Fifteen tips for a successful Black Friday experience

Katie Mazanec
Staff Writer
It’s time to release your inner shopper for the holiday season! Black Friday is the best way to save when buying gifts for others or even yourself. Below are fifteen tips to get you prepared for the big deals:

1.   Get a good night’s sleep: Make sure you are well rested for a tiring day of shopping in crowds. If you do not get much sleep, Black Friday will be less enjoyable.

2.   Be Patient: Make sure you are prepared to wait in long lines and listen to flustered shoppers.

3.   Create a budget and stick to it: Low prices are exciting, but don’t get too overwhelmed because items add up quickly.

4.   Bring a list: Stay organized and check off items as you shop.

Ask Apex: best and worst of Thanksgiving

Rebekah Gould
Staff Writer

Christmas decorations bombard shopping centers the day after Halloween and the Christmas buzz rolls right over Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a holiday that’s over 300 years old. In honor of keeping the Thanksgiving spirit, below are the results from a poll of 42 Apex High School students and staff to find out the best and worst parts of Thanksgiving.

Midterm elections signal conservative shift

Henry McKeand
Staff Writer

Republicans won control of the United States Senate on Nov. 4, giving the GOP control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the House, Republicans held onto their majority with a projected 244 seats out of 435.  Now with 52 seats in the Senate compared to 44 for the Democrats, they have the majority in Congress.   

One of America's biggest mysteries still unsolved

Sarah Kebea
Arts and Entertainment Editor

Researchers revealed they may have found a fragment of Amelia Earhart’s lost plane, the Lockheed Electra, in early November.  The scrap of aluminum was recovered in 1991, when it washed up on the shore of Nikumaroro, 350 miles from where Earhart supposedly landed 70 years ago, on Howland Island.  The 19 by 23 inch sheet of aluminum is said to be similar to a shiny patch on the side of the Lockheed Electra, according to a photograph from The Miami Herald.  The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has been working to determine whether the sheet of aluminum is a fragment of Earhart’s lost plane through forensic photo imaging.

Another story surrounding the Amelia Earhart case developed when sonar images of a reef near Nikumaroro showed an object matching the Electra, lying under 650 feet of water.  Ric Gillespie, the executive director of the TIGHAR, plans to further investigate this next year.  

Tillis wins Senate seat in recent election

Zane Muzzilo
Staff Writer

House Speaker Thom Tillis narrowly took the U.S. Senate seat for North Carolina from the Democratic incumbent Senator Kay Hagan. Tillis won a close race getting 49% of the vote while Hagan received 47% of the vote. The independent, Sean Haugh, took 4% of the vote, which helped swing the election in Tillis’ favor.

Tillis’ career began in 2003 as commissioner to the town of Cornelius North Carolina. In 2006 he was elected to the General Assembly of North Carolina and in 2011 became the speaker of the N.C. House of Representatives. 

Antares Rocket explodes above Virginia

Kenison Garratt
Staff Writer

The Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares Rocket in Virginia exploded above the launch pad Oct. 28 on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS). NASA has been investigating the cause of the explosion and has blamed it on a “catastrophic failure.” No one was killed or injured in the incident, but NASA spokeswoman Rachel Kraft has explained that none of the debris should be touched since the rocket was transporting 5,000 pounds of materials, some of which were hazardous. The rest of the materials included student experiments and supplies. Teams have begun assessing possible damage to Wallops Island where the launch pad is located. Most of the debris will likely scatter along the south end. The explosion should not affect the company’s finances for the year or the operations in the space station even though the next take off, originally planned for April, will have to be delayed because Orbital Sciences revealed plans on Wednesday to stop using ageing Russian engines.

Apex High School Forensics Team holds first ever meeting

Henry McKeand

Staff Writer

There’s a new and exciting team at Apex High, and it’s perfect for people who are interested in public speaking.  Forensics team, a group that will compete in speech and debate events, is starting its first year at Apex.  The first competition for the school took place on Nov. 8 at Cary High.  Junior Matt Dershowitz placed sixth in the impromptu speaking category, bringing home a trophy for the school.  Senior Matt Sholtis and junior Daniel Pan from Apex received an honorable mention in the public forum category.  Apex has never had a speech and debate team, and Wake County would like to have a debate team at every high school.   “The school has never had a speech team before,” says Alexandra Mann, an English teacher at Apex who advises the team.  “There are a couple of prominent teams in the area and it has been a goal for the county to have a team in every school.  Ms. Hill and Mr. Wight expressed interest in it.”