Lifestyle
Sunday Puzzle: Can you guess these stars?
Sunday Puzzle
NPR
hide caption
toggle caption
NPR
On-air challenge: Every answer today is the name of a famous person past or present, in which the first two letters of the first name followed by the first two letters of the last name spell a four-letter word. I’ll give you the four-letter words and the famous people’s fields. You give me their names.
Ex. LINE, Action film star –> Liam Neeson
1. NEAR, Astronaut
2. ROAM, Explorer
3. DUEL, Jazz musician
4. PARE, Colonial patriot
5. SEGO, Singer/actress
6. NITE, Inventor
7. WISH, Playwright/poet
8. WISH, Puzzlemaster
Last week’s challenge: I was at the 184th convention of the National Puzzlers’ League, in Dallas. It’s a four-day event of word puzzles and games shared with about 160 fellow enthusiasts. One of these is Sandy Weisz, of Chicago, who sent me this puzzle: Think of a famous actor and a famous actress who co-starred in a classic movie of the past. The actress’s first name, when reversed, and the actor’s last name, spelled forward, are similar romantic gifts. Who are these film stars?
Challenge answer: Meg Ryan > gem-> Billy Crystal (“When Harry Met Sally”)
Winner: Darryl Nester of Bluffton, Ohio
This week’s challenge: This challenge comes from listener Mark Scott, of Seattle. Take the name of a famous actor of the past. Say it out loud, and phonetically you’ll describe what a famous general’s horse did. Who is the actor and who is the general?
Submit Your Answer
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it here by Thursday, July 25th at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle. Important: include a phone number where we can reach you.
Lifestyle
John Cena wanted to step away from the WWE ring before he became ‘too slow for the show’ : Wild Card with Rachel Martin
A note from Wild Card host Rachel Martin: First a confession: I have never watched a WWE match in its entirety. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the athleticism and the performance, it’s just not my thing. But there is something about John Cena I’ve never been able to shake.
Yes, he is a wrestling legend, but he has built a career as an entertainer that transcends the ring. The first time I saw him lead a cast was the 2019 family movie “Playing with Fire” and his rapport with kids in that film didn’t seem like acting at all. The man contains multitudes!
He co-stars with Eric Andre in his newest film, “Little Brother.”
Lifestyle
Great movies you may have missed : Pop Culture Happy Hour
Xie Miao and Yang Enyou in The Furious.
Norachai Kajchapanont/Lionsgate
hide caption
toggle caption
Norachai Kajchapanont/Lionsgate
There have been some fantastic movies released this year, and we know you can’t see them all. So we’re recommending four recent movies we missed that you should add to your watchlist: The Furious, Tuner, She’s The He, and Heresy.
If you need a few more fun film recommendations, check out these episodes:
Fun movies you may have missed
Our favorite movies on Tubi
We debate the best movies to watch on an airplane
Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:
Letterboxd / Facebook
Our weekly newsletter
Support Pop Culture Happy Hour+
Lifestyle
A judge says the Kennedy Center must update him on its plans — and address that tarp
A tarp covers the facade of the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on June 13. A federal judge has asked the arts complex’s leadership to explain the purpose of the tarp and the surrounding scaffolding.
Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images
On Wednesday, the federal judge overseeing the Kennedy Center lawsuit ordered the center to give him a status report on the center’s operation and programming within the next few weeks. Judge Christopher R. Cooper also said that the Kennedy Center must explain the purpose and status of the tarp and scaffolding that have been placed over the front of the arts complex, where until recently both President Trump and President John F. Kennedy’s names were both displayed.
In a directive issued last Tuesday, Judge Cooper had given Kennedy Center administrators three days to update him on the arts complex’s immediate plans regarding construction, programming and public access. Trump, who now serves as the center’s chairman, had announced July 5 as the date the venue would close for major renovations.

Last Friday, on Cooper’s due date, lawyers for the Kennedy Center filed a request asking for an extension. In that filing, Matt Floca, who was promoted as the center’s president and CEO in March, said that the Kennedy Center’s current management intends to present its board with “an array of options” for trustees to vote on at their next meeting on an unspecified date in mid-July.
According to Floca, the options are a complete closure for extensive renovations; a partial closure “enabling some continued public access and limited programming” while some renovations are undertaken; and “a highly limited series of phased closures to address only the center’s most serious infrastructure needs while scheduling and maintaining a full slate of programming.”
In his newest order, Cooper denied Floca’s request for an extension. And he mandated that the center file a status report within seven days of the center’s July board meeting or by July 31, whichever date is earliest. He also ruled that the report must “indicate the purpose for and status of the tarp and scaffolding,” which were erected by workers over the center’s front signage in the early morning hours of June 13.
When asked for comment Wednesday, the Kennedy Center pointed back to the documents its legal team submitted to the court.
The tarp and scaffolding on the center’s front portico went up after the Kennedy Center’s administration slow-walked the court-mandated removal of President Trump’s name from the front of the center and from all digital materials, which was supposed to happen no later than June 12. Workers removed the lettering overnight into the following morning, hours after the federal court’s original deadline, and covered the center’s sign with a tarpaulin.
As of Monday, the sign remains hidden from the public.

Trump’s name was scrubbed from all of the Kennedy Center’s digital content on June 4, the same day an email order to do so was issued by the complex’s legal team; NPR obtained this memo the day it was sent out to Kennedy Center staff.
These court orders are part of the ongoing lawsuit filed by Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, against President Trump and the board of the Kennedy Center. Earlier this year, Cooper ruled that Beatty, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board, must be allowed to participate in board meetings. NPR has asked Beatty if she plans to vote at the July board meeting, but did not receive an immediate response.
It would be very difficult for the Kennedy Center to revive a thriving programming lineup for the months ahead. Over the past year, many prominent artists canceled their planned appearances, citing the politicization of the venue. Most of the center’s programming staff have departed, either via layoffs or resignations. Unlike top administrators at other major performing arts venues around the country, Matt Floca has no experience in artistic direction, fundraising or arts administration; formerly, he was the center’s head of facilities, and he holds a bachelor’s degree in construction management.
Established artists who typically perform at the Kennedy Center generally have their touring schedules set at least a year in advance, if not multiple years ahead. In years past, the center has publicly announced its upcoming season in mid-spring for performances beginning in September and running through the following summer.

Currently, only a handful of outdoor free movie screenings of nostalgic favorites like The Princess Diaries and Clue appear on the center’s calendar of events, along with some participatory workshops for kids. In the past, the Kennedy Center presented over 2,000 arts and education events each year.
The center also recently became ensnarled in litigation with one of its longtime tenants and artistic partners. On June 12, the Washington National Opera, a company formerly in residence at the Kennedy Center, sued the complex for $17 million. It claims that the Kennedy Center had withheld “years’ worth of donor gifts, bequests and endowment funds” that had been intended specifically for the WNO.
-
Minneapolis, MN4 minutes agoMinneapolis City Council approves 5-month pause on data center development
-
Indianapolis, IN11 minutes agoIndiana veteran completes 250-mile march for semiquincentennial
-
Pittsburg, PA13 minutes agoHoffmann family makes very good first impression: ‘You will win in Pittsburgh’
-
Augusta, GA19 minutes ago
Nancy H. Bowers Obituary Jun 24, 2026 – Platt’s Funeral Home
-
Washington, D.C26 minutes agoWatch: Americans visit Great American State Fair in Washington DC
-
Cleveland, OH29 minutes agoU.S. Marshals arrest suspect in murder of Northeast Ohio rapper
-
Austin, TX33 minutes agoNew podcast searches for accountability after 2025 Central Texas flood
-
Alabama41 minutes agoMillions in SNAP Overpayments: Alabama and Florida Required to Submit Corrective Action Plans