School
French Honor Society hosted its first-ever weeklong scavenger hunt, “The Mystery at the Louvre,” from Nov. 10-14. Inspired by the Oct. 19 robbery at the Louvre Museum in Paris, the event involved “jewels” — chocolate bonbons — for students to find, which they could keep for themselves. The items were hidden around campus in places like the art wing, the history wing and the gym. Clues on Instagram and QR codes around campus directed students to detailed storylines centered around French historical figures to uncover the made-up thief: Jacques Cartier. The final prize was a gold chest filled with chocolate gold coins.
Community
On Nov. 28, an isolated shooting took place at Westfield Valley Fair at around 5:40 p.m. Shots were fired following a verbal altercation between the male suspect and an adult male victim. The mall was then placed in lockdown, with Black Friday shoppers stampeding to find shelter in nearby stores. The San José Police Department confirmed that three people were shot with non-life-threatening injuries: an adult male, an uninvolved adult woman and an uninvolved 16-year-old girl. Valley Fair reopened on Nov. 29 with increased police patrols as investigations continue.
National
The last penny was minted in Philadelphia on Nov. 12, ending its 232-year lifespan. The United States Treasury first announced in May that the coin would be discontinued. Its end was largely attributed to rising production costs, with each penny costing 3.69 cents to produce. Many also believed the rise of transactions through cards and smartphones eliminated the need for small change, and that coins take up space and are less practical. While pennies are still counted as legal tender and remain in circulation, cash transactions will now begin to be rounded to the nearest five cents.
International
On Nov. 26 at around 2:51 p.m. in Tai Po, Hong Kong, a fire broke out at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex and resulted in at least known 159 deaths at publication date. The fire spread from the lower levels of the Wang Cheong Court to seven of the eight buildings, burning for over a day. Many of the apartments, home to around 4,600 residents, had malfunctioning fire alarms. This incident raised anger and concerns about the quality of construction and internal corruption, with police arresting three construction workers on suspicion of manslaughter, gross negligence and suspected corruption.
