Baylor News
Catholic and evangelical scholars are speaking across denominational boundaries as part of the third annual Wilken Colloquium.
The colloquium aims to unite the Christian community through open conversation about different denominational interpretations of Scripture.
“People develop friendships that result in Christian unity, despite denominational divisions,” said Dr. Thomas Hibbs, dean of the Honors College.
Welcome Week marks the start of the Baylor school year, but a program this large requires a substantial number of volunteers to lead new students, set up events and provide information.
New Student Programs will be accepting applications now until 5 p.m. on March 8.
Tripp Purks, new student programs coordinator, said Welcome Week is a great time for students to serve.
A ranking BP executive testified Tuesday that the London-based oil giant and its contractors share the responsibility for preventing blowouts like the one that killed 11 workers and spawned the nation’s worst offshore oil spill in 2010.
Lamar McKay, who was president of BP America at the time of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, became the first BP executive to testify at a federal trial intended to identify the causes of BP’s Macondo well blowout and assign percentages of blame to the companies involved.
Rig owner Transocean and cement contractor Halliburton also are defendants at trial, which opened Monday.
Scouts’ honor, merit badges and camping trips come to mind when one thinks of the Boy Scouts. At more than 100 years old, this organization is still a prominent part of American society.
In September, Dr. Byron Johnson and a team of researchers from Tufts will begin researching the effects of this organization on the health, character, and performance of boys who participate in this program.
Johnson, director of the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, said little research has been done on the Boy Scouts even though the organization is more than 100 years old.
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.
