Author: Baylor Lariat

The NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream, possibly waist-deep, once flowed on Mars — a find that the mission’s chief scientist called exciting.

There have been previous signs that water existed on the red planet long ago, but the images released Thursday showing pebbles rounded off, likely by water, offered the most convincing evidence so far of an ancient streambed.

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Ropes can be left at the door as participants compete Saturday at Baylor’s annual ChalkUp event.

The event is a mixed-format bouldering competition that will be held at the rock wall, also known as the Rock at the McLane Student Life Center.

Bouldering is a type of rock climbing that does not require ropes and harnesses, as climbers do not ascend past 12 feet.

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The battle against breast cancer will enlist runners, activists, donors and multipurpose volunteers in a charity event.

The 2012 Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at Heritage Square in downtown Waco.

Registration will begin at 6:30 a.m., followed by a survivor breakfast and ceremony.

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What’s done in the dark will come to the light.

Or not, according to the policies of the Student Senate.

During their exclusive executive session, senators discussed a new policy which would change the current grading system to include minuses as well as pluses.
Student Body President Kelly Rapp vetoed the Building a Better Bowling Alley legislation that passed last week.

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged China’s top diplomat on Thursday to peacefully resolve increasingly tense maritime disputes with Japan and its smaller neighbors in Southeast Asia.
A senior U.S. official said Clinton had pressed Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the importance of settling its conflicting claim with Japan over the Japanese-held Senkaku islands, called Diaoyu by China, along with numerous competing claims in the South China Sea with members of the Association of South East Asian Nations.

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A federal judge gave his final approval Thursday to a $42.6 million class-action settlement between companies that made and installed government-issued trailers after hurricanes in 2005 and Gulf Coast storm victims who claim they were exposed to hazardous fumes while living in the shelters.

U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt ruled from the bench after hearing from attorneys who brokered a deal resolving nearly all remaining court claims over elevated levels of formaldehyde in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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The debate on the correct balance between news and entertainment has been going on for decades.

A prime example of this debate can be found right here on Baylor’s overly-watered but oh so green grass: Castellaw Communications Building.

The bottom floor hosts the film and digital media department while journalism, public relations and new media stay on the top.

There is hardly any crossover.

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Baylor @ West Virginia: This is by far the most difficult test the Bears will have faced this season. No. 9 West Virginia has a wildly raucous crowd in Morgantown, and the Bears will be forced to play an early game at 11 a.m. which will be a different experience for them this year. WVU quarterback Geno Smith has already thrown for 1,072 yards this season, and he has accounted for 13 touchdowns. The Mountaineers top offensive playmakers are Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey, who have 10 total touchdowns and more than 600 yards receiving. Baylor counters with a high-octane offense of its own with Nick Florence spreading the ball to Tevin Reese and Terrance Williams. Ultimately, WVU will be an extreme test for the Bears. Prediction: West Virginia 55, Baylor 38

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There’s history in unchartered territory as Baylor travels to West Virginia for its Big 12 conference opener at 11:06 a.m. Saturday.

Baylor head coach Art Briles and West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen worked together at Texas Tech from 2000-2002.

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Let’s salsa.

Or merengue.

Or cha-cha.

The Baylor Latin Dance Society is a student club at Baylor whose mission is to encourage student and community involvement in the Latin culture and to demonstrate and teach the different styles of Latin-influenced dances such as salsa, merengue, cha-cha and more.

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Chemist Annie Dookhan was “Superwoman,” a colleague at a Massachusetts state crime lab used to joke. She seemed unstoppable in her quest to please prosecutors, police and her bosses, testing two to three times more drug samples than anyone else, working through lunch and not bothering to put in for overtime.

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A federal judge on Thursday ordered the man behind a crudely produced anti-Islamic video that inflamed parts of the Middle East to be detained because he is a flight risk.

U.S. Central District Chief Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal ordered Nakoula Basseley Nakoula held after authorities said he violated terms of his probation.

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The Waco Police Department will be collecting prescription medications that are no longer needed or wanted. The Drug Take-Back will run from Friday to Monday in the police department lobby at 721 N 4th St. This is a way for those who have accumulated unused drugs to safely dispose of them.

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The Waco Symphony Orchestra will present the stylings of Olga Kern on the piano at 7:30 p.m. today in Waco Hall. Kern will share her take on Debussy, Beethoven and Shostakovich.

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Pinball: fun childhood game or model of grief?

Dr. Margaret Baier, assistant professor of Family and Consumer Sciences at Baylor, suggests pinball as a metaphor for the stages of grief is more appropriate than that the traditional, five-stage model of grief.

Baier recently co-authored a case study with Ruth Buechsel which used a pinball as a metaphor to help bereaved patients examine the grieving process.

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The University of California has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a lawsuit filed by demonstrators who were pepper-sprayed during an Occupy protest at UC Davis last fall, according to a preliminary settlement filed Wednesday.

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The hard work of the Waco Police Department Victim Services Unit paid off when they recently won a national award.

The Waco Police Department Victim Services Unit is the International Association of Chiefs of Police 2012 Medium Agency Winner for Police Departments in the country. An award for each agency size — small, medium and large, which is based on the number of sworn officers within the police department — is given out each year.

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Nearly 20 years after the Vermont and Texas Legislatures first agreed to have Vermont ship low-level radioactive waste to the Lone Star State, the first shipments of waste have been made.

A 30-gallon drum containing wastes from the University of Vermont and Burlington’s Fletcher Allen Health Care hospital was received and placed in its permanent home in a West Texas disposal site earlier this month, officials said Wednesday at a Statehouse meeting of the Texas-Vermont Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission.

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The Baylor women’s soccer team will take on Kansas at 7 p.m. Friday in Waco.

The Jayhawks, like the Bears, recently dropped out of the top 25 on NCAA.com, so the competition should be stiff.

The Jayhawks are a very possession-oriented team.

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The Baylor Bears volleyball team is in the middle of a brutal stretch of Big 12 Conference play that includes three straight ranked opponents.

Last Saturday, the Bears faced No. 19 Iowa State in Ames and lost. On Tuesday, the No. 9 Texas Longhorns defeated the Bears.

This Saturday the Bears take on No. 15 Kansas State at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.

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Pianist Joel McCray began his classical training at age 5, but that did not stop him from exploring the keys of his family piano at age 2.

McCray’s musical journey came naturally to the Waco native, who believed his hearing overpowered his ability to read music. For McCray, music was simply natural.

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For Jarod Myers, the war wasn’t over when he returned home from Iraq — he had his own internal war to fight.

Myers was clinically diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder as a direct result of his experiences in Iraq.

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There could be progress in breaking the standoff between American Airlines and its pilots, which appears to have caused a spike in canceled and delayed flights.
American officials have been saying they wanted to resume negotiations on a new labor contract, and they put that in writing this week at the request of the pilots’ union.

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Fans of the annual Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo can expect yet another action-packed rodeo, big-name headliners, popular carnival rides and the notorious fried food this year’s.

The fair and rodeo will be held at the Extraco Events Center from next Thursday through Oct. 13 with performers for all ages and musical styles.

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What a difference four years can make.

In 2008, college campuses were filled with campaign posters and political rallies — and frenzy. Remember “Obamamania?” This year, it’s difficult to find a college student who’s truly excited about the presidential race.

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