Suddenly, after drifting through months of confusing finger-pointing and iffy economic theory, the presidential candidates are getting walloped by an October surprise. Superstorm Sandy is a real-world, gut-level test.

The force of nature threw cold water on the campaign bickering just as President Barack Obama and Republican nominee Mitt Romney were charging into a final week of man-made rancor.

“It’s sort of like Mother Nature is intervening and calling a timeout,” said historian and presidential biographer Douglas Brinkley.

Following an armed robbery that occurred near campus Monday night, Baylor students, faculty and staff received emergency alerts that have led to the refinement of Baylor’s emergency notification system.

The notices, which were sent at 11:18 p.m. by Leigh Ann Moffett of Baylor Emergency Management, alerted readers to an incident that occurred near the intersection of Eighth Street and Bagby Avenue.

An unknown hazardous material sickened about 200 people Tuesday just northwest of El Paso, as some workers in the industrial area where the substance released described feeling a burning sensation on their skin, according to New Mexico authorities.
A one-mile area surrounding the Dona Ana County Industrial Park and Mexico border crossing at Santa Teresa was evacuated for a few hours and the county airport was closed. Workers a few miles away said they could smell something in the air.

The Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization voted to add an additional $2 million to a project that would renovate the interchange of Interstate 35 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Chris Evilia, the director of the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization, said the additional funds will make the traffic to and from Baylor Stadium smoother when the stadium opens.