Baylor News
Gov. Rick Perry said Monday that spending more state money on inspections would not have prevented the deadly explosion at the West Fertilizer Co. plant that was last investigated by Texas environmental regulators in 2006.
Baylor will host a memorial service Thursday at the Ferrell Center for the 11 first responders killed in the West explosion.
Doors open at 1 p.m. and the service begins at 2 p.m.. A procession beginning at 11 a.m. will immediately precede the service.
A group of five students kick around a volleyball, playing soccer, around 10:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. They share stories of their day amid laughter. It’s not intramural practice. It’s the second floor corridor between Moody Memorial Library and Jessie H. Jones Library.
Over the years, the central libraries have changed the function of some of their spaces, but no gym has been added. These libraries include Moody, built in 1968, and Jones, built in 1992. In fact, no square footage has been added to the central libraries since their construction.
Investigators haven’t found any ricin in the house of a Mississippi man accused of mailing poisoned letters to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a local judge, according to testimony Monday from an FBI agent.
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.
