Baylor News
Christmas often prompts strangers to give without need for compensation or recognition. Two Baylor employees have shared in this spirit anonymously for the past 10 years.
More than 9,000 miles separate Waco from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, but Baylor engineers are shortening the educational gap between Baylor and universities in Vietnam.
Described by her colleagues as smart, funny and laid back, Dr. Phyllis Tippit brings experience and knowledge to the Baylor Interdisciplinary Core. Tippit, who has a doctorate in geology and is a dissertation away from having a doctorate in Old Testament, teaches everything from literature and media to science and religion for the BIC.
Rumors circulated via e-mail in 2004 that Congress planned to reinstate the military draft by 2005, without the possibility of using college as an exemption.
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
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.
The abduction of a foreign leader was not on most students’ bingo cards for winter break. Once news headlines began appearing about Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and how his wife were removed from Venezuela, most people scratched their heads in confusion, wondering where the news came from and why it happened.