Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Fittingly, today’s Mini Crossword includes some related clues. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: The Eagles have the only N.F.L. logo that faces this way
Answer: LEFT

5A clue: Statement that’s self-evidently true
Answer: AXIOM

7A clue: Wash vigorously
Answer: SCRUB

8A clue: Classic opera set in Rome
Answer: TOSCA

9A clue: To the ___ degree
Answer: NTH

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Fourth place in an N.F.L. division, for example
Answer: LAST

2D clue: Former inmate, informally
Answer: EXCON

3D clue: Successful gain of ten yards, when combined with this answer’s direction?
Answer: FIRST

4D clue: Trip to the end zone, when combined with this answer’s direction?
Answer: TOUCH

6D clue: Deg. held by many a C.E.O.
Answer: MBA

Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

England will start their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign against Nepal on February 8 in Mumbai. England has won 2 T20I World Cups so far, first in 2010 and then again in 2022. However, the last time they toured India for an ICC event during the 2023 50-over World Cup, they were knocked out in the group stages after finishing at 7th (out of 10 teams) on the points table. They’ll be keen not to repeat the same mistakes on similar Indian pitches.

If you’re away from home right now you can use a VPN to unblock your usual stream from anywhere.

Crime 101 is ready to stake its claim for a place in the pantheon of crime films.

One of 2026’s crop of new movies, Crime 101, based on Don Winslow’s novella namesake, is billed as a seat-gripping heist thriller that might make for a perfect date night this coming Valentine’s Day weekend. And, with Marvel actors Chris Hemsworth, Halle Berry, Mark Ruffalo, and Barry Keoghan among its A-list cast, it’s certainly got the star power to get bums on seats.

Meta is taking a surprising turn in the world of social apps: it’s testing a standalone version of Vibes, a feature that lets users create and discover AI-generated short videos, and giving it its own dedicated home outside the broader Meta AI app. The move, first reported by TechCrunch, reflects Meta’s belief that AI-created video content might be compelling enough to warrant its own space on your phone.

Originally launched in September 2025 inside the Meta AI experience, Vibes lets people generate or remix short vertical clips using AI tools, then browse a feed populated entirely by synthetic videos. Instead of watching humans film themselves, every piece of content you encounter in Vibes is made, or at least significantly shaped, by AI. That feed has gained enough traction that Meta now wants to see how the concept plays out as a separate app with a more focused environment for video creation and discovery.

What Meta wants from the standalone Vibes app

Breaking Vibes out into its own application could serve multiple purposes. For one, it gives Meta a cleaner, single-purpose platform that’s easier to build around than trying to shoehorn the AI-generated video experience into a multipurpose AI assistant. Meta says that users are increasingly leaning into the format, creating, discovering, and sharing AI-generated clips with friends at a growing rate. Though, to be fair, the company hasn’t shared exact usage numbers yet.

The standalone app’s focus on synthetic vertical video puts it in more direct competition with other emerging AI video platforms like OpenAI’s Sora, which also blends social feeds with AI content creation tools. By giving Vibes its own identity, Meta can experiment with features tailored specifically to video creation, discovery algorithms, and possibly even monetization paths like freemium subscriptions that unlock more advanced creation tools in the future.

Meta is currently testing Vibes in select markets and has kept the rollout modest so far, but early interest suggests the company sees a future where AI-crafted media isn’t just a side project, but a core creative format. Whether users will embrace a world where every scroll is an algorithm’s idea of entertainment, instead of someone’s real-life clip, remains to be seen.

When Dr. Carolina Gutierrez’s physics students used artificial intelligence to solve problems, something unexpected happened: The answers were wrong. But instead of provoking frustration, those mistakes sparked the kind of learning teachers hope for. Students began asking why, adjusting their prompts and developing critical thinking skills that went beyond computational accuracy.

This is the kind of AI integration educators want — not shortcuts, but tools that deepen learning and engage students in authentic problem-solving. As AI becomes increasingly common in classrooms, teachers are moving beyond curiosity and caution to ask practical questions: How do we use these tools responsibly? How do we ensure equity? And how do we help all students benefit?

“We try to move past AI for efficiency,” explained Jessica Garner, senior director of innovative learning at ISTE+ASCD. “That’s a great place to start, but we focus on how AI can help make education what it should be for students — transforming the learning experience.” Garner leads GenerationAI’s Communities of Practice, which bring together educators in yearlong cohorts to explore shared problems of practice around AI. “We intentionally include educators from varied roles, regions and backgrounds — district leaders, administrators, classroom teachers, skeptics, novices and experts,” she said. “Through virtual and in-person convenings, participants learn, test ideas and support one another as they examine how AI can responsibly enhance teaching and learning in their own contexts.”

Recently, EdSurge host Carl Hooker moderated a webinar that brought together members of these communities to highlight practical solutions for implementing AI in K-12 classrooms. The panel included Garner; Dr. Craig Perrier, a high school social studies specialist in Virginia, who uses AI to support new standards and universal design for learning; Hannah Davis Ketteman, a digital learning coach in Texas, who works with teacher cohorts to integrate AI into assignments and assessments; and Gutierrez, a high school science teacher in Houston, who supports emergent bilingual students with AI-guided lessons.

Together, they discussed strategies for building student confidence, scaffolding learning and ensuring all students benefit from innovation.

EdSurge: How do you help teachers who are hesitant about using AI?

Davis Ketteman: As a digital learning coach, a big part of my job is teaching teachers how to use these tools. The spectrum of AI literacy among teachers can be surprising. Empowering teachers will ultimately empower students to become AI literate.

Scaffolding has been really important. People have a lot of opinions about tools like MagicSchool or SchoolAI, but those [simplified platforms with pre-built templates] can be great entry points for teachers who feel uncomfortable or aren’t confident with prompting. If we can give them small successes with tools that feel relevant and practical, they can build confidence and eventually move into larger language models. Starting with a small win helps them expand more easily.

Watch the full “Uncovering Practical Solutions for AI Implementation” webinar on demand now.

What’s at the heart of your work with your problem of practice?

Perrier: For me, it’s personalization and adaptive learning. In Virginia, students earn verified credits for graduation, often through curriculum-embedded performance assessments based on the Inquiry Design Model.

The challenge is that the materials aren’t always accessible. For example, a primary source for an inquiry on the Crusades included a speech by Pope Urban in Middle English. No ninth grader can read that effectively. So we began using tools like MagicSchool and ChatGPT to modify texts to appropriate reading levels or summarize articles. The problem of practice was: How can we use AI to support the new standards and be emblematic of Universal Design for Learning?

This year, we extended that approach to podcasts and infographics. We used NotebookLM to create podcasts. But then we were surprised by how hard it was to find an AI-based infographic maker. We’d say, “Generate an infographic about the causes of the Civil War,” and the images might look like World War II, or the background language would be nonsense. It just wasn’t a good match for what we needed. We finally landed on Napkin AI through connections in the GenerationAI cohort.

Teachers can now offer a menu of accessible resources so every student can engage meaningfully. It’s shifted the mindset from “My students can’t do this” to “My students absolutely can.”

Gutierrez: For me, it’s about critical thinking and problem-solving, especially in AP Biology. It’s moving students from describing parts to asking: If I change this, what happens?

We use Gizmos, which lets students simulate being vets or doctors and interpret symptoms. I combine that with guided work using AI to generate prompts. For example, when my physics students used AI to solve problems, the answers were sometimes wrong. That led them to ask why and to learn how to adjust prompts or parameters, developing real critical thinking skills.

Hands-on work makes this even more visible. Using AI-generated guides, students followed step-by-step protocols for mini-labs. Breaking complex work into small, manageable steps helped students feel confident and engaged, especially my emergent bilingual learners. They began to participate, understand and stay invested. Quiet students took on leadership roles.

Once students learned how to ask better questions, use prompts effectively and think critically, they became empowered to manage their own learning.

Davis Ketteman: At the core, my work is really about critical thinking and problem-solving. Many teachers are wondering how to navigate a more boxed curriculum while maintaining autonomy. We’ve been talking about evaluating AI output and adapting it for the class.

One teacher I work with teaches math models to seniors. She reworked a budget project where students research a job, find a salary and build a budget. This time, students start by defining what “affordability” means. Then they draw a random life change, like a new roommate or a sick relative, and adjust their budgets. Finally, they present and redefine affordability as a group.

The evaluation this project demands from both teacher and students is astounding. And for students who aren’t strong in math, we focus beyond computation. They analyze what the output means in context. Seeing those light bulbs go off has been amazing.

What advice would you give to educators looking to implement AI?

Gutierrez: First, keep an open mind about the tools you use, what you’ll learn and whose perspective you’re approaching the work from. Are you thinking about the student experience, or are you using it to enhance your lessons?

Learn to pivot when challenges arise. Don’t give up at the first obstacle. AI is a valuable tool, and just as we adapted to computers, it’s becoming part of our classrooms. If we guide students responsibly, they can navigate it safely.

Davis Ketteman: I have two pieces of advice. First, start where you are. AI can feel intimidating, but tools like ChatGPT are still new. Find one small task — maybe cleaning up slides — and try it.

Second, just do it. Opportunities come when you put yourself out there. Apply for webinars or presentations that interest you. Don’t let self-doubt hold you back. Find your people, network and get involved.

Perrier: This falls under self-awareness. You need to be aware and comfortable that you can’t keep up with everything in AI. Some feel they have to be first to know and first to use, but I’m comfortable knowing I can’t do it all.

Stay networked. Find your community, like the one Jessica leads. Being connected opens possibilities instead of constantly chasing them.

Garner: This makes my heart happy. The ways they are working with AI are exactly what we want to see!

Through GenerationAI, ISTE+ASCD and six coalition partners are bringing together a diverse group of educators to examine the impact of generative AI on education and to give educators time and space to consider its use in a safe and responsible way. Join the movement at https://generationai.org to participate in our ongoing exploration of how we can harness AI’s potential to create more engaging, equitable and transformative learning experiences for all students. Sign up here.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

It’s Super Bowl Sunday! Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is all about the big game. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Signal-caller’s numbers.

Green group hint: Prince rocked it in the rain.

Blue group hint: Best player in the big game.

Purple group hint: Comes after this event’s name.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Stats for a QB.

Green group: Super Bowl halftime show performers.

Blue group: Super Bowl MVPs.

Purple group: Super Bowl ____.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is stats for a QB. The four answers are completions, interceptions, touchdowns and yards.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is Super Bowl halftime show performers. The four answers are Gaga, Lamar, Mars and Petty.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Super Bowl MVPs. The four answers are Branch, Hurts, Montana and Rice.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Super Bowl ____. The four answers are LX, MVP, squares and Sunday.

• Apple could allow more AI on the CarPlay dashboard
• This is a rumor outlined in a new Bloomberg report
• Apps such as ChatGPT and Gemini might show up

Apple CarPlay has traditionally been quite restrictive when it comes to the types of apps it allows on your vehicle dashboard, but it seems that third-party chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini might soon be able to claim spots on the CarPlay interface.

This is according to Mark Gurman at Bloomberg, who usually knows what he’s talking about when it comes to Apple‘s future and as-yet-unannounced plans. Support should arrive in the “coming months”, the report says.

I love Nintendo Switch Online (NSO). Of course, it opens up access to online multiplayer and comes at a genuinely modest price. But what I appreciate more than anything is how NSO supplies a healthy dollop of retro titles from Nintendo’s illustrious history.

Yes, there are some incredible games available through NSO. All-time classics like Super Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, and Super Mario Bros. feature, and they still feel amazing to play to this day. But these legendary titles are known by just about every gamer. What about the titles that don’t get as much hype or attention? What about the games that are must-plays, even if they didn’t sell millions upon millions of copies?