If you can guess what the “F” in NFT stands for, hats off to you.

Happening in the World: Austrian chancellor Alexander Schallenberg has announced a full national lockdown in response to record increases in COVID-19 cases. Authorities have said that the lockdown will last 20 days and require that all citizens work from home during this period of time. Additionally, non-essential shops are expected to close as well as most learning institutions, which will once again transition to a virtual setting (BBC).

Happening in the US: The Food and Drug Administration has authorized both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 booster shots for all adults. Individuals 18 years or older will now be eligible to receive a single booster shot six months after completion of the initial two-dose vaccine requirements. However, while the CDC has yet to settle its final recommendations for the course of action, many states are already providing COVID-19 boosters for the majority of its adult population (NBC).

Happening in NYC: New York City will award nearly 660 million dollars in damages in a class-action lawsuit against the use of discriminatory teaching certification tests. The lawsuit, which was originally filed in 1996, claims that the mandated certification tests have a disparate impact on African American and Latinx educators. While the state of New York had long dismissed the use of these testing qualifications, New York City continued to use certification requirements as a form to excuse pay cuts and pension denial. Now, over 350 educators will be compensated for financial damages this outdated policy may have caused (Gothamist).

Happening in Our Community: Be honest, do you know what an NFT is? No, you don’t. But now you can! The Kernochan Center is holding a day-long panel event titled “NFTs: Future or Fad?” in which attendees will be given an insight into this growing (and kind of confusing) market. Want to learn more? Click here.

art gallery via Pixabay