Baylor News
As censorship rises across American media and education, Dr. James Kendrick, the interim department chair of journalism and professor of film and digital media, warns that power and algorithms are shaping what ideas reach the public. From classrooms to social media feeds, he said the suppression of controversial topics limits critical thinking and open dialogue.
“Sports aren’t just games,” Dr. Paul Putz said. “They’re places where people wrestle with questions of meaning, purpose and faith. My hope is that this book helps readers see how deeply connected those worlds really are.”
Baylor volleyball was looking to take the next step as a program. The Bears reached the NCAA tournament for the first time — 18 years after joining the NCAA. That season set the trajectory for the program’s recent success.
The Memorial, which was recommended by the Commission on Historical Campus Representations in 2020, addresses Baylor’s historical relationship with slavery. It recognizes the university’s construction through enslaved labor and Judge R.E.B. Baylor’s own possession of enslaved people, while continuing to acknowledge all parts of Baylor’s story.
Waco News
For some people, volunteering your time can mean volunteering your profession. Dianne Sawyer, a medical consultant at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center and a retired OBGYN, volunteers at Cameron Park Zoo once a week.
However, she’s not feeding or cleaning up after animals. Sawyer is a part of a special training initiative for a 14-year-old female orangutan called May.
Musicians are working to help a Texas town decimated in a deadly fertilizer plant explosion.
Officials with the Texas Thunder Festival on Monday announced next month’s performances will benefit emergency responders and schools in West, where 14 people were killed in a blast on April 17.
A shooting at a smoke shop left one teen dead and another injured Monday morning.
Waco police officers responding to reports of a shooting at Eddies Smoke Shop on Waco Drive found two individuals — Dhaodrique Eastland, 17, and another 19-year-old victim both from Waco — with gunshot wounds to the upper torso and forearm, respectively.
Both were rushed to the hospital, where Eastland was pronounced dead.
Twelve flag-draped caskets stood next to twelve smiling portraits of the first responders who died in last week’s explosion in West.
In front of each stood a uniformed figure. Some old and some young, some with the decorations of rank and office and some unadorned. Periodically a column of similar figures would march in front and raise a hand slowly in a salute. With a quick step to the side, the first responders change places and continue their vigil — a vigil they held from early Thursday morning until the service concluded Thursday evening.
Covid-19
“Since July 1st, Baylor’s campus has had nine positives out of 48 tests,” Stern said. “And in the last month alone, we have had seven positives out of 29 tests, which is almost a 25% positivity rate.”
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.
