Baylor News
Is it a natural disaster? Is it the apocalypse? Not to worry – it’s SpaceX!
Waco is home to the only development facility of privately owned spacecraft company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., also known as SpaceX. Once parts for rockets and space craft are engineered and maufactured at other SpaceX locations around the country, Waco is the place they are sent to be tested before they are sent to a different SpaceX location to be launched, said Jeff Van Treuren, the test director at the Waco facility.
Free neutering and spaying services are now available for low-income cat and dog owners who live in the Waco area.
On Oct. 1, the Waco City Council approved Resolution 2013-585, which authorizes the city of Waco to reimburse the Animal Birth Control Clinic up to $100,000 for neutering and spaying services provided to low-income families. The service will cost the city an average of about $55 per animal.
Visitors lined up for Washington’s museums to finally reopen Thursday after a 16-day government shutdown that cost each site money in lost retail sales, theater tickets and concessions.
The Smithsonian museums, National Gallery of Art and U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum returned to regular operating hours. Tours resumed at the U.S. Capitol visitor’s center, and barriers were removed at the memorials on the National Mall.
Senate members passed three bills Thursday that include having wi-fi in Baylor Stadium, creating parking spaces for mopeds and scooters and the increasing the number of staff members at Baylor who can help provide students with career opportunities.
The wi-fi bill would include enhancing mobile broadcast and wi-fi coverage during games and events in Baylor Stadium, said said Dallas junior Connor Mighell, campus improvements and affairs chair. The bill supports the Board of Regents’ proposition to install a number of telecommunication networks in the new Baylor Stadium.
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
The Iran war is now in its 46th day. Iran responded by restricting access to Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil, and moving to toll vessels transiting the strait. Waco drivers are already feeling it. The local average hit $3.38 a gallon last week, up 21 cents in seven days and 75 cents year-over-year, according to AAA data.
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.
