Baylor News
Katie Klingstedt, coordinator of international programs, said the hope for the program is that international students get to see what it’s like to live in America outside of a college campus. They are matched with a domestic student, a faculty member or a local family to meet with once a month for a semester.
A record-breaking 56,674 applications have been submitted to Baylor for the 2024-2025 academic year, the admissions office reported.
From 7:25 a.m. to 5:25 p.m. Monday through Friday, Waco Transit shuttle drivers transport thousands of Baylor students across campus on various routes. While many students regard the service as a convenient way of getting to class, few stop to consider the experiences of the drivers.
Every year, Baylor celebrates Presidents’ Day with a trivia contest hosted by the political science department. Professors and students go head-to-head in a competition that tests their presidential knowledge.
Waco News
Two solar array systems have been installed at the Cameron Park Zoo as the result of a $140,000 donation by the Sun Club, a sub-group of Green Mountain Energy Co.
Winona Nawara, 84, sits outside in a white lawn chair facing the street. She doesn’t like the cold, so she keeps snug in a pair of cherry-red pants, a warm cream sweatshirt and an even warmer smile.
Attendees of this year’s third annual Jubilee Music Street Festival are in for new activities and potentially “record-breaking” s’mores Saturday at the corner of N. 15th Street and Colcord Avenue.
Students hungry for healthy food can stock up on specialty items in a local Waco store.
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.
National
Politics
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.
