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Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for March 26.

During a heated Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Mark Warner described the actions of the nation's top intelligence officials as "sloppy, careless, incompetent behavior.

(Image credit: Andrew Harnik)

A House subcommittee led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and named after Elon Musk's government-efficiency team has set its sights on the public broadcasters.

(Image credit: StephenVoss/NPR and Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

The reasoning AI race is getting heated.

Second lady Usha Vance announced on Sunday that she would visit Greenland and watch the territory's famed dog sled race. But now the vice president is joining, and they'll go to a U.S. base instead.

(Image credit: Ian Langsdon)

The Atlantic's editor-in-chief was mistakenly added to a government Signal group chat discussing war plans. Meme-makers could not leave that alone.

• Nimo N172 17.3-inch display makes it a workstation powerhouse
• Upgradeable components extend lifespan, reducing e-waste and increasing sustainability
• Two-year warranty exceeds Apple’s coverage, ensuring long-term reliability

NIMO has introduced the N172, a high-performance business laptop powered by the AMD Ryzen 9 6950H.

This eight-core, sixteen-thread processor reaches up to 4.9GHz, delivering superior multi-threaded performance over Apple’s M4 in CPU-intensive tasks like 3D rendering, software development, and video editing, making it one of the best laptops for engineering students.

It also supports up to 64GB of DDR5 RAM at 4800MHz and 2TB of PCIe storage, offering customization options that rival the best laptops for coding.

Performance and expandability at an aggressive price

This device supports a 17.3-inch Full HD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 60Hz refresh rate, an anti-glare coating for better visibility, and a backlit keyboard for low-light usability.

The mobile workstation weighs about 2kg and has dimensions of 15.78 inches x 10.15 inches x 0.78 inches, making it relatively compact for a 17.3-inch laptop.

It comes with a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port, supporting 5Gbps speeds, three USB-As, an RJ45 LAN port, and HDMI for external displays. Wi-Fi 6 ensures fast and stable internet access.

One of the standout aspects of the N172 is its sustainability-focused design. Unlike many mainstream laptops, which often come with non-upgradable components, this model allows users to extend its lifespan by replacing or upgrading parts over time.

The inclusion of a two-year warranty surpasses Apple’s standard one-year coverage, offering additional peace of mind.

The fully configured model costs $700, while variations start at $460.

Via Nimopc

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• Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has released an upgraded AI model called V3-0324 to Hugging Face
• V3-0324 offers improved reasoning and coding abilities over its predecessors
• DeepSeek claims its AI models can match or beat those of American AI developers like OpenAI and Anthropic

DeepSeek dropped a major upgrade to its AI model this week, which has people buzzing almost as much as they did when the Chinese AI startup first made its splash earlier this year. The new DeepSeek-V3-0324 model is now live on Hugging Face, setting up an even starker rivalry with OpenAI and other AI developers.

According to the company's tests, DeepSeek's new iteration of its V3 model boasts measurable boosts in reasoning and coding ability. Better thinking and coding might not sound revolutionary on their own, but the pace of improvement and DeepSeek's plans make this release notable.

Formed just last year, DeepSeek has been moving fast, starting with the December release of the original V3 model. A month later, the R1 model for more comprehensive research debuted. Now comes V3-0324, named for its March 2024 release.

DeepSeek demand

The improvements bring the model to near-parity with OpenAI’s GPT-4 or Anthropic’s Claude 2 models. But, even if they aren't quite the same power, they run a lot cheaper, according to DeepSeek.

That's ultimately a huge selling point as AI use, and thus AI costs, continue to increase. Training AI models is notoriously expensive, and OpenAI and Google have huge cloud budgets that most companies couldn't reach without partnerships like OpenAI's with Microsoft. That exclusivity vanishes if DeepSeek's cheaper achievements become more common.

U.S. dominance of AI models is starting to slip anyway, thanks in part to Chinese startups like DeepSeek. It no longer seems shocking when the hottest model emerges from Shenzhen or Hangzhou. Geopolitical considerations, as well as business concerns, have spurred calls to ban DeepSeek from at least the U.S. government.

You probably won't see DeepSeek’s latest release changing everything for your schedule tomorrow, though. It hints that the ballooning demand for computational power and energy to fuel next-generation AI might not be as staggering as feared.

It also just might mean that the AI chatbot rewriting your resume or debugging your website also speaks fluent Mandarin.

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Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 184, for March 26.

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 388 for March 26

The venerable gaming publication, shuttered a year ago, returns with plans for print magazine editions.

Your options for getting online can vary drastically across the Magnolia State, but our experts have found some lesser-known providers you'll want to keep in mind.

Drug deaths are declining but the Trump administration's intelligence team has issued a new report describing street fentanyl as a top threat to the U.S.

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• Michael Bloomberg argues screens distract students from proven learning methods
• Students take 20 minutes to refocus after digital distractions
• True education happens through direct teacher-student engagement, not screens

Laptops are now common in American classrooms, with nearly 90% of schools providing devices to modernize education and prepare students for a digital future.

However, Michael R. Bloomberg, one of the world's wealthiest and most influential figures as the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, has argued the billions spent on these laptops for students have failed to improve academics, shifting focus from traditional learning and raising concerns about declining outcomes.

“As someone who built a company by developing a computer at the dawn of the digital age, I never believed that computers in the classroom were the cure to what ails schools," said Bloomberg.

‘Picking up books and pens’—A call to rethink laptop use in classrooms

"Some of the most powerful educational interactions occur when a caring, well-trained teacher can look into a student’s eyes and help them see and understand new ideas," he went on. "Machines often don’t have that power."

Bloomberg argues instead of increasing reliance on screens, schools should encourage students to spend more time reading, writing, and engaging in direct interactions with teachers and peers.

Laptops for teachers can enhance instruction, but Bloomberg acknowledges that, while student laptops can be useful tools, they cannot replace the value of a well-trained educator guiding students through meaningful learning experiences.

Studies show excessive laptop use in classrooms leads to distraction, with students often taking up to 20 minutes to refocus after engaging in non-academic activities.

Despite widespread laptop use, only 28% of eighth graders and 24% of 12th graders are proficient in math, while reading scores remain low, and US students continue to lag behind their international peers, raising doubts about the effectiveness of widespread laptop adoption in schools.

While the best laptop for engineering students can support advanced computations and specialized software, excessive screen time in general education has not translated into improved academic performance.

A post-pandemic survey found over 25% of students spend at least five hours of classroom time daily on screens, often engaging in educational games that fail to build mastery. In contrast, time-tested methods like reading physical books and writing by hand have been shown to improve retention and comprehension.

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The South American archrivals face off at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.

• A new Superhubs site in the UK can charge 44 EVs at once
• Solar panels and massive battery packs help reduce strain on the grid
• Superhubs are catching on across the globe

Data released this week shows that EV sales are on the rise for the second consecutive month in Europe, as the market continues to grow in the US. But as more customers opt to go electric, the demand naturally increases on the public charging network – and that's where increasingly popular Superhubs come in.

A growing number of fast-charging providers (with help from local governments) are developing these purpose-built ‘Superhubs’ that not only aim to cram in as many battery-powered vehicles as possible, but also harness the power of solar and battery storage in order to reduce the strain on the grid and reduce the cost of charging.

One such site has just been opened by InstaVolt near Winchester in the UK. There are specially-designed bays for electric heavy goods vehicles, as well as smaller vehicles that are towing trailers, plus dedicated accessible charging spots for those with disabilities and extra-long spaces for electric vans.

(Image credit: InstaVolt)

The site can host 44 electric vehicles, all of which can top-up in rapid fashion thanks to 160 kW DC fast chargers. During peak times, InstaVolt charges 85p per kilowatt (around $1.10), but it also offers an off-peak tariff at 54p per kilowatt (around $0.70).

Conveniently-sized charging bays aside, the site also benefits from a massive 870-panel solar array that is paired with an equally gargantuan 960kW/4MWh battery storage system, which reduces the reliance on the grid during peak hours.

Unlike current charging destinations in a typical European service station, InstaVolt’s new Superhub is located just off the main highway, where there is more space and, perhaps more importantly, land is slightly cheaper.

This has allowed the company to add things like 24/7 toilets, a Starbucks, a children’s playground area and a spot to walk the dog. Customers also benefit from air and water provisions, in order to keep those road trips rolling.

Analysis: Superhubs are going global

(Image credit: Tesla)

Earlier this month, the largest EV charging hub opened in South Korea, with charging network operator Water unveiling a mammoth 46-strong hub at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Goyang.

Catering for everything from tiny city cars to the largest electric trucks, the site offers both 200kW and 100kW charging facilities, while opting for a wooden structure reduced the overall construction carbon footprint compared to concrete or steel structures, according to Electrek.

While not quite on the same scale as those found in Korea or in the UK, a number of slick charging hubs are beginning to appear in the US too, with companies like Mercedes-Benz showcasing what its branded locations look like with the opening of its swanky venue at its US HQ in Sandy Springs, Georgia last year.

Tesla also opened its largest Supercharger site back in 2023, with a staggering 98 charging stalls operational in Coalinga, California, which benefits from solar canopies and Tesla’s own Megapack battery storage system to help ease the reliance on the grid.

(Image credit: Mercedes-Benz USA)

The company also revealed that it plans to open a mammoth 30-acre site in Lost Hills, California, which it says will play host to 168 charging stalls, making it by far the largest EV charging site in operation in the US.

According to Not a Tesla App, the proposed site in Lost Hills, which has been nicknamed ‘Oasis’, could be capable of charging 4,896 vehicles in a 12-hour period.

That said, China takes the top honors, with a staggering 637-stall charging hub located in Shenzhen, which delivers approximately 160 Megawatt-hours (MWh) of power daily and charges more than 4,000 taxis in any given 24-hour period.

But scale isn’t the only thing that electric vehicle owners are looking for, because the convenience factor is lost if you have to drive to a purpose-built hub that might be well away from a chosen route.

Instead, sites like InstaVolt’s Superhub aim to serve those using the busiest and most commonly used travel corridors, negating the need to fight over the limited number of charging stalls tacked on to service areas or gas stations.

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Following court decisions restricting the Trump administration's policies on immigration enforcement and cuts to federal agencies GOP lawmakers are pushing back. But they're split on how to respond.

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Notability review

Notability is a note-taking app from Ginger Labs that was launched back in 2010. It’s available for iOS but not on Android. Upon installing the app, a seven-day free trial is offered, so I was able to test out the premium features for free. Some other note-taking apps offer longer trial periods, so seven days felt a little short for me, as I like to make sure that an app is compatible with the way I work before committing to pay a subscription, but it may well be plenty of time for others.

Notability plans and pricing

Notability Starter
Without a paid subscription, you can create multi-media notes with a limited number of edits, import and annotate PDF documents, sync audio recordings to your notes, access the Gallery and its templates, scan documents, make use of presentation mode, view notes side by side, plus access free stickers, themes, and other content.

Price: Free

Notability Lite
For those who don't need the full suite of features, a Lite subscription provides everything in Notability Starter, along with unlimited edits, iCloud syncing across devices, and auto-backup.

Price: $17.99 / £12.99 per year

Notability Plus
Includes all of the benefits of Notability Starter, but notes and edits are unlimited, you can convert handwriting and math equations into text, use search to locate specific entries in written notes, sync to iCloud, plus your notes can be automatically backed up.

Price: $24.99 / £17.99 per year

A limited version of Notability is available for free, offering only a set number of edits, but more features can be accessed with a subscription to Notability Lite, and full access to all features with a subscription to Notability Plus. Prices vary depending on region, but in the US and the UK, a subscription to Notability Lite costs around $17.99 / £12.99 per year, and a Notability Plus subscription costs $24.99 / £17.99 per year, a similar price to many of the apps listed in our selection of the best note-taking apps, at the time of writing.

When it came to features, there were no complicated tools or settings menus. The handwriting-to-text and math equation features worked really well, even when tasked with converting my untidy scrawlings. There were two handy notes available to me detailing how to get started and the tools available to me.

It was easy to sync my notes between my Apple devices by popping into settings and enabling iCloud Syncing, so I could view, edit, or delete my notes from any of my devices effortlessly. In order to share my notes with others, I had to go into Manage Accounts via the settings and log in to my Notability account. Doing this also meant that I could have my notes in the gallery – for example if I’d made a template that others might want to use – and meant I could follow other publishers too.

(Image credit: Notability)

The app could be used by professionals, but only for note-taking and to share work with others, as it’s not the ideal app for collaboration. It’s a pretty nifty app for personal use, however, with plenty of free planner and to-do list templates that helped me get organized, not to mention the huge variety of colorful stickers available that made it super easy to jazz up my pages or help to add a visual cue next to certain entries.

This plethora of free stickers plus the easy-to-use tools made it easy for me to create bullet journals and planner spreads from scratch. One tool that worked well but proved frustrating was the eraser, which, for some reason, is set to revert to the previous tool I used once I'd lifted my Apple Pencil from the screen.

Although the large variety of templates supplied by Notability was a big plus, it was a shame that the templates I tried were applied to all pages within my note, so if I found I couldn’t swipe through the pages and apply a different template to each page. This would be fine if I wanted several pages of to-do lists or shopping lists, but was disappointing when my aim was to create a planner for my week with notes, lists, and goals.

(Image credit: Notability)

It only took a couple of taps to share notes as a PDF document via channels like email, and social media messaging, by clicking on the options button from within my note. There was also another option to select allowing me to customize the format, including PDF, Note, JPEG, and PNG file types. I could also decide which pages I wanted to send, as well as if I wanted to include the background paper, add page margins, attach my audio recordings, or password-protect the document.

Sharing documents with colleagues or family members is easy to do: within the note options there are buttons to create and share a link, or stop sharing. If your intended recipient has the Notability app, it can be downloaded as a note and, if not, they can open up the document as a PDF in their browser.

As there's a button in the app to update the linked note from the source account, I assumed real-time collaboration would be possible. As it happened, however, any changes made did not sync to the downloaded note in the Notability app, but would instead update the PDF, which would need to be redownloaded to have the up-to-date note available. This way of working still has its uses, of course, but real-time collaboration would have been more efficient.

In summary, this isn't an appropriate app for streamlined collaborating. But it's very simple to get started with Notability, and there are enough tools and free content to help organize and keep track of projects or personal goals, making this a good option for students, or anyone working solo or on personal projects.

Should I buy Notability Buy it if…

You want simplicity
If you want a straightforward note-taking app that's not boring, then Notability would be a good fit. The tools and settings are easy to master, and every element is satisfyingly uncomplicated.

You want to share documents easily
It only takes a couple of taps to share a PDF of your notes, and just a couple more to adjust the file type, page range, and more if required.

Don't buy it if…

You want to collaborate in real-time
The process to share a link to some of my notes was simple, but the linked content only updates in an uneditable document, as syncing stops when the file is downloaded, even as a Notability note. As a result, this means collaborating with colleagues would be a long-winded process.

You want to create all-in-one planners
It was very useful to have access to a broad range of templates, but it's frustrating that the template applies to every page within the note, rather than individually.

Notability review: Also consider

Evernote
At the time of writing, Evernote is rated as the best dedicated option in our selection of the best note-taking apps. You can create up to fifty notes and one notebook on one device for free, or a subscription can be paid to get access to more features, such as unlimited devices, Adobe Acrobat, 20GB of uploads per month, and features tailored specifically for team working.

How I tested the Notability app

• I used Notability for a week
• I used it to write notes, plan, and create a bullet journal
• I tested out note sharing and all of the features available

I spent a week using Notability as my main format for note-taking and for planning out my week. I also used it to create my own bullet journal.

I reviewed how straightforward it was to get started on the app, and how user-friendly and easy to navigate the interface was. I experimented with the different tools, exploring their different settings and assessing how well they performed. Finally, I tested how easy it was to share files, and how easy it would be to work collaboratively using Notability.

• First reviewed: March 2025
• Read more about how we test

It's time to clinch out your last few battle pass tiers. This Friday, developer Treyarch is adding the "quad feed" double XP bonus back to Black Ops 6.