Baylor News
A breakdown of the contested races, candidates and key issues ahead of the upcoming primary election.
The come-and-go event offered free food and boba tea while students rotated between activity tables decorated in Spring Festival elements. Students participated in traditional games and learned about the meaning behind Lunar New Year customs and symbols.
International students at the annual Celebration of First Year Excellence said the university’s resources have helped them transition into life at Baylor while chasing academic success.
The 2026 midterms — widely seen as the first referendum on the Trump administration — kicked off Tuesday as Texas opened early voting for its March 3 primary, the first contest in what is projected to be the most expensive midterm cycle in American history.
Waco News
Esther’s Closet, a local self-sufficiency program aimed to equip women and children to escape poverty, held its annual Women of Distinction Luncheon on Tuesday at the Waco Convention Center.
“The blood that’s donated here at Carter BloodCare stays local,” Shipley said. “So you’re potentially helping a family member, friend, neighbor or anyone in your community that might need blood. That’s who you’re giving for.”
The Texas “trigger law,” set to make abortion illegal in the state 30 days after the U.S. Supreme Court’s judgment overturning Roe v. Wade, will take effect Thursday. This law is called The Texas Human Life Protection Act.
For a decade prior to 2015, the City of Waco aspired to raise the bar for cultural development. No entity existed to undertake the task until Creative Waco executive Fiona Bond was brought by Baylor from Scotland to Waco with her husband and two kids.
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.
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.
