A golden watch has just sold for $1.97 million!

Happening in the World: A gold pocket watch given to the British boat captain Sir Arthur Rostron has sold for $1.97 million. The 18-carat watch was gifted to Rostron—the captain of the RMS Carpathia, which saved over 700 passengers of the Titanic—by the wealthy widows Marian Thayer, Madeleine Astor, and Eleanor Elkins Widener. This sale has set the record for the highest amount paid for memorabilia of the Titanic. (BBC)

Happening in the US: President-elect Donald Trump has chosen Chris Wright, the CEO of fracking company Liberty Engery, as the next secretary of the Department of Energy. Wright will also serve on the newly created Council of National Energy, which will consist of agencies that revolve around the “permitting, production, generation, distribution, regulation, transportation” of energy. He also sits on the board of a nuclear reactor company and has discussed the potential of nuclear energy. Although Wright has acknowledged the link between burning fossil fuels and climate change, he has expressed doubt on whether climate change is linked to the worsening of extreme weather. (CNN)

Happening in NYC: New York Governor Kathy Hochul has signed legislation so that more registered dental assistants and licensed nurses will be allowed to apply topical fluoride varnish to a patient’s teeth—an expansion of fluoride treatment access to dental patients. Fluoride treatments aid in preventing tooth decay and are an important part of pediatric dental health. This legislation comes after Trump nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has pushed for the removal of fluoride in drinking water in the US, as the leader of the Department of Health and Human Services. (ABC)

Happening in Our Community: From 3 to 7 pm today, Columbia University’s Liga Filipina will host the 24th Annual Mr. Philippines Pageant in the Roone Arlidge Auditorium. Over twenty Filipino organizations in the Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue’s District Three universities (spanning across the New York City and New Jersey area) will be represented by contestants who participate in the competition, which aims to celebrate Filipino culture while also providing a platform for District Three youth to shine on. This year’s pageant theme revolves around “kapwa,” a Filipino word that describes the deeper-than-blood connection between humans. More information can be found here.

Image via Flickr