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
The 20th anniversary of the disastrous raid on the Branch Davidians compound near Waco passed quietly Thursday, as colleagues of the four agents who died gathered in private and local officials made no plans to mark the day.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives held a ceremony in Waco to honor agents Conway LeBleu, Todd McKeehan, Robert John Williams and Steven Willis, the four agents who died in the Feb. 28, 1993 raid. Six Davidian members also died in that raid, which began a 51-day standoff that ended with the compound burning and the deaths of about 80 more sect members, including two dozen children.
o beyond the Baylor Bubble — that was the idea behind the Community Coffee House.
A panel of three community leaders gave a short presentation and then answered questions from both a moderator and students Tuesday in the Den of the Bill Daniel Student Center.
Ennis senior Briana Treadaway, student government’s external vice president, said she wanted students to know more about their community. Treadaway led the organization for the event.
Construction workers will temporarily close Interstate 35 just south of Bruceville-Eddy on Tuesday night to demolish the Old Blevins Road overpass, the Texas Department of Transportation reported.
All I-35 main lanes will close at Exit 314 from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Wednesday while workers destroy the bridge, forcing drivers to use frontage roads through the area. Workers closed the bridge Monday ahead of the work, TxDOT spokesman Ken Roberts said.
The Hot Seat series brought together Wacoans and Texas officials to discuss the 83rd legislative session last Saturday.
The forum let any topic be brought to the table, but much of the discussion with state officials revolved around the heated topic of education.
The series was presented by the Texas Tribune and hosted in the Stone Room of the Ferrell Center.
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.
