Baylor News
Many people try to be environmentally conscious and one Baylor alumnus is striving to help people do just that.
Justin McBride, who graduated in 2009 with a double major in biology and biochemistry, started dasjj.com in April. Dasjj.com is a website that specializes in selling notebooks and pens made from recycled materials.
The blaze that authorities initially said would end in a couple of hours instead spewed flames and smoke from a derailed tanker car for a second day Thursday with no end in sight, as crews scrambled to prevent it from igniting railcars loaded with toxic chemicals nearby.
Hundreds of people have had to evacuate, including the entire town of West Point and some people from the outskirts of Louisville.
Eight international graduate and undergraduate students are waiting on approval to form an organization that will help equip international and domestic Baylor students to interact in unfamiliar cultures as they study and work abroad.
Baylor graduate Dr. Nirund Jivasantikarn and his son Ekapon Jivasantikarn are traveling to various universities to recruit graduating seniors to teach English in Thailand for 10 months from June to March with a two-week break in October.
The Jivasantikarns will host an information session on the teaching program at 4 p.m. Monday in 203 Cashion Academic Center in the Hankamer School of Business.
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.
