the magnitude of issues that are on the table, it’s

The possibility of forcing the PUC and the grid’s operator ERCOT to reset the prices of electricity bought and sold more than two years ago recalls efforts from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to achieve something similar through legislation during 2021′s legislative session that ultimately died in the House.

Patrick had declared a victory of sorts after the 3rd Court of Appeals issued the ruling, issuing a statement that he, “couldn’t be more pleased.”

“We were right,” Patrick said. “Texas electric utility customers got the short end of the stick.”

Patrick did not respond to messages seeking comment on the appeal. A PUC spokeswoman declined to comment on pending litigation.

The PUC voted to appeal the ruling on March 23 and is seeking to reinstate two orders that set the price of electricity at $9,000 per megawatthour during the storm, a price hundreds of times greater than typical electricity prices.

In a legal petition filed last week, the grid regulator said the appeals court injected its opinion into the state’s electric code, which outlines how Texas’ electricity market functions. The brief states that the court’s interpretation that competitive pricing trumps grid reliability was wrong.

“For good reason: courts are not institutionally suited to determine — sometimes years after the fact — whether a certain policy would actually have had the ‘least impact’ on competition,” the PUC’s attorneys wrote. The effect on Texans’ electric bills is unclear. Several power providers have raised consumer prices as a result of

Courtesy of Tribune

Garland Road near White Rock Lake covered in snow as a winter storm brings snow and freezing temperatures to North Texas on Monday, February 15, 2021, in Dallas. Emergency power prices charged during the storm’s widespread blackouts are subject of a lawsuit that the Public Utility Commission recently appealed to the Texas Supreme Court. (Lola Gomez/The Dallas Morning

the storm, and Texans will be on the hook for an estimated $7 billion in government-backed debt issued to soften the blow of the spike in electric prices during the storm. While a ruling favorable

to Vistra at the Texas Supreme Court would likely lead to changes in electric prices, it does nothing for natural gas prices, which also spiked during the winter storm. Efforts had been underway to use a

Philip Jankowski The Dallas Morning News

So far, mostly Republicans have pressed for more transparency following the death of at least 29 whales on the Atlantic Coast since December. They’ve done so while pointing to offshore wind development as the suspected cause, despite federal agencies saying no evidence supports that claim.

On Tuesday, several Democratic lawmakers — acknowledging vessel strikes have been linked to many of the marine mammal beachings — joined a call for the release of more information on the federal investigation into the deaths.

“We appreciate (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s) ongoing commitment to marine mammal conservation and your efforts to keep our offices and the public informed about these ongoing strandings,” reads a letter sent Tuesday to NOAA by lawmakers, including New Jersey Democrats Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Bob Menendez. “We encourage additional outreach and transparency in light of the public reporting on and speculation around the potential causes of these deaths.”

The letter — which did not make mention of offshore wind pre-construction — was also signed by Democratic senators outside of the state: Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Oregon Sen. Jeffrey A. Merkley and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse.

In response to the letter, Lauren Gaches, a NOAA spokeswoman, said Tuesday “we will work directly with

our partners in Congress to respond to any inquiries they may have.”

Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday provided NOAA an April 18 deadline to answer the following:

How does NOAA intend to use funds received from the Consolidated Appropriations Act to address whale injuries and deaths from gear entanglement and vessel collisions, particularly as related to the ongoing Unusual Mortality Events for humpback whales, right whales and gray whales?

What is the timeline and process for NOAA sharing information with the public when a whale is found dead and when necropsy results are complete? Does NOAA have plans to strengthen its data-sharing practices with non-profit and government partners and the public? What is NOAA’s progress on the design and implementation of the Marine Mammal Health Monitoring and Analysis Platform?

What are challenges or barriers NOAA faces with efficiently determining a whale’s cause of death? What recommendations for congressional or administrative action may be needed to reduce these barriers?

What additional resources might NOAA need to strengthen its efforts to protect and conserve marine mammals and prevent their deaths?

Booker additionally said he supports a rule change first outlined by NOAA that would expand areas covered by slow zones meant to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. Experts say, like other whales, the marine mammals may be migrating into new areas to follow prey — a result of warming waters due to climate change — which puts them at

risk of striking ships or boats. The rule, which would also require additional and smaller vessels to follow the directive, would benefit humpback whales as well, state officials said.

“We know that NOAA’s preliminary findings for many of the whales that have washed up along the Atlantic coast this year have shown evidence of a vessel strike,” Booker said in a statement to NJ Advance Media. “I want to make sure NOAA has the resources to fully investigate these deaths, share information promptly with the public, and, ultimately, take action to protect marine mammals from preventable injury and death.”

READ MORE: Dead whales prompt offshore wind meeting but crowd claims many other worries, theories

Various Republicans, namely Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd Dist. and Rep. Chris Smith, R-4th Dist., have called for a moratorium of survey work and federal intervention during an investigation of the whale deaths.

Federal science agencies — including NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the Marine Mammal Commission — have reiterated they have yet to find evidence the two are connected.

This past winter, the whale strandings — 29 on the Atlantic Coast as of March 17 including at least 8 on New Jersey beaches — have largely become an issue split by partisan lines. Calls to halt offshore wind preconstruction survey work were renewed last week after a mass stranding ended in the death of eight dolphins.

But Gov. Phil Murphy, a Demo -

crat, said Monday on News12′s “Ask Gov. Murphy” that there was no proof to justify that decision.

“The feds are taking the lead,” Murphy said during the show. “They’re professionals with this. We’re concerned. Both whales and ... in Sea Isle City, ... the eight dolphins. But as we sit here, for this conversation, up until this point, there’s no evidence that shows causality between any of the offshore activity in these tragic deaths.”

The governor, echoing some environmentalists, added that some have used the whale deaths as part of a larger effort to oppose offshore wind development in New Jersey.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has noted that it will continue to investigate the whale deaths. However, officials there have said the final cause of death results can take months or remain inconclusive due to how necropsies, or post-death exams, are carried out and the state of decomposition of animals.

The agency is in the seventh year of an investigation of what NOAA calls an “unusual mortality event,” with at least 190 stranded humpback whales reported on the Atlantic Coast in that span.

Read Tuesday’s letter by clicking here.

Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.

Steven Rodas may be reached at srodas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @stevenrodasnj.

Courtesy of Tribune

A dead humpback whale washed ashore at the L Street Beach in Seaside Park. The dead whale is one of at least 11 that have landed on beaches in New York or New Jersey since Dec. 5. Seaside Park. March 2, 2023

Steven Rodas nj.com

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — At least 39 migrants were killed and dozens more were injured Monday night when a fire broke out in an immigrant detention center in Mexico, just south of the U.S. border, authorities said Tuesday.

Mexican President Andrés

Manuel López Obrador said the blaze in Ciudad Juarez began when migrants ignited mattresses after they found out they were going to be deported to their home countries. He said most of the dead were from Central and South America.

“They never imagined that it would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.

A Mexican federal official with knowledge of the case who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the migrants were protesting because 68 of them were packed into a cell meant for no more than 50 people and they had no access to drinking water.

The fire, which erupted at a National Migration Institute lockup about 400 feet south of the Rio Bravo, which separates Juarez from El Paso, was one of the deadliest incidents ever recorded at an immigration holding center in Mexico. It triggered an immediate outcry from migrant advocates, who blamed the deaths on a series of ever-more stringent immigration policies in both the United States and Mexico.

It also raised questions about Mexico’s ability to care for and manage migrants as the U.S. prepares to roll out a new policy that would turn back an even larger number of asylum seekers this summer.

Already, northern Mexican cities have been overwhelmed with migrants because of recent Biden administration policies that limit the ability of migrants from four countries to to seek asylum at the border.

Tensions have been particularly high in Ciudad Juarez, where shelters housing people hoping to cross into the United States are overflowing and stranded migrants have been begging for food and money in the streets.

“We have exceeded our capacity to provide attention,” said Miguel Angel Gonzalez, president of a churchbased network of shelters in Juarez. He

said his network’s 15 shelters have been completely full for the last six months.

City officials have been vocally critical of the migrants, who beg for alms at major intersections and sleep on the ground near border bridges that lead to El Paso.

Juarez Mayor Cruz Peréz Cuéllar recently implored residents not to give migrants money, insisting that they can find work.

In a March 9 letter, several dozen migrant advocacy groups urged the city to investigate abuses of migrants by police and immigration officials. They said that during arbitrary detentions, officials have questioned migrants about their legal status, extorted and stolen money from them and destroyed their documents.

The letter described an incident in early March when it said police violently and arbitrarily detained migrants in a downtown cathedral as well as another incident the following week when members of the army, the national guard and the city police swarmed a hotel where migrants were staying, sending “a clear message of intimidation.”

Tensions bubbled over a few weeks ago when hundreds of people — mostly from Venezuela — tried to force their way across an international bridge to El Paso before they were stopped by U.S. authorities.

The numbers of migrants in cities

like Juarez are expected to grow this summer as the Biden administration prepares to implement a new policy that would further restrict access to asylum at the border.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, federal officials have used a public health measure called Title 42 to prevent migrants from seeking asylum at the border and to quickly expel those who attempt to enter the U.S.

With that border policy set to expire in May, the Biden administration last month unveiled a new plan that would make migrants ineligible for asylum if they enter the U.S. without permission and fail to apply for protection in another country on their way.

Under the new plan, some could still request asylum at an official port of entry but would largely be required to do so using a smartphone app that migrants complain has been riddled with technical glitches and offers limited appointments that fill up within minutes.

On Monday night and early Tuesday morning, authorities pulled remains from the still smoldering building, lining up their bodies, wrapped in shiny silver blankets, on the ground.

According to the Mexican attorney general’s office, the dead and injured included 28 Guatemalans, 13 Hondurans, 12 Salvadorans, 12 Venezuelans and one citizen each from Colombia and Ecuador. It was unclear whether

some of the migrants had been previously deported from the United States. Migrant advocates say policies that criminalize asylum seekers were to blame.

“This was not an accident, this could have been avoided,” the advocacy group Sin Fronteras wrote on Twitter. It blamed the government for not having proper protocols and evacuation routes in case of fires, citing a fire at a migrant facility in the southern Mexican city of Tenosique in 2020 that killed one migrant and injured 10 others.

Felipe Gonzalez Morales, U.N. Special Rapporteur Human Rights of Migrants, also blamed government policies.

“The extensive use of immigration detention leads to tragedies like this,” he wrote on Twitter. “The immigration detention of adults, in accordance with International Law, should be an exceptional measure and not a general one.”

(Los Angeles Times staff writers Linthicum reported from Todos Santos, Mexico, and Miller from Mexico City. Special correspondent Minjares reported from Ciudad Juarez. Times staff writers Patrick McDonnell and Cecilia Sánchez Vidal in Mexico City and Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.)

Lethal fentanyl poisoning is real.

The drastic increase in opioid overdose deaths is largely due to fentanyl poisoning. Illegal fentanyl is cheaper than most other drugs on the streets and is being intentionally substituted into cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and drugs like counterfeit Adderall®, Percocet® and Xanax® as well.

Learn the facts and protect those you love.

Kate Linthicum, Leila Miller and Gabriela Minjares Los Angeles Times

Courtesy of Tribune

Viangly, a Venezuelan migrant, cries next to an ambulance in which her husband, who was injured in a fire, is being transported after a fire at the immigration station in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico, on March 28, 2023. At least 39 people were killed and dozens injured after a fire at the immigration station.

(Herika Martinez/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Edited by Patti Varol and Joyce Lewis

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east of Boone Pickens Stadium

Daily Horoscope

Nancy Black

Tribune Content Agency

Linda

Black Horoscopes

Today’s Birthday (03/29/23). Go for your heart’s desire this year. Guard regular space in your busy schedule for daydreaming, meditation and planning. Springtime epiphanies and accomplishments blossom. Reorienting for alternate summer income inspires collaborative autumn breakthroughs. Grow and save money together. Connect with your own passion.

To get the advantage, check the day’s rating: 10 is the easiest day, 0 the most challenging.

Aries (March 21-April 19) — Today is a 7 — Complications could require adaptation. Make repairs or upgrades. Love and family compensate for domestic shortcomings. Minimize risk or controversy. Include homemade comfort foods.

Taurus (April 20-May 20) — Today is a 7 — Changes could impact communications. Make technical improvements. Delays could frustrate creative projects. Take time to process and digest the story. Wait for developments.

Gemini (May 21-June 20) — Today is an 8 — Take advantage of a lucrative opportunity. Things may not go as planned. Clarify misunderstandings right away or it could get expensive. Monitor conditions closely.

Cancer (June 21-July 22) — Today is an 8 — An enticing opportunity calls to your personal core values. Don’t rely on luck. Patiently navigate miscommunications, mistakes or delays. Plan carefully. Follow your heart.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22) — Today is a 6 — Take it easy. Take quiet time to process recent events. Consider the big picture, and your part in it. Enjoy your cozy cocoon.

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) — Today is a 7 — Share team support around a breakdown or change. You can see what doesn’t work. Adjust and make corrections. A common passion brings you together.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) — Today is a 9 — A professional challenge requires adaptation. Provide excellent service and a flexible attitude. Reinforce foundational elements. Clarify misunderstandings. Patiently untangle threads. Unexpected benefits flower.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) — Today is a 7 — Dive into a fascinating subject. Expect travel delays. Delays, challenges or miscommunications could frustrate. Monitor conditions and adapt. Studies reveal unconsidered potential. Patiently investigate.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) — Today is a 7 — Love is your common binding thread. Patiently pull together in the face of misunderstandings or financial delays. Slow and steady does it. Consider unusual solutions.

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) — Today is an 8 — Work with a partner around unforeseen circumstances. Avoid automatic reactions. Consider shared commitments and consequences before speaking. Discover valuable solutions. Romance could spark, too.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) — Today is a 7 — Patiently navigate an obstacle to avoid accidents. Prioritize health and wellness despite challenges. Eat and rest well. Postpone sugar. Focus on what you know works.

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20) — Today is a 7 — Fun and romance could spark spontaneously. Beware of miscommunications or mixed signals. Clarify your views patiently. Abandon unrealistic expectations. Listen for love and find it.

ACROSS

1 Wet dirt

4 Biblical saying

11 Fave pal

14 Sushi-grade tuna

15 Pen with bright ink

16 Hoppy brew

17 Like an amazing and fortuitous circumstance that can’t possibly exist, despite an initial promising appearance [67-Across: Suspiciously awesome]

20 Pulsate

21 Junior

22 Gave a leg up to

23 Actress Vardalos

25 24/7 cash source

26 Metaphor for the legal system that implies a criminal cannot hide or escape from that system’s vast resources and unparalleled authority [67-Across: Police jurisdiction] 35 Unlock, poetically

Director Kubrick 37 Wall St. debut 38 Plot portion

Feel bad about

Successor

Was as successful and enjoyable as early conjecture and predictions suggested it would be

Met

Chase Dittrich & Jeff Chen