October 27, 2025

Title: ALGO ESTA PASANDO

Constructors: Nguhi Ross & Kelsey Dixon & Erik Agard

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Theme synopsis:

• LOCAL GOVERNMENT (17A: Domain of some down-ballot races)
• NORMAL GOSSIP (36A: Podcast with "juicy, strange, funny, and utterly banal" stories)
• PUSH IT REAL GOOD (52A: Command from Salt-N-Pepa in a 1987 hit)

ALGO ESTA PASANDO: Each theme answer contains the word ALGO: LOCAL GOVERNMENT, NORMAL GOSSIP, and PUSH IT REAL GOOD.

What I learned from today's puzzle:

• FAWN (30A: Fight, flight, freeze and ___ (trauma responses)) Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are stress responses that occur when the brain perceives a threat. These are automatic responses, regulated by the sympathetic nervous system, that happen without conscious thought. Th fight or flight response was first described in 1914. Since then, scientists have noted that trauma responses take other forms besides fight or flight. I was familiar with the concept of "fight or flight," and knew that "freeze" had been added as a noted response. The addition of "FAWN" is new to me – always happy to expand my knowledge.
• TIDE (47A: "We Tried ___ Pod Pizza and We're Still Alive" (Vice.com article)) Do you remember back in 2018 when TIDE pods were in the news because people were eating them? One pizzeria in Brooklyn decided to make pizza bits that resembled TIDE pods (but did not contain detergent). It is this pizza that is discussed in the Vice.com article "We Tried TIDE Pod Pizza and We're Still Alive."
• MORGAN (45D: Connecticut Sun GM Tuck) MORGAN Tuck is – as the clue informs us – currently the general manager (GM) for WNBA's Connecticut Sun. She is also a former basketball player; she played for the Connecticut Sun from 2016-2019.

Random thoughts and interesting things:

• FDR (5A: New Deal prez.) The New Deal was a series of programs and regulations enacted between 1933 and 1939, when Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) was president. These programs included the establishment of Social Security.
• PARIS (21A: 2024 Paralympics host city) The 2024 Summer Paralympics were held in PARIS, France. This was the first time PARIS hosted the Summer Paralympics, although France was the host of the 1992 Winter Paralympics (held in Tignes and Albertville). PARIS also hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics. 
• CAT MOM (23A: Her daughter might steal her hair ties) This clue made me laugh out loud! Did you know I am a CAT MOM? (If you don't, welcome to the blog.) My CAT, Willow, will steal hair ties if I leave them lying around, so I've learned not to do so. She'll also steal socks, towels, crocheted animals, oh and one particular ornament off of the Christmas tree. Meanwhile, she's perfected her look of innocence. "Who me?"

• TIA (28A: Tamera's twin) TIA and Tamera Mowry are twin sisters who play identical twin sisters on the TV series Sister, Sister (1995-1999) and in the Disney movies Twitches (2005) and Twitches Too (2007). From 2011 to 2013, the twins were featured on the reality TV series TIA & Tamera.
• NAACP (32A: Org. that awards the Spingarn Medal) The Spingarn Medal is awarded by the NAACP to honor an African American who has made "the highest achievement during the preceding year or years in any honorable field." Just a few weeks ago, the 2025 Spingarn Medal was awarded to Vice President Kamala Harris. 
• NORMAL GOSSIP (36A: Podcast with "juicy, strange, funny, and utterly banal" stories) NORMAL GOSSIP is a podcast launched in 2022. It was created by Kelsey McKinney – who hosted the first 7 seasons of the podcast – and Alex Sujong Laughlin. Since 2024, Rachelle Hampton has been the podcast's host. NORMAL GOSSIP features listener-contributed GOSSIP stories that are vetted for fairness and accuracy and then anonymized. The host narrates the story to a guest, who is invited to comment and be judgmental. I needed the help of crossing answers to uncover NORMAL GOSSIP, but once I had the answer I realized that I have actually listened to an episode of this podcast, at the recommendation of my daughter.
• AAVE (40A: "Down bad" or "crash out," e.g.) AAVE (African American Vernacular English) is a dialect of English spoken by many Black people in urban U.S. communities. In addition to "down bad" and "crash out," other AAVE phrases include "no cap" and "spill the tea."
• ELF (49A: "Eyes Lips Face" brand) E.L.F. Cosmetics (usually stylized in lowercase letters as e.l.f. Cosmetics) is a company founded in 2004 to sell "affordable makeup & beauty products." E.L.F. stands for "Eyes Lips Face."
• PART II (51A: "The Last of Us ___" (2020 video game sequel)) The Last of Us PART II was a sequel to the 2013 video game The Last of Us. The games are set in a post-apocalyptic United States. In 2023, a TV series based on The Last of Us premiered on HBO. The second season of the show is based on (the first half of) The Last of Us PART II.
• PUSH IT REAL GOOD (52A: Command from Salt-N-Pepa in a 1987 hit) Here's a fun thing about the Salt-N-Pepa song "PUSH IT." It was featured in a 2014 commercial for GEICO insurance. The ad featured Salt-N-Pepa commanding people to "PUSH IT REAL GOOD."
• IRAN (55A: Neighbor of Armenia) IRAN is located in Western Asia. IRAN's neighbors are Armenia and Azerbaijan(to the northwest), Turkmenistan (to the north), Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, and Iraq and Turkey (to the west). IRAN also has coastline along the Caspian Sea, the Gulf of Oman, and the Persian Gulf. The capital of IRAN is Tehran.
• TYPO (58A: What an editor might fnid in this clue) Ha! Very fun clue.
• RITA DOVE (19D: "On the Bus With Rosa Parks" poet) On the Bus With Rosa Parks is a 1999 book of poems by Pulitzer-Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate RITA DOVE.
• NICK FURY (36D: MCU role for Samuel L. Jackson) MCU here is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Samuel L. Jackson has portrayed NICK FURY – a master spy and the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division) – in 11 movies so far. His first appearance as NICK FURY was in the 2008 movie Iron Man.
• TMI (47D: "This is ___, but…" (overshare starter)) Would you stop someone who started a story with "This is TMI, but…" or would you pop some popcorn and settle in for a juicy tale?
• A few other clues I especially enjoyed:
• WOWIE (16A: "___ zowie!")
• PLAY DIRTY (33D: Not abide by the rules)
• MILESTONE (35D: First day of school, e.g.)
• PAYS (51D: "Mind the business that ___ you")

"ALGO ESTA PASANDO" is Spanish for "Something is happening." In this case, what is happening is that ALGO (something) is hidden in each theme answer. I like that the common letter string of ALGO is noticeable even if one has only a minimal knowledge of Spanish and needs to google its meaning. Congratulations to Nguhi Ross making a USA Today crossword debut! Thank you, Nguhi, Kelsey, and Erik for this enjoyable puzzle.