Year: 2013

A man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend by dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire was executed in Texas on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court refused his final appeal.

Carl Blue, 48, was condemned to die for attacking Carmen Richards-Sanders at her apartment in Bryan, about 100 miles northwest of Houston, in September 1994. He also tossed gasoline on a man in the apartment, but the man survived and testified against Blue.

Blue claimed it was a prank gone wrong, but prosecutors said it was an intentional attack sparked by jealously.

Drew Peterson — the swaggering former suburban Chicago police officer who gained notoriety after his much-younger fourth wife vanished in 2007 — was sentenced to 38 years in prison on Thursday for murdering his third wife.

Illinois does not have the death penalty, and the 59-year-old Peterson had faced a maximum 60-year prison term. The judge gave him four years’ credit for time he has served since his arrest.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan is talking with school districts about how to free them from unworkable parts of the federal No Child Left Behind law, signaling he is open to an approach he long tried to avoid.

The Education Department has given 34 states and the District of Columbia permission to ignore parts of the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Law and eight others have waiver applications pending ahead of next week’s application deadline. But that still leaves eight states — giants California and Texas among them — operating under the law and set to fall short of its requirements, such as all students being proficient in math and reading by 2014.

Historians say the lesson of history is that there’s no such thing as a foreseeable future. Honest Oscar forecasters would have to agree.

When Emma Stone and Seth MacFarlane announced the Best Picture nominees Jan. 10, pundits immediately declared a front-runner. “The contest has come down to one film, and it’s ‘Lincoln,’ an excellent, very popular movie by a great director on a subject that inspires, uplifts, redeems. … It’s the perfect Academy movie,” wrote Wesley Morris, the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for the website Grantland.

Greg (@gregdevries3000) and Daniel (@D_Hill80) discuss Baylor hoops, March Madness, the NBA Dunk Contest, and Baylor baseball. Follow the show (@DFTBPodcast) and like our Facebook page.

Learn how to convince a potential employer that you are the right person for the job in a “Learn to…

From barbells to benches, a trio of Baylor students are out to help people reach their full potential.

Linden, Mich., junior Alex Barbaretta; Colorado Springs, Colo., senior Eric Press; and Linden, Mich., sophomore Shawna Tharp are a part of Barbell Fitness, a team dedicated to spreading awareness of health and fitness and bringing the tools to help people succeed.

Texas A&M University officials are investigating a bomb threat at Kyle Field that prompted officials to issue a “Code Maroon” safety advisory and close the stadium and nearby buildings, displacing about 700 people.

An A&M statement Wednesday says the football stadium and adjacent buildings that were evacuated will remain closed for the rest of the day.

State Sen. Brian Birdwell is proposing a bill to make sure college students get the most out of their education with one more test before graduation.

Birdwell filed Senate Bill 436 on Feb. 8 in the hopes of instituting a standardized test for all Texas public universities.

Birdwell released a statement about the importance of this bill to the success of Texas students and universities.

The Dallas-based up-and-coming band Air Review is coming to Common Grounds on March 2 to play some songs from its new album “Low Wishes.”

The band currently has a single, “America’s Son,” playing on KXT, a Dallas radio station, and has been getting lots of media attention from organizations such as The Dallas Morning News, and the Denton-Record Chronicle.

Texas lawmakers are moving forward with creating a new, unified campus for the University of Texas System in the Rio Grande valley.

Brownsville Rep. Rene Oliveira and other South Texas lawmakers laid out the legislation that would combine two campuses into a single university with a new medical school in South Texas.

National Rifle Association President David Keene said Wednesday he doesn’t expect a filibuster from gun rights supporters as the Senate prepares to vote on potential gun control issues.

Keene spoke at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum in a one-hour event moderated by CNN chief national correspondent John King, who asked him if the NRA would support efforts to filibuster and block the votes.

House and Senate leaders on Wednesday agreed to create a special committee to investigate the University of Texas System board of regents, as a key senator filed a bill seeking to limit the power of board members.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Joe Straus agreed to form the joint panel following an emotional speech Dewhurst gave on the Senate floor Monday defending embattled University of Texas President Bill Powers.

The Baylor Bears lost to the Iowa State Cyclones 87-82 Wednesday at the Ferrell Center on a night where the Cyclones made 11 three-pointers to sink the Bears. Jackson led the Bears in scoring with 30.

“This is a tough loss for us,” Baylor head coach Scott Drew said. “Iowa State shot 54 percent from the field. That and our 55 percent from the free throw line was the difference in the game. 82 points is enough points to win, but the other team shoots 54 percent and scores 87. Defensively tonight, that was disappointing.”

The No. 25 Baylor softball team will look to improve its record on its first road test against Texas State at 7 p.m. today in San Marcos for the Texas Shootout.

Baylor started the season slowly, despite winning the Getterman Classic on Feb. 10. Their offense couldn’t get going, which put more pressure on the defense and pitching, but Baylor responded the following weekend with offensive speed and power as they got more aggressive and began hitting balls. This contributed to their 5-0 sweep of the Miken Classic, putting them at 10-2 for the season.

Sophomore Diego Galeano has played as many matches as anyone on the 20th-ranked Baylor men’s tennis team this season.

He readily accepted his role as a utility man, playing with different doubles partners and in various singles spots when head coach Matt Knoll calls his name.

Baylor students will have the opportunity Friday to meet and speak with eBay’s vice president of corporate communications, John Pluhowski.

EBay advertises as the world’s largest online marketplace.

Pluhowski, who has been with eBay for three years, will speak at 12:05 p.m. in 254 Castellaw Communications Center.

Amy Shireman logged into Twitter early Wednesday to join thousands of people from 60 countries watch live something she had experienced but never seen: a baby boy delivered by cesarean section, in all its graphic imagery.

The live Twitter broadcast brought to viewers by Houston’s Memorial Hermann Health System was the medical institution’s latest foray into a growing trend to gain exposure by showing the world via social media routine procedures that happen daily in operating rooms.

The first of three people killed in a gunman’s rampage was identified Wednesday as a 20-year-old woman.

Police did not know why she was in the home of the shooter, who lived with his parents and was described by authorities as a video game-playing loner.

Courtney Aoki, 20, of Buena Park was shot multiple times early Tuesday in the home where gunman Ali Syed, 20, lived, said Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino.

Most people don’t mean it when they say, “You don’t like it? So sue me.” But one graduate student who didn’t like her grade did just that.

A judge recently ruled against former graduate student Megan Thode, who was suing Lehigh University for $1.3 million in damages as well as to raise a C-plus grade she earned in a class that was mandatory to earn her master’s degree in counseling and human services. Thode claimed the professor of the fieldwork class discriminated against her because she agrees with same-sex marriage and the professor does not.

Christopher Dorner.

How deeply you live in the Baylor Bubble determines whether or not you recognize this name, or feel anything associated with it.

For those who don’t know, the name belongs to a particularly troubled former Los Angeles Police Department officer. With a frightening arsenal of weapons and military experience, he recently pledged to wage a war on the officers of the LAPD, on-duty or off.

The prospect of going to Pigskin Revue is not the be-all and end-all.

Sororities, fraternities and organizations across campus have worked tirelessly since the start of the semester to put together their perfect Sing acts, complete with sharp jazz hands and spot-on group vocals.

The Baylor Bears and Iowa State Cyclones are locked in a fast-paced shootout so far tonight at the Ferrell Center. At the half, Iowa State leads 41-36 over the Bears.

The contest started out with senior point guard Pierre Jackson playing with revenge on his mind after he posted just seven points against Kansas State.

Lariat Harlem Shake from Baylor Lariat on Vimeo.

The Baylor campus diversity committee and the School of Music present Saakumu, a dance and drum troupe from the West…

Police officers could be charged with a crime for enforcing new federal gun control laws in Texas under a proposal by a lawmaker who acknowledges the measure likely would end up in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Rep. Steve Toth, a newly elected Republican from The Woodlands, said his proposal would prevent officers from carrying out any future federal orders to confiscate assault rifles and ammunition magazines.

The mayors of Houston, Dallas and Austin told lawmakers on Tuesday that they support a proposed $2 billion fund to finance water projects across the state and would like to see less red tape and more conservation efforts.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker told the House Natural Resources Committee that she supports using money from the Rainy Day Fund to create a water development bank that would help local authorities build new water projects and finance conservation efforts. Houston has invested in numerous water projects and delivers 495 million gallons a day to 470,000 customers.