Strands is released at midnight in your time zone. To accommodate players around the world, we publish two Strands Sidekicks each day, based on Eastern Standard Time. If you find yourself on the wrong Sidekick, check your puzzle’s number, and go to this page to find its corresponding Sidekick post.

Kristi Noem, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Transportation Security Administration, announced in a press conference on Tuesday that the long-standing policy requiring most passengers to remove their shoes at TSA checkpoints nationwide is no longer in effect.

By New York Times Games. July 8, 2025, 6:00 a.m. ET. Hello, fellow word lovers. Welcome to Strands Sidekick. Our goal here is to help you solve each day’s puzzle.