Baylor News

President Barack Obama sharply challenged Mitt Romney on foreign policy in their final campaign debate Monday night, accusing him of “wrong and reckless leadership that is all over the map.” The Republican coolly responded, “Attacking me is not an agenda” for dealing with a dangerous world.

Attorneys representing around 600 school districts argued Monday that Texas’ school financing system is so “hopelessly broken” that it violates the state Constitution while keeping students from being prepared for the well-paying jobs of tomorrow.

The state countered that, even though the system is flawed, it’s nowhere near a crisis point.

Six lawsuits have been filed on behalf of about two-thirds of school districts, which educate about 75 percent of the state’s roughly 5 million students. They have been rolled into a single case, which opened before state District Judge John Dietz in Austin. The trial is expected to last into January.

Being absent from your chores back home is no excuse to be absent from voting in the 2012 presidential election.

Students who are away from the county they are registered in can still vote in the presidential election by receiving an absentee ballot.

Citizens may also utilize absentee voting if they are sick or disabled, are 65 years old or older on Election Day or are incarcerated.

Leaders from the Republican and Democratic parties of McLennan County will gather tonight for a public discussion of the upcoming election at 8 p.m. in the Brooks Flats Lobby.

The event, “The Choice: A Conversation,” is sponsored by Brooks Flats, Kokernot, Arbors, Fairmont and Gables residential communities.

The session is free and open to faculty, staff and students.

Waco News

State News

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.