Baylor News
Incoming freshmen were exposed firsthand to Baylor traditions and Waco culture at the 2026 A Waco Welcome on Wednesday and Thursday at the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center.
Cars lined the streets on Thursday as students arrived at the newly renovated Kokernot Hall for Move2BU. The all-women first-year community reopened this fall after a yearlong renovation and welcomed roughly 160 students.
For incoming Bears, the first week at Baylor is about more than unpacking boxes. From worship and traditions to new friendships and mentorship, Welcome Week is designed to help students find their place in the Baylor community.
In July, residents began moving into the newly renovated, nearly 80-year-old Kokernot Hall, which houses about 160 freshman women per year. From new bathrooms and common spaces to sidewalks and landscaping, the entire lot on the southwest corner of campus has been refreshed.
Waco News
According to Chappell, F45 is a place where people work out in a class environment, seeing the same faces every day. Members are able to motivate and work alongside each other, rather than going to a regular gym where they wait in line for equipment without meeting any of the people around them.
As chatter of a Democratic win in Texas alarms many Republicans, Cruz sees his home state as a sort of bastion of the red vote, and he also bears the “Come and Take it” approach to his campaign battles.
According to the International Mission Board, the 70 million members of the global deaf population are “some of the least evangelized people on Earth.” Only about 2% of deaf people have been introduced to the gospel. With no deaf churches between Dallas and Austin, that was just as true in Central Texas as anywhere — until Richard Larson came to town.
Inconspicuously situated on a once-vacant lot in a sleepy Waco neighborhood on the 1100 block of Taylor Street is an array of crop beds growing vegetables such as onions, cabbage, peas and sorghum. The property is the site of Global Revive — a nonprofit organization founded in 2013 to “revive our world back to nature” by encouraging people to grow their own food.
State News
Trump encouraged voter turnout and touts policy victories, saying, “Pretend I’m on the ballot.” He also announced that if Republicans win the House and Senate, every adult U.S. citizen would receive a $5,000 dividend.
National
Politics
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.
