Baylor News

The Greater Waco Chamber and the Small Business Development Center Network hosted a roundtable discussion Wednesday about how Waco-based businesses can become more active in international business expansion and local job creation.

As 2010 Baylor alumna Jennifer Rader stood in her kitchen making Ramen noodles for lunch on March 11, her apartment building in Sendai, Japan, started to shake with the tremors of the country’s most violent recorded earthquake to date. She turned off the gas to her stove and, as the shaking worsened, decided to open her door so that if the building shifted it wouldn’t get stuck. But it wouldn’t budge.

The influence of small groups on congregants’ commitment and participation, particularly in large congregations, was the topic of a recent study conducted by Baylor researchers.

Waco News

State News

Tensions continued to grow over the summer between political adversaries as Texas state Sen. James Talarico called on Attorney General Ken Paxton to release internal records related to a controversial child sexual abuse case involving former Waco attorney and Baylor Law graduate Adam Hoffman.

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.