There’s one open class, but it’s not on SSOL— it’s Insurance 101!

Happening in the World: French President Emmanuel Macron’s plan to raise the legal age of retirement from 62 to 64 has brought more than a million protestors to the streets of France. The striking workers closed schools, stopped trains, and disrupted the Metro system, and stretched from Calais in the north to Marseille in the south. While labor unions are uniting behind the protestors, Mr. Macron sees this as an opportunity to create a better pension system in France by making people work longer. His administration asserts that as the ratio of workers to retirees has dropped drastically with increased life expectancy, the government has a vested interest in protecting both parties, but must reduce the number of retirees. (NYT)

Happening in the US: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has determined the cause of the massive outage last week that caused 11,000 delayed flights and 1,300 cancelled flights. According to their investigation, the Notice to Air Missions database, which alerts pilots to hazards during flights, had files deleted by an employee, causing it to go offline on January 11th. The employee had deleted the files while trying to synchronize the primary and backup databases. Lawmakers are continuing to call for a broader investigation, as fears of future cyberattacks grow. (BBC)

Happening in NYC: Ed Mullins, the former boss of an NYPD police union, pled guilty on Thursday to stealing union money. He was indicted last year on federal charges for inflating hundreds of thousands of dollars in expense reports. Prosecutors said Mullins used union dues on dinners, appliances, and a college fund, frequently spending money on bars and requesting inflated reimbursements from the union. The Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office plans to charge him with a 33 to 41 month sentence for wire fraud. (Gothamist)

Happening in Our Community: Do you need to see a doctor? Have you been putting it off because you don’t know what your student insurance plan covers? Learn more about your Columbia University Student Health Insurance Plan with Insurance 101: The Basics of Health Insurance today, Friday, January 20th, from 1:30 to 2 pm on Zoom. For further information, contact Columbia Health at studentinsurance@columbia.edu.

Insurance Sign You Would See In A Barnard Dorm As Decor via Wikimedia Commons