Baylor News
When the shadow of Nov. 5 looms over the hearts and minds of American citizens, there is a light at the end of the tunnel — not in the next American president, but by finally waving the white flag on the political battlefield, and treating each other the way Jesus intended.
Framed by the legislature’s ongoing debate over school vouchers, the State Board of Education election will also have major ramifications on curriculum updates.
With issues like the death penalty, bail reform and wrongful convictions in the spotlight, the results of this election will have significant implications for Texas’s legal landscape. Moreover, with rising public interest in how courts affect social justice, civil rights and public safety, voters are more likely to tune in to this critical race in 2024.
The historically red Texas Supreme Court battles to maintain its conservative tradition in the ballot box next month, making this election especially important for Texas Democrats.
Waco News
Baylor Athletics @BaylorAthletics
Saddened by news of explosion in West, Texas. Praying for our neighbors.
Fatalities as a result of the explosion in West are confirmed, but a number is not yet known.
At a press conference held just after midnight, D. L. Wilson, Public Information Officer for the Texas State Troopers, confirmed that there had been fatalities but would not confirm a number. When asked on a previously reported death count of 60 to 70, Wilson declined to comment. Wilson did confirm a large number of injuries.
Following the news of the explosion in West, almost one hundred students and faculty from the Baylor community came together at a student organized candlelight vigil to pray outside of Waco Hall.
The vigil was started by Baylor Sophomore Class President Ben Prado, from Richardson, who tweeted to fellow classmates to meet him in front of Waco Hall at midnight. Prado purchased several candles and lighters and waited for students to join him.
There are confirmed casualties from the explosion in West, but not yet a confirmed number. According to some reports, the number could be as high as 70. Hundreds are injured.
The explosion occurred at West Fertilizer plant in West Wednesday night. Firefighters were responding to a fire at the plant when an explosion went off that rocked the small town. A four-block area around the explosion site is destroyed.
State News
President Donald Trump has approved the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, the former Army major convicted of killing 13 people in the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, with the execution scheduled for 1 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Central Texas military installation, roughly an hour from Baylor’s campus.
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.
