Baylor News
“What I’m trying to do in this role is build a bridge between the people who want to be able to do something because their faith commitments have motivated them to care for our planet, but they need [a] vehicle to drive change,” Beilke said.
“I think we’ve really leaned into some of those things that have always been important to Baylor and we’re really seeing it pay off in the number of applications that we’re getting and… the quality of students that are coming to Baylor,” President Linda Livingstone said.
“Without the $100 million over the next year because of the endowment, every student would have to pay an additional $6,700 in their tuition,” Morehead said. “That is why the endowment is such an important funding system for the school.”
Among these unfinished projects are missing baseboards, furniture and glass panes for interior buildings. Some individual dorms are lacking window blinds, with others missing the window trim entirely. The elevators are still floored with plywood and missing ceiling tiles. Numerous students have also reported air conditioning and electrical issues.
Waco News
Plenty of people pray daily, but for Waco resident Virgil Bell, praying is a full-time job.
Former Baylor and McLennan Community College lecturer Roger Wayne Rouland, 52, pleaded guilty on Thursday to possession of child pornography.
Tonight at 8 p.m., KWBU-FM will broadcast the last pre-recorded public forum on the potential school closings in the Waco Independent School District. Forums were held Jan. 5-12 to garner community feedback on the potential closures, which are because of an anticipated $3.4 million loss in state revenue. The school district is looking to combat the budget shortfall and save money by closing down schools that are under-capacity, according to wacoisd.org.
A man last known to be in Moody, a town about 28 miles southwest of Waco, was recently added to the Texas Department of Public Safety’s 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list.
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.
