Reminds me of how you occasionally get a "GRAD STUDENTS BREAK SPEED OF LIGHT" article and it turns out they just shined a laser on the moon and turned it really fast or something.

Because it's possible to make things (like a laser spot or a shadow) move faster than the speed of light.

It's moving information faster than the speed of light that's tricky.

Is there consensus how actual magnetic monopoles relate to the particles in the Standard Model?

Good question, the short answer is no. For the long answer, let's begin by simplifying the concept of the Standard Model itself.

The Standard Model is a theory that describes the fundamental particles and forces (except gravity) in the universe. It is essentially a set of mathematical equations that explain how particles like quarks and electrons interact through forces mediated by particles like photons (for electromagnetic force), W and Z bosons (for weak nuclear force), and gluons (for strong nuclear force). These interactions are described using quantum field theory, which combines quantum mechanics (dealing with the smallest scales of energy levels and particles) with special relativity (dealing with particles moving at high speeds).

Now, regarding magnetic monopoles, these are hypothetical particles proposed in various theories. There are two main types of hypothetical magnetic monopoles that theorists have considered:

- Dirac Monopoles: Proposed by Dirac in 1929, these monopoles are simpler and would arise from modifications to electromagnetism. Dirac showed that if magnetic monopoles exist, they would explain why electric charge is quantized (i.e., why it comes in discrete amounts like the charge of an electron). However, Dirac monopoles don't fit neatly into the Standard Model as it currently stands. They would require some extension or modification of the model.

- Grand Unified Theory (GUT) Monopoles: These are more complex and emerge from grand unified theories, which are theoretical frameworks that attempt to unify the gravity, electromagnetic, weak, and strong forces into a single force. In these theories, monopoles are heavy and rare relics from the early universe, a time when the fundamental forces were unified. In many GUTs, conditions in the early universe would have allowed for the creation of magnetic monopoles. These monopoles are predicted to be very massive and thus difficult to produce and detect with current technology (LHC energies are still too low to produce them).

So as of now, there is no experimental evidence for magnetic monopoles (this did not change by this announcement). Their theoretical existence is a topic of significant interest, but it remains speculative and outside the direct scope of the Standard Model. Any confirmation of magnetic monopoles would be groundbreaking, potentially opening up new physics beyond the Standard Model.

"Well thanks to inflation."

Probably Biden's fault.