Reports indicate that the new york times has a feature called "pips" with hints and answers available. The date of the feature being referenced varies across outlets, with some suggesting it is for july 21, while others mention different dates, including july 20, july 22, july 12, july 7, and july 19. Additionally, there is mention of another feature called "connections" and "strands" with hints and answers, but the relationship between these features and "pips" is unclear.