Baylor News
Stocks rose Monday, helped by signs that Washington was moving closer to a deal that would avert a default by the U.S. government.
The stock market started the session broadly lower after negotiations between the White House and House Republicans broke down over the weekend.
However, stocks erased those losses in early afternoon trading following news that President Barack Obama would meet with Congressional leaders. The market extended those gains after Senate leaders in both parties said progress was being made.
West Fertilizer Co., the West plant where an explosion took place in April leaving 15 people dead and more than 100 homes destroyed, was fined $118,300 by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for 24 safety violations, said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
OSHA had not inspected the plant in more than 30 years. The findings of their latest investigation, according to Boxer, were failure to have an emergency response plan, unsafe handling and storage of anhydrous ammonia and ammonium nitrate, inadequate labeling of storage tanks, failing to pressure test replacement hoses and not having respiratory protection or appropriate fire extinguishers.
Three Baylor entrepreneurs have decided to change the way college students study. Adanote.com, created by three Baylor students, is an online collaborative platform that allows students to upload, share and study notes together online in a unique, social interface.
Baylor students can log on, create an account for free. They can find other students taking the same classes as them and view notes created by them online.
The website is using Baylor for its beta testing, but the goal of the website is to be available for all universities.
The United States on Wednesday cut hundreds of millions of dollars in aid to its Mideast ally Egypt, responding to the military ouster last summer of the nation’s first democratically elected president and the crackdown on protesters that has sunk the country into violent turmoil.
While the State Department did not provide a dollar amount of what was being withheld, most of it is linked to military aid. In all, the U.S. provides $1.5 billion in aid each year to Egypt.
Waco News
State News
Texas voters turned out in historic numbers Tuesday, delivering victories for State Rep. James Talarico and forcing a runoff between Attorney General Ken Paxton and incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the state’s U.S. Senate contest that claimed national attention. The total early-voting turnout of more than 2.5 million marks the highest ever for a midterm primary election. The results also kicked off the 2026 midterm cycle.
INTERNATIONAL
Gas prices in Texas have surged more than 70 cents per gallon since the U.S. went to war with Iran three weeks ago. The near-total shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz has driven oil prices up more than 40%, pushing the national average to its highest point since 2023 and sending diesel past $5 for the first time in three years.
The largest U.S. military operation in the Middle East in decades unfolded as American and Israeli forces struck Iran Saturday, killing its supreme leader and triggering retaliatory strikes from the Gulf to Israel. The White House said the campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s military and toppling its government.
Dr. Joshua Alley, assistant professor of political science, said part of the Trump administration’s interest in Greenland has to do with America’s national security strategy.
The abduction of a foreign leader was not on most students’ bingo cards for winter break. Once news headlines began appearing about Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and how his wife were removed from Venezuela, most people scratched their heads in confusion, wondering where the news came from and why it happened.
