Baylor News
When a drunken driver entered Interstate 35 exit ramp in October of last year, one Baylor student’s life was changed forever.
Saginaw junior Hollie Thomas was a psychology major when she left Waco on Oct. 9, 2011, but an event that night changed her life — and her plans.
It was 1 a.m. and Thomas and her brother were driving from Waco to their hometown outside of Fort Worth.
Gay rights advocates are making plans to get other states to join California in banning psychotherapy aimed at making gay teenagers straight, even as opponents prepared Monday to sue to overturn the first law in the nation to take aim at the practice.
Students of many religions, classifications and races joined together Thursday night at Brooks Flats Residence Hall to discuss the recent protests in the Islamic community.
The protests were ignited in the Middle East when an anti-Islamic film, “Innocence of Muslims”, was released in the U.S. Many in the Muslim world believe the video degrades the Prophet Mohammad. Muslims were even more outraged when they found that in the U.S, the video was protected by the First Amendment, because in his home country of Egypt, filmmaker Nakoula Bassely Nakoula would have faced swift punishment.
The Animal Birth Control Clinic, a nonprofit organization in Waco, is in need of funding after exhausting its biannual Trap-Neuter-Return grant of $56,000 this month. The grant was written by the Heart of Texas Feral Friends, a program that is part of the Humane Society of Central Texas.
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.
