Baylor News

Waco News

A drug ring distributing $30,000 to $40,000 of high-grade marijuana monthly near Baylor campus HAS resulted in four arrests and an investigation of more than 50 Baylor students.

McGregor, Lorena and Baylor Police departments, in cooperation with the Drug Enforcement Administration, served two warrants less than one mile from campus on Aug. 28. Marijuana, prescription pills, packaging materials, weapons and more than $12,000 were found in the two residences, according to the McGregor Police Department. The customer base of the suspected distributors is the Baylor student body, said McGregor Police Department’s Criminal Investigator Lt. Joe Coy.

Local police arrested four men Wednesday near Baylor campus after searching two homes in connection to an extensive marijuana drug ring.

After three months of following leads and working with Drug Enforcement Administration officers, McGregor Police and Lorena Police served two warrants with the cooperation of the Baylor Police Department. While McGregor and DEA officers handled the the first search warrant Wednesday morning, Baylor police officers handled the second search warrant later that day, said Baylor Police Chief Jim Doak.

More than 40 Waco first responders who aided the city of West during the April 17 explosion were honored by the Waco Police Department. West Mayor Tommy Muska and Waco Police Department Chief Brent Stroman handed out the awards, which included several Medals of Valor, during the second quarterly ceremony Thursday.

Baylor students, faculty and staff who have returned to Waco this fall with pet cats or dogs will face new regulations concerning spaying and neutering.

On Aug. 20, the Waco City Council unanimously approved the second reading of a new ordinance making it official that all Waco pet owners will be required to spay or neuter dogs and cats older than four months. All Waco pet owners are also now required to implant their animals with microchips, a radio frequency identification device placed under the skin. Animals with certain health problems, used by government agencies and animals owned by breeders are exempt from certain measures of the new ordinance.

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.