February News

Senators grilled the leaders of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord at a congressional hearing on Jan. 31. What were they discussing?

• Child safety online

• Election misinformation

• Silicon Valley monopolies

• The dangers of artificial intelligence

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Earlier in February, the X account for Elmo, the fuzzy red monster from “Sesame Street,” posed a question to its 457,000 followers. It received thousands of responses.

What was the question?

• Elmo doesn’t think he’s on Sesame Street anymore. Where is Elmo?

• Elmo is just checking in! How is everybody doing?

• Elmo’s fur is furry. Right?

• What’s that in the sky? Is it a bird?

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Neuralink, a company working to develop computer interfaces that can be implanted in human brains, placed its first device in a patient on Jan. 29, said its founder, Elon Musk.

The device will allow humans to do what?

• Control a phone or computer “just by thinking”

• Increase their mental abilities by 200 percent

• Upload their memories into cloud storage accounts

Users of a popular social media site woke up earlier in February and discovered that many videos with songs by stars like Lana Del Rey, Drake and Ariana Grande had gone silent after negotiations broke down between the platform and Universal Music Group.

What social media platform was it?

• Instagram

• Snapchat

• TikTok

• X

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All of the following happened at the 66th annual Grammy Awards on Feb. 4 EXCEPT:

• For her first-ever performance on the award show, Joni Mitchell, now 80, sang “Both Sides Now.”

• Jay-Z, accepting the Dr. Dre global impact award, criticized the Recording Academy for repeatedly snubbing Beyoncé in the all-genre album of the year award.

• SZA was awarded album of the year for “SOS.”

• Tracy Chapman made a surprise appearance with Luke Combs to sing her 1988 song “Fast Car.”

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A record deluge spawned landslides and flooded roads in California on Feb. 5.

These kinds of storms, named for their long, narrow shape and the prodigious amount of water they carry, have a huge influence on the state’s weather.

What are they called?

• Arctic storms

• Atmospheric rivers

• Bomb cyclones

• Nor'easter

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A cat meowing for Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Cardi B rapping about lip gloss and Kris Jenner twisting an Oreo cookie. They all have one thing in common: Those companies paid lots of money to advertise during this year’s Super Bowl.

How much was the average cost of a 30-second ad spot?

• $500,000

• $2 million

• $7 million

• $92 million

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Earlier in February a mother was convicted on four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one for each student her son killed in Michigan’s deadliest school shooting. Why did this verdict make national headlines?

• A near-total breakdown in policing protocols hindered the response to the school shooting.

• It was the most high-profile example of prosecutors’ seeking to hold parents responsible for violent crimes committed by their children.

• The judge declared a mistrial after a juror admitted to violating a court order not to discuss the case with anyone.

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Earlier in February, the town of Willits, Calif., hosted its annual celebration of its most treasured resident, Edith Ceccarelli, pictured above. At 116, she is the nation’s oldest person.

Which of the following events did Ms. Ceccarelli NOT live through?

• The advent of the Ford Model T automobile

• The California gold rush

• The two deadliest pandemics in American history

• Two world wars

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What is the personal tech columnist for The New York Times, Brian X. Chen, doing in the picture above?

• Taking a couch nap with a smart sleep mask

• Trying out Apple's new virtual reality headset

• Testing heated ski goggles