We hope tonight's offering from roster member Alex Rossell Hayes (@alxrh.bsky.social) hits all the right notes. It's an 11x11 titled "Musical Sentences." We think it might be a bit difficult to get into the groove at first, but we're certain that you'll find your rhythm during the solve.

Seven data-driven lessons from the 2025 elections www.gelliottmorris.com/p/seven-data...

good morning specifically to the FBI agent who introduced Mamdani’s dad to Marx

Pro-tip: Never bet against Doug Rivers and @today.yougov.com! With undecided allocated, we had Dems ahead in VA 57-42 & NJ 54-44 https://today.yougov.com/politics/articles/53293-yougov-surveys-of-gubernatorial-elections-in-virginia-and-new-jersey-show-leads-for-spanberger-and-sherrill

i wanted to be mayor. i would have run for mayor if i knew there was going to be an election. do another one

To recap: Trump is spending money Congress never appropriated to pay federal employees with guns, and cutting programs and grants even when Congress has appropriated funds. They literally have a contingency fund for SNAP that they are refusing to use. No Speaker has done more to weaken Congress.

Oct 17-28 poll of 1,153 New Jersey likely voters (+/-4 points) % who did/will/would vote for Sherrill | Ciattarelli for governor of New Jersey New Jersey likely voters 51% | 42% Democrats 96% | 2% Independents 43% | 44% Republicans 5% | 93% today.yougov.com/politics/art...

Oct 17-28 poll of 1,179 Virginia likely voters (+/-4 points) % who did/will/would vote for Spanberger | Earle-Sears in the 2025 election for governor of Virginia Virginia likely voters 55% | 41% Democrats 97% | 1% Independents 58% | 34% Republicans 6% | 92% today.yougov.com/politics/art...

After a month of U.S. military attacks on ships, Americans' approval of the navy's presence around Venezuela has fallen. That movement has particularly come among Republicans. New article with @taylororth.bsky.social at @today.yougov.com: today.yougov.com/internationa...

My favourite of the Cow Tools edits

43 years ago today, readers the world over opened their newspapers and gazed upon cow tools for the first time. happy birthday cow tools. you look great.

Would Americans be willing to buy a house that was in their budget and met all of their requirements if they learned the previous homeowners had been murdered in it? % who say yes | no Men 33% | 36% Women 19% | 49% today.yougov.com/society/arti...

Really interesting work (and thoughts on experimental design)!

TLDR; The PSF has made the decision to put our community and our shared diversity, equity, and inclusion values ahead of seeking $1.5M in new revenue. Please read and share. pyfound.blogspot.com/2025/10/NSF-... 🧵

if you see this post, your actions are: - if you have a spare buck, give it to Wikipedia, then repost this - if you don't have a spare buck, just repost your action is mandatory for the world's best source of information to survive

Lil AVCX is looking for new and emerging constructors to be a part of our 2026 constructing roster. Deadline for applications is November 14, 2025. Here's the information: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

i see you're doing something online that you have effortlessly done 100,000 times. would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? w

AND THEN WHAT HAPPENED

% who say there is [war | conflict, but not war] in U.S. cities U.S. adult citizens 11% | 51% Democrats 5% | 45% Independents 13% | 48% Republicans 15% | 60% Americans who live in a… City 9% | 48% Suburb 12% | 51% Town 11% | 60% Rural area 14% | 50% today.yougov.com/politics/art...

October 3-5 poll on food controversies % who say a hot dog is | isn't a sandwich U.S. adult citizens: 40% | 53% 18-29: 36% | 54% 30-44: 33% | 58% 45-64: 37% | 58% 65+: 54% | 42% Northeast: 33% | 59% Midwest: 40% | 52% South: 42% | 52% West: 39% | 54% today.yougov.com/society/arti...

Super excited to share my first solo-authored paper! In this paper, I evaluate promote models of voter turnout to better understand the growing racial turnout gap between Black and white voters using mini meta-analysis of 2016 and 2020 datasets. Here’s the link: cup.org/4n6joZy

@amiewalker.bsky.social and I have today’s Universal puzzle (my debut with them!). Here’s the linkyboo… syndication.andrewsmcmeel.com/puzzles/crosswords

Last month at @today.yougov.com, we found that 1/4 of Americans said that there's a war in U.S. cities. That felt high to me, so I did some digging. It turns out that how you ask the question really matters. Read more in my new article (today.yougov.com/politics/art...) and in the thread below.

In my new article at @today.yougov.com, I break down some of America's spiciest debates. A statistical amuse bouche before you read more: Majorities of Americans say hot dogs aren't sandwiches, but hamburgers are. Most also say chili is stew and cole slaw is salad. today.yougov.com/society/arti...

We get to the heart of the chili soup-stew debate in my new article @today.yougov.com. Many more Americans say chili is a stew than say soup. There are regional differences, but Colorado and New England don't stand out: chili soupers are predominantly Midwestern. today.yougov.com/society/arti...

Learned that an anonymous outside expert on submersibles did an interview with the OceanGate Titan investigation, and they released a transcript, with all the names redacted. The first line of his first answer? "I'm sure you're familiar with my film Titanic."

Oct 8-12 poll: ICE % of U.S. adult citizens who approve | disapprove of: How ICE is handling its job 39% | 53% Recent protests against ICE actions 48% | 39% d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/IC...

plz weight your survey data

signing up for the hot new linguistic dating site

Today's Universal Freestyle is mine! 🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺🕺⚾ Solve at @officialgocomics.bsky.social or for free at syndication.andrewsmcmeel.com/puzzles/cros...

% who say summoning generals [was | was not] a national security risk: U.S. adult citizens 52% | 23% Democrats 69% | 24% Independents 50% | 19% Republicans 32% | 44% Those who have heard about the meeting... A lot 69% | 24% A little 56% | 30% Not at all 38% | 16%

% who say summoning generals was a [good | bad] use of military spending: U.S. adult citizens 18% | 41% Democrats 2% | 73% Independents 12% | 45% Republicans 40% | 6% Those who have heard about the meeting... A lot 27% | 59% A little 22% | 45% Not at all 8% | 26%

% who say it's better for the military to [keep | fire] experienced generals who disagree with current policy: U.S. adult citizens 65% | 15% Democrats 85% | 4% Independents 62% | 13% Republicans 48% | 28%

% who generally use the term [Department of Defense | Department of War]: U.S. adult citizens 72% | 18% Democrats 90% | 3% Independents 72% | 17% Republicans 55% | 34% Men 68% | 26% Women 75% | 12%

More Americans disapprove than approve of Trump and Hegseth summoning the generals to Virginia last week. Most don't think the meeting was a good use of spending and about half think it was a national security risk. New article at @today.yougov.com: today.yougov.com/politics/art...

Oct 6 poll of 2,295 U.S. adults (+/-2.7%) % who would describe the tactics currently used by ICE as [too forceful | not forceful enough] U.S. adults 50% | 15% Democrats 84% | 1% Independents 52% | 11% Republicans 14% | 31% today.yougov.com/topics/polit...

i know that the months leading up to the lexus december to remember sales event are an exciting time for many of you. it used to be for me, but most dealerships won't let me attend services because i named my kid toyotathon. they won't even let me wield the sceptre. i just thought it was a cool name

Second, in my September poll, deploying the National Guard "to cities and states in order to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement identify and deport unauthorized immigrants" was opposed by a margin of 51-37 www.gelliottmorris.com/p/new-poll-v...

not sure i’m a fan of players wearing jerseys with their name on the back. everyone can see it but you. i guess if you forget your name you’re just out of luck out there, huh

hi, cis folks in california! this headline leaves out that newsom has another 5 days to sign these bills into law. if you’d like to tell him he should do that to protect trans californians, you should to reach out. he also has a phone: (916) 445-2841 want to know what to say? next post! 🧵

Why most polls overstate support for political violence www.gelliottmorris.com/p/most-polls...

How is Gavin Newsom's social media strategy working out? For starters, he has fewer followers than Trump, though most Americans don't follow either. His posts are seen less often than Trump's as well. New article at @today.yougov.com: today.yougov.com/politics/art...

As we move toward our fall subscription drive, we hope you’ll consider supporting us in part bc we are an independent media company. No, crosswords are not as vital as journalism. But yes, all content that we consume matters, and it should be as free as possible from corporate control.

Charlie Kirk coins? An annual Charlie Kirk Day? Charlie Kirk Memorial Avenue? A Charlie Kirk statue on every college campus? Those are real proposals made by state and federal lawmakers. Most Americans think they go too far. New article at @today.yougov.com: today.yougov.com/politics/art...

{redoc}, my R package for reversible R Markdown documents that enables two-way workflows with MS Word, needs a new name! Weigh in: github.com/redoc-dev/re... #rstats

Looking at differnt airports codes, as one does, and now I’m imagining the Palm Springs air traffic controller with a cat in their lab, insisting on saying “begin your approach into pspspsp” no matter how many times their supervisors tell them not to.

I'm tickled pink to announce that player, my new R package, is now on CRAN! Kill time while your analysis scripts run with hangman, poker, 2048, and 7 other games! Plus, each game runs in the console, so it may look to the unsuspecting eye like you're actually working! pkg.rossellhayes.com/player/

After last week's events, a majority of Americans say freedom of speech is in a bad state. Concern has risen dramatically since Trump's election. Republicans', Independents', and Democrats' evaluations have all grown more negative. New article at @today.yougov.com: today.yougov.com/politics/art...

Half of Americans now think President Trump has restricted free speech. In January, only one-third thought he would. (@alxrh.bsky.social @today.yougov.com) More, via Opinion Today: opiniontoday.substack.com/p/250924